I had my interview and it was quite nice. If you don’t know what interview then read about it here – House Hunting!
It was about time, and frankly, I was quite nervous. It had the mild adrenaline rush that one gets before interviews. I have come to appreciate it when I feel like this. It tells me I have prepared and I care.
It was time and I did not get the call. After waiting for 7 extra minutes I messaged and then the video call happened. The call connected.
There were nervous giggles on both sides. They were trying to set me (in their mobile screen) up on a chair I guess. It helped calm the nerves a bit. I could see them and they could see me but we weren’t talking yet. One sensory input at a time! I like it.
I feel it would have been little awkward for them as well. Unless they are doing it regularly. It reminds me of the first interview I conducted after I joined my last company. I was sweating more profusely than the interviewee.
The call started with some greetings. The German guy sitting in the sofa between the two girls initiated the questions. He asked me about myself and why I am traveling to Germany.
Bingo! First question was not out of syllabus! I have rehearsed this question many times in my mind. I have been trying to answer the very same question to myself since the last 6 months. The answers flew naturally. I hope it was convincing as well.
Then a few questions on lifestyle went well. I am not a party animal of any kind and that suited them too. The average age of my prospective roommates would be around 31. So they were happy to hear that I won’t be irresponsible.
The call lasted for roughly 15 mins. They offered to show me around which I denied. I’d seen the house before. I take it as a good sign.
I’m looking forward to having them as my roommates. They looked cool and the two Germans might even be a good opportunity to learn German.
They told me they will get back to me in the next week. Till then I need to be patient.
I couldn’t contain myself. I messaged him asking for some indications at least. If it is a clear “no”, then I will have to continue my house search. I have one short term accomodation waiting on my reply. I am told it looks pretty positive and he will confirm tomorrow.
Of course, there is no concept of arranged marriage in Western world. For Westerners who don’t understand arranged marriages, worry not, this is a quick primer for you.
After the current experience of house hunting in Germany, I thank my stars that I did not have to go through arranged marriage. To understand why I say that let me explain the housing situation in Germany first.
The Institutes have limited accomodation and they prefer to give it to Bachelor degree courses. This accounts for only 4,000 lucky students out of the 40,000+ students in the university. The city of Erlangen itself has a population of 120,000. So, getting a place to stay is difficult.
I have already received a rejection for the university accomodation – the first in the string of rejections that followed. I am currently looking for a place to stay in the open market.
Germans call shared apartments WG (pronounced as Vee-Ghe). These are regular apartments where each person has their own room and the residents share common areas like the restroom and kitchen.
Here’s how the process works. There are a couple of sites out there where people post the availability of WGs and we can apply. The application procedure is similar to a marriage application in Shaadi.com (Indian arranged marriage site) with a short Bio-Data. They would like to know you before they talk to you.
You need to apply with a Bio-data. There will be hundreds of application for beautiful WG. You need to attract the attention of the roommates with an interesting Bio with skills you bring. You need to vibe with them!
Then the current tenants will look for compatibility with you. If they shortlist your bio-data, they add you to a queue. You get to see the WG on a video call.
If both parties like the initial communication then the roommates would like to have an interview with you.
If you are older than 35 the number of WGs available reduces drastically. I have applied to more than 75 apartments! Tenants have ignored me more than 65 times and rejected me outright 10 times.
After all this, I think I have made it to the final interview for one apartment. The interview is tomorrow with my prospective room mates – 1 Indian lady, 1 German lady and 1 German man. I am more nervous than a 36 years old unmarried bride at the matchmaking event.
Westerners find the concept of arranged marriage difficult to understand. So, just re-read this blog. Replace WG with bride/groom and roommates with in-laws. Then you have it: an arranged marriage!
The world was changed by TikTok. Those short videos are wrecking havoc in my life. I am trying to free myself of this addiction. I hope I have found a solution. I will share the method with you. You can also try it in case you have same problems as I do.
This blog is going to be long, so feel free to skip to the sections you find necessary. I will write about how “Shorts” have impacted my life. I see RSS as a solution. We will briefly discuss RSS before getting into my preferred tools. Finally, for people who are newly starting with RSS, I have section with some useful sites to follow.
