Sep 30, 2010
Sep 28, 2010
OWNERSHIP
If you don't feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, then don't own it for 10 minutes
WARREN BUFFET
WARREN BUFFET
Sep 26, 2010
Enjoying Education
I believe that education is all about being excited about something
Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message
STEVE IRWIN
Sep 16, 2010
Outstanding Presentations Workshop
There is a free webinar workshop on outstanding presentations happening! Totally 8 sessions. I attended the first session yesterday and it is quite good. If you are interested, you can go to
http://www.outstandingpresentationsworkshop.com/ and register yourself for the remaining 7 sessions
You can also access the recording of yesterday's session once you register.
Why wait? All the best for your presentations !
There is only one problem. The sessions will happen at 1:30 AM every wednesday :)
Shouldn't be a problem if you are a nocturnal creature like me. Cheers !
http://www.outstandingpresentationsworkshop.com/ and register yourself for the remaining 7 sessions
You can also access the recording of yesterday's session once you register.
Why wait? All the best for your presentations !
There is only one problem. The sessions will happen at 1:30 AM every wednesday :)
Shouldn't be a problem if you are a nocturnal creature like me. Cheers !
Sep 15, 2010
Sep 14, 2010
Sep 13, 2010
Azim Premji in Elevator
It was 9:30 PM and time to go home! I was casually humming a tune and waiting for the lazy office lift to come down to 3rd floor. On a typical day, i would see one or two exhausted and half asleep GE employees once the doors opened. But, i was surprised once the elevator doors opened today
I saw a confident old man in grey suit. His white hair was dancing to the air blowing from above
He looked at me through his big spectacles. I took a second to recognize him. I couldn't believe my eyes. Azim Premji was standing before me, one step away
I walked into the lift, trying to put up a professional smile and stood behind him. I was looking at him top to bottom just when i realized his security guard was staring at me with suspicion. For a moment, i thought to move next to him, introduce myself and give him a shake hand. But the lift hit ground floor pretty fast. I couldn't get my elevator pitch (elevator introduction rather!) ready by then
Azim premji started to leave and looked back for some reason. I smiled back. The lift doors closed and i closed my eyes. The next moment the lift was making some noise. I opened my eyes and was in the basement parking area
Exciting ending to a regular day at office
I saw a confident old man in grey suit. His white hair was dancing to the air blowing from above
He looked at me through his big spectacles. I took a second to recognize him. I couldn't believe my eyes. Azim Premji was standing before me, one step away
I walked into the lift, trying to put up a professional smile and stood behind him. I was looking at him top to bottom just when i realized his security guard was staring at me with suspicion. For a moment, i thought to move next to him, introduce myself and give him a shake hand. But the lift hit ground floor pretty fast. I couldn't get my elevator pitch (elevator introduction rather!) ready by then
Azim premji started to leave and looked back for some reason. I smiled back. The lift doors closed and i closed my eyes. The next moment the lift was making some noise. I opened my eyes and was in the basement parking area
Exciting ending to a regular day at office
Sep 12, 2010
Optimizing Resource Usage
Read the following Buddha & his disciple's story on resource usage !
Buddha, one day, was in deep thought about worldly activities and the ways of instilling goodness in human beings.
Buddha, one day, was in deep thought about worldly activities and the ways of instilling goodness in human beings.
One of his disciples approached him and said humbly "Oh my teacher ! While you are so much concerned about the world and others, why don't you look in to the welfare and needs of your own disciples also."
Buddha: "OK.. Tell me how I can help you"
Disciple: "Master! My attire is worn out and is beyond the decency to wear the same. Can I get a new one, please?"
Buddha found the robe indeed was in a bad condition and needed replacement. He asked the store keeper to give the disciple a new robe to wear on. The disciple thanked Buddha and retired to his room
A while later, Buddha went to his disciple's place and asked him "Is your new attire comfortable? Do you need anything more?"
Disciple: "Thank you my Master. The attire is indeed very comfortable. I need nothing more"
Buddha: "Having got the new one, what did you do with your old attire?"
Disciple: "I am using it as my bed spread"
Buddha: "Then.. hope you have disposed off your old bed spread"
Disciple: " No.. no.. master. I am using my old bedspread as my window curtain"
Buddha: " What about your old Curtain?"
