Monday, October 26, 2009

Missing computer science and my college days

Today I'm missing my college days. Am missing those highly intellectual subjects and chapters I used to read and enjoy... the graphs, parallelism, microprocessors, operating systems, computer graphics, NP-hard problems, algorithm-complexity, databases, and on and on and on...

Good days they were... and I wish to bring back the joy of those days...



And today I'm missing it so much that I drew a directed-graph on the whiteboard at my company's Jo'burg office, and started remembering the traveling-salesman problem.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

List of my travels in an aircraft or a cruise ship

A flight is being considered distinct whenever it's preceded by a takeoff. Aircraft models are indicative of only the broader series. Entries in italics are confirmed flights, yet to commence. Entries in blue highlight are tentative, subject to change. A S? sign after an aircraft/airline means that I'm not 100% sure about its safety.
  1. 1993; Delhi-Agra; ~20-40 minutes; Indian Airlines; Unknown
  2. Jul'06; Delhi-Goa; 2.5 hrs; SpiceJet; Boeing 737NG
  3. Jul'06; Goa-Delhi; 2.5 hrs; SpiceJet; 737NG
  4. 17-Oct-08; Delhi-Bangalore; 2.5 hrs; Kingfisher; Airbus A321
  5. 19-Oct-08; Bangalore-Delhi; 2.5 hrs; Kingfisher; A321
  6. 8-Oct-09; Delhi-Dubai; 3.3 hrs; Emirates; Boeing 777
  7. 8-Oct-09; Dubai-Jo'burg; 8.2 hrs; Emirates; Airbus A340
  8. 23-Dec-09; Jo'burg-Dubai; 8 hrs; Emirates; A340
  9. 27-Dec-09; Dubai-Cairo; 4 hrs; Emirates; 777
  10. 30-Dec-09; Cairo-Bahrain; 3 hrs; Gulf Air; Airbus A330
  11. 30-Dec-09; Bahrain-Dubai; 1.3 hrs; Gulf Air; Airbus A320
  12. 31-Dec-09; Dubai-Delhi; 3 hrs; Emirates; 777
  13. 3-Jan-10; Delhi-Dubai; 3 hrs; Emirates; 777
  14. 4-Jan-10; Dubai-Jo'burg; 8.2 hrs; Emirates; A340
  15. 19-Mar-10; JNB-Cape Town; 2 hrs; Mango; 737NG
  16. 22-Mar-10; CPT-JNB; 2.3 hrs; South African Airways; A340
  17. 3-Apr-10; Jo'burg-Dubai; 8 hrs; Emirates; A340
  18. 4-Apr-10; Dubai-Delhi; 3.2 hrs; Emirates; A330
  19. 26-Aug-11; Delhi-Shanghai; 6 hrs; China Eastern; A340
  20. 03-Jan-12; Shanghai-Haikou; 3 hrs; Hainan; Boeing 737
  21. 04-Jan-12; HAK-Singapore; 3 hrs; Hainan; 737NG
  22. 04-Jan-12; SIN-Delhi; 6 hrs; IndiGo; A320
  23. 14-Feb-12; Delhi-Beijing; 6 hrs; Air China; A330
  24. 16-Feb-12; Beijing-Seoul; ~2 hrs; Air China; 737NG
  25. 16-Jun-12; Gimpo-Jeju; ~1 hr; Asiana; A321
  26. 19-Jun-12; Jeju-Gimpo; ~1 hr; Asiana; A321
  27. 23-Jun-12; Seoul-Beijing; ~2 hrs; Air China; A330
  28. 23-Jun-12; Beijing-Delhi; ~7.3 hrs; Air China; A330
  29. 27-Jul-12; Delhi-Singapore; 6 hrs; IndiGo; A320
  30. 27-Nov-12; Singapore-Bali; 2.4 hrs; KLM; 777
  31. 30-Nov-12; Bali-Singapore; 2.2 hrs; KLM; 777
  32. 10-Dec-12; Singapore-Bangkok; ~2.3 hrs; Scoot; 777
  33. 11-Dec-12; Singapore-Bangkok; ~2 hrs; Cathay; 777
  34. 12-Dec-12; Bangkok-Delhi; ~4.6 hrs; IndiGo; A320
  35. 11-Aug-15; Delhi-Moscow; ~6.5 hrs; Aeroflot; A330
  36. 11-Aug-15; Moscow-Istanbul; ~3.5 hrs; Aeroflot; A320
  37. 19-Aug-15; Istanbul-Antalya; ~1.25 hrs; Turkish; 737NG
  38. 21-Aug-15; Antalya-Istanbul; ~1.25 hrs; Turkish; 737NG
  39. 22-Aug-15; Istanbul-Moscow; ~3.5 hrs; Aeroflot; A320
  40. 23-Aug-15; Moscow-Delhi; ~6.0 hrs; Aeroflot; A330
  41. 22-Aug-16; Chandigarh-Bangalore; 3 hrs; AirAsia India; A320
  42. 25-Aug-16; Bangalore-Chandigarh; 3 hrs; IndiGo; A320
  43. 26-May-18; Delhi-Udaipur; ~1.25 hr; Jet Airways; 737NG
  44. 27-May-18; UDR-Delhi; ~1.75 hr; Jet Airways; ATR 72-500
  45. 12-Jan-19; Maldives-Sri Lanka-Goa-Bombay; 8 days; Costa; neoRiviera
    1. Booked for my parents, not me. But I consider it and feel as if I'm myself doing this.
    2. 12-Jan-19 to 19-Jan-19 on the cruise ship.
    3. Flights from Delhi to Male [Maldives], and Bombay to Delhi also.
    4. Delhi to Male on Indigo; Bombay to Delhi on Vistara.
  46. 19-Aug-19; Delhi-Singapore; ~6 hrs; Singapore Airlines; A380
  47. 24-Aug-19; Singapore-Phuket; ~2 hrs; SilkAir; Boeing 737-800
  48. 28-Aug-19; Phuket-Singapore; ~2 hrs; SilkAir; Airbus A320
  49. 28-Aug-19; Singapore-Delhi; ~6 hrs; Singapore Airlines; A380
  50. 23-Sep-21; Delhi-Leh; ~1.5 hrs; Vistara; A320neo
  51. 28-Sep-21; Leh-Chandigarh; ~0.75-1 hrs; Air India; A320neo
  52. Coming soon...
Aircraft (wanna fly on, already flown on): Airbus A320, A320neo, A321, A330, A340, A380 [THIS IS A MUST!]; Boeing 737NG, 777

