Pupil

Working on getting there

2007-05-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

For those who still land here looking for me, I have left my former employer in Washington and have started out on my own. I co-founded BookEazy Technologies in April 2006. Our first major release is BookEazy.com where movie-goers book movie tickets online for e-square, Inox and other popular multiplexes in Pune.

If your looking to work for a pre-funding startup in Pune, you might want to consider BookEazy Technologies.

My blog's moved over to wordpress

2005-11-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

... Sukshma [sukshma.net]

Generics in the Java Language

2005-11-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

Sun introduced Generics with Java 1.5 recently.

Whenever a developer created a Collection in older versions of Java, he had to rely on run-time checking to enforce type safety in the Collection. Run-time checked does provide flexibility. However, 90% of the time, Developer's never really designed to use that flexibility. Imagine creating a Collection of different types of Objects with nothing in common, how often would one have to solve a problem that required just that? Even in that 90%, 10% of the time, that flexibility was abused. Now Imagine writing an interface that takes a Collection as an argument. Let's say there exist two different implementations of that interface (or template) that expected a Collection each with types that differ from the other. The horrors, the interface designer never intended the interface to be used in that way. Thus, interchangeability is not enforceable.

I just did rely on anecdotal evidence to justify the use of Generics. A very obvious example.

Yes, Generics is just as much a fix as it is a feature.

This is my repository of articles and people on Generics.

Generics in the Java programming Language. [Sun.com]
Generics in the Java programming Language. [Sun.com] -- A tutorial by Gilad Bracha.
Bruce Eckel's Java weblog. [Artima] -- if your not happy with just the tutorial but want to look at the advanced material, hop over to Eckel's journal and follow his Generics blogs. Or, :-) just get your own Blog up and running and send me a link.

Ray Ozzie at Microsoft

2005-11-12T09:44:00.000-08:00

His memo on Internet Services adoption in Microsoft.

Bill Gates' views on Ozzie and his role at Microsoft.

-- Ozzie's Online Charge [Business Week]

What the Bleep do we know?

2005-11-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

Before you go out and watch the movie, you should consider that the movie only presents one point of view [Wikipedia.org]. Not all Quantum physicists believe that the Quantum physics is connected to conciousness in the way the movie describes it. In fact those who do are in the minority.

Now I don't even remember who recommended it to me. I wish I could speak to him and let him know about this.

In the end I guess I am interested more in efficacy, a narrow view that might hurt.

What about Ramtha's school of enlightenment [Wikipedia.org]. Not a very credible school.

Hack my PC

2005-11-07T23:39:00.000-08:00

My Dell Windows XP PC had a sticker on it that say "Please hack me".

Well, I didn't see the sticker. Not for a while. I read a very basic article on hacking by Roger Grimes at Infoworld. He talked about passwords sniffed from wireless networks. Their encryption broken in a matter of seconds. I thought it was too easy, it couldn't be. I had to try it myself. I hopped over to insecure.org downloaded Cain & Abel installed it and was ready to go. Cain is a sniffer + cracker. I had to see for myself.

It took me less than five minutes to sniff the traffic on my private network, send it to the cracker and launch a dictionary attack on the SMB traffic collected. I found two vulnerable accounts, "Administrator" and "Guest". Both accounts had *no* passwords. The Administrator account was especially worrisome - it never showed up under the account list in my XP control-panel. I never even knew it existed. I had never logged into it (XP offers to create a user account with administrator privileges at install-time). The Administrator account is also my system 'root', pardon my reliance on Unix jargon.

Dissapointed in myself, I quickly peeled the sticker off by disabling the two accounts. Maybe I can fix the vulnerability comprehensively by eliminating my dependence on Windows entirely.

