The Hackathon Circlejerk

Just like any other competitive activity that exists for students, like sports, or Model UN, hackathons too have their own little culture going. I know this by having attended plenty of these to predict that in the next hackathon I go to, I'm almost sure I'll run into someone I've met at a hackathon before.
However, I'm not convinced that's a good thing. For the sake of all students out there who still have the inspiration to get something meaningful done in their life, I sure as hell hope this doesn't become the next big trend among them unless the way hackathons work start to change, and I'm more than happy to explain why. Let this be a comprehensive guide to hackathons and what's currently wrong with them.
(I hope to cover every vendetta, personal or in general, that I hold against hackathons, so bear with me if this article is a little long)

You could argue that working on your own cool little project for 24 hours among other creative people with free food and drinks sounds petty awesome. And honestly, that would be true if hackathons were fair and perfect.
Unfortunately however, most of them are not; and all the people who frequent hackathons regularly know this as well.


That said though, some hackathons are not so terrible and are actually worth participating in. I'll start with the drawbacks of how hackathons work today, and move on to which ones you might consider going to.

Oh, the horrors

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A "hackathon" in today's terms is a horrible combination of: a) organizers who want to make money,
b) sponsors who want to shamelessly promote their brand which at times isn't even relevant to the event,
c) judges who want to steal ideas that have merit for their own company from unsuspecting college students (I'm obviously exaggerating, but it has happened before), and
d) participants who want to bring their month or year old finished product and compete so they can get an easy win.

So why is the system this bad? This kind of characteristic "circlejerk-esque" behavior is usually the result of an avalanche of moral decay caused by one bad persisting feature after another, such as :

• Restrictions on creativity :
• Not a single hackathon that I've been to has encouraged the idea of simply hacking together a neat project. Kind of ruins the central philosophy behind a hackathon, doesn't it? The criteria for winning involves "what can sell" instead of "what is fun". I understand why this might be necessary but maybe the reason why hackathons have such a bad stigma is because they're so unnecessarily commercialized. This has been the biggest shock for me since my first hackathon and I'm still adjusting to it. To me, any good idea has merit regardless of whether or not it can make someone money. This can easily be solved by having an open mind while judging or having a more relatable panel of judges altogether. An example of a parody hackathon that was a great satire against this problem was The Stupid Hackathon.

• A lot of hackathons have a "theme" that your project is supposed to comply with. That's fine with me, but the shitshow starts to surface when you have to use a certain platform/technology/stack by mandate. These are usually not announced prior to the hackathon commencing and even if you don't have to use it, they provide you some incentive to, which still sways a lot of the participants out of greed to win. This usually happens by intervention of the sponsors and can be solved by keeping the event agnostic to the sponsoring agent.

• Unfair practices :
• An overwhelming majority of hackathon winners are people who've begun well before the 24 hour time limit. A lot of people use hackathons as a break from their lives to come together and hack something new and innovative, and people like these who bring their already existing projects into the mix just ruin the spirit altogether. You can't confront them about it either as there are no specific rules in place about the shameless lengths you can go to for winning. Pre-screening projects before submission might be a small fix, but there needs to be a proper solution to this before hackathons turn into a cheap platform to just shout out your startup ideas into an indifferent crowd.

• Bad commercialization :
• You are judged by your presentation, not your project. As mentioned before, the judges are almost always swayed by profitable ideas instead of innovative solutions. This is because companies have stopped seeing hackathons as technical endeavors, so they send out people from marketing to judge. As a result, participants with strong presentations are seen as better candidates even if their technical stack aren't even in working condition. Sponsors need to start sending out actual developers and engineers who factor in things like code complexity and technical implementation in selecting the winners.

• Sponsors don't hesitate to shamelessly advertise themselves right in your face. Sure, I don't mind a brief intro and mentions about technologies I might actually use, but that rarely ever happens. The hackathon might have begun 12 hours ago, but there will still be a guy on stage talking about some weird product or API that has absolutely nothing to do with the hackathon or any of its themes. In retrospect, this is a bit sad to see because no one gives him/her any attention despite them having paid to be a sponsor for the event. Involving only strictly relevant sponsors doesn't sound like an impossible thing to do.

• Sucking up is more common than it should be. "Open hacks" aren't really open, all it means is "we'll let you code whatever you want, but we'll only favor those that are relevant to the sponsors". As ridiculous as it is for hackathons to expect you to "solve healthcare in 24 hours", it doesn't matter even if you manage to do so, because your neighboring team who wrote a bot with the sponsoring company's API is going to win. I get that there's always going to be some bias or the other from the judges, but maybe the sponsoring and judging entities should be kept isolated for this reason.

