H6 G-Sec

What do you do when your team member has done a blunder and you are forced to defend him? Or when you have to handle an unofficial beer party with official guests?

From the middle of the third year of engineering to that of the fourth year, it was a mix of many such experiences when I was the General Secretary of my hostel. Before I got elected as the General Secretary (G-Sec, as they say) I had no idea that I would be contesting for such a post ever in my life. H6 expands to 'Hall of Residence 6'. At NIT Rourkela, you had six 'Halls of Residence' for men and two for the ladies. (NIT stands for National Institute of Technology. There are around 17 such universities in India.)

I had my own share of friends and enemies during my college days. But I had this habit of being in touch, and knowing details about almost everybody on the campus, including the smaller folks like security guards or the cafeteria staff. Sanjay Dutt's Kaante was released the year before we stood for election. I remember the room-to-room campaigning, printing posters with catchy phrases, raising slogans in front of the university on improvement issues, late night partying, answering people through text messages during lecture hours, and still maintaining some level of performance in the academics - I do not know how it all fitted together. We used to sing 'Jaane kya hoga raama re' on the building corridoors in the middle of the nights! We were four folks who sat together to make a strategy that no one could break - we all were elected to the board of management of the hostel. We had a cultural secretary, a sports secretary, a kitchen secretary and myself as the general secretary. As for me, there was just one more candidate who stood against me in the election - we had a good handshake once I was announced as selected.

Life changed in many ways. We used a number of discussions, both public as well as within our group, to formulate plans for improvements in H6. After years, we were most punctual in organizing the 'Independence Day' celebrations. We organized groups discussions for folks who were preparing for MBA entrance exams. There were a lot of enthusiasm generated for team outings - it was fun to handle everything from logistics to entertainment to feedback.

Being a G-Sec exposed me to newer arenas. I was able to look at the working of an education institution and a residential building with around 200 inmates. I saw the various rules made ages ago and work to revamp them with more relevant ones. There was change all around in the air. There was a change in the menu of the cafeteria, and we put a feedback system in place for folks. There was a change in the visitors policy as well, and for the first time, we had female students visit the hostel - this was banned earlier due to some archaic laws. This change was motivated by what the public felt about themselves being mature students of an university which ranked third amongst all the NITs in India and stood first for branch-specific rankings.

There was also a change in the inmate categories in the hostel - let me explain that a bit. We had residents in H6 who mostly comprised of MCA and lateral entry students. MCA stands for Master in Computer Applications and the lateral entry students were the ones who joined in the second year of engineering after completing their technical diplomas. Apart from this, we had a number of students who were 'back logged', that is they could not complete a year's course in the given time. Unlike the other hostels, there was a lack of a proper mix of students from all branches and streams in the university. This was changed when we were in. We brought in an exchange between the inmates of the various hostels and ensured that the student profile was diversified and that we had more interaction amongst students of all streams.

The cafeteria menu included 'Pakhaala' for the first time in the history of the institute. Pakhaala is a special food made in Orissa during summers - it is made by soaking boiled rice in water, and adding salt and spices. NITs have students from all over India and this was an experience that all students from outside of the state of Orissa had for the first time in their lives, and they did love it during the scorching heat of the summers.

Almost every other day of our tenure, we had some issue flare up - it was not all that peaceful. As I mentioned in the very first sentence of this write-up, there was a quarrel between one of my team mates, the kitchen secretary and one of the cooks. The food was pathetic that day and the fellow ended up getting pinned against the wall and receiving boxing shots from the students. I had to interfere in between to stop this hungama and within few minutes, someone had informed the hostel warden. While I was trying to settle things in the kitchen itself, my mobile rang with the warden on the call.

One hour of drama and then a short-lived peace - the warden took stock of the situation and put a show-cause notice to the student, asking why he should not expel him. Being expelled meant that he will lose all of his engineering career and has to start over again - something he had not thought before hitting the cook. It also meant that there will be a police record of the situation, which meant a big blur on his career graph. I could not support him for what he did and could not let the warden ruin his career as well. It was a heated discussion for two hours after which he was pardoned on the condition that he will do social work for the university and never repeat such an act. (There were a string of clauses before he was let off, including public apology to the cook.) I also advised that the cook be shifted to the adjoining hostel and replaced by the other cook there.

