This old article in BW link via 37 Signals, reminded me of Mumbais local train commutes. They too have train friends with whom they celebrate life, the commute and everything else.
Having lived that life for a few years and having spent time in various cities stuck in traffic jams, I think commuting is a pain and a waste of time. Perhaps 50 years down the line, commuting will be something we will look back on as a thing of the past. And perhaps you will go around only for leisure - (on you bicycle?).
Friday, April 30, 2010
Bus buddies
Posted by ecophilo at 6:45 AM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: future, public transport, work
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Registan Express
The Udyan Express would soon have to be named Registan Express if the desertification of the city continues. This article has the details.
Posted by ecophilo at 12:12 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: Bangalore
We, the Indians
We, the Indians of India - the losers in India who never get to sing at an NBA game, must know that the breaking news today is that a Canada born Indian sang at an NBA game.
Posted by ecophilo at 8:29 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: duh
Monday, April 19, 2010
How the castle falls
A beautiful report on IPL here. It is an interesting read, but consider this...
It has all the ingredients of a potboiler...Action, Drama, Emotion, Fast cars, Yachts, Foreign Affairs and Women...
Suspense:
after a raging controversy over secret ownerships and sweetheart deals in the Indian Premier League, or IPL, stalled both houses of Parliament.
Revenge:
The alleged opaqueness with which he conducted the multi-billion dollar cricket tournament and the manner in which he took on home minister P Chidambaram in 2009 seem to have resulted in a detailed enquiry into his activities by the I-T department.
Read it all.
Now can someone tell me something about the other protagonist of this story? Are they squeaky clean or does that emperor also have no clothes?
Posted by ecophilo at 8:49 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: scam
IPL BPL
The IPL saga brought tears to my eyes. It has shattered my belief system in the whole country. Today is a sad day for me. I love the media for exposing all of this and proving to me that the emperor has no clothes. How come they knew it all only now? Or were they still telling me the emperor has a fine suit?
All along I thought that the high and mighty went about doing their work in the name of the citizens who gave them votes and brought them into power. But now I have realized all along that it was just power and money that they were after. Sweat equity or no sweat equity. I sweat in the summer, they get equity. In crores.
I believed that that the ministers we bring to power serve the nation selflessly. But they are really in the business of self service. Perhaps boss service as well.
I believed a lot of other things too. I believed that fruit juice has fruit. Now I know there is no fruit juice or pulp. Everything has added flavour.
I also thought that all Sports bodies in India were really about sports. I now realized that the poorer ones are still about sports which nobody plays and therefore get milked only for Kurkure or an occassional railway ticket. The richer ones are still about sports - except your definition of sports may include yachts and fast cool cars.
I really believed that the government in its current form has been as squeaky clean as a floor swept by Lizol (no, nobody pays for product placements).
I believed that cellphone networks are congested only because of too many users. And then the "King" size telecom scam comes into view.
I believed all those Republic Day Parades where we parade our military might. And then I see 72 CRPF guys got slaughtered by "Maoists". And we still flying Mig 21s.
I wonder what other aspects of my belief system will be unravalled over the next few years. I know for sure which ones I would like to see thus, though they may not be the same...
IPL or no IPL - the reason why so many people are BPL is the same reason. People in office solve their own problem instead of solving problems of the people...
Posted by ecophilo at 8:32 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: satire
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Bangalore blasts
Yesterday Bangalores Chinnaswamy stadium was rocked by 2 low intensity blasts and a third bomb was defused. We can claim that the show went on, but what if the blasts were bigger and claimed some lives? That of course, can be dismissed as a hypothetical question.
Posted by ecophilo at 9:52 AM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: terrorism
Thursday, April 15, 2010
IPL vs IT
The newest match of the IPL is just being played- and it is not between any of the teams. The best match is being played outside between Tharoor, Modi and a few others. Follow Smoke Signals for a regular update on it...
