Thursday, October 25, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Reliving Paree - 1 month on..
“In Paris, everybody wants to be an actor; nobody is content to be a spectator.” - Jean Cocteau
My first time in Paris was nothing short of sheer brilliance. A place that has moved me the most, a place where I felt proud looking at the wonderful buildings, wonderful people & where I felt like a celebrity. It is tough to find a place which brings instant gratification when looking at buildings & cathedrals; a place which makes you feel at home instantly; a place where you feel like crying out loud to God and thank him for making "Paree". But all this ranting would have not been possible without my company Result AB. Our kick-off / meeting with other offices took place in Paris & thanks to them, I managed to party at those "hip" places rubbing arms, shoulders (& much more) with those French babes (Stockholm women are still is ahead in terms of beauty & overall complexion) and managing to convince them that an Indian is not a person who says "Wobbeling wobbeling baby" (Courtesy Russel Peters).
I managed to get just about half a day to go around Paris. My colleagues have been to Paris a dozen times at least before & they were not interested in coming for an afternoon of sightseeing; they rightly preferred to sip some wine instead. So with no time to lose, I decided to take a map & with the help of my French colleagues at Result, managed to mark those must see places, took out my camera & started on what turned out to be one of the best "afternoon with myself enjoying my own company". Our French office is located right at Champs-Élysées. Champs-Élysées kicks your mood to dizzying heights - Place de la Concorde in the east, with its obelisk, to the Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly the Place de l'Étoile) in the west, location of the Arc de Triomphe. Literally translated as the most beautiful street in the world, it is the home for thousands of bars, restaurants, clothing outlets & with millions of visitors flocking on the street, on bi-cycles, on cars & those sight seeing buses, it is hard to control your urge to jump about pinching yourself that "You are in Paris my boy" or as in ratatouille, ask yourself time & again "Am I in Paris?".
I spent about 30 minutes taking pictures around the street ( & in the process drained my battery life heavily only to find my camera dying near Louvre towards the fag end of my evening). The train system is excellent & very detailed which meant that getting around every nook & corner in the city was darn simple. My first stop was Eiffel Tower. I had to walk quite a bit to view the Eiffel. My walk encompassed 2 museums forming an arch on the front side of the Eiffel. Once you come into open air, you will the find the tower slowly but gracefully appearing to your eye balls - now its time your heart skips couple of beats. I had goosebumps all over my body, shocked & dazed by the sheer magnificence of the sight, it took me more than 5 minutes, more than 1 knock over my shoulder to get me back crashing to earth from the ecstatic state I was in. I then ignored requests from strangers to capture some pictures for them & instead ran down to get close to Eiffel. The sight just got better & better as you went closer & it just made me feel smaller as I got closer. The height was dizzying, the image was daunting & those souvenirs shops outside the Eiffel just makes your experience complete. Those key chains, those shirts with the Eiffel tower, those postcards, the French flag - I just wished I could take home everything. Once I got near the Eiffel, the queue was so long that I did not have the patience nor the time to wait to get on the building. I was not saddened to not get up the Eiffel, as I knew for sure that I will come back to Paris before I get back to Singapore; I also would have to keep some unvisited sights for someone who will be joining me in my second trip to Paris & who loves Paris much more than I do. It would not be an understatement to say that I enjoyed Paris not just because it was "Paris" nor because I have read about Paris & its beauty before, but probably because of this person's sheer excitement & energy when talking about Paris. The wait for this trip is not long & the prospects look out of the world to say the least.
I managed to get some views of nortre dame , Louvre & walked along the river seine, got myself a charcoal portrait (picture below), all this to treasure those 3 days of my life - where I was in an extreme state of excitement, where work combined with excitement, where everything fell into place, where the screamings on the train (not to open the door just because it was so full) did not scare me but surprisingly amused me, where I felt proud to have French friends who have always been humble about Paris, where I met so many people along the way, got so many friends & more so felt this was truly a place where I would love to spend some years of my life, enjoying life, enjoying love & most importantly enjoying the beautiful sight of Paree.
More pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/mahesh427
Live on Paris!!!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
5 Web Ways to Shake Up Your Thinking
Sometimes you’ll feel stuck and stagnant just when you need to come up with new ideas or new approaches. What to do? Try these websites and pages to shake up your thinking.
Approach from a different angle. Musician Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies are a set of cards with short phrases that cryptically suggest how you should for approach whatever problem you are facing. They’re called oblique because they tackle the problem sideways instead of head-on. You can draw just one and then figure out how it applies to your current project even if it seems it doesn’t, or you can keep drawing until you get one that resonates with you.
