How Smart is Your Right Foot

How Smart Is Your Right Foot?

I got this in a funny forward (from Krishnan) and would like to share it with you..

This is so funny that it will boggle your mind - the coordination between right foot and right hand. I tried many times to do the following but couldn't.. Its your turn now..

1. While sitting, lift your right foot from the floor and make clockwise circular motion with your foot.
   
2. Now, while doing # 1, Using your right hand, draw number '6' in the air.
   

Were you successful? or did your right foot automatically change direction? You can try many times, but will not change the results.

Help Tamil Nadu Identify Creamy Layer

Tamil Nadu has gone back to the Supreme Court and has pleaded it be exempted from implementing the creamy layer concept because

"No one in the list of Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes of this State has represented to this government that the non-exclusion of creamy layer affects their interest in getting the reservation benefit." the State said

This is a lame excuse and does not address why creamy layer exclusion has not been implemented in spite of Supreme Court's directive. If the reservation system with all its deficiencies can be implemented and run amok, then a way can be definitely found to implement the creamy layer exclusion and give the reservation benefits to the real needy folks. But, the fact of the matter is that no politician will ever implement this creamy layer policy, particularly after MGR's failure in this front.

But, let us forget reality for a minute and help Tamil Nadu implement creamy layer exclusion concept. Here are mine:

1. Avail reservation only once: Each individual belonging to the reserved category and they could perhaps choose when they want to avail that benefit. Once used, they will be become part of the creamy layer.
   
2. Exclude students going to private schools: If parents of wards belonging to reserved category can afford to send their ward to private schools then they must have the financial wherewithal. So they can be classified as part of the creamy layer.
   
3. Income limit: This is a very old idea on the and perhaps most difficult in light of the many different ways in which income can be generated and accounted. But if Government wants to, they can.
   

What's your take?

Sujatha's Prescription to Reduce Stress

In his latest Katradhum Petradhum in Vikatan, Sujatha talks about neurons and stuff and suggest seven simple ways to reduce stress.

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My take on this..
All these common sense and makes sense and most would agree with the list. But how does one put all these things in to practice that where the gulf is wide.

1. Take Deep Breath: This kind of has a calming effect and I try to practice it occasionally and could start doing it regularly.
2. Go on Vacation: Sujatha doesn't talk about frequency which is equally important. I get to do this at least once a year.
3. Increase friendship circle: I could do more in this area. Currently, my friendship circle is rather limited, but with ChennaiRunners and blog, I getting to know more people.. so that should help.
4. Exercise without fail: Point taken.. doing it regularly.
5. Eat fruits: I would change this to eat green and healthy. I try to follow this as well but does yield to temptation on a regular basis.
6. Sleep early: Can do better here, but with my current job every day is becoming a Shivrathri night.
7. Do what you like: I find this perhaps the most difficult thing to do. I wish I could but doesn't seem to be always possible. Must improve a lot in this front.

What's your take on this list? Where do you place yourself?

R2I # 11 - Q&A

Launching R2I - Q&A section....
I have been thinking about this for a while and a comment from Arvind prompted to me to start this section. This is a forum for you to ask R2I related questions. I would try best answering them and publish them in the form of a post. Depending on the interest, I would collate the questions and post them on a weekly basis. In order to protect privacy, I will not publish the name of the questioner. Interested parties can send your questions to rviswana@gmail.com or leave them as comment in any of my R2I posts.

My first set of questions actually came a while ago and had responded via email. But, now, based on Arvind's request, I dug it up and posting it here with some modifications.

Q: Hi, We need some advise from you as you have already R2I. And, the advise is regarding education cost for kids.We are here in the US for past 3 years and plan to move back to India permanently by end of this year (2007). [We both are Indian citizens and we cannot get OCI] Some of our questions are:

1) Is there a big difference in fees for elementary schools in Bangalore (difference between US citizen kids and Indian citizen kids)? Obviously, there will be some difference.
A: I have not seen or heard any difference in based on citizenship. However, schools might lean on 'additional fees' read donation if they know you have come back.