BBC: Kerala Tree House

2005-11-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

BBC - Holiday: Kerala Tree House

Hold on, no shaking your booty in Bangalore

2005-11-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

(Credit to Mithun for this story)

I am afraid to have to say this, but it is true, the Karnataka state govt. has banned dancing in public places [1,2,3]. Any way you look at it, it does look like the government is trying to curb your personal freedom. Thankfully, we have not gone as far as to actually mimic a pure islamic state yet. But if we were to let them get away with this restriction, who is going to stop the moral police when they curb free speech?

There is of course a rationale, the ban is part of a wider effort to curb the western influence. Truthfully, influences can be bad as well as good. When the west said, "Can you take up these support jobs?" Karnataka was more than glad to do so. Suddenly, BPO's in Bangalore were training several thousand youngsters on western accents, culture and other mannerisms. But of course, we cannot allow them to dance, that one bit might just tip the scale over? Is that really what the government is thinking?

We must be careful though, lest the western media portray India in the same light as as other policed nations, nations where your rights are worth only as much as the scrap of paper they are written on.

Bangalore was the first place in India to host anything close to a real Pink Floyd concert. Roger Water's was there in the flesh (2002). I was glad I could make it, happy that Bangalore was the place to step up and host the concert.

Bangalore is also the daddy of the Indian westernized "public watering hole". Bangalore pubs have offered for a while now the english pub culture, good music and ambience that flipped your mind. Before Bangalore, the local watering-hole only meant the restaurant down the road that got you a chuck for a buck and played old hindi songs from a mono-tape recorder. Of course the upcoming, young, middle-class wanted better. They were working longer hours, had a more global outlook and a paycheck that reflected this wide change. Where else could I hop from the pub dedicated to Marley to another one dedicated to Syd Barrett?

Bangalore is also one of the few cities in India with relaxed restrictions on the sale and distribution of Alcohol. That may have changed in recent times, but in my last visit there in 2004, I had the option to buy some at a california-style grocery store. Besides, they are never going to ban the sale of alcohol at pubs. Well not until and unless they found another source of revenue to replace the taxes they collect.

Am I proud of these influences that have changed India? Not really. Many Indians may have taken up Salsa and ignored Kathak. It's definitely easier to find a place for aerobics than for Yoga. Tomorrow we might drop Sambar for Kentucky Fried Chicken (I doubt that though)! I respect the fact that people want their kids to grow up to be refined young Indians instead of the lead singer of a rock band or a salsa god.

Why did the government forget, an amalgamation of cultures is inevitable! Why are they fighting it? Please let's not ban dancing and focus on the real issues that plague Bangalore.

References:
[1] Wall Street Journal
[2] Japan Times
[3] Indian Express

BW: Polish your presentations

2005-11-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

Read the article

Investing in Asia

2005-11-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

"The Best Asian Performers" - Business Week online.

Most people agree that energy and infrastructure companies appear to be up there with the best. Their popularity is attributed to the tremendous momentum transferred to these sectors by sky-rocketing growth in Asia.

It's not surprising to see Infosys at 39.

News round up: Young Entrepreneurs

2005-11-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

Another one of those blogs where the poster simply posts what he read today. Sure, lets not forget what this blog really is - a web journal :-).

I think it's a privilege to be 20 something and able to risk it all on a venture that is close to your heart. I realise that not everyone makes it, but that doesn't mean you should have to stop trying. Business week has a special report on the young entrepreneurs in North America.

Entrepreneurs: Cream of the Young Crop [Business week]
I especially enjoyed this slide show which walks you through each entrepreneur, his or her business idea, and the lessons they learnt from their experiences.

Tech's Young Turks are back [Business week]

Teaching the startup mentality [Business week]

The Startup bug strikes early [Business week]

Don't let ego kill the startup [Business week]

From hacker to protector [Business week]

Featured startups -
BrainReactions
Voltage Security
Natpal

Meanwhile, Paul Graham has been encouraging startups in his own way. Have a look through his essay "What I did this Summer" [paulgraham.com]. His Summer founders program has been spawning several ideas and motivating youngsters to chase those ideas.

Before you can start a business, you do need to start with an idea. You also need to know where that idea is going to be in the short-term, and at least a vague idea of the long-term. You need a business plan [entrepreneur.com].

