My Hobbies...

RAMADJI.com

Programming

Programming can be stressful and painful but it's a lot of fun when one gets things to work according the a good logic. One cannot program and not express programming errors. They are unavoidable. But with practice, one can reduce the number of trivial errors considerably. My stay at RIT has really helped me straighten up my programming  skills. I love Java programming ( socket programming, Threads, SWING, RMI), PHP ( Web Applications), c ( kernel hacking), c++, python, Mathlab, Pascal, SQL, xhtml...  Programming is key towards becoming a good hacker. Once you really knows the ins and outs of one language be it procedural or OOP, you can easily adapt to a new language. The core concepts are the same.

There are some good programming tutorials out there online. If you would like to learn, I will encourage you to give it a try. You will need some patience, a lot of persistence, and some determination to improve.

Computer Hacking

One of my hobbies is computer hacking. Don't get me wrong! I am a white hat not a black hat. I hack into my home network ( isolated from the outside world of course) for learning purposes and in order to better secure the networks and systems I am in charge of. I don't hack to hurt others. That's evil and I am against evil in all its forms. Hackers build and crackers wreck. It's crucial to point out here that the term 'hacker' has been distorted by many and has been tied to people who harm and destroy. That's a misinterpretation. Hackers are people who search and want to understand in the microscopic details how things work.

The real definition(s) of a hacker are:

1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.

2. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.

3. A person who pursues programming as an artistic passion and enjoys solving complex problems.

The hacker culture existed from the early days of computer science in the 1970s. It started to spread from the MIT.( read this article to learn more about the origin of the word).

Anyway, I enjoy trying new stuffs, new techniques, new technologies for the sake of learning. I strongly believe the paradigm "the best defense is offense". I believe that in order to beat our enemies, we need to know them well. You got it, one of my favorite books is the legendary 'The Art of War', by Sun Tzu. It fully applies to the computer world.

I also got the virus of Linux Kernel hacking after working on a project at the Lab for Wireless Networks and Security where I hacked into the Linux kernel to implement a predictive handover scheme for mobile IPv6. It was a challenging task but a great and rewarding experience for me. I had never do kernel hacking before but I took the project and I was able to get some good results after months of sleepless nights in the lab.

That said,  I got initiated to kernel hacking by my good Chinese friend Yue Wu a.k.a Wuman a.k.a Wu ( MS in computer science, class of 2004, RIT). He is a darn good programmer and I have learned a lot from him. During our first year in the MS program @ RIT, we used to spend days at Java Wally's Cafe located next to the Wally library studying and talking computers, programming,.... Many people thought that we were renting the cafe because we were omnipresent there. Many other friends joined us later on.  I miss those days.

Writing

Writing is my drug. I write when I am happy. I write when I am stressed, depressed. I write when the world drives me nuts. I write when I am jealous, in love, disappointed. I write about just everything. I can't imagine myself being alive and not writing. I always have a notepad on me to scratch any ideas I have, any rhymes that cross my mind, any synopsis for possible cartoons, any ideas for rap lyrics. I just love writing. It gives some meaning to my existence. So, enjoy some of my modest pieces of writing.

Poetry ( my poetry coming soon!)

Articles ( I will place a collection of my articles here)

Technical papers

          R. Doumnande et al., "Seamless Handover and Roaming using Linux Mobile IPv6 in wireless LANs", 1st IEEE Upstate NY Communications and Networking Workshop Proceedings, Rochester IEEE Communications and Aerospace Joint Chapters, November 12, 2004.

          R. Doumnande, " A Predictive Handover Scheme for Mobile IPv6", Laboratory for Wireless Networks and Security, Center for Advancing the Study of Cyberspace, Rochester Institute of Technology, 2004.

Blogging,

is the act of writing in one's blog. To blog something is to write about something in one's blog. This usually involves linking to something the author finds interesting on the internet. codex.wordpress.org/index.php

http://ramadji.blogspot.com, http://bringhissenehabre2justice.wordpress.com , http://ramadji.wordpress.com , http://tchadfederal.blogspot.com ,

Painting

Drawing

Cartoons

Video Games

Comanche

Apache

Delta Force

F16

secret service

Soccer

FIFA

http://www.cafonline.com/

Basket Ball

NBA

Travels

I don't really like flying. I am claustrophic about it. I am also claustrophic about heights and darkness ( tunnels).  Every time I go to NYC and I have to go through the Lincoln Tunnel, I hate it. It was pretty scary at the beginning but now, I am getting over all that.

I love going on road-trip like I use to do back home in Chad. Going on long road-trips is a lot of fun, especially when done with friends. You get to discover the landscapes, the real people, the roads,... And you can take turns driving and enjoy the trip. I went a few of them with my friends. In 2003, we went to New Orleans from Rochester on a road-trip with Fuyuko Takegawa ( Japan), Yue Wu ( China) and Keisuke Yamamoto ( Japan). It took up more than 24hrs drive to get down to Big Easy. We visited the French Quarter. It was during Mardi Gras and people went really crazy down there.

I went to Boston, MA.,  driving, with Fuyuko, Wu, Safket ( Bangladesh) and we met some other friends over there. It was a great trip and I have beautiful memories of it. We visited Harvard, spent some time on Harvard Square ( where 'A beautiful Mind' was shot), visited Chinatown, Quincy Market (Fuyuko and I spent hours there),...

Fuyuko, Wu, Yama-chan ( Keisuke) and I drove to DC to see MJ play his last game in the NBA. The MCI center was full that day. Yao Ming, the giant China man was also playing that day and I think it brought a lot of pride to my friend Wu who is Chinese.

In May 2005, along with a group of friends from my Sunday school at BCC, we went on a road trip to Indianapolis, IN to attend the Indy mini-marathon. I drove twelve hours straight to get to Indy and the next day, I drove one and a half hour to get to IUB Bloomington. I spent the night and the next day I drove back to Indy, join my friends and we hit the road toward Rochester, NY. It was a real marathon but it was really fun. I love driving so I definitely had a good time. My friend Jill Blackington ( from Canandaigua) who was driving her car impressed me. We went straight from Indy to Rochester. She started calling me driving animal and I find it cool. She is  a driving animal too. She drove more than 12 hrs without being replaced.

Besides those trips, I drove a number of times from Rochester, NY to Washington,DC. It was fun even though it was quite boring. Fuyuko helped me a few number of times by driving alone to give me rides to the demonstrations I led in DC. She never let me drive at the time and I think she likes driving too.

Since I have moved to DC, I don't drive much anymore. I take the metro to work and the bus system is pretty good here. So, my car is parked. I use it on weekend to good get some groceries or go to a coffee shop.