Re: [silk] Burnout
On Sun, May 31, 2009 at 9:43 PM, Kiran K Karthikeyan < kiran.karthike...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Saying no is tough in India. I once had an onsite manager who sent a > stinker > to the entire offshore top management because I refused to send out an > updated document at 12 in the night. I was so pissed I didn't think and > instantly did a reply-all with clear-cut reasons why I couldn't. Thankfully > the managers were understanding and actually complimented me for doing so. > You're lucky dude. Most places I know, people would have got chewed out for doing that. The customer is king, is always right, even when he isn't, etc etc... > > > > And that the causes are > > as much to do with our own inability to say "no" (to customers, to > bosses, > > to our own urges to fit everything in) as anything else. > > The worst part is that most US clients take Indians working 12 hours a day > or more for granted. And our ineptitude for saying no increases when > speaking to the white folk. We shoot ourselves in the foot as soon as a > project starts by committing to unrealistic timelines which even a > sensibile > non-techie can see is impossible. We bring it upon ourselves...and every Indian who behaves in a subservient way just makes it more difficult for others to say no! - Mo
Re: [silk] Burnout
On Sun, May 31, 2009 at 8:18 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: > > It was either that or become a nervous wreck (being an on call engineer in > a high volume mailops team can have that effect on you, as can mcdonalds > being the only restaurant in walking distance, so you grab a quarter > pounder with cheese, eat it at your desk and that's lunch) And that's another thing people forget. The importance of regular, decent, clean, hygienic, hot food! Not sure whether it plays a part in burnout, but it does affect your stress-levels. As does the lack of exercise (not that i've got any in the last 13 years!) - Mo
Re: [silk] Burnout
On Sun, May 31, 2009 at 5:09 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > A topic that comes up every so often on silk [1]. I've fought (and, for > now, won) my own battle with burnout, and I know several others on silk > have grappled with it too. Share, please? Thoughts? Tips or tricks? > Cautionary tales? > I have been there, done that once. And given how things have been at work front last 3-4 weeks, my entire team will be there in a year's time. I think the article is bang on, both in terms of causes & cures. However, the cures are never as easy. And not all of us may have the luxury of changing aspects of our jobs. This is particularly awful in indian context since we as a culture are not used to saying or hearing "no". But the most important thing is to recognise that it's happening. And that the causes are as much to do with our own inability to say "no" (to customers, to bosses, to our own urges to fit everything in) as anything else. Cheers Mohit
Re: [silk] Intro
You here as well? Welcome & all that jazz. C u in blr soon dude. On 5/30/09, Lahar Appaiah wrote: > Hi, > I've just joined the list (thanks, Udhay!), though I've known about Silk for > years. > > I'm a corporate lawyer, and work for Big Blue at Bangalore. I like cricket, > thriller novels and movies, rock and metal, and pizza. > > My alumni listing has Infosys, Wipro, National Law School and Bishop Cottons > Bangalore. > > I used to quiz a bit, but have pretty much gone into hibernation. I do the > occasional crossword when I can find the time. > > Glad to be here!! > > Cheers, > -Lahar > -- Sent from my mobile device - Mo
Re: [silk] Disenfranchised Minorities?
On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 6:09 PM, Venkat Mangudi wrote: > Mohit (मॊिहत) wrote: > > - Mo > > (who's seriously evaluating migrating to the moon :p) > > Can you please send me an invite when you do? ;-) > Most welcome...drop by any time...bring your own booze, and we can have a party :) > > But seriously, I came back (most of my friends still think I am nuts) > after refusing green card offers in the US and PR in Singapore. So far, > it has been a good challenging life and "I am loving it" as the really > horrible McDonald's ads say. I came back after 2.5 years in UK myself...and while I love the life here in general... - Mo
Re: [silk] Disenfranchised Minorities?
On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 5:47 PM, Zainab Bawa wrote: > > And you have the gumption to turn around and accuse me. May > > respectfully suggest that if you have an icky taste in your mouth you > ought > > to wash your mouth. > > > > This is really one of the problems I see, not only on this list, but in > general in discussions these days. We get reactive and then want to > "respond" immediately with our positions and justifications. Why not wait > and mull over for a bit? I admit that I can also get reactive and want to > respond immediately, but that is what I am stopping myself from doing these > days. Otherwise discussions degenerate into ... > > Zainab > > P.S. Have rinsed my mouth with AM-PM mouthwash before writing. > I think the way this thread, and other threads in the recent past have gone, I'm better off rinsing my mouth & not responding at all :) - Mo (who's seriously evaluating migrating to the moon :p)
Re: [silk] Oh. Hi there.