Aircraft (really wanna fly on, not already flown on): Airbus A220 [CSeries], A350; ATR 72-600; Boeing 717, 747, 747-8, 787 Dreamliner [S?]; Bombardier CRJ; Comac C919 [S?]; CRAIC CR929; Embraer E-Jet E2; Gulfstream G550, G650; Honda HA-420 HondaJet; Ilyushin Il-476/Il-76MD-90A, Il-96; Irkut MC-21/MS-21; Kawasaki C-2, P-1; McDonnell Douglas MD-11, MD-90; Mitsubishi Regional Jet [MRJ]; Saab 2000; Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo, White Knight Two; Sukhoi Superjet 100; Tupolev Tu-204-120 OR Tu-204SM

Aircraft (wanna fly on, not already flown on): Aerion SBJ; Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde; Airbus A400M; Antonov An-124, An-148/An-158 [S?], An-225, An-70 [S?]; Boeing 737 MAX [S?], B-52H Stratofortress; Boeing/McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III; Cessna Citation Sovereign; Comac ARJ21 [S?]; Dassault Falcon 7X; Embraer KC-390, Lineage 1000; Ilyushin Il-86; Lockheed L-1011 TriStar; Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, C-5M Super Galaxy; North American XB-70 Valkyrie; Transall C-160; Tupolev Tu-154M-100; Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer

Aircraft (not keen to fly on, already flown on): 737; ATR 72-500

Aircraft (don't wanna fly on, already flown on): None :)

Airlines (wanna fly on, already flown on): Aeroflot, Air China, AirAsia India, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Gulf Air, Hainan, IndiGo, Jet Airways; Kingfisher, KLM, Mango, South African Airways, Turkish Airlines

Airlines (not keen to fly on, already flown on): China Eastern

Airlines (don't wanna fly on, already flown on): Air India; Indian Airlines; SpiceJet

Airlines (really wanna fly on, not already flown on): Air Arabia, Air France, Air Italy, Air Mauritius, Air Seychelles, AirAsia [AirAsia; AirAsia Japan; AirAsia Philippines; AirAsia X; Indonesia AirAsia; Indonesia AirAsia X; Thai AirAsia; Thai AirAsia X], Alaska Airlines, Alitalia, Bahrain Air, EgyptAir, EL AL Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Finnair, flydubai, Garuda Indonesia, kulula.com (Kulula Air), Lion Air [S?], Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Ryanair, S7 Airlines [S?], Saudi Arabian Airlines, Scoot, SilkAir, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, VietJet Air [S?], Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Virgin Galactic, Vistara

Airlines (wanna fly on, not already flown on): Aerolíneas Argentinas [S?], Aeroméxico [S?], Air Astana, Air Greenland, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Cebu Pacific [S?], Cubana de Aviación [S?], easyJet, Iberia, LOT Polish Airlines [S?], Kuwait Airways [S?], Mexicana [S?], Royal Air Maroc [S?], Southwest, TAM Airlines, Thai Smile [S?], Transaero [S?], Wizz Air [S?], Xiamen Airlines

Airlines [don't wanna fly on; not already flown on]: Jetstar; Tiger Airways