Posted by ecophilo at 8:58 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Netbook
After dithering for a while, I finally went ahead and picked up a Netbook - Samsung N210 to be precise. And after using it for a few weeks, I think netbooks are cool. People buy laptops thinking they will do this and that - including watch a movie and what not. But if you are not one of those and you would rather have something that lets you get on the web and be there (which is what I think most of us do anyway), a netbook is a neat option. Not as heavy as laptops - will fit cozily into a backpack - and you will actually take it where you go - rather than dump it as the first item for ballast when the luggage is a bit heavy. Their higher battery life is a plus too if you travel.
For me, I wanted something that allowed me to work (mostly write) anywhere in the house at anytime. With Google docs and offline mode, I can write whenver I want to write. Over the last few weeks, it has found great use for me. The kids also get the desktop when they want to do something.
Posted by ecophilo at 9:02 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: tech
100 rupees
Conversation in the car between the grandmother and the little one...
"You will fall asleep before we reach..."
"No I wont..." says the defiant little voice.
"I bet you a hundred rupees that you will..."
"Ok..."
Moments of silence. The little one lets out a yawn...Looks like the battle against sleep is a lost one...The adults in the car have forgotten the above conversation.
"Thathi, take hundred rupees...I am very sleepy"
Posted by ecophilo at 8:57 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: learning
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sun Block
"Whats this?" asked the little one as we prepare to go swimming
"This is Sun block?"
"Why?"
"To block the sun while you are in the pool. The sun can tan your skin..."
"What? How?"
"Because this cream is blocking the sun..."
Posted by ecophilo at 7:02 AM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: learning
Friday, April 09, 2010
Twitter newspaper
- No celebrities. None ever. Especially those who twitter a million a minute
- Follow those who will distill above into one or two tweets a day that's all an intelligent brain can take.
- There are many twitterers who can aggregate and RT the right stuff for you.
- Stick to those who will provide you with a good reading list and some good thoughts.
Posted by ecophilo at 9:29 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: internet
Anti Torture bill
Dear Terrorist, your planners, supporters, financiers and the rest involved in similar evil activities to kill innocents:
I received your bmb. Thank you. It has exploded in the face of a few hundred people. A few people went to their afterlives. Hopefully, you have earned your medals that will guarantee you your goodies in your after life. I am glad you have taken care of your after life. I guarantee you that even if you are caught, we will not torture you to extract information from you in this life. I will give you a nice questionnaire that you will fill which we will use as evidence about you. Even if you kill a zillion people, we will not torture. We are nice people, you see. The same applies to all of your supporters.
But if any policeman or paramilitary guy tortures you, we will pulverize him, court martial him and do whatever it takes to ensure that justice is delivered - even make his life less worth living. Sorry for this distraction. Carry on with your work.
Torturers deserve to be tortured. Killers deserve to be killed.
Posted by ecophilo at 9:25 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: internal security
Mumbai and J&K
J&K bans inter district recruitment. (Correct me if I am wrong, isnt outside state recruitment banned here in any case?) Pray, tell me, how is this different from a certain media favourite banning people from entering Mumbai? And if there is so much outrage against the latter, where is the outrage against the former? Why? Why? Why?
In my mind, Raj Thackeray is the best thing that can happen to India. By virtue of this one person, Vodafone in Mumbai now talks to you in Marathi if someone you call has a busy line. By virtue of this one person, there are boards in Marathi. My wish is that there are a hundred Raj Thackerays everywhere. That, hopefully will drive politicians to ensure that every state is governed by uniform laws. Otherwise, we are only a step away from Bombay banning recruitment from non domiciled Mumbaikars or Maharashtrians.
Somebody in Bangalore listening?
Posted by ecophilo at 9:22 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Dynasty vs government
This is one superb article in DNA. Kudos to DNA and Jagannathan for writing something like this. I have not seen any such piece that questions the government across MSM - yes, a few bloggers do write, but not MSM. Brave journalism this, if you ask me.
Posted by ecophilo at 6:20 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: government, Links, media
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Government Motto
Today I was trawling the websites of a few governments. US gov site has a motto - Government made easy. Singapore gov site has "Integrity, Service, Excellence" as its motto. The India government site, predictably, has no such motto.
What would it be, if they did? Apathy, indifference, ignorance? Coming in the light of the Naxal attack on soldiers, well, I don't know...