• Bad hygiene :
• As an 18 year old, going a day or two without sleep might be alright occasionally, but that can soon take a toll on you. Unfortunately, most hackathons encourage you to stay up and push through (even if they don't actually say it), and then act surprised when everyone seems too tired to present their ideas the next morning, and those that do, deliver unenthusiastic and mediocre presentations. This can be solved by increasing the duration of the event, and just having all the participants leave at night, or just halting the event altogether at midnight by turning the lights off and insisting that everyone gets some sleep. Few hackathons have successfully done this before.

• Junk food is pretty much the go-to solution for hackathons these days. Organizers have started to tie in with indoor caterers or simply bulk order from freshmenu for example, but I'd really like to see this done throughout in other smaller hackathons too.

But they're not all that bad

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If you absolutely insist on attending a hackathon or have already been sucked too deep into the culture to quit, there are ways to find out the few that provide a decent experience.

First off, avoid hackathons at colleges or other institutions. They are a perfect example of every horror I've listed above. If you replace professional organizers with a student body, you can't really expect anything different. Do not waste time in one of these unless it's a hackathon happening in your own college, and you don't mind killing a night with your friends.
Second, look for "branded" hackathons with a good reputation through the years. My city doesn't have many of these, but I'm aware that some of the hackathons in the US (some even from institutions) can be a fun experience as they've dealt with and refined the same problems over years and have pretty much turned hackathons into art at this point.
If you can't find anything like that, look for hackathons with only one sponsor overall. You can always tell these apart by the name of the event. You don't need to be a genius to know that the InMobi Hack Day is sponsored primarily just by InMobi. You still might have to deal with biased judges in this instance, but there at least won't be a conflict in themes and commercial interests. You can rest assured that they can afford to have more professional organizers who will help you out better when the need comes.
Lastly, if you do settle on a hackathon, call them up and inquire about the themes, the meals and the winning prizes. If they can't answer any of those questions or tell you that they will be answered at the event, you should consider calling it quits as any reason for doing so is almost always a bad one. This also helps to get a measure of how good or bad the organizers are going to be in general.

If you've finally settled for a hackathon that you're going to attend, whether a good or a bad one, here's a few a good things you can expect along the way :

• Learning : No matter how simple your idea is, you're going to be surprised how awfully difficult it can be to set things up when you're coding live. You're going to run into bugs you didn't even know could exist, and when it's not a bug, it will be a logical flaw in your planning itself. Dealing with these things under pressure is really an experience and will make you a better developer by the end of it all.



• Networking : Probably the biggest resource in a hackathon are the people around you. Go ahead and talk to the people and find out what they're hacking. You never know who among them could end up being a future teammate or help you get an internship.
• Actually build something : You and your friends will come up with a lot of crazy ideas over time and in your leisure, but how many of them are actually worked upon and completed? A hackathon is a really nice way to actually get people together and work on an idea that you've always had. It serves as a social event, and at the same time isn't quite, so you can use it as a convenient excuse to take a small break form your other commitments and responsibilities momentarily.
•  Bragging rights : Of course, winning a hackathon is always such a sweet feeling. Depending on how popular the hackathon in question is, it could also serve as a neat little badge on your resume. If the winning prize turns out to be decent too, that would be the icing on the cake.

I'm not playing Devil's advocate here though. My overall opinion was and still is, that hackathons suck.
If you've never been to a hackathon, or even fully understand what a hackathon is, that's good because you can't miss something you've never had. Next time someone invites you out for a random hackathon that doesn't match the above criteria, you can take the opportunity to laugh and promptly walk away. You're not missing out on much, I promise. Even if you have this insane idea for an app or website that will floor any competition, the experience of a hackathon is hardly worth the measly prize at the end of it. I'd advise you to just gather a bunch of enthusiastic people and try your luck as a startup instead. Even if it doesn't take off, your productivity and experience with reality along the journey will thank you.

Antiviruses and why they do more harm than good

It's been around four years since I've been using my current laptop and I have not had to deal with a single virus during that entire period (apart from the ones I made myself). To make that point hit you harder, I do not use an antivirus, and yes I run Windows.

I use the internet a lot, and while you might think I'm simply lucky, the truth is that there are loads of people who already do this. The idea is that there really are some foolproof methods you can apply to make viruses perpetually gone. We'll discuss those methods after I explain why antiviruses by themselves are not exactly safe.

Now you might be thinking : What's the big deal? So it's possible to avoid viruses, but I have an antivirus to keep myself on the safer side. It's not like it's doing me any harm.

Well, antiviruses can actually do a lot more harm than you think.

