dna's corner

Subprime

2008-02-17T09:34:00.003-06:00

The subprime mortgage mess is under every one's radar. People are talking about it, its impact on the economy, who caused it, etc. Here are two good explanations. One is a google doc ppt and is very funny. The other is a well written piece on how mortgages were given out and managed in the past and how it was done that led to the mess.

It is common sense. You give loans to risky people, fully aware they are risky and fully aware their other documents (income, etc.) are not verified. You give loan amounts to people that is not in line with their income. And interest rates can go up making these loans even less affordable to the people. With house values sky high, the prices can only come down. What do you expect? Bundling and selling them to wall street does not make them a safe and sound investment. They continue to be junk investments in the hands of someone else and we all know in our economy, when wall street catches a cold, the whole world sneezes and coughs and suffers.

To add to this, the government wants to intervene. Sometimes, leaving things to take its own course will be better than trying to do something. People who made stupid choices need to pay the price for it. Not the general public through their tax money.

Here is an interesting take on who is to be blamed:
" At the crisis' core are loans that were made with virtually nonexistent underwriting standards - no verification of income or assets; little consideration of the applicant's ability to make payments; no down payment. ...
From the current hand-wringing, you'd think that the banks came up with the idea of looser underwriting standards on their own, with regulators just asleep on the job. In fact, it was the regulators who relaxed these standards - at the behest of community groups and "progressive" political forces."

It is an interesting take and sounds plausible. Government fiddling with the operational guidelines and risk management principles of the bank in the name of 'doing good for the people' - so familiar.

ATM & grocery

2008-02-12T22:48:00.001-06:00

Sadness may encourage more extravagance

The article says:"A new study shows people's spending judgment goes out the window when they're down, especially if they're a bit self-absorbed."

No wonder my grocery stores has an atm machine at the entrance - I go in, check my balance, feel sad and shop a lot. Damn.

MacBook Air Ad

2008-01-30T08:41:00.001-06:00

Many people like many things about the new MacBook Air. To me, it is the ad for Air, which then led me to discover the artist Yael Naim. Lovely song and great picturization.

Under grad Bay Area visit

2008-01-19T16:56:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, my friends from under grad had come over for a small vacation here to the Bay Area. It was a total blast, catching up, having fun, pulling each other's legs. With half of these guys getting married very soon, it was also in some sense, the last big 3 day party where they could have unabridged fun.

Alameda C'Mas

2007-12-23T23:18:00.000-06:00

Thomson Street in Alameda transforms itself into a Christmas paradise every December with the whole street beautifully decorated with lights, santa, cartoon characters, etc. This is a tradition going on since WWII. The street wore a very festive look, with people kids and dogs all jostling for place. There was a Santa sitting with kids waiting to get a minute to tell their wishes. I met someone from as far as San Jose who had come to look at this. Check here for more details. Below are some pics I took while I was there tonight.

Cowen on incentives

2007-12-08T21:40:00.000-06:00

In this interview, Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, answers why people blog and why many continue to remain in jobs even when they could potentially be making more money in a different company or job:

"Knowlege@Wharton: So we can be motivated to do a lot of work, even highly skilled work, just because it’s fun?

Cowen: Absolutely. A lot of science works on the same basis. It’s true that scientists get paid, but typically they don’t get paid more, or much more, for discovering something that will make them famous. They do it because they love science, or because they want the recognition or because they just stumble upon it. Einstein was never a wealthy man but he worked very hard. So blogging is a new form of an old idea: that people do great things for free. Adam Smith didn’t get paid much for writing Wealth of Nations, even though it’s a long book that required a lot of work. He had an inner drive to get his ideas out there."

I could not agree more. I blogged about this earlier and reiterate it here: money is not the only motivation. We are more complex than what some economists would like to think of us as. We try to optimize our rewards over a longer period of time - lower salary now might mean better opportunities in the long run. Lower salary now might mean a better learning opportunity, more job satisfaction, etc. It is a balance and each one arrives at a balance and mix of money and satisfaction and other incentives based on what makes them happy and satisfied and feel smug about themselves.

Frame your ideas

2007-12-08T20:58:00.000-06:00

Don't think of an elephant. The author of this book, while a liberal; the ideas discussed here are for any one interested in communicating effectively. He discusses how to frame your ideas and facts so that people can digest it. He talks about how setting the context, making sure the ideas are palatable to people's existing frame of mind is critical in ensuring in winning them over. He sites numerous examples of how republicans do it very well and democrats bungle it.

This is a thought that many in the sales field have spoken to me about. They tell me how framing is critical in putting you on the offensive and the competition on the defensive, how it makes the competition compete on your terms rather than their terms, how the client will start looking at the different products through the prism you provide, giving you an edge.

The author says that when there is a conflict between an existing frame in people's mind and truth, it is truth that loses. A fact that could not be stressed enough in our business life. We all need to be aware that people were punished and burned for saying the earth goes around the sun. When you try to throw facts at people and they are not ready to catch it, tough luck. They will drop what you say and keep the gloves that does not fit what you just threw at them. George Lakoff talks eloquently on this concept in his book.

SW boarding

2007-12-08T20:24:00.000-06:00

South West airlines does not assign seating on their flights. Earlier, it was a mad rush for the seats, people getting early to the boarding gate, placing their bags in the queue, sitting on the floor, etc. Recently, they have slightly modified their system such that each passenger is assigned a boarding order. Not a seat number but just the order in which you may board the aircraft. They have also modified the boarding area such that it is easy for people to stand in the order of their boarding.

So, no more placing our bags in queue and squatting on the floor for one of the coveted front row seats. I like the system, though could be better. Given it is new, people were still getting used to it and lead to an interesting conversation with a copassenger at a boarding gate in San Diego. We commented how SW treats its passengers like school kids, testing them for numbers and orders, punishing those who approach the gate out of turn by sending them to the line, and finally, if all behave well and settle down in the seats, get rewarded with - peanuts. I don't know if I should feel like a kid or a monkey.

This system of assigning boarding order, or doing it on a first come first serve basis leads to a single problem - people want to sit in the front so they can get out first. So they enter the aircraft and block the flow of the rest of the passengers as they try to settle down in the front. Instead, I feel the whole system would work great if airlines could figure out a way to board from the front but exit from the back. That way, there is a strong incentive for people to just keep moving towards the back and letting people board as fast as possible. Of course, there are some logistical issues to this and I am not even sure if this is possible with the current gate infrastructure. This could not be so bad if the gate operators could make say let passengers out from the back, and let the new set of passengers in through the back as well, but let them know that at the destination, they will exit from the front (opposite to what end they used for boarding). This would reduce the logistical issue of moving the bridge from one end to the other while at the same time ensuring passengers don't try to block the entry area.

An other option would be to ask passengers with checked in baggage to move to the back. They could create two zones within the aircraft - one in the back and one in the front. They should board the checked in baggage customers first and assign them to the back zone. Then, they should let the passengers with just the checked in baggage to occupy the front zone. Again, there are some practical issues here, but nevertheless something the airlines should consider, if they have already not done.

Birthdays

2007-09-30T22:51:00.000-05:00

My friend bragged about the people she shares her birthday with. That prompted me to look up who share my birthday with. It was interesting to note a pattern. For example, among the worthy people who share my birthday, many were artists - painters, musicians, etc. On the other hand, my friends' birthday is shared by a lot of notable mathematicians.

I didn't look deeper but is there any correlation between the date of birth and field of excellence? Some work has been done to explain say why lot of the professional athletes were born earlier in the year. Taking cues from that, may be due to the weather say around a baby's 1st birthday, he/she was either playing outside, or painting the landscape or learning math because it is gloomy or thinking of stories inspired by the snow. May be.
Again, this theory needs to be vetted by comparing people with birthdays in the same month. Which would only validate the sun signs claims of people behaving in certain manners based on the date on which they were born.

To check who were born on your birthdate, check here. Wikipedia rocks. Can't imagine any other site having this information for every day in a year.

Sports Entertainment

2007-09-10T15:45:00.000-05:00

Should athletes play their game or entertain? While Pete Sampras played the best possible tennis, Andre Agassi entertained. Andre had a personality and I wanted to watch him play. He winning was not given. He had to fight for it. He went up and down during the game and as a fan of his, I participated in his mini wins and failures. He was a human who was struggling and yet, through his efforts, did pretty well for himself. Also, his off court performances only added to his personality and his likability.

Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, on the other hand, are almost like god created. They come to a match. They go through their motions. They win. They played and play the best damn tennis possible. Great. I don't know about others, but I am not looking for tennis lessons or how to hit the perfect cross court inside out fore hand. I am looking to be entertained. And I am going to vote with my remote. The US Open mens finals was not fun to watch. I channel surfed occasionally dropping by to check the score. Roger Federer, with his skills and records, sucks the suspense out of the game. It is almost given he will win. Instead, I really liked the game between Tommmy Haas and James Blake (round of 16 - 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4)) where Blake lost after having 3 match points. That is what I call a true thriller that no Hollywood can make with any amount of retakes and scripting.

The purest might balk at this, but a perfect athlete is not very entertaining. Rather, a good entertaining athlete is one who is not too perfect. Some one who sometimes lets his emotions take over. Some one who knows how involve the crowd, provide the surprise element even in routine affairs. Some one who wins most of the time, but not always. Some one who is not too far above the 2nd best.

iPod Touch & Starbucks

2007-09-06T00:15:00.001-05:00

Much is going to be said and written about the latest offering from Apple. While the wifi connection, the interface, etc. are impressive, one thing that stood out for me was the ability to sit at a Starbucks, listen to the song being played there, click an icon on my iPod and buy it instantly. That is instant gratification. I think that is closest we are today to thinking about buying something and executing it online with a single click. One click on your music player and boom you own a song that you were listening to on a public system - no knowledge of the song, artist, etc necessary. That is awesome.
Of course, some months back, this technology was introduced by Motorola:
MotoID: "The application works like this. If you are at a club or in your car and a song comes on that you like, but you don’t know the name, you hold up your phone, open the MotoID application and click the identify button. Motorola said it takes only a few seconds to identify the song, artist and album. Then if available, the user will also have the option to download the song’s ringtone, screensaver or wallpaper."

So, looks like Apple could have done better. I am wondering why this tie up with Starbucks and not something like MotoID over wifi - connect to iTunes over wifi (when available else remember the song till wifi is available) and give the option to buy the song. Now, that would be way cooler.

Book: Super Crunchers...

2007-08-29T14:10:00.000-05:00

Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart

"He (the author) frequently asks whether statistical methods are more accurate than the more intuitive conclusions drawn by experts, and consistently concludes that they are. Ayres skillfully demonstrates the importance that statistical literacy can play in our lives, especially now that technology permits it to occur on a scale never before imagined." - From Publishers Weekly

"In the past, one could get by on intuition and experience. Times have changed. Today, the name of the game is data. Ian Ayres shows us how and why in this groundbreaking book Super Crunchers. Not only is it fun to read, it just may change the way you think."—Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics

While I don't doubt human abilities, a lot of times, I feel humans give way too much weightage to recent observations. That biases the data mining going on in our heads. Statistical methods, on the other hand, tend to be more even handed and careful about sampling from the past, avoiding over fitting, etc. That makes them more robust and more useful.

I am looking forward to reading this book and see how it compares to Freakonomics, The Black Swan..., etc.

Bonus: This is for my movie buff friend: "[Ayres's] thesis is provocative: Complex statistical models could be used to market products more intelligently, craft better movies, and solve health-care problems—if only we could get past our statistics phobia." —Portfolio

Another EQ

2007-08-28T18:15:00.000-05:00

A minor earthquake (3.0) occurred at 4:05:35 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, August 28, 2007. Emeryville, CA - 5 km (3 miles)

I felt this one pretty strong. While I felt it for only a second, it shook me up pretty hard and my heart beat raced up immediately. Ha well. Yet another distraction during work.

SFGate report is here. Here is the epicenter:

View Larger Map

Biking

2007-08-22T17:36:00.000-05:00

Recently, I got a bike - a 2004 Giant Cypress Hybrid. Got very addicted to it. Enjoying the pleasures of riding a very comfortable bike and exploring my neighborhood. I still remember the feeling on the day my dad removed the balance wheels on my cycle and I learnt to drive on 2 wheels. Suddenly, I got to go way faster, go on roads that were off limits because of the balance wheel, etc. I just could not stop riding.

With this bike, after the initial euphoria and riding around aimlessly, I have now settled on a route. This loop has some great views of the bay, good tail wind and then goes inland but pretty much sticks to bike paths. Total distance: 6.3 miles. If you do the shore line from East to West, there is considerable head wind, sun in the eye (evenings) and not so much fun.

Alameda Shoreline Loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

This site, Bikely.com is amazing. Tons of suggestions and maps. I am hoping to discover more routes in the East Bay and be fit and happy at the same time.

Update: I took a small deviation today and went up to Bay Farm. Din't venture too deep but was a pleasant detour.

Alameda Shoreline Bay Farm Central Loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Chak De India

2007-08-19T21:22:00.000-05:00

I saw this movie last week and was impressed. It is difficult to mess up a sports themed movie. There is enough tension, emotion, rooting going on in a game/preparation for a game the movie makers have to carry it along. Given it is a movie, we pretty much know before hand who will win the final match. The trick is managing to induce surprises along the way. I think the director has done a very good job of introducing twists and turns, making the different players unique in their background and outlook and nicely integrating those aspects into the movie. It could very well be a nice movie to show on the character diversity present in India and yet how people get along nicely in the end.

I am very happy to see this movie come out of Bollywood where sports movies are a rarity. Even if sports was involved, it was always diluted by being a means to something else - redeem family honor, defeat villain, win over heroine. This movie had winning as its main theme with the different facets of the team - coach, players, administrators taking the central role. Pleasantly absent were a romantic interest for the hero, a born to pain the hero villain, a fight sequence, etc. A nice movie indeed.

