While coming to the office this morning, I saw a defunct petrol pump. There was an advertisement board which from a popular Oil company which said, we dedicate this year to the most important customer this year : YOU. Just below the board, there were goats tied to the legs of the board.
The petrol bunk was defunct. We might have some defunct petrol bunks soon. The Shell Petrol bunk has lost many customers because the petrol rate is almost 73/= bucks. Yesterday I saw Avinash cycling to (office?) I guess. A new trend in Bangalore. I would have done that if the dist <=10km. Firefox cycles look pretty cool.
I guess oil crisis will be a major problem in the next coming decades. Finding a source of energy is a major concern these days. What could be the next source of energy. Nuclear energy would be the best. A drop of anti matter can make my Swift car run for probably 1000 years. But producing such a drop and also the cost to make the energy safely usable is a different story.
Also one comment on the mode of locomotion. Rewind back 200 years ago. The whole world was of full different human beings than the ones living today. Their tranportation needs were supported by horses and ships for long and short distances respectively.Roads might have been full of horse shit and half-eaten hay, I guess.
Speaking of horse shit, I am reminded about one point on global warming. It seems cows and buffaloes cause global warming because of hydrocarbons they release! You can the news about it here. Cow farts harming the planet. Another link about "Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars".
No wonder that villages with so many cows might be polluted areas, despite sanitation problems. On second thoughts this survey and idea might be promoted by some organization. Anything is possible.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Kannada Haadugalu
I feel glad that Kannada music has found a new breath of fresh air.
I think this is a Renaissance of sorts ..
post Chi. Udayshankar Kannada songs were totally non-hummable (i dont know if thats a word) with occasional decent numbers from Hamasalekha..
and then V. ravichandran started acting, direction, lyrics, music, etc etc etc .. and screwed Hamsalekha ..
Then there was the new star - Gurukiran who did some good numbers and good albums too (I like Jogi).. then the runaway hit - Mungaru Male .. The film is seriously nothing better than mediocre ... not sure why it was such a block buster..
Then there has been a marked improvement .. My guess is the old directors like S.Narayan, Om prakash etc are losing their grip in the industry and new directors (music too) are taking a modern outlook and contributing more...
I was pleasantly surprised the radio channels were playing more kannada songs than hindi (though repetitive).. Some songs I picked up during my trip
- Kaddalu manasanna from Mussanje maatu - starts very well , but loses steam quickly
- aakasha ishte yaakideyo - liked it very much.. especially for this line "EE DOSTIYE NAMMA CHATA " .. am pondering over this.. is this still true in my life ?? it used to be
- Jinke marina na - dint like it much.. but they do play umpteen times..
my iPhone as a dozen plus new Kannada songs ..
(this is just to show off that I have an iPhone.. go the 3G version one guys.. I think Airtel is getting it in August.. looking at the US price $199 with a two year contract, there should not be a high price in India too.. Hutchison is releasing iPhone in HK on July 11th... interesting to c what the price would be .. am sure it would be runaway hit in HK .. there are 100,000 unlocked phones which sell at HKD 4000 already in HK)
on bollywood front.. there is Jannat (Lambi judai, Zara se ) and Kabhi Kabhi Aditi (Aamir's nephew's movie)..
kannada songs rock .. (literally)
I think this is a Renaissance of sorts ..
post Chi. Udayshankar Kannada songs were totally non-hummable (i dont know if thats a word) with occasional decent numbers from Hamasalekha..
and then V. ravichandran started acting, direction, lyrics, music, etc etc etc .. and screwed Hamsalekha ..
Then there was the new star - Gurukiran who did some good numbers and good albums too (I like Jogi).. then the runaway hit - Mungaru Male .. The film is seriously nothing better than mediocre ... not sure why it was such a block buster..
Then there has been a marked improvement .. My guess is the old directors like S.Narayan, Om prakash etc are losing their grip in the industry and new directors (music too) are taking a modern outlook and contributing more...
I was pleasantly surprised the radio channels were playing more kannada songs than hindi (though repetitive).. Some songs I picked up during my trip
- Kaddalu manasanna from Mussanje maatu - starts very well , but loses steam quickly
- aakasha ishte yaakideyo - liked it very much.. especially for this line "EE DOSTIYE NAMMA CHATA " .. am pondering over this.. is this still true in my life ?? it used to be
- Jinke marina na - dint like it much.. but they do play umpteen times..
my iPhone as a dozen plus new Kannada songs ..
(this is just to show off that I have an iPhone.. go the 3G version one guys.. I think Airtel is getting it in August.. looking at the US price $199 with a two year contract, there should not be a high price in India too.. Hutchison is releasing iPhone in HK on July 11th... interesting to c what the price would be .. am sure it would be runaway hit in HK .. there are 100,000 unlocked phones which sell at HKD 4000 already in HK)
on bollywood front.. there is Jannat (Lambi judai, Zara se ) and Kabhi Kabhi Aditi (Aamir's nephew's movie)..
kannada songs rock .. (literally)
Friday, June 06, 2008
Psycho
The word Psycho reminds me of that legendary movie made by Alfred Hitchcock. However, there is a new Kannada movie by that name !The promotional artwork looks interesting. Looks very "scorpion"ish.....
