Friday, November 06, 2009
Murthys and Infy
A pleasant story about love, freedom, entrepreneurship and human values. A must-read article.
Numbers, figures and all that...
Facts got hold of me quite firmly this week when I decided to google curiously some of my unanswered questions. Here is what it looks like:
1) India with the population of 1.2 billion people has only 47 million total internet users. Read the last line carefully, the number belongs to total internet users and not the active ones. The number of active users would be even lesser. Out of 47 million, 39 mill come from urban areas and the remaining 8 mill come from rural areas.
2) The projected yearly growth for total internet users is about 10%, i.e. one will see growth of about 5 - 6 mill users for few years, which is a pretty disappointing figure.
3) Another interesting yet somewhat discomforting fact is that only 13% of the total internet users prefer to read online content in English. Other popular languages are Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Gujurati.
So if you are a tech entrepreneur in India banking on online ads for the business model then these figures will serve a good reality check for your business.
1) India with the population of 1.2 billion people has only 47 million total internet users. Read the last line carefully, the number belongs to total internet users and not the active ones. The number of active users would be even lesser. Out of 47 million, 39 mill come from urban areas and the remaining 8 mill come from rural areas.
2) The projected yearly growth for total internet users is about 10%, i.e. one will see growth of about 5 - 6 mill users for few years, which is a pretty disappointing figure.
3) Another interesting yet somewhat discomforting fact is that only 13% of the total internet users prefer to read online content in English. Other popular languages are Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Gujurati.
So if you are a tech entrepreneur in India banking on online ads for the business model then these figures will serve a good reality check for your business.
Monday, October 26, 2009
One night at the call center
Read this book recently. It feels like the author (Chetan Bhagat) is a big fan of Bollywood movies and / or was writing his book for Bollywood audience. Having read his previous work, 5 point someone, I can comfortably say now that he has no training in writing (which is not a bad thing). But writing a book as a Bollywood script cannot be classified as a great work. The book is about 6 characters, talking to each other through-out the book. He hardly explains the premise, ambiance or any other details that might help characterizing the protagonists.
I liked his overall story plot that carries an underlying message. However his writing, the execution of his story, lacks novelty. The book has an usual standard climax in last 30 pages, similar to his previous book, and ends up in 'happily-ever-after' fashion.
He could have definitely told his story without the ingredients: self-praise and US bashing. Self-praise is something that he has consistently shown and spoken about to the media (But that is the problem for him and his PR). US bashing is pretty baseless in the book. I believe author should seriously consider studying the IQ of an average person of any other country. To be fair, people who call 'call centers' are the ones who haven't figured out the solutions to their problems but they have shown the traits of curiosity and willingness to learn by asking somebody else. Well I could go on and on with the examples, but that is not the point, the point is that Chetan could have avoided US bashing.
The characters in the book are convincing but the plot isn't (mainly GOD calling the call center employees). The story plot is short, precise and an enhanced version of a movie script. If that was Chetan's intention then kudos to him as both of his books have been materialized into Bollywood movies. But if he is seriously considering to be a globally accepted writer then he needs to listen to his critics more carefully (who will tell you the same story as this blogger).
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
I liked his overall story plot that carries an underlying message. However his writing, the execution of his story, lacks novelty. The book has an usual standard climax in last 30 pages, similar to his previous book, and ends up in 'happily-ever-after' fashion.
He could have definitely told his story without the ingredients: self-praise and US bashing. Self-praise is something that he has consistently shown and spoken about to the media (But that is the problem for him and his PR). US bashing is pretty baseless in the book. I believe author should seriously consider studying the IQ of an average person of any other country. To be fair, people who call 'call centers' are the ones who haven't figured out the solutions to their problems but they have shown the traits of curiosity and willingness to learn by asking somebody else. Well I could go on and on with the examples, but that is not the point, the point is that Chetan could have avoided US bashing.
The characters in the book are convincing but the plot isn't (mainly GOD calling the call center employees). The story plot is short, precise and an enhanced version of a movie script. If that was Chetan's intention then kudos to him as both of his books have been materialized into Bollywood movies. But if he is seriously considering to be a globally accepted writer then he needs to listen to his critics more carefully (who will tell you the same story as this blogger).
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Entrepreneurship and YOU
While reading one of the articles on TechCrunch I came across the analogy that Yossi Vardi made in regard to the current entrepreneurship. He quoted Theodore Roosevelt from a 1910 speech 'The Man in the Arena':
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.".
