Chariot of the Sun

44 - Random Thoughts

2011-08-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

Corruption - worldwide - is but a symptom of the deeply rooted spiritual bankruptcy in society. Society and individuals lack the moral strength to withstand onslaught of material desires. As Gandhi is supposed to have said "There is enough for everyone's need; there is not enough for one man's greed".Social and political protests may only replace one ruling order by another. But they cannot treat

43 - Two wheelers and Motorists in Pune

2010-04-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

Dear All,Just am back from a personal visit to Pune. It is a nice city but quickly losing its older charm. The emerging industries, IT companies and others in and around Pune has attracted large scale emigration from all parts of the country and has increased crowds, congestion and pollution. In few more years it is going to become a dying city like Mumbai. But as usual, this is all off-topic.

42. More on Seven Habits

2010-03-29T11:15:00.001-07:00

Dear All,Thank you for coming back today. In my last post I was ruminating about a few books I read and I mentioned Stephen Covey's book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". I first read it when I was a school kid and found it to be a really well written and entertaining book. Really liked it but like the proverbial cock and the diamond, at that point since I could not eat (digest) it, the

41. Some readings and some musings

2010-03-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

Dear All,I wrote earlier about reading some interesting books across last year. Some thoughts collected from those readings ... Perhaps, it all started when I got an article about "10X Change" and strategic inflection points. Led me to the first book "Only the Paranoid Survive" by Andy Grove of Intel. An excellent book

40. some reading and some introspection

2010-03-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Dear AllHaven't posted much in the last few months - perhaps only 2 or 3 posts in all of last year. Updated my Teletechgyan after a gap of 2 years. But all that (or most of it at least) was not due to laziness.Part of it was of course, due to my introduction to Twitter. Twitter is the lazy man's blog - microblog to be precise. To a large extent devoid of any purpose - even aimless if I may say so

Have we forgotten Burma and Tibet?

2009-05-25T01:14:00.000-07:00

In the last few days we have been reading news about Nobel Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's strange misfortunes in Burma (Myanmar). The heroic lady has been in prison for years now - two decades in fact since 1989 - and just as the term seems over, some mystery swimmer puts her back on Square One. What has been happening in Burma and why is the world ignoring it for most part? Is it really an

Nutty predictions

2008-12-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

Hi All"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers". That was an IBM prediction in 1943 - which is today counted among the 10 worst predictions ever. Now IBM is at it again - predicting that is and I guess it has bettered its crystal ball since 1943 ...CIO India reports some of the IBM predictions in its third annual Five by Five list. One of the predictions that got my attention was

Creator of the Kohinoor?

2008-09-30T02:38:00.001-07:00

Hi AllI had a fun time last two weeks as I joined a conducted tour of Europe. Travelled through 7 countries in the last 14 days. One of the tourist attractions was the Coster Diamond Factory in Amsterdam. Its a nice place with lot of informative and sales stuff on diamonds and related jewellery. They seem to be good at their work and one of their claims-to-fame is that many years back Moses Elias

36. Notes on Information Systems Architecture

2008-09-02T01:35:00.000-07:00

Hi All,I have been learning a little bit about Information System Architectures and the start point just has to be the Zachman Framework. Perhaps the Zachman Framework is to Architectures what the Deming Quality Cycle appears to be all Management consulting. Of course some of my friends call it the “Hamster Wheel of Pain” but that’s another story …An interesting extract from the article (that I

35. Web Version 2

2008-08-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

So, what does Web 2.0 mean to you? Some of us know it only as a jargon that seems to be catching up to Internet users. Some of us may think it as yet another "IT" thing floating around. Some honest ones will admit to not having heard much. But rejoice ... if you are reading this you are already part of Web 2.0 :-) So also when you login to Orkut or LinkedIN, search for that elusive bit of detail

34. Wonderful Leela of Shri Sai

2008-07-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Few months back, I was reading one of the chapters in Shri Sai Satcharitra - the wonderful life and teachings of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi. At one point, there is a story of how a devotee starts reading the Guru Charitra - which describes the wonderful incarnations of Shri Dattatreya and the beautiful relationships between Guru and Disciples.A desire awakened that I should also read the