But this movie came to my notice because of this song.
Very distinct rock sound. And the part when the singer says "karunadhi kayo" (in the lyrics). I am reminded of Rajkumar. Thats how he would have sung it for sure.
You really got to listen to this song if you haven't heard it. It is by a "Mysore Rocker" called Raghu Dixit.
By the way Raj had sung a some thing of a rock song apart from the infamous Eeef you come today
Sunday, June 01, 2008
somethings on my mind now..
Martial Arts - Karate, Kung Fu, Taekwando
Yoga??
Bangalore, Chitradurga visit..
BCB, Vidyarthi bhavan.. adda..
IT / non-IT for carrer - just read an article on how IT has transformed some rural youth.. household income changing from 15K/ year to 3 lakhs/ year and the role of JKC (Jawahar Knowledge Centers)
How to lose (_____) ?? the obvious thing to fill in the blank
Methanol market in China..
and now back to work...
Yoga??
Bangalore, Chitradurga visit..
BCB, Vidyarthi bhavan.. adda..
IT / non-IT for carrer - just read an article on how IT has transformed some rural youth.. household income changing from 15K/ year to 3 lakhs/ year and the role of JKC (Jawahar Knowledge Centers)
How to lose (_____) ?? the obvious thing to fill in the blank
Methanol market in China..
and now back to work...
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Weekly ponderings
Saturday evenings are better than Sunday evenings. You still have one day more. I've realised planning weekends well in advance is good, so that you can maximize the fun.
Suddenly the words optimize, maximize are very much a part of vocabulary as I keep browsing the radio allocator software component. It tries to optimize the usage of carrier bandwidth on the air interface. It is supposed to be the most complex software component in our software suite and I am looking at it for the first time. It tries to allocate radio channels to mobile phones and also does something called as "Timeslot aggregation" (where in one mobile can use several timeslots) and "Timeslot partitioning" (where in one timeslot can be used by several mobiles at different times). Basically it is a problem of optimization of resources.
Ah the above paragraph might not have been interesting.
I have typed so much, yet I feel I have not typed something which is interesting. What exactly is interesting ? I think interesting/uninteresting can be related to will and also energy. If
you feel tired, you won't be interested in anything. Interest has something to do with a sense of purpose which may play a key role in badi zindagi. By "badi Zindagi " , I mean the dialog from the movie Anand where the dialogue "Zindagi lambi nahin, badi hona chahiye".
I am bewildered and fascinated by the piece of news regarding the uncontacted amazon Indians. Very interesting. At least I find it very interesting. At the moment I feel like putting on a hat like Indiana Jones and going to the amazon basin. The pictures are just stunning to say the least. Wow! just imagine how surprised they will be to see people flying around in planes. It will be too much of a shock for those guys. In the same way, I hope some really advanced tribe contacts us and we too are shocked like the guys in the picture.
What kind of gadgets would I like to see? I would like to see an exact software model of the human brain. Our loved ones might be mere mortals. But the concept and the thought and the way they respond to events are immortal. So take a backup of your human brain and store it in a disc. Another technology I would like to see is antimatter production and storage. One drop of antimatter can power an entire city. It would solve the energy crisis. Time travel and travelling at the speed of light. And something more realistic, would be short distance flight with a pair of mechanical wings like Icarus.
Hmmm. It is gonna be 9:00. I have to sleep now given the fact that I didn't sleep yesterday till 2:30.
Suddenly the words optimize, maximize are very much a part of vocabulary as I keep browsing the radio allocator software component. It tries to optimize the usage of carrier bandwidth on the air interface. It is supposed to be the most complex software component in our software suite and I am looking at it for the first time. It tries to allocate radio channels to mobile phones and also does something called as "Timeslot aggregation" (where in one mobile can use several timeslots) and "Timeslot partitioning" (where in one timeslot can be used by several mobiles at different times). Basically it is a problem of optimization of resources.
Ah the above paragraph might not have been interesting.
I have typed so much, yet I feel I have not typed something which is interesting. What exactly is interesting ? I think interesting/uninteresting can be related to will and also energy. If
you feel tired, you won't be interested in anything. Interest has something to do with a sense of purpose which may play a key role in badi zindagi. By "badi Zindagi " , I mean the dialog from the movie Anand where the dialogue "Zindagi lambi nahin, badi hona chahiye".
I am bewildered and fascinated by the piece of news regarding the uncontacted amazon Indians. Very interesting. At least I find it very interesting. At the moment I feel like putting on a hat like Indiana Jones and going to the amazon basin. The pictures are just stunning to say the least. Wow! just imagine how surprised they will be to see people flying around in planes. It will be too much of a shock for those guys. In the same way, I hope some really advanced tribe contacts us and we too are shocked like the guys in the picture.
What kind of gadgets would I like to see? I would like to see an exact software model of the human brain. Our loved ones might be mere mortals. But the concept and the thought and the way they respond to events are immortal. So take a backup of your human brain and store it in a disc. Another technology I would like to see is antimatter production and storage. One drop of antimatter can power an entire city. It would solve the energy crisis. Time travel and travelling at the speed of light. And something more realistic, would be short distance flight with a pair of mechanical wings like Icarus.