I was never a fan of TikTok. I considered it unworthy to even have an account. I could not understand how such short videos provide any information – I wasn’t even sure they are enjoyable. Similarly, I didn’t have an account in Insta as well.
I always revered Youtube. Unfortunately 2 years back, around 2023, they added the shorts section. Now I not only watch 2.5 hours of continuous reels but also have Insta account.
This has had detrimental effect on my focus, time management and my ability to find joy. Firstly, due to the kick which I derive out of these 1 min videos, I can’t tolerate longer videos.
Secondly, each short doesn’t ask for much commitment to watch but finally I end up feeling guilty for wasting 2 hrs.
Finally, these shorts throw one climax after another. After watching 5 best catches, winning moments, wickets, dives etc in just 5 mins, I find to hard to sit through a 3hr T20 match. The reels overstimulate me and I get disappointed that none of the catches in the entire match was as thrilling as those 5 mins in the reel.
I want to take control of my life. I want to feel the joy of suspense of watching a long match instead of feeling bored. I want to feel awed by the next stunt instead of considering it banal because I have seen 100 similar stunts in reels.
I feel I can solve this by slowing things down. I want to consume information more consciously and deliberately on the internet. But I find it difficult because the algorithms are so powerful. One look at the screen and it magically hypnotizes me to start swiping the reels.
RSS to rescue
RSS which stands for Really Simple Syndication was invented in 1999 and still lives. It lives a low key, less flashy – underground sort of life but still powers a lot of things.
Closest analogy to its functioning is that of a social media website. The website keeps us informed about the latest posts from people we follow.
RSS does the same but for everything except few social media sites. You can keep a watch on any website like news, blogs, podcast, video platforms etc. and get notified when content is added.
All this can happen from one single application and ideally you would never have to “BROWSE” the internet. So when you don’t meander wildly you won’t stumble upon one of those reels. And you will rescue yourself from wasting hours swiping at it.
Technically, RSS is a protocol that can be used by applications to display updates in their website (“Feed”). When RSS links are accessed it returns an XML files with sections defined as per protocols. It is not very convenient for humans to read it. So, applications are needed to display the content comfortably. Read ahead to know the software I use.
Setting Up RSS
As mentioned above we need an application to fetch the feeds from the RSS links. We would also have to find those RSS links in the first place. There are many ways to do it but I only write about the methods I use.
If this is your first time then you can simply follow my method. If you are experienced and you have a different way, then please use the comment section to inform us about it.
My choice of RSS Reader
There are many RSS readers available. In the RSS reader of my choice I ideally look for the following features:
Free
No restriction on how many RSS links I can follow
Ability to organize them into folders
Compatible with Linux, Windows and Android
Sync across platforms
Unfortunately, I could not find a single tool which meets all my needs. As a result, I resorted to the following two different tools – one for mobile and another for laptop. However, I mostly use the android version mostly, since my mobile is constantly with me.
Feeder (There are 2 Feeder. Use the one in the link)
Cons with the free versions
Lack of common app: There is no common app between mobile and laptop platforms
Sync issue: Doesn’t sync across platforms even when using same application. i.e. If you have been reading on your windows PC and then you switch to Linux it won’t tell you which links had been already read.
Alternatives
Remember, our aim is to stop swiping. These shorts are most effective on mobiles so just using RSS reader on mobile phone adequately reduces the problem. At this point of our addiction lets not worry about syncing RSS. Baby steps first!
Nevertheless, I will mention some commercial options which sync across multiple platforms. If you have money to spend or you are willing to work under the restrictions of the free versions that the paid software come with, then you can try.
I mentioned before that RSS have gone a bit underground. So it is often hidden from plain sight. Some sites might provide the link directly. So simply look for RSS symbol (like at the bottom of this blog). If it is not evident then I will tell you two methods that I am aware of to uncover the RSS links.
The first one is using the paid apps mentioned above. These often have a tab which provides you with a single click option to subscribe to RSS depending on your interests.
The problem I faced with this approach was that I would impulsively subscribe to a lot of feeds. Then there will be too much update and I can’t follow it. I stop using the RSS because there is just too much to process.