Antiviruses can often act bizarre and erratic. If you're trying to get some work done, this can be a bigger pain in the ass than having to deal with printers that were sent from hell.
The thing is, antiviruses try their best to keep your computer safe. Therefore by nature, it is suspicious of everything in your computer. The antivirus however doesn't know your computer as well as you do, which means that it will often target completely innocent files which can be crucial to keep your system running. As a result, the aftermath is often disastrous, or if you're lucky, just hilarious.
Which is why the really ironic part is this : The better the antivirus is, the harder it gets for the user to get his work done.

For example, this person's antivirus began to delete his system32 files.

Norton too is capable of funny fuckups.

If you've had an antivirus for long enough, you know exactly what I'm talking about. How many times did you download a harmless file for your school/work project only to have your antivirus flag it as malware and remove it from your system?
Not only does your antivirus take up memory and processing power that you could otherwise use for running your apps better, but sometimes antiviruses come with viruses bundled with them.
Pretty smart, huh? The people who make these viruses sure know what they're doing.

Fine, fine. So what do I have to do if I want to live without an antivirus?
I admit, when I first started out on the internet, I used an antivirus. Eventually, when I had to face all these problems, I realized I could do without them. I discovered the best way to avoid viruses is to use common sense.

I'm sorry if that's ambiguous (we will go a little into depth, don't worry), but rational thinking is all you need here to get you on your virus free path. Don't run files downloaded from untrustworthy sources, don't install shady plugins on your browser, don't visit sites that prompt you to install weird apps, etc.

You should pretty much already know these by now. You ignore ads that say you get a free iPad because you're the 10,000th visitor. You check reviews before downloading questionable software. You stay away from torrents that have surprisingly less seeders. All these are general ideas on how you simply have to use your intuition and be safe.

You can't get viruses from an image, or a song, so executables are the only offline resource that you need to be wary about when you download them. So if for some reason, you absolutely want to run such a file, and common sense isn't getting you far, then run the file through an online virus checker such as virustotal.com and if the site says the file is clean, then you're good. That's what I do when I download a crack or patch for a game, and I'm not sure it's safe.
You could even start a Virtual Machine and run the file in it for extreme cases. That will isolate the infection, if any, to only the Virtual Machine.

To be honest, that's all there is to it. Majority of the people I know who've complained about viruses simply missed out on the above in some instance or another. They might have visited a site with a slightly mistyped URL and downloaded something from there, or they installed a certain media player because a random online streaming site asked them to do so. Those were the most popular cases that I encountered.

Whether or not you use your antivirus beyond this point is upto you, but when people ask me what antivirus I recommend, I make sure they know that I don't, and I hope you will one day be a part of that crew, if you aren't already.

Top ten typos that you need to stop making

Spelling right isn't just for Grammar Nazis. It's for anyone who doesn't want to look like an annoying little prick.
Because you know what's more annoying than people correcting your spellings all the time?
That's right, your spellings themselves.

If you're not new to the English language, then I don't see why it's just so hard to spell words right. Some intentionally shorten words for convenience (not very convenient to the person reading it), and at other times, the typos are mere accidents; for which we have a backspace key. Use it.

I've seen enough typos to even compile my own top ten list.
Every time someone makes a typo that's on this list, my dictionary grabs a match and sets itself on fire.

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Presenting to you : My own top ten list of words that you need to stop misspelling.

10. Lose and Loose

Lose: Opposite of win
There's no way that I'm gonna lose the grand prize.

Loose: Not tight.
Turns out that the prize was a pair of loose pants.

9. Weird and Wierd

Weird: the 'i' comes after the 'e'.
This word is an exception to the I before E except after C rule.

Wierd: Every time you spell it this way, a dolphin gets run over by a jet ski.

8. Then and Than

Then: used for time
First I got high, then I tried to solve the Rubik's cube while eating an apple.
('then' indicates that one action happened before another. It separates events based on when they occurred)   

Than: used for comparison.
I am much better at eating an apple than eating a Rubik's cube.
(than compares my ability to eat an apple to my ability to eat a Rubik's cube) 

7. A lot and Alot.

A lot: Remember to leave a space there.
Don't forget that there's a lot of space in outer space.

Alot: is not a word.
You don't write alittle, abunch, akangaroo or adouchebag.
So don't write alot.

6. Weather and Whether

Weather: Snow, rain, sunshine, typhoons. All that crap.

Whether: Used this way :
Your correct usage of this word will determine whether or not I kick you in the balls.

5. Advice and Advise

Advice: is used as a noun.
Take my advice. I don't use it anyway.

Advise: is used as a verb.
If Arvind advises you on spelling, you must suck really bad.

4. Definitely

There is no "A" in "definitely".

If you put an A in "definitely", then you're definitely an A-hole.

3. It's and Its

It's: Contraction for "it is" or "it has".

Its: Indicating possession.

It's not fine to tell your dictionary that its the most unused object in the house.