Something worth pondering about....
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.".
Something worth pondering about....
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A speech
Steve Job's Standford Commencement Address
One of the best speeches that I have ever heard and the best part is that the whole speech is factual. It has happened to a person who is known for beating all the odds.
One of the best speeches that I have ever heard and the best part is that the whole speech is factual. It has happened to a person who is known for beating all the odds.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Rediff
Rediff has always impressed me with the type of articles they cover. They are usually a step ahead from the others. When dignified news corporations were covering Mumbai terror attacks and their effects on Indian people and politics, rediff was covering different strategies as a reply, for attacks, to Pakistan. When news were filled with Steve Job's temporary exit from Apple and its reasons, rediff was covering Tim Cook (Steve's back up guy), his resume and his capacity to lead Apple.
And of course they always have articles like these for personal development.
Do I sound like a marketing guy for Rediff, hmmmm...
And of course they always have articles like these for personal development.
Do I sound like a marketing guy for Rediff, hmmmm...
Friday, January 09, 2009
Must read article!
The depths Indian democracy has fallen to
Classic example of incompetency achieved by politicians and blamed on Indian people for the outcome.
Classic example of incompetency achieved by politicians and blamed on Indian people for the outcome.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy New Year
What a better way to start the New Year than a healthy breakfast followed by a first blog entry for the year. Yeah, I know I am a geek and I am proud of it. This might be one of the few occasions where I am blogging with no particular thought in mind. So I will fall back on everybody’s favorite i.e. New Year resolution.
For me, resolution means to figure out what went wrong in last year and try to improve it in this one. When I think of it, I might have followed my own resolutions only about 50% of the time every year. But people do feel this urge of planning their lives and work and get the maximum benefit out of it. And I think this is a good idea. Don’t you feel good when you plan something out and accomplish it? But the only drawback with planning is that you lose out on enjoying the current moment as you are always heading towards your future goals. So the trick is to draw a fine line between your planned and unplanned lives and keep it as balanced as possible. You need to know where you are heading in life; however you also need to be open to the sudden surprises and excitement in life. Remember life is a journey and not a destination.
With this blog, wishing you a happy new year.
For me, resolution means to figure out what went wrong in last year and try to improve it in this one. When I think of it, I might have followed my own resolutions only about 50% of the time every year. But people do feel this urge of planning their lives and work and get the maximum benefit out of it. And I think this is a good idea. Don’t you feel good when you plan something out and accomplish it? But the only drawback with planning is that you lose out on enjoying the current moment as you are always heading towards your future goals. So the trick is to draw a fine line between your planned and unplanned lives and keep it as balanced as possible. You need to know where you are heading in life; however you also need to be open to the sudden surprises and excitement in life. Remember life is a journey and not a destination.
With this blog, wishing you a happy new year.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Mumbai Terror attacks - Part 2
To address the topic of terrorism I am going to ask myself few questions and answer them as well:
Vpd: {laughs} this plan doesn’t seem feasible.
Me: Why not? Currently we have two slow poisons in India: over-excited, hopeless media trying to cover every rat and dog in the streets and small political goons desperate to make an impression on public. I will say Media should find out the most-corrupted politicians and political goons should beat them up (instead of beating poor non-localities). It can’t get any simpler than this.
Vpd: Interesting!
Me: The corruption has gone so deep that it is not going to be resolved by kicking politicians out of the power. Politicians end up making more illegal money when not in power as compared to when in power. Not being under the national radar helps them to churn out more illegal money. They want to be in power at least once in a lifetime so that they can boast for the rest of their lives. And my suggestion is to deprive them of their whole illusion. Let’s publicly beat and insult few corrupted ones and you will see the others straightening up pretty soon.
Vpd: Sir, your ideas and suggestions are pretty harsh and not diplomatic at all.
Me: I have realized that changes need to happen at the grass-root level. And diplomacy will never succeed at grass-root level, well at least not in India with the poor quotient of literacy. Strict actions are necessary to bring change in the system. Have you seen our current politicians and their education level? We should take some drastic steps to get country’s so-called leaders in line.
Vpd: What are your thoughts about our PM?
Me: He is a smart guy but not a good leader. As we all know he became PM by accident. I believe he is learning those leadership skills now but meanwhile the whole country will suffer.
Vpd: What do you think of our new home minister, Chidambaram?