33. Link to Online SaiCharitra

2008-07-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

Since I posted last year about Guru Pournima, I noticed a stream of visitors on this blog who were referred through searching Google for the words "Guru Pournima" or were searching the web for images of Sadguru, Shri Sai Baba. Knowingly or unknowingly if this blog entry has been of use to Sai-bhaktas around the world, I can only consider it my good fortune.Following are some more links which may

32. Tungaska Event

2008-06-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hi AllDid you know that an explosion about 1000 times as strong as the Hiroshima bomb rocked the earth just 100 years ago - on June 30 1908 - years before the World Wars? And the culprit was not any superpower country but good old Mother Nature?The Tungaska event is described as the strongest significant meteorite airburst (the comet / meteorite / whatever it was ... just about kissed the earth

31. Oil and Gas Industry Information Links

2008-06-29T03:31:00.000-07:00

Hi AllCame across a very good question on LinkedIN today related to study resources for beginners to the Oil and Gas industry. Thanks to Mr. Jesse Pickard who initated this question and to 15 people who have given some excellent resources for study. I am bookmarking this question - hope you are too ...Best RegardsGautam

In memory of the immortal Queen

2008-06-17T02:26:00.000-07:00

Hi AllI havent posted anything here since the start of this year and my apologies to all of you for the delay. Today is the 150th anniversary of the martyrdom of one of the greatest patriots - Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi. Which Indian has not been moved as a child by the story of this Queen riding to her death with her child tied behind her back? There are some moments, words, events which never

Entrepreneurship

2007-12-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

Hi AllToday I read a small query on LinkedIN by one Mr. Alexander Zachary "Why aspire to be an Entrepreneur?"Peter Nguyen has provided a beautiful response here ... As I have linked to earlier I am a fan of Peter's blogs such as Real Time Success Secrets and I-wrote-the-book-on-blogging and read and re-read them as and when possible.Thanks to both Alexander and Peter for such a wonderful

Landmines in Africa

2007-11-27T04:38:00.000-08:00

Hi All Today on LinkedIn one particular message drew my attention. Apparently it was some online competition asking you to enter your email ID and some details and you stand to gain some free holiday stuff. Now usually I am quite sceptical of such things and protect my details online assuming everything "guilty unless proven innocent". This time also I have not entered the competition and would

Return to Google SpamoCop

2007-08-12T11:25:00.001-07:00

Hi AllLast month I wrote about being flagged by Blogger's spam classifier for my Teletechgyan blog. The Google team wrote back the same day saying" Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and cleared for regular use so that it will no longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and sign back in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your patience, and we apologize

Security by Obscurity

2007-08-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Hi All,A lot of expatriates in Kuwait - particularly Indians - use the Jazeera airways. Cheap, sorry low-cost, airline. And a lot of them book tickets for spouses travelling to and from home, parents, in-laws and siblings visiting them and so on ...Recently I tried using my credit card to book a journey for my in-laws from Mumbai to Kuwait via Jazeera Airways. I was surprised by some pop-up

Guru Pournima

2007-07-27T03:38:00.000-07:00

Hi AllSunday, July 29, 2007 is the auspicious date of Guru-Pournima. While for a disciple, every date has the same importance in terms of regards and respects for his/ her Guru or teacher, Guru-Pournima has a particular significance as it signifies the relationship of love and care between the teacher and disciple.The Hindu culture and religions accord the highest place of worship to the Guru

Spam Gyan?