Disciple: "Being used to handle hot utensils in the kitchen"
Buddha: "Oh.. I see.. Can you tell me what did they do with the old cloth they used in Kitchen"
Disciple: "They are being used to wash the floor."
Buddha:" Then, the old rug being used to wash the floor...?"
Disciple: "Master, since they were torn off so much, we could not find any better use, but to use as a twig in the oil lamp, which is right now lit in your study room...."
Buddha smiled in contentment and left for his room
If not to this degree of utilization, can we at least make the best use of all our resources at home and in office?
We need to handle wisely all the resources earth has bestowed us with — both natural and material, so that they can be saved for the generations to come!
Disciple: "Thank you my Master. The attire is indeed very comfortable. I need nothing more"
Buddha: "Having got the new one, what did you do with your old attire?"
Disciple: "I am using it as my bed spread"
Buddha: "Then.. hope you have disposed off your old bed spread"
Disciple: " No.. no.. master. I am using my old bedspread as my window curtain"
Buddha: " What about your old Curtain?"
Disciple: "Being used to handle hot utensils in the kitchen"
Buddha: "Oh.. I see.. Can you tell me what did they do with the old cloth they used in Kitchen"
Disciple: "They are being used to wash the floor."
Buddha:" Then, the old rug being used to wash the floor...?"
Disciple: "Master, since they were torn off so much, we could not find any better use, but to use as a twig in the oil lamp, which is right now lit in your study room...."
Buddha smiled in contentment and left for his room
If not to this degree of utilization, can we at least make the best use of all our resources at home and in office?
We need to handle wisely all the resources earth has bestowed us with — both natural and material, so that they can be saved for the generations to come!
Acknowledgement
Ananthu
Indescribable
My heart skips a beat when i think about you
It is not enough to say "I love you"
It's so much more
It's so much better
It's a feeling indescribable
Oh my dear, Look into my eyes,
Can you feel it?
Sep 11, 2010
Desktop Lyrics
I just love this app - Desktop Lyrics
It enhances the experience of music on itunes to the next level
It neatly displays the lyrics of itunes current song on the desktop
Suddenly, i have taken an interest in listening to more english songs
The best part is that the applicaton is free !
It enhances the experience of music on itunes to the next level
It neatly displays the lyrics of itunes current song on the desktop
Suddenly, i have taken an interest in listening to more english songs
The best part is that the applicaton is free !
Vinayaka Chavithi
Vinayaka Chavithi Subhakankshalu (Happy Ganesh Chaturdhi to all)
Since childhood, every year on this day, dad and mom decorated an inverted table, with lot of fruits and leaves. My father would read the mantras himself, (better than any regular priest) and narrate the stories of Lord Ganesha. I used to sit there praying for 1st rank in the class (It was the ultimate objective of life then). This continued all through the school years. The prayers lasted for a good 2 hours. After my father passed away, for the past 7 years, the prayers were spearheaded by mom and were short. I go through that nostalgia for father's prayers every year
Our Ganesha, This year !
This year's prayer procedures were a different. After my mom pulled out the age old mantra book and story book from the cup board, my sister who celebrated her last year's festival in UK had an idea
Do you want to know what the biggest change was?
The recorded priest from Raaga sang out the mantras and stories out loud
The recording was very much customized for the occassion, where the priest stopped at regular intervals to guide what to do next
I wonder if it is time for virtual priests in some of our regular celebrations
Sep 10, 2010
Darkness/Light-Hate/Love
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that"
- Martin Luther King Jr.
If only everyone understood this concept and saw the diversity in India as an asset and not a reason for conflict, this country would be so different (in a good way!)
You know what? It is just a matter of having the right attitude
iPod Touch
Apple released new generation of iPods on September 1st
I personally love what the new iPod touch has to offer. All the exciting features of an iphone (except the phone) and approximately at half the size and the price
I personally love what the new iPod touch has to offer. All the exciting features of an iphone (except the phone) and approximately at half the size and the price
I can't wait to get my hands onto one of them. It's time to visit an apple dealer store !
If only i had the budget to buy one, i wouldn't wait a second to bring it home
Sep 9, 2010
Productivity Apps
With the every increasing demands for productivity, the use of task management applications is on the rise. I personally don't like the task management features that Microsoft Outlook offers. So, i fall into the category of people who look out for third party applications for task management/productivity
In this post, i will talk about a few apps that can serve your need
Things
The best productivity application available as on today is called Things
It is available only for Mac users
But, the application is extremely expensive. 50$ for a task management application?