Hmmm. It is gonna be 9:00. I have to sleep now given the fact that I didn't sleep yesterday till 2:30.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Roti Kapada Makan
another day at the office .. weather is cloudy.. but f'in humid..
read a great article about why the commodity prices are so high.. which was inline with my argument and against goldman sacchs argument and I feel happy..
short answer is not demand being strong and supply being short as said by Goldman,
but investment companies buying commodities with billions of dollars ..
one example given was striking .. it seems investment compnies have so much Corn in future contracts that it would be enough for the whole US ethanol industry to run at 100% production rates for a whole year and plus..
if you are investing in US mutual funds u r doing a crime against humanity :P .. kidding..
the essence was that US government should regulate commodities market anta ...
looks like free markets and capitalism is already killing ROTI and MAKAN of the ROTI KAPDA MAKAN combo..
back to methanol.. there is a comment from the boss
read a great article about why the commodity prices are so high.. which was inline with my argument and against goldman sacchs argument and I feel happy..
short answer is not demand being strong and supply being short as said by Goldman,
but investment companies buying commodities with billions of dollars ..
one example given was striking .. it seems investment compnies have so much Corn in future contracts that it would be enough for the whole US ethanol industry to run at 100% production rates for a whole year and plus..
if you are investing in US mutual funds u r doing a crime against humanity :P .. kidding..
the essence was that US government should regulate commodities market anta ...
looks like free markets and capitalism is already killing ROTI and MAKAN of the ROTI KAPDA MAKAN combo..
back to methanol.. there is a comment from the boss
Sunday night blogging.As usual stringent office rules makes it possible to check blogspot only on weekends. Pity.
I had been to the town Mulbagal a religious town near Bangalore this Sunday. I think just like how human beings are born, thrive and pass out...so do civilizations and cities. Some cities like Rome are very successful. They have a very rich cultural, economic heritage for thousands of years, whereas some towns become something like a "Lost World". The people move away to other places because their importance diminishes after that golden era. However the buildings speak about the swan songs of "those old days". Mulbagal might have been such a place. Some buildings are reclaimed by trees , rocks and grasses ....Hidden between the forests you find dilapidated buildings....Bangalore might become such a place after tens of hundreds of years.
Meanwhile at Mulbagal I saw the sparrow. The House Sparrow. The sparrow was a bird which was superbly adapted to Urban life in Bangalore in 80s and early 90s, competing with the crows. Today you don't find sparrows in Bangalore. They are extinct in the city. Suddenly they are gone. Today I was lucky to spot a thriving population of sparrows in Mulbagal. I read in an article in outlook. Sparrows feed on rice grains. But the young ones of sparrows need plenty of insects. And they were harmed significantly by the cell phone radiation and so on. I liked the chirps they made. It was pure nostalgia. There is kind of birds' biodiversity in RRNagar. I see white cranes in the morning feeding on banyan leaves' left over food competing with the crows and pigeons. And another strange bird which I have never seen in any place other than RRNagar. I see them only in the mornings.
But the road leading to Mulbagal was narrow. I was driving a Lancer and I was drivin at 70 to 80kmph and occasionally at100kmph. But since the road was narrow, I would get some sudden surprises.
Hmmm .... Getting geared for another grind of a week. I guess I am starting off some new things at works. Hope they go well. Keeping fingers crossed.
I had been to the town Mulbagal a religious town near Bangalore this Sunday. I think just like how human beings are born, thrive and pass out...so do civilizations and cities. Some cities like Rome are very successful. They have a very rich cultural, economic heritage for thousands of years, whereas some towns become something like a "Lost World". The people move away to other places because their importance diminishes after that golden era. However the buildings speak about the swan songs of "those old days". Mulbagal might have been such a place. Some buildings are reclaimed by trees , rocks and grasses ....Hidden between the forests you find dilapidated buildings....Bangalore might become such a place after tens of hundreds of years.
Meanwhile at Mulbagal I saw the sparrow. The House Sparrow. The sparrow was a bird which was superbly adapted to Urban life in Bangalore in 80s and early 90s, competing with the crows. Today you don't find sparrows in Bangalore. They are extinct in the city. Suddenly they are gone. Today I was lucky to spot a thriving population of sparrows in Mulbagal. I read in an article in outlook. Sparrows feed on rice grains. But the young ones of sparrows need plenty of insects. And they were harmed significantly by the cell phone radiation and so on. I liked the chirps they made. It was pure nostalgia. There is kind of birds' biodiversity in RRNagar. I see white cranes in the morning feeding on banyan leaves' left over food competing with the crows and pigeons. And another strange bird which I have never seen in any place other than RRNagar. I see them only in the mornings.
But the road leading to Mulbagal was narrow. I was driving a Lancer and I was drivin at 70 to 80kmph and occasionally at100kmph. But since the road was narrow, I would get some sudden surprises.
