Sharadkumar R Bhatt

How to read a book !

2009-03-25T22:44:00.002+05:30

I have read books majorly during 4 times.

1. To give exams on those
2. To get knowledge (yes, they are different from exams)
3. To enjoy the reading
4. To pass the time

The question is, do we really care to see where the book fits in? Suppose we pick up a novel, do we read it to get knowledge or do we read it to enjoy or do we read it to pass the time? I have seen many instances where a book gets quoted. Has the orator read the book for knowledge or has he read it to enjoy? When can you quote a book? When you start to read a lot of books, you easily get confused. You start to think, was this something that happened in your life, or was it something you saw in a movie, or have you read it? This happens a lot of times to people who are of the imaginative type. In such cases, even after reading a lot of books, you tend to say, ‘I read somewhere, that …..’ You tend to avoid using it again, because you fear, the audience will ask you the details where you read it. If you say, you do not remember it, they will just dismiss the thought as wishful thinking.

Is there a way for the person to remember what he has read? This is even more important while speaking to an audience which does not know you. Imagine saying ‘…..’ and imagine saying ‘The great author Malcolm Gladwel in his book The tipping point said …..’ Even if the sentences were the same, the second one gives a much more impact on the audience. The audience considers you well read, knowledgeable and gives the importance you deserve.

For this, there needs to be a foolproof way to read each and every book. You should remember at least the gist of every book you have read. When you read about 40 books a year, it tends to become more and more difficult. One method that I have found useful is the Mindmap. Although I haven’t time tried it much, it surely seems useful.
I know there might be many more techniques used by the avid readers and would like to know of a few.

What will happen if Google hated just you !

2009-03-17T10:51:00.002+05:30

This idea was something propagated through the tag line set by Pavan Kulkarni.

How do we know the websites? How many sites do we know and use that were advertised to us or for that matter where told to us. There are websites that are of the famous TV channels. There are some social networking sites. There are some email service sites. And??? There is Google.

Is this the problem? Although we use thousands of sites every day, we can hardly name a dozen. For everything, we are so much dependent on the search capability of Google. For that matter, many of us haven’t even tried the other search engines available. Search engines from companies like Yahoo! And Microsoft, don’t even deserve the credit of one glance. Imagine the paradigm we are in.

Now suppose, you tell Google (as a noun) is not the best. This hurts Google (Google as a person!). Google decides enough is enough; I will not entertain anything related to this person. Whenever a person Googles (as a verb!) information related to you, the search just neglects you. What would happen at that time? Is your online identity dead? How many people would have memorized your online address? Does this mean that for all practical purposes, you have no online identity?

Is this the future power house? Can this happen in the future?

A beautiful short story

2009-03-12T11:22:00.002+05:30

Once upon a time, deep in the Indian Ocean, there was a small ship that was sailing. The ship was lost. The sailors were sailing for days without knowing, where they were.

Daily morning, the Optimist on the ship would get up, look towards the rising sun and shout “Today is the day when we will reach the shore.”

After that, the pessimist would get up, look towards the vast streach of water, and shout “No land even today, we are doomed. We will all die today.”

This went on for a few days. Then the people on the ship got so fed up listening to the words of death, that they threw the pessimist out of the ship.

They then started listening to the Optimist. This would give them the motivation for the day to work hard. This too went for a few days and finally, they again got frustrated. They threw the Optimist too out of into the water.

Moral of the story: There is no point in being a blind optimist or a blind pessimist. There needs to be rationale in whatever you think and say. Only the rationale thoughts will survive.

Another moral of the story is, The optimist got thrown second! So if you cant reason out, better be an optimist, you will have more chances.

Disclaimer: This story was either read in some mail or was told to me by someone. The credit goes to the original creator.

Recession a mind phenomenon?

2009-03-12T11:17:00.001+05:30

Once upon a time, in one of the cities of India, there lived a bun maker. He was illiterate, but hard working. He worked day in and out, made buns on the street and sold them for a profit. This profit he brought home and saved for the education of the child.

The hard work was paying dividends and the bun from this man got very famous in the city. The demand was so high that, he hired people to help him in the business, then he bought more carts, then he bought a shop, after that, he bought more shops. He was doing a roaring business.

The year turned to 2008, and the son, who was now an MBA from one of the international school, came home. He saw that, his father was in the process of buying more shops, hiring more people to satisfy the demand of his customers.

The son said, dad don’t you know there is a world recession? People in the US are being laid off. Big companies are closing. There is a very gloomy picture outside. The father who was an illiterate, had not read papers, didn’t have the time to see the TV. He thought, I am just a layman, but my son is an MBA. He must know more about the business than I do.

He started the cost cutting exercise. He put lesser cheese in his buns. He pulled down the neon signs on the shop. Sent home a few employees. Brought down the number of buns he bought.

This made the customers feel the change. They slowly started to stay away from the shop. The demand reduced and the father thought, Thank god my son came at the right moment to save my business. Else I would have been bankrupt.

Is this the situation everywhere? Is recession a mind phenomenon? The bun maker, had he continued his business, his business would never have seen the downturn, and instead, he brought the downturn towards him. Is this how big companies fail?

Is the scenario like, companies feel it’s the downturn, so let’s not ask for big projects. The project giving companies feel there are no quotations for my bigger project; this must be because of the recession. This starts the downward spiral and the whole economy starts to crumble.

Disclaimer: This story was either read in some mail or was told to me by someone. The credit goes to the original creator.

What is the Motivation to work?

2009-03-11T16:40:00.002+05:30

Todays organizations are moving from the garage shop to huge offices with hundreds of thousands of employees. With so many people, is it fair to have the same performance criterion, and the same motivation techniques?

Look at these 2 people.

1. A campus recruit who always thinks, the best companies do not come to campus. This company is a step in the direction to get into the best.
2. A person who has not got a job. After a struggle of an year, he gets into a company.

For argument sake, let’s think that both these guys get into the same company. What needs to be the performance/ motivation techniques? Can the manager give both these guys the same type of job? Can the manager give ‘meets expectation’ when both guys do the same amount of work?

Now consider another set of people.

1. A person who is wealthy. Has seen money all his life.
2. Another who has come from a family that had just managed to makes ends meet.

Can a performance appraisal with a monetary benefit of 500Rs. entice both? Can the manager say, if you toil hard, give a productivity of 120% every week for six months. You will be rated high. This high rating will give you a monetary benefit of 500Rs. You think, both the people will grab the opportunity? Do you think the two people mentioned earlier will take this opportunity with the same enthusiasm?

Now how about a lady who has a family to run? Whatever the scenario she got the job and her background, her only aim would be to finish work by 6PM and rush home. Can any incentive motivate her for extra work?

These are just a few types of people. There is a large list of people characteristics. Then apply various combinations to them, because people don’t tend to have one type of behavior. Adding to the misery, people change and sometimes suddenly. This is what makes the life of a HR manager challenging. This is what I feel keeps them going.

Good things bring good things? Or is it luck?

2009-02-26T22:51:00.000+05:30

Look at these two sentences.

1. This guy is living a dream life. Everything he does is a success.
2. This guy is going through a bad phase in his life.

Looks very familiar? Happened many times in our life?

Now the question is why people go through patches of great time and bad time. Why is it that good/bad times last for a ‘period’? Why is it not that, 2 good/bad things after 1 good/bad event (or something else? So that there is no pattern).
Sometimes I do feel, the law of attraction works (as told in the book ‘The Secret’). Good things make the person happy. They make the person have good thoughts. He becomes more optimistic of life. He ‘believes’ that he can change his life. This makes him attract more and more happiness. This self belief is the cause of future success/happiness.

Similarly when there is a bad phase, the person becomes pessimistic. He is hesitant in his thoughts and actions. He misses opportunities which could transform his bad phase to good. He is too busy brooding over the problems he has, and has no time to think about the solution required to turn the tables around.

The law of attraction of good/bad does explain this, but to think of how can a person in great happiness attract misery, or how can a person who is in pain think of happiness? What causes the good to go to bad and the reverse to happen? Is this a mere act of the human or is there a philosophical power behind this? Is this catalyst of change the god/daemon?

According to me, everybody in life holds a few things very dear to the heart. These include good/bad things. There are things that can make a person easily happy and easily sad. Just as a crude example, It doesn’t matter for a cricketer how quickly he covers the 22yards. He is happy if he has reached the crease before the ball and is faster (relative) than his partner. The same when you consider a runner, he is not bothered about the camera that is chasing him, nor his partners (although important for that race), he is more bothered about the world record and how to be better than that.

Whenever these things happen in life, they resonate with the mind/heart and the times change towards to the good/bad. So does the secret of life lie in knowing what causes the bad resonance and avoiding it? Did the happiness potion in happy potter work in this principle?

The Change in DNA

2009-02-01T11:22:00.001+05:30

The human being is defined by his gene. This gene goes through a lot of changes. Consider the continuous changes during 1000BC, 0AD, 1000AD and now the 2000AD. The gene/DNA is going on fighting with the environment.

Maybe in the 1000AD, the time was such that, the human and the environment were equal. The environment would influence the man and man would fight it back. In the present time, whenever there is some kind of threat, there will be external stimuli to counter that. Consider the situation where the human has fewer. The humans’ common defense is, pop in a tablet. This is a form of external stimuli. This causes a change in the gene/DNA and gains enough power to equalize the threat from environment (get cured).

Whenever there is fewer, unlike the old days where it would take a long (say 15 days) while to get cured, in the present man uses external stimuli (Crocin?) and the fewer is cured in a day or two. When this process continues, the gene/DNA too undergoes modification and becomes lazy (just like the whole human being!). It fails to develop immunization because, it knows whenever there is an emergency the human brain is capable of finding the required external stimuli to counter it. The internal strength of the gene/DNA goes on decreasing.

A time may come in the future, when there is no internal fight and the whole fight is expected to be from external stimuli. This is the start of the decline of the human, and finally extinction.

Now, consider the change. The human is replaced by an organization. The time span is reduced from 1000 to a decade. The organization is facing threats and fighting against it.

