Tid Bit from My Diary

A quick illustration created to support the post S oon enough our lives and everything that we do are going to be uberized, but are we going to be ready when that happens. Let’s start at the beginning by asking what this new word is. Uberization is the new buzz word, maybe not as new anymore. I remember the day in New Delhi when the term “Uber” was introduced to the younger me for the first time during the early nineties. Back then it was not a complete word by itself but came as the first part of the phrase “uber-sexual” men. It was defined as a male who has traits similar to that of a “metrosexual” but also possessed the traditional manly qualities such as confidence, strength, and class. A person who loves grooming but unlike metrosexual doesn’t leave a doubt as to his sexual orientation, an image so flaunt worthy for young men in those days! Fast forward a couple of decades and we have a new buzz. Thanks to the disruptive nature of the mobile app that have ch...

It’s not about getting annihilated. On the contrary this fire is about setting ourselves free. FIRE as a movement has increasingly grown in popularity among the millennial of the west. FIRE is the abbreviation for “Financial Independence, Retire Early” . This trend is gaining further traction because freedom from the shackles of “work for living” existence allows an individual to chase his/her passion. Who wouldn't agree that creativity and innovation blossoms where the mind is without fear and the time is our own. But how to reach there? The proponent of the FIRE movement suggest the “4% rule” as a guide . It is another name for “ Trinity study ”, an influential 1998 paper submitted by three professors for finance at the Trinity University. The study was to determine the “safe withdrawal rates” from the retirement portfolios containing a mix of stocks and bonds. The 4% refers to the portion of the portfolio that is withdrawn during the first year. If that...

 “ O nly thing certain about life is death” is undoubtedly a cliché that everyone has used one time or the other. As the departure date never gets added to our Google calendar, reminders are not generated and most do not consider it to be a serious reality.  But life is different once the true meaning is understood and this reality sinks within our souls. Human being makes circumstantial decisions in life based on that moment and at times makes a wrong choice. Not everyone can see the big picture all the time and I believe it’s perfectly normal. But once we realize that what we did was not appropriate, there should be no reason for not making up for it one way or the other. Given the choice, how many would be willing to regret about their life during before the final adieu . Nobody ask this question to a dying person but researchers has been collecting this data about their regrets in life from old people.   I have shortlisted 10 diverse regrets for this po...

We have a friend who could not resist buying bigger sizes clothes for her children during the seasonal sales though it will take 2-3 years for them to catch up. The prices and deals are too irresistible for her. Impulsive buyers do not limit themselves to the cash at hand but can access future income to spend today. Unfortunately most of it is spent buying stuff that were neither planned nor necessary. While some people love to brag about their ability to clinch a deal that no one could, other love to peel off the price tags to reveal the original price to make them feel good. This picture was taken at home. Deep inside, we are impulsive buyers like the child who cries for a toy in the display window. But is impulsive buying a problem? The answer is yes even if one has infinite budget or unlimited space. This disrupts the budget and leave us with little money along with stuff that we never needed. This prevents the creation of good and lasting financial habits th...

T his post is about life of antelope in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, one of the sprawling grassy plains in Africa. Because of its seasonal flooding it remains a lush animal habitat for all types of living species. Notable heavyweights among the 160 species of mammals that thrive there are the likes of hippos, elephants, crocodiles, lions, leopards, rhinos, giraffes. Also found there are Lechwe, a species of antelope family that stand 90 to 100 cm at the shoulder and weigh from 70 to 120 kg. They dominate the marshy areas feeding on aquatic plants while staying within knee-deep water to avoid the predators. With legs covered in a water-repellent substance, they have the perfect tools to run off any big cat in the knee deep water chase. The males have long spiral structured horns they use it for fighting over territory and females. The sound of one horn hitting another sends clear message to the lions that another territorial fight is in progress and they are quick to cash i...

I got introduced to the lovely sounding word “ Meraki ”  & its meaning had a great impact.  Yes, I too thought it was a Japanese word but it turned out to be Greek. For some reasons, it didn’t sound Greek to me and pun is intended! It means doing something with soul, passion and creativity. Although “Meraki” is thought to be one of the untranslatable words, we can still extract its meaning. “Work with your heart and soul” is a phrase, we grew up with while not many realized the depth of it but “Meraki” takes it deeper.  Whatever we do, do it with great love and so much passion that a part of our soul remains there . This way we are eternally connected to all that we do or create and isn’t it wonderful! Now on let’s do everything with Meraki and I have trust that the results will be nothing less than any Miracle!

I believe we need to put the ink on the paper to cement new knowledge in minds. Being from an earlier generation, I follow the analog process …. Like those good old days.  Whenever possible, I try to write, scribble or doodle on my journal like notebooks as I get along a presentation, webinar or the process of reading a book or website. While the main purpose of taking notes may be to implant the material in the mind, it serves a secondary purpose as we grow older. These notes turns into our Visual Aids every once in a while as we refer back. Being grown-ups, we can follow the subject, its logic, and sequence with relative ease but when it comes to holding it back in the memory, we are hopeless. Once a notebook runs out of space, I digitize it for convenience but it makes a difference to see my handwritten notes as compared to my MS Word typed notes on the screen.   More often than not, I can relate the time-space aspects of a handwritten note, which brings in ano...

This week we celebrate the marvelous win of Tiger Woods and there are many good reasons to do that. This is such an epic moment in history that united Donald Trump and Barak Obama in their thought and action. Tiger Wood is the sporting hero and for his fans, the fact that Tiger doesn't know them is inconsequential. He might be a mentor to a fortunate few but as a hero he will continue to lend his imaginary voice to inspire countless admirers.  In 1996, Woods became a professional golfer at the age of 20 and by the end of April 1997, he had already won three PGA Tour events and his first major. Woods was not only the dominant force in golf but his name became synonymous with the term “Winner” for decades. Having won thirteen of golf's majors, and placed in the top ten on sixteen occasions he was at the pinnacle occupying the top golfer in the world position from August 1999 to September 2004 and again from June 2005 to October 2010. His name then became synonymous w...

I wish I could use the tag line …” choose your school teacher with caution ”. The reality is that we rarely get an option to select our school, let alone who would teach us. A student has to write the answer exactly as teacher did or follow the steps of mathematics with precision to avoid deduction of marks. In such a system, a teacher has very little to contribute as the requirement is to repeat the same stuff year after year to a new set of students. This most certainly deters the bright minds from joining the profession.  The personality traits of the teachers leaves a lasting impression on the student's life but the teaching hardly does.  To inspire brighter individuals into the teaching profession, the profession itself has to be more innovative rejecting the “one size fit all” approach . We shall then have teachers who are loyal to what they do rather than how to make money.  One who never dreams of teaching while growing up will rarely find the situati...

G, O and D are three letters placed one after the other. Human being have associated a sound and meaning to this composition, if you like. Then  a variety of images and tales were intertwined to represent this in various forms and shapes. This however, is not language specific, we find it resonate in almost all languages or dialects that exist or ever existed. Conflicts apart, we have the right to have our own meaning and understanding of what GOD represents in whichever language and that’s our FAITH. A very personal realization. Looking at the creation of life with all its complexities and our attempt to replicate bits or pieces of  this complex life through engineering projects  have proved beyond doubt that there is someone out there with much superior know-how. Know-how, knowledge, wisdom or power whatever way we choose to define. Whether they constantly monitor us or listens to our prayers will probably remain a mystery to be solved at the aftermath of this li...