What makes u think I'm in Kanpur? All places UP aren't Kanpur you know ;) And any Mo people here and they'd have thought they were in prison On 4/16/09, Ramakrishnan Sundaram wrote: > 2009/4/15 Mohit (मॊिहत) : > >> Oh BTW, is anyone on this list based in Kanpur > > You get single malts in Kanpur? Bottled locally, then? > > Ram > > -- Sent from my mobile device - Mo
Re: [silk] Oh. Hi there.
On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 4:16 PM, Venkat Mangudi wrote: >Mohit (挪�W) wrote: > > Oh?! I meant engineers aren't social, are they? Although I can see where > you > are going with this :) > > > >I..g..n..o..r..e t..h..eb..a..i..t > A..r..ey..o..u s..u..r..e ? :) Ok...I'll desist. It's been a dull day at office...I'm surrounded by 260 engineers & 140 lawyers, you know! - Mo
Re: [silk] Oh. Hi there.
On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 2:51 PM, Gautam John wrote: > 2009/4/15 Mohit (मॊिहत) : > > > Isn't there an inherent contradiction in the phrase "social engineer"? > > Unless you mean they were trying to create "a social engineer", as in > "the > > only one" > > Tsk Mohit - you'll make a grammar Nazi of us all. > > They were trying to create a 'social engineer' out of Pranesh. And > 'social engineers' out of us all... > > K? =) > Oh?! I meant engineers aren't social, are they? Although I can see where you are going with this :) > > Oddly, I can't find any reference to it on their website. Perhaps they > just want to create lawyers - social engineers be damned. Which website is that? NLS? Oh BTW, is anyone on this list based in Kanpur...i know i know! unlikely. Still I had to ask - Mo
Re: [silk] Oh. Hi there.
Isn't there an inherent contradiction in the phrase "social engineer"? Unless you mean they were trying to create "a social engineer", as in "the only one" And ah! Welcome Pranesh...I'm a lurker too...i rather prefer single malts, spreadsheets & live conversations to other stuff...and i do listen to all things "music" (although some disagree with my wide-ranging definition). - Mo On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 9:24 AM, Gautam John wrote: > On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 2:18 AM, wrote: > > > For many years an institution tried very hard to make me into an > advocate, > > but I emerged as "a lawyer by training". > > Nonsense. They were attempting to create a 'social engineer'. > > -- > Please read our new blog at: http://blog.prathambooks.org > >
Re: [silk] Yet another introduction (Venkat Inumella)
And what do you think of Just Mohit? :) - Mo
Re: [silk] Twitter users
On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 11:22 PM, Sumant Srivathsan wrote: > > I'm rarely online over the weekend, except for the obligatory email > checking. Any soc-net activity takes place during that time. I like not > having to look at my computer when I'm not working. > Sumant & I have had quite a few discussions about this actually. I admire how he manages to get stuff done with so much soc-net activity. As for me, I played with twitter, found it useful & engaging, but too much work, and left off. I still log on once in a while but i usually get my friends' tweets as an RSS feed. (I know! Sacrilegious philistine) I used friendfeed but it got to be a tad too much inanity after a while. Between Silk, Satin, Gmail, Facebook & the 100-odd feeds on google reader, I don't seem to have enough energy/time left for anything else. And lest I forget, there's tons of activity on both the online & offline avatars of my various alumni associations (4 institutions; 7 associations) and groups of real-life friends and my various B-school teaching & interviewing assignments. Oh and yes! there's books (43 unread still on my bookshelf) (And yes TF: I know! I'm guilty of not giving enough time to DBB. Someday! Hopefully soon...) Writing this I'm reminded anew of the need to reduce some of this stuff and simplify my life. Information addiction is worse than any other :p My only "success" so far has been the resolve (broken every once in a while) that I will not log on to my emails/internet over the weekend. That time is for family, books & films :) - Mo
Re: [silk] Need some help
On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 3:51 PM, Zainab Bawa wrote: > I refuse to accept that Bangalore is a cosmopolitan city. It is very much > rooted in the biases of caste that are prominent in South India and in > family traditions. The cosmopolitanism of this city is highly cosmetic. Zainab: firstly I sympathise with your plight, and empathise with it to some extent as well. Having lived in 14-odd towns I am only too familiar with the discriminatory practices employed by landlords & brokers. However, I would add that the point you make about Bangalore is equally valid anywhere else in the country. Delhi, Mumbai & smaller towns are all victims to this tendency. (except for Chandigarh, so my friends there tell me!) Wish I could help in any concrete way. For the moment my best wishes are all i have to offer. - Mo
