Why we might never become a great nation ?
At the Frankfurt Airport recently, I sat down for a coffee. As all tables were occupied, I ended up joining an American returning from Dubai. Well, it turns out, he was coming back from Iraq. He works for some recontruction firm and has seen eight of his colleagues (or was it his employees ?) getting killed in recent past, the last one just a few weeks away. Less than fifteen feet away. Right in front of his eyes. He used to work for army earlier and said the only difference from then to now is that he doesn’t have a gun. Why is he there ? I think a nation does not become great by its policies and moves (howsoever controversial they might be). I think a nation becomes great when people are willing to sacrifice their comfort and...
We are the best ! (?)
OK, I’ve been away for some weeks, but then I don’t get too many fanmails (or even flamemails) on this blog. But, I would love to get your feedback, if any. I was off to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore on a 11N / 12D tour with my family. It was a great getaway from the constant Bangalore traffic and a wonderful destresser. As an Indian, whenever you step out of home to any foreign country, you come back with a lot of mixed feelings. Most of the countries have limited natural resources (compared to India) but they put in humongous efforts to create a very beautiful environment, theme parks, artificial lakes and jungles, end-to-end carpeted roads, etc. Take the night safari in Singapore - it is supposed to be the only one of its kind in the world. Singapore...
On-the-move Com (or On the Move Commerce)
Here’s what I think the future supermalls would be: there is no security, there are no security cameras, there might be minimal staff to help you (it is possible that to differentiate themselves, some supermalls might try having more valets and store attendants than others – I will call this as the normal experimentation process). When you enter, a series of invisible checks will scan you: right from biometrics (to ascertain your id), to your Bluetooth / RFID / FT devices (I am using FT as a generic term for Futuristic Technology which might be in place in a few years). They will establish your correct credentials (are you a fugitive, when were you here last, what did you like and buy the last time, what you did not like, etc.) and also prepare your on-the-move-com gateways that a...
The future of mobilemails
When an email reaches you whereever you are, whatever time of the day, I call it mobilemail. Blackberry is a fine example of what is possible. It doesn’t use the boring dial-in technology whenever it has to access the server to download mails - it is always on. I am on Blackberry now for the last 8-9 months and have used it while roaming nationally and internationally. It works, it simply works. I have used it on Jaipur-Delhi highway, I have used it in Honey Valley, Coorg, I have used it in Sagar University (which is on top of a hill) in MP, Central India. It works everywhere (wherever you get Airtel !). Lot of people wonder why so much hype over a mobilemail (some think it is a show-off) ? When the guy who invented photocopying technlogy went...
I am proud of my fellow Bangalorean’s civic sense !
I live on a main road in east Bangalore, which is meant to be a one-way street. From morning until late in the night, I see familied people (kids in school uniform on scooters), autos, call centre cabs, people with 18-foot long sedans - just about everyone violating the one-way rule ! Every single day ! What surprises me is how these citizens and grown-ups face up to their kids and teach them to become law-abiding citizens when they themselves break the law at every single drop of hat. I guess this is happening in every single lane of every single city in our great country. Why are we so insensitive to the environment around us ? If we can’t add to the solution, can’t we at least NOT add to the problem ?
What is the biggest reason that one looks for a new job ?
There are two answers to this question. The short question is “it depends”. More money might not be the greatest motivator for a 45-something, kids-in-college, happy familyman but even a 15% upside might be a great deal for 23-something…but even that might be a sweeping statement with its own limitations and real-life exceptions. For the long answer, read on… This has to be one of the most heavily researched and anecdotally supported topic of all times. Thousands of trees have been felled printing tons of books and research reports on this topic, and even then….we are no more wiser than we were a few years back. I see two fundamental problems: (a) Disregard for general population that we are dealing with