You can get the Oblique Strategies in a bunch of different ways: as a deck of cards, with a Mac Dashboard widget, but best of all on a web page. Here’s the one I drew for this morning: “Overtly resist change.”
Infuse your mind with cool. Emily Chang’s PicoCool blog finds “tiny and obscure content from the world of peer media, social networks and subcultures.” Browse the blog or subscribe to the RSS feed for products, photos, and other creations that will shake up your thinking. For example, check out the bathtub-shaped SPA memo pad holder with a little bather relaxing Calgon-style. Just looking at his (her?) bulbous head makes me feel more relaxed and open to good ideas.
Hack your creativity. Scott Berkun, author of The Myths of Innovation, offers tons of advice on creative thinking on his blog including Creative thinking hacks. I like his advice to “switch modes” when you’re feeling stuck. I’m a writer and avid reader, but I also paint — and painting refreshes my thinking when I can’t absorb or produce another word. He also suggests starting an idea journal and finding a way to turn your mind off for a while so your subconscious can work on the problem.
Find pithy wisdom. Interesting quotes can make you think in new and different ways. My favorite quotes site is Don’t Quote Me, because it makes it really easy to browse quotes for a specific topic like creativity, management, and risk.
Seed your thinking with images. Flickr’s Interestingness page shows you “interesting” photos from the last 7 days, defined by some proprietary algorithm that takes into account a number of factors: “Where the clickthroughs are coming from; who comments on it and when; who marks it as a favorite; its tags and many more things which are constantly changing.” The images on this page (or those you find in other places) can provide fodder for your visual brain which might think of something your verbal brain didn’t or couldn’t.
From: http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/10/08/5-web-ways-to-shake-up-your-thinking/
Making MS & Google talk to each other
If you’re a Microsoft Outlook user and a Google Calendar or GMail user (I use all three) did you know that you can synchronize your GMail Contacts and Google Calendar with Outlook, saving you from having to jump between multiple applications all the time? The process is very easy, and also free.
Syncing Google Calendar with Outlook. Although you can do it without getting help from a separate software application, the easiest way to synchronize your Google Calendar with Outlook is to use a slick piece of open source software called Remote Calendars. You can download it for free.
First, with Outlook closed, extract and run the Remote Calendars application, then open Outlook. You’ll have a new toolbar available with “RC” written in the background on it:
On the toolbar, click the plus sign, to subscribe to a non-Outlook calendar. Then open up a separate browser session and go to calendar.google.com. Click on the down arrow next to the calendar that you want to synch and choose Calendar Settings. Right-click on the ICAL icon and select either Copy Shortcut or Copy Link Location.
Next, go back into Outlook and paste the URL into Remote Calendar’s URL prompt. Name your calendar, and you’re done. Whenever you want your Google Calendar information updated in Outlook, click on the second icon on the Remote Calendar application’s toolbar, which likes like the Refresh button in your web browser. That’s it! You can also use Remote Calendar to keep multiple Google Calendars synched with Outlook.
Syncing GMail Contacts with Outlook. The easiest way to sync GMail Contacts with Outlook is to import your GMail Contacts file into Outlook. To export your Contacts file to a .CSV file, in GMail go to Contacts/All Contacts/Export/Outlook CSV/Export Contacts.
To import the .CSV file into Outlook, go to the File menu and choose Import from another program or file. Select CSV (Windows), Browse, Next, Contacts, Next and Finish. Very easy.
From:
http://webworkerdaily.com/2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Slow down la u. Too stressful la..Walave!!
From CNN.com - Pedestrians all over the world are moving faster than a decade ago, according to scientists who have conducted a study into the pace at which people walk.
Here is a list, in order, of the cities ranked by the speeds at which people walk:
1) Singapore (Singapore)
2) Copenhagen (Denmark)
3) Madrid (Spain)
4) Guangzhou (China)
5) Dublin (Ireland)
6) Curitiba (Brazil)
7) Berlin (Germany)
8) New York (U.S.)