2007-07-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hi AllThis afternoon I was quite dismayed to find my blog on telecom information being blocked as a spam blog !!!I have no real clue why this has happened. Whether I have offended one of the robot's rules or I am having too many bookmarks in the posts (believe me every single one of them is valuable ... if one has the time to read ...) or just plain bad luck at getting up on the wrong side of the

Yes Mrs President

2007-07-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

Finally the inevitable has come true ... India's first woman president, Mrs. Pratibha Patil. We may have wanted her to win the election or we may not have ... but now that she has, we stand united behind her.We only hope that she will live up to the wonderful personality of outgoing President APJ Abdul Kalam and the hope and inspiration he lighted up among thousands and lakhs of Indians in India

LinkedIN Answers

2007-07-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

Hi All,I managed to make it to the front page of the LinkedIN Answers section. Hmm .. you have to scroll down all the way to the bottom to see it ... and I wont be there for more than few hours as others join in and march ahead ...So whats the big deal?Other than some unabashed self promotion and visibility (I received emails and invites from some very high quality members of LinkedIN), it also

Recycle

2007-06-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

Just my two-pence for the green ...Please see the next two URLs and see what you can do ...http://www.reducerubbish.govt.nz/recycle/tips.html http://www.foe.co.uk/living/poundsavers/top_tips_waste.htmlBest Luck ...Best Regards ...

People -- Assets or Stakeholders?

2007-05-28T02:13:00.000-07:00

Someone asked an interesting question today on LinkedIN. It went something like "Does anyone really believe that people are the most important assets for an organization?"It reminds me that one of the first principles of COBIT is that IT Resources includes "people" (along with "applications", "information" and "infrastructure"). So also other literature and best practice guidance classifies

Business Acumen for Security professionals

2007-05-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had that experience when you keep thinking of something for a long long time ... maybe months sometimes ... and then something totally unrelated points you into the right direction ?(Yeah I know I sound like Archimedis and Kekule, but no, I haven't made any discoveries yet).What I was referring to was an excellent excellent article here http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/

A car is just a machine to get from point A to point B

2007-04-24T04:52:00.000-07:00

Hmm ... I am definitely not a car lover (btw that's both my wife's and my father-in-law's biggest disappointment in me ) but hey, when a 76 year old leader is upstaged from the market, one has to sit up and take notice ... Thats about Toyota finally getting ahead of GM in global vehicle sales. Okay quickly, Toyota just managed 2.35 million to GM's global 2.26 ... so GM who has been the world

Blackberry blackout

2007-04-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

Last week's Blackberry blackout refreshes two important lessons for IT Operations.First is ofcourse never deploy without adequate testing. RIM went on record to state that the outage on Tuesday/ Wednesday which left millions of users affected was caused by an untested (or atleast 'not tested sufficiently enough') system update. Talk about explanation being worse than crime ...http://www.topix.net

Business Continuity Management

2007-04-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

BSI has recently come up with a new standard for Business Continuity Management (BCM) -- the BS25999 ... This is a continuity of PAS 56 which is now withdrawn. You can buy the standard here at http://www.bsi-global.com/en/Shop/Publication-Detail/?pid=000000000030157563In step with it, The BCI (Business Continuity Institute) has updated its Good Practice Guideline (GPG) which is available for free

Tips for a successful Blog

2007-04-16T05:09:00.000-07:00

A question today on LinkedIN (not from me) put into words exactly what I had been thinking ... how to build a great blog.The answers are still coming in but the initial ones pointed to a couple of very good links at:http://www.avivadirectory.com/successful-blog-launch/?p=1 (21 Surefire Tips ... a very interesting compilation of tips for the new blogger. Hope I manage to follow it well.)http://

Telecom Gyan Blog

2007-04-11T02:25:00.000-07:00

Taking a cue from Peter's post ( http://iwrotethebookonblogging.blogspot.com/2007/03/44-if-you-dont-know-who-you-are-writing.html ) , I decided to set up another blog. This one for those who want to learn about and discuss Telecom Industry -- both technology and Operational processes.Btw, I strongly recommend reading Peter Nguyens blogs athttp://iwrotethebookonblogging.blogspot.com/index.htmlhttp

The WC Show

2007-04-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

Uggh ... sorry if this sounds under the belt ... particularly for those who know nothing about Cricket or the World Cup ...The headline is "Sachin, Sourav questioned for poor WC show" (really ?) ... The brave can read it all at ... http://worldcup.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1850356.cmsCheersPS: Thanks to Shehryar Malik ... my Pakistani brother ... for pointing out this great headline ...

