Good Bye..Bachelor

All these will cease after Sep 3rd 2006 in my Life's Lexicon...

1+1=1
Life begins after 2300Hrs...
Life ends at 0400Hrs
Heavenly accomodation is the shared bachelor pads at Aundh, Andheri, Annanagar,and Koramangala
A full course meal means a packet of maggi noodles and half boiled eggs
A neat and tidy room is a nightmare, and an empty laundry bag is a fantasy
I was Rich if there was a 10 rupee note in my wallet.


My salute to the 'Bachelor'...

Black

On Tuesday,18th July 2008 we wear "Black" in Mumbai. Please donot mistake Mumbai's ability to strive and spirit as numbness or indifference.

MuMbed

MuMBAI....

1991-It is a vibrant city, the economic growth starts
1993- We have seen the worst this year, we will survive
1999- Mumbai can take up everything thrown at it.

2003- The spirit of Mumbai is undaunting, steely, determined

26/7/2005- Mumbai spirit and hopes can float on high water..it wont sink
...
11/7/2006- That sinking feeling

Heavenly

Here..exactly here...

I was born in this village
My home is here.
I currently work here
...
I will be getting married in this place

I am in Heaven! (I donot have a link)

(Courtsey: Wikimapia)

Great Feet achieve Great Feats

Portugal Team showed us how to play football with brains below their belts. Football is a game of magic and wizardry. It is intricate, so unprdictable unlike cricket when the outcome can be controlled by one man's effort. Should I be saying, Football 'was' unpredictable?

The worldcup is not being a leveller. The once-in-four year ball dribbling Jamboree is more like the 'Village Cattle Fair'. Cattle are strutted before potential buyers and sold out. It is a stage where 'stars' are identified and sold. The cattle being the football players and the buyers, filthy rich European Clubs.

The match between England and Ecuador was a case in point. What if Ecuador has won the match against England. I wonder how many English Premier League Clubs would have recruited a Ecuador Player for the next season?

The FIFA referees are biased towards the 'football fan' nations. Imagine if Ghana and Ecuador where to feature in this Worldcup final? Germany would not have got the spectator revenues they get today. Milk the cash cows and create entries for new comers. FIFA has made sure African fans will now book tickets for the first round matches for Worldcup 2010. It is a game of economics which is becoming predictable.

Nothing can take out the beauty of this game. It just shows the you can achieve with your feets, forget brains.

FussBall

Football was a Fuzzy game. The Samba magic was pure and unadulterated fun to watch until that 'color coded' World Cup 2006 match between Portugal and Netherlands. This game proved how men think and react to win games. Reactionary Tactics can control the win loose situations as Louis Figos did in the match. Figo's 'brilliant' but unprofessional mind game was the start of an ignominous match. Picture this;

Portugal lead by one goal, and just before halftime control the game. Just then a stupid brainwave hit a Portugal mid-field player(Coutinha) who earned a 'red card'. Portugal go into the second half with just ten men, to defend their one goal lead.
Figo sensed the gravity of defending or attacking with 10 men. Just into the second half, Figo targets a Netherland Defender. Figo picks up a fight by butting the Dutch player on his head. In the process, he earned a yellow card. The dutch player reacted to Figo's push and that lead to the referee showing a Yellow card to the dutch player. The first tactic of Figo is accomplished.
Five minutes into the game, Figo runs with the ball and teases the same defender to tackle. A hard tackle and an unintentional knock on Figo's head. If only FIFA instituted an award for the 'best agony and pain act' it will go to Louis Figo. He covered his face and fell on the ground. He had accomplished his goal. The Dutch defender was shown his second yellow card, which meant he had to leave the field. Figo worked it out so nicely, thus making it even steven. Now, both Portugal and Netherlands were playing with 10 men. The ridiculous thing about the whole episode is the portugal coach defending Figo by saying he reacted like a professional, and he is not Jesus Christ. Poor Scolari, he under estimated Football Fans.

Desperate Soccer Wives

Desperate ‘Soccer’ Housewives

Men will be men, and women will be ‘desperate’ about men. There has been a hue and cry over how desperate housewives can get during football season. Strange as it seems, there is a hotel for ‘soccer widows’. Soccer widows suffer from long alienation from their husbands who are busy watching the ball (forgive the pun!). There will be no signs of football in sight and women can enjoy their mushy romantic DVD’s, while their husband’s down beer over the pub counter watching the kicks and tackles.