9) Utrecht (Netherlands)
10) Vienna (Austria)
11) Warsaw (Poland)
12) London (United Kingdom)
13) Zagreb (Croatia)
14) Prague (Czech Republic)
15) Wellington (New Zealand)
16) Paris (France)
17) Stockholm (Sweden)
18) Ljubljana (Slovenia)
19) Tokyo (Japan)
20) Ottawa (Canada)
21) Harare (Zimbabwe)
22) Sofia (Bulgaria)
23) Taipei (Taiwan)
24) Cairo (Egypt)
25) Sana (Yemen)
26) Bucharest (Romania)
27) Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
28) Damascus (Syria)
29) Amman (Jordan)
30) Bern (Switzerland)
31) Manama (Bahrain)
32) Blantyre (Malawi)
Folks, calm down. Take life slow & easy. Do no kill yourself by being "Singaporeanly fast". The world is looking at the Asian giants and Singapore forms a nice connecting bridge between the Indians & Chinese. This clearly means Singapore as a country although does not move or affect the global economy, is indeed considered a force to be with. Now, if people leave Singapore just because the country is fast paced, you could argue that each country has its own set of characteristics and Singaporeans have theirs - to be "living & coping with stress" every minute.
Frankly, I am a great fan of the island nation and to an extent the way the things are done. I do not fully agree when some of my Singaporean friends bicker the government accusing of inflation, red tape and what not. But my friends, each country has its own & if not a bigger pie of shit to deal with. Every country swallows the shit and looks at ways of getting it out of their system and throwing it into the ocean somewhere. Singapore to the world looks like the best place on earth right now - it is the gateway to the Asian wonderlands - Thai, Malay, Indian & Chinese, it it developing in terms of tourism from being a place of transit to the Tasmanian delights, to a place of long term stay. I would frankly not mind settling down in Singapore - as it is comfort at your door step. Mind you, all this comfort comes from fair bit of putting yourself on the line & making sure you overwork for years together or have exceptional qualifications (pref from outside Singapore & from the Pacific side. No I did not name the country. You ll have to guess the answer for the tough question) and dominate the scene. It is either you make it "bang bang" or take your time until which you ll have more than 1 "can I go and bang myself for being here" incidents.Nevertheless Europe is one hell of a place to settle down if you know the language & like the culture. I like the Swedes especially because life is so relaxed here. People live life to the fullest. Classic examples from the top of my hat:
The subway train is due in 1 min. You just about tapped your card to enter the station but have some way to go down the escalator to reach the platform. A working professional who I safely assume is a Swede takes it slow & walks down slowly in the elevator. But a young Chinese lady runs down all the way and makes sure she scuffles into the train. This could be countered by saying the lady must have been in a terrible hurry while the man who looks polished in his blazers might be a jobless fag who goes downtown to kill some time. However that remains a question. Nevertheless you can understand what I mean when you read the other incident.
Suppose you run into the platform and find the train doors just about to shut down, my natural reaction would be to scamper for it & give it a best shot to make sure I get myself in. However suppose you don't manage to get in, you ll go saying your own share of curses on the train and what not. But I have seen Europeans who laugh when they just missed the train. That is taking it easy isn't it?
Nothing is as important for them as to live their life their way. 35 hours of work time per week is protested and has to be reduced is not outlandish here. Picture this 35 hours over 5 days is about 7 hours of work time. Work time is defined as time you are physically in the office and pretending to work. Now out of these 7 hours (which is already less), you ll have time for some Skype, Facebook & some searching for music or using the wash. I did not count lunch / tea time in at all. Safely discounting about an hour, you just need to sit for 6 hours. That is like 10-4.
If you manage to find a 10-4 job in Singapore that pays you SGD 5K and makes you happy that you are doing something worthwhile, do drop me a line. I will be the first to put my hand up for it. It is not possible in India to get a 10-4 job that pays you so much. That is Europe for you - simple & easy all to make sure you live life. All this again does not mean people do not work at all. They do work their head off but this is the norm here. It is not surprising if your colleague drops in at about 4.30 and says "Friend, why are you working so late in the evening? It's Friday, do you wanna party at 6".
Do not be surprised. Instead just heave a smile of relief & say "I met the people who live life uncomplicated & easy".
5 Myths About Sick Old Europe
In the global economy, today's winners can become tomorrow's losers in a twinkling, and vice versa. Not so long ago, American pundits and economic analysts were snidely touting U.S. economic superiority to the "sick old man" of Europe. What a difference a few months can make. Today, with the stock market jittery over Iraq, the mortgage crisis, huge budget and trade deficits, and declining growth in productivity, investors are wringing their hands about the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, analysts point to the roaring economies of China and India as the only bright spots on the global horizon.
But what about Europe? You may be surprised to learn how our estranged transatlantic partner has been faring during these roller-coaster times -- and how successfully it has been knocking down the Europessimist myths about it.