The other approach which I have come to like is the slow painful approach. See I told you I wanted to slow things down.
Visit the website, podcast, YouTube channel or news channel or anything else that you regularly visit.
If you are using Feeder
Press the three vertical dots at the top right
Select add Feed
Enter the URL of the page you visited
Click “Search”
It might discover the RSS link and display. Feeder might fail in getting RSS link. In that case use the next method
Select the link that you wish to follow
If your are using chrome on Laptop you can use plugins to identify RSS links. I use Get RSS Feed URL Extension in chrome
Simply click the extension in the desired page. If it has an RSS link, it will display.
Deciding what to follow
The main idea of the whole blog is to stop Browsing internet via a Google search. So every time you visit internet be conscious and observe what you are watching.
If you are watching a video on YouTube get conscious and ask what are you enjoying. If you would like to see more of it then research for more creators of similar content. Go to their channels and retrieve its RSS link.
If you are watching news then get conscious. Ask if your trust the source. If yes then find RSS link for that news channel. You might also want to have counter opinions. So, find those channels with a counter opinion and get its RSS links.
Repeat this until you can finally get everything in your RSS app. You shouldn’t need to sieve to the large volume of internet data soon.
Useful RSS sources
If you are starting this list might help your set up your RSS feed. Some places where you can find RSS are
News and magazine websites
YouTube
Reddit communities
Blog sites
Blogroll.org: This site has a collection of blogs. Most have RSS links
Of course this blog has one as well. The link is in the footer 😉
Conclusion
I have felt that I need to distance myself from the short video formats. It is having detrimental effects on mental well-being. I try to distance myself from it until I can achieve the necessary self control.
RSS feels like an effective solution because it allows me to be on the internet while keeping the distractions away. I also keeps me up to date with my interests without any manipulative algorithm. Building up my RSS Feed list is also helping me be more aware of what I am consuming.
The steps to setup the RSS in this blog might help others with similar challenge as I face. For the beginners, these RSS ideas might provide some inspiration on building their RSS list of feeds.
I overheard two kids in their second year of engineering for roughly 15 mins. Later, I contrasted it with the sort of talks grown ups have. This made me question: why there is such stark difference between the two? When does this change happen? Is it good?
I was having dinner when I saw this lean boy wearing spectacles sitting there waiting for his dinner to arrive. He suddenly noticed his friend. They were meeting after a long time and they hadn’t seen each other for at least 1.5 years. I know this because the friend observed that the lean boy had grown very tall since he last met him. Also they were meeting after 3 semesters.
The lean boy is studying at IIT Hyderabad. I don’t know where the other boy studies, but I know he is studying applied computer science. The guy from IIT Hyderabad is also studying Computer Science but there are some major differences in their curriculum. Applied computer science has more emphasis on programming languages where as computer science students at IIT study Physics, Chemistry in addition to Math. Math is common between the two courses.
I gathered much more than that listening to them. After a short Hi and Hello they started flexing. It was subtle but each one tried his best to tell the other how smart he was. Each throwing out some terminology every few sentences. It was nice to hear. They were clearly bragging about what they had learnt.
Now contrast this when two adults meet. They similarly try to brag. But the topics are often different. It might be about the new car, house or their new job. It might sometimes be about the recent trips they have made. Other times, one might hear complains about how much hard they are having to work at office.
So the question I am asking is when will these students stop bragging about their intellectual might and start bragging about material might? Why does it happen? Is it a good thing to change focus from intellectual to material world?
We look at a student who studies hard and call him studious. A compliment! But an employee who works hard is said to be slogging! There is a hint of the word loser attached with it. Not a compliment any more. We emphasize on smart work and not hard work!
Firstly, coming to the question of bragging being good or bad. A bit of it might be good as long as it doesn’t turn to arrogance. One usually brags about the things one is focusing on in their life. It will naturally improve that thing which is being focused on.
Of course as a student focusing on intellect is necessary. But what about adults? Is material might important? May be yes. It establishes the adults position in the society. Being higher in hierarchy should bring the benefits of being a stronger human. I guess both adults and students are doing the same. They want to establish themselves higher on the echelon.
