I attended a Bain presentation at LBS, noting the commuter uniform of suits and umbrellas. After conducting a quick racial demographic survey at Baker Street station, I unexpectedly met Pierce Brosnan in the afternoon.

I had to attend the Bain presentation today at 10AM, so I tried getting to LBS early. I started at 8:45AM. But for some reason, the train crawled on. The engineer couldn't figure out why himself. Anyway, as a result, the train was nearly half-an-hour late. Now, if the Bangalore Mail came in half-an-hour late, I'd be thankful. But here, it's gotten to the point where one makes appointments relying on the efficiency of the British Rail. Well, it's a lesson, I guess. But the lesson was not without its benefits. While I was sitting in this train, with nothing better to do, I decided to see what people were wearing. I was wearing a suit and a jacket, carrying an umbrella with a book in my hand. I looked at they guy in front. He was wearing a suit and a jacket, carrying an umbrella with a book in his hand. I looked around. The description seemed to fit quite a few of the people on the train. I guess it's their uniform or something. The Bain presentation was fine. Since I came in late, I couldn't follow much, so I whiled my time looking at the people in the presentation. The hall was packed (over 150 people), and yet I couldn't find a single soul (apart from myself) with a moustache. The reason I was looking was that the guy on the train had a moustache, and it was a fairly rare sight. I figured I may as well prove that he's a statistical anamoly. Speaking of statistics, I had some time to kill at Baker Street. So I sat down and surveyed the crowd. I noted the racial characteristics of the first 100 people whom I saw. Here's the breakdown: | Ethnicity | Count | | --------- | ------- | | African | 8 | | Chinese | 9 | | Indian | 5 | | Caucasian | 78 | | Total | 100 | Certainly can't find this kind of a mix in most cities, I'm fairly sure. London is cosmopolitan. We spent the afternoon with Pierce Brosnan. Awfully nice chap. He even posed with us for a snap. Anand, Pierce Brosnan, Malti Comments ricky 18 Oct 2000 12:00 pm: it's really a nice job

Bain PPT


I’m tracking India’s massive bandwidth expansion as submarine fiber optic cables open up. With major capacity projects from the DoT, NASSCOM, and Dishnet reaching up to 2.5TB, the country's connectivity bottlenecks look set to disappear by 2001.

Looks like India's bandwidth problems will be resolved in a year. With the DoT opening up submarine fiber optic, Department of Telecommunication Services is commissioning 80GB (2001). NASSCOM's getting 100GB (2003). Dishnet's trying for 2.5TB (2001). Wow!

Bandwidth growing in India


I'm following the rise of sites documenting dot-com bankruptcies, such as FuckedCompany and StartupFailures. The prevailing skepticism of the era is perfectly captured by tools like the web economy bullshit generator.

What's more of a rage than profitable dot-coms? Bankrupt dot-coms, as listed by dotcomfailures, startupfailures, and fuckedcompany. Scepticism's gone far enough to make this web economy bullshit generator a great hit.

Bankrupt dotcoms


I've discovered that you can now book train tickets online in Chennai. Indian Railways is also expected to launch a broader online booking system soon, revolutionizing how passengers manage rail travel across the country.

You can book train tickets online in Chennai. In fact, the Indian Railways will probably introduce it soon.

Book train tickets online


I recently purchased several books from Fabmart, including Built to Last, Timeline, and The Age of Unreason. The delivery arrived in just five days, meeting their promise and expanding my reading list with business and fiction titles.

I bought Built to Last, Archer's To Cut a Long Story Short, Crichton's Timeline, Best Practices, and Handy's The Age of Unreason at Fabmart. It was delivered in 5 days as promised.

Books I bought recently


I recount my grueling two-round interview experience with Boston Consulting Group. Despite handling complex case studies on cement and food processing, I was ultimately rejected for a "lack of structure," a vital lesson for any aspiring consultant.