Another time there was a public outcry when one of the inmates hit a girl on the road while riding a bike, and both of them were in the intensive care unit of the largest hospital in the city. It was a mad crowd at the hospital gates, with people shouting slogans against the students. Well, we handled it properly, with adequate medical attention to both the patients and adequate attention to the public as well. My friends helped me a lot when I was standing in front of the mob - I just didn't want to be 'mobbed' by them!

One new thing I understood was the profile of poor students on government scholarships - my signature was required before waiving of their hostel fees and I could understand the amount of struggle these folks put in to come from stark poverty and going to become future technocrats of the world. One of such persons is still in contact with me even after six years of these events and I know he works for one of the biggest MNCs of the globe. Being in NIT, where students from all states of India are proporta

My daily work also involved coordinating with the hostel staff, security fellows, maintenance guys, contractors and suppliers. It showed the aspects of society where bribing was a way of life and I was not at all for it. It also allowed me to educate such people on how they could leverage themselves without resorting to under-the-table methods. One of the best lessons I learned was about 'when to kiss and when to kick' people. There were, at times, trade offs between what I thought and what others thought.

This way, acceptability is another thing that I learned as a G-Sec. It is not always that your ideas get accepted, but if you believe in the idea, you should know how to put it forth. As they say in Deutsch 'Der Tone macht der Musik' - it is the tone that makes the music. Another part of acceptability is to be aware and agree to others' perspectives. Seriously there's some art to it.

Each of the lessons learned during this stint was helpful in some or the other aspect of my professional life later. I could relate a lot of the characteristics of human behavior that I had observed those days, to those of my colleagues and managers. It also instilled in me, an approach to look at the bigger picture during any decision making. Managing people and their attitude is an art. It also reduces the amount of unnecessary frustration that many freshers have, at their workplace. Multi-tasking and emotion management are amongst more more things that I learned. Till date, I have organized five team outings for my colleagues at various companies and each of them has been a memorable one. Life teaches.. !

It was a mix of good and learning stuff those days - During a Governing Body meeting, I remember talking with the warden of the ladies hostel when he mentioned a funny incident: There was this girl who left the ladies' hostel mentioning that she's going to the library, and the warden spotted her kissing her boyfriend under some tree. The warden scribbled on the security logbook, right next to the entry made by the girl '..... was found in 'love' and not in the library'!

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Lost your job?

                   

Its just the way it was in the saying, 'A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation out of the bricks thrown at him'. There are many who are putting on an entrepreneurial cloak  and have started to sell lay-off merchandise. There have been many a case these days where people have been called for interviews after someone saw a 'Laid Off Need a Job' wristband or a 'jobless-tagged-T-shirt'. There are games that have come up like 'Search a Job'! Have a look at jobsearchagameoffrustration.com.

Humor, they say, is a great medicine and making people laugh at themselves is helping some new businesses break even in just a few months time. Daniel Brabson, 38, launched RecessionJunction.com. The site sells beer mugs, T-shirts and bumper stickers with humorous sayings about the economy and layoffs. Bestsellers include a pint glass that says "This Beer is Going Down Like the Stock Market."

I am not sure how long this can continue giving profits, but it sure is a profitable way of making a living in these slow times. In any case, they do provide a small laughter to many and make them forget their woes for a short while. And its cool if such a T-shirt really helped you get noticed and grab a job back! (In addition to making the T-shirt seller, richer by a few bucks.)

The Dancing Lady

"Hi!!!"

The loud chorus of children was sharp, as they got down from their bus. And the colors were beautiful. I like blue.

It was a cool morning and I just came out of the college building where I had been to appear for a national examination. The exam went well, and after that, I was delighted to see so many children.

The group that got down from the bus comprised mostly of girls. They must in the age group of 12-16 years, accompanied by a couple of teachers. They had come here to participate in a group dance performance.

They went in a queue, led by a well-dressed man. I asked the security guard nearby whether I could attend the children's show. He said it is a public show and that too a free one. People were welcome to donate if the willed too.

I went ahead and lodged myself in a right corner seat in the front row. The advantage in a corner seat in the front row is that you can see who is coming next on stage before others can know.

I was struck by one particular girl. Of course, she was the reason I thought of staying back and watching the show. There are three things I would like to tell you about this girl.

Firstly, she had a amazing personality. The way she carried herself, the way she talked to other friends, the way she listened and followed the teacher who was accompanying them was really something. She had a wonderful calm around her, and seemed to exude a great sense of confidence.

Secondly, the dance that she did after some time on stage was enthralling. It was a "Geeti-Natya", a song-drama, that was played in the form of a dance. The theme was about helping each other in order to have better results for the nation, and the world.

