Ranjith Antony

Self Intervention

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:15:00 PST

Un cluttering the life is my theme for 2012. Facebook, Google+, Twitter being the source of much of my distractions, I have decided to give myself an intervention.

The idea here is to separate work from play. I spend most of my time on my dev machine, which is an iMac. I have a 2009 Mac Pro and an iPad 2 for casual use. Mac Pro stays in the kitchen table and iPad is usually with my wife at her work. I have decided to block myself to get to Facebook, Twitter or Google+ on my dev machine. Which means I have to make an effort to move “The Glutes” out from my work area to get to play area. Those who knows me will readily understand how difficult it is for me.

Blocking a site on a MacOS (or any unix like system) is easy. This involves editing the /etc/host file. Open (From Finder->Go to Folder and enter /etc and find the hosts file from the list) the /etc/host file and add the site as shown below.

##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting.  Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255   broadcasthost
::1             localhost 
fe80::1%lo0   localhost
127.0.0.1 facebook.com www.facebook.com plus.google.com

You just told your development machine to route all traffic headed to Facebook and Google+ to go to your local host. Obviously, unless there is a local web server running on the default port 80 on your machine, you will get a “Server not Found Message”

Thats it. Save the /etc/host file and exit (You will be asked to enter your password). You could also clear the dns chache

dscacheutil -flushcache

I know, it is like building a jail and locking yourself. However, since I am on my own and no one hovering over my shoulder to keep me on my deadline, I had to do this. I am pleased with the results.

SOPA Will Fail

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:58:00 PST

Sharing is natural. It is inherent in every human being. Innovations that happened around the concept of sharing prevailed. Some of those innovations, like technology to make paper out of bamboo, even changed the course of civilization.

Over a decade ago web was in a bind. Right then the web 2.0 happened. It happened around the very concept of sharing. Web resurrected from an apocalypse and flourished. Every service implemented after 2001 had an API. Information flowed out of the system more than one ways. More importantly the sharing was bidirectional. The services consumed too. And numerous businesses profited from the core.

Retrospectively thinking, it was web’s way of responding to the war to control the browser (and the web). The web repositioned itself to allow people to share information and gather knowledge.

And that is why SOPA will fail. It will fail because SOPA hinders sharing. It hinders the human nature. May be this will even redesign the way internet is designed. It will. It should.

New Year Resolutions

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:16:00 PST

About 99% of all new year resolutions never work. Mostly because those resolutions will include a major lifestyle change, like quitting smoking or becoming a vegetarian. Behavioral or life style changes are not a desecrate event. It is a continuos process and will take time. It will be difficult to measure. Hence you plunge into disappointment and quit. I had my fair share of disappointments trying resolutions involving lifestyle changes.

In 2011, I did an experiment. My resolution for last year was to get out of the credit card debts. Unlike a behavioral change which has no tangible measurement criteria, this one did. I would say, I marginally succeeded in reaching the goal of less than 5K in credit card debts.

This year I am taking it up a notch.

The resolution, or rather the theme for 2012 is to uncluttered my life. Being a hoarder and a sucker for all things glitter; I have a large data at hand to work on. When I say un cluttering my life, it is not just the material possessions alone. Although material possession is at the top, I would like to see it go beyond that. I should un clutter my social relations, my facebook/twitter online activities etc.

This will be an on going topic in this blog. I will try to post articles and my own thoughts that would help to simplify life. If you know any resources that will help me accomplish my goal, please do forward it to me, or leave a comment.

Happy New Year all!!.

Stop Whining and Start hiring remote workers

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:35:00 PST

Eric is spot on. I am a living testament of the benefits of telecommuting. There was a scientific study recently. I am guessing this is going to be an recurring topic in this blog.