The organization is defined by its DNA. We say DNA of Apple Inc is the innovations it is bringing to the table; the DNA of Toyota is the quality. When in the long run the organization with internal/external stimuli changes this very DNA for which the organization was known.

Is this (the change in DNA) the reason why a handful of companies see the 100 year mark?

Will the biggies of today Microsoft, Google be able to survive this long?

Colloquium @ SIBM Bangalore

2009-01-01T20:06:00.002+05:30

Dr S. P Kothari was the chief guest. He was the former dean at MIT Sloan, prof at Harvard Business School. Mr. Apte the ex-director of IIMB was also the guest of honour. The topic for the event for “Global Economic Slowdown: Recommendations for India’s economic growth”.

Dr. Kothari focused his talk on 3 major action items for the country.
1. Improve the education
2. Better governance
3. Improve infrastructure

The education will be good, only if the parents take an active interest in the child’s education. This was the basis on which he proposed that, an incentive scheme should be introduced, where in the parents get an monetary incentive, if the child scores above a certain level. The exam for evaluating the performance should be outsourced so that, the parents do not harass the teachers for the extra marks. This idea when developed, can be an effective tool to get the education to the masses.

Comparison with the governance in the US, where even a small district has its own curriculum, its own management for the schools, the powers should be percolated down to the lower representatives. The country should be divided into smaller economic states which can help in easy management restrict the concentration of power.

The country is growing at around 8%, this kind of growth cannot be sustained only by the citizens. The country needs more FDI. The comparison with the China is 1-13. For every rupee that comes to India as FDI, 13 rupees goes to China as FDI. The government says it’s made policies that are very helpful institutions to bring in FDI. This statement can only be justified when there is actual flood of FDI in the country.

The other major issue was, everything said and done, there needs to be political will for the country to prosper.

SIBM Bangalore

2009-01-01T19:55:00.003+05:30

It’s almost been 8 months at SIBM Bangalore. Having studied at technical schools, the experience of a business school has been totally different. A lot more of the global subjects-the subjects that have no diagrams or formulae, a few mathematical subjects that are so very elementary, and some subjects like current affairs that are very interesting to learn. The greatest fun is, when you write in your exams- with the booming economy and the ever so rocketing stock market… and then when the professor starts to correct the paper, the news paper says, the economy is in doldrums and the stock market has crashed! Just a glimpse of the SIBM world.

Quality of students
The friends that I have here are very different to the friends I have back home. My colleagues come from every part of India, there is not a single state that is not represented! And some (30 of them) are international students. This gives a very different perspective to the classes. The professor wont just say, the world is very emotional (people of India) because, there will be students from the US who will say, no the world is very void of emotions.

The procedure
The way to get into the college is tough. A all India test called the SNAP has to be aced. Out of the 1.1lakh students who write the SNAP, about 1000(0.009%) are selected for further screening. These students are put through a case study-group activity-psychometric test-personal interview. 150 students are then selected from this lot( 0.001%).

Academic rigour
Visiting/adjunct/guest faculty from university of Berlin, IIMK and IIMB. MOUs being signed with the various universities around the globe make SIBM Bangalore truly an international level institute. The assignments and the never ending case studies always keep the students on their toes

Faculty
I have seen 2 different semesters, and both have been very contrasting. The first was with the professors who were in Bangalore. Some of them are teaching at IIMB, but many didn’t. This 2nd semester has been a lot like studying at IIMK. About 90% of my professors are teachers at IIMK and are visiting faculty for us. The teaching and the expectation are huge. The dramatic difference between a national level college and a state level college was visible. Bangalore, before SIBM had only IIMB which was of national level. So the best faculty of Bangalore were not good enough. Hopefully with SIBM too coming to Bangalalore, it will develop its own international level faculty.

Check the website www.sibm.edu.in for further details.

The Big Bubble

2008-09-30T18:55:00.003+05:30

This is a mail that I received. Worth reading.

Once there was a little island country. The land of this country was the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around.

1) There were 3 citizens living on this island country. A owned the land. B and C each owned 1 dollar.

2) B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and C own 1 dollar each while B owned a piece of land that is worth 1 dollar.

* The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.

3) Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1 dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.

*A has a loan to C of 1 dollar, so his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B sold his land and got 2 dollars, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C owned the piece of land worth 2 dollars but with his 1 dollar debt to A, his net residual asset is 1 dollar.
* Thus, the net asset of the country = 4 dollars.

4) A saw that the land he once owned has risen in value. He regretted having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3 dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C. As a result, A now owned a piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owed B 2 dollars, his net asset is 1 dollar.

* B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. A bubble is building up.

(5) B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan to A.

* As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owned a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a debt of 2 dollars with C, his net Asset is 2 dollars.
* C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.

* The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.

(6) Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.

(7) One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C's mind. "Hey, what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no more."

(8) A also thought the same way.

(9) Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.

* So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owed C 2 dollars and the land he owned which he thought worth 4 dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.
* C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his net asset is still 2 dollars, his Heart is palpitating.
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.

(10) So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country ? Of course, before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars. Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was 6 dollars on paper. B's net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is palpitating.

(11) B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which is worth 1 dollar now.

* A owns the 2 coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B is bankrupt, his net asset is 0 dollar. ( he lost everything )
* C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar

* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars.

**************End of the story; BUT ***************************

There is however a redistribution of wealth.
A is the winner, B is the loser, C is lucky that he is spared.
A few points worth noting -

(1) When a bubble is building up, the debt of individuals to one another in a country is also building up.
(2) This story of the island is a closed system whereby there is no other country and hence no foreign debt. The worth of the asset can only be calculated using the island's own currency. Hence, there is no net loss.

(3) An over-damped system is assumed when the bubble burst, meaning the land's value did not go down to below 1 dollar.

(4) When the bubble burst, the fellow with cash is the winner. The fellows having the land or extending loan to others are the losers. The asset could shrink or in worst case, they go bankrupt.

(5) If there is another citizen D either holding a dollar or another piece of land but refrains from taking part in the game, he will neither win nor lose. But he will see the value of his money or land go up and down like a see saw.

(6) When the bubble was in the growing phase, everybody made money.

(7) If you are smart and know that you are living in a growing bubble, it is worthwhile to borrow money (like A ) and take part in the game. But you must know when you should change everything back to cash.

(8) As in the case of land, the above phenomenon applies to stocks as well.

(9) The actual worth of land or stocks depend largely on psychology.

iPod Touch

2008-07-15T23:24:00.003+05:30

The iPod touch just got better.
I got the Apple software update 2.0 onto my touch.
This enables a whole lot of features. There is a apple online store based out of India. So we can buy(!) songs, movies, softwares for the touch. Well the interesting feature is, the softwares, some of them are free. So I can download some cool stuff. Apple gets a part of the sale, 30% to be exact. The terms for software makers are, they can give it out for free. Which means apple earns 30% of 0 = 0$. Or, they can charge any amount they feel is appropriate and apple will make revenue out of this sale.
If we just browse through the softwares that are available, we see that, there are a wide veriety of softwares that are free of charge. I downloaded a game, which is based on the motion sensitivity of iPod Touch. Its a software version of what we used ot play as kids. A plastic box, with a maze inside it, and a ball-bearing to roll inside. Objective was to guide the ball, to the exit, clearing the maze. This is exactly the same game, but a virtual(software) one. The iPod Touch senses the tilt and the movements. This is transfered to the virtual-ball. The objective still remains the same:-)
Then there is mailbox support(POP,IMAP,Microsoft exchange)
A notepad, multiple calenders, maps, stocks, weather, direct link to youtube videos, iTunes store..... and access to innumerable software that can be downloaded.

Change Of India

2008-04-07T09:41:00.002+05:30

This is a fwd mail that I got. The thing that caught my attention was, how well the line captures the change that has taken place in the last 50 years.

Thomas L Friedman- The NewYork Times 'Foreign Affairs' columnist once said,

"When we were young kids growing up in America, we were
Told to eat our vegetables at dinner and not leave them.
Mothers said, think of the starving children in India
And finish the dinner.'

And now I tell my children:
'Finish your homework. Think of the children in India
Who would make you starve, if you don't.'?"

Linking Javadoc and Eclipse

2008-03-10T17:09:00.002+05:30

I had been searching for ways to get the Java documentation from SUN integrated with Eclipse. The Eclipse IDE would not show the information. The information i am talking about is the one that you get, when your mouse pointer hovers on the predefined class. My IDE would just display the class name. It really becomes irritating when there are multiple options available and you aren’t sure what each does. Searching on the net, for each of those becomes a tedious job.

I downloaded the Javadoc for my JDK, and extracted the contents in the folder that contained Eclipse. I restarted Eclipse with the hope of seeing the changes in help. But alas, nothing had changed. Then I started searching for ways to get it linked. First and last stop google. But the search engine threw up wide range of websites, that either gave info of Eclipse or of Javadoc. In few websites that contained both, it was about 'use the javadoc in eclipse!'. Finally, after various websites and frustration, I set about trying to find, where the option is, in eclipse.

The way to do it is,
• Click on 'Project'---->'Properties'---->'Java Build Path'---->'Libraries'
• Expand the 'JRE System Library'
• Expand 'rt.jar'
• Click on 'javadoc location'---->'edit'
• Click on 'javadoc URL' radio button.
• Click on 'browse' and select the folder 'api'
• This folder should contain 'index.html' and the file 'package-list'.
• Say OK. Click on 'validate'. This should pass the internal validation.

Once this is done, enjoy the detailed documentation by SUN. You will no longer require the internet to know more about any predefined function. Of course, you should know what you are looking at :-)

Another hurray

2008-03-08T17:51:00.001+05:30

I have been awarded the best engineer of the month. The nominations were chosen from my whole unit(PLES), across several locations. PLES Infosys, is located at Mysore, Bangalore, Pune and onshore at US. The award was given as a means to recognise value addition to Infosys. It was given in the all hands meet- a meeting where the whole of unit is present and connected. There are about 2000 people in the unit, which makes the award very very special. My tag line of orkut will still continue.
'The best is yet to come'.
Picture abhi baki hai mere dost

Hurray

2008-02-18T12:34:00.001+05:30

Hurray I got selected to SIBM-Bangalore. Joing in june 2008
Details later..