Forget about the theme, my eyes were hooked on the girl I spoke of. She must be sixteen. She was wearing a blue dress, with snow-white wings on her arms as she was enacting an angel. It so much suited her character! She had a white veil on her hair. It was amazing. Simply amazing. She danced with amazing gait and seemed to carry the whole show herself.

It was a half-an hour performance, but it did not seem so. The received a standing ovation after the performance.

The third thing that I wanted to mention about this girl was that, like all her group members in the dance, she was blind.

I cannot imagine the sharpness of the brain behind the little child's imagination, and the amount of hard-work that she must have done to achieve the perfection that she showed on stage. Her mobility was awesome.

Try doing a simple experiment. In your own house, just close your eyes and try dancing. You can try this when no one is at home so that people do not laugh at you, but it would be a good idea to have some friend nearby so that you don't hurt yourself by falling down. Dance as a blind and think how easy or difficult the act is.

Life is a surprising experience. A amazing tale of conviction and faith winning the last bites of misfortune and sorrow. Life is beautiful.

I was too speechless, over-awed, and choked by emotions to do anything but just keep looking. After the show, I talked to the teacher who accompanied them. I informed about my efforts at making a shoe-fitted navigation device for visually-impaired persons. And I informed about one of the members of National Blind Association with whom I have been in touch in order to make my product a better one. I asked him if I could talk to the girl that I mentioned.

Sadhana. I do not have a perfect English equivalent of the word that represented her and her name so aptly. Literally, Sadhana means penance. But it is much more.

I talked to her. I told her about a small chip that can be fitted in her shoes and that will guide her if their is any obstacle in her path. It may also learn specific dance steps and guide her to dance better.

"Bhaiya! Even without your chip, I can dance like anything!" was her innocent reply. "But please tell me for sure when the thing is ready. Do you have something I can put in my eyes so that I can see your face?"

She had her arms around me. And one of the 'bestest' smiles I have ever seen in my life.

A Better India, A Better World ( Narayan Murthy )

Since when was life fair! As India strides ahead in the fields of technology, entrepreneurship, and industrialism, it also is struggling with facts about undernourishment, illiteracy and disease. You have huge advancements being talked about in India, coupled with certain stark truths such as those shown in 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Life is like that. There have been constant attempts to bridge this great divide. 'A Better India, A Better World' shows us some avenues.

Quoting N.R. Narayana Murthy, who pioneered, designed and executed the Global Delivery Model that has become the cornerstone of India’s success in information technology services outsourcing, shows us that a society working for the greatest welfare of the greatest number—samasta jananam sukhino bhavantu—must focus on two simple things: values and good leadership.

This book also shows the importance of an emerging India in the world, and how the progress of India is intimately linked with the progress of the rest of the world as well. To quote the book, "A better India holds the key to a better world."

While talking with Shishi Bhate, Murthy says, "Every nation from time to time will face difficulties in the economic scenario and that is the time when we all have to show greater determination, sacrifice, and commitment."

Based on lectures delivered around the globe, the book makes a great reading and is specially relevant for the youth.

Click here to buy yourself a copy. (No affiliation of the author with this seller.)

Business as a Social Solution

Half of the world's pain is due to lack of money and the other half is due to excess of it, they say. I would not agree with this completely, though there is a lot of truth in it. I have always thought of business as a very good means of solving social problems. Whether it be related to health-care or education, a business oriented approach will prove more efficient than charitable solutions. In fact, it is generally observed that charitable efforts are the most inefficient in solving situations. There is a saying that goes like, "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for the day. If you teach him fishing, you feed him for life". Charitable means of educating people or making them capable of solving their own needs have never been really successful. But when you make a business-like approach, keeping in mind a win-win situation, things have shown improvements.

By being business-like, I do not mean to be entirely money oriented. What I mean to say is to show to everyone who receives help, that there is nothing like a free lunch. Charging some money for a service makes it more worthwhile for the recipient of the service.

If you take the example of efforts by the government to provide free/subsidized food to people below poverty line, it has only led to the increase in forgery in making the infamous BPL card (People with a BPL card are officially Below Poverty Line.) Is this the ultimate solution to help the poor get better food? I do not think so. People in slums who were given free houses by the government, let those houses on rent and made a new slum a little distance away. What was the problem that got solved? Wasn't a more business-like approach (than distributing free houses) feasible? Makes your mind tick...