Posted by ecophilo at 6:53 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: government
Never underestimate
Started off as a comment at Acorn...Maoists kill 75 soldiers inside the country
Posted by ecophilo at 7:16 AM 3 comments Links to this post
Labels: internal security
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Bangalore Council elections
The BBMP polls in Bangalore have been swept by the BJP. This, is no surprise, if you are willing to look with a reasonably unbiased eye.
In the last 22 months, Bangalore has seen immense improvements in roads - most roads have been tarred, civic works are going on without delay or interference, a lot of interior roads which were earlier like unploughed farms are now like real roads. A lot of attention has gone into kicking off new projects in infrastructure and work on them ticks along, metro work is happening. Public transport has got a lot of attention - the face of public transport here has almost changed with the Volvos among other things.
Now this is quite unlike what it was prior to that when, sons of oil and their coterie ruled the place. Bangalore was fast going to the canines. Any sane citizen who voted would clearly not vote for the two parties who nearly ran the city into the ground.
Now, hopefully, the hands of the government will be further strengthened and they will devote their energies into Bangalore and Karnataka over the next 3 odd years...
Posted by ecophilo at 8:07 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: Bangalore
Popular news
A snapshot of what makes the cut for the days popular news.
Posted by ecophilo at 7:58 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: duh
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Puddle
Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for.
Quote by Douglas Adams
Link from India Uncut
Posted by ecophilo at 2:30 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Bachchan n Modi
Jug Suraiya asks a question in his blog. Is the Big B debasing his own brand? Let us put the question the other way round. Is NaMo debasing his own brand? By associating himself with a some time Congresswallah and another time SP Wallah?
Of course, the right answer to that is the NaMo has no brand outside firebrand Hindutva politics. Thats what people would like to have us believe.
And then again, who is the Congress pointing fingers at? After their 1984 debacle, the only thing that the Congress has going for them is that nothing "much" happened after that. Indeed, the wheels of justice of 1984 mimic some sort of Orwellian story. And does anybody really believe that the Congress is not protecting its own flock? And exactly when did the Big B stand for election on a Congress ticket? Not too from 1984, right? And was anybody apologetic after 1984? Really? I leave you to do the math and read the news.
Now, just for a moment keep all of that aside. Is being associated with Gujarat such a sin? Why? Just because some people think so? Why does any of this make it a place worth not promoting? After all the Commonwealth Games are going to be held at Delhi - the same Delhi of 1984? The wheels of justice are turning. If Mr. Modi is guilty, he will be held accountable and hopefully the 1984 worthies too. Can those on the sidelines stand down please, while that is happening?
Posted by ecophilo at 6:29 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Friday, April 02, 2010
Pullman on free speech
Superb one, via Atanu Dey. Pullman on Free Speech. May his tribe increase...
Posted by ecophilo at 11:12 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Think Contrarian
It is easy to describe what happens in a corporate meeting. A proposal is presented and everyone looks at the top boss in the room for his reactions. If the boss says yes, you can be sure that the entire room will be filled with a cacophony of yeses and if the boss says no, you can be sure that the proposal will not get anywhere. Of course, I am simplifying things here, but the picture I have painted is not too far from the truth.
So, coming to the topic of this column, in a firm hiring happens according to a set of criteria. Either qualification, industry experience or a mix of both. The emphasis is always on PLU -people like us. And with PLU, very often, you get TLU - thinking like us. TLU makes life easy - but do remember that it is boring and it makes it difficult to think out of the box when all the frogs are from the same well. As someone said, if two people agree all the time, you need only one of them. It does not imply dissenting for the sake of dissenting, it means, presenting an alternative possibility and keeping an open mind.
Which is where you, as the freshly minted MBA, can add value. Thinking contrarian is a difficult thing to do. It is sometimes trashing something that is deemed to be the best. It sometimes means standing beside something everyone has given up on. It sometimes means trying something so different that it sounds obviously against the grain and almost stupid. It also means putting your heart and soul and even your credibility risking something that nobody else would. But all of this is the big stuff. Speaking out while thinking contrarian is even more difficult.