Going home

2008-02-15T17:23:00.000+05:30

This surely deserves a post..

I am going home for the weekend:-)

Bollywood

2008-02-15T17:16:00.003+05:30

Something funny which is directly lifted from one of the mails that i got.
Observations made on some popular Bollywood movies
Baghban: Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini areseparated right after Holi remember Amitabh singingHoli khele Raghubeera?). They are said to beseparated for six months, ie from March toSeptember. Within that six-month period, theycelebrate Valentine's Day, which falls on February14, and karva chauth, which is usually observed inOctober. There is no way these two occasions couldcome between March and September!
Lagaan: Lagaan was shot in the late 19thcentury. At the time, an over in cricket used toconsist of 8 balls. But in this movie, an over has 6balls. Maybe modern cricket learnt from the movie.
Amar Akbar Anthony: Three men donate blood atthe same time to the same person.
Awwal Number: Dev Anand is an omnipotentgenius -- former cricketer,captain, army chief,commissioner, you name it. And Aamir Khan carries ahuge transistor in his pocket while batting!
Khalnayak: The police tracks the villain froman MS Word Document screen! something that officeteam will be interested in)
Pyar To Hona Hi Tha: Kajol gets off the trainto use the public toilet at the railway station andthe train chugs off without her. Poor girl,littledid she know that every train compartment has fourtoilets inside.
Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi: Akshay Kumar boards aJet Airways flight to America. Well, well, somepromotion for our Indian Jet Airways. Since when didthey start flying international?
Raja Hindustani: Navneet Nishan has short hairbefore marriage. After tying the knot, she acquireswaist-length hair overnight. What a hair-raisingexperience!
Raja: Dilip Tahil empties a can of petrol overMadhuri Dixit. Minutes later, Sanjay Kapoor takesthe same can and pours it over Dilip Tahil. That'swhat I call an autofill!
Guddu: Manisha Koirala and Shah Rukh Khan areseen hanging on a parachute during a song. But whenthe song ends, they land on a glider. What a switchabove sea level!
Tere Mere Sapne: Priya Gill is doing her BA.But at the bus stop, she is carrying an electricaltechnology thesis by B L Theraja. What anelectrifying interest!
Ajnabi: In "Ajnabi".....Bobby Deol typed the password "everything is planned"...which was shown as a sentence in password field. Rather than shown as encrypted.....that was too much.
Bunty aur Bubbly: In "Bunty aur Bubbly".....when Rani Mukherjee was first time introduced in the movie....it was shown that she is aspiring to be an actress....so she had too many idols...and there was pictures of many beautiful ladies(of Bollywod and Hollywood) attached in her room wall. Among those pictures there was also a picture of Aishwariya Rai (sorry Bachhan)....if Aishawariya is shown as a movie star... (Because Rani says that she wants rule like Aishwariya (I dont know what does it mean???))......then how can she get a role of a bar dancer (kajrare...) in that same movie???? Mind blowing Shaad Ali....

Sound effects

2008-02-15T17:08:00.002+05:30

I was seeing a bruce lee movie. Chinese Connections. Its picturised in the early 1970's. The thing that facinated me was not the fight. Bruce lee movies are known for the exemplary skills of martial arts. There was a sound sequence in the movie. It has been used everywhere in the movie. Its like a tumbler, trown on the floor. The sound is clearly captured, with the natural vibrations and till it totally dies down. This one sound has probably so very facinated the music director(if at all he was there) that he uses it every 5 min:-)

Infy TV

2008-02-15T17:03:00.003+05:30

Infy TV is the first corporate channel. This is not the information which made me sit and think. InfyTV was launched many months ago. The thing that really caught my eye is the live shows.
At the moment Samavesh- an inter DC(Development Centre) competition is going on at MysoreDC. These events are being streamed "LIVE". This is trully fantastic. Not just to Mysore DC, its being streamed to all the DCs of Infy across the globe.

Taare Zameen Par

2008-01-21T17:15:00.000+05:30

This is a wonderful song from Taare Zamin par. Its in all my playlists. From the time I watched the movie, to date, this is the most listened to song. Enjoy the lyrics

Song Title: Maa - Taare Zameen Par
Movie Name: Taare Zameen Par
Singer: SHANKAR MAHADEVAN

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

Bheed Mein Yun Na Chodo Mujhe
Ghar Laut Ke Bhi Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Bhej Na Itna Door Mujkko Tu
Yaad Bhi Tujhko Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Kya Itna Bura Hoon Main Maa
Kya Itna Bura Meri Maa

Jab Bhi Kabhi Papa Mujhe
Jo Zor Se Jhoola Jhulate Hain Maa
Meri Nazar Dhoondhe Tujhe
Sochu Yahi Tu Aa Ke Thaamegi Maa
Unse Main Yeh Kehta Nahin
Par Main Seham Jaata Hoon Maa
Chehre Pe Aana Deta Nahin
Dil Hi Dil Mein Ghabraata Hoon Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Hai Naa Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Meri Maa

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

Song dedicated to my mom and dad.
I miss my parents:-(. Well I will meet them this feb:-)

Sardar

2008-01-14T19:26:00.000+05:30

With all due respect to the sardars[greatness extends to being the PM too],

A news reporter gets news that 100 sardars are killed in a train accident at Amritsar station.

Only one sardar left alive.The correspondent goes to him and asks, Sardarji how did it happen?

Sardar: oh ji pucho mat.. sab kuch sahi tha sab log platform par khade gaadi ki wait kar rahe they. Achanak announcement hui ki shatabdee express 2 no. platform par aa rahi hai. Jaise hi sab ne suna ki gaddi PLATFORM PAR aa rahi hai, sab log apni jaan bachane ke liye patri par kood gaye. Aur tabhi gaddi patri par aa gayi.

Reporter: Thank god. Aap ne samajhdari dikhayee. Aap patri par nahin koode.

Sardar: Oye nahin ji main to suicide karne ki iye patri par hi leta tha. Jaise hi announcement hui main to platform par chad gaya.

Communication Link

2008-01-11T18:50:00.000+05:30

Memo from CEO to manager
Today at 11 o’ clock there will be a total eclipse of the sun. This is when the sun disappears behind the moon for 2 minutes. As this is something that cannot been seen everyday, time will be allowed for the employees to view the eclipse in the parking lot. Staff should meet in the lot at ten to eleven. When I will deliver a short speech introducing the eclipse, and giving some background information. Safety goggles will be made available at a small cost.

Memo from Manager to department head
Today at ten to eleven, all staff should meet in the car park. This will be followed by a total eclipse of the sun, which will appear for two minutes. For a moderate cost, this will be made safe with goggles. The CEO will deliver a short speech beforehand to give us all some information. This is not something that can be seen everyday.

Memo from Department head to floor manager
The CEO will today deliver a short speech to make the sun disappear for two minutes in the dorm of an eclipse. This is something that cannot be seen everyday, so staff will meet in the car park at ten or eleven. This will be safe, if you pay a moderate cost.

Memo from Floor manager to supervisor
Ten or eleven staff are to go to the car park, where the CEO will eclipse the sun for two minutes. This doesn’t happen everyday. It will be safe, and as usual it will cost you.

Memo from Supervisor to staff
Some staff will go to the car park today to see the CEO disappear. It is a pity this doesn’t happen everyday

Nano

2008-01-11T11:38:00.000+05:30

The word nano, brings only 2 things to my mind. I being an engineer, you might expect me to say, "Nano technology". The 10 raised to -9 sized things which are going to revolutionanize the way each device feels in our hand.

The Nano i am thinking of are, 1. Apple iPod Nano 3rd generation and 2. The new TATA car. and that in that order

The first is a jewel, a piece of absolute pride, a small cadbury dairy milk sized, audio video player. The only match to iPod Nano's sound clarity and the feel, are the other iPod varients. Apple has made all its products a priced possession of its owners, who ll boast about it to anyone and everyone willing to listen[sometimes to people who arent willing too]. Use it to feel it :-)

The second Nano is the cheapest car in the world. TATA has really delivered. When the thought was first put forth, everybody laughed. Everybody said, will it be a hand cart with 4 wheels? Will it have curtains for windows and doors? Still the man with the vision was unfazed. He maintainedthat , its possible.

Now he has brought out a car, that will challenge and beat hands down the entry level varients of all the car manufacturers. When I say all, its not just the maruti or hyundai or others who have a presence in India, itsthe world over.

The thing that makes it special is not the price[atleast for me.I am not buying any for now. So I can compare Nano to Ferrari too] but the features he has packed inside the car. Think of it,

It meets all pollution and safety norms required.
It does have an AC
It pollutes less than a normal 2 wheeler
It pumps in enough power to pull the weight for over 22km per litre.
It looks stylish.
It has 21% more space inside than a Maruti800 and is 20% smaller to it overall.

I know TATA wont sell the car for a long time for this price. Still I am pretty sure, it ll still remain the cheapest car.

This is for the Indian media, which I am not very proud of[read my earlier posts to know why]. They need the negatives more than the positives. Yes it will increase the traffic on the road. It ll make every salaried employee an owner of a car. It ll make the other car manufacturers think a lot and within 2 years bring in a flood of cars from every car manufaturer. This will increase the pollution, parking problem.

Lets see the brighter picture. In an era where there is a 2 wheeler being released every alternate day, TATA has brought out a car that will compete in various segments[car, 2 wheeler, auto??].

Hail the Victor

2008-01-02T10:18:00.000+05:30

This is something really amazing. My bike victor, of 2003 make, still gives a mileage of 76kmpl. I had not checked it past years. The only time I kept a watch on te economy was when the bike was new. Recently I just happened to check it. After being plesently surprised, I decided, let me see if that was a one time high or a constant good mileage. Amd Voila, My Bike is still giveing me a great miles per litre..
Surely victor is more smiles per hour...still:-)
Sharad

Let there be peace

2008-01-01T16:41:00.000+05:30

Let the world have peace. No Wars. No terror activities.
Let India prosper.
Let India move closer towards being developed.
Let there be atleast one invention which makes use of renewable resources to a very large extent, possible.

