1982 : The radio killed the singer

I have been listening to radio all day yesterday, since I was driving a car, which did not have my personalized audio collection. I drove all 100kms yesterday in Bangalore traffic and hence thats a lot of radio time.

While listening to 94.3, could not but marvel at how shamelessly the folks are plugging a lady called Akriti Kakkar.

Now there is nothing wrong with plugging per se, but really you have to hear the samples they play. Her voice is digitally enhanced, so that it is sounds as if she were trying to create "layers" and "depth" in her voice....unfortunately the effect is totally hilarious or disastrous, depends on your point of view :-)

I was hearing some bhajan/folk song yesterday and it most definitely sounded like a cross between "shreya ghosal" singing a sensuous song from Jism, but the lyrics sounded full of bhakti.

And my brain was constantly going argghhh argghhh.....

One question lady, why? One advice, fire your sound engineer and take some good lessons in diction. Plug, yes, eventually all of us need a good plug.

1981 : The chromebook

I have just migrated onto a chromebook, and its so fearsome the possibility that Google unleashes upon you. There is a little possibility of needing to look outside the ecosystem (similar to Android), and thats when you realise why Google is infact the 100 tonne gorilla in the room.
Apple with its warchest of over 100bn finds itself with a lot of money, but very little stickiness.
I love the chromebook (so far), its designed for someone of my type, simple, understated and get the job done.

Wish it had skype, it would then become my primary notebook.

1980 : Being suggestive

Picture this.

I am in the midst of conducting an interview (at work), sitting across me is a prospective manager. (This happened months ago, I ensured that I would not be revealing something too soon ).

I quite like the chap, and I am creating scenarios where he can help me with his out of the box thinking.

Me: Imagine you have a team member who is not doing well on code quality. You have already run him through Sonar reports and other diagonistics, he is still not getting the message. It almost seems as if, he is intentionally avoiding dealing with the problem. Is there a way you can help him?

G : Of course, this is common place. I will start of by running him through the reports. While doing that, I shall be “suggestive” for the first few days. If he does not get it, I shall be “explicit” with him.

What can I say ?

1979 : Don’t Think and Drive

Maybe I have an OCD…..but everyday as I drive, I ensure I learn the roads better and better….so much so, that through roads I drive regularly, I always know which lane will move the fastest….which lanes have potholes, which lanes have lesser street lights.

It comes very naturally to me

So much so, that I sometimes can drive through new roads and yet predict,  based on some “thin slicing” that a particular lane is going to be more efficient than others.

…and I do this incessantly, even while I am with wife and family….not just about lanes, like I always like to observe how the car ahead is using so much more brake than I am…or how a particular car in traffic has its wheels mis-aligned(seriously….these blurs just hit me!!)

And then…on the few days, I do get driven around, either in a cab or a car pool….I am so focused on the person’s driving style and etiquette, that it is almost a distraction….it equally fascinates me, that the “driver” is just not being efficient around some of these dynamics….especially cabbies and chauffeurs surprise me with their (more often than not) lack of interest in learning this “market knowledge”.

And then I wonder, am I just weird

1978 : The universe in a single atom by Dalai Lama

Those who know me, would recognize that the Dalai Lama is a role model that I wish I could emulate (even a wee bit). My second read of this book is just as fascinating as ever.

I love the simplicity of thought, and the self deprecating humility that flows through the book.

Do read, it might help you a better human being. 9/10 definitely.

 