Can there be Desperate Housewives in India too? Ladies, forgive the men for once as they alienate you only for sports and that too within your confines..they are at home. What more can you ask for, right?
At least the alienation is less frequent than the ‘saas bahu’ television weepy soaps that you are obsessed with everyday every night. I know..I know..you are ready with brickbats for that one.

So let me run away...Any Hotel that is ‘Soap Free’, free from television soaps?
How about that ladies?
Both sides of the same coin, is it not?
Oh..btw, Did Dravid win the 'Toss'?
...
Men will be Men

World Sports Day

Sportsman Dilemma..11 June '06 Sunday..see the line up

Formula 1 British GP : 4:30 PM IST
French Open Men's Singles Final, Federer Vs Nadal: 6:00PM IST
India Vs West Indies Second Test Match: 7:30 PM IST
World Cup Football Matches: All Night
South Africa Vs Australia ODI....

Is it World Sports Day Today..A Sunday never got better than today!

Taxes

In all the commotion of the Saral Form becoming 'A-Saral' and with the impending four page complexity of filing tax, comes the marvellous idea of 'exit tax' from the Left sadists. I know I will have a tough time with mnemonics of taxation that read like an Archive library catalogue (15-AAA, Sec 80CCC..and the alphabets). Taxation was always as illogical to me as history. Today, the Indian Government has made me rue my decision of not opting for the elective on taxation during my MBA. I envy my Chartered Accountant friends smacking their lips and waiting to charge that extra for decoding the tax code.

Amidst all the noise of reservations (where have the Rang de- Basanti DJ's vanished?), and inflationary pressures, one 'leftist' suggestion seemed to make some sense among all their nonsense. Exit tax, refers to imposing tax on all students working abroad who have availed subsidised education from Government of India. It was one of the key points of every college debater speaking against the motion of brain drain benefits. The debaters have settled abroad, but the problem remains unresolved. There will be arguments on corruptions, improper utilisation of tax funds etc. I wish the 'left' ist propose a clean channel for tax collection and transparent reporting before imposing the tax. If channeled to improving primary education, exit tax can go a long way to abolish the oft-repeated school debate topic-brain drain. I know many IIT-ians have contributed money to setting up research units. The idea is to make the contribution more meaningful and not just another tax break (section 8OG of the Indian Income Tax Act for donations to educational institutions). That is one clause that will not need my CA's help!

Sip-up

Sip-up
I was surprised when one of my friends wanted to pack some "sip-ups" to Dubai. I thought it was because he could not survive the heat. My ignorance to an NRI's taste was showing up. It was not that he would not get the best ice creams and ice-fruit-bars, ice-cream bars in Dubai, but the one that you get in Kerala is a speciality.

Product Description:
Sip-up is an ice-bar with fruity flavor, in a 15 cm long and 2cm diameter-plastic pack, served in bakeries (Teena Bakery, Panampilly Nagar, Cochin, Kerala, India). The flavours ranged from orange, pineapple, grape, and mango. It is one bakery invention that blends the concept of ice-fruit and soft-drink into one plastic pack. One has to create an opening (incidentally there is no way to know which is the top or bottom, wonder how the name "sip-up" originated?) on one end, and then start sipping the ice-fruit bar (heavenly!!). As the ice melts..it becomes flavoured syrup which too is refreshing. At half a rupee (50 Indian Paise) it became many a school boys reward..be it a treat, winning a hockey match, or making your friend envy. It was more in demand than the chocolate toffees. Obviously, it had it's benefits...
1. Since, the ice-fruit is not exposed to air contamination like in Ice-candy bar..it is more hygienic . The plastic pack helped(doubt the water quality..but out immunity levels were high that time)
2. Never a drain on the pocket money..and parents could get away with that "irritant" when shopping..One sip-up and the lad becomes quiet.

It was considered hip to "sip-up" and hang around the place, leaning on the red BSA-SLR Bicycle..Every school kid from Cochin in the 80's-90's will vouch for this refreshing bar of ice-fruit as the best thing after school hours.