Me: Another smart guy taking up a position where he doesn’t belong. This shows how India has a scarcity of good politicians and ruling party has to shuffle the cabinet profiles among the few chosen ones.
Vpd: What you think about most of the film industry being reluctant to comment on these attacks?
Me: This is the perfect example of my previous comment of media being overly-excited and hopeless. When did film stars become our defense experts or ambassadors? And why should Indian public care about film stars’ opinion anyways? Movie stars are entertainers and nothing more than that. Its time media realized that and helped improve our people’s outlook toward governance. Media should direct their energy questioning current and previous security advisors instead of trying to figure out why there were no prominent movie stars in Taj on night of the tragedy.
Vpd: Why did you decide to come off so late with your comments?
Me: I wanted to understand the whole situation before forming an opinion. Also I wanted to see what decisions government will take regarding the attacks. It seems they have disappointed people again, and you might be looking at a similar after-math of 1992 Mumbai bomb blasts: a panel will be appointed and the court case will go for almost 10-12 years or until people have forgotten about it. They will pat each other after the case is closed and people will have no choice but to be satisfied about the whole affair. Time has come for people to show that they will not tolerate any more incompetency and might revolt, if necessary.
Vpd: {laughs} this plan doesn’t seem feasible.
Me: Why not? Currently we have two slow poisons in India: over-excited, hopeless media trying to cover every rat and dog in the streets and small political goons desperate to make an impression on public. I will say Media should find out the most-corrupted politicians and political goons should beat them up (instead of beating poor non-localities). It can’t get any simpler than this.
Vpd: Interesting!
Me: The corruption has gone so deep that it is not going to be resolved by kicking politicians out of the power. Politicians end up making more illegal money when not in power as compared to when in power. Not being under the national radar helps them to churn out more illegal money. They want to be in power at least once in a lifetime so that they can boast for the rest of their lives. And my suggestion is to deprive them of their whole illusion. Let’s publicly beat and insult few corrupted ones and you will see the others straightening up pretty soon.
Vpd: Sir, your ideas and suggestions are pretty harsh and not diplomatic at all.
Me: I have realized that changes need to happen at the grass-root level. And diplomacy will never succeed at grass-root level, well at least not in India with the poor quotient of literacy. Strict actions are necessary to bring change in the system. Have you seen our current politicians and their education level? We should take some drastic steps to get country’s so-called leaders in line.
Vpd: What are your thoughts about our PM?
Me: He is a smart guy but not a good leader. As we all know he became PM by accident. I believe he is learning those leadership skills now but meanwhile the whole country will suffer.
Vpd: What do you think of our new home minister, Chidambaram?
Me: Another smart guy taking up a position where he doesn’t belong. This shows how India has a scarcity of good politicians and ruling party has to shuffle the cabinet profiles among the few chosen ones.
Vpd: What you think about most of the film industry being reluctant to comment on these attacks?
Me: This is the perfect example of my previous comment of media being overly-excited and hopeless. When did film stars become our defense experts or ambassadors? And why should Indian public care about film stars’ opinion anyways? Movie stars are entertainers and nothing more than that. Its time media realized that and helped improve our people’s outlook toward governance. Media should direct their energy questioning current and previous security advisors instead of trying to figure out why there were no prominent movie stars in Taj on night of the tragedy.
Vpd: Why did you decide to come off so late with your comments?
Me: I wanted to understand the whole situation before forming an opinion. Also I wanted to see what decisions government will take regarding the attacks. It seems they have disappointed people again, and you might be looking at a similar after-math of 1992 Mumbai bomb blasts: a panel will be appointed and the court case will go for almost 10-12 years or until people have forgotten about it. They will pat each other after the case is closed and people will have no choice but to be satisfied about the whole affair. Time has come for people to show that they will not tolerate any more incompetency and might revolt, if necessary.
Mumbai Terror attacks - Part 1
To address the topic of terrorism I am going to ask myself few questions and answer them as well:
Vpd: Thank you Sir for coming on our talk show. Let’s start with first Q&A: How do you feel about recent terrorist attacks on Mumbai?
Me: I condemn the attacks. This is all what politicians currently say, isn’t it? No matter where and who you are, all you need to say is ‘condemn’ and it will make things right. Condemn basically means “I didn’t like what happened but I am not going to do anything about it”.
Vpd: I sense anger in you for politicians?
Me: Well of course, come to think of it, if I can get this angry by staying in US how people in India and especially in Mumbai might be feeling about it right now?
Vpd: But why politicians?