Tata Tea Gold

2005-11-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

I highly recommend Tata Tea Gold for those who enjoy drinking Black Tea from India. Trouble is, I can't seem to get hold of a bag. My housemates and I just ran through one within a month. Vishal's brother bought some for us from India.

Any ideas? Where can I get some here in the U.S?

Diwali across the Americas

2005-11-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Diwali was celebrated with much gusto in NYC, Vancouver, and other large cities in the U.S and Canada.

"This week, in a coincidence of calendars, Hindus and Muslims from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are celebrating the most joyous holidays of the year. Hindus observe the festival of lights, Diwali, or Deepavali, which ushers in the new year; Muslims finish the holy month of Ramadan with Id al-Fitr, which signals the end of the monthlong daytime fast and a return to the sweetness of daily life." --
Festival of lights: Parade of Sweets [NYTimes]

"Grewal said when she grew up in England in the '60s, her family and friends didn't "feel free to celebrate any of our festivals." She is pleased to be living in today's multicultural society where the city supports such celebrations." --
South asians invite everyone to city-wide Diwali celebrations [Vancouver Courier]

"In keeping with the Diwali custom of also lighting the outside of the home, Kamlesh Thakrar has strung up colourful outdoor lights. That initially confused his neighbours. "They all said, `What are you doing? Christmas is three months away,'" chuckles Thakrar, who immigrated to Canada in 1975 from a tight-knit community of Indian expatriates in Kampala, Uganda.The Thakrars are among hundreds of millions of Hindus around the world, including nearly 200,000 in Greater Toronto, who will celebrate Diwali, the beginning of a new year on the Hindu calendar." --
Let there be lights [Toronto Star]

Devon Street in Chicago is probably having a blast. San Francisco will have the Bollywood Diwali Dhoom at the HP Center in San Jose.

Happy Diwali!!

Scott Maxwell, you just read my mind!

2005-10-31T15:57:00.000-08:00

Attracting, Retaining and Motivating. What's in it for them? [Now what?] Scott Maxwell

An excerpt:
--
Stretch them (without breaking them). Think of stretching a rubber band as far as you can without breaking it. This is the fastest way for top caliber people to develop…getting their goals met becomes difficult for them, which they like!

Give them hard-hitting, constructive feedback. Everyone loves feedback, especially constructive feedback, and most managers shy away from giving it. Instead of hoping they will do the right thing and ignoring when they get off track, tell them what you observe and how you what you think (note: you can do this without being a micromanager by focusing on the themes rather than the details). High caliber people can and do want to do the right thing, so it is up to you to help define what that means (btw, you might be wrong, so giving them the feedback and being open to theirs is even better. It can get you aligned with you taking on their view of right quite often. It also clears the air really nicely).
--
Read the article

Perceptions: Engineers from India

2005-10-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

News round-up

2005-10-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

The speaker of the U.S Congress has his own Blog
In this land of rabid polemicsm I can see that right now everyone has decided to side with technology and the benefits it promises. The speaker of the U.S congress has just setup his own blog [speaker.gov]. I'll bet he got a 1000 hits in the first hour itself :-).

Chris Webber is black and proud
I saw Chris Webber [NBA] make an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. I was impressed by his pride in his African-American heritage and sense of identity. The discussion was focused on a new NBA directive that requires players to be dressed formally when travelling with their team or when on the sidelines during a game (e.g when they are injured and on the bench). Maher attempted to portray this directive as smacking of racial overtones. Chris Webber effectively retorted by going at the root of the problem - I paraphrase, just because he has been asked to wear a suit does not mean he has to stop being black.

Narayan Murthy shows the Karnataka authorities that he is pissed
There is a massive fallout between the very strong Infosys and the Karnataka govt. where a huge Infosys campus is based. Specifically, the CEO Narayan Murthy is angry that the state government has not addressed the poor infrastructure in the state. I am interested in the outcome. Can powerful corporate lobbies influence the state to do good? Thats a great change from hearing about how powerful pharmaceuticals and oil companies drive the state to do *no good*.