Wish everyone a very very special year 2008.
Sharad

New year is New Hope

2007-12-18T09:47:00.000+05:30

Another e-mail being posted here.

2007.....a year to cherish.....

2007 was when.........
when we wrote our last B.E. paper.........
when we passed out of college....
when we made new amazing friends.....
when some of us moved to a new city.....
when some of us celebrated our 22nd birthdays.....

when we waved good bye to our buddies leaving to the states for higher studies...

when some of us fell in love........
when some of us got married......
when some of us fell out of love
when some of us got hurt

2007 when
when we would have made mistakes
when we made life decisions.......
when these decisions turned out to be a tragedy
when some of us felt lonely ....
when some of us made an amazing friends in a new city
when some of us would have learnt to be stronger.....

when some of us would have realized that everything happens for a reason.....
when some of us let out our anger.....
when some of us never opened up to our friends about how

we felt....
when some of us felt so glad and happy to be the way they are.....
when we go out everyday and meet up with our friends...
when we had serious talks with our dad about our future.....

when we missed each other when we were at hometown………..
when we missed our mom here …..
when we cried for each other …….
When we celebrated our first Christmas with our friends ….
When we were jobless all the time in office ……..
When we walked around the streets late in the night ……

When we put budget for the next month (but strictly not following it)
Last year has taken us through all our ups and downs we faced in our life...

2008.......one more year .....a year to....
To find our life partner (might be)
to smile........
to let people know how much u care...
to learn from our mistakes.......
to cry when we are feeling down.....
to follow our dreams.......
to fight against everything for our dreams to come true.....
to be more confident.........
to be more strong at heart and mind.....
to enrich our knowledge.........
to make others happy....

Lets take each day as it comes........
Forget about the downs we came across in the past year........
And remember every lesson we learnt through them........
Lets Enjoy Life to The Fullest............
Lets Be thankful for every day.....
All the Very Best For The Year to Come.....
WE guys are going to definitely Rock this year........

Electronics in Infosys

2007-11-27T17:35:00.000+05:30

Finally the nerve breaking infosys training is over. I am posted to embedded system section. For those of you who don't know, Infosys is also into embedded systems. Its not heavily into this sector, nor is this the major profit making section, But the important thing is, we are into embedded systems and are making it grow. We are a few engineers here, basically with E&C or E&E background working for european car majors, aerospace majors and several other industries. The great fun is when you have clients from a company and your friend has the rival company as clients. Its great fun considering the amount of information available. These information into any wrong hands can make or break the company's prospects. The confidentiality with which the work is carried on is trully worth applauding.

much more later..

Be Humble

2007-10-11T08:42:00.000+05:30

Disclaimer: This story is a mail i received. Thanks to Sanket for sharing it with me and with other.
Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do. He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the timeto some good use."Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop.Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car."You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir. Today everything is getting computerized. ""Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look.He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and stocky like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass."You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside."Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning not anger. "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. "It is complex, very complex.""It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the reply.This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence came into his so far affable, persuasive tone."Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in.Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing."He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the point."Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrency; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"The man was stuck with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such things.""I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "But now I am the Project Manager,""Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life is easy now."It was like being told the fire was better than the frying pan. The man had to be given a feel of the heat."Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end always changing his requirements, the user wanting something elseand your boss always expecting you to have finished it yesterday."Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realisation. What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth. "My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in the line of fire."The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek."I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire," He was staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time."There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when wefinally hoisted the tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive.""You are a...""I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a land assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go andfetch that soldier to safety.""But my captain refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded.""His own personal safety came last, always and every time. He was killed as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every morning now, as I stand guard I can see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire."Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a word document in the presence of a man for whom valour and duty was a daily part of life; a valour and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight."It was nice meeting you sir."Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This hand had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the tricolour.PS: The incident he narrates during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and his various other acts of bravery he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra the nation's highest military award.*Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn !

What a dog can teach us

2007-09-05T08:54:00.000+05:30

DISCLAIMER: This story is not written by me. This was a mail that i received. I liked it, and wish to share with all of you. All credits to the original writer. Thanks to him/her.

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we madearrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed toaccept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life – like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

More wonders:

If a dog was the teacher you would learn stuff like: When loved ones come home, always run to greet them. - Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

Take naps - Stretch before rising - Run, romp, and play daily - Thrive on attention and let people touch you. - Avoid biting when a simple growl will do - On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree - When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body - Delight in the simple joy of a long walk - Eat with gusto and enthusiasm Stop when you have had enough - Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not - If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it - When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close and just listen.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY

Are we hearing the right things?

2007-08-28T17:25:00.000+05:30

Whenever i see some movie where there are hackers, they seem to tell one thing in common. "Everything is cooked-up, even the news that's broad casted." Some news do make me think, is this really true? Look at the big names like NDTV, CNN are they being unbiased and doing their duty of giving news and only news? I watch NDTV a lot and to quote a few recently seen things,

1.during the time when the left said govt will face 'serious consequences' if it went ahead with nuclear deal... All NDTV's anchor Ms Barkha dutt was interested was, will the govt fail? Although it was obvious nobody would directly answer the question, she went about asking it. This was at the time when nobody knew what the nuclear agreement contained?what the hyde act was? was the 123 agreement? Instead of trying to solve these questions, the best journalist was harping on an unnecessary question.

2.The latest 'cricket controversies' show... Mr Siddu and Mr Jadeja were not at all in support of only the BCCI or the ICL. They talked on both the sides. Agreeing to certain things Mr Kapil(forICL) said and negating certain other things . In no way were they supporting ICL. But what do you see in the scroll bar at the bottom of the channel? 'siddu on NDTV'...'Jadeja on NDTV'...with only the statements they said in favour of ICL. This all because, NDTV seems to be supporting ICL? Is this fair?

3.Kapil says Sunil Gavaskar played in an era where they leart to draw a test.Draw in a test was as good as win. and we(kapil's) guys played to win. This was a fair statement considering that Sunil played in an era when India was the current Bangladesh of cricket. With the big names like England, Australia, West-Indies...It was great to even draw a test. But the news channels quote Mr kapil as having a rivalry with Sunil and saying "Kapil says...Sunil played to draw the test and we played to win". Is this what we really want to hear?
Think on this...
Later

Good or Bad? how do I feel

2007-08-23T19:58:00.000+05:30

Saw a few wonderful posts on the InfyBlogs today. That was when I thought, enough of this hibernation, let me continue to pen down(punch in) in my blog. Infy blogs is the local blog of Infoscions, screaming out into the world that, its not just software that we are good at. As for the numbers, there are 8000 registered users of whom, about 5000 blog regularly. Thats a farely large percentage of bloggers in the company.
Not really in the mood to write more. Sitting with a long face in the class here at the GEC. Miss my parents, my home, my room, my laptop,my friends....and the list continues
later
PS:Harry potter series is over. Thats another thing i gonna miss a lot :-(
PPS:After a string of great performances in SimCATS, had a very poor 79.5percentile adding more :-( 's
Revival round the corner? or will this dementor period continue?
Later

Hurray...

2007-07-19T08:43:00.000+05:30

Finally after ten days, we got into technical training. There was only induction programme till now. The fun part begins now.
More importantly, I got a personal computer and time restricted Internet access. Hurray...Its as if a starving guy is given a feast!!! That's because, we arent allowed computers into our hostel. So had been desperate to get my hand on one...
All about Infosys, Later...
PS: Harry potter and Deathly Hallows this weekend.

An Engineer

2007-06-09T20:50:00.000+05:30

Finally the 4 years of engineering are over. The best moments surely has to be the one that i spent with my friends, and the worst is the exam results...ha ha..
The ending to the 4 years was one of the best.. Worked a lot..Happy with my efforts. Amazing how much one can do, if he loves something and wants it badly.
Will surely miss those slow moving fans in class-rooms! the computers that always refuse to boot up, or always have some kind of problem! fighting for whose laptop charger has to be plugged in to the limited sockets! The last minute submission of assignments. Looking at the home work, when the prof enters the classroom!Being right on time, and finding that I am the first to enter the class! Seeing others sleeping in the class with such expertise!...the list continues.
All the best to my classmates....Infosys, Here I come.

Looking forward to..

2007-04-29T21:22:00.000+05:30

Thought of making a list of things I am looking fwd to..

1.Exams-ok ok don't hit me, its just because, this will be my last exams of my engineering career.

2.Holidays-Natural isn't it, when exams are finished with, the holidays are what I look fwd to.

3.Infosys-I am really very excited to work in this organization. Many tell me, you are worth more, try for some other better organization. But this is one organization that I dreamed to work for when i was very young.

4.Mysore DC-Have heard a lot of things about the campus. Hope the stay there is even more exciting.

5.CAT07-This is one thing in my life, for which I have given a lot of sacrifices. With better preparation, I see the chances to ace it are also better. THE exam of my life. A win here will pave the way for a lot of things.

6.A delhi trip- that will be sometime in the holidays.

7.Harry Potter-The film and the book. The trailer for the movie promises a lot.The Order of phoenix was the best book I read, hope the movie does some justice to it. The deathly hallows will be the last book in the series. Let there be a fitting end to the series.

I almost forgot..
8.My first salary-Should I elaborate?

Ta Ra Rum Pum

2007-04-28T22:48:00.000+05:30

Had been to Ta Ra Rum Pum today. To put it in a line, the movie is good but doesn't live up to the expectations.

With Saif(RV) and Rani(shona) in the cast, you tend to expect a repeat of 'hum tum'. Although the performances may match, the comedy is below par. Nothing to talk about the songs either. The song with the teddy bears looks better than the normal ones.

The story is better, with the theme of a fightback, Saif acts well. He portrays the character as a 'always smiling serious hero' that goes well with the tag-line of the film 'don't worry be happy'. The one thing that irks you is, the word 'best'. In the first ten minutes of the film, you will have to hear that some thousand times.