Hmmm .... Getting geared for another grind of a week. I guess I am starting off some new things at works. Hope they go well. Keeping fingers crossed.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Random things
* Well , an update from the previous post....Well it seems it is an original. But here is a background music which resembles the hutch ad.
* Meanwhile I managed to catch the movie "The Pink Panther" (the one by Steve Martin...I have heard that the Peter Sellers' version is better). I loved a few aspects of the movie (like the Hamburger scene) .... and the way they kind of make pun on the French way....If you can, try to catch the movie.
* Anyone is following IPL ? I will see from the semi-finals , I guess. I was initially angry with the team selection of Royal Challengers. But now I care a hoot for the team. After Dravid and Co. keeps losing,losing,losing,losing,losing,losing,losing,losing matches, I guess they can change their team motto to "They came, they saw, they lost". And the team name could be "Royal Losers" or Royally Challenged (LMAO) ?
Rajasthan Royals is my new favorite. So many unknowns in the team, yet such a nice performance.
* I had a look at the new BIAL airport, just timing from my house. The airport itself looks damn cool... It may be around 2.5 hours on a weekend. From Electronics City, it could be a different story altogether. Three hours minimum.
* I have noticed a growing trend. Being a Software Engineer in Bangalore for quite sometime, I feel, the Software Parks are decentralizing and many people are moving to the city closer to their homes. Chennai and Hyderabad are already established in the South. In the north, we have Gurgaon and Noida. Pune is also an option and for the Easterners Calcutta. Although I don't endorse any extremist views, I feel, finally after devouring Bangalore's infrastructure and after complaining endlessly, "India Inc." is decentralizing.
* I have been wondering about the term "individuality". What exactly is individuality ? Does it get killed by teamwork/environment which you live in ? In my opinion no man keeps his behaviour constant. Behaviour depends on environment. At least Sudeep in 2001 != Sudeep in 2008 (as far as behaviour, opinions is concerned)
* I was following some nondescript TV program in the morning. Heard that City Market was called Seegeballi in 1900s, which was an affluent residential cum commercial area at that time. There was a plague breakout during that time. The then Maharaja of Mysore asked the local vendors to move to beyond the hillocks...beyond a temple which we now know as "Bull Temple". The area was christened as NarasimhaRaja Colony in honor of the king. Thus NR Colony was born. The layout had site-rates of Rs.30 for a 40 x 60 site in NR Colony. Thats when gold was values at 8/- per souren.
* Some people are unbelievably innocent. I wonder how they lived for so many years ? I am still reeling in disbelief! Some people are methodical...They rigorously follow a something like a "ten-things-to-do-before-i-die" list and live by it. All the best for them....But also remember to take life as it comes :-) ...I am noticing a pattern in the human society. Everything is so inter-connected. A subject of another post when the thoughts are crystallized.
* Morning walks and runs are good fun.
* Meanwhile I managed to catch the movie "The Pink Panther" (the one by Steve Martin...I have heard that the Peter Sellers' version is better). I loved a few aspects of the movie (like the Hamburger scene) .... and the way they kind of make pun on the French way....If you can, try to catch the movie.
* Anyone is following IPL ? I will see from the semi-finals , I guess. I was initially angry with the team selection of Royal Challengers. But now I care a hoot for the team. After Dravid and Co. keeps losing,losing,losing,losing,losing,losing,losing,losing matches, I guess they can change their team motto to "They came, they saw, they lost". And the team name could be "Royal Losers" or Royally Challenged (LMAO) ?
Rajasthan Royals is my new favorite. So many unknowns in the team, yet such a nice performance.
* I had a look at the new BIAL airport, just timing from my house. The airport itself looks damn cool... It may be around 2.5 hours on a weekend. From Electronics City, it could be a different story altogether. Three hours minimum.
* I have noticed a growing trend. Being a Software Engineer in Bangalore for quite sometime, I feel, the Software Parks are decentralizing and many people are moving to the city closer to their homes. Chennai and Hyderabad are already established in the South. In the north, we have Gurgaon and Noida. Pune is also an option and for the Easterners Calcutta. Although I don't endorse any extremist views, I feel, finally after devouring Bangalore's infrastructure and after complaining endlessly, "India Inc." is decentralizing.
* I have been wondering about the term "individuality". What exactly is individuality ? Does it get killed by teamwork/environment which you live in ? In my opinion no man keeps his behaviour constant. Behaviour depends on environment. At least Sudeep in 2001 != Sudeep in 2008 (as far as behaviour, opinions is concerned)
* I was following some nondescript TV program in the morning. Heard that City Market was called Seegeballi in 1900s, which was an affluent residential cum commercial area at that time. There was a plague breakout during that time. The then Maharaja of Mysore asked the local vendors to move to beyond the hillocks...beyond a temple which we now know as "Bull Temple". The area was christened as NarasimhaRaja Colony in honor of the king. Thus NR Colony was born. The layout had site-rates of Rs.30 for a 40 x 60 site in NR Colony. Thats when gold was values at 8/- per souren.