Remember the Titans came to my mind after seeing this movie. Its an excellent movie with some underlying similarity with Chak De - underdogs performing above the rest in spite of society's lack of confidence, a bigger message at stake in the results, etc. This movie too had the coach playing a pivotal role in the movie and in unifying the players despite their obvious and not so obvious differences.

ps: To get recommendations on movies based on what you have watched (and others), check MovieLens from the University of Minnesota, CS Department.

Don't walk

2007-08-05T21:27:00.000-05:00

"Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby."

Walking to the shops ‘damages planet more than going by car’

Hmmm...I go to the gym, and use energy (treadmills using electricity) to burn energy. May be I should just sit at home and blog.

The article goes on to shatter a few more green myths like:

"— Paper bags cause more global warming than plastic. They need much more space to store so require extra energy to transport them from manufacturers to shops

— Organic dairy cows are worse for the climate. They produce less milk so their methane emissions per litre are higher

— Someone who installs a “green” lightbulb undoes a year’s worth of energy-saving by buying two bags of imported veg, as so much carbon is wasted flying the food to Britain"

Of course, the commenters in the discussions have thrashed the research, saying the calculations don't take into account the energy that went into making the car, producing and transporting the fuel, etc. Also, not everyone eats beef and beef as a source of all the calories for our body is pretty inefficient.

Again, in the case of the organic dairy cows, what about all the food and other supplements that are provided to a regular dairy cow versus what an organic dairy cow consumes?

It is difficult to go down the energy chain and exactly audit the consumption. It would be prudent to try to conserve energy through little things like switching the lights off when we leave a room, switching the monitor/computer when not in use, etc.

Simplicity

2007-08-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction"
- Albert Einstein.

Could not be said more beautifully.

And then I come across this: Why the Desire to Simplify Can Inhibit Innovation

"...Here the key is to be able to seek less obvious, but potentially relevant factors (that will give differentiation in the long run, although to start with will seem like they are adding more complexity to the topic), secondly it is the ability to consider multi-directional, non-linear relationships between these variables and seeing problems as a whole, examining how the parts fit together and how decisions affect one another, and then lastly: creatively resolve those conflicts between seemingly opposing ideas to generate innovative outcomes. ..."

I agree. Innovation is not simple. The solution could and should be simple. But the process is bloody and takes a lot of complex balancing, satisfying constrains - often conflicting.

The Bourne Ultimatum

2007-08-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

Watched this movie last night and man, was I impressed. I am easily impressed but this one blew me away. Not many action movies get claps at the end. This one did.

Specifically, the scene at Tangier, Morocco was awesome. With Jason Bourne jumping from building to building, with the police on his heals, he trying to save the heroine from the killer who is also looking to kill Jason, it was one heck of a sequence. The camera following Jason as he jumps into a building was very cool. The only part of the movie I dint like was the part at the end when Jason delivers a speech to the guy who holds a gun to Jason. That din't fit well with the rest of the action packed non stop edge of the seat movie.

My verdict: A+.

Yahoo movies
critics: B+
users: A-

Bridge collapse in Minneapolis

2007-08-01T20:57:00.000-05:00

The bridge on I-35 used to cross the Mississippi river fell into the water below. This is crazy. It was like 2 blocks from where I lived. When I started working, I used to take this bridge every day! We used to take this bridge to go to downtown, the airport or pretty much any where even remotely south of my place. I hear all my friends in Minneapolis are safe.
Here is a link to the bridge on google maps

Reuters report says:
"A 500-foot (150-metre) span of the eight-lane steel and concrete bridge, which was under repair, buckled and fell into the river and onto concrete embankments at about 6:05 p.m. CDT (2305 GMT)."

"A freight train was passing on a track running under the bridge when it collapsed, and the train was cut in two, WCCO television reported."

eSwarm

2007-07-31T15:16:00.000-05:00

eSwarm

"Buyers register for a free account then join current swarms (groups of buyers) or create new ones. Swarms can be focused on any consumer good, debt refinancing, pre-paid gift and debit cards and even insurance products. Sellers then bid for the business." - http://www.techcrunch.com/

That is a very neat idea. The reason larger buyers (like Government, Military, large corporations) get better deals on things like insurance, etc. is because of their volumes. While a single customer might not matter much, as a big group, they have the power to negotiate, strike a better deal and change the whole market dynamics.

I will be eagerly waiting to see how this site evolves. I am surprised eBay and Craigslist are not providing this kind of service. It seems this type of business model would be right up their alley.

Couple of things:
1. Searching for 'Hybrid 19" bike' on google should show a link 'Join the swarm' specific for this product.
2. Instead of businesses just bidding on the price, they should be allowed to offer additional services, or freebies. And the swarm could possibly vote on the offers and select the best offer.

Hike - Point Reyes - Arch Rock

2007-07-29T00:58:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, a friend of mine and I went on this hike. It is an easy trail with a total walking distance of 8.2 miles. Took us exactly 4 hours. We dint rush and it was a pleasant trail with lot of greenery. Initially the trail was crowded but as we got farther from the start, there was almost no one we could see. At the end of the trail is a cliff with some very great views of the pacific.

From the NPS site: ARCH ROCK via BEAR VALLEY (13.1 km / 8.2 mi.)
Probably the single most popular trail in the park, the Bear Valley Trail is the most direct walk to the ocean from the Bear Valley Visitor Center. This pleasant stroll through mixed Douglas fir forest and along Bear Valley Creek is sheltered from sun, wind and coastal fog. Arch Rock is an overlook point with no beach access.Begin at the Bear Valley Trailhead, at the south end of the Bear Valley Parking Lot.

fat

2007-07-24T22:54:00.000-05:00

why is it so easy to gain weight while so difficult to lose?

Because our body is one giant magnet for bad, unhealthy food.

Update:
"If your friends and family get fat, chances are you will too, researchers report in a startling new study that suggests obesity is "socially contagious" and can spread easily from person to person."

Ref: San Diego researchers find obesity can spread in social circles

Does it mean we will have to disown all friends/family above a certain BMI to lose weight?
The study says no: "Despite their findings, the researchers said people should not sever their relationships."

Testing direct blog from Picasa

2007-07-22T19:35:00.000-05:00

Tried to post directly from inside Picasa inside my desktop and seeing how it turn out.

Btw, this was taken from the Marin Highlands, one of my favorite spots in the Bay Area. The view of the Golden Gate, the city and the Pacific is terrific from here.

Hike - Joaquin Miller Park

2007-07-22T16:50:00.000-05:00

This morning, with nothing much to do, I decided to go on a hike at the nearby Joaquin Miller Park here in Oakland, CA. While not as beautiful as the John Muir hike trails (in Marin County), I really enjoyed it here for the quietness in spite of being inside the city of Oakland, lack of many hikers (probably met like 4 hikers and 3 bikers in total), and most importantly - this park requires dogs to be on leashes.

More information on this park and the hikes here are available on this page.

earth quake

2007-07-20T12:24:00.000-05:00

USGS Report
SF Chronicle report

I have been through a couple of earth quakes but nothing rattled me like the one this morning at 4:42AM (Ritcher: 4.2). Even though it was classified as a light quake, it scared the shit out of me. One of the picture frames in my house with a glass covering feel on a wooden plank below and broke. There was this thud noise with the building shaking that woke me up. Hearing all these, my first reaction was there is a burglar in my balcony who jumped from the apartment above. Then within a few minutes, I realized it was an earthquake. Looks like this was one of the strongest in recent times here in the Bay Area:
"Anytime the earth moves beneath you it's a little unsettling, no matter who you are," said USGS seismologist Rufus Catchings, who felt the temblor. "This is the biggest (quake) we've had in a while."

Made to Stick

2007-07-18T23:57:00.000-05:00

Ideas are dime a dozen. What really makes money are not ideas, but actually following up on the idea, implementing it the right way at the right time. At the same time, for ideas to be accepted among the masses, and stick for eternity, it needs to be marketed. How to do that? Thats what this book "Made to Stick" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath is about. A book that treats ideas like how I would deal with an analytical problem. Look at how historically popular ideas have stuck with people. Look at the characteristics of those ideas and in how they were communicated and pull out the commonality and distill them down to the variables: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotional and stories.

Here is one example from the book on unexpectedness:

Assignment to a journalism class: Write a lead for the following facts: Next Thursday, the entire faculty will go to Sacramento for a teacher's conference. Speakers at the conference include college president, leading anthropologist, state governor etc.

Students came with leads like "Staff to attend conference in ..."

Then the teacher revealed her choice: "There will be no school next Thursday."
The message, news is supposed to convey what matters and why it matters, not what where etc. stuck with the students forever after this assignment.

The book is filled with examples like this, explaining the importance of packaging ideas so that people get it, remember it and make use of it. Its a great read.

Amazon.com: Average Customer Review: Number of Reviews: 95

SF snaps

2007-07-18T15:47:00.000-05:00

www.flickr.com

More of dnara_fp's photos

spaghetti sauce

2007-07-17T22:07:00.000-05:00

http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_09_06_a_ketchup.html

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/20

Malcolm Gladwell has this very interesting article/talk on how to come up with a product that people will truly like. He echoes my point about people not knowing what they like. At least, they dont articulate what they like. Could be because they don't want to reveal what they really like, or simply their mind does not know what their tongue likes. What people want cannot be known by just asking them what they want. If that was possible, we would not need designers, just builders would suffice.

Malcolm talks about the brilliance of Howard Moskowitz: "working with the Campbell's kitchens, he came up with forty-five varieties of spaghetti sauce. These were designed to differ in every conceivable way: spiciness, sweetness, tartness, saltiness, thickness, aroma, mouth feel, cost of ingredients, and so forth. He had a trained panel of food tasters analyze each of those varieties in depth. Then he took the prototypes on the road—to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Jacksonville—and asked people in groups of twenty-five to eat between eight and ten small bowls of different spaghetti sauces over two hours and rate them on a scale of one to a hundred. When Moskowitz charted the results, he saw that everyone had a slightly different definition of what a perfect spaghetti sauce tasted like. If you sifted carefully through the data, though, you could find patterns, and Moskowitz learned that most people's preferences fell into one of three broad groups: plain, spicy, and extra-chunky, and of those three the last was the most important. Why? Because at the time there was no extra-chunky spaghetti sauce in the supermarket. Over the next decade, that new category proved to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Prego. "

Here is a guy who dint go blindly by the data. He dint go by what the experts told him were likely to be preferred by people. He dint go by what people said they liked. He designed an experiment , and used the results from the experiment to come to a correct conclusion. It is very easy to come up with data to support a particular hypothesis and then once the hypothesis fails, seek cover under that very same data - "but the data pointed out this". Smart people, instead, know to ask the right questions and derive inferences from the answers.

Sivaji

2007-06-17T21:17:00.000-05:00

Browsing the indian blogosphere, it seemed there was just 1 topic everyone wanted to write on - the movie Sivaji. I saw the movie last night (technically this morning since it was supposed to start at 11:15PM last night but got delayed and we were let in only at 12:05AM this morning), and so, I will throw in my 2 cents on the movie and the phenomena.

I was not too excited on watching this movie. I figured I would catch it later. My friend from undergrad, though, wanted to see it on the 1st day. So we tried but there were no tickets available. So, the next day, we got tickets for the 11:15PM show. Went to the theater by 10:30PM to collect the tickets we had bought online. The mood was already very festive. There were stalls selling Indian food, the crowd was loud and boisterous, everyone were having a fun time. People on the street were certainly curious what a bunch of Indians were doing in this part of the town in such larger numbers, and behaving like this.

What is it about a Rajini movie that makes people so excited? To me, the parallel, to some degree is, the super bowl phenomena. It is not the game itself that is exciting. Nor the players. It is just a reason to do things that were always done, are fun to do and is sort of a tradition. Also, Rajini is a great mobilizer of the troops. Like a leader of a country or a company, he rallies the troops behind a common cause. In his case, the cause is himself (certainly debatable). I cant think of anything else all people from Tamil Nadu would be so united on. Even someone who hates him enjoys what he creates in the form of an experience.

Once inside the theater, it was difficult to distinguish it from a theater in India showing a Rajini movie. People were at their elements, blowing whistles, screaming, shouting, etc. A big gang that came together actually visited a party supplies store and brought streamers, to throw in front of the screen. There was also this woman behind my row who was very upset that even though the tickets had seat numbers assigned, no one followed it. Of course, the seats themselves did not have numbers written.

Each time Rajini appeared on the screen, the crowd went wild. And Rajini was on the screen pretty much the whole time. Well, the crowd was wild all the time. There were guys dancing at the back of the theater. Some ran to the front of the screen to dance. Some decided to dance from their seats. Everyone were dancing, even if they were'nt standing.

Compared to other Rajini movies like Padayapa, Mannan, Badhshah, I was disappointed. The villian was not evil enough. Ya he had goondes and everything. He was too busy wearing and removing his sun glasses, getting in and out of his car, screaming at politicians. Shreya was mostly crying, or scared. Her only job in the movie was that of a laptop messenger to the CBI. The MGR character played by Rajini himself was super cool. I was not impressed with the music or the dance sequences, though people seemed to differ in their opinion. The songs were just exuberant.

A must watch in a theater, just for the experience.

80% Perfection == happiness???

2007-06-03T21:26:00.000-05:00

Scot Adam writes in his blog about how perfection relates to happiness. While, I agree with what he says overall in this post, I disagree with this statement: "Once you achieve about 80% rightness, any extra effort is rarely worth the effort"

Yes and no. In the context of work, I can see product development groups going the extra mile for that last 20%. R&D more than happy to stop at 80% considering the diminishing returns.
Just because the last 20% of the work takes up equal amount of effort as the 1st 80%, does not mean it is not worth doing it. Many a times, that last 20% is what makes the 1st 80% useful, accessible, reliable.

Does not mean everyone should aim for 100% perfection. It is a question of optimal RoI and making the best use of one's time and energy. Lot of the times, the last 20% is not fun, boring, routine. I hate doing that 20%.

Minnesota cold

2007-02-05T18:49:00.000-06:00

CNN article says:

"In northern Minnesota, the temperature crashed to 42 below Monday morning at Embarrass, 38 below at Hallock and 30 below at International Falls, the weather service said.