The ideas of folks like Muhammad Yunus also reflect some new thoughts. We are not talking of a  business that saps the poor but it does show the difference money (in however small amount) can make.

To quote Dr Yunus,

Suppose we postulate a world with two kinds of people, having different objectives. One type is the existing type, i.e. profit maximizing type. Second type is a new type, who are not interested in profit-maximization. They are totally committed to make a difference to the world. They are social-objective driven. They want to give better chance in life to other people. They want to achieve their objective through creating/supporting sustainable business enterprises. Their businesses may or may not earn profit, but like any other businesses they must not incur losses. They create a new class of business which we may describe as "non-loss" business.

Similarly, have a look at efforts by John Wood for 'Room to Read' at http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/ . Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children's literature, constructing schools, and providing education to girls.

Suzlon solves the energy needs of millions of people using wind energy. And it is a 'for profit' venture. How is it different from what we discussed just now? Doesn't Tata solve the common man's problem from salt to steel? And Tata still believes in doing more for the individual as well as the corporation.

What about the aim of Infosys founder NR Narayanmurthy - he refers to corporate socialism as 'a problem solver' and the Infosys foundation under Sudha Murthy is dedicated to such efforts.

Have a look at the book "Business Solutions for the Global Poor: Creating Social and Economic Value", by V. Kasturi Rangan, John A. Quelch, Gustavo Herrero, and Brooke Barton . The work combines chapters from an assortment of views—business, academic, government, nonprofit—to examine the nature of poverty, how the poor can become producers as well as consumers, and the roles/responsibilities to be played by policymakers and society at large. Of particular interest to business leaders are a number of case studies of successful BOP (Bottom of economic Pyramid) business models.

My point is that in addition to conventional business ideas that do contribute to solving social situations, there a need for (and it is happening these days) folks who are dedicated 'Social Entrepreneurs'. We can use entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social progress. (I mentioned 'progress' - not just 'change'). It is not a loss making idea but a "more-than-profit" idea, because the metrics for measuring success are not just the monetary part but the social impact it has created.

I feel this can make this world a far better place, without distorting the true fact that there is never a free lunch.

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The Open-Door Bailout

Here is an article by Thomas Friedmann that discusses some solutions to the US Economic situation. A pretty good reading:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/opinion/11friedman.html

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The 'X' factor in innovations - Simplicity

Credits to Harsh Agarwal for this post

A company Spranq based in Netherlands has come up with a very innovative way to fight recession - by saving on printing costs. They have developed a font which will reduce the ink usage by as much as 20%.

The elegance of the solution is its simplicity. Just have a look at the font:

Guess what is different about the font? 

Yes - you got it right. Its the holes that go with the characters.

This is where they say they have got the inspiration from:

"After Dutch holey cheese, there now is a Dutch font with holes as well."

They encountered the problem about how much of a letter can be removed while maintaining readability. After testing with all kinds of shapes, they figured out that the best results were achieved using small circles.

Hats off to the company for this path-breaking yet a very simplistic solution. That, according to me is true innovation. Did I hear someone screaming 'Why didn't I think of it earlier than those guys?' - Don't worry! even Microsoft couldn't think about it!! But, on the serious note here comes the morale of the story - You don't need to be a giant to create something really useful - all you need is to take some inspiration from your environment(Cheese in this case :D) !!

Company website : http://www.spranq.nl/en/

Chetan Bhagat's Speech at Symbiosis Pune

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about.

I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time. Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party — several months in advance — just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark? Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms. To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn’t any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order. There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions. You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die. One last thing about nurturing the spark - don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I’ve told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose. Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades — how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be. Disappointment’s cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve,
sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved — movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result — at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan — I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously. Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it — not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to
make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and
understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the
strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get
literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark. Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others. There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.

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John Galt on Justice

John Galt on Justice:

“Justice is the recognition of the fact that you cannot fake the character of men as you cannot fake the character of nature, that you must judge all men as conscientiously as you judge inanimate objects, with the same respect for truth, with the same incorruptible vision, by as pure and as rational a process of identification—that every man must be judged for what he is and treated accordingly, that just as you do not pay a higher price for a rusty chunk of scrap than for a piece of shining metal, so you do not value a rotter above a hero—that your moral appraisal is the coin paying men for their virtues or vices, and this payment demands of you as scrupulous an honor as you bring to financial transactions—that to withhold your contempt from men’s vices is an act of moral counterfeiting, and to withhold your admiration from their virtues is an act of moral embezzlement—that to place any other concern higher than justice is to devaluate your moral currency and defraud the good in favor of the evil, since only the good can lose by a default of justice and only the evil can profit—and that the bottom of the pit at the end of that road, the act of moral bankruptcy, is to punish men for their virtues and reward them for their vices, that that is the collapse to full depravity, the Black Mass of the worship of death, the dedication of your consciousness to the destruction of existence.”