2) What is the option for higher education (i.e., undergrad education) as the fees will be higher...to my understanding 3 to 4 times higher than the Indian citizen kids? This kind of fees will not be affordable for people like us who stayed here only for a couple of years and did not really save much in dollars. So, what is the option? Please suggest.
A: Good Question.. don't know how it really works.. haven't looked in to this aspect at all. But, India is slowly, but surely treating PIO / OCI card holders at par with Indian Citizens.. so, I hope this will not be a problem when my kids for that matter your kids get hit the college

3) I heard that we can get Indian passport in the US for the kid even though the kid is born in the US. (Assuming that we are ready to forgo the US passport and the US citizenship). We have not applied for US passport yet and hence the Indian consulate does not have any objection for this. [In fact, earlier when there was no rule for getting passport for the kids, lot of people used to travel with the kid's name in mother's passport] Is this a safe option (assuming, we are not worried about US passport)? Are there any issues with this when going out or entering US again (later, may be 10-15 years later...again, applying for US visa on Indian passport).
It's your option to decide which passport to take. Your kids are eligible for Indian passport based your (parents') Indian Citizenship status. Your kids can opt for US citizenship at anytime based on their 'place of birth', till the age of 18. So, I don't see this as a major problem.

How to Get your Neighborhood roads fixed?

Does your subdivision roads are in a poor condition, full of pot holes? Do you want to get them fixed? Get a VVIP to visit your area. Higher in the food chain, that much better, like this one.

Power of Blog and the Good side of Our Kind

I am moved beyond words as I do this post.

When I first read this post about a week back, I felt sorry for the kid and moved on. It was nameless / faceless story which didn't affect me much. But as I followed tragic this story at Kiruba's blog, the human and the emotional angle unraveled and that brought me to tears. Not just because of this tragic accident, but also because of the outpouring of generosity by people who may have never known or met the victim.

We all tend to get cynical about the humankind as we see the greed, cruelty and violence we unleash on ourselves and other kinds. But once in a while these kinds things happen and puts proper perspective on things. Several things showed the good side of our kind in this episode..

1. First Kiruba starts of with a regular post and seeing the comments, he harnesses the power of blog to reach out and solicit help. He also launches a wiki to keep the story alive. He has been at it like a trooper...
   
2. People from all walks of life, most of whom who may have never known the victim reach out to help the family which is dire need of assistance.
3. Students from a different school drum up support and collect funds.

Man.. this made my day in the midst of heartbreaking news about the deadly arson in a moving train and the likes. Hats off to Kiruba for this crusade and my salutes to countless others who have pitched in.. God Bless

Private Blogging

Is private blog a blog?
This is question has out there since blogs came about and still can elicit religious debates. Sometime back there was this debate between Jeff & Robert on whether private blogs are blogs? This discussion started the way in which MSN was counting blogs hosted with it.

Many popular blogs (including blogspot) have long provided the ability to keep blogs private or to a set group but they are not flexible enough to set the authorization at a granular level of an individual post. Now there is a new player called vox in the market who provides that. This may be the way to go as more and more people to take blogging but don't want everything open, but at the same time want to maintain a single blog.

Enforcement is the Key

After much dilly dallying, Tamil Nadu has made helmets compulsory for both the two wheeler driver and the pillion rider. This is a no brainer really. Study after study has proven that helmets save lives. But what is common sense has not been common practice. Most common reasons cited for not wearing helmets are inconvenience, hair loss etc., But then, if the head will not survive in an accident where is the question of hair?

I have long advocated (2) for tougher helmet laws in Chennai. But, I am also skeptical as to how this law will be enforced. Will the police use this new law as another extortion avenue or genuinely enforce the new helmet rule and save lives?

ps: I don't think the order on helmets is in force yet. Not sure what's is the hold up..

B2B

Nope.. It is not Business To Business.. Answer in the end

It has been a week since I got back to Chennai and haven't found time to do any posts.. but several interesting things have happened Tamil Nadu and here is my take on it..