The story starts with the team manager of Speeding Saddles finding Saif. At the time, the team is all-down with them losing all races. Saif joins the team, and a string of victories follow. With wins everywhere, he is soon crowned the no 1 racer in America. When all seems happy, he survives a major accident on the track, but is put out of the circuit for a year. This layoff takes it toll on RV. When he is back at the track, the accident haunts him and this sees a dip in his performance. He loses some races and the team puts him out. He is left with nothing to do.

Now begins the normal hindi melodrama, where the actors laugh and cry at the same time and the director stretches the film to complete the 3 hour slot given to him. RV loses everything he ones had. Fame, riches.... Such is the turn of events that RV changes from the best racer to a taxi driver.

The fighter in him gets a rebirth when his son falls ill and is in dire need of money. He builds his own team, wins the race, teaches the bad guys a lesson and they live happily ever after. Second half is too 'yash raj films'-ish.

Did I mention about the cute dog? Well that for me, apart from the cars is the star attraction of the movie.Its named 'Bruno'.

My rating ***
One time see. The cars, the race, the accident...stunts are done well.
iMDb page

Merry days continue..

2007-04-25T23:44:00.000+05:30

If you haven seen the midas touch at work, come to me.
Yes, thats how I am feeling at the moment. For the un-initialized, the latest addition to this confidence pool was a win at the 'Brainsstorm07'.
I and my friend Amrita worked together for the glory. It was a statelevel event(although not many colleges took part). The problem with the event was that, the question asked was way too tough. Imagine, we two had to work over 40 hours to get the solution.
Then there was also a On-spot software design contest. Had to help Dharmaraj Yudhishthir get the better of Shakuni mama. A first prize in that too was the icing on the cake(hmmm reminds me of chocolate cake, readers can parcel the cake to me at any time).
All in all a fantastic day, came home richer(courtesy, the prize money), with 2 first prizes, and more importantly with my confidence at an all time high.

Leave Mr. NRN alone

2007-04-12T16:55:00.000+05:30

Recently, the war thats raging between the 'common-still-headed-man' and 'the media' is about 'National Anthem not being sung at the Infy campus'.

Lets get the facts right,
1. National Anthem was 'sung' at the campus by all Indians.
2. An Instrumental version was played on the stage.

Is playing the tune on stage instaed of the song so very out-of protocol? What happens in "Beating Retreat" after the republic day celebrations? Do they play the whole song or the tunes of them?

When the tune can be played at the showcase event(Republic day parade), then why not at the campus? Why is everyone behind NRN for this? Agreed he did say, that change was to help the non-Indians at the campus. So, is it wrong to think about the guests? Where did the age old tradition of 'atithi devo bhava' go?

How can people go so crazy as to talk ill of such a great personality? He is a person who by his simple genius mind and simplicity has put India on the global map. He is the person who dared to start an IT organization(even call it a revolution) in the early 80's. He is the person who put an Indian company in the NASDAQ listings. He is the person who is on the list of persons to meet, with each and every president or prime minister who travels to India. He is the person who has always held the reputaion of India above everything.

Cmon guys, grow up! See the larger picture. Then you will realise, this is no more than a media-gimmic to win more readers or more viewers.

Hoping to see you as next President of India, Mr N. R. Narayana Murthy.

Man and woman!

2007-04-04T18:18:00.000+05:30

This is one of the rare forwards in emails that is good. Usually i delete(archive) the email as soon as i open it, ormany times i don't even open it. This one deserves a place in my blog so posting it.Happy reading...

The man discovered COLORS and invented PAINT;
The woman discovered PAINT and invented MAKEUP.

The man discovered the WORD and invented CONVERSATION;
The woman discovered CONVERSATION and invented GOSSIP.

The man discovered AGRICULTURE and invented FOOD ;
The woman discovered FOOD and invented DIET.

The man discovered FRIENDSHIP and invented LOVE;
The woman discovered LOVE and invented LOVE TRIANGLES.

The man discovered TRADING and invented MONEY;
the woman discovered MONEY and invented SHOPPING .

Thereafter man has discovered and invented a lot of things...

but the women are still BUSY in
S H O P P I N G .................

Google plays pranks

2007-04-03T07:25:00.000+05:30

Google had its own way of celebrating 'all-fools day'. If you missed the fun, read on..

New! Introducing Gmail Paper
Everyone loves Gmail. But not everyone loves email, or the digital era. What ever happened to stamps, filing cabinets, and the mailman? Well, you asked for it, and it’s here. We’re bringing it back. A New Button in Gmail, you can request a physical copy of any message with the click of a button, and we'll send it to you in the mail.

Simplicity Squared
Google will print all messages instantly and prepare them for delivery. Allow 2-4 business days for a parcel to arrive via post.

Total Control
A stack of Gmail Paper arrives in a box at your doorstep, and it’s yours to keep forever. You can read it, sort it, search it, touch it. Or even move it to the trash—the real trash. (Recycling is encouraged.)

Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe
Google takes privacy very seriously. But once your email is physically in your hands, it's as secure as you want to make it.

Is it free?
Yes. The cost of postage is offset with the help of relevant, targeted, unobtrusive advertisements, which will appear on the back of your Gmail Paper prints in red, bold, 36 pt Helvetica. No pop-ups, no flashy animations—these are physically impossible in the paper medium.

How about attachments?
All part of the deal. Photo attachments are printed on high-quality, glossy photo paper, and secured to your Gmail Paper with a paper clip. MP3 and WAV files will not be printed. We recommend maintaining copies of your non-paper Gmail in these cases.

Is there a limit?
You can make us print one, one thousand, or one hundred thousand of your emails. It’s whatever seems reasonable to you.

But what about the environment?
Not a problem. Gmail Paper is made out of 96% post-consumer organic soybean sputum, and thus, actually helps the environment. For every Gmail Paper we produce, the environment gets incrementally healthier.

Considering the reputation of google, and their thirst for innovation, its nothing big to say that, many thought this was really true..
Source: Google Home

Merry days are here again...

2007-03-30T09:05:00.000+05:30

Finally the year long process is over. It started with the preparation for CAT, and now ended successfully with an offer from one of the top-10 institutes of the country. I have been selected for T.A. Pai Management Institute(TAPMI) manipal for a 2year PG course. How tough was the interview? Thats another story.
All is well, that ends well. So, had a wonderful start to my management career.

Still having hopes

2007-03-25T19:48:00.000+05:30

Pathetic is the first thing that comes to my mind when i think of India's performance in the worldcup. But hey, this is our team. The team that we adore. The team that represents the glorious country, India. Men in blue(or pale blue), i hope they get through to the next round.All hopes on Bermuda now.
Go Bermuda go!!
=====================================================================================
UPDATE:
Even the last hopes are drowned.
=====================================================================================

A request.

2007-03-23T23:31:00.000+05:30

This is an open request to everyone.
I want to know details about the song used in Nokia N72 ad.
The one which says "zindagi ki naye mod par, aagaye hain aaj hum......"
I would like to know if it is from any film or album? Is there a full length song of the ad?

School Chale Hum!

2007-03-14T21:45:00.000+05:30

192 million children between 6-14 years of age across 1.1 million places in India are not going to school.
This film for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Universilisation of Elementary Education) addresses the needs of these children.
The film catches the moment when children all across India from Kashmir to Kerala wake up in the morning and run to go to school.
Music:Shankar/Ehsaan/Loy
Lyrics:Mehboob
Directed by: Kanika and Bala, Bharatbala Productions (BBP) for the Ministry of Human Resource Development, India.
The film is old, but the song still catches me. I say the video today, and thought of sharing it.

The Holy Grail

2007-03-13T19:38:00.000+05:30

The biggest cricketing extravanza starts today! For the next 47 days, be ready to loose some sleep, get some nails bitten, pray a lot, and maybe even celebrate the ultimate. Worldcup is the tournament that gets the best of all the teams. Therefore it is always a close encounter. The top8 teams all have a chance to make it all the way. Did I miss some lesser known nations making it? you never know.

The teams to watch out for,
India
The team I support, so it naturally gets the first spot. The most destructive batting and bowling lineup. Yes I say a destructive bowling line-up too, because they are capable of destroying India's hopes. If India concentrates on batting the opposition out and sees bowling as only a part of the game which they have to do, they will be very difficult to beat. Comparing to other teams, they are surely stronger than every othr team.But, its on paper. Will they prove to be the best? I hope they do.

Australia

The consistency is their key. The major worries will be the injuries to Lee and Symonds. with Martin too retiring, their chances are reduced. But you never know, they are ones who have repeatedly shown performance. so they still are a team to beat.

Srilanka

Their hopes will rest on Muruli, Sangakara and Jayasurya. If the trio perform, then they will be a force, else they can settle for second stage exit.

South Africa

Currently ranked 1. They have the fire power with both the bat and ball. With a number of all-rounders, they bat deep. They seemed to be jinxed for the worldcup. They always fall in the crunch situations. They will have to overcome that to do good this time.

New-Zealand

Bond. He is the trump card. He has to stay away from injuries for a whole tournament. The team revolves around his bowling. He does well-the team does well.

England, West Indies, Pakistan

Although these teams have a slim chance, but they can add to the drama.

Finally, all the top8 teams have a chance. The team that holds its nerve, plays with pride, will finally lift the Cup.
All the best to the Indian cricket team.

The WOW effect

2007-03-12T22:19:00.000+05:30

I installed MS Vista 2 days ago. I am using the Ultimate edition with all the features enabled.
The first thing that anyone will say is WOW.The animation and the visual feel is absolutely great.I personally loved the flip3D where all the tasks stack up one behind the other as a 3D pane.

Whats New:
They have added a great deal of security, visual themes, faster ways to do things, some 'innovations', some direct lifts from other OSs.
They haven changed much of the file structure.The type of files you find in Xp are the same you find here. The goodies are the WMP11,IE7,Dx10,Windows defender, the mobility centre and many many more.
Although the structure is the same, there is a major change in the way one accesses the data.It is much much more streamlined.There are ways to navigate from any point to another with the minimum number of clicks.The design shows the amount of thought put into it.Any feature in any OS, Vista says 'you name it, i have it'.