First Round On Saturday (25th November 2000), I dress up in my best suit (only suit, really), and find my way to the Green Park station for an interview with the Boston Consulting Group. Of course, being terribly conservative, I arrived an hour early, so it was time to walk around Green Park and have a look at the Buckingham Palace, while singing "I have confidence..." from Sound of Music. The walk did lift my spirits a bit. There was this tiny poodle that was busy licking a bulldog. The bulldog didn't seem to mind, though it was large enough to eat up the poodle. Then the poodle's owners picked it up, and walked away. The poodle was reluctant though. It just hadn't finished licking the bulldog. After about 5 minutes, the bulldog (and owner), were about half-a-kilometer away, when the poodle was finally let down. Being the determined creature that it was, it ran ALL the way to the bulldog, and proceeded to lick. The bulldog, right through, was wearing a puzzled expression on its face, as if to say, "Are you sure you don't want me to smack this little white fluff?" At 10:15AM, I walked in to the BCG reception, and was led to the cafeteria. I was only carrying an umbrella (which I left at the reception), and some sheets of paper. There were to be 2 case interviews, each for 45 minutes. I was told that I'd be interviewed by Danai and Kim Wee. Danai (who's from Bangkok) came along, and took me to a conference room. The interview begins. Danai: "Hi Anand. Let me tell you a bit about how this interview is structured. We'll begin by discussing your resume a bit. Then we'll move on to a case, and finally, you can ask me any questions that you want. The reason we do a case interview is to test the candidate on 3 things: their enthusiasm for problem solving, their analytical skills, and communication ability. Let me begin by introducing myself. (Introduces himself in detail). Could you tell me a bit about yourself?" Me: "Uh, sure. I studied at IITM. Nice place. Then I worked at IBM. Nice place too. Then I went to IIMB. Yet another nice place. Now I'm at LBS. Pretty nice. Uh..." At this point, I completely ran out of things to say. I mean, I'd been training for this and all that. But at the point, your mind just goes blank. So I said, "My hobbies include..." -- and couldn't think of a single hobby. My resume lists several, but the first thing that came to my mind was one that was NOT on it: "Acting." Danai latches on to this. "Wow, that's interesting. So what would you like to be? Director? Actor?" "Oh, acting itself. Writing the script too. One of my dreams is to be a film hero. " I actually said that. It had gotten to the point where I was desperate and willing to blabber anything to recover. "I like it because it involves a lot of communication and I'm good at communication." Danai neatly caught on. "Yeah, there's a lot of communicating that you'll have to do in consulting as well. Good. Tell me about (some point on my resume)." Then we discussed my resume a bit. Then we got to the case interview. Right through, Danai was taking notes on what I was saying -- in fact, he wrote nearly 3-4 pages of what I said, as opposed to me who scribbled in half a sheet. "I'm going to give you a cement company case, because I've worked in the cement industry." Fine by me. "Our client is a global cement manufacturer, who operates in North America, Europe and Latin America. They buy some of their cement from other companies, and produce the rest. They are evaluating entry into Asia. Could you help them?" Me: First, I'd like to know more about the company. Why are they buying cement from others? Danai: They're not all that good at manufacturing. I mean, they're pretty good, but nothing extraordinary. Their main strength lies in marketing and logistics. They only have 50% of the capacity of their sales. Me: OK. Why do they want to expand to Asia? Danai: Why do you think? Me: Several possibilities. Maybe they want growth, which they don't have right now. Maybe there's a one-off opportunity in Asia right now. Maybe there's tremendous growth in Asia and they don't want to miss out on it. Danai: What could a one-off opportunity be, for example? Me: Deregulation is a classic. Another is just a first mover advantage. Hmm... that's all I can think of. Danai: You're quite right about all three. Their growth is slow. There is a window of opportunity in terms of regulation, and the company believes there is lot of potential in Asia. Let us take Thailand as a representative market and work on it, because I have worked there, and can give you answers to your questions. How should our client enter the Thailand market? Me: Well, this is what I'm going to look at: the market in Thailand, the competitors in Thailand, the resources of the company (people, money and machines), and the regulatory environment (repatriation, licenses, etc). What can you tell me about these? Danai: Let us assume that the company has the requisite resources, though that is a