What will Ms. Jayalalithaa do?
Three innocent girls were burnt to death the ruffians of the political class who have scant respect for the law and order. In Feb 2000, they burnt down a bus and three young girls with it merely because their leader was convicted by a court (which was overturned by the superior court).

After seven years, three AIADMK workers have been awarded death penalty and 25 others lesser sentences. Even though the justice system took its time, it has spoken forcefully and has sent strong signals to hooligans who might be tempted to resort to violence.

Now all eyes are on Ms. Jayalalithaa waiting to see what her response is going to be on this verdict. After all, this gruesome act was done because in her name.

Ms. Jayalalithaa has kept a studied silence about the verdict but will have to react sooner or later. Will she put her money power behind her party men and hire legal fire power to take the case all the way up to Supreme Court or will she disown her party men.

ps: Still wondering what is B2B? - Back To Blogging

Savvy Marketing

Now.. I call this savvy marketing.

What can get more and differentiated visibility when the space is crowded and the time is limited? Get a high profile guy to do something with your product, which will auto-magically get lot of free ink and media time.

That is exactly what Lockheed Martin did by getting Ratan Tata to fly its F16 when the entire aviation world seem to have assembled in Bangalore.

To counter Russia's historical advantage, Boeing has offered to produce the F/A-18F jointly with an Indian company. Lockheed scored public-relations points by recruiting Ratan Tata, a billionaire Indian industrialist and amateur pilot, to fly in an F-16 at the air show.

A Closer Look at India

Interesting article in IHT which raises some pointed questions on real foundation of India's economic strength. But the author does conclude he is optimistic about India in long term, but what he didn't do was to define long term.

A resurgence of Indian pride is understandable after decades when India was ignored by the Western media and viewed with disdain by fast-growing East Asia. Such a boost to national self- confidence must be of long-term benefit and create a dynamic of rising expectations.

But there are too many signs of an overconfidence that looks more and more like hubris. If suddenly deflated it could undercut the basis on which Indian optimism is built — that India can compete in a globalizing world and one day equal China in economic weight.

Enthusiasm about India's global role as a manufacturer, given its supply of labor and vast domestic market, is fine in theory, but it must be tempered by the reality of high tariffs and a huge manufacturing trade deficit. India is more dependent than ever on exports of services and raw materials, and on workers' remittances.

Travelog # 28 - Beijing Notes

It was all work and no play this time around, so no pictures and just observations..

Permanent Haze: There seems to be a permanent layer of haze always enveloping Beijing. It is thicker some days than the other but it is a constant companion. I hardly saw sun in my 5 days out there. I was told the problem has to do with the blowing sand from the desert nearby and the pollution. With the 2008 Olympics not far away, Beijing has grand plans to control this problem, so I learn.

Electronic Billboards: Huge electronic billboards greet visitors as they come out of the Airport. They seem to have replaced the vinyl billboards in many parts of the city. Unlike Chennai, these billboards (hoardings) are well regulated and seems to follow some code / standards. (For starters, non of the hoardings were in the sidewalk or obstructing traffic..)

Construction Crazy: I went back to Beijing after 3 months and in that short time more buildings seem to have come up. There is huge subway project underway connecting Airport to the city and the Olympic village and stuff. Beijing has tonnes of freeways and ring roads, yet roads are always clogged and it takes a long time to get anywhere.

Taxis everywhere: I found Taxis the best way to commute within the city. They are present everywhere and ply by meter. But, engaging a Taxi might be a problem if you don't speak the local lingo. One way to mitigate this is to have the destination written down in Chinese.

I lied.. do have one picture.. of the Taxi plying with a working meter.. a pleasant experience for a Chennai resident...