Veterinarian Wade Himes wasn't too concerned as he ate breakfast at the Shorelunch Cafe in International Falls.

"We get up and go to work, and people come and see us. I don't think anything changes that much. [You] just dress warm," said Himes, 69."

Minnesotans rock !!!. To all the gophers in UofM, dress warm.

Amazing presentation

2006-12-15T15:40:00.000-06:00

One of the best presentations I have ever seen. Captivating. Insightful. Any one interested in data analysis, developing countries, world development should watch this 20 minute video (TEDTalk by Hans Rosling).

At the time of this post, 500 people rated this video and average rating: 5/5. Watch it. Worth it.

(Link courtesy: Pavan)

What will the baby become?

2006-12-07T11:27:00.000-06:00

Pavan has an extremely funny post on how to determine what a baby will grow up to be based on what it does when given a Rubik's cube.

My favorites:
"If the baby asks the baby-next-cradle to solve the cube.. first politely, and then taking its milk bottle as ransom, then it would grow up to become a manager"

"If the baby takes out the color stickers and puts them in order (instead of solving it), then beware.. you have a hacker-baby!"

My additions:
If the baby tries to sell it to another baby, saying it will throw in a solved side for free, it would grow up to a car sales man!

If the baby just stares at it, does nothing, all the while giving an impression of being in deep thought, it will become a philosopher.

pilotless airplane

2006-12-05T21:51:00.000-06:00

On Freakonimics blog about pilotless airplanes:
"my feeling is that so many passengers are so skittish about flying that one of their greatest comforts is the thought that, Well, the pilots don’t want to die either. Once that comfort is removed, would people still be willing to get on the plane?"

The parallel I see here is in the open source software development world. Most of the very successful open source projects - Linux, Firefox, Eclipse - have one thing in common - the builders of the products are extensive users of the same. This creates a strong motivation to make the products good. I strongly believe it is imperative for a builder to also be a user for that product to be excellent. User empathy. Having said that, I am not sure how pet food or products are well made. I mean, the maker cannot use it. The theory blows here.

Extending this to the pilotless airplane, by having the pilot sit outside the airplane, the motivation to fly the plane safe is kinda of lost. Yes the pilot, no matter where he or she is sitting, is going to be doing his job in a professional manner. Yet, the decisions one has to take would change during emergency depending on what is at stake.

Youth

2006-11-25T13:51:00.000-06:00

Everyone gets older. Pretty obvious considering no one has found a way to stop time. And getting older is specially painful when someone moves from the early 20s (<25) to late 20s (>25). This blog post by Sidin nicely sumes the emotions. The kids calling you 'uncle'. Running out of excuses to behave goofily. Not being at the peak of fitness. Not having the inclination to learn new things.

Yet learning new things is what keeps one young. The moment we stop learning, we are 'old'. My 2 cents.

Zopa -a new banking model

2006-10-15T11:06:00.000-05:00

Zopa - The first lending and borrowing exchange. Its a site that enables peer to peer lending.

They have an interesting model of banking. The typical banking model is for people to deposit their money in a bank and the bank then lends that money to other people, making tons of money by charging a high interest rate for the borrowers and providing a much lower rate for the depositers.

Zopa, on the other hand, connects lenders and borrowers directly. Done completely online, they ensure that your lending is spread across lenders to reduce the risk. They do the background and credit check of the lenders. They make money for themselves by taking a 1% cut.

Going by the Business 2.0 article, this service would be the equivalent of Skype for banking. Not that with the proliferation of this model banks would be out of service. For now, this service helps people get loans with low interest rate while also providing an alternate investment option. Banks, on the other hand, provide a whole gamut of service not convered by this model.

This service, in fact, is very similar to the money-lending co-op programs set up in some villages in India. Those co-ops free the people from the clutches of the high-interest charging local money lenders. The co-ops get the money to lend from the members who contribute when they have a surplus, and then provide loans through the co-op to their neighbours and fellow villagers.

CircleLending is another website I frequently hear on radio (in the form of ads) that specializes in managing loan transaction between relatives and friends. I have'nt explored this service much, but would be interesting to find more about them.

Prosper is another website that provides an online marketplace for people-to-people lending.

Passion

2006-10-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

Inspiration: Knowing When to Quit

Scott Adams of Dilbert fame says in that:
"If everyone exposed to a product likes it, the product will not succeed."

"The reason that a product “everyone likes” will fail is because no one “loves” it. The only thing that predicts success is passion, even if only 10% of the consumers have it. For example, I’m willing to bet that when the TV show Baywatch was tested, 90% of the people rolled their eyes and gave it a thumbs down. But I’ll bet 10% of the test audience had tents in their pants. Bingo."

Extend the same concept to work. To be really good at work, it is necessary to be good at what it takes to do it. But it is more important to be passionate about it. I am willing to bet that the people who really succeed at work are not the brilliant. Its the people with absolute passion for the work. They believe in their work. They believe in their contribution. My 2 cents. Your thoughts?

Cows

2006-10-11T17:18:00.000-05:00

This blog entry is about blogger Arzan who blogs about blogger Amit Verma's habit of blogging about cows. Arzan wants to buy Amit a cow. Lets show our support. Amit is a very good blogger.

Cows are fun (and happy if they are from California). They can make excellent pets. Seriously. People have dogs and cats as pets. Why not cows? Ya they can kinda of get big but certainly worth the trouble.

Men & games

2006-10-11T10:19:00.000-05:00

Study: Men delay medical care when the game's on

"A drop in the number of men going to the emergency room during sports broadcasts on TV is followed by a surge afterward, reports an ER doctor who reviewed case numbers over three years at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore."

So, theoritically, if there is a game on TV forever, men would not go the ER. Does this mean one way to keep the ERs less crowded is to have games 24X7 on TV??? Then ERs would only have women visiting. Such fun.

Obey The Master

2006-10-09T21:22:00.000-05:00

Driver obeys navigation system, no matter what

It is sometimes amazing what people do. Or rather, what they choose to listen and what not to. What were they thinking? The nav. system knows better?

C-Map

2006-10-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

C-Map

C Map - Connectivity map - A very interesting application of data mining. Scientists have created a map that connects the existing drugs to diseases. It uses human genome to systematically put the language of diseases and the language of drug in the same plane. Certain genes turn on or off based on the disease. So cells with diseases and and those treated by the drugs are compared in terms of their genetic signature and then linked in the map.

This map can be used to figure out what drugs are near a given drug. Given a disease, it can also be used to find what other diseases are near that. (Nearness could be defined through various means - one example being Euclidean distance.) It could be used to find new drugs, new uses of old drugs, etc. Very exciting.

Richshaw

2006-10-08T19:59:00.000-05:00

Pitt, Jolie take rickshaw ride in India

Looks like Brad Pitt and Jolie took a ride in the beloved autorickshaw in Pune, India. Makes me wonder how much they were charged. Were they charged by the meter or did they pre-negotiate a price? And did they wave down an auto on the road?

Would the price they paid matter if they, as consumers, thought it was a fair deal and enjoyed the ride? Because they are very rich, would it be ok to charge them more than the regular for the same service?

In India, it was (not sure if it still is) common to charge more the non citizens for the same service. Always wondered why. Why should that be? I never liked that.

Not that I want a price forced on people. I don't mind private businesses setting a price and letting market forces decide if that is a fair price. But the government deciding to charge someone more based on some arbitary condition does'nt sound fair.

Writing vs. Programming

2006-10-03T20:45:00.000-05:00

http://paulgraham.infogami.com/blog/writingvshacking

An interesting article on why writing is more difficult than programming. The crux is, in programming, there is a specific target - you can define what is correct and test if your code does it or not. With writing, how do you determine that? Yes you could set a specific objective in terms of what the piece needs to convey. But it could convey one thing to one and something else to someone else.

"I think good writers can push writing in the direction of Lego. As you get more willing to discard and rewrite stuff, you approach that feeling of total control you get with Lego and hacking. If there's something you don't like, you change it. At least, as I've gotten better at writing that's what's happened to me. I've become much more willing to throw stuff away."

I wish I could.

How to wake up?

2006-10-02T23:32:00.000-05:00

One option is to read this wikihow on how to wake up without an alarm clock.

Or create a personalized alarm.

"Smoke alarms equipped with this personalized recording of a worried mother's voice were significantly better at waking up children in a deep sleep and enabling them to perform a simulated escape procedure than standard residential tone alarms, a new study found."

Such fun. (Inspiration from India Uncut.)

Stars

2006-10-01T20:56:00.000-05:00

I am talking about the real stars - the astronomical objects. Whenever I visit places like Yosemite or Yellowstone, one of the things that really amazes me is the number of stars I see in the night sky. I wonder why is it I can see so many stars over there while I am not able to see so many back in the Bay Area. I assumed its got to do with the pollution and how clear the sky is that night. Once I return to the city, I forget all about it and never bother to figure it out. Then, I come across this:

Lights out in Iceland for view of night sky.

Now I can understand why I am able to see more stars in places with relatively less human activity and less artifical light. Is'nt that ironic? Light is supposed to enable us to look at things better. Yet it is the very light that prevents us from seeing the stars that are so beautifully scattered around in the sky.

This reminds me of a story I read when I was a kid. There was a kingdom known for the noise. Everyone was loud, everything was noisy. Silence was unheard of. The young prince, for his birthday, asked his dad, the king, to hear the loudest noise possible. The king ordered everyone to make as much noise possible at a specified time. Someone had an idea - I will not make any noise so that I can hear a very loud noise without getting caught up in the process of making some. The idea got into the hands of some more and pretty soon everyone had the same idea in their minds. The time came and everyone remained absolutely silent, hoping everyone else will make some very loud noise. Gosh. Was it silent. For the first time, everyone heard the birds. They could hear the wind. It was beautful.

As much as it tempting to get philosophical at this point, I shall refrain from it. You get the point.

Clever Shopping bags

2006-10-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

Check out these funny shopping bags. Pretty neat. I wish more shops put in some thought into thier bags, making it something I would like to carry around. Think of all the free advertisements the shop/establishment would get if shoppers reused those bags while shopping at other places. Free publicity plus less trash to process.

Corporate types in NGOs.

2006-09-14T18:16:00.000-05:00

The E-Street Entrepreneurs

An interesting article in Outlook India on the trend in very qualified professionals moving to the NGO. There are lots of bright people willing to work in the corporate world, not so many willing to work in the NGOs. So, people who opt to work for an NGO get far more responsibility than they could get in the corporate world. Also, the perceived cost of a wrong decision in an NGO is much less compared to that in an corporation. So, the NGOs are ready to take more risks, give more responsibilities to people with lesser experience and encourage out-of-the box wacky ideas. All terrific characteristics for a job. Except that the money is not great. But I am glad to see more people following their hearts rather than considering just the pay. Not that the pay is not important, but it should not be the only consideration. Interesting and fun jobs can be more easy on you, less strenuous, more enjoyable, more motivating. You would enjoy it more, find less need to spend money on distractions and entertainment to make up for the boring/irritating job. If you choose a job that pays less but is more fun, you would not be trying to buy fun with your extra money since the job will be so much fun and entertaining, you would not want to spend on fun and entertainment. Net result: You will have the same amount of money whether you are in a fun, low laying job or in a not so fun high paying job (I know I am stretching the logic a bit too much, but you get the drift.).

Some interesting snippets from the article (read these and you will get a summary of the linked article):

Recruited to run Pratham's operations in Gujarat, he ( Aditya Natraj, an MBA from the prestigious French management school, INSEAD, and a chartered accountant with seven years' corporate experience,) manages a team of 300 full-time staff and 3,000 volunteers that provides learning support to about 30,000 government schoolchildren in the state

Balaji Sampath, an IIT graduate with a doctorate in electrical engineering from the US, who runs AID India, an NGO that carries out science teaching and primary school programmes in 350 government schools in Tamil Nadu.

So, why are they doing it? This is social commitment defined by a strong dash of individualism. "A sense of adventure, and a desire for recognition, the need to be something more than a small fish in a corporate pond," says Rukmini Banerji of Pratham, herself a PhD in economics.

You have a freedom to experimentÂand a chance to learn by failing.

A staff of two lakh, 32 districts, 202 blocks, 2,200 villages, 45,000 schools. No corporate job can give you this size, this scale, this complexity and these multiple levels of expectations.

Some, like Naandi CEO Manoj Kumar, are more than keen to attract corporate professionals. "Why are some of the best minds in the country selling soaps and shampoos?" he asks. Good question.

Blogs confused

2006-09-14T17:09:00.000-05:00

"People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news."
- AJ Liebling

What do people confuse what they read in blogs with?

How to dissuade yourself from becoming a blogger

2006-09-13T00:41:00.000-05:00

Read this how to.
Tells you how to discourage yourself from starting a blog. Why am I pointing others to it? Less competition is good for me.

Well, if you are not convinced and decide you should start a blog, you might as well read this how to start a blog entry in WikiHow.

And as if there is'nt already enough info junk, learn how to start a conv. when you have nothing to talk about.

Enjoy WikiHow !!! Its very cool.

duh

2006-09-08T17:03:00.000-05:00

I think the most effective solutions are "duh" ideas brought out at the right time at the right place for the right problem. People try to come up with all sorts of complicated solutions for the problem. To make a sweeping generalization statement, people dont take the time to understand the probem. They think the problem requires a complicated solution, assuming if there was a simple solution, someone would have already figured that out.

No. Solving something should not be about the solution It should be about the problem. Understand the problem. Trying existing simple solutions to fit the problem. See what existing techniques, tools, algorithms can bring to the table. The objective is to solve a problem. Not find a solution.

In fact, its my strong opinion that research is about finding problems, not finding solutions. Identify a clear problem and its easy to come up with a solution. Think about it. We come up with a solution and then discover that the solution does'nt work well. Why? Not because the solution is bad. Its because the solution dint fit the problem. There is probably a different problem that could have used this solution. So, what we did was went and found a solution to the wrong problem.

Thats why identifying and understanding the problem is so important. Discover problems. Finding solutions then becomes an easy task.