Me: Because we pay them for keeping our country secure and most of them don’t seem to have an idea of what they are doing. First of all, Chief Minister of Maharashtra created an embarrassing situation by showing his reluctance to resign from his post. Instead of addressing the issue he started attacking opposition by digging out the examples of when they didn’t resign for terrorist attacks during their power. To make the pain worse, he showed up with his actor son and his director friend for an official visit to all terrorized places. This just shows how serious he is about the whole situation.
Vpd: Sir, you should understand that for every terrorized attack, Indian police and politicians are responsible for stopping other 10 attacks from happening. But people don’t seem to appreciate that, do you think this anger is justified?
Me: Yes, it is justified because we don’t seem to take failed terror attempts seriously. Every failed terror attempt should be taken as seriously as an actual successful terror attack. The very idea of some groups trying to kill people from your country should alert the government, instead it takes 20-25 failed attempts and 6-8 successful terror attacks to get government’s attention. This is very very sad.
Vpd: Good point, what do you think we should do?
Me: Let me start with what people usually do. Most of the religious and spiritual people end up conversing about existence of GOD in today’s difficult times. And few activists will mourn for the dead by lighting candles and rally for their cause for few months before they find a new one. These activists sometimes will even go a step further asking all citizens to be responsible citizens and improve their civic habits. Their favorite lines are “what have you done for your country lately”, “Why blame others instead blame yourself”.
My stand is why people should feel guilty and depressed every time a terror attack takes place. Don’t we appoint politicians for this work? I would like to see people beating up few corrupted politicians on the streets for a start. This should alert the political parties and scare them off with the possibility of another revolution.
Vpd: Thank you Sir for coming on our talk show. Let’s start with first Q&A: How do you feel about recent terrorist attacks on Mumbai?
Me: I condemn the attacks. This is all what politicians currently say, isn’t it? No matter where and who you are, all you need to say is ‘condemn’ and it will make things right. Condemn basically means “I didn’t like what happened but I am not going to do anything about it”.
Vpd: I sense anger in you for politicians?
Me: Well of course, come to think of it, if I can get this angry by staying in US how people in India and especially in Mumbai might be feeling about it right now?
Vpd: But why politicians?
Me: Because we pay them for keeping our country secure and most of them don’t seem to have an idea of what they are doing. First of all, Chief Minister of Maharashtra created an embarrassing situation by showing his reluctance to resign from his post. Instead of addressing the issue he started attacking opposition by digging out the examples of when they didn’t resign for terrorist attacks during their power. To make the pain worse, he showed up with his actor son and his director friend for an official visit to all terrorized places. This just shows how serious he is about the whole situation.
Vpd: Sir, you should understand that for every terrorized attack, Indian police and politicians are responsible for stopping other 10 attacks from happening. But people don’t seem to appreciate that, do you think this anger is justified?
Me: Yes, it is justified because we don’t seem to take failed terror attempts seriously. Every failed terror attempt should be taken as seriously as an actual successful terror attack. The very idea of some groups trying to kill people from your country should alert the government, instead it takes 20-25 failed attempts and 6-8 successful terror attacks to get government’s attention. This is very very sad.
Vpd: Good point, what do you think we should do?
Me: Let me start with what people usually do. Most of the religious and spiritual people end up conversing about existence of GOD in today’s difficult times. And few activists will mourn for the dead by lighting candles and rally for their cause for few months before they find a new one. These activists sometimes will even go a step further asking all citizens to be responsible citizens and improve their civic habits. Their favorite lines are “what have you done for your country lately”, “Why blame others instead blame yourself”.
My stand is why people should feel guilty and depressed every time a terror attack takes place. Don’t we appoint politicians for this work? I would like to see people beating up few corrupted politicians on the streets for a start. This should alert the political parties and scare them off with the possibility of another revolution.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
What's ma writing style?
Following the footsteps of my fellow bloggers, I entered my blogsite name on Typealyzer and here is what it has to say about me:
"ESTP - The Doers
The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.
The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time."
Couple of things that one would notice:
1) Results are consistent i.e it will give the same result for the same blogsite if entered multiple times.
2) It is impressively fast which makes me wonder whether popular blog sites (e.g. blospot)are being pre-screened
3) Their note at the beginning that says "writing style on a blog may have little or nothing to do with a person´s self-percieved personality".
Whatever was it worth, the results made me happy :-)!!!
"ESTP - The Doers
The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.