Meat like but its all Vegetarian: It is rare to find a vegetarian or a vegetarian restaurant in China, but if you look closer you can find some. My Chinese colleagues looked hard and found one. They took me this restaurant called Lotus (?), a all vegetarian restaurant (not our Saravana Bhavan) where everything is 100% vegetarian, but the dishes look and taste like meat. It was interesting to order peking duck, shrimp, chicken dumplings and stuff. It was the first for some of my Chinese colleagues as well, but all of them vouched that the dishes not only look like meat but also taste like it.

Blogspot visibility: Last year I wasn't able to access blogspot blog sites from Beijng. But this time around the story is different. I was able to access my blog still can't access wordpress.com or bbcnews etc.,. Not sure the difference and the reason behind this blogspot releaxation, but the internet censorship is very much alive and kicking in Beijing.

What's wrong with that?

PK, one of my favorite blogger has posed a series of questions to our NRI brethren. He wonders why an average NRI always cribs about the problems of India while keeping mum about the ills of their adopted country. Aren't there problems in their new country ? Just to be sure, PK lists a few in US and Europe.

While I may not agree with the focus and the message of this post, I must applaud PK for gently provoking a well mannered debate over this which has attracted 125+ comments. (I wish I could get double digit comment for any of my post.. let alone three digits..).

The strength of a society lies in its inherent ability to retrospect, take criticisms do course corrections as needed and move ahead. Every society, country has its own laundry list of problems and challenges. That shouldn't preclude anyone from talking about issues as they fit.

PK: Just as you have views on the America's inner city neighborhoods and its war on terrorism, folks sitting on the other side also have their views on the stuff they have seen, experienced or heard in their country of origin. What's wrong with that?

• What's wrong with an NRI complaining about rude and atrocious behavior of Chennai Autos, who seem to have scant respect for their clients and the law of the land. Is it not true?
  
• What's wrong with an NRI complaining about the infrastructure woes of Chennai or India? Aren't they not true?
• What's wrong with an NRI complaining about the corrupt political system of India? Isn't it the biggest bane of the Indian society today?

Why get defensive about these stuff? Why not have the strength to face it rather than sulk. India should face up to these issues and fix them and make it the best possible place for anyone to live and cherish anywhere in the world.

I don't see anything wrong with anyone pointing out any issues. It is up to the respective parties to evaluate and use as they see fit.

R2I - Relocating to India?

Relocating to India ? This article might help..

This article talks about financial side of moving across countries. Neither am I good it nor do I understand many of the finer nuances of financial management mentioned in this article. Nevertheless, I think it would be worth your while to just browse through the article.

Skills Crunch

Skills Crunch
It is frightening see to how major IT companies are looking to multiply their employees strength by hundred of thousands in the coming months and years. While the whole logistics issue of ramping up infrastructure to make them productive is mind boggling, what is a big challenge even before that is the whole hiring process. It is true that , every job opening posting still elicits thousands of resumes, finding qualified resources out of that is a real problem. I have been working very closely with Indian IT market in the last fews months and is feeling the skills crunch firsthand.

And, I hear this problem is across all disciplines of IT industry from the leading edge to low edge. Every year, India churns out several thousands of graduates but the employability of these freshly minted graduates is questionable. Industry needs to invest couple of years to make them employable and by the time they are ready, they jump ship which is another major problem afflicting Indian IT industry.

Because of the hyper activity in the market now, attrition is all time high in the IT industry. People switch jobs for all kinds of reason and the IT head hunters welcome them with open arms, no questions asked. This constant churning has led to a whole new industry of companies that specialize in recruiting in boat loads and are having a field day.

IT industry badly needs a neutral governing body that can give out reliable information about candidates confidentially. Currently, the dependability of resumes received rather is low and several fronts from skills to work experience. This leads to lot unnecessary cautionary activities jacking up the hiring cost. I constantly hear about new hires being 'let go / fired' within first few months as the information provided by them cannot be reliably verified.

Like anything else, there is no short term fix for this problem, but the Indian Government and the IT industry must put their heads together now to chalk out some resolution. It has to start from the educational institutions to refocus curriculum on learnability / employability to infrastructure and a whole lot more.