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The Dilbert Devotee

Are you one of the many fellows who really worshipped Dilbert till they themselves come to management roles? Or you haven't still been in the management role yet!

I had a manager, long time back, who used to put Dilbert strips cut out from the newspaper, on his walls. It used to be a great experience dealing with him, because he had enough sense to laugh at himself!

A Dilbert Devotee in you is born much before you get your first job. You seem to feel the same kind of feelings that every employee feels at the beginning (in fact, many of them are genuine issues). Gradually, you tend to learn more and more, till you can really laugh at the realistic issues posed by Dilbert comic strips.

Here is a Dilbert strip I found with a random search on the Internet. Please find more about Dilbert at his official blog site (click here).

Secondary Intelligence

Is not the internet a source of intelligence for anyone who is connected? My friend didn't know much about pregnancy - and it was not more than 15 minutes during which he could get enough and relevant information on the topic. What do you call this extra source of knowledge that is available on the Net?

Now comes a twist. If the Internet had a life of its own (in fact, it does have, to a large extent!), 'it' knows a lot more than any single individual. Right? And if this information could be understood well by the machines (after all, the whole of the Internet lives on numerous computers), given the fact that most of the relevant knowledge is 'well-organized' or being attempted to make it better organized, how much more powerful is the Internet than any group of human beings!! And add to the fact that this body of knowledge is being updated every moment, with predictions that the whole online knowledge base can double in just about 11 hours. Much of this knowledge is just data, including personal and critical information.

I am more amazed than scared. I am visualizing the Internet as a big 'speaking tree' which has answers (both right and wrong) to almost everything. And is the 'speaking tree' evolves to a 'decision making tree' (which is damn simple), and then to a 'thinking and decision making entity', things start becoming interesting. In today's times where a micro-processor can easily program itself, things do not look difficult when the Internet is something that simulates/emulates a human. (Simulating a dog is far interesting - I find humans are a crazy species!) Later, based on reaction based decision making, this evolved entity may or may not be great for humans! Also, if a human can control this new entity, this would be a new situation - humans are one of the greatest enemies of themselves. Remember the comparison between a human and a virus in the movie 'Matrix'?

Imagine typing in some stuff to search on the Internet, and getting a message like 'why do you think you want to know about this?'!! ;-)

Neta Part 2

Did these actors really make a difference as politicians?


You can have a look at a related post here. (Picture courtesy: Rediff.com)

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The Communication Flow

(Credits to some random email fwd)
 
 Engineer to Team Leader:
 
 "We can't do this proposed project. It will involve a major design  change and no one in our team knows the design of this system. And above that, no body in our company knows the formulation in which this application has been written. So even if somebody wants to work on it, they can't. If you ask my personal opinion, the company should never take these type of projects."
 
 Team Leader to Project Manager:
 
  "This project will involve a design change. Currently, we don't have any staff who has experience in this type of work. Also, the language is unfamiliar to us, so we will have to arrange for some training if we take this project. In my personal opinion, we are not ready to take on a project of this nature."
 
 
 
 Project Manager to General Manager:
 
  "This project involves a design change in the system and we don't have much experience in that area. Also, not many people in our company are appropriately trained for it. In my personal opinion, we might be able to do the project but we would need more time than usual to complete it."
 
  General Manager to Vice President :
 
  "This project involves design re-engineering. We have some people who have worked in this area and others who know the implementation language. So they can train other people. In my personal opinion we should take this project, but with caution."
 
 
 
 Vice President to CEO :
 
  "This project will demonstrate to the industry our capabilities in remodeling the design of a complete legacy system. We have all the necessary skills and people to execute this project successfully. Some people have already given in house training in this area to other staff members. In my personal opinion, we should not let this project slip by us under any circumstances."
 
 
 
 CEO to Client :
 
  "This is the type of project in which our company specializes. We have executed many projects of the same nature for many large clients. Trust me when I say that we are the most competent firm in the industry for doing this kind of work. It is my personal opinion that we can execute this project successfully and well within the given time frame.
 
 
 And finally  Engineer will be screwed up ..........