None of it is fancy, expensive, or hard to use. Everything we do to manage a business consisting mainly of remote employees is something anyone else could do too. There’s so much untapped tech talent that does not live near your office, but would work for you if you allowed them to.
37Signals Stop Whining and Start Hiring Remote Workers

Google+ Wide Layout

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:48:00 PST

Google posted an eviction notice for all of their Buzz users. In few weeks the buzzers have to pack their bags and migrate to Google+, google’s latest and greatest.

Some strong Google Buzz fans have an apparent dislike for the narrow layout of Google Plus. Two developers, Nishad Kaippally and Raveesh Ravindranath stepped in to develop a wide layout similar to Google Buzz. There solutions resulted in a Firefox or a Chrome Extension. I just shamelessly copied their code to create a Safari extension. Please download it here. Just double click on the file to install the Extension

Telecommuting a Scientific study

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:43:00 PST

There is no contest. I telecommuted for three years. That was the most productive phase in my career. From what I heard, my employer liked it too. Really thankful to my former managers who let me do this.

What the researchers found should hearten those of us who’d like to telecommute, even once in a while. After a few weeks of the experiment, it was clear that the telecommuters were performing better than their counterparts in the office. They took more calls (it was quieter and there were fewer distractions at home) and worked more hours (they lost less time to late arrivals and sick breaks) and more days (fewer sick days). This translated into greater profits for the company because more calls equaled more sales. The telecommuters were also less likely to quit their jobs, which meant less turnover for the
SmithsonianMag Examining Telecommuting the Scientific Way

Dues Paid

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:37:00 PDT

I paid my dues !!!. Quick verdict. Unless you are dying to use siri, don’t buy it. Which of course is quite awesome. The speed difference is very marginal. Everything else could be accomplished through the iOS 5 update on your iPhone 4

RIP Steve

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:14:00 PDT

Steve inspired a generation of developers. He sure will continue to inspire many future generations.

I am a recently converted Mac addict. Ever since I made my switch, I had converted at least a dozen of my friends to the world of Mac. One of the stories I tell to convince those skeptics is about my daughter and her first encounter with an iPhone. I handed her my iPhone when she was about 10 months. She took her tiny finger and intuitively slide the arrow to open it.

He showed the world how to simplify the complexities in a design so that any one can intuitively figure out how something works.

I am sure he will be missed.

Going Indie

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:35:00 PDT

Yes I am !!

Like I said I spend sometime thinking. To be honest, it was easy thinking. It seemed the decision was already taken. However, the down time helped me to put everything in perspective.

My Plan ?. Is to solicit consulting jobs for the next 6 - 8 months.I am planning to carry on with consulting for at least till the beginning of the second quarter of 2012.(Luckily, I have clients lined up to give me consulting jobs.). Meanwhile working on a product on the side and eventually wean off the consulting business.

I know; consulting is not sustainable. I didn’t quit my job to do consulting. Like any other Indie developer, I want to build a product and become successful selling it. I clearly understand that it is the classic mistake a newbie indie makes when he suddenly enters the indie world. However, I am giving it a try. I have narrowed my consulting domain to just physical security integration. This seems like a natural extension of my work I was doing at pelco. Since there is virtually no learning curve, I can easily swing back and forth between a consulting gig and my own product.

I am not sure if I will be successful. But, I don’t want to regret later for not trying earlier. My family is growing and my kids are becoming teens. It is going to be extremely hard if I wait any longer to take the plunge. Better late than never right ?. Wish me good luck!! Thanks

Begining of the End

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 07:39:00 PDT

Today is my last day at work. I will be dropping off these pride possessions which I was carrying around for past five years in a while. I have an exit interview later today and that will conclude the ceremony.

I wish to extend my thanks to all my colleagues at Pelco API & Integration. I am grateful to every one in Pelco by Schneider Electric, who helped me become a better Engineer I was five years ago. Wish you all the best.

What next ?. I have couple of wonderful offers at hand. However, I haven’t made any decision yet. I am not sure if I want to work for anyone else either. Well, I am taking the next few weeks off for some serious thinking.