A Jan Koum anecdote

A Jan Koum anecdote

February 20, 20141 mins

I never met Jan Koum during my 8 years in Yahoo. I met Brian Acton during his days with Yahoo! Shopping (or was it Yahoo! Finance?) There’s a funny anecdote I remember about Jan though. The year was…

The original model of western education

The original model of western education

September 08, 20132 mins

Pic courtesy thelaughingstork.com A history professor from Colorado State University (Jonathan Rees) wrote a hysterical anti-MOOC rant (The MOOC racket) in Slate 6 weeks ago. As I pored through the…

Hale naayi-ge hosa tricksu kalisa bahudu – ondu chikka storyu

Hale naayi-ge hosa tricksu kalisa bahudu – ondu chikka storyu

April 03, 20131 mins

Pic courtesy sourceforge.net English translation of title: You CAN teach an old dog new tricks – a small story! A few months ago, I finally enrolled for a Kannada Learning class. 4 1/2 years after…

What does it take to float like a butterfly?

What does it take to float like a butterfly?

March 06, 20131 mins

Pic via Muhammad Ali’s Facebook Page Q: What does it take to float like a butterfly? A: [Randy Smith on Facebook] It is a humble and meek beginning as a caterpillar. Then one must willingly submit to…

The Zoo-enslaved Panther’s Ritual Dance

The Zoo-enslaved Panther’s Ritual Dance

February 26, 20131 mins

[Pic courtesy vanwageningen.net I forget where I found the extract below. But it instantly transported me to the last trip to Mysore Zoo – the description couldn’t be more spot-on. The desperation of…

Amazon Webservices or dedicated server?

Amazon Webservices or dedicated server?

January 30, 20133 mins

If your website needs are anything more than a blog (or corporate website), chances are you’d have researched options like “cloud hosting”, “dedicated hosting”, virtualization or the big daddy…

Finally… Australia to acknowledge that Aborigines were there earlier

Finally… Australia to acknowledge that Aborigines were there earlier

August 25, 20122 mins

An Aboriginal Didgeridoo player (Pic courtesy didjshop.com) Eleven years ago, my wife and I made our first (and so far only) trip to Australia. A two-week trip spent largely in the Melbourne area and…

The Fifth Elephant coming to Bangalore.. bearing Big Data Goodies

The Fifth Elephant coming to Bangalore.. bearing Big Data Goodies

July 24, 20122 mins

Pic: courtesy HasGeek Q: What is The Fifth Elephant? A: It’s a community powered conference on the Big Data ecosystem in India, organized by HasGeek. Q: What does ‘community powered’ mean? A: For all…

Searching for Clara W. Huling – a digital archeology dig

Searching for Clara W. Huling – a digital archeology dig

July 10, 20123 mins

Clara Myrtle Grey Bird (1900-1988), photo taken in 1917. No relation to “Clara Huling” but most relevant Google Images ‘period’ match When my second batch of friends arrived a few months ago, the most…

How artists put out No Smoking signs

How artists put out No Smoking signs

July 08, 20121 mins

The “Ok to Smoke” sign And its counterpart Bangalore peeps, How well do you know your city? Do you know where these signs are? Leave your answers (or guesses) in the comments.