The not so greats:
The added security also comes at a price. You have to click on 'do you want to do this' then after that, 'do you really want to do this' and so on. If you are the administrator and the only person to use the computer, it gets irritating.
Vista uses 600MB of ram at startup. This is with all features enabled. And takes up a hard drive space of close to 8GB.

The verdict:
Vista is absolutely great. It is worth the every min of the five year development. A big thumbs up from me.If your system meets the requirements, do try out the OS.Let me keep this clean, so i say, you get a trial period of 30 days for Vista after which you have to buy it to continue using it(although there are other methods ;) )
I use Windows with a 'windows genuine advantage'

Judgement day

2007-03-03T19:09:00.000+05:30

Finally the judgement is out.I have scored a 65%. The subjects i loved the most in the whole engineering life are the subjects where i scored the least. Its funny considering that, I know a whole lot more than the subjects of previous semesters but the VTU doesn't care.
I am glad I will be moving out of tech to management.Atleast the evaluation process is different. A continuous evaluation is always better than a 3 hour evaluation.
long live VTU!!!!

Is your life your's?

2007-02-19T23:19:00.000+05:30

Who is the master of your life?
You? God? circumstances? previous karma?the future? or maybe some jaadu from someother planet?!!
Many people have tried to answer the question without much success. There are various theories, each more convincing than the other, but the question still remains

I like to believe that I am in control of my life.Its what I do now that will shape what I do next. The famous quote I remember is "If you think you can, you are right.If you think you can't, then you are right again" It only means its the state of mind that's important.Its the attitude or outlook towards life. "Attitude defines altitude" The theory of attraction too says the same thing. If you are constantly thinking of something, then its bount to happen. Good or bad, the deepest desires will always come true. When something is wanted with all might, the universe conspires to make that happen!In other words, we work towards making it possible.

A small story:
One guy named 'devotee' used to pray only to lord Ganesha. He prayed for years together, but no result. There were no miracles in his life.It was a normal life.So growing tired, he moved all the statues of lord ganesha to the side and kept other gods in its place and started to pray to them. He had grown so tired that, when he lit a camphor or agarbatti, he would try all his might to stop the scent and the smoke reaching lord ganesha. No prayers, no flowers, no camphor. This went on for a month and there it was. Lord ganesha appeared before him! He was surprised, so he asked the lord. I had been praying regularly to you for years together, but you did nothing for me.But now that i have stopped praying to you, why have you appeared before me? The Lord said, "before, your prayers were filled with the things you wanted.But now, you with the concern that the prayers might reach me, keep me always in your thought.You pray, being careful not to pray to me, you are thinking of me.you light a camphor, you are thinking of me.your every action although negative, you have lord ganesha in all your thought.What more does God require than the devotee thinking of Him?Thats why I appear before you"
This story according to me, proves what thoughts are capable of.The thoughts which are in our control, have so much power.So it has to mean, You are the master of your life

Books to refer for CAT

2007-02-16T08:08:00.000+05:30

During my preparation last time, the only books that i knew was the course materials from the various Institutes.Here is a list of prefered books.
QA: Course material.
    Book by Arun sharma
    Trishna's book by TIME

DI: Course material
    Arun sharma also has a book for DI

VA: Norman lewis
    IMS word list from the BRM
    Barron's word list

For RC, novels are the best.The more difficult to understand, the better.The aim is to get to a level of 300 to 350 words per min.

The course materials should be enough, these books are addon's and not a replacement. A well prepared course material by a team of people who are dedicated to cracking CAT, will always beat a general purpose book.

Logic of numbers

2007-02-09T23:33:00.000+05:30

The numbers we all use (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) are known as "arabic" numbers to distinguish them from the "Roman Numerals" (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, etc). Actually the arabs popularized these numbers but they were originally used by the early phonecian traders to count and keep track of their trading accounts.

Have you ever thought why ........ 1 means "one", and 2 means "two"? The roman numerals are easy to understand but what was the logic behind the phonecian numbers?

It's all about angles !
If we write the numbers in the older form, then each number represents the number of angles it makes.

Source:The internet.
validity:not sure if this is right.

You can, You will, Its your choice

2007-02-08T07:14:00.000+05:30

This is the preface of the book that I am reading. A good source of inspiration to someone who wants to improve.
The book is by Arfeen Khan.

Do you know that 95% of world's wealth is owned by just 5% of its people?This is that 5% which has made it to the top.What has made these people reach there?

They could reached there only because they have exercised their freedom of choice.
They are there by choice!

These are the people who knewe early in their lives that they would become successful one day - come what may! It was the choice they made...the choice to reach there!
They were also aware of hte power of visulazation.They knew exactly where they would be - say at 25,at the age of 30, at the age of 35 and at the age of 50 - when they were about 18.

They knew about it because, they dared to dream.

Working on their dreams, they set their goals. They worked towards realizing their goals with the eye of a mountaineer.
Ask successful mountaineers, how, they reached the goals they had set for themselves. They will tell you that they were not afraid about what people had to say. They also knew that the small successes they would have on the way would take them closer to the big one.

Do you want ot be happy and successful in life?
If the answer is yes, start working towards it - begin now.
Firstly, gift yourself a new 'You'. The 'you' that you call yourself is your identity, which comprises your body, your mind and your soul.

Your body is what is visible to others. It is your duty to keep it smart..and fit
Your mind is what helps you in achieving your goal..sharpen it.
And your soul..it helps you to live at peace with the world..and more importantly with yourself.

Success also depends on a number of other factors.

Your relationships - they also include your relationship with yourself
Your communication skills - They also include your communication with your own self.
Your ability to cope with emotions - yours as well as that of the others

You can, You will, It's your choice

Official Vista launch

2007-01-30T21:37:00.000+05:30

Bill Gates and the gang officially launched Windows Vista at an event in Times Square New York.Instead of having Rolling Stones kick off the launch event with "Start it Up" like they did with Windows XP, it was a lesser known (but much younger) group Angels and Airwaves singing "What a Wonderful World" cover. Implying that Vista will make our world more wonderful?
And of course the first speaker of the night was Bill Gates doing what'll probably be the last OS kickoff before he leaves Microsoft next year. He got more of a rockstar welcoming.
After Bill came Microsoft VP Mike Sievert to demo some Windows tools and show how he could play UNO with his son in Seattle who was using an X-Box -- this demonstration almost didn't work -- too bad, it's always fun to get a failed demo or bluescreen. Watch as Mike starts to sweat and "umm" and "ahh" pretty bad before the UNO demo finally works out!!!

Colour blindness

2007-01-30T12:45:00.000+05:30

Was going through a forum and found a post related to this.There are few companies that have a colour-vision test in their medical examinations. Companies like TCS make it mandatory for employees to clear it.So I would suggest my friends to take the test, so that, they are not caught napping later.The deficiency is in about 5% males and about 0.25% females.
and those recruited by the following companies, chill...
1)Infosys
2)Honeywell
3)Wipro
4)L&T
5)LG
6)IBM
7)Accenture

Test for colour blindness

Let there be peace

2007-01-29T10:04:00.000+05:30

The all new Vista

2007-01-28T17:08:00.000+05:30

The release of Vista is round the corner. Vista is an OS thats very dear to Microsoft. They have taken a lot of time to build it. Adding features, security, compatibility...It is brought out in 3 flavors.Which one will you choose?

When Xp was released, there was a clear line in the Indian OS market. Anybody who got a genuine Windows would buy Xp home, while the 'other' user got the Xp pro. The pirated copies were always Xp pro, the users took these without even thinking if they want that. Xp pro was built to support some small server applications, have more clients logging onto the OS...But the average user never uses these.so these services are always there dormant in the memory, wasting it. There are a lot more cases when Xp Home is much better for us that Xp pro.But the average user never thought of these. Vista is going to change all these. When the new Vista is available, it will surely make all users think, which OS is better for them. Not everyone can run the Vista ultimate.Vista is a memory hogger, unless you have 1Gb RAM and good gfx, it will be a painful experiance to run Vista.

Here are the 3 flavors the users can choose from:

Windows Vista Business

Windows Aero user interface
Windows Tablet PC capability
Additional security & mobility features
Small business-specific features

Windows Vista Ultimate

Full-featured flagship edition
Includes advanced business-focused infrastructure
Incorporates mobility-focused capabilities
Enhanced security and encryption

Windows Vista Home Basic

Advances in security and reliability
Parental controls
Genuine Windows Vista basic interface
Search and Organize innovations

2007 is the year of India

2007-01-27T21:21:00.000+05:30

There are two Indias in this country. One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been recently showering upon us. The other India is the leash. One India says give me a chance and I’ll prove myself; the other India says prove yourself first and maybe then you’ll have a chance. One India lives in the optimism of our hearts; the other India lurks in the skepticism of our minds. One India wants; the other India hopes. One India leads; the other India follows.

These conversions are on the rise. With each passing day, more and more people from the other India are coming over to this side. And quietly, while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic, new India is emerging. An India, whose faith in success is far greater than its fear of failure. An India that no longer boycotts foreign made goods, but buys out the companies that make them instead.

History, they say, is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intensions when its taking a turn. This is that “rarely ever” moment. History is turning a page. For over half a century, our nation has sprung, stumbled, run, fallen, rolled over, got up and dusted herself; incanted, sometimes ledged on. But now, in our 60th year as a free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of time’s great precipice.

And one India, a tiny little voice at the back of the head, is looking down at the bottom of the ravine and hesitating. The other India is looking up at the sky and saying “Its time to fly…”

India poised video starring big B

Source: thanks to Pavan for the email,and Prasad for the link

Whats in store from Microsoft

2007-01-26T23:43:00.000+05:30

January 2007
-Windows Vista
A client operating system.
-Internet Explorer7
Although already released, will be a part of the OS with the release of Vista.
-Media player 11
Will be part of Vista

Second half of 2007
-Windows Vista SP1
First service pack with security fixes and updates
-Windows Xp SP3
Not confirmed, rumoured.
-Windows server 'longhorn'
Server operating system, designed to support vista in networks and domains.Will be called Windows server 2007.