Now, who is taking this to-do?

Most Visited Website

Most Visited Website..
If someone asked me about the most visited website from work, I would have blurted google yahoo msn, youtube etc., But never in the world would have said shaadi. But, that's exactly what I heard from the infrastructure guys of a major IT company in India.

Hey!!! Don't look at as though I am from another planet. I am not in the market and I have no clue on these things. I found my partner 15+ years back and have no intentions of changing.

Water Woes

Water Woes
After a long wait, Cauvery tribunal gave its verdict in one of the longest running water disputes of the world, and it is not going to solve the problem. Regardless of which way the verdict went, one of the party would have been aggrieved and its the turn of Karnataka this time. But, if the past is any indication, Karnataka wouldn't abide this verdict and would find some way to appeal or dilly dally. The solution for this and similar problems is not with the courts or tribunals but with Indian political leadership and their long term vision.

Tamil Nadu is a perennially water starved and has water related issue with all its neighbors. If it is Cauvery with Karnataka and Palar with Andhra Pradesh, it is Mullai Periyar with Kerala. Every state will and justifiably so will look for its own parochial ends before they would release even one liter of water.

So, what is the solution?
It is not going to come easy and not before more bloodshed and economic loss. But, solution can be found if Indian political leaders put their mind to it and set aside parochial and short term views. One solution that has been discussed for several decades is the grandiose national water grid. But if that is too big to take on, then let there be some regional or even intra state linkage of rivers.

Of course, this is not going to solve the problem overnight and not even over couple of years, but as they say "thousand mile journey starts with one step at a time".

This water problem is not only amongst states but also between countries. India has water sharing issues with both Pakistan and Bangladesh. In fact, it is predicted that the future wars will over over water resources which is becoming scarce and in some countries already costlier than gas (petrol).

So, it would augur well for the Indian states to act in a matured way and not let anger hijack the emotive issue, as it would only lead to human and economic loss. Schools and IT establishments have already been shut leading to economic loss, but I hope it stops there and not get in to blood letting and mayhem. That would only lead to further animosity and ill will and not solve the problem in anyway.

Travelog # 27 - A Communist Welcome

What is the first thing you see as you get out Customs in Beijing Airport? Starbucks. Yes, The Communist capital welcomes you with a Capitalist symbol. (Look closer and you will see the Starbucks sign. I wanted to take another picture, but a stern looking officer asked me to put down my camera.)
Welcome to Communism today.. Will anyone tell this to the Communists in India? Its time they woke up and smelt the coffee.

ps: Back in Beijing, after a longgggggggg flight from Chicago. Its around 40F and pretty hazy. more later..

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff With Your Family

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff With Your Family

Richard Carlson has written a number of books in the Don't Sweat series and I finally finished this one early last week. I have been lugging in my backpack for a while and glad to have finally read it through. One advantage with Mr. Carlson's work is that, each section is not more than 2 - 3 pages long and it is easy to read a few sections now and connect later.

I have read a few of his books and looking forward to read a few more. Each time I read his book, he helps me refocus on the important things in life and become a little bit calmer (have a long way go..). His message is simple, straightforward and encourages us to not to take stuff seriously (any stuff..). Most importantly, he talks about the importance of acceptance, appreciation and love. His messages though are common sense are NOT common practice.

He has written a series of books in the 'Don't Sweat the small stuff' series and is quite simple in its message: Love your family unconditionally. He suggests simple ways in which this could be accomplished as well. Thanks to Google, we can read the first 19 sections online.

PS: As I was digging around on the net to write this post, I learnt about the sudden demise of Richard Carlson in December of last year. It left me dumbfounded for a few moments and I don't think have gotten over it yet. He left his own trail as he walked the earth and lived a life devoted to peace, love, and the betterment of humanity. Mr. Carlson has touched my life in several ways like millions of others he did while he was in this earth. May his soul rest in peace and may God be with his family.