My friend wanted to live that experience in Dubai..Unfortunately..he cannot live it up entirely...The SLR bikes have vanished and life is altogether different...'It is zipped up"

Quota

quo.ta \'kwo-t-*\ n [ML, fr. L quota pars how great a part] 1: a proportional part or share; esp : the share or proportion assi gned to each in a division or to each member of a body 2: the number or amount constituting a proportional share
(Source: English Webster's Dictionary)

Quota 1:a politically motivated division of social share; esp: the share or propotion assigned to each in a votebank or to each beneficiary of a political party 2: the number of subsidies, college seats, capitation fees, management seats, government postings, favors, ration cards, relief money doled out constituting a propotional share of the ministers bribe and the vote share.
(Source: The Great Indian Political Dictionary)

I understand only one Quota.."Hardwork Quota"

Which is the greatest fictional work that can be as intriguing as The Davinci Code?
Answer: Amendments to the Indian Constitution

Acchu's Lifebouy

Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan was many a mimicry artists item number. His orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraTTTOOOooorrrrrrrreaLLLL skills (this is how he would have pronounced 'oratorial' had he known to speak in english), Long pauses in between speeches that can put A.B.Vajpayee to sleep, and facial muscle flexing skills made him the butt of all political jokes in kerala. You have to see him talk and then you will understand that your V channel Lolakutty is not a novelty. VS is a classic case of brand positioning.

VS is more a Lifebouy' soap politician than the 'Lux' superstar. One Lux superstar (Mr. K. Karunakaran) has been reduced to a 501 Bar soap. His rustic, frugal, and no fancy mannerisms created a persona that was ridiculed but much talked about. It took decades for Brand VS to succeed. When it succeeded, it came as a wave of support for a man who stood 'rock solid' on his degressive views, much like the carbolic soap. He failed to raise froth, but had a 'clean image'. His brand of politics is the hard way, much like a 'cake of Lifebouy' which can pass off as a brick stone. The similarities donot end here...The red piece of Lifebouy cake and the red comorade will have many a competition from other fancy brands. The slogan 'safeguarding the health' of an age old ideology that has seen the grave except in God's own country, will be the position that VS will take. Wait and see....

50 02<-->20 06

Every media powerhouse has come up with the Best of 2005 in every sphere of human activity . I too decided to give out my Best of 2005 blog entries in my blog.

1. Kerala Mix: My series on the peculiarities of Keralites Gold, Alchohol, Comdey
2. Karunan Palpatine & Murali Skywalker : My take of Kerala Politics with Star wars background.
3. What No Organisation, but a b-school teaches you [look out for my unintentional arrogance]: My retort to an article with the opposite title.
4. Reliability=Glenn McGrath: I am known for explaining things badly. A sample
5. Angels & Demons: As crazy as I can get. A Tamil Cinematic version of Dan Brown's book Angels and Demons. Tests your nerves.

The blogs of 2005, that caught my attention and made reading their entries worthwhile and fun.

1. Silverine: Tongue in Cheek, Wit, Goofy, and Popular.
2. Kraz: Creative writing. Kraz is art.
3. Ullas : He blogged, and also defended his Ph.d, Congrats.
4. Girl with Big Eyes: Even MBA's are artists. Contemporary and witty.
5. Silent Eloquence: Miss the blog today. Thoughtful insights and experiences.

Wish you all a Very Happy New Year.

Hurricane Indra

With female Hurricanes creating havoc on the American Coast and Media, the headline in The Herald screamed 'Hurricane Andhra'. Now is Andhra a female name? For convenience we have Indianised it as 'Hurricane Indra'. Indra-The Hindu God of Rain.

Indra does know how to devastate, Goa received the pounding from the lord for 3 days, 11 inches in 33 hours.

Teacher Blogs

'A student spends 25,000 hours in the campus. The school must have the best of teachers who have the ability to teach, love teaching and build moral qualities' - A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM

Compliments on Teacher's Day.

Some interesting questions on blogging by faculty members have been raised in Chronicle careers. Is it right for a faculty member to use blog as a publishing tool? What happens when a faculty member maintains a personal blog, that can go against him during tenureship? What happens when a blog of a faculty job applicant is seen by the selection committee. Can blogs be used for job evaluation and a selection criteria? Should faculty blogs only be of academic nature or further research? Read here

I feel a blog is a great way to educate and share knowledge. There is great potential in open access to ideas and thoughts. Blogs go a long way to fulfill accessibility without constraints.

