Winning And Being Successful

Winning and being successful are not one and the same.   The difference may not even be subtle.   Winning could be a short-term achievement, but being successful might need more than one wins with a mark of difference.

Today, I heard that the country's badminton pride, Sania Nehwal gifted her silver medal winning racquet to Modiji.  While I see no negative intent in she doing this and we should be proud of her achievements as a fellow citizen,  there is a key learning for high achievers here.

Winning and being successful are two different things.  You may win competitions through hard work, regular practice and devotion.  You may even see big and momentary successes.  If you want to create a legacy around you,  you need to do something different.   It has to be noticeable.  It has to be different.  So different that it creates visibility.

If that visibility can create a future that is secure even after you stop winning or stumble, you probably have created a mark for yourself.

India Has Lost Her Son - A People's President - Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam

 

I don't have the age and maturity to appreciate Kalamji.    I had the rare opportunity to see him in person when he visited a school near Hosur, Tamilnadu.  

The man who envisioned a developed India in 2020 is no more.   He orbited the sun 84 times and then reached heaven.   Our country has lost the most beloved president of all times.  So, how can I describe Dr. Kalam.  The following would be minimal to describe him

Great human-being
Great Statesman
Beloved friend
Excellent Leader
Great philosopher
Eminent Scientist
Down-to-earth person
Highly respected
Extremely hardworking
Loved by All
Excellent Orator
Postive Thinker
Writer
Poet
Social Reformer
Highly knowledgeable
Very skilled
Passionate
Above religion and politics
Very humorous
Highly spiritual
Very Strong
Affectionate
Visionary


I was listening to his interview he gave at Wharton School of management.  According to him any leader should demonstrate 6 traits

1.  A leader must have "Vision"
2.  A leader must be able to travel in an unexplored path
3.  A leader must know how to manage and own failures 
4.  A leader must have courage to take decisions
5.  A leader should have nobility in management and be transparent
6.  A leader should demonstrate Integrity

Dr. Kalam believed in youth power.  He had a dream.   Dream to see our country flourish,  dream to see our children prosper, dream to see technological and social advancement.   A dream where every citizen in this country could leave peacefully with love.

Jai Hind!

-Krishnan
 

IMPORTANCE OF GOAL SETTING

The following instrument would be very useful for goal settings.  It could be given to anybody who would like to set some SMART goals in life and identify methods to accomplish them.

GOAL SETTING

My goals for the year (Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic, Time bound)

 

It is important that I achieve these goals because:

                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                      

Steps I need to take to achieve my goals:

1

2

                                                                                                                                          

The skills I need to be successful in the process:

 

                                                                                                                                          

How will I know when I have achieved success:

                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                      

The quote or person who inspires me to stay motivated:

                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                      

Costly KSRTC and BMTC - Down Down Bangalore!

I boarded a Volvo A/C Bus from Thiruvanmiyur Jayanthi to Kannagi Salai (near Triplicane).   For a distance of about 10 kms,  I was charged Rs 15/-.   For the same distance between Madivala to CV Raman Nagar in Bangalore, by a similar Volvo Bus,  they charge Rs 70/-.   The quality of the bus is same.   That is 5 times more in Bangalore than Chennai.   KSRTC and BMTC are minting money and cheating people.   This is none less than robbery.   The IT people in Bangalore could afford to pay that much but this is affecting non-IT  people.    The government has to reduce this imbalance.   I like the Chennai-model here.   Will the BMTC authorities take action and do something about it ?

Blog-A-Second

I feel completely disengaged and dejected today.   I hope writing this blog would take off some of the hard feelings and mental stress in my mind.  It happened last year to me when my manager called me to give me the bad news.   I was expecting a promotion and I hoped it would happen, but for the bad news that was opened up in front of me.   I felt horrible, broken, down and dis-engaged that day.   I was unable to talk to my own family members that evening.   I remember the saying, "If your mind is filled with commotion, then talk it over to someone whom you trust and feel close to your heart,  that commotion would reduce, it would de-stress you a bit".   That is when I decided to blog my feelings.   The blog came to me as my trusted companion and I could vent out all my feelings, share my opinion - good or bad.   You can read that blog here https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140729180255-239933340-your-career-development-is-in-your-hands?trk=prof-post

NOTION INK CAIN 2 - pros and cons

A quick view...