Inspired by http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/09/why_duh_isnt.html

The Happy at Work Book

2006-09-05T20:45:00.000-05:00

Check this book. Its available online and is about how you’d run your work life or your company based on happiness at work.

Sequels

2006-09-05T15:17:00.000-05:00

Movie sequels in general are worse than the original. It is evident from the revenue generated comparison between the original and the sequels. (There could be other reasons as to why sequels perform worse - people losing interest in the story line, movie better options at that time, etc. Someother time on that.)

Yet, occasionally, there comes a movie that proves better than the original. The original was good. Very good in fact. The sequel bettered that. I am referring to Munna Bhai. Watched it yesterday and am writing to show my appreciation for a movie very well made.

Munna Bhai MBBS was very good. I enjoyed it a lot. I have a very poor impression about hindi movies and this movie showed not all Hindi movies have to depend on heavy action or ‘item numbers’. Then, along comes Lage Raho Munna Bhai. A movie about a gangster. Yet no fight sequence. No murder. It is an extremely well made movie, with very funny dialogues, terrific acting by Sunjay Dutt, some nice songs and a message for the people in a very entertaining manner. I am no movie critic but the people in the theater vouched for the movie through their claps. Yes. The audience explicitly showed their appreciation. Both during the interval break and after the movie ended. Not something you see often. The laughters from people of all ages in the very mixed audience showed how this movie appeals to all age groups.

Go ahead. Treat yourself. Watch Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

RTI. The customer is always right.

2006-08-02T23:45:00.000-05:00

I am a strong proponent of the theory that the customer does not always know what he or she wants. Look around you. Did you think you needed ipods before Apple made them? How about Google search? Innovation does not come from user groups or customers telling what they want. They don't know what they want. Even if they know, they can't communicate it. Its not their job to innovate. Its R&D's responsibility. Another post on that later.

Coming back to the topic, what prompted me on this post was an interesting article where the author talks about how assuming the customer is always right results in bad employee morale. Bad employees lead to bad customer service and lose of business. Instead, if the employee is treated well, happy customers will be a natural fallout and what can be better for the business than happy employees and happy customers.

What does this got to do with RTI (The Right to Information Act)? A lot I think. The RTI is aimed at empowering people so that the government employees perform their duties. I want to take a step back and ask why do we need to have access to the documents? Why as citizens would we want to take the trouble of chasing down the relevant documents, read them and follow up with the authorities, go to the court, fight for justice when all we care about is getting things done? Is it because the authorities don't do what they were supposed to do? Then why aren’t they doing what they are supposed to do? May be bad leadership. Bad compensation. No motivation to do the right thing. Their leaders who seem to be indifferent to their actions and inactions.

So, instead of addressing those issues, why is the government instead trying to put the onus on the citizens to enforce what the system should be doing? And more importantly, why we as citizens want to take upon our self the responsibilities of ensuring the government officials perform their duties.

Saying anyone can come and look at the document is like the leaders saying to the government official, see I don’t trust you. The system is broken as well. The leaders don't have the time or inclination to fix any of it. So, as a fix, the general public, who are the customers, are required to directly fiddle with the officials. They can ask anything and you got to answer them. Its going to make the government employees all the more grumpy and not want to do anything.

My comparison to this a company letting its customers to talk to any of its employees, saying that’s the only way we can ensure good service to the customer. That’s total crap. Nothing can be worse to the employee moral than that. And disgruntled employees lead to bad customer service. How in the hell is this supposed to help us get things done when we are not required to be bothered with where the document is when, who should have done what and why and other intricate details of the process? As a customer, I expect those details to be hidden from me. I don't want to know. I just want things done. If things aren’t getting done, fix the system. Don't put more burden on the customer and ask him to go after the documents, the process. Do we have the infrastructure to implement this? Is there anyway I can access the documents without going through the officials who are the very reason things are not getting done and hence I am looking for the relevant documents? Plus, would that not slow done the system further because of the additional processes? Well that would depend on the volume on enquires. If it is high, it would be a burden. If it is'nt high, it would be close to status quo and hence practically ineefective. As if the government system is not already overburdened already and filled with laws left unenforced.

I know a lot of people feel very passionately about the RTI act. I could be a big thing in the sense it could be the thing that fixes a lot of the corruption. May be this is a far more practical way to go and a good first step than the mumbo jumbo idealistic fix the system talk. Lets see.

Car pool lane & hybrids

2006-07-16T14:59:00.000-05:00

Lexus GS 450h gets the car pool lane.

"The nearly $60,000 hybrid is eligible for tax breaks and single-occupancy transport in high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, although it gets 28 miles per gallon.

The 2007 Toyota Yaris, which starts at $10,950 and gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway with a traditional gasoline engine, gets none of those breaks."

To me, the rules and regulations of the land have no business encouraging a technology, like hybrid. Instead they should be encouraging fuel efficiency, irrespective of how it is achieved. The government should say: "Any car that gets more than 45 miles/gallon gets to use the car pool lane."

That way, the government need not worry whether a technology a car manufacturer selects to use is going to work or not. Thats not a government's job. It should just set a target (for fuel efficieny) and reward those who achieve it.

Some might say, the hybrid technology brings to the table an improvement in efficiency to existing cars and thats good and needs to be encouraged. Well, does making a 20 miles/gallon car give 28 miles/gallon mark an improvement worthy of tax breaks and car pool lane? Certainly not. While its an improvement, its not good enough. Improvements from a very low reference point are easier to achieve and less than say, improvements achieved on a car that already gives 35 miles/gallon. The rewards should be commensurate with the benefits to the environment achieved, not based on whether a particular technology is used on not. When the overall impact to the environment from the additional batteries in the hybrid still under debate, I am not sure if the owners should be rewarded yet for low levels of improvements.

Shoelace tieing technique

2006-07-11T23:15:00.000-05:00

To most, tieing a shoelace is no big deal. To a few like me, its a constant source of pain. I never got the hang of it. Either the left or the right shoelace seem to always come off. Sometimes, I just leave the lace untied knowing the other lace is also going to untie very soon and I might as well do the two together. Why waste a stop and a bend? And thankfully, I have never triped over my own shoelace even though many say there is a very high danger of that happening with an untied shoelace. My friends have attempted to teach me, have demonstrated it to me, riducled me, even tied it for me once, hoping I will become a better tier. Of no use. Then, I come across this today:

Ian's Shoelace Site. Will this help? Only time will tell. In the meanwhile, those who have similar difficulties, lets join hands. Oh well, our hands are tied tieing our laces. Never mind.

2006-07-11T00:24:00.000-05:00

Iruvar - Narumugayae

I just could not help put up another one. Its so cool. Here goes one of my fav. song.

2006-07-11T00:03:00.000-05:00

You Tube test

Just wanted to see how would it turn out - adding youtube video to my blog. Btw, nice bastetkall sequence.

Strange Names

2006-07-10T00:33:00.000-05:00

Weird Name.

"After nearly two decades of ridicule, a Vietnamese father has agreed to change his son's name from "Fined Six Thousand and Five Hundred."

Reminded me of the Johny Cash Song: A Boy Named Sue

"But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue.""

In the interest of everyone, there should be some rules set up so that names don't go out of hand.

Some thoughts:
1. No numbers.
2. No more than 3 syllables.
3. No q,z,x and other such characters in the name.
4. No animal kinds or animal character names.

Any more pointers?

Yellowstone

2006-07-07T18:52:00.000-05:00

As the July 4th long weekend came charging at us, my friends and I din't have any thing concrete planned. The thought of letting those 4 holidays go without doing anything was saddening. So we decided to go to Yellowstone National Park. The fact that it is 15 hours by road from the Bay Area din't deter us. Turned out, it was totally worth the drive. Take a look at the snaps and see for your self.

http://photosbydeena.googlepages.com/home

A few recommendations for those going to Yellowstone:

1. Whatever happens, don't miss Grand Teton National Park. It is just south of Yellowstone and absolutely gorgeous.
2. After a point, the Geysers tend to get repetitive. So don't bother visiting them all. Recommended Geyser: The Lone Star. Its accessible only after a 1 1/2 mile hike. But its not at all crowded and you can get as close as you like to the steam.
3. If on a hike, have sufficient mosquito repellent sprayed over you.
4. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is well worth a visit.
5. Jump into a river and get yourself wet.
6. If you are entering from the West, stop by the information office, get your Yellowstone pass and stay on the right most lane on your way to the West Entrance check point. Will save you some time, esp. when it is crowded. (At least did for us.)
Plus you will get some very useful brochures and maps.

Innovation through accidents

2006-07-06T23:45:00.000-05:00

http://hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu/item/5441.html

Is there a way innovators can encourage good accidents? In other words, is there anything we can control to foster this process?

A: Great question. Artists think they develop a talent for causing good accidents. Equally or perhaps even more important, they believe they cultivate an ability to notice the value in interesting accidents. This is a non-trivial capability. Pasteur called it the "prepared mind." There's an interesting analogy to evolutionary models of creativity here. In 1960, a guy named [Donald] Campbell proposed that we think of creativity as "Random variation + Selective Retention." That is, we need two processes, one to generate things we can't think of in advance, and another to figure out which of the things we generate are valuable and are worth keeping and building upon. In science, the arts, and other creative activities, the ability to know what to throw away and what to keep seems to arise from experience, from study, from command of fundamentals, and—interestingly—from being a bit skeptical of preset intentions and plans that commit you too firmly to the endpoints you can envision in advance. Knowing too clearly where you are going, focusing too hard on a predefined objective, can cause you to miss value that might lie in a different direction.

Found this answer very interesting. Take a look at the whole interview..

Drinking & driving vs. Talking & driving

2006-07-06T22:40:00.000-05:00

Talking on the cell phone while driving. I recently read an article that spoke about how people talking on the cell phone while driving are similar to drinking and driving in terms of their reaction time.

While this study might encourage some to hang up and drive, I am afraid it might encourage some to drink and drive. Why? By equating drinking to talking on the cell phone while driving, the study potentially under plays the risk of drinking and driving. Many people use their cell while driving. They think they are aware of how much attention they can provide to the road, other road users, etc while chatting on the cell. And probably they were never involved in an accident while using their cell. Out of luck or for whatever reason. Now, by equating this habit to drunken driving:

Instead of thinking: Talking and driving is as bad as drunken driving.

People might conclude: Drunken driving is ONLY as bad as talking and driving. That’s not too bad. I do that all the time. So I can also drink and drive.

Having said that, don't drink and drive. Try avoiding talking and driving at the same time. Certain don't drink and drive at the same time.

Ref: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6089908.html

Vaastu for websites???

2006-06-26T22:40:00.000-05:00

Wow. Just wow.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/06/26/vaastu.web.sites.reut/index.html

It would be interesting to see what changes the websites make to confirm to vaastu. And how much of the changes actually makes the website more usable.

Personally, I think technology used in a tool or website or anywhere should be non obtrusive and work towards the objective, not be the objective by itself.

From the article:
"A Web site where the colors hurt your eyes, the music offends your ears or has too much information is probably too cluttered and does not give a positive flow of ch'i," says Vikram Narayan, a Mumbai-based feng shui practitioner.

Perfect. Call it whatever. Just remove the clutter.

Google tech talks.

2006-06-26T12:20:00.000-05:00

If you're curious about the latest meteor findings in Antarctica or interested in high-end computing and scientific visualization at NASA or Opportunities For Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine or The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less do check
Google Tech talks

Movies & technology

2006-06-25T12:33:00.000-05:00

Watched two movies - Cars (by Pixar) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Amazing how one can be so well made and the other - well less said the better. Cars. The animation. The story. The opening sequence just knocked me off .Recovering, I wore a big smile. That remained till the end of the movie and continued well after the movie. Ah. The after taste. The folks at Pixar have done an amazing job. The technology behind the movie was extremely well hidden behind the well crafted story. If this story was made into a regular movie it would have been a bit cheesy. But with cars as characters, it was brilliant. The movie is a perfect demontration of using techonogy to enhance a story. There was no attempt to show off technology or the effort that went into the making. In true Steve Jobs style, the movie was elegant, clean, smooth with cutting edge animation wrapped around a nice interface in the form of a well told story.

Tokyo drift. What were they thinking? You can watch someone drift once. Ok. Twice may be. But all through the movie? It is really stupid to use technology or technique as a center piece and then bend and twist a story around it. Looked like the director was trying to create scenes just to show cars drifting. Again and again and again. The people behind this movie should have their artistic license revoked.

Vacations

2006-06-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

"We leave home tired; we come back exhausted."

That is from an article titled "Just Sit Back and Relax!" in The Time magazine talking about vacations in the US.

With a lot of my friends not too far from where I live, I have been spending a lot of weekends with them doing a lot of outdoor stuff. Like went skiing a couple of times, white water rafting, wine country tour, etc. This weekend, at the height of central California heat, we played tennis, went go karting, played basketball and then poker - all on the same day. Whenever visiting a place, it is very tempting to do as much as possible.

As the article alludes to, we work too hard towards relaxing. Yes I enjoyed every one of those weekends. I did lots of fun stuff I would probably not if not for my friends. Whenever we plan on a vacation, we invariably plan and try to do more than what could be realistically achieved, hoping to get more fun for the buck, only to end up tiring our self. And we try to call that vacation. Why do we do that?

A lot us like to beat the system by doing more in a shorter period of time - just like at work. We like to be efficient. But vacations are not work. They are not about efficiency, getting things done, checking things off a list. If you want to cover every attraction in NYC, don’t take a vacation. Go on a city exploration trip. Don't expect to come back charged. Expect to be exhausted.

That brings me to my favorite vacation spot - the city where I live. On a weekend, I am most relaxed at home or close to home. Not certainly the most enjoyable or fun filled weekend, but certainly the most relaxing. There is no pressure to visit a zillion places or do a million things. I can do as much or as little as I want.

