I came across a blog post which describes about difference between throughput and Latency. honestly I expected more technical explanation but I found something that less technical but still it explained me in such a way that any other techie explanation wouldn't have helped so much. Just thought of posting it here.(assuming the author: Steve Harris is fine with this).

Throughput Vs Latency
Which is the faster way to get your cargo across the United States. A plane or a train? Some might think the answer is obvious. A plane travels 500 mph (or so) and a train does maybe 80 mph. Therefore the plane is faster. Or is it? The question is really a matter of latency vs. throughput.

Imagine you have to move a bunch of coal across the country and deliver it to a coal processor. Now say that on the west coast, the receiver of the coal can process 100 units of coal an hour. You have 1 train that can haul 10,000 units of coal and takes 48 hours to get to its destination. You have 1 plane that can deliver 100 units of coal in 12 hours.

If the most important thing was to have the coal soon, then the plane is faster (lower latency). But, if the most important thing is to have the coal-processing pipeline filled on the west coast over time then train is faster (higher throughput). Every 96 hours they get 10k units of coal with the train (remember there’s only one train and, just like the plane, it must make the return trip to the east coast). That works out to about 100 units an hour which is just what you need. With the plane, every 96 hours you get 800 pounds of coal. Not nearly fast enough.

The above discussion may seem obvious but I have this conversation all the time when talking about Software: what is fast and what is slow. I've had people tell me it's impossible to do 10 thousand transactions per second in Terracotta when persistent because the disk seek time is 10 millis. Well they would be right if you serialize things. But in infrastructure software, the game is throughput with acceptable latency and it turns out 10 thousand transactions per second isn't all that hard. With parallelism, batching, and windowing, the disk isn't even usually the bottleneck.
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You have nothing to fear but fear itself

Darpok ! a widely common term used in India referring to cowardice. It has also been a tool for kids to ridicule others when they dont do what they challenge, may be a small thing like throwing a ball or be it something important such as stage show. Learning starts from this age, I claim. Some of them learn to fight against failure and have conquered the world, such as Gandhi ji, Abraham Lincoln and so on, some go deep down drowning lacking self confidence and they are losers, as we may term as. There is a large majority in this spectrum who are not unsure of how to deal though they believe they have the ability to do it. I am one among them. Sometimes an article of this sort really helps.
"Darr ke aagey jeet hai. Conquer fear and you can conquer anything. I learnt this fairly early while growing up in a joint family along with 13 siblings and cousins.

Every evening, we would gather around our grandmother to hear her stories. One of her favorite stories revolved around five pilgrims who were on a journey

to the holy places in the Himalayas. On a bitterly cold night, they arrived at a dharamshala. It had only one room and the gatekeeper warned them against staying there as legend had it that it was inhabited by a big snake. He told them no one had ventured inside for years. On hearing this, the pilgrims decided to play safe and spend the night in the open.

After a few shivering hours, one of them overcame his fear and decided to check the room. On entering, he didn’t find a snake. Instead, a rope lay on the floor. In the dark it resembled a snake. But the other pilgrims didn’t believe the account and decided to sleep outside. The brave one slept soundly; for his fellow travellers it was a long night.

As my grandmother would explain, failure exists only in one’s imagination. We fear failure, because we fear criticism, ridicule or rejection. But the truth is that anyone who has been successful has failed at some stage of their life. From failure comes knowledge of what works and what doesn’t; from failure comes knowledge of one’s strengths and weaknesses and it’s from failure that one begins a more determined attempt to achieve success.

As one grows up there comes the realization that there is no standard measure of failure or success. It is a relative term. What one person perceives as extraordinary success may be an ordinary accomplishment for another. What may seem a failure today often turns out to be insignificant in the long run.

Thankfully, I grew up in an environment where there were no high expectations I would excel academically. I never came first in any school exam. I hardly attended classes at college. That may not be the best thing to do but in retrospect I believe that there are many lessons to learn outside the classroom. Learning about how to build relationships and business partnerships; about human behavior and social dynamics is just as important as classroom lessons to succeed in any field.