The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time."
Couple of things that one would notice:
1) Results are consistent i.e it will give the same result for the same blogsite if entered multiple times.
2) It is impressively fast which makes me wonder whether popular blog sites (e.g. blospot)are being pre-screened
3) Their note at the beginning that says "writing style on a blog may have little or nothing to do with a person´s self-percieved personality".
Whatever was it worth, the results made me happy :-)!!!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Something to ponder!!
Life is like a freeway. Some people are born rich (they drive Porsche) and most of the others are not that lucky. Some have their own goals (destinations) to reach while others don’t believe in goals (driving for fun and for good scenic views). Some like to move faster in life (drive in fast lane) while others play it safe. Given the situation (weather, time) people tend to change pace in their lives (change lanes, they either move from slower to faster lane or vice versa). Without proper precaution people face difficulties in their lives (accidents) and sometimes people get lucky and miss those tough times even after committing few grievous mistakes. When someone gets crazy in life, he bears the brunt of his actions (ticketed by Cop) and thus life – freeway anomaly goes on.
So here is the question, what is the definition of a good driver (success in life)? One who is adamant and drives in the fast lane all the time and reaches his destination earlier / one who adapts to current traffic by changing lanes / one who doesn’t care about traffic, drive in his own way and enjoys the drive?
History will prove us that we, as a society, have admired people (drivers) from each of the above categories. Think of all big names in the world (present and past) and you will find people of all categories. So there is no single answer.
What type of a driver are you?
So here is the question, what is the definition of a good driver (success in life)? One who is adamant and drives in the fast lane all the time and reaches his destination earlier / one who adapts to current traffic by changing lanes / one who doesn’t care about traffic, drive in his own way and enjoys the drive?
History will prove us that we, as a society, have admired people (drivers) from each of the above categories. Think of all big names in the world (present and past) and you will find people of all categories. So there is no single answer.
What type of a driver are you?
Monday, November 10, 2008
My second baby
Do you have a kid whom you would like to gift a game that is educational and enriching at the same time? The game that runs on PC and hones building and puzzle-solving skills.
You don’t have to look anywhere else, MySims on PC is just the game for you.
Here are the details:
http://www.mysimskingdom.com/pc/
Reason why I am acting as a salesman: I am one of the developers for this game:-) . My second shipped game whoo-woo!!!
You don’t have to look anywhere else, MySims on PC is just the game for you.
Here are the details:
http://www.mysimskingdom.com/pc/
Reason why I am acting as a salesman: I am one of the developers for this game:-) . My second shipped game whoo-woo!!!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Short story: Self-praise is a virtue
Tracy: Hello Dad!
Dad: Hi honey! You never called me this early in the morning. Is everything OK?
Tracy: Dad, I am planning to quit my job today. I don’t think I am cut-out for this job. I cannot be an exit interviewer anymore. Employees bring everything that I hate about human nature: frustration, depression, jealousy, arrogance, greed and selfishness.
Dad: I should tell you something that I never told you before- You are much stronger than you credit yourself for. But if you don’t enjoy your work then I am not going to push you.
Tracy {Surprised}: Thanks Dad.
[Tracy enters into her manager Ram’s room.]
Tracy: Ram, I need to talk to you now.
Ram: I am quite busy now. Schedule a meeting for today evening and we can talk then.
[Tracy returns to her cube to find her HR coordinator Hannah waiting.]
Hannah: Where have you been? It seems another employee of our client ‘Creative Solutions Ltd’ is quitting the company and you are been assigned to take her exit interview.
Tracy {with a heavy sigh}: Ok.
Tracy {to herself}: I swear to God, this is my last exit interview. I am not even going to read her profile; I will just call her and finish the interview in less than 15 minutes.
Tracy: Hello Julia, I am sorry to hear that you are quitting ‘Creative Solutions Ltd’. Can I ask you which company are you joining?
Julia: I am not going to work for a while. I am tired of my job and cannot take it anymore.
Tracy {disinterested}: Right, is there anything ‘Creative Solutions Ltd’ can do to retain you?
Julia: Not actually, company, pay and employees are great. It’s just that my job sucks. It tells me everything that is wrong with this world. I like to enjoy every moment of my life. However since I joined this job my passion for life is dying day by day.
Tracy {Surprised}: What exactly you do?
Julia: I take ‘exit interviews’ for employees. Since they couldn’t get anyone to take my exit interview, the company finally requested for your company’s services.