2. Your and You're

Your: indicates that something belongs to you.

You're: Contraction of "you are".

You're really pathetic if your spellings suck.

1. Their, They're and There

This one is every Grammar Nazi's worst nightmare. 3 words that are spelled differently, but sound just the same.

Their: Their cow keeps eating the leftover casserole.
They're: They're gonna get a shovel to the face unless they keep that cow under control.
There: Look over there! The cow turned into an alien.

You can always use Google if you're not sure how to spell a word.
Bad spellings can also make a lot of what you write look very unprofessional, so maintaining a good spelling habit is a good idea is general.
It's even fine otherwise - You know, if the keys on your keyboard are floating around and switching places, you need not worry. Dyslexia is treatable.
Cheers.

(There were no blog posts during September because I had exams + I had way too many distractions to do anything even close to productive)

Source(s) : Personal experience, The Oatmeal.

A record every day

This post is part of the "First Few Old Blog Posts" archive.
You could expect a certain lack of coherency/maturity from these posts.

One particularly interesting fact about my weird life is that I have an obsession with getting stuff done. Even if any work at that point happens to be non existent.
If any day passes by without any significant reduction from my workload/to-do list or any addition to my personal records , then that day is to be considered as a complete waste of time and energy.

Now , if you've read my older blogs , then you'll know that I am an OCD patient. What that means is that I need to consistently keep a track of any work done , any work that shouldn't be done , any work that should be done in the future , and so on.
Out of all these , obviously the most important is to keep track of any work that needs to be done in the future. This is why last year , I furnished a complete To-Do list of every work that needs to be done by me at some point later. As of now , the list stands in 57 points of work that needs finishing. All the points mentioned on the list do not consist of everyday work such as shopping or cleaning the lawn as some might expect , but it is rather a collection of long term projects such as learning Android Development or writing a previously thought out novel.

I hold this list to high regard. Every point noted within demands a lot of time , patience and energy which would in some way or the other benefit me later either by self gratification . or by any other method.
When I look back to my past , I see the transition or marking progress. When I was 10 , I used to see how much I had progressed every year. By the time I was 13 , I measured progress monthly. And now at 15 , I do so in a more or so , daily/weekly manner.

The next point and the most important point is the one presented by the title of this blog.
And that is my commitment to setting records.
You see , every now and then , I attempt activities that are not listed in my to-do list either because they are not important enough or they produce inconsiderable results. Among these , I put forward great emphasis on personal achievements.

What sort of personal achievements you ask?
Well let's say that just today , I got chased by a beggar for the first time , I walked over a sewer bridge for the first time , I tripped over a road divider for the first time and I was ambushed by a group of crows for the first time.

It's just that the possibility of doing "firsts" fascinates me. The fact that I'm doing (or being done) something for the first time in my life gives me a great deal of satisfaction and that is why I deliberately put myself in such situations where such "firsts" are possible.
Like for example , all those "firsts" that I accomplished today , they were the result of deliberately choosing to walk all the way to my friend's house , rather than taking a cab (or an auto in linguistic precision).

This is why sometimes , instead of sitting at home and trying to contemplate on sad and stupid stuff , I sometimes set foot outside my house to get some achievement accomplished.
Just this month , during the Diwali dinner held at school , I accomplished a lot of "firsts".
I took pictures with every girl in my class (except 2 because they did not turn up to the party)
I wore a suit for a good whole of an hour
I confessed to a watchman how hideous his uniform was
I walked 10 meters on my toes and most importantly ,
I ran through every corridor that the school had (a pretty great task considering that the party was held at the grounds implying that every corridor was fucking dark and deserted)

And the most daring firsts were also recorded this very month
I stayed 24 hours without food
I stayed 24 hours without water (on separate days) (dehydration is worse than hunger. I had to sleep more than half of the day to keep myself distracted)
I slept for 20 hours straight
I ate a burger for every hour in a day
And most importantly - I got drunk for the first time (this was just last week and it was just a few simple glasses of beer , nothing to worry about)

So , yup. With all these stuff to do , I take pride in saying that almost every day , I am setting and breaking records. It seems eminent that with so much , soon I will be needing a list to maintain all these achievements , and every achievement that was close to completion and every achievement that should be avoided  , and so on.

So , yup. That is it. In summary , I give high regard to working and achieving. Something that I take pride in.
I know that many of the records as such do not present much moral value and you will dissent in opinion about the necessity of performing such acts , but I assure you that they were all executed in safe environments. The last think I want you to assume is me being a reckless teen. Pssh , me? I barely even get out of my house.

I just think that this is my blog , and it needs to contain any personal habit that needs to be mentioned. Also , I haven't posted a self centered blog in a very long time.