Address to the Nation by Hon. President of India on Teachers day is very inspring. Read here

Soft wares in Bloegs

Joel on Software

In my search for Software Blogs, Joel has some interesting writing. I should thank Toji Leon for showing up some good links and snippets on Software Project management. Softwarebyrob looks at developer dilemma and has some good links to other sites. Panopticon Central gives some snippets on how to be a project manager at Microsoft Eric Meade goes Agile, and Kent Beck's (XP guru) ideas on developer testing is available at IT Conversations. Some good blog entries on testing is available at Software Test Engineering. Cem Kaner's Blog has a comprehensive look at managing software development environments.

The trail is never ending. I shall be starting a teaching and research blog. See you there.

DEA-d

I am in Mumbai attending a three day workshop on Data Envelopment Analysis [DEA] at Department of Economics, University of Mumbai. The workshop is conducted by Subhash C. Ray., Professor, Department of Economics, University of Connecticut. I enjoyed the mathematical decomposition of DEA, the discussions on technical and scale efficiency measurements, and mathematical programming. To know more about DEA technique, google it or visit here

Dravid-ian Leader

Is Public Relations and rabble rousing becoming a leadership skill that rises above a leader's performance? Intriguing as it may be, the 'non-performing', 'non-playing' leader is today the most effective. All that matters today is leadership effectiveness and not efficiency. The first arena where a non-performing leadership got credence is the Davis Cup. Mr. Naresh Kumar will always be remembered as a 'Non-Playing captain' of India (officially).

So what makes a 'non-performing captain' click as a leader? Simple, A non-performing Captain can redeem his place if he is a proven Mentor. Ganguly has build his team around him. He will not be able to raise his game, but will inspire the likes of Kaif, Yuvraj, and Harbhajan who will consistently fail but click in a one odd game with the backing of a great mentor. It does not matter as long as the team is being lead with aggression. So does the 'Lead by Example' Theory fall flat in Leadership style? Yes, It does in India.

Visionary Evangelists like Dravid have no place in Indian Leadership scheme of things. India is a land of emotions that will allow only the likes of a Ganguly who is a Relationship Builder. The missing quality in both Dravid and Ganguly is 'Execution Management skills'. The Aussies are great managers of skill, discipline, and fitness. They go about their task with precision and with attention to great details. Indian leaders cannot become execution managers.

The other aspect of Leadership is culture and background of a Leader in a team.
Dravid-ian Leader: A Leader from South India. Even in this era, South Indian Parents warn their children not to 'ask anything'. It is bad manners. 'Donot ask for that toy, icecream, or new clothes, when you go shopping with your Uncle'. 'Donot accept any gift'. 'Ask your parents before you accept anything from your relatives'. It is this 'do-not-ask' Syndrome that affects the psyche of a South Indian Leader. Dravid never demanded his batting position, he never asked for a place in the team like Ganguly, who cribbed when he was left out of the Asian XI team. He was thrust the role of the wicket keeper, and threatened for not having a good ODI strike rate. It is that South-Indian attitude of being selfless, idealistic, silent performer that has been Dravid's nemesis. Dravid fell for Chappel experimentation. He could have asked for his playing eleven, and then lead India to victory. But, South-Indians are always taught ' Teacher is right, Donot question him, Do what he says'. A Leader from North of Vindhyas knows to make the right nosies at the right time and force his way through to get his point through. Ganguly's aggression comes from the West-Bengal Communist attitude. He has created the 'Men-in-Blue cadre', he gives the 'Men-in-Blue' the revolutionary attitude despite knowing that it is a failure. The 'Men-in-Blue' become Life long members of his coitere. Dravid will always be the prodigal second son of India. How we lost a great leader.

Feni Tourism---Arrack-anomics

Goa VAT reduces tax on Feni from 20 percent to 4 percent. The reason cited by the Chief minister is to boost tourism. Is Kerala Listening?

'Kallu' Tourism, 'Arrackanomics'

Tourism under alchoholic conditions ...hic..hic..hic..

Teaesting.. 1..2..3

User Acceptance Testing:
from Engagement Day
Load Testing:
from Marriage day
Stress Testing:
from the day after marriage
Destructive testing:
What your kids will do between the age of 2-5 years

Structural Testing:
What the voyeurs and college hang-outs do. Inspect in parts and comment on flaws.
Static testing:
What the shy introvert does by looking at a photo
Black-Box Testing:
Send a sublime love-letter and wait for the flaws in it to emerge
Dynamic Testing:
Send a provocative love-letter and you get an immediate response to the flaw (one tight slap)