Tracy {smiling}: Thanks Julia for your time. I wish you a great life ahead.
[Evening in meeting room]
Ram: Tracy, I have some good news for you. We have decided to promote you. Chris is leaving and you would be the new Team Lead. So what you wanted to talk to me in the morning.
Tracy: Thanks Ram, this is really mind-blowing. Huh, I was planning to take a week off.
Ram: Good, enjoy your afternoons and come back next Monday with a fresh mind and a new spirit.
[Night]
Tracy staring in mirror: You are much stronger than you credit yourself for.
Tracy’s reflection in mirror smiles.
Total words= 463 + 4(title)
Dad: Hi honey! You never called me this early in the morning. Is everything OK?
Tracy: Dad, I am planning to quit my job today. I don’t think I am cut-out for this job. I cannot be an exit interviewer anymore. Employees bring everything that I hate about human nature: frustration, depression, jealousy, arrogance, greed and selfishness.
Dad: I should tell you something that I never told you before- You are much stronger than you credit yourself for. But if you don’t enjoy your work then I am not going to push you.
Tracy {Surprised}: Thanks Dad.
[Tracy enters into her manager Ram’s room.]
Tracy: Ram, I need to talk to you now.
Ram: I am quite busy now. Schedule a meeting for today evening and we can talk then.
[Tracy returns to her cube to find her HR coordinator Hannah waiting.]
Hannah: Where have you been? It seems another employee of our client ‘Creative Solutions Ltd’ is quitting the company and you are been assigned to take her exit interview.
Tracy {with a heavy sigh}: Ok.
Tracy {to herself}: I swear to God, this is my last exit interview. I am not even going to read her profile; I will just call her and finish the interview in less than 15 minutes.
Tracy: Hello Julia, I am sorry to hear that you are quitting ‘Creative Solutions Ltd’. Can I ask you which company are you joining?
Julia: I am not going to work for a while. I am tired of my job and cannot take it anymore.
Tracy {disinterested}: Right, is there anything ‘Creative Solutions Ltd’ can do to retain you?
Julia: Not actually, company, pay and employees are great. It’s just that my job sucks. It tells me everything that is wrong with this world. I like to enjoy every moment of my life. However since I joined this job my passion for life is dying day by day.
Tracy {Surprised}: What exactly you do?
Julia: I take ‘exit interviews’ for employees. Since they couldn’t get anyone to take my exit interview, the company finally requested for your company’s services.
Tracy {smiling}: Thanks Julia for your time. I wish you a great life ahead.
[Evening in meeting room]
Ram: Tracy, I have some good news for you. We have decided to promote you. Chris is leaving and you would be the new Team Lead. So what you wanted to talk to me in the morning.
Tracy: Thanks Ram, this is really mind-blowing. Huh, I was planning to take a week off.
Ram: Good, enjoy your afternoons and come back next Monday with a fresh mind and a new spirit.
[Night]
Tracy staring in mirror: You are much stronger than you credit yourself for.
Tracy’s reflection in mirror smiles.
Total words= 463 + 4(title)
Monday, September 08, 2008
New phase in life
It feels nice to find someone whom you can irritate for the rest of your life. I found someone for the very same reason. I got engaged to Arati Jalikop :-). Here are few snaps:
Engagement Pics
Warning: the pics are a bit traditional !!
Engagement Pics
Warning: the pics are a bit traditional !!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Postcard story: Happy Birthday, Johnny!!!
Anne (Secretary): Good Morning Peter, executives are waiting for you in the main conference room. Give us the good news by noon.
Peter: {laughs} Anne, you know it better than me that acquisition doesn’t happen in a single meeting. They take months and sometimes even years.
Peter enters in the meeting room.
Peter: Good morning all, hope I didn’t make you wait that long. I am the CEO of Creative Solutions Ltd and this guy is Tom who has been working hard to make this merger a success.
Steve: I am Steve, CEO of Quick Fix Inc. And this is not a merger; you are forcefully trying to acquire our company.
Peter: {laughs} fair enough. But let me tell you one thing that after this deal we would be a number one company in the whole world.
Steve: Not us, just you. And I don’t see this deal getting finalized with the current terms and conditions. We are been undervalued and post-deal benefits don’t seem to be impressive at all.
Peter: Only market and time will tell whether this deal is a raw one. But as of now we own the market and the current time is ours. I will promise you only one thing and that is nobody would be laid off. I will see to it personally that your company is treated as our extended family. That reminds me, I have to leave now for a birthday party of one of my family members.