It is a fact that in our society we ridicule failure. Rather than encourage people to take the road less travelled, we discourage them. There is encouragement to conform to a set pattern rather than stand out in a crowd. This is why failing an exam or a new venture is feared.

I don’t think setbacks, disappointments, rejections and unsuccessful attempts can be called failures. They are steps to success. How one deals with a setback determines the success of the next step. A sudden setback can be seen as a brick wall. It can also be seen as a stepping stone. It’s the way one perceives it that determines whether an unsuccessful attempt turns into a failure. Absolute failure is about not trying to do new things; it’s about lack of conviction; it’s about giving up."

Kishore Biyani: Chief executive officer of the Rs 5,000-crore Future Group. Biyani, who ranked 20 in a class of 35 at school, is regarded as the man who pioneered the retail revolution in India.

Speaking the truth, I am still afraid of my failures. But I have come out of the reluctance to fight with failure. I am happy that I have made attempts to fight again if failed and have succeeded couple of times. One of my friends came up to me and said that she saw this as one of my good qualities and it makes me happy to see the change I wanted to have. what I lack now is the guts to face my failures though I do face it with full with power packed mental strength when happens.

Minnesotans, check our strength

I got this as a forward, which I suppose was compiled by my fellow Indian PIGS: Poor Indian Graduate Student). Unlike a regular FWD, this was more about spirit of Minnesotans which made me post in blog.

60 above zero: Floridians turn on the heat. Minnesotans plant gardens.

50 above zero: Californians shiver uncontrollably. People are sunbathing in Duluth.

40 above zero: Imported cars won't start. Minnesotans drive with the sunroof open.

32 above zero: Distilled water freezes. The water in Bemidji gets thicker.

20 above zero: New Mexicans don long johns, parkas and wool hats & mittens. Minnesotans throw on a flannel shirt.

15 above zero : New York landlords finally turn on the heat. People in Minnesota have one last cookout before it gets cold.

Zero: People in Miami all die. Minnesotans close the windows.

10 below zero: Californians fly away to Mexico. Minnesotans dig their winter coats out of storage.

25 below zero: Hollywood disintegrates. Girl Scouts in Minnesota still selling cookies door to door.

40 below zero: Washington, D.C. finally runs out of hot air. People in Minnesota let their dogs sleep indoors.

100 below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Minnesotans get upset because the Mini-Van won't start.

460 below zero: ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale). People in Minnesota can be heard to say, "Cold 'nuff fer ya?"

500 below zero: Hell freezes over. Minnesota public schools open 2 hours late.

When F was less than C

6:45PM 1st FEB 2008,
Ferguson Hall, Univ of Minnesota, TC

Vinod, Abhishek and myself were walking out of Ferguson hall after attending "Intro. to North Indian Music" class that we enrolled for the spring sem

Me:SRGPDS...SDPGRS.... SRGRGPGPDSSS#%$%&^

Vinod(annoyed): Praveen, U know what, please stop this crap.

Abhishek Ravat(Abhi) laughs...
Silence prevailed until we stepped out of Ferguson hall.

Me: (well, yet another day of walking in this freaking winter)(As a cliched way of expressing the fact that one has got used to being in the extremities...) Vinod, I feel we should go for jogging now..It isn't that cold right ?

Vinod: (expressionless... must have thought of the punishment of being my roomie for remaining 18 months) Well, which way shall we go to reach the bus stand ?

Abhi: we shall just walk fast besides Anderson hall

Me: (I just figured out that there is Gopher way, well connected even in the west Bank Campus and so was exited to explore them)How about going throughout the Gopher Way, guys ?

Vinod: Naaa... we are already out and its waste of time to get inside Ferguson hall and then proceed.

And the discussion continued....
Slowly each of us stopped talking. Wondering what happened to each other. Actually none of us were able to talk. We rushed to the Bus stop. Our legs being vulnerable to the chill wind. my cheeks got numb.

I was touching my nose to ensure its still there in my face. But yes, later on I figured out a better way by noticing the air that i exhale turning into vapors. Smart ain't I ?

