Considering how much I love putting web pages up online, it has taken me quite a while getting my personal homepage out into the world wide web. I guess I never really knew what to put on here. And static web pages are just not my thing. So to make things interesting for me (and obviously for you, dear visitor), I've put up a simple messaging system where you can contact me without ever leaving this page. Very similar to a guest book, I must say, but one where we can keep a conversation going, if both of us so care.
As you can see below, I can ramble quite a bit. If you don't want so much detail, please visit my resume.
Each phase of my education has been completed in different countries. I finished my schooling in Kuwait. I got my Bachelors degree in Computer Science Engineering from India. And now I'm currently half way through getting my Masters in Computer Science from the US.
My professional interests include wireless networks and security. I've worked quite extensively with Network Simulator 3 both in undergrad (by choice) and in grad school (as part of coursework). I've developed routing protocols with various security features incorportaed in them. I've co-authored a paper on preventing denial of service attacks in wireless mesh networks. As a part of course work, I implemented a Chord Network for NS3 and developed a distributed hash table over it.
Besides that, I like making web pages as a hobby. I've been putting together web pages on and off for the past 8 years. A rudimnetary social network for schools in Kuwait was one of my first major efforts way back in 2003. I also wrote and maintained a Twitter client on a free webhosting server till they shut me down for violating their ToS. Apparently I could not run a Twitter client on their servers! That was one of the 'funnest' projects I've done especially because I had an active user base who regularly used the app and gave me feedback. Maybe that's why I love developing web apps. No donwloads necessary and changes are almost immediate. The only down side is Internet Explorer. Nothing ever displays correctly on IE. I've developed web pages using Java and PHP. I've never used Rails though and that's something I'd love to correct very soon
In Spring 2011, I was a grader for CIS 330 which is an undergraduate databases class here at Penn. I took an active role in helping students with their project, an Oracle based web app. I also conducted a tutorial session to help familiarise them with the various web technologies. Right now, I intern at Nomadio, a software company in Philly that specialises in network technologies. Their most prominent project and one that I am a part of is Connectify, a software router.
I love sports. But nowadays, I just mostly watch them. I'm good at cricket, but I haven't played that in a couple years either. I've taken to following American sports in the time I've been year, baseball being the exception. I simply cannot stand that game. Ice hockey (or simply hockey here) on the other hand is one of the most exciting of sports. I love the wild outdoors. Spending time away from the sounds of the city is the most wonderful feeling in the world. I spent three blissful days in the Shenandoah National Park in May, 2011. Waking up to the sound of birds, gazing at the stunning sunsets and the gorgeous vistas. There's nothing more calming than that.
I don't believe I'm much of a talker, but I love to write. Anybody this far into my drivel would have realized that by now. I find playing with words and making puns (aka groaners) especially rewarding. You can find some of my efforts at Artwiculate. I also dabbled in micropoetry about a year or two ago. Reading is another passtime, Jeffrey Archer and John Grisham being two of my favorite authors. I watch TV occasionally, mostly comedy. I loved How I Met Your Mother for a while, but now it just makes me want to stab myself. I think Big Bang Theory is funny and quite clever. So is The Office. The only hour long show that I watched was Boston Legal. James Spader and William Shatner were simply outstanding in it.