Or better still, draw inspiration from Seinfeld and let our vacations be about nothing. It could be thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing, just like Seinfeld. But staying put, doing nothing could also sometime make us tired.

funny video on how Microsoft would have packaged ipod

2006-04-15T01:32:00.000-05:00

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=36099539665548298

Related article:
The different presentation styles of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates:
http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2005/11/the_zen_estheti.html

Photos page

2006-02-26T21:54:00.000-06:00

Recently got a Nikon D50 and I am super excited about it. And as luck would have it, Google introduced Pages - a place to create your own web pages. So, combining the two, here I introduce, my photos page:

http://photosbydeena.googlepages.com/home

Btw, the photos present there are not actually uploaded right on googlepages, but linked to the image files stored on Flickr, a service provided by Yahoo.

AID Jeevansaathi Balaji Sampath - 2005 MIT Global Indus Technovator award.

2006-02-20T16:00:00.000-06:00

http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/182/56/

Other winners: http://technovators.mit.edu/winner05.php

How To Do What You Love

2006-02-14T22:17:00.000-06:00

In the spirit of Valentine's day and in honour of my first love - work, here is an excellent article on how to go about getting to do what we love and helping kids to really understand about work and fun and the relationship between the two.
http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html

Corruption and work environment.

2006-02-12T11:11:00.000-06:00

Following yesterday's AID meeting, I learnt an important lesson - when criticizing something, don't just criticize, offer an alternate.

In the context of my previous post on RDB, here is what I think on fixing the problem of corruption. Corruption is not just taking bribes. It includes doing a shoddy job, not doing what is supposed to be done, cheating at work, etc. I don't think corruption can be eliminated by eliminating or punishing corrupt people. As long as the environment is ripe for corruption, someone or other will fill in. Rather I think it can be fixed by changing the circumstances that lead to corruption. When I say circumstances, I am referring to the work environment in general. Someone who is very proud of his work is unlikely to be corrupt at work. Someone who enjoys his work, takes pride in his work, his work place and colleagues will not do anything that demeans his office. He will be motivated to work and be responsible, feel obligated towards discharging his duties. I am not just taking about better compensation for the employees. Its only part of the solution. Work conditions, facilities, leadership, recognition, flexibility, independence, availability of information, etc all play a vital role in making ones job a pleasant experience.

What makes me think like this, which some might call naive? Studies have shown that a better work culture leads to better employee morale, better productivity, and a happier organization with excellent employee, customer and shareholder satisfaction. The direct correlation between a companies standing in the best places to work list and their innovation and earnings stream is a testimony to this. Isn't that our aim, in one way, in eliminating corruption?

How does this translate into the circumstances for a minister in the government to work in? For starters, may be we should stop automatically categorizing all politicians as corrupt, learn to recognize good politicians and appreciate what they are doing. Also, start understanding the long term impact of decisions they take for the country's people rather than look for quick fixes from the ministers and convert that understanding into appreciation at the time of election. Ofcourse, this cannot stand on its own. I am looking at a cultural shift at vaious levels, something not easily done.

So, may be, one approach to the problem of corruption is revamping the work environment in places of high corruption. Provide better recognition, instill a sense of pride, understand the strengths and weaknesses and provide leadership accordingly. Remember leaders also need leadership and leadership doesn't have to come just from above.

Rang de Basanti

2006-02-11T13:08:00.000-06:00

Oh no. This is not yet another review of the movie. There are a zillion reviews out there slicing and dicing it. In fact, the following would make sense only after you have seen the movie. So it is not a review to help you decide if the movie is worth watching. Anyway, in case you haven't seen the movie, spoilers ahead.

This is a take at how those guys took some drastic decisions. In a very stupid manner. The characters are shown to be pretty irresponsible. The way they were drinking standing at the edge of a wall, driving the bike and jeep, etc etc were testimony to the fact that they were not thinking too much about the consequences of what they were doing. And then, their close friend dies and they want to do something about it. Why? Because the friend's fiancee, who is also their friend, wants them to. She just lost her life partner. Her dreams are shattered. Obviously she would like someone to pay for it. And that someone was there in flesh and blood. She seeks revenge. Given the insensibility of the characters, they decide to act for her, and themselves.

Nothing surprising. They are shown irresponsible and they act irresponsibly, deciding on the spur of a moment, under duress. The defense is, they are not mature enough. Heck if they are not mature enough, they should not be taking responsibility to avenge for the death of their friend. They should not take on the responsibility of attempting to solve problems beyond their capacity. Jumping to solve something before understanding the problem is outrageous. Any math teacher would cringe at the thought of it. I am pretty sure they sat through some math classes in school and they would have been told a million times "understand the problem first".

The worst part is, while they are kind of shown to be repenting for what they did and acknowledge that what they did was not a good solution, they are not really shown paying a price for their actions. Yes they get killed mercilessly at the end. But that dint come out as a consequence of their decisions. It came out as a consequence of the evils of the society. The fact that they died at the end does not mean they paid a price. To me, it means they were also victims to the evils they were trying to fix, albeit in a stupid manner. How does that become a punishment in any manner?

And these characters are shown as being inspirations to college students all over the country. Excuse me, when did such immature irresponsible people become inspirations for out youth? The hero of Swades is a good inspiration. Someone who understood the problem, and proposed and implemented a solution working along with people who were directly affected by the problem. Thats maturity and responsibility.

My point is this. I don't care for the decisions they took. I do care for the way they took it. It was a very bad decision making process. That should not be glorified or shown in good light. They are not shown paying a price for it. They are shown becoming victims. It doesn't matter that they repent for their actions. I would be equally pissed if they had decided at a moments notice to do something that might be completely ok - like investigate the nexus in the deals. That would still have been a very thoughtless decision, albeit a not so stupid one. They are not shown repenting for how hasty their decisions were.

sambar

2005-10-29T16:23:00.000-05:00

check out this simple, effective and ultimate reciepe for sambar ;)

A simple jump - almost a hop.

2005-10-23T16:50:00.000-05:00

This is an experience people would describe with adjectives like stupendous, hair-raising, heart-stirring, and breathtaking. This would rank among the stupidest things people do.

What is it? A Jump? No. A jump from an airplane flying at 15,000 feet above ground. I did it yesterday, with a bunch of friends from work, and the verdict - anyone who has been on an aircraft must do this to know what it is like to get out of a plane - midair.

My colleague asked me I wanted to jump of out a plane. I said why not. 8 more people jumped in, some excited, some with self doubt and skeptism. On the D-Day, we were there at the skydiving company's place all set.

The things that the company makes you sign might make you wonder if jumping is really a sane thing to do. We are basically signing off saying the skydiving company assumes no responsibility for any death or injury, that we understand that it is risky and we will not sue the company. By signing it, we are pretty much handing over our lives to the instructor and the parachute. I haven’t trusted anyone with my life so much. Trust. Anything for adventure.

Anyway, we got dressed up. Felt like an astronaut getting ready for a mission. ;)

Or do my friend Karthik and I look more like F-16 pilots - without a helmet?

We flew on an old aircraft to a height of 15000 feet. While many were getting tensed going in that aircraft, thinking about the jump, watching the ground getting further away, I was engrossed looking at the cockpit. I was sitting very close to the pilot and knew I would not get a better look at a pilot in action. It was totally cool. The pilot was, unsurprisingly, the most bored person on the airplane. Must be strange for a pilot to have 15 people on take off and have just 1 on landing.

When the time came to jump, for one last time walking down the aisle towards the door - I thought - what stupidity - what the hell am I doing jumping out of a perfectly fine plane? If guys were to walk down the aisle at the time of their wedding, I am sure that’s exactly how they would feel - what stupidity - what the hell am I doing spoiling a perfectly fine life. Whatever. Before I had any chance to answer, I was out rushing towards earth at terminal velocity.

The hand you see reaching out to me is that of the photographer/cameraman recording my jump - both as a video and as a set of still photos. I was attached to a qualified instructor who pretty much did everything - push me out of the plane; guide me during freefall; release the parachute and direct the parachute to the landing spot.

Yes. That’s us flying like a bird with a nice long white tail. After 60 seconds of free fall, which was over in a flash, the parachute was released.

After that, it was more like a walk in the park. A nice glide down towards ground. The instructor did some twists and turns, flew over the nearby free way. But otherwise, it was more like an approach during landing; only more slow a better view and a little less comfortable. When it was time to land, that’s when I messed up a bit. I was supposed to lift my legs so that both my instructor and I can land sitting with the legs stretched and skid on the grass. Instead,

I dint lift my legs enough. So my foot hit the ground first, got caught at that spot, my body went ahead of my legs and my legs got caught under my body and then my foot went under the instructor., all folded.

Celebrating the fact that now I have n take offs and n-1 landings in an aircraft.

A word of advice - Go jump out of a freaking plane. You don’t need any reason for that. Just jump. You wont regret it.

chapattis

2005-09-26T19:57:00.000-05:00

I crashed and burned. Then rose like a phoenix from the ashes and made some of the best chapattis I have ever known!!!

To roll a short story long, this is what happened. Sick of eating yucky frozen chapattis I got the necessary material to make chapattis from the fundamentals. I did a search to find out how much wheat and water should I use to make the dough. Some moron wrote 2 1/2 cups for 2 cups of wheat. Very happily, I dumped 1 1/4 of water on to a cup of wheat and shock upon shock - it was no where close to what the dough should be like. It was rather fit for dosas. I panicked and tried calling anyone who might have any idea on this. Total failure. No one would answer my call - as though they knew why I was calling. It was good in one way. The worst of situations brings the best in men. I decided to do the most logical thing - add more wheat. There was very little improvement. It was more like dumping wheat into an abyss. I had no idea where all the wheat was going. (Well some went on the floor. I hate food ingredients so fine - flying all over and dirtying my kitchen. Ok let me not digress). Seeing not much improvement in the state of the dough, I put the whole thing in the fridge hoping it would solidify while I compose myself over a cup of coffee.

Came back after an hour and decided to check if it was any better. Nope. Tried adding some more wheat. Nope. The fluidity just would not reduce. I tried rolling small balls of the dough as it was. Nope. Only ended up sticking it in the rolling pin. I had to eat chapattis. I had to do something. I knew where the mistake was. Convincing myself this is an experiment and experiments do go wrong, I started afresh. This time, making sure I dint act like a moron and pour all the water in one shot. Sprinkled some water and mixed the wheat. Continued the process slowly and carefully untill I was happy with the dough and its state. I massaged it till I was convinced it was as happy as I was with it.

I let it sit for an hour. Seemed like eternity. I was growing hungry and excited about my experiment. I was imagining how my chapattis would heat up and rise like the morning sun. Yummy. After the stipulated 1 hour, I started the process of making small round balls. It was not just the end product that I was interested in. I wanted to experiment and push the limits on the process. I wanted to see how well I can manage the process of making those wheat balls, rolling those balls into flat round gorgeous uncooked chapattis and finally cook those chapattis. Due to lack of space and my aversion to doing the dishes, I wanted the three steps to be perfectly synchronized, and in parallel so that I complete the act of making chapattis using the least amount of time, energy, space and vessels. I must say it was a success. I dint burn any of the chapattis. I dint have to leave the hot plate without a chapatti on it at any time. It was a well oiled (actually well gheed;) ) process. It was like a symphony - except it was a treat to the tongue and eyes rather than the ears. I devoured the chapattis and slept like a baby. Even though the chapattis weren’t perfect. It came in all shapes - fused together in all possible permutations. Some call it imperfection. I call it creativity that cannot be replicated - even by me. It dint rise like the morning sun. It stayed put like a lazy bum on a sunday morning. Used more ghee than I would have liked to. Well there is always the tennis court.

Something to think about...(1)

2005-06-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

1. Nothing is better than eternal happiness.
2. Eating a hamburger is better than nothing.
3. Therefore, eating a hamburger is better than eternal happiness.

Something to think about...

Women on the front.

2005-05-23T23:39:00.000-05:00

Recently there was a program on TV that talked about a bill introduced in the us senate that seeks to restrict women in the military from direct combat positions. The panel discussion on TV discussed this issue with some senators from both sides, and some labour and military experts. What amazed me was not what was discussed, but what was not discussed. The speakers spoke about whether it is a good time to bring such a regulation, whether the government should have the authority to do it or the military should be able to decide for itself at a time when recruiting for the army is proving to be very difficult.

What was not discussed, what I thought was more relevant - why discuss this, why is there a bill now, why bring this up, why discriminate and single out women? Aren't we there far enough down the road where we stop discriminating - positive or negative? The job is voluntary - no one forces anyone to be a soldier. The job of a soldier is dangerous. Anyone becoming a soldier knows what it takes and what is it at stake. Everyone knows that. Everyone acknowledges that. Then why this attempt to just protect the women and not the men? Are women considered more important for the society than the men? Do we think a child needs a mother more than a father? Or do we think women don't make good soldiers and hence if left in the frontline, will be a greater danger to themselves and their colleagues?

Do women want this protection? Do they like being protected like this? What will be the implications in other professions? Can we say women can become drivers of fire engines but not get directly involved in fire fighting? What about the implication of this restriction on the career growth of women? Anyone for a police chief who was never allowed on a patrol or a raid because for whatever reason?

I think we need to stop doing this. By discussing laws like this, we are going backwards. I acknowledge the inherent difference between men and women. But I don't think rules and legislation are needed to scream that out. Men and women are different just as my neighbour and myself are different. Either we adopt to what we are expected to do or we move on to things we are better suited for. We don't allow the law of the land to decide who is supposed to do what, whether it is safe for one set of people to do it or not. Why now? Why here? Why this?

Day Light Saving

2005-04-02T21:20:00.000-06:00

Dont forget to reset your clocks.

And if possible, read this. Nice one.

sfgate

Hotel Rwanda

2005-03-22T23:53:00.000-06:00

It will have the same effect on you as an earth quake would have on a building. Atleast it had on me. I was shaken. Not that what was shown in the movie was news to me. Yet each time I see or read about it, I am shaken. It has shaken quite a few people too.

But like the buildings in the western world designed to withstand shockers, I continue to wosh, think about it a bit, may be discuss it with few others who would also feel similarly and then go back tomorrow to work.

Yet may be, one day, hopefully, the shockers will stop. Or say this is it and do something concrete.