Tom {whispers}: Peter, we need to attend this issue right now. I busted my ass for almost a year to get everyone in one room. You cannot leave now.
Peter {loudly}: Sorry Tom, family comes first. Steve, Tom will handle all the details from here. If this deal doesn’t materialize today then I promise you that I will never ever try to cross your path again.
Steve and other executives watch Peter leave with angry faces.
[Couple of hours later]
Tom: Peter, this is huge. Listen to this, Steve signed the papers. He said- I like a CEO who takes care of his family. Whose birthday is today, by the way?
Peter: Thanks Tom, talk to you later.
A little girl: Daddy, I didn’t know you loved our dog this much. Thanks for bringing Birthday cake for Johnny.
Peter: Anything for you sweetie. Now go, hug Johnny and smile….
“Click”
Words= 396 + 3 (title)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
World's take on India's Olympic spirit
This is what commentators have to say when Indian team was walking down the aisle during the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008:
Commentator1: "India is just behind China as world's second populous country. They have more than a billion people. Unlike Chinese, they don't really have a sports infrastructure. Since 1984 which marked the mainland China's entry to Olympic competition they have won 286 medals and during that time India, with a comprehensive population, has won 3 in all. "
Commentator2: "In few minutes you will see China marching with their several hundred athletes as compared to 56 from India."
No Comments....
Commentator1: "India is just behind China as world's second populous country. They have more than a billion people. Unlike Chinese, they don't really have a sports infrastructure. Since 1984 which marked the mainland China's entry to Olympic competition they have won 286 medals and during that time India, with a comprehensive population, has won 3 in all. "
Commentator2: "In few minutes you will see China marching with their several hundred athletes as compared to 56 from India."
No Comments....
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Postcard story
While growing up you are amazed by few events or principles or people that they stick in your head forever. One such principle for me has been the concept of 'slow is good' in a learning process. Let me give you an example - if you want to learn riding a bicycle it is advised that riding it as slow as possible is a good approach. Riding faster is easier and doesn't teach you the power of control much. This was and is still fascinating for me.
Similar concept applies for writing as well i.e. writing less is good as it gives you more control over your words and ideas. The phrase popularized by Mark Twain pretty much summarizes my thought in this regard: "If I had more time, I would have written less". This thought is so true, it is easy to write a 2 page article to explain an idea as compared to writing a 2 line sentence to explain the same. With this spirit in mind I have to decided to diverge my energy in a writing a postcard story. Postcard story is a short short story that comprises of 250-300 words.
Here is a classic postcard story written by Arthur Clarke, named Quarantine:
Earth's flaming debris still filled half the sky when the question filtered up to Central from the Curiosity Generator.
"Why was it necessary? Even though they were organic, they had reached Third Order Intelligence."
"We had no choice: five earlier units became hopelessly infected, when they made contact."
"Infected? How?"
The microseconds dragged slowly by, while Central tracked down the few fading memories that had leaked past the Censor Gate, when the heavily-buffered Reconnaissance Circuits had been ordered to self-destruct.
"They encountered a - problem - that could not be fully analyzed within the lifetime of the Universe. Though it involved only six operators, they became totally obsessed by it."
"How is that possible?"
"We do not know: we must never know. But if those six operators are ever re-discovered, all rational computing will end."
"How can they be recognized?"
"That also we do not know; only the names leaked through before the Censor Gate closed. Of course, they mean nothing."
"Nevertheless, I must have them."
The Censor voltage started to rise; but it did not trigger the Gate.
"Here they are: King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawn."
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, First Issue, Vol 1, No. 1, Spring 1977
Similar concept applies for writing as well i.e. writing less is good as it gives you more control over your words and ideas. The phrase popularized by Mark Twain pretty much summarizes my thought in this regard: "If I had more time, I would have written less". This thought is so true, it is easy to write a 2 page article to explain an idea as compared to writing a 2 line sentence to explain the same. With this spirit in mind I have to decided to diverge my energy in a writing a postcard story. Postcard story is a short short story that comprises of 250-300 words.
Here is a classic postcard story written by Arthur Clarke, named Quarantine:
Earth's flaming debris still filled half the sky when the question filtered up to Central from the Curiosity Generator.
"Why was it necessary? Even though they were organic, they had reached Third Order Intelligence."
"We had no choice: five earlier units became hopelessly infected, when they made contact."