Re: [silk] Introduction
On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 12:56 PM, Nikhil Mehra wrote: > I was brought on board by the list > pappy, Uday - I think he was duly impressed by how much alcohol I could put > away I'm s'posed to welcome you here? :) - Mo
Re: [silk] Presenting...A ray of light (but my folks named me Kiran)
On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 10:07 PM, Nishant Shah wrote: > > Welcome, welcome indeed... we need new blood (I really don't like using the > word in a welcome post, but oh well!) to help us unlurk :) > You mean the new ones get bled on this list? :) > > > And as a word to the wise, top-posting is considered bad form. > > > > Udhay > > I have often wondered. Why is it always a word to the wise? How come the > unwise never get words? Blatant discrimination, I say! I got in some words, didn't I? Oh, and the real reason: welcome to the list kiran! - Mo
Re: [silk] Facebook's New Terms Of Service: "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever."
Also check out http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/14/AR2007041401444_pf.html And I'm sorry if i came across as rude in the previous mail. I just hung up on a telemarketer (the 4th in the day) who insist on calling me despite my name being on DNC list. (And inspite of my having explained it to them every time). Also, having been a part of the corporate world for 11 years, and having dealt with companies of every hue, I'm sorry to say that I do not accept the notion that the invisible hand of the market will always result in a company doing good. - Mo On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 2:32 PM, Mohit (मॊिहत) wrote: > On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 2:19 PM, Amit Varma wrote: > >> >> I'm not assuming infinite goodwill, I'm assuming fear of the market. In >> the >> competitive market that Facebook is in, if they fuck around with user >> content -- like, say, use pics without permission -- the market will screw >> them over. To mess with users in that manner would be business suicide. >> > Ah, but at a point (& a price) the short-term profit might be more > lucrative than the risks posed by the "market". Also, you are ignoring the > fact that the competitive scenario could change some time in the future. > >> >> Any examples of where similar clauses by big companies -- not >> fly-by-nighters-- have been misused? >> > Why do we need examples to express a fear. Do we have to wise up to this > nonsense only AFTER someone has sold our data? As it is, mobile companies in > India (& I dare say a host of companies, retailers, etc. in the West) do it > all the time. > > - Mo > > > >
Re: [silk] Facebook's New Terms Of Service: "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever."
On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 2:19 PM, Amit Varma wrote: > > I'm not assuming infinite goodwill, I'm assuming fear of the market. In the > competitive market that Facebook is in, if they fuck around with user > content -- like, say, use pics without permission -- the market will screw > them over. To mess with users in that manner would be business suicide. > Ah, but at a point (& a price) the short-term profit might be more lucrative than the risks posed by the "market". Also, you are ignoring the fact that the competitive scenario could change some time in the future. > > Any examples of where similar clauses by big companies -- not > fly-by-nighters-- have been misused? > Why do we need examples to express a fear. Do we have to wise up to this nonsense only AFTER someone has sold our data? As it is, mobile companies in India (& I dare say a host of companies, retailers, etc. in the West) do it all the time. - Mo
Re: [silk] Favourite books read in 2008
Do you have The Hacker Ethic & Peopleware? If you could lend them, I'd be grateful. I'm quite willing to buy them off you, but not sure someone who owned these would ever agree. - Mo On Wed, Jan 14, 2009 at 12:12 PM, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: > On Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 7:27 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > > > I'm trying to get some recommendations, and further disturb the balance > > of the TBR pile on my shelves. What were the best books you read last > year? > > > My list: > > Non-fiction: > > * The Hacker Ethic --Pekka Himanen > * What Management Is --Joan Magretta > * Peopleware --Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister > * The Case for India --Will Durant (available only from Strand; no ISBN) > * Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China --Peter Hessler > * Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology --Devdutt Pattanaik > * Palestine --Joe Sacco > > Fiction: > > * My Name is Red --Orhan Pamuk > * The Glass Palace --Amitav Ghosh > > > > -- > Kiran Jonnalagadda > http://jace.seacrow.com/ >