Rediff: Myths and facts about the Indian IT Industry
10 myths & facts about the Indian IT Industry [Rediff]

BlackBerry Enterprise Security Architecture

2005-10-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

I have the article in German and am looking for a translation.

Che Guevera

2005-10-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Che Guevara: Assassin and Bumbler [Capitalism Magazine]

Che Guevera [Wikipedia]

IT Careers: Evaluating your job

2005-10-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

I came across an interesting article on evaluating your current job. I respect the article for the fact that it is based on the experiences of the author. It isn't just any joe blo writing about what he thinks the industry should be like. However, I think the tone of the article is tremendously harsh.

The article can be found here [fr.sys-con.com].

From i-Technology Viewpoint: When to Leave Your First IT Job:
"The first layoff is tough. After bending over backward, after being a loyal employee, this is the reward? To summarize how I felt: Disillusioned. Only one thing kept me going -- pure ego. You know when the schoolyard bully says something about your mom in front of everyone? But, ignoring the size difference and the fact that he's already shaving daily at age 14, you step forward and say "Oh yeah?", with a Brock Sampson-like eye twitch the only warning of the impending ownage? That's the kind of ego that kept me determined to give software engineering a second shot."

I do agree with the following points highlighted in the article.

Don't ever work in cubicles.
An over-bearing management or they think that they know too much.
Management that relies on, but disregards your technical advice
Management that bullies you over your schedules
Jobs that stunt your personal growth
Job commitments that you are not happy doing
Jobs that don't give you the opportunity for career advancement
Jobs that don't consider overtime alongwith compensation

I don't agree that any one of them alone, is reasons enough for quitting your job. Perhaps that wasn't the author's point. It is obvious that very few employers will score 10 out of 10 by the standards set down in the article. It is also hard to evaluate each of these requirements against any existing job. For example, schedules can often be tight when trying to meet market demands and when taking advantage of available opportunities. However, it may not be necessary to have to deliver all that is promised on time. A reduced set of commitments can be negotiated upon within the available time constraints. If the management were to then turn down the request to restrict the scope to fit the time - the writing is on the wall. Several start-ups offer stock-options that are worth very little in exchange for loyalty and dedication. It is only a promised compensation, one that may not materialize ever. Is it still a good job subject to the possibility that the employee is willing to risk it?

What is important is to be aware that your ideals have been compromised. Is your job just another job, or is it something that you enjoy doing with a great deal of passion. Do you honestly believe that you had to make that compromise because of your current working conditions? When did it stop being a true challenge and a learning experience? Then again, should having to work in a cubicle be enough grounds for disullisionment? Or is it that I am incorrectly adopting a more conciliatory stance than is necessary?

It is hard to evaluate your employer objectively, what with the growing liability of having to provide 'diplomatic' feedback to their employees, feedback that will not have the potential to hurt the company. Be careful when you do so. I wouldn't be surprised if some companies truly are skimping on the quality of work environment they provide.

Some quotes from the article:
At my last job, I constantly felt dejected. "You're not growing fast enough! You're barely in the middle of the pack." was the kind of feedback I was getting from my supervisor. Much later, I realized they were setting employees up for failure, and then blaming the employee, instead of blaming themselves.

Work is not all bad. A lot of employers say they want their employees to think work is fun. Few employers put their money where their mouth is, and difference is something you not only see - you feel it when you start working for those employers.

Some good blogs of Indian origin

2005-10-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

MadMan Madhu's web -- Owns a restaurant in Bangalore and a great sense of humour.
Vantage Point -- Gaurav Sabnis has a lucid writing style and manages to capture interesting snippets from life.
AnarCapLib -- Life without government?
Ceteris Paribus -- Don't panic!

NYTimes: The Lap of Luxury

2005-10-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

An article on some idiot who is suing a strip-club, albeit one-sided. Read on for a psychoanalysis of strippers and strip clubs.