National Cricket team

2007-04-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

The below is from an email I sent this morning to a friend in reply to an email over the World Cup. Just some random thoughts.-------------------------------------------------With reference to cricket or any other sports, I really fail to see why any country (or atleast in our own context, why India) should have any 'national team'? Let me explainWhether cricket or football or hockey or even

Sudan Pictures

2007-04-02T05:51:00.000-07:00

Pictures from our Nile boat trip taken over the Blue Nile in Sudan are herehttp://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gotya101/album?.dir=/c601re2&.src=ph&.tok=phQO7cGBtUxE1.k2Hope you enjoy these ...

Khartoum - Sudan

2007-03-11T01:53:00.000-08:00

Am in Sudan! Here on official trip for MTC. But that's not what I want to write about.Came in here yesterday. Sudan seems a poor country but a very beautiful one in what I saw since yesterday. My hotel has a nice view of both the "White Nile" and the "Blue Nile" which confluence somewhere in/near Khartoum (that's where I am) and then flows on as the Nile. The roads are narrow and dusty and

Creating Passionate Users

2007-02-18T05:11:00.000-08:00

I started off posting some links from this blog to my shared items.Then the more I read, the more I wanted to share it with you ... so finally let me just recommend this blog to you all.http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/In their own words, Kathy Sierra and Dan Russell -- "The Creating Passionate Users bloggers are all fascinated by brains, minds and what science can tell us

Google Reader and sharing blogs

2007-02-15T01:23:00.000-08:00

I recently started using Google Reader. From what I am seeing its a nice piece of software which collects updates from all across the web -- particularly places like blogs and web sites which get updated at a sporadic rate.I have defined a few sites which I like to check for updates and it alerts me when there is a new post (thanks to RSS of course -- what RSS is I truly am blissfully unaware of

Still Alive

2007-02-12T01:38:00.000-08:00

I thought that I will post some apologies and some explanations putting it down to laziness etc etc as to why there is nothing new on this blog.But the objective of this space is not to spend time on regrets, gloom and repentance (that can be done in private) rather to try to make amends and move on in our quest to add some value.So for all the lost time, here is a set of links to browse through

Link of the Day - 3

2007-01-21T05:27:00.000-08:00

Yet another Link of the day to cover up for my laziness.http://www.tmforum.org/browse.aspx?catID=1648 This is an overview of the eTOM framework for telecom operators.I promise to write more about this later in this space.CheersGautam

Link of the day - 2

2007-01-15T21:58:00.000-08:00

Another lazy day and another lazy environment out here in Kuwait. Its raining since morning. Wet, cloudy and definitely anything but conducive to work. This is the type of weather to sit in the garden under a big umbrella, feel the breeze in your face and watch the clouds and the rain play tricks on your mind ... not to forget the cup of hot tea ofcourse ...Well seems great -- so that's what I

Link of the day -1

2007-01-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

Since I was too lazy -- as is to be expected -- to really post some great new information here, I thought let me just put out one good link that I have recently visited here. Will call this the link of the day and try to be regular in updating this for my readers.Link of the day -- 1http://operationalrisk.blogspot.com/ --> Blog space on Operational Risk ManagementEnjoy.

As we go

2007-01-14T05:24:00.000-08:00

Even as we said in the introduction, the intention is to spread knowledge and positive thoughts using this blog.Be aware that I have tried this before ... with very very limited success. And somewhere at back of my mind, I know that this blog space will also fall into dis-use soon. :-)Before I give you the links of previous failures (gloom ? -- no failures are stepping stones to success hence I

Introduction

2007-01-14T04:50:00.000-08:00

Let us just say Shri Ganeshay Namah !!! and start with it.Being a reader by habit, an auditor by profession, and engineer by education there is an inbuilt compulsion to conform with the practice of putting an introduction first and foremost [luckily I dont have to put an index/ table of contents here].The title to begin with -- Surya-rath : meaning the Chariot of the Sun.I remember reading a few