more about “On the street, where I live“, posted with vodpod

I’m working in reverse chronological order here.
Here is a slide show of the Ascent of Everest series of posts. This was the material I used in a PMI Footprints talk at the PMI Bangalore chapter some months back. The series of posts were elaborations of these slides (in lieu of the narrative that should accompany [...]

These guys are consistency personified. After the zuzu spots, here is one more that demand attention. The music is easy on the ear and the final frame is sheer genius.

Recently my wife force-fed Jodha Akbar to me. The movie trundled along passably well without making any deep inpression until the lone gem buried in this costume drama flicked on the screen.
This sublime A. R. Rahman fugue for three voices (all three voices being A. R. Rahman’s) combined with brilliant visuals and a dramatic, understated choreography lifted this intense song sequence way above the rest of the film.

The making of Khwaja Mere Khwaja
Last month, I was tremendously surprised to see Star Screen Awards recognize this song sequence with the Best Choreography award. Didn’t quite expect an Indian jury to reward understatement (the awards program itself was of course loud, garish and completely gross).

The USA continues to be the most interesting country in the world at this point in time what with the inauguration of an intelligent, articulate president (who happens to be black) and now the closure of the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention camp:
President Obama took dramatic steps yesterday to reverse Bush administration policies on the detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists, ordering the closure of the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and banning the use of controversial CIA interrogation techniques.
- Obama Reverses Bush Policies On Detention and Interrogation, The Washington Post, Jan 23, 2009
If you think Guantanamo Bay came to the forefront on American national conscience after 9/11, you are mistaken.
A 1992 Hollywood movie - A Few Good Men - put the spotlight on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, for all the wrong reasons and presaged what was to come post 9/11.
Watch Jack Nicholson defend misuse of authority, power and patriotism in a powerful and ambiguous monologue:

It is very easy to imagine Barack Obama and Donald Rumsfeld taking away completely different messages from this monologue!

While on the topic of innovation, recently I read a book by C. K. Prahalad - The New Age of Innovation - which has it’s core a pair of nerdy equations:  N=1, R=G.
Right at the beginning of the book, Prahalad presents the following outlandish idea:
Consider an alternative in which the manufactures do not sell tires by charge for services. They contract with fleet owners to charge per mile of usage. The pricing contract will be based on the type of use, influenced by general factors such as the type of loads (for example, heavy loads), typical route structures (for example, through cities or across long distances), and individual characteristics of fleet owners, such as  the training of drivers and therefore the quality of driving, the maintenance of correct tire pressure, and the quality of servicing, such as tire rotation. The tire as a product still exists and is at the core of the business. However the revenue is based on tire usage, not on a one time tire sale.
The retail business shifts from a transaction base (selling a tire) to an ongoing relationship (continuous and ongoing measurements of usage and ability to provide feedback on better usage specific to a user) with the consumer.
In spite of Prahalad stating that Goodyear and Bridgestone are experimenting with the above idea, my first reaction was “Nah! Does not make sense.”
Until I saw what Anu Solar is upto in Bangalore:

Presenting i-HOT.
i-HOT is a revolutionary Metered Water Heating Service that offers you a gamut of advantages. To begin with, when you opt for the connection, you pay only for the hot water you use. Nothing more, nothing less. What’s more, you get hot water any time, any day. Add to it, you can be assured of peace of mind as you will not be required to spend any time, money or effort maintaining it. Also, you could save up to 75% on your water heating costs. And, you get all of this by just paying a nominal refundable security deposit.
- i-HOT Water Heating Service, Anu

I met with Vijay Mampilly, front desk manager at the Serai, Chikmagalur during my vacation there a few months back.
Vijay is a rarity in the hospitality business. He takes the tourism trade quite seriously and spends significant time and energy exploring and discovering lesser known sites that are of interest from a historic / archaeological / cultural perspective. Having moved to Karnataka from Kerala recently, he is now in the process of scouting the Hassan district of Karnataka and sent me these wonderful photographs of the Arasikere Temple and the Arekere Temple. 

I have been trying to get Vijay to blog about these sites but have not succeeded in convincing him yet. Hence, I have to be satisfied with these photographs. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words!

A glacier is a large, slow-moving mass of ice, formed from compacted layers of snow, that slowly deforms and flows in response to gravity and high pressure.
- Wikipedia
Ever seen a glacier? No? Welcome to an up-close look at the Fox Glacier, New Zealand (photographs from a 2006 trip):

No, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is indeed a temperate rainforest on both sides of the glacier:
At 13kms, Fox Glacier is the longest of the awe-inspiring New Zealand West Coast glaciers. At its head, soaring peaks of over 3,000m (10,000ft) dominate the vista. These include Aoraki (Mt Cook) and Mt Tasman, which, weather permitting, can be viewed on our heli-hiking experience. This mighty moving river of ice falls 2,600 metres, or a little over 8,000ft, on its journey from the base of the Southern Alps to the West Coast. New Zealand’s West Coast glaciers are unique and probably the most accessible glaciers in the world, as they terminate amongst temperate rainforest just 250m above sea level. So special is this mountain environment, that it forms part of the South Westland World Heritage Area. 
- Fox Glacier Guiding
And yes, the weather is always much better in the tourist brouchers than in real life! Yet, this was easily one of the most memorable vacation experiences I ever had anywhere.

I saw a Cisco Telepresence ad on TV recently and it got me curious. Then I found the following magical demo on Youtube! That too considering it was executed live in India which is well known for absolutely rotten, fail-sure infrastructure.

Just yesterday I was on a video conference with my colleagues in Chennai and I could not see any of their faces clearly. That is the reality today. Is this telepresence future for real? Has Cisco really cracked the bandwidth puzzle? Or is there some sleight of hand going on here?

Source: After the Crisis: A Parody of 15 Corporate Logos

It is nice to see the USA firmly put aside the Big Mistake and elect a diametrically opposite personality - intelligent, thoughtful, articulate, mature - to the highest office. It is nice to be able to respect the USA once again!
Despite his relative youth, I believe and hope that Barak Obama will restore the dignity of the office of the President of the United States which George Bush (and even his predecessor) had done so much to damage.

Atticus Finch and Jem Scout, To Kill A Mockingbird, posted with vod

more about “Chandrayaan-1“, posted with vodpod

This guy is very impressive. More impressive than the two candidates!
(Sorry, I am unable to get rid of the advertisement which sometimes precedes the video)

I wish our electorate was more like this Joe the Plumber. Particularly when he refuses to disclose who he is going to vote for.