* Some people are unbelievably innocent. I wonder how they lived for so many years ? I am still reeling in disbelief! Some people are methodical...They rigorously follow a something like a "ten-things-to-do-before-i-die" list and live by it. All the best for them....But also remember to take life as it comes :-) ...I am noticing a pattern in the human society. Everything is so inter-connected. A subject of another post when the thoughts are crystallized.
* Morning walks and runs are good fun.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Everyday
Have you seen the latest Vodafone ad ?
The Vodafone Customer Support guys (or rather, the guys who make the ads for Vodafone customer guys) need to pat themselves on their back. They have come up with the above very refreshing ad with a haunting , introspective music (with dollops of inspiration from Taare Zameen par). And the result is an amazing ad, which gives an assurance to a prospective customer of Vodafone Call Support. Don't ask about the reality though.
The famous Hutch "pug" dog is back.But this dog is really lovable...(a statement from a dog-avoider like me is worth considering.).The Hutch ads were good and the brand was pretty established....Some Vodafone ads are very good, but MANY of them are bad....They are really abstract orr some of them are irritating....The "Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein" ad and the "Pehla Nasha" ad were just screwed up.
But what attracts me to this ad, is the music.....Man!!! It's been quite sometime since I listened to something like this. Simple and lovely...
But something is enigmatic about this ad...Which song is this ? Who is the singer ? I tried all my googling skills to locate the singer or the song, but of no avail....Is it an original composition ? Such a lovely composition for a jingle ? Maybe it may be a song in some other language, which has been adapted into English...
Meanwhile I'll keep on singin' :
Everyday I want to fly, stay by my side,
Everyday I want to dream, stay by my side,
Every morning I wish I could just play,
wish the mornings would just stay.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Gandhi's dream
Almost every woman's dream, a free and safe india for the Fairer sex. Is it too much to ask for ??
Look at the following news from today's TOI. Its truly disgusting.. 12-year old, rape, murder .. can imprint horrifying images in your imagination. After the shameful incident in Goa a more henioius and shameful act. Whats with India, molestations and rapes that even cant spare children.. Sucks big time.
12-yr-old raped, murdered
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Bangalore: Enthusiastic about shopping for Monday’s Ugadi festival, she went to the market, never to return. A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped and brutally murdered in Harohallli police limits in the Ramangaram rural limits on Saturday. The deceased was a student of class five in a government school in Harohalli. Police said the girl had gone to the market in the morning to buy neem for the Ugadi festival and went out again in the afternoon to buy mango leaves. When she didn’t return, her grandmother started searching for her. It was only on the afternoon of the following day that some passersby found her body in an eucalyptus bush, near Hosagabbadi. “The assailants had strangled her to death after raping her. The body has been shifted to Ramanagaram hospital for autopsy. We are questioning locals who had seen her in the afternoon,’’ police said. The girl was staying with her grandmother as her mother was working as a housemaid in Bangalore. Her father had passed away some time ago. Her mother used to visit Harohalli frequently, police added.
Look at the following news from today's TOI. Its truly disgusting.. 12-year old, rape, murder .. can imprint horrifying images in your imagination. After the shameful incident in Goa a more henioius and shameful act. Whats with India, molestations and rapes that even cant spare children.. Sucks big time.
12-yr-old raped, murdered
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Bangalore: Enthusiastic about shopping for Monday’s Ugadi festival, she went to the market, never to return. A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped and brutally murdered in Harohallli police limits in the Ramangaram rural limits on Saturday. The deceased was a student of class five in a government school in Harohalli. Police said the girl had gone to the market in the morning to buy neem for the Ugadi festival and went out again in the afternoon to buy mango leaves. When she didn’t return, her grandmother started searching for her. It was only on the afternoon of the following day that some passersby found her body in an eucalyptus bush, near Hosagabbadi. “The assailants had strangled her to death after raping her. The body has been shifted to Ramanagaram hospital for autopsy. We are questioning locals who had seen her in the afternoon,’’ police said. The girl was staying with her grandmother as her mother was working as a housemaid in Bangalore. Her father had passed away some time ago. Her mother used to visit Harohalli frequently, police added.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Time and Money..
or Time vs Money?? Doesnt matter. These two are inveresely proportional.
How much you earn depends on how much you work. We are hourly paid souls.
Our package is deterministically quantified in terms of time. Forget the official hours.
Those are just nominal anywhere in the world.
Heard that Infy had to pay overtime for its californian employees. What if such a legislation is bought everywhere???? I wish.
Coming to the matter of fact, I miss school and having time in my control part.
What I appreciate about work is cash flows. The money is certainly the thrill (job satisfaction is too... but nothing beats like money.)
So the search is for earning money but having Time in control. Time necessarily doesnt mean more time. I need Flex time. To all those souls who are searching jobs, take it slowly, enjoyy your holidays, vacation, leverage money and enjoy, cos once you start working you get sucked into to myraids of life and end as 'Evano Oruvan'. Job is a necessary evil.
Phd?????????????? in management sounds vague, but CK Prahalad, Michael Porter are inspirational. Phd should pay atleast 75% what the working environment pays. Today Phd renumeration is abysmal and it sucks. I know that money is not the motivation from researchers, but a pinch in the pocket might affect research output????? So richer, the better researcher you might end.