He died of heart attack while flying from SFO to NYC to promote his new book "Don't Get Scrooged: How to Thrive in a World Full of Obnoxious, Incompetent, Arrogant and Downright Mean-Spirited People."

Richard Carlson encouraged us to

"Ask yourself: Is there any way I can become even more loving than I am? Can I fill my heart with more loving kindness? Can you, despite the fact that there are less than perfect people in our world, think loving thoughts about yourself and about others? Spread that love around as far as your mind will allow!"

and.. I encourage you to try any of his book. It has helped me lot and I am sure it will help you too..

Let me end this post as Richard Carlson always ends his correspondence "Treasure Yourself'".

Turning to God?

It is interesting to see an avowed atheist like Mr. Karunanidhi hosting massive felicitation functions for some of the prominent God man (and woman) who breathe and preach theism. The masterful spin doctor he is, Mr. Karunanidhi has his own skillful way of explaining all this. But, his very action of sharing the same platform with Sai Baba or Amma was unthinkable even a few months back. But then, such is the unpredictable ways of the two dominant Dravidian parties of Tamil Nadu.

Ms. Jayalalithaa (Amma), though heads the other major Dravidian party, has been open about her belief in God. In fact her party followers do all kinds of penance for the 'wellbeing' of their leader.

On the other hand, Mr. Karunanidhi has been steadfast in his atheist belief for a long time (50+ year !!!) and it is interesting to see him steering his party also from the bedrock of Dravidian party beliefs.

ps: Regardless of his motivation/s, I applaud Mr. Karunanidhi for having the 'courage' to thank the service work done by the organizations headed by Sai Baba and Amma.

Travelog # 26 - What's News in North America?

I am in Toronto now where it is equally cold like it was in Boston and Columbus. Moving beyond the weather, here is what I have been hearing and seeing a lot in US & Canadian media in the last few days.

Debt Consolidation:
On my way from the Airport, I was flipping through the stations and parked myself for over an hour (got stuck in the 401 / 404 rush hour traffic) in an ethnic radio station (101.3 ?). It was playing lot of Hindi songs but was catering mainly to people of Pakistani origin. Every other commercial was about bankruptcy and debt consolidation service. This was followed by equally frequent commercials for Indian / Pakistani Restaurants and driving institutes.

How much does Tyra Banks weigh? Really?:
This is a big news and has totally consumed mainstream media. How much Tyra Banks really weighs is now a national obsession (if you believe the media).? Is she 160 or 140 pounds. Fro Larry King to Diane Sawyer everybody is talking about it. Paparazzi took some pictures of Tyra Banks in some beach and made bouquet money by selling it to Tabloids, which started this media blitz about how Tyra Banks is taking on the Tabloids and stuff..

Green House:
This has been making news for a while, but this subject is all over the media with President Bush wanting to cut down dependency on foreign oil by 20%

Let us build on the work we've done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years. When we do that we will have cut our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East.

Now, everybody is talking about 'alternate fuel', but American love for cars, personal space is as strong as ever. All one has to do is to, just take one look at the cars on the road and the occupancy. Newer and bigger gas gazzlers are dominating the roads and 90+% of them have single occupancy (driver only). Without a hard look at the driving habits, it is difficult to reduce energy consumption (though automobiles are not the only ones consuming oil, they are definitely a major consumer..)

Will US invade Iran?
Talk shows are having a field day on this subject. From a definitive yes to no to everything in between is discussed, analyzed and debated. Given America's bitter experience with Iraq, I earnestly hope, President Bush doesn't open another front. This will be a serious mistake and only make the alienation of Middle East complete. But then, President Bush might as well..

The drumbeat began during Mr. Bush’s recent speech on Iraq, when he vowed to “seek out and destroy” Iranian and Syrian networks he said were arming and training anti-American forces. Mr. Bush also announced that he was sending a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. Hours earlier, American troops raided an Iranian diplomatic office in Iraq. If anyone missed the point, aides let it be known that the president had authorized the military to kill or capture Iranian operatives in Iraq