You gotta be a business executive or MBA student to find value for that investment
TeuxDeux
TeuxDeux is a free online task management tool
In this post, i will talk about a few apps that can serve your need
Things
The best productivity application available as on today is called Things
It is available only for Mac users
You gotta be a business executive or MBA student to find value for that investment
TeuxDeux
TeuxDeux is a free online task management tool
It is very simple and easy to use. But, i doesn't have the sophistication that Things offers
TeuxDeux is ideal for people who want to keep their to-do lists simple, don't require sophistication and carry their lists with them ! They have an app for the iphone also
Producteev
Producteev is free like TeuxDeux and offers great sophistication and flexibility like Things
I have been using this from the past one week and i love it. Just create your free account and you will be amazed by the features it offers
Sep 8, 2010
Steve Jobs on Branding
Hear Steve Jobs from one of those early years in Apple.
He talks about the idea behind launch of the branding campaign "Think Different"
Suggestion - Put your headphones on. The audio quality isn't great
This guy is one of my role models and never fails to inspire me !
He talks about the idea behind launch of the branding campaign "Think Different"
Suggestion - Put your headphones on. The audio quality isn't great
This guy is one of my role models and never fails to inspire me !
Sep 7, 2010
TiE Session on K-12 Segment - Quotes !
I recently attended a TiE Session "Unravelling the K-12 Segment - Opportunities and Challenges"
It was a very interesting sessions and broke some myths i had around the education sector
I will be drafting a detailed post soon, with a summary of the entire session
For now, i have listed an thought provoking & entertaining quotes from each of the three panelists
"Lets not start test preparation in the womb. It will not get them into IITs and IIMs"
- Ashish Rajpal, Founder, idiscoveri
"The middle class parent in India is paranoid and has stopped thinking"
"If you pick up a real problem and find atleast 30% solution to it, you will be more successful than people who are chasing a part of the billion dollar market. You will go beyond your wildest dreams of a successful entrepreneur"
Sridharan Rajagopalan, Founder, Eklavya Institute
"We entrepreneurs have a disease - an incredible and crazy optimism. Add to that a layer of hype. The hype begins when the industry potential appears in economic times as a billion dollar market"
"I am still such a sambar eating desi, dollar (USD) doesn't make any sense to me"
Satyanarayanan, Chairman, Career Launcher India
Look forward to a detailed post on the session !
It was a very interesting sessions and broke some myths i had around the education sector
I will be drafting a detailed post soon, with a summary of the entire session
For now, i have listed an thought provoking & entertaining quotes from each of the three panelists
"Lets not start test preparation in the womb. It will not get them into IITs and IIMs"
- Ashish Rajpal, Founder, idiscoveri
"The middle class parent in India is paranoid and has stopped thinking"
"If you pick up a real problem and find atleast 30% solution to it, you will be more successful than people who are chasing a part of the billion dollar market. You will go beyond your wildest dreams of a successful entrepreneur"
Sridharan Rajagopalan, Founder, Eklavya Institute
"We entrepreneurs have a disease - an incredible and crazy optimism. Add to that a layer of hype. The hype begins when the industry potential appears in economic times as a billion dollar market"
"I am still such a sambar eating desi, dollar (USD) doesn't make any sense to me"
Satyanarayanan, Chairman, Career Launcher India
Look forward to a detailed post on the session !
Sep 6, 2010
Objectivism
When was the last time you witnessed some one who had great clarity of thoughts?
Watch a gut wrenching video interview of Ayn Rand that was shot in the 1950s
Watch a gut wrenching video interview of Ayn Rand that was shot in the 1950s
Sep 5, 2010
Compare book prices in India
There is a search engine to search books and compare their prices from different online book stores
It is called the India Book Store
This might be of interest to people who would like to get the best price for their books and want to spend time in decision making
For me, I would directly go to flipkart and order books
They offer good discounts and their service is awesome !
I am undoubtedly a flipkart fan
They blew me away right at the first order !
It is called the India Book Store
This might be of interest to people who would like to get the best price for their books and want to spend time in decision making
For me, I would directly go to flipkart and order books
They offer good discounts and their service is awesome !
I am undoubtedly a flipkart fan
They blew me away right at the first order !
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