I am talking crap, time to stop now and get back to work
How much you earn depends on how much you work. We are hourly paid souls.
Our package is deterministically quantified in terms of time. Forget the official hours.
Those are just nominal anywhere in the world.
Heard that Infy had to pay overtime for its californian employees. What if such a legislation is bought everywhere???? I wish.
Coming to the matter of fact, I miss school and having time in my control part.
What I appreciate about work is cash flows. The money is certainly the thrill (job satisfaction is too... but nothing beats like money.)
So the search is for earning money but having Time in control. Time necessarily doesnt mean more time. I need Flex time. To all those souls who are searching jobs, take it slowly, enjoyy your holidays, vacation, leverage money and enjoy, cos once you start working you get sucked into to myraids of life and end as 'Evano Oruvan'. Job is a necessary evil.
Phd?????????????? in management sounds vague, but CK Prahalad, Michael Porter are inspirational. Phd should pay atleast 75% what the working environment pays. Today Phd renumeration is abysmal and it sucks. I know that money is not the motivation from researchers, but a pinch in the pocket might affect research output????? So richer, the better researcher you might end.
I am talking crap, time to stop now and get back to work
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Invincibles Humbled..
This year seems to be a revalation in sports. Some of the greatest upsets
Aussies - defeated on homeland in one-days, if not for Bucknor even in Test matches.
Federer - Aussie open and lately Dubai Open
AC Milan - Defeated at home by Arsenal
Real Madrid - they are down from a long time, but it was Home again this time
Indian hockey - invincible in view of South Americans, humbled by England on SA soil (this really sucks)
on the borring part
I should have missed quite a few from the above list..
I-banks (not bankers) - badly humbled, and rite now screwing the economy
US GDP.. (from the past 4 years)
next to follow.. China, India????
Predictions
Olympics - China will stop US dominance??
Aussies - defeated on homeland in one-days, if not for Bucknor even in Test matches.
Federer - Aussie open and lately Dubai Open
AC Milan - Defeated at home by Arsenal
Real Madrid - they are down from a long time, but it was Home again this time
Indian hockey - invincible in view of South Americans, humbled by England on SA soil (this really sucks)
on the borring part
I should have missed quite a few from the above list..
I-banks (not bankers) - badly humbled, and rite now screwing the economy
US GDP.. (from the past 4 years)
next to follow.. China, India????
Predictions
Olympics - China will stop US dominance??
Thursday, February 21, 2008
A Day Lost
Happens somedays. At Infy it used to happen more (more at offshore).
It is one such day. Woke up late (8 am). Broke a tile. Reached office late. Dint do much.
Dint achieve much.
Lost, totally lost. I dint have any control or my browsing behavior.
Its mostly browse today.
Is this compensating for overdoing yday?? What is it?? Why do we lose days like this?
Simple - We are not machines............ Niether do we do mechanical work..
Some more minutes and am offf.. The Business is closing officially. Want to really call it off
It is one such day. Woke up late (8 am). Broke a tile. Reached office late. Dint do much.
Dint achieve much.
Lost, totally lost. I dint have any control or my browsing behavior.
Its mostly browse today.
Is this compensating for overdoing yday?? What is it?? Why do we lose days like this?
Simple - We are not machines............ Niether do we do mechanical work..
Some more minutes and am offf.. The Business is closing officially. Want to really call it off
Thursday, January 17, 2008
After reading this, I feel sorry for the state of affairs (that a person may be hung to gain/offset some political mileage), at the same time, i cant help but appreciate the way things have unfolded.
Whoever is working on his case in cong is damn intelligent and cong has 'used' Afzal's case very well. I mean, look at it this way, had the govt not stalled his clemency petition and had they subscribed with supreme court's order, then not many would have noticed what happened. But they spotted an opportunity, they kept the mercy petition pending, allowed bjp to make noises abt the case, and donned the role of a govt which is considerate to minorities. Now, they have spotted that there is a chance of the issue backfiring, and they will do their best to prevent that. They basically played a game in which they had nothing to lose, only to gain, if at all. Contrast this with what bjp would have done and you would agree that cong indeed has 'seasoned' politicians.
Whoever is working on his case in cong is damn intelligent and cong has 'used' Afzal's case very well. I mean, look at it this way, had the govt not stalled his clemency petition and had they subscribed with supreme court's order, then not many would have noticed what happened. But they spotted an opportunity, they kept the mercy petition pending, allowed bjp to make noises abt the case, and donned the role of a govt which is considerate to minorities. Now, they have spotted that there is a chance of the issue backfiring, and they will do their best to prevent that. They basically played a game in which they had nothing to lose, only to gain, if at all. Contrast this with what bjp would have done and you would agree that cong indeed has 'seasoned' politicians.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Office outburst
It can happen to anybody and at anytime. Of course, some people get more angry than others and some people get more frequently angry than others. Some people's anger is harmless whereas some people might get outraged.
This becomes quite a concern at office since the bonding is restricted only to the work-ethics and sometime not even an ounce more than that. Moreover it can be detrimental to one's career and one has to be especially careful in this ugly maze of corporate structure.