I am shamelessly copying a view on the movie from IMDB and leave the rest to you.
Review from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395169/
by Maggie

"I have no doubt that this is the only movie for the past year that can get me totally, if not 101%, emotionally involved. For other movies, I might be interacting with the story a lot , say associating my personal experiences with the characters, making judgment on them, criticizing the development of the story, ways of expression, the cinematography, acting, etc. BUT, Hotel Rwanda simply took me over as I was watching it. My emotion was going along with Paul ( Don Cheadle) all the time. The director did a great great job in capturing the feelings of people facing uncertainty, horror, ridicules, anger, death, waning faith... Family, life and dignity/integrity become the largest things in the situation. What's more is that it squarely shows the realist thinking in international politics.It honestly shows the weakness or helplessness of the UN and the non-governmental organizations. It truthfully tells how indifferent most of the international community (or individuals, which may or may not include you and me) are towards the deprivation of social justice taking place in other parts of the world. It makes you question to what extent that it is true to say what we see ( the sufferings in the world) is what we tolerate. It shows you how monstrous human being can be. It scares you how sanity would fail. At the same time, the uglier the people become, the more beautiful you find those who have managed to keep brave and maintain humanity. The movie fully succeeds in showing me the spirit, faith, and compassion that the world is dreaming for."

Information diet

2005-03-20T00:16:00.000-06:00

One of those days when I felt I was taking in too much and not giving enough. My head seemed to be chocking with tons of information. It was like eating junk all through the day. With a zillion websites pouring in news from ridiculous to real healthy food for thought, and a zillion blogs talking about everything under the sun, I was feeling kind of pressurized to write something just so that I would feel better. But thats the irony. Now I am only adding to the already overflowing information channel.

"We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge" - Rutherford D. Roger

How aptly said. We browse through so many new sites. We have more information than ever before. But are we more knowledgeable? Are we more en lightened about our surroundings? To me, the converse is what is happening. With some much information, we hardly have any time to think and reflect on what we learn. There is no time to ask the important whys and hows. Its like reading a novel a day. Do we measure how well read we are by the number of novels we have read or by the
amount of time we spent analyzing and understanding, reading the lines multiple times and seeing whats in between the lines? Are we trying to read because we want to know or because we want to know more than the other person?

On a related note, I hate to watch television. It takes control over the pace at which information is sent to you. Its like watching a F1 race. Images fleet before your eyes. You dont get a chance to pause that, think and then proceed. You wink, you miss it. But in reality, we wont miss anything. Because it hardly gives you any room for interpretation. It does not allow for any feed back. We can both read the same set of words and infer differently. But we typically see the same - as shown on tv. And thats like mass fast food feeding the people with unnecessary information.
That reminds me of the news program I saw on a hindi channel at my neighbours place - it interviewed a bunch of girls who managed to get photographed with Rahul Gandhi - and how now their dream has been fulfilled. News item of terrific importance that can alter the course of world politics.

Looks like news (???) sources are only going to increase. So the onus is on people to restrict the intake. May be we will soon have people being informationally obese and then going on a low-information diet?

Patient: How much ever I try, I am not able to resist going to news.google.com once every 15 minutes and spending atleast 30 min :(.
Doctor: I have the perfect solution for you. The AtKiths Low Carb diet. I have a new browser that will automatically redirect you to my site
NoNewsIsGoodNewsBlashBlahBlah.com if you spend more than 5 minutes at any news site.

:). Anythings possible. :)

New Article @ Jyoti

2005-02-27T02:14:00.000-06:00

Check out my article and by my friends at AiD-MN

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~aidmn/docs/Jyoti2005.pdf

Here is my article as it appeared in Jyoti 2005

“… Project Small Family [PSF] is open to young women in the age group between 18 and 35, who are willing to show up once in three months and be checked for being pregnancy-free, If found free, they are paid at the rate of Rs.250 per month…”

http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/ideasforindia/story/192_0_8_0_C/

Rewards – for now and for ever.

This one scores high on simplicity and result. No complications. No long drawn out procedures. Effective in reducing population and empowering women. Makes them feel important due to their new found financial leverage.

The beauty of this is it addresses a problem many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) face in implementing most of their projects. The most difficult task of an NGO is not raising funds or getting the required resources. It’s in convincing people that what it proposes to do will in fact be effective and useful. We human beings always have a tendency to ask ‘what’s in it for me?’. When the answer is unsatisfactory or unfathomable, it is normal to question if its worth to put in the required resources.

In spite of all the skepticism and the lack of a very clear picture, NGOs are determined enough to go ahead and make a difference. There are a few approaches the NGOs typically take in handling this. One is the concept of convincing early adopters to take the initiative so that others are convinced about the idea and start following suit. Unfortunately, in most cases it takes a long time for results to be evident. Patience is needed from the sponsors, NGOs and the people. Again, it takes the whole community to work in tandem to produce something substantial. If only a subset of that group adopts a scheme, it might actually work to be counter productive.

Example: Specific types of industries tend to be concentrated in a certain region and they tend to pollute to some degree. Convincing just one company in the group to be more conscious of the environment will not work because it will cost more for that company and eventually it will go out of business. The other companies would continue to pollute and produce their products cheaply. Even if convinced to take the risk, other companies would be discouraged from following suit as they would see the decrease in profits of that one company before they appreciate the improvement in the quality of air and water. This defeats the whole purpose in convincing that one company to change its way.

So in such scenarios, either the entire industry has to be convinced to change its way or the early adopters need to be suitably compensated by either the government or the people in the community or may be even an NGO as a reward to their efforts. This is very similar to what happens in a community. One person or one family in a village might seem like a good start. But for others to get inspired and adopt the same means and ways, it has to be successful and for it to be successful, it has to be adopted by the entire village. Protecting the local tradition, population control, income generation, awareness – all these share the commonality that they need a critical mass to be successful. And most people need living proof that something works before they use it. So what’s the answer?

Reward is the key. Yes. There might be long term benefits. Yet asking someone to see all the wonderful things 1000 feet down the road when there is a deep hole lurking right in front of them just doesn’t work. They will be more concerned about avoiding the abyss rather than looking into what’s in store many years down the lane.

Instead of trying to push forth very idealistic goals to people who are more concerned with making their ends meet on an everyday basis, the architects of the project described in the opening paragraph offered something that didn’t ask for much nor promised much. It was innovative in what it asked for – get tested once every 3 months; simple in what it measured – pregnant or not; and very effective in the way it rewarded success – Rs 250/- each time they tested as “not pregnant”. It managed to delay pregnancy. It reduced birth rate. Made sure the money was available directly to women and hence for the health and education of their children.

Examples like these throw new light into the challenges faced in developmental projects. There are people out there who are really smart about the problems and it is important that we know about them. They are creative in their solutions. They understand the working of the human mind and design their solutions around that instead of trying to force a solution on the people. They take people into confidence, acknowledge that they are the experts of their problems and try to work with them as partners in development. As an organization dealing with communities and NGOs, it is my hope that we look out for and encourage such out-of-the-box yet simple endeavors.

Nice collection on education

2005-02-22T00:45:00.000-06:00

Education Journal First Issue :
http://www.ashanet.org/pages/library/edjournal/MoveableType/content/

Lots of detailed articles on education in India, deep analyisis on the state and its implications.

Do take a look.

Just being at Home.

2005-02-20T22:07:00.000-06:00

http://www.thesouthasian.org/archives/000301.html

I read this article and it reminded me of my behaviour in the US in general and my last two restaurant visits in particular. I went to a Puerto rican restaurant last night and then went to a small Indian Dhabi today. After reading the article, I realized I din't thank the guy who served me at the Indian place but did thank the person at the Puerto rican place. I always make it a point to thank everyone who does a service to me - the bus driver, the toll booth collector, the clerk at the groc et al. And I have nothing against desis or the service provided. Yet I failed to thank him. Why?

The answer might lie in what I did in India. I never thanked the bus conductor in India. I never did once say a thank you to the person at the counter in India. Not that I was thankless to them. Compared to what the bus drivers do here, the bus drivers and conductors in India go through hell. Yet me saying thank you to them would have been strange. May be it would have made them immensely happy. Don't know. I just dint thank them. No one I knew thanked them. I was grateful to their service. Yet dint openly acknowledge it. Not that I dint thank because others dint. I just assumed they dint expect it. And I just dint clarify my assumption.

To me, its doing whats expected. The waiter at the Indian restaurant knows what an American customer expects as service and what we as Indians expect as service in an Indian restaurant. When I go to an Indian restaurant, I expect authentic Indian food. I really don't care how the service is, as long as it is not bad. An American going to an Indian restaurant expects a nice Indian experience. And that includes good service, a small talk on the food, etc. By being courteous to the American customer, the waiter just made sure the american further elevates the opinion of the restaurant and Indians in general. And to me, the server was at home with fellow Indians but was being at his best to the 'guest'. He probably knows we would understand if he wasn't as nice as we would like the person serving us to be, given the rush. He also knows, may be, the american cant tell between the various levels of authenticity of Indian food and he is going to choose his Indian restaurant primarily on the service.

When we nod or smile and don't at a fellow Indian, to me, its analogous to what the waiter did. We don't mean to be discourteous. We don't mean to feel ashamed or any thing. We just dont want to be so formal all the time. Do we put a napkin on our lap and eat with a fork, knife and spoon at home all the time?

New Year

2005-01-01T13:21:00.000-06:00

With the birth of a new year, lets hope all will be well, happy and hale and healthy in this world this year.

Check this. Nice first hand reporting on the relief works. One of his blog pieces appeared on rediff.
http://indiauncut.blogspot.com/

Again appreciation for AID from him:
http://indiauncut.blogspot.com/2004/12/picture-of-hell-and-no-kerosene.html

An excellent report on the relief activities.
http://www.aidindia.org/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=63

AID folks in Action

2004-12-30T02:25:00.000-06:00

Check this news video on AID volunteers at UMCP handling calls from donors for the Tsunami victims.

link:
http://www.wusatv9.com/video/player.aspx?aid=17708&sid=&bw=hi

Relief Efforts

2004-12-30T01:24:00.000-06:00

With all the aid pouring in, looks like the trouble now is getting enough volunteers to manage all the resources. Contrary to what many might believe, at times of disaster and even during othertimes, the easiest of all tasks is raising money. Especially during such times, people are more than willing to contribute how much ever they can, sometimes even more than they could afford - like my friend in Minneapolis. Hats off to him. But then, the difficult task is managing the aid and getting volunteers so that help reaches the right people at the right time.

There are many organizations out there trying their best to do what best they could possibly do. The problem is, there is no umbrella organization to coordinate the whole effort. One team could possibly go to a village to help them out and it is very possible that another organization also decides to send a team to the same village. Its very likely considering that the call for help from a place reaches multiple people at the same time. Also, there are many places where there are no one to help.
Like the islands of Andaman. There are hardly any contacts there and not enough local volunteers either. Its here the army, the navy and the air force are trying to do their best.

Its great that certain organizations are collaborating in their efforts. To me, it is a great move. Something along these lines need to be done for the long run. Even within the same organization like AID, with so many different chapters and NGOs contacting different chapters, there is a lot of overlap - in the projects we undertake, the mistakes committed and the lessons learnt. So the more coordinated the efforts, the better for the victims, better in terms of number of people helped and better in terms of volunteers not feeling their efforts were not 100% useful at the end of the day.

With so many volunteers on the ground on extremely demanding situations, it is very important that they remain emotionally strong, are not overwhelmed by the task and last but not the least, feel satisfied they did something that helped someone. Volunteers are the backbone of this entire operation and they need to be taken care of. Especially the ones exposed to all the elements. Hats off to them. Its really nice to note that people of all ages and capacity are doing their best. Like the story here about young NCC cadets in Kerala.

Donors are in plenty. So are organizations accepting donations. It is easy for donors to fall prey to fly by night operators. Please refer to the following sources before donating:
http://www.benjaminrosenbaum.com/blog/archives/2004_12.html#000151
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aidsites/
http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html

These lists are not exhaustive. But plz make sure before making a donation. Also plz check with ur company if they would do a matching donation. That could double the donation with no additional input from you.

Nature's fury

2004-12-27T08:42:00.000-06:00

PS: I am constantly updating this post as and when I get links to new information/links.

WashingtonPost Article on relief efforts from DC area, including AID's efforts.

Blog exclusively for relief efforts, fund raisers, information etc. This blog is being constantly updated by volunteers and is an excellent source of information regarding whats happening where and by whom and how you can contribute.

Btw, AID online donations for the victims set up yesterday has collected more than 125,000$ in 24 hours. Spread the word and help AID and other organizations raise more for the victims.

Once again nature has proved that no matter what man achieves, he still cannot control what nature does. The devastation in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and so many other places in South East Asia is terrible.

AID (Association for India's Development) is organizing relief efforts. In case you want to help, and want some first hand information on the devastations in Chennai, click here. I am sure there are lot of other organizations in India and else where working hard to help the people. I strongly recommend people to provide whatever they can through one of them. Here is the link to the red cross page on the disaster. Find here a list of other organizations accepting donations.

Plz have a look at these snaps and see the extent of destruction.
Link1 Link2

tour of sfo

2004-12-18T23:19:00.000-06:00

Saturday. off from work. no commitments. decided to explore sfo downtown. no prior itinerary. armed with a bus time table, dollars and quarters, jacket and enthu, set off on a self guided tour of sfo. turned out to be a wonderful experience. can now claim have a feel for the city. chennai minneapolis and chicago. cities i would right fully claim to have a feel for. SFO. Welcome to the club :).

With a heavy breakfast in my tummy and a heavier back pack filled with goodies, water and camera, i set off from my house to the nearest bus stop. yes all the way up and down using just the public transportation system. Golden Gate Transit. MUNI. Tram. Yes its possible. SFO's transportation system rocks. Now lesser inclined to get a car. On reaching downtown, called up a few people who knew/have been to sfo downtown and one of them offered me the suggestion of going to Fisherman's Wharf. The other suggested loitering in the downtown and do some shopping. Did both. Got myself a new sleeveless jacket for peanuts. i had a chance to walk down market road. could not help comparing this road with chicago's magnificent mile. Does not come anywhere close in terms of crowd or variety to that mile in chicago. But felt this road in this Golden Gate city was more practical, more reachable to ordinary purses, and did not come with a 'see it but dont touch it' tag. The place was filled with ordinary folks in ordinary dress walking and doing normal things. I always felt that in Chicago's magnificent mile, there were two very distinct set of people present - the ultra sophisticated afford all type and the ones who come to gape at the first kind and their shops. The market road was entirely different in that sense. May be I am comparing apples and oranges.