Re: [silk] When I Have The Time
That's a good definition. But IMHO it's rather more useful to define it slightly tightly. My definition is (and I borrowed it from somewhere, like all other good things in life): "When I can live off the interest on the interest on the wealth". By today's standards of living, since I need about 25K p.m., assuming an interest rate of 7% post tax, it would probably imply Rs. 6.2 crores in the bank :) Mohit http://unjustly.wordpress.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/mohitmohit http://tinyurl.com/57lrf3 On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 11:50 AM, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 11:00 AM, Srini Ramakrishnan <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >wrote: > > > On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 8:37 PM, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > [...] > > > Get rich? Definitely want to do that. > > > > Define rich. > > > > Enough wealth so all this list-making loses significance and I can do > anything I want and claim it is something I always wanted to do it. Even if > I'd just heard about this something y'day. > > C > > > -- > http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages > http://www.linkedin.com/in/ravages > http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/ > > +91-9884467463 >
Re: [silk] When I Have The Time
Udhay: you are a sadist :p Ok. Just to put it in perspective. My comment was not with respect to "if i had the time", but more to do with those "someday" wishes we all seem to have. The two lists are not mutually exclusive however, and so i'll just categorise them as "things to do before i die". heh! My list (in no particular order): 1. Clear Google Reader - Starred items (700+ at the moment) 2. Financial Projections for 2008-2043 3. Plan European Trip - 4 weeks - May-June 2009 4. Form IT-BHU Ceramic Engineers' Association 5. Teach - Prepare course material for management Course, starting next sem) 6. Launch own business - performance management solutions for mid-sized firms 7. Travel to Australia, New Zealand, Yellowstone National Park, Rajasthan, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Munich, Italy, African wilds 8. Write a book 9. Learn Swimming 10. Learn poker 11. Finish off to-Read books on the shelf (30 fiction & 10 non-fiction at the moment) 12. Read the books on the to-read list in excel file (110 at the moment) 13. go on a long trek Some of these are obviously more achievable (e.g. 1-3,11) than others; some will NEVER get done (e.g. 12 - there will always be people writing more & more good books); some will take a fair bit of work & planning (4-7); some are wishes & will need help from other people (6-7; 9, 10 & 13) Actually, scrap that. Most of these will need planning, luck, courage & support to accomplish. And that's what makes it all worthwhile. BTW, reading through others' lists is a great experience. I hope you guys won't mind if i get "inspired" :) Mohit http://unjustly.wordpress.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/mohitmohit http://tinyurl.com/57lrf3
Re: [silk] Intro
On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 9:25 AM, Biju Chacko <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Welcome (Just)! > > That's an unusual first name. How did you come by it? > The first name (& the full name) is Mohit. "Just" is a nickname, since I don't have a surname to go by (The family disowned me & so no family affiliations!) -- Mohit http://unjustly.wordpress.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/mohitmohit http://tinyurl.com/57lrf3
Re: [silk] Intro
Interesting! :) The grape thing appears on some of the replies sent to me, but doesn't in others. Seems to be some sort of unicode buggery as Sumant said. I will need to investigate & rectify. Thanks for pointing it out. Have never met Udhay, but he seems to enjoy an awesome reputation in certain (infamous) circles i frequent; leading me to believe he might not exist (or might be 3 or more people posing as one!) -- Mohit http://unjustly.wordpress.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/mohitmohit http://tinyurl.com/57lrf3
[silk] Intro
Hi All, Firstly let me thank Udhay for accepting my request & getting me on to Silk. My name is (Just) Mohit. I live in Delhi after having wandered around a bit. I am a finance professional by profession & dreamer by choice. Love books, traveling & food. Enjoy single malts & good conversations. Am a GTD-freak, and being lazy beyond repair, am always on the lookout for the perfect tool to organize my life. Look forward to some interesting conversations. -- Mohit http://unjustly.wordpress.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/mohitmohit http://tinyurl.com/57lrf3