First, let us just look from a person's perspective on what he should do when :-
a) He lets out an emotional outburst of anger on his superiors due to any reason.
b)His superior(s) let out an emotional outburst against him.
In the first scenario he should well know that his juttu is his superior's hands before getting angry. Sometimes, an individual might have decided to make himself angry because he controlled his anger on a previous occasion. Whatever it is, the body language indicates aggression and the words start coming out really fast from your mouth. In case, the anger cannot be controlled, my observation is this :-
It is best to make it up as quickly as possible, because it won't stay much time in people's minds
In the second scenario, if his superior(s) let out an outburst of anger against him especially with five other people who are rumor-starved by nature, the best way to deal with it is to have an informal chit-chat with his superior and discover why this happened at the first place.
The most important thing of the lot is understanding why both the sides (the employee and the managers) got angry and get into a problem-solving mode.
Finally, I also believe that if the mutual sides are intelligent (not foolhardy creatures) they can actually work-out a solution.
Happy Grrrrrr-ing :-) But don't become like that dean of Munnabhai......That's really stupid !!!!!
This becomes quite a concern at office since the bonding is restricted only to the work-ethics and sometime not even an ounce more than that. Moreover it can be detrimental to one's career and one has to be especially careful in this ugly maze of corporate structure.
First, let us just look from a person's perspective on what he should do when :-
a) He lets out an emotional outburst of anger on his superiors due to any reason.
b)His superior(s) let out an emotional outburst against him.
In the first scenario he should well know that his juttu is his superior's hands before getting angry. Sometimes, an individual might have decided to make himself angry because he controlled his anger on a previous occasion. Whatever it is, the body language indicates aggression and the words start coming out really fast from your mouth. In case, the anger cannot be controlled, my observation is this :-
It is best to make it up as quickly as possible, because it won't stay much time in people's minds
In the second scenario, if his superior(s) let out an outburst of anger against him especially with five other people who are rumor-starved by nature, the best way to deal with it is to have an informal chit-chat with his superior and discover why this happened at the first place.
The most important thing of the lot is understanding why both the sides (the employee and the managers) got angry and get into a problem-solving mode.
Finally, I also believe that if the mutual sides are intelligent (not foolhardy creatures) they can actually work-out a solution.
Happy Grrrrrr-ing :-) But don't become like that dean of Munnabhai......That's really stupid !!!!!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy new year everybody!
I had a quite new year party snoring away to glory awakened by those loud crackers. 2007 has been a good year, but then as 2008 starts off, there is quite a bit of apprehension for me on several factors which are currently occupying my mind.
First and foremost my mood is a "Bah!" mood today and a little lull. I do like holidays. But a lot of holidays (I've been having holidays since 21st december) just upsets the rhythm. I had planned about doing this and doing that...Maybe I did 20% of what I thought I would do. Wasted Vacation.But driving to Madikeri, Coorg and the Homestays was a good break from the routine.
As I finished my vacation and came home there was the naming ceremony of my niece. So she is named as "Richa".
Hmmmm and philosophy gets created due to those sad and dull moments too....One realization is that life gets more and more "dont-take-me-for-granted".... As Lennon said "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans".
I have two finite and specific resolutions in mind. And two abstract ones. Well....
I had a quite new year party snoring away to glory awakened by those loud crackers. 2007 has been a good year, but then as 2008 starts off, there is quite a bit of apprehension for me on several factors which are currently occupying my mind.
First and foremost my mood is a "Bah!" mood today and a little lull. I do like holidays. But a lot of holidays (I've been having holidays since 21st december) just upsets the rhythm. I had planned about doing this and doing that...Maybe I did 20% of what I thought I would do. Wasted Vacation.But driving to Madikeri, Coorg and the Homestays was a good break from the routine.
As I finished my vacation and came home there was the naming ceremony of my niece. So she is named as "Richa".
Hmmmm and philosophy gets created due to those sad and dull moments too....One realization is that life gets more and more "dont-take-me-for-granted".... As Lennon said "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans".
I have two finite and specific resolutions in mind. And two abstract ones. Well....
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Was it worth the sweat, sleep, and stocks?
Dec 14th, the day when I ended my MBA, atleast from my side. I completed my last presentation of my last project and there by ending a roller-coaster ride of 16 months. Looking back was it one of my best decisions? Who knows, opportunity cost cannot be measured ? Really ? NO
Here are some positives
- A psychopathic (not Psychological) relief of being away from Infosys and its politics (onsite, offshore, hierarchy, blah blah blah)
- Alienating myself for IT (application development), which my colleagues used to treat
as a matter of life and death (may be thats what is required to excel, which I never could
attain)
- A new world of fuzzy knowledge - I love this , this is my domain, there is no single
correct answer. Anything and everything is dependent on perspectives. This models real life.