Took the famous trolley to Fisherman's Wharf. Man the streets of SFO. I pity the horses that were used in earlier times here in SFO. The roads seem to be inclined at 45 degrees. I have seen these angles only in the entrances to some parking garages. Imagine whole streches of roads exending to couple of blocks inclined at such angles and worse.

Fisherman's Wharf reminded me so much of Navy Pier in chicago. Again, whatever I felt about the downtown was re-enforced here. Less crowded. Less showcase like. Chicago's navy pier sometime feels like it is an outdoor movie set and all the people over there are extras playing their roles. Fisherman's warf seemed more natural, authentic seafood restaurants showing off what would be cooked, right in front and allowing the customer to see all the dirty process that goes on before it becomes a delicacy in our plate. The shore there had a nice view of the alcatrz island and the bay. Took tons of snaps. I was alone. Yet I wanted to take some snaps with me in the foreground. So I asked a couple of people and they all obliged whenever I asked them. Another guy, from India, was there alone and he asked me to take a snap of him. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, I asked him to take one of mine there. Since we both were alone, and may be I thought I could use some company and he, some guidance given that he had been in the us for only 3 weeks and was leaving back to India the next day, we decided to walk together. It also helped that neither of us had any thing planned in particular. Every now and then, both of us exchanged our cameras and took snaps of each other. So much so, he told me all about where he is from, where he works, what he does,what he thinks of US etc etc. We then went to the golden gate bridge together by bus and continued our snap exchange. Took some really cool snaps of the bridge. Atlast when it was time to head home, we exchanged contact info hoping to keep in touch. Strange how strangers become acquiantance.

Golden Gate Bridge. An engineering marvel. Would be a marvel even if constructed today with the help of all the technology at our disposal. It was constructed 60 years back and has withstood earthquakes better than other modern bridges. Whoever said we improve as time progresses. Me describing it wont do justice. Neither to the bridge not you. It needs to be seen. Stand still and take it in. Dont just drive by. I did that for a whole week. Really din't appreciate its beauty. Only today when I had a chance to walk under it and savour it true magnificence did it strike me what character and charm it possess. Its not like one of your usual run of the mill huge structure. Its hugeness adds a majestic stature to it. Its not gigantic. It stands tall.

Look at these snaps.

Compare the height of the vehicles to the first portion of the tower and then see from the second tower, how many sections are present.

Minuscule in front of a towering personality :)

Postcard snap. - Atleast I hope you would say so ;)

And this is where I wish I cud send you for reading and not commenting - Alcatrz island prison - as seen from Fisherman's Wharf.

Friendship

2004-12-18T01:17:00.000-06:00

Found this while blog hopping:

Friends of women:
A wife was not at home for a whole night. So she tells her husband, the very next morning, that she stayed at her girlfriend's apartment over night. So the husband calls 10 of her best girlfriends and none of them confirm that.

Friends of men:
A husband was not at home for a whole night. So he tells his wife the very next morning, that he stayed at his friend's apartment over night. So the wife calls 10 of his best friends and 5 of them confirm that he stayed at their apartments that night and another 5 are claiming that he is still with them.

Guys - always there to save each other's ass :)

Distractions.

2004-12-01T18:50:00.000-06:00

Just read an article about the popularity of the word 'Blog'. Looks like it is the most sought after word this year. Check this news. (http://tinyurl.com/6zgnn ). That's the url I used, but if you copy pasted it, you would get the original yahoo news url. The site I used to do the conversion was TinyUrl.com and it gives a tiny url in lieu of a long url. Very useful when mailing or messaging long links. And speaking of blogs, microsoft is releasing its own blog space for users with hotmail or msn accts. Check it out here. Looks like the blog scene is getting really hot with almost all major names vying to offer the service. Wondering what the revenue model will be and what will be the differentiator. The brighter side - it encourages so many of us to write regularly, however useful or useless it may be to others.

In case you are one of those who loves to surprise oneself, try stumbleupon. Install the tool bar and volle - time flies, you will go to new and exciting websites and discover cool ones. Keep clicking on the stumble button on the tool bar and it will take you to a new site every time. Comes up with some real neat ones which otherwise would have been lost in this online jungle. A la Alice in WebOland. Enjoy.

blog updates

2004-11-25T08:41:00.000-06:00

Made some changes to the blog. First added google adsense. You see the 'Ads by Google' boxes when you search through google, when you see mails thru gmail and in lots of websites that now have context sensitive ads. I thought it would be nice to do have some ads on my page too and here I go - one more place where ads fight for your attention. Ok. Before you read any further, if you feel like clicking those ads on top of the page, please do. Coz it gets me money. Each time someone clicks it, I get some points and would soon be raking some moolah.

Are you sure you don't want to click those ads? Anyway. Now look to your left. Left on the screen and may be you have to scroll down a bit. Links to some of the blogs by people I know. I have put them up in alphabetical order. They all make very interesting reading. Though not all of them are updated very frequently, I am sure your visit will reveal from treasure trove. The last link in that list is an exception. It is the link to the University of Minnesota Library's blog services directory. From there you will have access to a whole bunch blogs by U of M staff, students and faculty.

Below that I have added a link to my blog's atom feed. This would be useful for syndicating to another site or reading through a news reader. Customer satisfaction
drives it all :)

Happy surfing!

12 angry men

2004-11-22T16:34:00.000-06:00

I am no film critic. Yet felt compelled to write on this movie that so beautifully portrayed the different facets of human nature. This movie captured my undivided hard to get attention just with its dialogues, and simplicity of characters we all could meet in our travel on the metro or the bus. The entire movie is set inside one room. The entire cast remains in the same costume throughout the movie. The movie is about the discussions of the jury members in a case involving an 18 year old boy, living in the slum with a father who repeatedly beats him since his childhood. The boy now has been accused of killing his father with a knife. The movie starts with 11 out of 12 jury members convinced that the boy is guilty and just one member not certain. As the movie unfolds, we see how the life of that young man is debated, how prejudice and notions in the society cement shaky evidences, how the same thing is seen differently by different people, how the connections are drawn and evidence analyzed for validity in the context of human tendencies - desire to be known, desire to look good. The movie ends with all 12 convinced that the there is no sufficient evidence and hence not guilt. The efforts taken by the lead in trying to see the facts with a plain glass, trying to make them see more than what they want to see are terrific. He starts off with a possibility that the evidence could be shaky and refuses to send the boy to the death chamber until he is proved beyond doubt. He refuses until all doubts are cleared and in the attempt by others to clear that in him, they step on information that casts a doubt, a second thought, in their own hasty conclusion. The most important thing I got out of this movie was how easy it is to judge someone based on what we typically associate someone to. This movie tears that apart and proves how dear it could have proved on that young man, if not for the determination of one man who decided to stick to his ground. Truly a wonderful movie.

Click here for more details on this movie at IMDB.

Ode the magazine

2004-11-21T23:31:00.000-06:00

Ode means hymn or poem. Ode is a magazine, a poem on lives. True lives. Stories about lives trying to get into deeper truth and inner meaning. Looking into ways and means to make lives better on this planet. How to stop worrying and start thinking about the issues that matter. The food we eat. The stuff we use. The way we travel. The way we entertain ourselves and others. The way we see and will be seen. It has streaks of innovations, affirmation of dreams that have become reality. Not the kinda of dreams dreamt in wall street or silicon valley. Dreams that many might think are nightmares. Dreams for the next generation. Wonder what is it like to be more responsible denizens of the world as envisaged by peaceniks of mother earth. Thoughts on thoughts, the functioning of the human intellect. The magazine tries to capture the spirit of the community and how a community is an extension of the human body, how the community, like the human body, can live in harmony, understanding the roles and responsibilities, and helping each other at time of difficulty and illness, sharing the joys and pleasures. Bringing to light rays of hope hidden in the darkness of myriad human cluster.

Try visiting it online and see for yourself the kind of stuff they come up with every month.

balancing act

2004-11-19T18:37:00.000-06:00

happened to look at a snap of a thin man balancing a whole bunch of huge empty baskets click here to see. This is one of the pictures appearing in the 2005 AID calendar. You can get it here.

To me, the picture seemed to convey more than the obvious. That if things are balanced, nothing is impossible. That with the right devices, nothing is impossible. That with the right attitude, tasks are not as difficult as they seem.

Pictures. Says a zillion things. Without uttering a zilch.

Test Drive

2004-11-06T23:28:00.000-06:00

Today I had the opportune to test drive a Scion xA and a Mazda 3. Both are new offerings for 2004 and were the finalists in my list. Yep I am car shopping. Suggestions invited.

Heres my cent worth of review on those two. Let me start with the Mazda 3. Its the successor to the successful protege from the Mazda stable. It has been made bigger and sportier. Its got the looks, kinda of not too weird but different enough to be noticed. I had heavy expectations on the performance of the car after reading about its reviews. The manual transmission 2.0L vehicle din't disappoint me. The steering was just right. Great response and handling. Dint tilt/sway on high speed turns. Breaks were strong and even and solid on all 4 wheels. The issues I had with it were with respect to the clutch. It was much higher to my liking. I prefer to use the clutch with the back end of left foot still on the floor. In this car, the clutch was positioned higher and hence I had to lift my foot from the floor to use it. That can be painful in stop and go city traffic. Try keeping one foot a couple of inches above the ground for a few minutes. Also, when I took off from a signal, trying to get maximum acceleration from the car, I got a screetch - a slight spin from the back wheels. But I don't think the push I gave to the car warranted that. Dint expect that from a car that screemed sporty all over. The gear shift was precise but I dint like the short throw. I would prefer a longer stick since I use my elbow and not my wrist for gear change.

Coming to the Scion xA, I test drove a 1.5L manual version. Not too many frills. Just the car I would look for. Just the car I wished more people would opt for - small, safe, fuel efficient, and one that will last an eon. While people already claim the first three for this car, the last one cant be said about it since it was introduced only this year. Given that it is made by Toyota in Japan, I would not have any doubts with its durability, reliability and resale value. The vehicle looked kinda of strange. It did appeal to me, it appealed as an autorickshaw to some. This car might not turn so many heads in Europe or Asia, where people are used to such tall boy small cars, where small is the norm. Here in the land of milk and honey and hummer and chevy tahoes, this, along with Mini Cooper, Mazda Miata (my other favs. - just in case u want to gift me something) will appear like a bunch of ants racing with a school of cockroaches. The Scion xA handled like a dream. I really don't care what the top speed for a car is. I don't believe in driving my car above 80-85 mph max. And most cars on the road can do that speed with no sweat. Its the handling, the feedback from the road, the cornering and suspensions that matter to me. If I can take a sharp turn at high speeds without fear of tilting and pushing my copassenger to my side, without fear of breaking my suspensions, I would be happy with the vehicle. As long as the back doesn't decide to get its own steering and go in its new path in high speed turns, I am satisfied. If the car can pick up and leave the signal for others to say goodbye and take leave, I am happier than the kid with the christmas gift of his choice. This car did made me feel more than just delighted. It dint make me feel guilty. With a mileage of atleast 35mpg, I am sure I will make a few friends at Green Peace. One issue with the car is space at the back. If the people at the front are tall and are going to push the seat way back, the back benchers may experience coach class on Most Stingy Airlines. In my case, I am not tall and for my height, I tend to sit closer to the steering than what the norm is. So it is not such an issue. The ride is not the smoothest and I cant expect 5 star service at 1 star price. With most roads being free of back breakers and bumps, I can live with a not so smooth ride. Drive in 1st and 2nd gear is louder than normal but that is expected out of a very small engine. The gear shifts were exactly what I would like and the acceleration what I would enjoy. The rpm of the engine was higher than what would be expected for a cruise at 60mph. Again the size of the engine is to be blamed for that. As long as I get a neat mileage, I am not going to be bothered with the rev. The view was panoramic in the front and dint have any problem with the blind spots or view at the back. The speedometer and other gauges are placed just above the music system console (bang in the middle) instead of behind the steering. Din't feel odd. Instead it was staring right into me, making sure I dont fail to notice it. It helped since before I realized, I had accelerated to 70mph. On a high speed turn, given its height, there was a slight tilt but that's something that could be fixed with some of the performance accesories. The Cold Air Induction system might be a good one to add to jack up the power a bit more. This car with a full passenger load and luggage could use a little bit more power, but then, you would not be allowed to go fast by your copassengers. So should not be such a deterent. The music system was good - a Pioneer cd/mp3 system comes standard. So does power windows/locks, mirrors, rear wiper. On the whole, I feel this is a pretty good substitute for all the expensive tinny winny ones that I long to have. Not a pocket burner. Can seat 4. Handles beautifully. Gives great mileage. May not touch 100mph, but neither do I. Will make heads turn, especially if dressed up in a bright yellow or indigo or red. (Or a combination of those - front and back or left in red and right in green.)

Yet another election post

2004-11-03T20:00:00.000-06:00

The election is over and there will be no change of guard at the White House. One thing that I observed with amazement was the effect of religion on the outcome. Religion proved to be the most important factor. I am also referring to factors like abortion, gay marriage, gun control. Yes all along we thought war, terrorism, economy, jobs, out sourcing were going to be the main influencers. But what happened? Things that we thought were supposed to affect the people on an everyday basis were sidelined by factors that affects only a small section of the population, by factors that would really not matter in the daily life of people. Does it mean the voters had their priorities wrong? Nope. Their priorities were different from what I thought would be. I would have based my vote on who would do the most for the economy. Someone whose policies would reduce uncertainties and increase the confidence level of the people. It would be stupid on my part to assume that it would be the same with everyone. While religion is important to me, its not the factor dictating my everyday life. To some, the economy, security etc are taken for granted and its the religion that dictates their everyday life. Certain things that are of no concern to us, can be a stomach churning thought to the religious right.