"Infected? How?"
The microseconds dragged slowly by, while Central tracked down the few fading memories that had leaked past the Censor Gate, when the heavily-buffered Reconnaissance Circuits had been ordered to self-destruct.
"They encountered a - problem - that could not be fully analyzed within the lifetime of the Universe. Though it involved only six operators, they became totally obsessed by it."
"How is that possible?"
"We do not know: we must never know. But if those six operators are ever re-discovered, all rational computing will end."
"How can they be recognized?"
"That also we do not know; only the names leaked through before the Censor Gate closed. Of course, they mean nothing."
"Nevertheless, I must have them."
The Censor voltage started to rise; but it did not trigger the Gate.
"Here they are: King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawn."
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, First Issue, Vol 1, No. 1, Spring 1977
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Do you yahooooooooo!!
Ok, being a techie and a blogger, blogging about yahoo and their current situation at some point of time was inevitable. Before I say anything else I should mention that Yahoo email and IM are my primary source of communication to the outside world till current date and time. There are couple of reasons for that: I got my first PC in 1999 when Yahoo was slowly getting popular in India. Along with hotmail and rediffmail, I decided to make Yahoo part of my life and hola, it has been a successful relationship so far. Partly because most of my friends and other contacts are on Yahoo and I have a few good groups formed over time in Yahoo world.
So what is the current deal with Yahoo. As an outsider it is difficult to tell the truth but it is so tempting to say Yahoo is losing its touch. I am not sure about their business and product plans for next few years, but I am pretty sure that many significant leaders in Yahoo world had quit the company. This link would shout evidence for that fact: Yahoo leaders bid goodbye.
Remember when your parents said ‘you are as good as the company that you keep’, it is also true in the business world ‘the company is as good as the people it keeps’. So after looking at VIPs leave Yahoo, their stock crashing over few months and regular song’n’dance with Microsoft, one needs to be quite an optimistic to believe in Yahoo today.
So what is the current deal with Yahoo. As an outsider it is difficult to tell the truth but it is so tempting to say Yahoo is losing its touch. I am not sure about their business and product plans for next few years, but I am pretty sure that many significant leaders in Yahoo world had quit the company. This link would shout evidence for that fact: Yahoo leaders bid goodbye.
Remember when your parents said ‘you are as good as the company that you keep’, it is also true in the business world ‘the company is as good as the people it keeps’. So after looking at VIPs leave Yahoo, their stock crashing over few months and regular song’n’dance with Microsoft, one needs to be quite an optimistic to believe in Yahoo today.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Sarkar Raj
[Warning: It’s a spoiler, so don’t read this blog if you are going to watch the movie]
Being a big fan of crime movies that are directed by RGV, I was a bit disappointed with Sarkar Raj. It seems that RGV, in a desperate attempt to break his series of flops, decided to overuse his strengths. The background music that was known for its best timing found itself all over the places in this movie. The storyline, which has been one of the main strengths of RGV’s crime movies, was a bit disturbing to my taste. My biggest complaint to RGV for this movie is ‘Why do you have to kill Abhishek? If you were that desperate to surprise the audience then you would have killed AB. People would have loved that, I know I would”. If there is another Sarkar movie in subsequent years starring AB, then I guess I would have to pass. The way Sarkar Raj ended it seems like RGV is planning to bring a new face as AB’s grandson who will take over the family business. But for now, Sarkar Raj is an above average movie which got a good opening (thanks to huge starcast) but will fall short of ‘word of mouth’ publicity.
Sarkar Raj: 3 / 5
Being a big fan of crime movies that are directed by RGV, I was a bit disappointed with Sarkar Raj. It seems that RGV, in a desperate attempt to break his series of flops, decided to overuse his strengths. The background music that was known for its best timing found itself all over the places in this movie. The storyline, which has been one of the main strengths of RGV’s crime movies, was a bit disturbing to my taste. My biggest complaint to RGV for this movie is ‘Why do you have to kill Abhishek? If you were that desperate to surprise the audience then you would have killed AB. People would have loved that, I know I would”. If there is another Sarkar movie in subsequent years starring AB, then I guess I would have to pass. The way Sarkar Raj ended it seems like RGV is planning to bring a new face as AB’s grandson who will take over the family business. But for now, Sarkar Raj is an above average movie which got a good opening (thanks to huge starcast) but will fall short of ‘word of mouth’ publicity.
Sarkar Raj: 3 / 5
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