This time it's an executive from Missouri named Robert McCormick, who, treating himself and friends, ran up a $241,000 bill at Scores on his corporate American Express card two years ago. American Express is now suing him for refusing to pay up. Several other unhappy customers have also sued Scores over large bills.

Among strippers I worked with, the most dreaded customers were not the obese or the lame. Rather, we feared customers who thought they were exceptions to the rule. They were just handsome enough, or successful enough, to foolishly think that their own sex appeal was tip enough.

-- "The Lap of Luxury" The New York Times

Northwest airlines

2005-10-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

How cheap can international travel tickets get? How about $505 for San Francisco, USA to Bangalore, India? Round-trip that would be $1010. Which is relatively cheap. I just booked Seattle, USA to Mumbai, India for $1250 with NWA.

NWA Promotions [NWA.com]

Revisit Pune

2005-10-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am going to be in Pune between 3rd of January and 24th January next year. Drop me a line if you would like to meet up!

Is anyone even reading this :-)?

Excerpts from FEMA officials' e-mails

2005-10-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

Just so that you are aware, I hate inept babus who hold high government posts in India, are corrupt and arrogant... I hate the ones in the U.S just as much. One of the FEMA officials in the Superdome had a BlackBerry and was in constant touch [BlackBerryCool] with FEMA HQ.

Marty Bahamonde a FEMA insider was sent to the New Orleans Superdome as Michael Brown’s “eyes and ears”. Bahamonde was armed with a Blackberry and tried to sound the alarm numerous times about breaking levees and the growing danger inside the Superdome. In an email directly to his boss Michael Brown,

Also see this article [Seattle PI].

-Bahamonde to FEMA Director Michael Brown, Aug. 31, 11:20 a.m.

"Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical. Here some things you might not know.

Hotels are kicking people out, thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Hundreds still being rescued from homes.

The dying patients at the DMAT tent being medivac. Estimates are many will die within hours. Evacuation in process. Plans developing for dome evacuation but hotel situation adding to problem. We are out of food and running out of water at the dome, plans in works to address the critical need.

-Sharon Worthy, Brown's press secretary, to Cindy Taylor, FEMA deputy director of public affairs, and others, Aug. 31, 2 p.m.

"Also, it is very important that time is allowed for Mr. Brown to eat dinner. Gievn (sic) that Baton Rouge is back to normal, restaurants are getting busy. He needs much more that (sic) 20 or 30 minutes. We now have traffic to encounter to get to and from a location of his choise (sic), followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc.

-Bahamonde to Taylor and Michael Widomski, public affairs, Aug. 31, 2:44 p.m.

"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! No won't go any further, too easy of a target. Just tell her that I just ate an MRE and crapped in the hallway of the Superdome along with 30,000 other close friends so I understand her concern about busy restaurants. Maybe tonight I will have time to move my pebbles on the parking garage floor so they don't stab me in the back while I try to sleep.

Business Etiquette for PhD's

2005-10-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

I came across a short article on Business etiquette.

For Ph.D.'s looking for jobs outside of academe, the insularity of the ivory tower is often a handicap, but it doesn't have to be. If you arm yourself with a solid knowledge of business etiquette and a sense of how academics are perceived by the outside world, you will have a better experience on the nonacademic market.

--Speak Up, Shake Hands, and Smile; Chronicle Careers

Suggested books on business etiquette

In brief,

Business etiquette is necessary when dealing in the business world
Overdressed is fine, but dress appropriately
Rehearse a good handshake
Make frequent, sustained eye-contact, it is a sign of confidence
Work on nervousness/anxiety signs offline
Emphasize on precise written and spoken communication in different contexts
Practise the "elevator speech"
Practise your "airplane test"
Practise your small-talk skills
Be savvy when you write your e-mails, timing is important, so is content, and privacy
Don't attempt communication when your upset, high on pot, or just plain out of sorts