Blocking in-video Ads - Youtube and Live streaming Part 1

Part 1:

Now a days, one seems to be having a torrid time watching videos on Youtube; ever since Youtube started playing in-video ads, Youtube experience has almost become nightmarish for the impatient users.
Solution :
AdBlock Extension

Search for this popular browser extension and get it installed in your browser to get rid of the in-video youtube ads.


Part 2:
In this part I will try to demonstrate how AdBlock may have been built and the hacks we can employ in blocking in-video ads ourselves, without relying on extensions like AdBlock.

2 reasons why we may not want to rely on AdBlock alone :
1. May not work on all sites
2. Knowing what is under the hood is fun.

If any of the above 2 points brought a smile on your face, check the Part 2 of this series here

Cheers!

Process (pain) of availing educational loan in India (Specific to MS in the US)

[Please feel free to skip the first 3 paragraphs - I chose to use this space to express my emotions; But the essay after the first 3 paragraphs may prove to be informative for you]

I hate to say this myself. I am a firm believer that there is no point in complaining about a system in place - I believe that if there is anything wrong with a system, one should offer some constructive suggestion to improve the system rather than complaining about it.

But this loan application process totally befuddled me. It's not the statutory underpinnings of an educational loan - I am fine with it - since I got a chance to know about some of the laws, rules, regulations as per the Indian Penal Code; It's the lethargy with which the government organizations (Bank staff, Registrar office Staff, Tamil Nadu Housing Board Staff) are run that is disappointing.

I have seen the attitude of the government employees portrayed in movies and even heard about the same from my parents and friends; but to see and experience it for myself is a different thing. What hurts me the most is the situation has remained the same all these 10-15 years. I have always felt that majority in India believe that working for a government organization is primarily to have a carefree workplace environment and a guaranteed job apart from the numerous benefits that any government employee is entitled to. I don't know how the situation is in government organizations in other countries. There is something that we need to correct in the way we are being introduced to a government job and a government run organization.

Whining for another day. Let me get to the steps involved :

Startling Fact : I got to know that of all the loans, interest rate is the highest for availing educational loans, in India. However, the thing I liked about this is the fact that in State Bank of India and Central Bank of India, a student is exempted from paying any interest on the loan amount up to 6 months after the stipulated course is completed. Typically a student availing loan for a MS program in the US of A, can take 2 years and 6 months before initiating the re-payment process. I don't know if this is the reasoning behind the highest interest rates on educational loans. I am no finance expert - I shall leave it to the experts to comment on that.

1. For availing loan up to 4 Lakh INR, it is enough if we have a guarantor for our loan application. If we are applying for an amount greater than 4 Lakh INR, we need to submit a property as a collateral. What I was told is the fact that the banks are readily accepting only a land with a construction in place as a collateral. The evaluator from the bank will evaluate the worth of the property and will give a report. I was told that the collateral property must be worth at least 150% of the total loan amount sought.

2. Central Bank of India offers  loan up to 20 Lakhs. State Bank of India offers loan up to 30 Lakhs.

3. Regarding the House Property as a Collateral : [This list is specific to Central Bank of India - and may not be exhaustive]

• Encumbrance Certificate (E.C) - Original copy for the last 30 years. If we apply for E.C, the registrar office will take at least 3 working days to provide you with one. 
• Property  tax receipts, Water consumption bill receipts, Electricity bill receipts [better to have these receipts for 3 months (water and electricity receipts, I mean) ]
• Original/Certified Copy of the sale/transfer deed by which your guarantor/co-applicant got rights to the property that you are submitting as collateral for the loan.
• Photo copies of the historical documents ( From the Mother document of the property to the document mentioned in the above listed point ) - This can be a big list of documents in itself.

Once we have the following documents, we can get the documents scrutinized by a member of the panel of advocates associated with a bank to provide a legal opinion. Only upon getting an affirmative response from one of the panel advocates could the property be accepted as a collateral.

4. It is mandatory to have I20 when we apply for the loan (That is what I am told by the Bank Managers). [What I do not understand is how will people manage to get I20 from the University. AFAIK, the students are using the loan sanction letter only during the Visa interview. Initially upon receiving the admission from the University, the university asks for financial proof documents - they do a initial screening and then only courier the I20 document to the students - This means that the Loan cannot be given as a financial proof to the University while requesting for the I20 document]

I hope you guys get the flavor of the procedures involved in availing an educational loan. This is NOT exhaustive compendium. This is just a post to share my experiences which I believe will aid the souls looking for information. Talking to advocates, Bank officers (who were very helpful in clarifying about the processes involved) will help you cross the bridge. Be warned that the loan application process may take a month's time at least. So PLAN ahead. 

Good Luck!

F1 - US Visa Application Process

After a month long hiatus, it feels good to be writing again. I wanted to share with the world, how streamlined the F-1 Visa application process is. The US consulate announcement on Sept 5th    US Consulate's announcement about the streamlined VISA application process has details about the changes in the process.

In short, following are the changes I found most-welcomed:

• All the fee payments are done online. DS-160 Fees and SEVIS fee - both can be played online. ( Earlier, the DS-160 fee had to be paid in one of the designated bank branches - Although this option is still available, we have an additional option of paying the fee online, which makes the process very convenient ) [It was 160 USD during December 2012]
• 2 Appointments - 1 for providing biometrics data at the US consulate and the second one for the Visa interview itself. First appointment has to be scheduled at least one day prior to the Visa interview appointment. - more importantly, both the appointments need not be at the same consulate office. This is a convenient option, especially for those people on the move and/or working.