In 2008
-Windows Fiji(also called vista R2)
not really a service pack, but a feature pack.provides extra features and also secuirity fixes.
-Windows longhorn SP1
First service pack.base for R2

In 2009
-Windows server longhorn R2
feature pack that provides server software with extra features.much like the windows server 2003 R2

In 2010
-Windows 'vienna'
previously codenamed 'blackcomb'.Next client operating system after Vista.

In 2011
-Windows server 'vienna'
Next server operating system.

NOTE: Although IE7 and WMP11 have got a mention, I am highlighing only the developments in the OS field. The information on the other products is still unknown.

Where do I begin for CAT

2007-01-24T08:29:00.000+05:30

I have received emails asking me how to start the preparation for CAT, so i thought, let me put this up here.

First, take 1 or 2 tests(mock CATs,SIMcats,or the actual paper).Try to solve it.You will get a rough idea about the level of difficulty in the paper.Try solving the same paper without time-limit.See how many more you can solve.Check the solutions.
Do not study any course materials till you complete this phase.The objective is to know what is CAT. This will help you in your preparation later.It not only gauges your level with the expected level, it will also acquaint you with CAT.

Once you have started, its a continuous process.Start reading RCs, start solving DI questions.Play with numbers. Use every opportunity you get with numbers. Do simple mental arithmetic(+,-,*,/).Learn tables,squares,cubes,square roots.
This should give you a good platform to further develop, and excell in CAT.
CAT-prep is a wonderful journey.Whatever is the outcome, you learn a lot.

hurray!!!!! I booked my new Dell laptop

2007-01-22T20:04:00.000+05:30

I booked my dell laptop today.All dell products are custom built to specs.The production starts only after the order is placed.So, the components are fresh stock, with all the latest patches done.Here is the specs of my companion.

Intel Core2duo T7200 @2GHz,4MB of cache,667MHz FSB.
Intel 945 chipset motherboard.
1GB of DDR2 SDRAM.
80GB of SATA hard drive.
Genuine WindowsXp Home.
15.4" Widescreen XGA TFT display with truelife.
8x DVD+/-RW with DL.
90W adapter.
media direct 3.0
Dell large nylon Carrycase.
one year onsite asia-pacific complete cover(including accidental damage)
bluetooth,wifi,card,6 cell battery.......and all the usual stuff.

This is THE phone

2007-01-11T22:21:00.000+05:30

Years of speculation was finally put to rest by Mr Steve Jobs. Apple introduced the iPhone.(yes they are using the popular speculated name). As with all other apple products, its stunningly beautiful, has excellent features, has a major innovation, has put its hands into unknown territory. What Apple offer is, something the user will cherish, dream of, and have an sense of accomplishment when he buys one. As far as teh looks are concerned, their products can give a run for money to any fashion model out there!!
Be it the iPod or the iMac or the iPhone there have been some new total radical innovation.
The innovations in iPhone are,

Multi-touch
iPhone features the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse. It’s an entirely new interface based on a large multi-touch display and innovative new software that lets you control everything using only your fingers. So you can glide through albums with Cover Flow, flip through photos and email them with a touch, or zoom in and out on a section of a web page — all by simply using iPhone’s multi-touch display.

Built-in Advanced Sensors
iPhone’s accelerometer detects when you rotate the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display, so you immediately see the entire width of a web page or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio.

The proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away.

An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time.

and yes, you can make calls too from this phone

Chat between CAT aspirant and IIMs 1 of 2

2007-01-08T17:41:00.000+05:30

This article is meant to be read on a lighter note.If you do, then the article promises bring a smile on your face.

Student 1 : Dear Sir. I have got 99.33, 99.72 in 2 sections and a 99.84 overall, but only 95.32 in the other section . Can i get a call, Dear CAT, from IIMA.

CAT/IIMA : What????, IIMA Call?. Dont you see you are not competent enough to cope up with the rigorous 2 year course we conduct here. Had you scored 0.02 %ile more you could have proved yourself to be competent enough to pursure a course and joined the ranks of MS Banga and Harsha Bogle. With a poor 95.32%ile in one section, All i can tell you is plz study more.

Student 1 : Sir, How about the chances from IIMB.

CAT/IIMB : Ha ha ha ha ha.. IIMB.. ha ha ha.. (Gearing up itself somehow to answer the question).. Fine.. I will anyway try to answer your question.. I need a few more details to answer your question anyway.. like..

1) What is your Date of Birth. It must fall between May 14th and Dec22nd. Else doubtful. Lets see. There are some rare cases who get thru with some lineancy in that. Anyway. Best of Luck on that.
2) 10th scores and the State you did it from and also, whether you have scored more than 83.11 % in that
3) 12th scores and the State you did it from and also, whether you have scored more than 86.76 % in that
4) Work-ex. Just the number of months would do fine. You need not tell whether you did it Microsoft, Google or Kandasamy mudaliar Textile mill at chittoor.. It does not matter much. We need diversity, you know. We also dont like differentiating between people based on illogical data like this.
5) CAT %ile. Now, wait. This is thr trickiest part. We are still awaiting the results from Las Vegas Casinos were our profs are playing. They are yet to finish the game. Prof X (who has a bet on keeping VA cut-off at 88.32%ile) is losing badly. He needs to improve on his casino skills. Prof Y is winning the game. He had pegged it at 96.32%ile. lets see.. Last year Prof Z won hands down with a 85%ile in DI. A few bugging students sneaked into our institute thru that. Lets see how many more get lucky this year. But lemme say guys, Its fun. Casinos are fun. The above rules are very well applicable for other IIMs too, though some lineancy maybe allowed.

Student 1: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Somehow composing himself to ask the next question)

Student 1: But Sir, almost none of these can be changed by me now. I dont have any control over it at this stage of my life.

CAT : Obviously. You cant change. And thats what we love the most. You have absolutely no control over your destiny. We control it. You heard it right? Anyway.. We do have a backdoor entry. If you score 99.95+ in all three sections and a 99.98+ overall, you may be exempted from all this. But again, its a "maybe". So please dont have high hopes. Lets see.

Student 2: Sir, I have scored 99.81 overall and a 99.96 in quants, 99.14 in verbal but a 78.17 in DI coz of a bad day. I have received no calls from none of the IIMs till now. But I have good work-ex, can very well think logically and am suited to do an MBA from the top IIMs. I can obviously handle the rigour.

CAT : ROTFL.. My God! a 78.17 in DI.. Do these profs release these types of below average percentiles too. Yuck! I never knew anyone can get a 78.17 in DI. pretty surprising. And were you talking about calls from the IIMs. First you need to explain to them what a 78.17 means.

Student 2: But sir a 99.96 in quants and a 99.81 overall and a 99.14 in VA. Does that not look attractive enough to study at IIMs ABCLI?

CAT : Sorry.. I could not hear properly.. What did you tell your score was in DI?

Student 2 (losing his cool ): WTF. WTF do you want to know. I got a f'in 78.17 in DI and finally all you buggers decided I am incompetent to think logically. You decide that since I could not crack one more set in DI, I am not fit for management. Blah Blah Blah..

CAT : Beta.. Tension mat le.. See. I will let you out one trade secret. We ourselves are pretty confused in how to eliminate people. Its a nice game with us and the computer. We keep changing one variable or the other till the calls for each instis touches the required number. In fact how to predict the right nos so that we can give results in 3 weeks itself is now a casestudy at IIMA.

Student 2 (stammering to ask the next question) : But sir.. You will be losing out on lots of good students coz of this.

CAT : So?

Student 2: "So?".. What question was that? I told, you will be losing out on a few
deserving students, some who may have got 97%ile or 95%ile overall but for whom an MBA would suit much well in their career goals.

CAT : Career goals..? What is that. I never knew our guys here talk about that. We know numbers. Talk numbers to us. and only numbers. Nothing else matters. And better if the nos are higher.

Stdeunt 1 : Ok. Lets talk Numbers. You have given calls to some students with overall 97.5 %ile too but not someone with a 99.75%ile. How does it work.

CAT : Oh, You guys figured it out huh.. These youngsters are smart nowadays. Anyway, promise you wont tell it to anyone.

Student 1: Promise Sir.

CAT : I believe you. When we were working seriously on Dec 30th, that bugging programmer had boozed a bit. Instead of typing 98.75%ile, he typed 97.5%ile in the computer program and some buggers may have sneaked in. Dont worry. We will take care of them in the interview.

Source: pradeep on pagalguy forum
pradeep too is a CAT aspirant from Chennai

Chat between CAT aspirant and IIMs 2 of 2

2007-01-08T17:36:00.000+05:30

Student 1: But sir,He may actually be a good candidate.

CAT : How can he be a good candidate. He got 97.5%ile overall.

Student 2 (butting in ): Oh Man! Did dhirubhai score a 99.5, did lakshmi nivas mittal score a 99.5.. did..

CAT : Stop, Stop.. Why should they score.. We dont create people like them. We create people who can work for them.

Student 1: Sir. We are speechless. Anyway.. We have a question and a suggestion. question first. How come IIM A/B/C have called a candidate who may have 97+ sectionals and 99+ overall but not IIM L/I/K.

CAT : Hmmm.. Thats a very good question. What happened was these 3 IIMs wanted to show to the outside world that they are unique. Hence they chose a different casino this time and played a different game amongst themselves. Mebbe cut-off changed coz of that. And what Suggestion? We dont like suggestions.

Student 1: Plz listen once.

CAT : We listening to others. He he.. Proceed.

Student 1 : Why cant you select people the way International B SChools do by finding out more about the personal characteristics of the student so that you can find whether he is better suited for management rather than just depending on nos.

CAT : Personal characteristics.. You mean height, weight, hip size etc..? We were thinking about it in 1997 but..

Student 2 : No No.. (In horror and controlling his temper).. We mean his aptitude do to management, his potential, his passion, his career goals, how an MBA from IIM will help him.. etc. In those lines..

CAT : Are you serious. We cant read the applications of 191,000 buggers. then we have to conduct CAT'07 for batch 2012. You are absolutely illogical. No wonder you scored a below average percentile in logical reasoning. Ha ha ha.

Student 2: (You #$^%^%*& ). You somehow got the point though not exactly. conducting CAT'07 for CAT'12 batch. We advice CAT to be designed in the lines of GMAT which has 5 years validity and is standardized.