1. The sclerotic European economy is incapable of leading the world.
Who're you calling sclerotic? The European Union's $16 trillion economy has been quietly surging for some time and has emerged as the largest trading bloc in the world, producing nearly a third of the global economy. That's more than the U.S. economy (27 percent) or Japan's (9 percent). Despite all the hype, China is still an economic dwarf, accounting for less than 6 percent of the world's economy. India is smaller still.
The European economy was never as bad as the Europessimists made it out to be. From 2000 to 2005, when the much-heralded U.S. economic recovery was being fueled by easy credit and a speculative housing market, the 15 core nations of the European Union had per capita economic growth rates equal to that of the United States. In late 2006, they surpassed us. Europe added jobs at a faster rate, had a much lower budget deficit than the United States and is now posting higher productivity gains and a $3 billion trade surplus.
2. Nobody wants to invest in European companies and economies because lack of competitiveness makes them a poor bet.
Wrong again. Between 2000 and 2005, foreign direct investment in the E.U. 15 was almost half the global total, and investment returns in Europe outperformed those in the United States. "Old Europe is an investment magnet because it is the most lucrative market in the world in which to operate," says Dan O'Brien of the Economist. In fact, corporate America is a huge investor in Europe; U.S. companies' affiliates in the E.U. 15 showed profits of $85 billion in 2005, far more than in any other region of the world and 26 times more than the $3.3 billion they made in China.
And forget that old canard about economic competitiveness. According to the World Economic Forum's measure of national competitiveness, European countries took the top four spots, seven of the top 10 spots and 12 of the top 20 spots in 2006-07. The United States ranked sixth. India ranked 43rd and mainland China 54th.
3. Europe is the land of double-digit unemployment.
Not anymore. Half of the E.U. 15 nations have experienced effective full employment during this decade, and unemployment rates have been the same as or lower than the rate in the United States. Unemployment for the entire European Union, including the still-emerging nations of Central and Eastern Europe, stands at a historic low of 6.7 percent. Even France, at 8 percent, is at its lowest rate in 25 years.
That's still higher than U.S. unemployment, which is 4.6 percent, but let's not forget that many of the jobs created here pay low wages and include no benefits. In Europe, the jobless still have access to health care, generous replacement wages, job-retraining programs, housing subsidies and other benefits. In the United States, by contrast, the unemployed can end up destitute and marginalized.
4. The European "welfare state" hamstrings businesses and hurts the economy.
Beware of stereotypes based on ideological assumptions. As Europe's economy has surged, it has maintained fairness and equality. Unlike in the United States, with its rampant inequality and lack of universal access to affordable health care and higher education, Europeans have harnessed their economic engine to create wealth that is broadly distributed.
Europeans still enjoy universal cradle-to-grave social benefits in many areas. They get quality health care, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, paid sick leave, free or nearly free higher education, generous retirement pensions and quality mass transit. They have an average of five weeks of paid vacation (compared with two for Americans) and a shorter work week. In some European countries, workers put in one full day less per week than Americans do, yet enjoy the same standard of living.
Europe is more of a "workfare state" than a welfare state. As one British political analyst said to me recently: "Europe doesn't so much have a welfare society as a comprehensive system of institutions geared toward keeping everyone healthy and working." Properly understood, Europe's economy and social system are two halves of a well-designed "social capitalism" -- an ingenious framework in which the economy finances the social system to support families and employees in an age of globalized capitalism that threatens to turn us all into internationally disposable workers. Europeans' social system contributes to their prosperity, rather than detracting from it, and even the continent's conservative political leaders agree that it is the best way.
5. Europe is likely to be held hostage to its dependence on Russia and the Middle East for most of its energy needs.
Crystal-ball gazing on this front is risky. Europe may rely on energy from Russia and the Middle East for some time, but it is also leading the world in reducing its energy dependence and in taking action to counteract global climate change. In March, the heads of all 27 E.U. nations agreed to make renewable energy sources 20 percent of the union's energy mix by 2020 and to cut carbon emissions by 20 percent.
In pursuit of these goals, the continent's landscape is slowly being transformed by high-tech windmills, massive solar arrays, tidal power stations, hydrogen fuel cells and energy-saving "green" buildings. Europe has gone high- and low-tech: It's developing not only mass public transit and fuel-efficient vehicles but also thousands of kilometers of bicycle and pedestrian paths to be used by people of all ages. Europe's ecological "footprint," the amount of the Earth's capacity that a population consumes, is about half that of the United States.
By Steven Hill for Washington Post