Firstly, I am extremely delighted to see an ALL-INDIAN-MADE windows 8.1-based ultra tablet.
I bought it via snapdeal some 2-weeks back.   I have started using it extensively at home and office  (well, my company is talking loud about BYOD, so thought I would try more rather than talking,  so far no concerns raised by my manager atleast ;-)

Some major positives about this desi-gadget

+Very light-weight indeed.  Just weighs 650 gms and goes pretty easy on my back giving no strain to my 40+ year old spinal cord.

+Windows 8.1 is a nice OS to put (although it is not touch-friendly and Microsoft has many miles to go before they make their OS touch-friendly).   But the good thing is that it just boots up in few seconds.   So, I don't have to wait for those many boring minutes for the system to boot up.

+The qwerty chirpy magnetic keyboard is a major plus.   It become a complete laptop with it.

+It is a 10.1 inch pad offering 1280x800 pixels of resolution max.   It would have been nice if they had done 1280x900 which is a minimal standard resolution for high-resolution graphics.   But for a business user, visually it is not bad at all.  I can read my documents and mails pretty easily.

+Taking the screen pad off the keyboard and putting it back is a child's play.   It just goes and sits pretty nicely on the keyboard with a magnetic pull.

+The capacitive-touch is very adaptable to your fingers and responds instantly.

+It offers a plethora of secondary interfaces - you can refer to their technical spec. from their website http://notionink.com/.

+The wireless mouse that comes with the pack is a nice offering.   The quality of the mouse is good.

+I was thrilled to get a 500GB Samsung USB hard disk free of cost with the whole bundle that costs close to 20k INR.  

+The battery is great.  It stays awake for close to 8 hrs straight provided you are not subjecting the device to high intensity CPU operations.

+The 2 GB RAM and 32 GB internal memory is sufficient for any business user.     Windows 8.1 comfortably sits there and you have sufficient free RAM space for your regular activity.   The additional 64 GB memory card slot is a wonderful addition.   That way you don't have to clutter your C:  drive with all data.

+The handwriting recognizer is just great.   I just can write with my finger and it recognizes it instantly and promptly.  Very handy while traveling.

...... and now comes the big thing...

+Being Windows 8.1, Microsoft is offering a free upgrade to Windows 10.   At the time of writing this blog, I am upgrading to Windows 10.   I hope I am taking the right decision to move.   My next blog will be about my experience of using this device with Windows 10.

Some drawbacks....that should be talked about  (Nobody is perfect in this world!)

-The keyboard leaves some easily-seen inprint traces on the screen which irritatingly disturbs your view.   Although they have given a screen guard,  you often have to change it and you do not get the exact size in the market.  So,  you have to buy a generic size screen gaurd and cut it to suite the size.   Somewhat unfriendly in my perspective.     As a workaround, I keep a plastic cover between the screen and the keyboard while closing - I hope I will always remember to do so,  if not, I would leave more keyb imprints on the screen.   It becomes very very difficult over a period of time.   The screen guard could have been of better quality.   I even doubt the quality of the screen here.   I guess, somewhere the company had to cut corners to bring down the cost and they sacrifised the quality of the screen which IMHO was not the right decision.

-Using the keyboard while in motion (say in a train or car) is a pain on my neck.   Athough it sits nicely on the angled bracket cover,  it just shakes because it has no hinges to hold it.   You will have to hold it with one hand while  you just can't type with the other hand.   I lost the purpose of buying this pad due to this inconvenience.

-You would see some lags with high resolution games.    This one is not ideal for gaming.   It is good for business use.

So far so good, I hope the service would be good if I start hitting problems.   Anyway, with this price tag, this is a nice alternative to those costly tabs and laps.   You may go for it  BUT take care of the screen - it is pretty nasty with impressions which you just can't erase once caught.

-Krishnan

Lily Camera - selfie redefined

Just now read about.

https://www.lily.camera/

The camera that follows you.

It is amazing to see how technology can work for you.   If this is going to the the way it is shown in the video, then I would probably call it SEFIE-REDEFINED.