I will summarize the steps involved in applying for F-1 Visa

1. Complete the DS-160 form - Keep a digital photograph that meets US Visa photograph requirements handy to complete the form. ( Fill and submit DS-160 here )
2. Fix the appointments - 1 for biometrics and the 2nd for Visa interview
3. Pay the SEVIS fee here [SEVIS fee was 200 USD during Dec 2012]

SEVIS - Students/Exchange Visitors Information System - SEVIS fee is towards maintenance of the SEVIS. If one gets an I20 from any of the Universities, the SEVIS will be updated. The Visa officer will have access to all the details regarding the I20s issued against one's name. So, during the Visa Interview, you might get occasional questions like 'Why are you applying for Visa for A eventhough you have I20s from A & B &...'. (Just a pointer)

Once the Visa is issued against a University name, if a student changes his/her mind to join a different University, he/she has to submit a fresh application for F-1 Visa.

My first post this new year. Wishing you all a very happy new year. I must say that the application process is much streamlined and it is just about following the steps, one by one. Happy New Year friends! - I hope to be active in this space this year. Fingers crossed. 

Ref: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-visaapply.asp

How to repeat tracks in SoundCloud.com

Ever since A.R.Rahman performed his new composition for the movie Kadal (a Tamizh movie directed by Maniratnam sir) for the song titled "Nenjukulle" on MTV Unplugged, people, I am sure, have been playing it in loop. For those who want to play the sound track repeatedly in youtube, we have youtube repeater service that is freely available. Details can be found here About Youtube Repeater

But, for those who prefer to use Soundcloud, there was no option to play a sound-track in loop. That is when the idea to create a bookmarklet to get the job done, dawned on me. Also, thanks to my friend Krishnan (a budding musician and a heavy user of SoundCloud) that I felt the need for this repeater functionality. 

Using the luxury of the search engines these days and Github, I could figure out that the problem was already solved. Just that I didnt find that the solution was neatly packaged so that people could use it, easily. I am doing the packaging of the solution here.

Credits:

Bookmarklet sourced from here

Vovik's bookmarklet.js on github

Drag and drop the link below to the bookmarks bar, so that the bookmarklet is installed in your browser. 

SoundCloudRepeater

Links:

1. How to use a bookmarklet

Youtube Repeater

All the music lovers out there, I am sure many of you would have the habit of listening to a song repeatedly for hours. It is annoying in a way, when you have to keep going back to the youtube tab to play the song again, each and every time the song is over.

I found an elegant solution online for the same. What makes the solution elegant is the ease with which any user can get benefitted from this solution available online. Well thought out, I must say.

How to play songs in loop on Youtube :

1. Let's say the song you are listening to is http://www.youtube.com/ABC
2. Add repeater in between "youtube" and ".com" and you are all set.(and everything else remains the same)
     Eg: http://www.youtuberepeater.com/ABC

Get addicted to the favorite tracks of yours.

Addiction is good!

Update:
I want to point out that if you are streaming youtube via https, merely adding repeater in the URL is not enough. You will have to change the URL so that you use http instead of https as well.

Content!!?

Content

 

Long road, pitch black night, walking alone, vulnerable

Not even shadow for company, forlorn

The winding road, every corner raising hopes of reaching the end

The so called fate making you walk to its tune

 

The Euphoria of taking the less-travelled road, long gone

Uncertainty in the mind leading to doubts about the path taken

Only the will and self-belief to guard against giving up

All the profound lessons in life helping you keep calm

 

Fear seeps through the mind, with every passing second

A real test of will, want and desire

With the last surge of energy to see it to culmination

The end comes, slowly, snail pace or so you feel

 

Content that the destination is reached

Feeling the worth of the struggle and pain

All the pieces of the jigsaw in place

We fly away happily having lived a life devoid of crassitude

GT

LCA - My attempt in deconstructing the recursive solution

Have given enough comments to explain the solution step by step.

/*LCA in a binary tree

Karumanchi Solution : Recursion (Found in http://www.flipkart.com/data-structures-algorithms-made-easy-java-1466304162/p/itmd34fz5jzb599u
Data Structures and Algorithms Made easy in Java
)

*/

//a, b -> parameters - nodes for which LCA is to be found out, they should remain unchanged throughout
BTNode LCA (BTNode root, BTNode a, BTNode b) {
BTNode left, right;

/*
Base Condition 1: if the root pointer is null - do nothing - return null
*/
if ( root == null ) return null;

/*
Base Condition 2: root pointer in this program is searching for a or b;
  so once we reach a or b, no more search is required.
*/
if ( root == a || root == b ) {
//Pointer comparison is enough here
return root;
}

/*
traverse left and right subtrees
*/

left  = LCA(root.getLeftChild(), a, b);
right = LCA(root.getRightChild(), a , b);

/*
Condition 1:

When nodes a and b are on either side (left and right) of a node,
we know that we have arrived at the LCA
*/
if ( !left && !right ) {
return root;
}

/*
Condition 2:

Condition that is required when both a and b are in the same subtree

        eg: 1
        2
        3

Here let a = 2 and b = 3; LCA of a and b in this case will be 1. 2 and 3 are in the same subtree

*/
return ( left ? left : right);

}