At a very basic level, your ability to think contrarian lies in your ability to distinguish the message from the messenger. It applies not only to a good suggestion coming from someone hitherto labeled otherwise, it also applies to recognize a bad suggestion coming from an outperformer. It means, regardless of hierarchy, you see merit in whatis being put across.
Now don't confuse Thinking Contrarian with playing the Devils Advocate. Devils Advocates are those who needlessly bring down people and projects and morale. As Seth Godin says in one of his books, "The Devil does not need an advocate". So if you are playing Devils Advocate and think you are adding great value to anything, quit. When you are faced with a Devils Advocate, ask them to come up with a solution, not add to your problems. While a devils advocate needlessly harangues, the contrarian thinker has a thought process behind it.
The contrarian thinker is able to persuade people away from common logic and try out a different approach. To give you an oft quoted example - Reducing cellphone tariffs would get your more revenue as more people would use it is a contrarian thought. Till operators in India did it and people were able to see ARPU go up. Or, using roll on roll off services for trucks on the Konkan railway. Why would anyone want to load up their trucks on railway wagons? Well, there was a reason and there was a good reason to do so.
Both of these are common simple examples, but they are examples of contrarian thinking at work. For telecom networks who believed that the meat of the market was in the high paying customers, it would have taken much convincing to reduce the rates so that affordability increases without making it so cheap that cellphones itself go out of fashion or companies go out of business. For truck companies who pay drivers by the kilometer, what sense did it make to load their trucks onto railway wagons with the drivers and get them to the destination?
In both these cases, as in most cases related to contrarian thinking, there are hidden benefits that you can realize. The lower rate for example made cellphones affordable to, say, a vegetable vendor. Those who can pay for the cellphone, now call the vendor on the cellphone (for whom incoming is free for life, say) creating a market where it hitherto did not exist. Thus the market is widened. And this is just one example.
For the trucks on the Konkan railway, the obvious benefit was reducing wear and tear on the trucks and tyres itself given the ghat roads. A less obvious benefit was reducing time taken and creating a more predictable time for goods being transported and having drivers who are fresh for handling, thereby improving safety and delivery times. All of this actually helped reduce both cost and time on these routes which is
exactly what the operators and the customers wanted.
The entire philosophy of JIT (Just in time) in manufacturing is about a contrarian approach than what is accepted as common practice. It believes in zero stock at workstations, pull rather than push and giving responsibility to the workers who run the workstations.
Thinking contrarian is not easy. Often it comes from intuition, but very often it comes from questioning existing practices that are engraved in stone as "standard accepted practices" that cannot be questioned. It comes from experimenting on a small scale (usually happens with small teams) or from having an open mind about a new process. It often comes from learning from a different industry.
More than that, it is about asking questions when everybody in a room has nodded their heads and provided their assent to something. When everybody in the room, hired and promoted for their intelligence and performance, have passed their judgement and blessed something, who dares ask a question? That first question is often the birth of a contrarian approach and often the most difficult....
It is not everyones cup of tea to think contrarian or out of the box. But it is a trait that can be cultivated. The first place to try it? Your MBA and your case studies while you are in the course.
Posted by ecophilo at 7:33 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: corporate culture, print
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Blooming leaf
While the automotive (whats their motive?) majors are launching car after oil drinking car in India, the worlds first mass produced ZEV -zero emission vehicle is launched (very well written post, btw). I cant say if the Reva qualifies as mass produced, but regardless of that, in the eyes of this blogger, the future is here. And the price at which the Leaf is launched is roughly that of what one would get an oil burning car for...Not bad. Not bad at all.
One can argue whether this is indeed the future or not or whether the perpetual energy machine is round the corner, but if there weren't money in here, car companies would not go this route. The Leaf is perhaps the first, the Volt will follow suit soon. Clearly the direction as we see in the way the wind is blowing is clearly towards an oil free future. More power to it. So, do you really want to upgrade now to another oil burner?
So, my dream of owning an electric car is becoming more and more real - lets see which is the first one to be launched in India. Can we get electricity right by then? Please?
Posted by ecophilo at 6:59 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: automobile, environment