For a moment, we were just suffering from the chillness like never before. A mark of surprise was seen in all three of our eyes. After a while we got into the bus and came back home...

Avani: Hi buddy...(his usual way of greeting us) Did u know the temperature is -43 F. The lowest ever, encountered during this season.

Vinod and i were stunned hearing this. No words to express what we went through... Later, the night

Vinod: From now on, I ll never worry about going out of the house in winter. I ve seen the worst !!!

I sat back and wondered.. Vinod was right... we faced the extreme winter. Now why worry for the regular winter(-20 and -30 F)...

-43F... Just cant believe this.. Still couldn't believe that I experienced a temperature where Fahrenheit scale was lower than Celsius scale.

In lines of Nirvana

My lonely NOV 2007(Solitude), last few weeks of DEC 2007(covered with Sadness) and my trip to California(Had FUN) have made me think about a very strong question of life, for which i am still unable to find a convincing answer.

Whats makes life meaningful ?

1) The ability to do what u like and fortune to like what u do
2) To achieve the career you wished
3) To be with your loved one
4) To be with your family
5) Or the dilemma of finding the true meaning to life( like what i am wondering)

END of first SEM.....

Ahh.....PFEW !!!!

I am tired.... four continuous days of OS prep, supposedly the last exam for the semester... and i am already feeling like an old man (developed STIFF NECK... ) Felt enough of life... OS was my favorite subject in CS... even now.. But i feel id better learn it without any prof intervention. No i dont wanna blame any prof.. But this one i gota say...

Never risk to take grad courses under Indian profs, of course there are exceptions...

Alright, back to square one... FALL sem was more of a test of my analytical abilities... i wasnt sure of my capabilities... so just took some common courses so that i could chill. However the net result wasnt that satisfactory , but still i had a lot of things to talk about my value addition. It wasnt a bed of roses, had to learn things hard way.
1) I was put up in solitude... i didnt get to be the way i had been all these years, socializing with ppl around and chill out. Every body kept minding their own business, nothing wrong though.

Having said about solitude, i would like to say how i tried to manage the pain, I listened to a lot of songs... nothing relieves pain in heart than listening to songs... I have been listening to a lot of songs now a days... Thanks to youtube, Musicindiaonline, last.fm, techsatish.com, filmz.tv .... a lot more actually than this :)
This one song gave me a lot of company.. I wish to sing this one for my friends some day...



2) I learned to analyze my potentials. I got chance to read me. I could see my negatives.. i realized how much wrong i am. I could see a lot of things to improve upon myself.
3) I began to think differently. Nowadays i am questioning my self "Y not this way"(not technical stuffs, but about life and living). It gives me a new dimensions to think.
4) I learned to eat what i cook :P Without complaining :) .... Believe me, all folks in US, i feel u ll agree this point. Cooking is the best stress buster... I am very short tempered. Nowadays, i start cooking when i feel disturbed or feel low. It changes my mood. I feel a lot better after some time.
5) Of all, the best thing i gained here was this one TRUTH :

I learned that i know nothing.

Aaamaa Sanyasi mathri agiten :)

Hurrey ... SEM HOLS... I am off to California for a week time... Gona have fun...

BILLA MOVIE thought me a lesson

Guys,

My lesson for the day. !!!

" Never suggest a movie to your friend without watching it"

If u dont learn it from me, then one day this you ll face the same. I suggested my friend to watch BILLA after getting impressed with the trailer.



Poor friend, aryan(Name concealed for my own good :P) watched it and came back with his red nose blowing like a BULL .... wether he was very polite to me or not is immaterial .. AHEM...

This is what i had to patiently get from him for suggesting...

1) all that he does in the movie is dress up nice and walk up and down
2) man....Billa has got to have some style bandha nill zilch
3) evanukellam nee oru fan
4) mavane...wurst acting by Ajith
5) wurst movie wurst fanclub
6) Ajith' gotto quit acting
7) i guess the new Don has set new limits to remake movies the director must have taken a clue from that

I now get reminded of the comedy scene where Vadivelu and prabhudeva find blood in ear after getting royal treatment from the heroine...

Thanks to Ajith