This is where the action is. Returns are correlated to risk and you chose your path in
decision making
- Analytics and problem solving are key
- Socializing is a bane though, which I have avoided to the maximum so far
- Traveling to different countries was fun, will do more of it in the future
- An opportunity wide open to explore Asia fully, North, east, south and west
- A possible travel to different continents (africa-egypt, Aus -nZ, South America-Chile, NA- Canada Trinidad and Tobago)
- High expectations, hope they get delivered
- A lot on personal front - its personal rite...no more explanations
From Jan 14th it shall be a new day, a new life.
Until then holidays.. ( just one more week of erratic sleep and stock selling)
Here are some positives
- A psychopathic (not Psychological) relief of being away from Infosys and its politics (onsite, offshore, hierarchy, blah blah blah)
- Alienating myself for IT (application development), which my colleagues used to treat
as a matter of life and death (may be thats what is required to excel, which I never could
attain)
- A new world of fuzzy knowledge - I love this , this is my domain, there is no single
correct answer. Anything and everything is dependent on perspectives. This models real life.
This is where the action is. Returns are correlated to risk and you chose your path in
decision making
- Analytics and problem solving are key
- Socializing is a bane though, which I have avoided to the maximum so far
- Traveling to different countries was fun, will do more of it in the future
- An opportunity wide open to explore Asia fully, North, east, south and west
- A possible travel to different continents (africa-egypt, Aus -nZ, South America-Chile, NA- Canada Trinidad and Tobago)
- High expectations, hope they get delivered
- A lot on personal front - its personal rite...no more explanations
From Jan 14th it shall be a new day, a new life.
Until then holidays.. ( just one more week of erratic sleep and stock selling)
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Friday, December 07, 2007
Are bankers paid to bring down the Economy
In the earlier years of this century, there was a dramatic shift in the finance industry. Actually the pre-cursor was set in the 1990s. Prestigious banks started to face competition from boutique companies and independent financial firms, many of which were established by ex-employees of these big banks. The innovation in products in the big banks were slowing down, and these smaller firms were creating newer attractive products. The big banks had the customers and smaller guys had the most creative products.
So an era of "open innovation" started, where the big banks started adopting the creation of the smaller banks, by distributing the products from these smaller guys. Previously the industry used to be rewarded based on the %age of returns they generated. But now, this could not be done anymore with the big banks having no rights on the products returns. This probably gave rise to the new way of compensating managers - %age of assets managed.
With this new compensation structure, bankers were pushed to sell more and more, and accumulate assets rather than concentrating on returns. The amalgamation of different industry players left customers with few choices of going elsewhere and look for people who had a different structure of operations. Almost all banks issued 3rd party products.
Well bankers kept on innovating products by wrapping up different layers of structured financial methods. One such product is the CDO - collateralized debt obligations. With the compensation structure tied to assets, all it mattered was raising money. The process of due diligence took a back seat. Evaluations were left to third parties. Bad debts were projected as AAA securities and sold to investors. The frenzy caught on, and no banks could resist such an opportunity.
It is estimated that in the $15 trillion US debt industry (this itself is a staggering number) 20% is subprime (not only mortgage it includes everything from credit card, car loans, student loans etc) and in this 90% is bad debt, which will be written down mostly. That mean nearly $2.5 trillion. Till now the total write down is around $100 billion probably. So there is still a lot to come. Embrace bankers embrace. The numbers might be wrong, but it is still huge.
The question is are bankers paid to bring down the Economy?
- the Internet bubble, where the banks issues so many overhyped IPOs
- Now the housing market
History repeats for sure in the banking industry, and mistakes are soon forgotten. Whats the next frenzy wave boys?
disclaimer - this is totally out of my ignorance. I might be grossly wrong
So an era of "open innovation" started, where the big banks started adopting the creation of the smaller banks, by distributing the products from these smaller guys. Previously the industry used to be rewarded based on the %age of returns they generated. But now, this could not be done anymore with the big banks having no rights on the products returns. This probably gave rise to the new way of compensating managers - %age of assets managed.
With this new compensation structure, bankers were pushed to sell more and more, and accumulate assets rather than concentrating on returns. The amalgamation of different industry players left customers with few choices of going elsewhere and look for people who had a different structure of operations. Almost all banks issued 3rd party products.
Well bankers kept on innovating products by wrapping up different layers of structured financial methods. One such product is the CDO - collateralized debt obligations. With the compensation structure tied to assets, all it mattered was raising money. The process of due diligence took a back seat. Evaluations were left to third parties. Bad debts were projected as AAA securities and sold to investors. The frenzy caught on, and no banks could resist such an opportunity.
It is estimated that in the $15 trillion US debt industry (this itself is a staggering number) 20% is subprime (not only mortgage it includes everything from credit card, car loans, student loans etc) and in this 90% is bad debt, which will be written down mostly. That mean nearly $2.5 trillion. Till now the total write down is around $100 billion probably. So there is still a lot to come. Embrace bankers embrace. The numbers might be wrong, but it is still huge.
The question is are bankers paid to bring down the Economy?
- the Internet bubble, where the banks issues so many overhyped IPOs
- Now the housing market
History repeats for sure in the banking industry, and mistakes are soon forgotten. Whats the next frenzy wave boys?
disclaimer - this is totally out of my ignorance. I might be grossly wrong
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