Thinking in these lines if adults focus on material might and children on intellectual then why does this shift happen? Perhaps since both are trying to establish themselves on a higher place in the hierarchy, there must be separate hierarchy. Each governed by a different metric.
As a student the metric is obvious. The grades directly translate to how good a student one is. And there is one way to get good grades – study hard. But what about life after studies? What is the metric? Should one be more athletic, more rich, more beautiful, more educated? There may be not one single answer.
So, will these students then stop boasting about intellectual capacities once they step out of college? Is it good? Am I jumping at conclusions with all these arguments? I have some questions now, few more that I started with. I hope I have given a few to you to ponder as well. May be getting rich doesn’t need hard work but smart work?
This is a completely fictional conversation between a Husband [H] and Wife [W]. H loves W a lot and has never seen a lady more hardworking than his W and mother (H wants to be safe with that statement).
H was busy attending a meeting and W enters house after a long days work. W cooks every day for both of them. They don’t have a cook because H doesn’t like having one. Ironically H can’t cook either.
Time is 8pm and H is hungry. His plan is to eat out after the meeting.
Strike 1
W: Shall I cook something?
H (in between meeting): What? (sign language)
W:Ven Pongal (don’t know Ven Pongal? Click on Ven Pongal)
H: 👍️
Strike 2
Hungry H: Why is this pongal looking so mushy!
W: May be I added more water. But I like it like this.
H (Lil disappointed as the texture is not appealing): Hmm…
W: Let’s eat in one plate.
H: Sure.
H tastes the food and it tastes so weird.
H: Why is it different? Did you follow the recipe?
W: Ofcourse
H (Tastes again and thinks out aloud): I think there is more Dal.
H checks the recipe.
H: Did you add Dal in 1:4 ratio
W: No I added more Dal.
H: Then why do you have to follow the recipe?
W (now slightly angry): It is good only. I like.
H: But it doesn’t taste like Ven Pongal. Can you please make me an omlette. I can’t eat it.
Loving W who is slightly angry and doesnt want husband to go hungry: Sure
H eats omlette and leaves pongal on plate.
Strike 3
H: Shall we go for a walk?
W: No. Don’t want to.
H: Please
W (reluctantly): Ok
H and W generally go for a walk late at night. H likes to drink cold lemon soda everyday during the night walk (Sounds l’il crazy). W prepares lime juice adds salts and pours it into the soda bottle. They carry it outside for a walk
They are having a normal walk when W gets a call. Starts recounting her day on the phone
W (on Phone): Bla Bla Bla
W (on Phone): Bla Bla Bla
W (on Phone): Bla Bla Bla… I cooked Ven Pongal… Bla Bla Bla
H (who is more intersted in the call than his own life, whispers): Don’t call it ven pongal
W (continues on Phone): Bla Bla Bla
W (continues on Phone): Bla Bla Bla. Ha ha ha…
Hangs up
W (Now angry suddenly): This is why I did not want to come.
H (has forgotten about Ven pongal comment): Why?
W: You never stop complaining. You have to keep ranting for the slightest problem. Don’t you know how tired I am. I have been putting up with long days. I still come back and cook for you. [W is now visibly more angry]. Tomorrow onwards you cook for yourself I will cook for myself….
H doesn’t dare to open his mouth. He has stopped listening midway. He knows the summary of the rest of the conversation and doesn’t think it is necessary to know more details. He maintains silence till things cool down and the thought of not cooking for H fades away.
… Things are now cool and they are having a normal conversation.
H: Bla Bla Bla
W: Bla Bla Bla
H: But if you were tired we could have just gone out.
W: You don’t understand
H (trying to clarify): If you were tired we could have gone out. If you were anyways cooking you could have just maintained the ratio….. (last words before the Big Bang)
Some of you might know that I will be restarting my student life again – I had my first class today!
I am also writing about how I managed to land an admit at FAU Erlangen. You should find the link somewhere here. I am pretty unorganized right now. The work is still in progress. In fact, this blog started as a recipe book for myself and now we have this what you are reading.