#	Date	Author	Book	Rating	Comments
21	Feb 2013	Dalai Lam	The Universe in a single Atom	9/10	Great Read. This book will buy you some peace
20	Feb 2013	Rahul Pandita	Our Moon has Blood Clots	7/10	Good Read. A good Kashmir memoir from a Pandit viewpoint.
19	Oct 2012	Arthur Clarke	9 Billion Names of God	10/10	Fascinating. Very small story. Worth the 5 minutes you spend on reading – a thousand times over.
18	Oct 2012	JM Coetzee	Life & Times of Michael K	8/10	Good. Stark imagery and a stunningly dark book….a signature Coetzee work.
17	Oct 2012	Lisa Genova	Still Alice	9/10	Outstanding. You just connect with Alice immediately and her life becomes yours. You can see shards of her mind through the book.
16	Oct 2012	Arthur C Clarke	Rendezvous with Rama	9/10	Outstanding. It hooks you on completely, and leaves with emotionally attached with Rama, quite some time after you have finished the book.
15	Oct 2012	Salman Rushdie	Joseph Anton	7/10	Good Read. Strictly only for a Rushdie fan.
14	Sep 2012	Walter Issacson	Steve Jobs	9/10	Excellent read. I found it inspiring and the book made Jobs a more humane person with an infantile ego
13	Aug 2012	JM Coetzee	Disgrace	10/10	Outstanding. My 3rd read of the book. If you have not read this book…I urge you to. Minimalism combined with stark imagery. Coetzee is cross between Kundera and Rushdie, my two other fav authors
12	Aug 2012	Randy Pausch	The Last Lecture	3/10	Crappy. This is my third attempt at reading this narcissist take on dying. I have learnt more from the Jobs book than this shit tale. I have never finished the book.
11	Aug 2012	Garth Stein	The Art of Racing in the Rain	9/10	Fantastic. It starts of as a cute book, gets philosophical, and actually gets damn endearing and makes a bigtime emotional connect.
10	Aug 2012	Milan Kundera	The Unbearable Lightness of Being	10/10	Outstanding. My 3rd read….and 2nd in the last 2 years. What can I say? I plan to read this every year, at least once.
9	Jun 2012	Salman Rushdie	Midnight’s Children	8/10	Fantastic. My 4th read…..strangely I did not enjoy it as much this time around.
8	June 2011	Robert Spencer	Books on Islam (set of 2)	6/10	Engaging Read. But very Islamaphobic. I am genuinely interested in religion and philosophy, so I liked this history….but others might not.
7	May 2011	Milan Kundera	The Unbearable Lightness of Being	10/10	Outstanding. My 2nd read.
6	May 2011	Sylvia Plath	The Bell Jar	6/10	Read Once. Her poems are so much better.
5	Apr 2011	Salman Rushdie	The Enchantress of Florence	7/10	Read Once. Only for fans.
4	Mar 2011	Stephen King	The Shining	9/10	Haunting. Must Read. The movie and the book are both one of a kind.
3	Mar 2011	Michael Ondaatje	Divisadero	4/10	Pass. Very mediocre book.
2	Mar 2011	Salman Rushdie	The Satanic Verses	10/10	Outstanding. Controversies not withstanding. My 4th read, as a piece of fiction, this book is a masterpiece. Also, its really not disrespectful to Islam, all it does is use a bit of creative licensing while telling history.
1	Mar 2011	Salman Rushdie	Shalimar The Clown	10/10	Outstanding. Fall in love with Kashmir.
	Dec 2006	Rohington Mistry	A Fine Balance	10/10	Outstanding. My own initial review at Post 197 - Book 6 – Rohington Mistry’s A Fine Balance

1977 : Rahul Pandita’s Our Moon has blood clots

A riveting book about the Kashmir issue, especially from a Pandit point of view….high on content, but kind of terribly in the narrative style.

I would still rate the book 7/10 because its about Kashmir, which I feel strongly about, and because in certain parts it feels honest and connects to you immediately.

Worth a read anyday.

(image courtesy : india-forums.com)

 

 