The farmer in Kentucky, people in heartland america, felt someone who is religious, who understands their faith and would not allow people do whatever they like, instead would, as would be expected out of a good leader, stop people from doing wrong thing, things that appear wrong in their eyes, issues like gay marriage, abortion, etc. Now does that sound more logical? The mechanism is the same. The weightage different. We would expect our leader to stand up against people who cheat, murder, etc. We see these acts as wrong. Similarly the conservatives see actions not encouraged by their religion as wrong and want their leader to take a stance against it. Instead, the so called flag bearers of the liberals forgot there existed such issues. Never fully evaluated the import of such issues in the minds and lives of people.

What does it tell us? No matter how much we wish or hope, religion will continue to remain part of the equation with a heavy coefficient. All around, we find religion to be a great unifying and dividing people. Religion is as much part of our life as work, food, entertainment, family. Of course, some would sleep through movies not caring for it, not even VKanth in Gajendra. Some eat whatever is set before them, even if others get food poisoning coz of the same stuff.(Resemblance to real person purely incidental.). Similarly, some people don't care about religion. But to the rest, it is as important as anything else. Yet the so called progressive liberals and forward thinking seem to think religion will not be a critical dictate. To me, that seems the problem. Trivializing stuff based on our own priorities with the least regard for what others think about it.

I feel religion, no matter what, no matter where in the world, will continue to grab the attention of the voters and the liberals need to acknowledge it and take a strong stance. Feel lot are not comfortable enough to be governed by someone who religious ideas are in direct conflict with theirs, no matter how good or bad he or she may in other aspects.

Service - whats that?

2004-09-30T21:26:00.000-05:00

I got a new cell phone as part of my deal with my service provider. It was supposed to be free. But on sending it, they charged me 350$. I called up and they rectified the problem. Or atleast they claimed they fixed it. I checked my online account and it looked fixed. When the day came for them to take money directly from my bank account,as they do every month for my cell phone charges, they took an additional 350$ %&^%*&^*. I called them up and spoke to a representative. He first told me, we don't give 350$ worth cell phone for free. So I have to pay for it. Then he asked me to send my current phone and offered to replace it with some lousy phone they were currently offering for free. I was totally pissed off. The instrument I got was one that they offered me free at the time of the deal. I told him see, if I knew I had to pay for the phone, I would have gone to a different carrier who would have been more then willing to give me a good free phone. If you are going to charge me for the phone you sent me, I shall cancel the contract and go to a new carrier. This put him on the defensive and started to read what must have been pasted in his cubicle - 'sir, you are a very valuable customer and we would certainly like to continue to serve you'. Ya right. Thats why they make us wait for half hour, making us listen to advertisements for their various services. To mollify me, he said he will ask his supervisor to talk to me. She came over and explained what had happened. The change they were supposed to make to my account was not done on time. They went ahead and withdrew 350$ + the usual monthly charges from my bank account. Then they remitted back 350$ into my phone account. They can't put that money into my bank account nor send me a check. They can only credit it to my phone account. So now, the way things stand, my cell phone account has a surplus of 350$ :). It means, I have pre-payed more than 7 months of my cell phone charges :(

All this inspite of they claiming to have fixed the charges 15 days prior to when they were to withdraw from my bank account. All this can be blamed on the system? Or the lack of it? Or the lack of proper communication between the personnels? With service providers like these, who needs swindlers???

Its greener out there.

2004-09-03T06:47:00.000-05:00

Its a fine beautiful evening. Any evening between june and october would fit the profile. The location - Stone Arch bridge in Minneapolis. Right above the Mississippi. Neighbouring the St. Antony's Falls. The bridge. Connecting the academia and the corporate world. On one side of the bridge is the university with its leftist liberal academic crowd. A small theater. A coffee shop patronized for its coffee, atmosphere and the spirit of give and take - wireless net connection, books, newspaper etc. Nice lawns to run and tumble and chase butterflies. On the other side, straight jacket conservative corporate downtown with its plethora of skyscrapers and ambitions. Adored during the days and feared at nights. Filled with busy looking, worried, coffee in one hand, briefcase in other men; high healed high spirited women all in smart formals. Avenues and streets. Straight lines. Straighter faces. One side, tackling exams assignments advisors to reach the other side. The other, trying to get back to school part time, full time, longing for time, longing for purpose.

The time is when the sun is on its way to shed some light elsewhere. Moon just waking up on the horizon trying to catch a glimpse of the sun before it hides behind the facade of downtown buildings. Again, moon wondering when it can shed as much light as the sun. The sun, hoping someday to be as cool as the moon.

Folks walking and jogging up and down the bridge in a desperate attempt to lose calories and gain peace. Some cycling to the music of the river beneath, occasionally disturbed by the horns of the boats. A few resting on the side walk hoping to get carried away by the waves punctuating the river. A couple of small boys in their small bicycles. Weaving on the bridge lots of 8 between them, plotting routes for snakes to follow. Oblivious to what's on either banks, just concerned with riding from one end to the other in the longest possible time. The bridge - a nice place to cycle, cycle as they please. No constrains. No teachers pushing them to their limits and wits. No parents there to act like embankments of a narrow river, creating a very constrained flow for their activities and thoughts. Watching the kids, people wonder, why can't I be like them. Wondering if they can ever get back the childhood they seemed to have lost along with the first penny they ever got. The kids hoping they grow up to be those adults. And do big stuff. And do things like go to an office instead of school. Little do they realize what grown ups want.

Down below the ducks quack quack in the river much to the annoyance of none and the pleasure of most. Carefree, least bothered about where they will find themselves tomorrow and what will they be tomorrow. Not bothering to do groceries, pay bills and wonder about a thousand things. All the while,ducks envying the men who seem to be bestowed with everything and anything and absolute control over the ducks life - shoo shoot kill eat mock ridicule. People and ducks. Longing to exchange roles.

Reminds me of a conversation between two kids. Looks like they were scolded by their respective parents. Upset, they wanted to exchange their parents since they don't get scolded by the parent of the other kid. Each longing for the other. One hoping to go to the other and each assuming the other is better. Blessed are those who can see both from the same side and sigh alas I shall stick my foot here.

powers with forces

2004-08-26T19:21:00.000-05:00

Off late I have been reading quite a few articles on the powers bestowed on the armed forces, whether they need to be given that, whether they abuse the powers and whether they use their powers against the innocent. While I don't have any direct experience, I do feel pretty strongly on what they face in their work and what they face in public and the press. One thing we all forget while criticizing the armed forces is the people they are against. I am not for the atrocities and misuse of power. Its all the more important that the armed forces don't do it because such acts means life and death for people.

But for a moment we need to think what they are pitted against. They are not playing a game of football where everyone plays by the same rule. Here their opponent is a criminal who care nothing more than their immediate mission. And that's to kill. In such circumstances, the forces certainly need some leeway. The rules and laws are not exactly in conjunction with the reality that the forces operate in. From my little knowledge of how things operate, it would be very very difficult to catch criminals and terrorists if the forces were not given extra judicial authority, given some leeway in the way laws are interpreted. We should remember that they put their lives in danger and cannot always be worrying if they are obeying every law that applies here when they have to fight for their lives - and ours.

Its another issue that the leeway and flexibility should not be misused. And all the deference should be justified before competent authority. We do it all the time. When we have a patient who needs immediate medical care, we really don't care to follow all the road rules. We may break them, and can justify that. I think the armed forces deserve a little bit of that. As with most areas, and professions, the personnel at the armed forces are also bound to deviate from the norm and misuse it. Dealing with criminals day in and day out can make you a little bit of a criminal yourself. Its not a justification. Its the sorry state of human mind.

The examples are numerous with respect to misuse. Yet it might have been a misuse and abuse that would have saved a million lives. We don't hear about them. When the abuse consumes an innocent life, its news. It should not have happened? What should not have happened? The misuse by itself or the misuse on innocent people?

If things don't work at our jobs, big deal. The outcomes are predictable. There in a battlefield, its a horrible world. Actions have consequences beyond our comprehension. The risks and threats are too great for any law to provide protection to the armed forces and their family. There is nothing to stop the criminal from acting on a soldier's family. We don't face that in our work.

I do believe they need some leeway and advantage given where and how and against whom they operate. Misuse of power is wrong. Whoever wherever whenever. The solution is not in denying them the power. Or in handicaping them and yet expecting results in a tough dirty playground. Its in educating them what it means when they misuse it. Sounds simple. But in a moment of pressure and life and death, when thousands of life are at stake, they might think sacrificing a single innocent life is ok in order to save a 1000 innocent lives. Its for the society to decide whether they would be ok with it or rather not have even a single innocent person get wrongly punished.

Good bye to Minneapolis

2004-08-18T15:02:00.000-05:00

Its tata to Minneapolis for now. A city I love so much. A sort of hometown for me. Three full years and a lifetime of experiences. People. Activities. Things to see. Things to learn. The most important being - 'Shovel off the snow and get on with life'. This place is truly a hidden treasure. So are the people. What can I say. I am going to miss all the people I know here. Quite a few that is. Thanx to all the shramdhans, AID activities and the U. (To the uninitiated, at Minnesota, U implies the University of Minnesota).

My new job is taking me to Chicago. Don't know where I will be next month though. I am happy I would get to work at different places in different organizations as part of my new company. Promises to be fun. Would be nice to try and get involved with the local community in short durations. It took me more than 2 years to establish all my contacts here, get to know people from different sections of the society - both geographically and otherwise - students, professionals, indian owned businesses, etc. And suddenly I have to let go all of it.

I was always a proponent of 'charity begins at home' and hence concentrated my involvement with AID to things that deal with the people right here. Be it organizing events using local talents or getting funds for that through local businesses or helping local groups in their events. To me, these kind of activities directly connects me to the people I am involved with. And it gives me a sense of doing something useful without the feeling of feeling superior.

You may wonder why. Its so good to feel superior, better, helpful, in a position of
being able to serve rather than served. To me, all that would deny me one thing I value the most - the opportunity to learn. Unless and until we are humbled by our actions, we are not going to learn much from it. If we swell our chests with pride, it will only lead to one thing - elation. We would think about the result and feel happy. But the actions that got us there would be forgotten in the celebration. Results as such tell very little. They are poor teachers. Its the actions that got the results - whatever may be the outcome - the real enlightener. In a state of joy, and in a state of sorrow, it is very difficult to think rationally, leave alone learn something from that experience. In success we are happy. In defeat we are sad. By the time we get over those feelings, we are already into our next project. Very rarely do we squeeze some extra juice from that success or defeat by reflecting on our actions and the outcome. I always believed it is very imperative to be even headed in order to observe, learn, and use it in our future endeavours.

With all the exposure I had here, I am hoping things would be better. More enriching and sophisticated. Sophisticated in terms of my expectations from what I do and what I experience and get.

Chicago, here I come. After experiencing all the winter here, I am sure your heavy wind would be a breeze :)

Ms. Roy

2004-08-09T19:31:00.000-05:00

If it gets any slower, it would stop. That’s how the week was. Went so slow that I feel I am sitting at exactly the same place on the time scale as I was last week. Or may be it was the book I was reading last week. Power Politics by Arundhati Roy. It’s a collection of a few of her articles. I have read a lot of her pieces online but I can keep reading her work again and again. Yes. I hear people seething their teeth over how she goes on and on with long sentences filled with words found only in an unabridged dictionary. And I vividly remember someone saying her writing would get failing score from a 5th grade English teacher.

And I, like a true gentleman, am going to jump to her defense. I shall not discuss her views. I am not exactly in conjunction with her opinions. I will only discuss her style. Agreed whatever she says could be said in a short simple sentence that can be understood by a 6th grader with English as his second language. But where is the fun in it? Where is the entertainment? Why do we have long winding dialogues in our movies? Why do we have punch lines in movies? Politicians make sure to include sound bites worthy of publication in next day’s newspaper in all their speeches. Why? To convey a picture. An opinion. A point of view with a bang.

If I am writing a research paper, a scientific article, I would be concerned about conveying the facts right and the right facts. Every word would count towards conveying something coherent. A sentence would be scrutinized independently and needs to stand the scientific analysis. There is no room for flowery flamboyant language. Each sentence would be like the ten individual 1's that add up to 10. Each one is vital. Each one is simple. No debate what so ever in what they mean.

When it comes to painting a picture with words, I am not too bothered with the individual facts and minute details. It’s the big picture that I am concerned with. I would be more worried about making the reader think about what I am thinking and less about what exactly I am thinking. I want them to address issues I discuss but not necessarily understand or know fully how I address them. That requires, if needed, drugging the reader with magical words, creating an aura and mystic around the issue, so that the reader is motivated to think about it. Not so as to embed my ideas. But to bounce it off him so as to see those thoughts in a new light. Those meandering words are like rainbow. No two person ever sees the same.

Ultimately it’s a question of personal choices. Like choice of food or clothing. Her writing to me is like long Chinese noodles with lots of spice. Ya they are difficult to eat. Clumsy especially to those who use the chopsticks to try and learn to use it till the food arrives and drop it at the sight of their food. Yet we enjoy those long winding spicy noodles. May not be relished in our everyday hurry. But certainly a nice choice when you want to enjoy not just the food, but the atmosphere you are having it in, the people you are with and the discussions that are ignited by all that and more. Her writing is like that. It needs to be enjoyed at its pace. Used as a beginning to discuss what she attempts to open your eyes to. You may spend more time reading a sentence because of the construction and the choice of words. That’s more time to ponder and form an even more convoluted opinion on the discussion. They are writen to make you aware of issues. Not to educate you on them.

And think about all the impressions you can create with your new found command over complex sentences. No longer can the English major in the marketing department fool you. Instead you can fool around him/her and get away with a date. You can bulldoze your way to the top by talking complex, correct and inexplicable sentences to 'will not confess I didn’t understand' managers.

Whoever said KISS (Keep it simple, stupid)…