But I digress. So, coming back, I had my first official meeting with the batch. The Semester starts in October. Today, was an information session to ease the onboarding.
It was conducted by the course coordinator. The meeting was 1.5 hr long. It covered topics that would take me from here to the door steps of the University. Everything from local transport details, tickets, student’s pass to finding accomodation was covered. It was impressive to experience German eye for detail.
It felt nice to be back with the students. I have a feeling I am the eldest of all. But I could still feel my inner 3rd bencher getting activated.
As a rule of 3rd bencher, I am not the one who initiates questions. Those are the jobs of the first bencher, the annoying ones. As a 3rd bencher my job is to cover all those questions that are thrown at us.
To give an example what I mean. If someone asks “Am I audible” I give 3 secs pause. Give the first benchers their chance. And then I kick in. I answer “Yes”. I hope you get the gist.
Meeting the batch virtually on the online meet gave me the thrill of starting a new phase of life. There were 22 students in the batch. I hear some may not enroll. So our final batch strength might drop to 17 to 20.
The meeting had the same energy of a new whatsapp group. It might die down with time. We could hear some fellow students who spoke. Ofcourse, I spoke too. I told them I can hear her.
Takeaways from the meetings were:
Finding Accomodation is going to be a nightmare
The course is going to be challenging.
I have decided to choose accomodation as my next topic to loose my sleep over.
I began by creating an initial list of universities. I shortlisted the universities which had signal processing courses in English language. As each university has a different requirement I went through their websites to collate all important information. You may visit Shortlisted University List to see the initial short list as well as the final list. It also summarizes all the information available in this article in a table.
I tried to cover the following details for each univerisity
Course name : Adaptive Signal Processing and Communication Engg
Application requirements
TOEFL / IELTS
CV (simple copy)
School leaving certificate (certified copy) Official translation of the School Leaving Certificate (certified copy)
University Degree Certificate and Diploma Supplement – if already available (certified copy)
Official translation of the University Degree Certificate and Diploma Supplement (certified copy)
Complete Academic Report/Transcript of Records (certified copy)
Official translation of the Complete Academic Report/Transcript of Records (certified copy)
All additional documents which are required by the specific program (letter of application, proof of intern ships/placements, language certificates, etc).
Deadline
Feb15 – 15 March for the following winter semester
Course name : Electrical- and Information Engineering (nformation and Communication)
There are 4 subjects available in english and this is one of them. This is the only one that interests me.
Application requirements
TOEFL (90 internet-based)/IELTS (6.5 and no section beneath 5.5)/CAE (A,B,C)/CPE (A,B,C) [People in the following categories do not need to prove their knowledge of English: native speaker, studies taught entirely in English, studies completed in Anglophone country] — Not needed bcos degree in english 🙂
Application form (Print-out Online-Application) – University graduation certificate + official translation (In case not completed enclose certificate of enrollment)
Transcript of Records/Diploma Supplement + official translation (Including information about content and amount of the courses, e.g. credits or hours per week)
Module manual/detailed description of the courses mentioned in the program specific requirements
Curriculum Vitae
Official APS-certificate for applicants from China, Vietnam and Mongolia If available:
Statement of your final grade
Further information about grading system with highest and passing grade
References
Certificates of further academic and professional achievements (e.g. professional training, awards, publications, research and development activities or scholarships)
Please enclose a written statement in case of former participation in the application process
Letter of motivation
Deadline
15 May – 15 July for the following winter semester
Dec 1 – 15 Jan for the following Summer semester
Stats
Acceptance rate : 26 % Limited acceptance : No Student: staff ratio = 4:1
Course name : Communications and Signal Processing
Application requirements
TOEFL / IELTS
Certificate of successful completion of secondary school
Certificate of completion of a Bachelor’s degree and the overview of your academic achievements (Transcript of Records / Marksheet)
Complete curriculum vitae
Letter of motivation and/or a proposal for a Master’s thesis topic in which you are particularly interested. (These documents are required for some degree programs).
Proof of your language skills in German or English (depending on the course language, at least B2 level).
Copy of your passport, identity card or birth certificate, which clearly shows the official spelling or transcription of your name.