#	Date	Author	Book	Rating	Comments
20	Feb 2013	Rahul Pandita	Our Moon has Blood Clots	7/10	Good Read. A good Kashmir memoir from a Pandit viewpoint.
19	Oct 2012	Arthur Clarke	9 Billion Names of God	10/10	Fascinating. Very small story. Worth the 5 minutes you spend on reading – a thousand times over.
18	Oct 2012	JM Coetzee	Life & Times of Michael K	8/10	Good. Stark imagery and a stunningly dark book….a signature Coetzee work.
17	Oct 2012	Lisa Genova	Still Alice	9/10	Outstanding. You just connect with Alice immediately and her life becomes yours. You can see shards of her mind through the book.
16	Oct 2012	Arthur C Clarke	Rendezvous with Rama	9/10	Outstanding. It hooks you on completely, and leaves with emotionally attached with Rama, quite some time after you have finished the book.
15	Oct 2012	Salman Rushdie	Joseph Anton	7/10	Good Read. Strictly only for a Rushdie fan.
14	Sep 2012	Walter Issacson	Steve Jobs	9/10	Excellent read. I found it inspiring and the book made Jobs a more humane person with an infantile ego
13	Aug 2012	JM Coetzee	Disgrace	10/10	Outstanding. My 3rd read of the book. If you have not read this book…I urge you to. Minimalism combined with stark imagery. Coetzee is cross between Kundera and Rushdie, my two other fav authors
12	Aug 2012	Randy Pausch	The Last Lecture	3/10	Crappy. This is my third attempt at reading this narcissist take on dying. I have learnt more from the Jobs book than this shit tale. I have never finished the book.
11	Aug 2012	Garth Stein	The Art of Racing in the Rain	9/10	Fantastic. It starts of as a cute book, gets philosophical, and actually gets damn endearing and makes a bigtime emotional connect.
10	Aug 2012	Milan Kundera	The Unbearable Lightness of Being	10/10	Outstanding. My 3rd read….and 2nd in the last 2 years. What can I say? I plan to read this every year, at least once.
9	Jun 2012	Salman Rushdie	Midnight’s Children	8/10	Fantastic. My 4th read…..strangely I did not enjoy it as much this time around.
8	June 2011	Robert Spencer	Books on Islam (set of 2)	6/10	Engaging Read. But very Islamaphobic. I am genuinely interested in religion and philosophy, so I liked this history….but others might not.
7	May 2011	Milan Kundera	The Unbearable Lightness of Being	10/10	Outstanding. My 2nd read.
6	May 2011	Sylvia Plath	The Bell Jar	6/10	Read Once. Her poems are so much better.
5	Apr 2011	Salman Rushdie	The Enchantress of Florence	7/10	Read Once. Only for fans.
4	Mar 2011	Stephen King	The Shining	9/10	Haunting. Must Read. The movie and the book are both one of a kind.
3	Mar 2011	Michael Ondaatje	Divisadero	4/10	Pass. Very mediocre book.
2	Mar 2011	Salman Rushdie	The Satanic Verses	10/10	Outstanding. Controversies not withstanding. My 4th read, as a piece of fiction, this book is a masterpiece. Also, its really not disrespectful to Islam, all it does is use a bit of creative licensing while telling history.
1	Mar 2011	Salman Rushdie	Shalimar The Clown	10/10	Outstanding. Fall in love with Kashmir.
	Dec 2006	Rohington Mistry	A Fine Balance	10/10	Outstanding. My own initial review at Post 197 - Book 6 – Rohington Mistry’s A Fine Balance

1976 : The year Sholay was declared a monster hit, and Amitabh was born

Such a long journey…..

1975 : Whats your DNA like?

I have been reading a lot around Marissa Mayer and her mission to change Yahoo. While I do admire her commitment to such a challenge, I can’t help wonder if she is really ever going to succeed.

Over years, I have gotten more and more convinced that at the heart of a corporation, is its sweet DNA….and DNAs cannot be changed all that easily, even if it is driven from the top.

And the DNA is central to the behavior of the beast….almost like a brand. Like you begin expecting BMWs to be edgy, Mercs to be more sedate and understated, Microsoft to be full of bravado (even while their own ship is possibly sinking!!).

What do you identify Yahoo with? A bunch of non-involving informercial driven site(s). Somewhere along its evolution, it ceased being a tech company, and became more an ad business….and that’s where its heart possibly got corrupted. Marissa thinks she can shephered 11000 folks back into the “tech shape”. Will an ad company ever compete with the 100 ton gorilla called Google, which continues to be fiercely tech in its DNA?

I think that is a gargantuan task. We all resist change, especially if it means, it will personally threaten “me”.

Another example, what do you see Flipkart as? A bunch of opportunistic discounters. Do you think this DNA will fight Amazon, who is a technology behemoth, that just as an aside also does Tablets and etailing, and is spellbindingly successful at that too?

Never have I been more convinced that to be a lasting firm, you need a culture of success, burnt into your DNA. I currently work for a firm, which epitomizes this fascinating journey. I don’t know of any other organization, that is more devoutly wanting to be better and better and better…almost as if perfection was its only goal. This relentless pursuit, while it continues to be infinitely tiring, is also intensely transformational for the self…and that is the high, that draws you towards such a poison tip.

A firm like mine, might one day (still) die, but while it lasted, you know it had a soul coursing through every cell in its body, and that to me, is so terribly fascinating.

Will Yahoo and Flipkart last another decade? Lets say, the chips are down