CAT : OMG! That means our annual profs trip to Las vegas will be cancelled. I dont think they will agree to your suggestion. And what is the crap about 5 year validity. How can the intelligence of a person not change in 5 years. We believe it will change every year, in fact every week also if CAT is conducted so often.

Student 2: CAT is supposed to test Aptitude and not intelligence and aptitude will not change much in 5 years. It will benefit the student community immensely since they can give CAT in the final year, concentrate on their careers and then join MBA after 3-4 years after understanding business and corporate life. They can also concentrate on extra curriculaars etc. Because of CAT, the career of many people is jeopardized and none of the serious working CAT takers know what Extracurriculars is.

CAT : Agreed. But what about the Las vegas trip?

Student 1 and 2: Fainted.

CAT (gets a phone call) : Are Bhatia bhai. kahan hai tu.. Still playing at the casinos? You guys have real fun time.. So who won the game and whats the cut-off for QA this year.. What.. 89.11 ile huh.. Who won the game.. Ok.. Visit the miami beach.. (and he walks off speaking)

Source: pradeep on pagalguy forum
pradeep too is a CAT aspirant from Chennai

Here comes the new hope

2007-01-01T00:01:00.000+05:30

Wish you all a very happy new year.

Adieu 2006

2006-12-31T09:30:00.000+05:30

What an year it has been.For the record, 2006 was the most hectic year till now(experiance of 21 years!).Its the year where 24hrs was not enough on each and every day. Just a few pointers
* Started of with 5sem exams in Jan.
* Started with CAT preparation by joining IMS in Feb.
* Then came panorama,the dept level project exibition.Have won both that I could participate in.
* Then there was state level project competion Srusti06.Although i didnt much work on the project, it was really taxing to explain to unknown people for most part of 3 days.
* The exam season was back.The 6th sem exams.
* It was time for campus placements.I wanted to get into Infosys. So worked for it, and there it was.The first company was Infosys and they selected me.Hurray!
* CAT perp was in swing all this time, no sundays spared, no holidays spared.It was like 7days a week on the weeks.
* As october arrived, it brought more work. The SimCATs. It was a fantastic opportunity to explore weaknesses, build strategies.
* The ultimate test one can take. CAT06.
* ended with exams again.The 7th sem exams.
** The icing on the cake was the iPod nano that I bought.
All in all, a thrilling year.
Hoping 2007 will be as good or better than 2006.

Part Silicon Valley; part Stone Age

2006-12-25T17:35:00.001+05:30

Surendra Kaushik is a professor of finance at Pace University in New York. His article Do Not Reinforce Two Indias is worth a read.

From the article:
The most damaging thing India is currently doing is to stay poor and divided instead of realizing its great potential of being a superpower is its politics of creating a new caste system and enshrining it in its constitution. . .

Unfortunately, the current government in Delhi is trying to enshrine a caste-based quota system in the educational system of India where your categorization based on the caste you were born into in pre-Independent India will give you a certain quota in higher education. This is in addition to existing job quotas based on similar considerations, different standards of your qualifications and performance in tests as well as your current economic status. In other words, an attempt to bring about forced equality of result instantly.

It may be called creation of a new Soviet-type system of equal distribution based on your caste. One cannot imagine a worse selection of historically failed ideas and social and political systems based on them. This is something India should do without if it wants to be a powerhouse economy and a great society in the future. Equal opportunity in building human capital is what is needed, not forced equality of result through discriminatory quota systems for various castes and religions that would inflict much harm to the future of India.

A much better and positive alternative is to create educational opportunities for all regardless of caste and history. An educational system that gives a full range of choices where equality of opportunity in a merit-based system leads to realization of one’s potential. That is the vision of the future India deserves and not a divide-and-rule caste-based potential to break up India.

Intelligence of girls!!

2006-12-25T13:25:00.000+05:30

The saga is ending

2006-12-23T21:10:00.000+05:30

J K Rowling has finally come out with the title of the seventh book of the very famous 'boy who lived'.
Harry potter and the Deathly hallows
Although the date for the publication is not yet out, it surely has created the excitement to begin with.The questions which everyone is asking are,

*What is aunt Petunia's secret? Is she a key character?
*What are the powers that the Dark Lord doesn't have that Harry has, according to the prophecy?
*Does Wormtail have a role to play in the end, like Gollum did in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy?
*Why did Dumbledore smile when he learnt that Voldemort had used Harry's blood to regain his body and that He Who Must Not Be Named could now touch Harry?
*How did Dumbledore's arm get injured in Half-Blood Prince?
*Who is R A B? Is he Sirius's brother Regulus Black?
*Is Snape evil?

More errors to clear old errors

2006-12-23T17:51:00.000+05:30

If you dont know whats happening in the CAT06 world(yes its a different world), let me give a small window(or wardrobe as in Narnia) to peak into it.
* 1.9lakh people write CAT06
* There are errors in the question paper.
* All printing mistakes.
* One question mis-printed in all 4 sets.
* One more question mis-printed in set 1(maths),3(maths),4(english)

IIMs come out with the solution to this problem.Simple,just neglect the error questions, and let the total marks be reduced for that set.

Now this makes it, 73 valid questions for set 1,3,4. and 74 questions for set 2.
Simple isn't it? No, like all solutions, this has its pro and cons.
Pros:
* Students are evaluated only for the correct questions.
* Since the total max marks is also reduced, it kind of makes justice to all.
* The amount of marks increase will depend on the way the student has scored in other questions[(40/92)-(40/100)>(20/92)-(20/100)]
Cons:
* Since set 1,3,4 have two errors and set 2 has one, the student who has not attempted the question is at an undue adventage.
* Since set 1,3 have errors in maths and set 4 has error in english, the time wasted by student with set 1,3 > with set 4,because you tend to recheck if your method of solving is right in maths,that doesnt happen in english.
* students are not at a level field to compare.students will be compared from 74(set 2) to 73(set1,3,4) questions.

No solution can take into account all the problems, but considering the circumstances i do think this is an practical approach(if not a perfect solution)
PS:BTW I had set 111.so my questions are 25,25,23 in 3 sections.

Topics of interest

2006-12-19T16:35:00.000+05:30

Some of the topics I am interested in(that will help in GD/PI).Actually found the list from a fellow MBA aspirant.Found it useful.So posting it.Any useful links if you have, please email me or even post it as a comment.

Reliance Demerger
Mittal Arecelor take over bid
Airports Modernization
JIT(Just in time in java)
FDI in Retail
Ongoing /Recent Mergers and Acquisitions
Danish Cartoon Row
Row over Iran
Row over IIMs
VAT(Value Added Tax)
FBT(Fringe Benefit Tax)
Cash Withdrawal Tax
Sensex and its Constituents
Impact of Left Parties on Governance
Job gurarantee scheme
Sarva Sikshya Abhiyaan
Mid Day meal schemes
Indian energy Requirements/Sceneario
Women in Politics
Rising Price of Oil
Gold Prices
Indian Telecom Reveloution

Small scale entrepreneur’s watchout…

2006-12-12T20:55:00.000+05:30

Small is not the in-thing as far as setting up your own company is concerned. Royal stag’s tag line suits well with this “its your life (company) make it large”. With our very own PM suggesting us to ‘think global work local’, its just impossible to compete on the world stage with a small venture.
With small or big, I not only say about the investment but the products too. A company cannot depend only on a single type of product. The variety and the range is what is important to the customer. The big companies too are seeking merger to become a bigger player or to extend their range. Some examples are,

1 Mittal-arcelor
2 AMD-ATI
3 google-youtube
4 HP-compaq amd many more…

While Mittal-arcelor increased the net value of the shares and the total through-put, google-you tube and AMD-ATI were for expanding the range.
Not trying to discourage any entrepreneur here. I want to be one too.only saying ‘watch out guys..’
Later.

Dhoom again?

2006-12-04T21:01:00.000+05:30

When I had heard about the sequel some months back, I had said, again? Why is everyone trying to remake(don) or put a sequel(munnabhai,sarkar)? The only respite was that its a movie with aish and bips. These are the only two gals of bollywood who give good acting equal importance to the 'commercial'(you know what i mean!)aspect of the movie.

When the movie was released, everybody said the movie is a crap. Another let down? Damm..how can a movie with hrithik,AB,aish,bips,bikes,action(intentionally forgot our very own ALI) be a flop. Believe me guys, the film is not all that bad it surely is a one-time see...You got to give-it to the creators, the stunts although unrealistic have been made well. Definitely good enough for a bollywood flick.

Hrithik is fabulous, the script and the movie is tailor-made for him. One of his best performance. AB is rock solid! After Yuva he seems to have got the midas touch. Aish and bips..no comments!! uday is his jovial self!kya mummy!! another movie to him? The movie starts with a bang..slows down. All in all a 3.5 stars by me.

CAT06

2006-12-03T17:55:00.000+05:30

The biggest thing on my mind right now is the anticipation for the results ofCAT06. Ofcourse the immediate dementor (read Harry potter to know what it is) is the exams  of my 7th sem. God surely thinks i have more than 24 hrs!!

    Well coming back to CAT, it was no way like the previous years(has it ever been?LOL). The major shifts were

1 Five options to select from (I always thought MCQs have 4 options)
2 No vocab based english (a boon in disguise?)
3 Simple quant and data intrepetation (simple from CAT view that is!!!)
4 Two and half hours..enough time to go through all questions.

     The english has not only foxed the students but the coaching institutes too. Each institute is saying their answers are right, and there are about 10 questions (out of 25) that have different answers.
IIMs, when are you gonna publish the answer keys?

What? Sharad is blogging?

2006-12-02T21:39:00.000+05:30

Well yes....I have decided to blog my way in the'virtual world'. The world where
I spend most of my time. Having seen many blogs, some rising to greatness and some others biting the dust, I have decided to get my hands dirty!!
The major push was given by the events that took place after CAT06(Common Admission Test). Look anywhere and there are people speculating and predicting the results. So I thought of adding one more to it. I will be blogging not only on the CAT, but on everything that catches my fancy.