good point. The regulatory environment is also friendly and the clearances are easy. The market is dominated by 3 groups of buyers -- government contractors (40% revenue), private contractors (30%) revenue, and a network of retail shops. There are a few large players in the market, the top 3 taking up 70% of the market. Me: What are the parameters on the basis of which customers base their decision to buy? Danai: It's as follows (in decreasing order of preference) Government contractors: Price, reliability of supply, relationship Private contractors: Price, reliability of supply, brand name Retailers: Brand name, reliability of supply, price Me: OK, looks like price and reliability are pretty important. What is the competition like? Is it stiff? Are there price wars? Danai: What causes price wars? Me: Well... is there excess inventory? Danai: Precisely. There's a lot of excess inventory, and that has resulted in a price war. Me: Are these companies inefficient? Danai: In manufacturing? No. The whole world is pretty much the same in terms of efficiency. They are not that good in marketing and logistics though. But this constitutes only 10% of the costs. Me: Right. The way it looks now, it seems crazy to enter a market that's got high inventory and price wars. I mean, even if you cut the logistics cost by 50%, it's still just a 5% reduction in a market that goes by price. No way. Looks very unattractive. But let's not dismiss it. How about a joint venture? Danai: Why would a company do a JV? Me: We've got the marketing power. We've got the logistics capability. We can partner. We should just pick a company that's going almost bankrupt, and tell them to sign up. Danai: Would that suffice? What would they want from us? Me: Well... access to international markets, I guess. So we can ship the excess inventory to neighbouring countries using our superior logistics. Danai: Good. How would you go about such an exercise? Me: (I explain how to pick a company, how to negotiate the contract, and so on.) Danai: Fine. Do you have any questions for me? Me: I want to teach part time. Can I do that? (Yes). Is it true that consultants are only rubber stamps of the CEOs? (No. Otherwise, we would've lost our reputation.) What does your day look like? (Go to office, have meetings with clients, have meetings with team, solve problems, travel a lot). By then, it was time to meet Kim Wee, who was in the next room. The previous night I'd run through their website, and had found out a bit about Kim Wee, which I remembered. That kind of gave me some confidence, and I thought of a nice opening line like, "You look much better than in your photograph" or something like that. But when she started off, I realized I had no chance of getting a word in. She began with, "Hello Anand. Nice to meet you. This will be the same format as Danai's interview. I'll quiz you on you resume, then we'll do a case. Then you can ask me questions. Can you tell me about your experience at Lehman Brothers?" This entire speech took 3 seconds or so. At least, that's what it seemed like. Completely expressionless, and ununderstandably fast. My response was very coherent, though. "Sorry?" (This was my most frequent phrase through the interview, followed by, "Huh?") "Can you tell me about your experience at Lehman Brothers?" The meaning was obvious. So I said, "I never had a choice. The tyrannical placement rules at IIMB don't give me any choice at all. So I was tied in chains and forcibly shipped to Tokyo for slave labour. I didn't eat or sleep. Of course, I like that sort of a thing -- even if you slave-drive me, I'll be happy. But I want to have an influence on the world, and make it a better place to live in, which I can't do from a bank. So I've decided to be the knight in shining armour (OK, consultant), and..." She cuts me off with a monotonous, but quickfire, "What'll you do in the future?" Me: I'll become a freelance consultant. Kim: Why? Me: That way, I can say no to a client if I want to, and still solve problems, which is what I like doing. Besides, there's a visiting Prof at IIMB who's doing that, and I'm kind-of using him as a ... Kim: What challenges will you face as a consultant? Me: Huh? Kim: What challenges will you face as a consultant? Me: (a few 'huh's later) I hate telling CEOs what they want to hear. If they've made up their mind, I'll tell them to shove it and walk away. In fact, I ... Kim: What is your most memorable accomplishment? I was lost again. My prepared answer was the IBM India home page. But NOTHING came to my mind. After a few blank seconds, I figured I had to say something. So I said, "I shared reports at IIMB." She stared, and I figured I had to elaborate. "I wrote great and wonderful reports. The Gods praised them, and ordered me to be fruitful and share. So I did. Then everybody started sharing." (I was completely out of my senses by this time) "So now, there is a HUGE library of reports at IIMB. It's going to be extended to all IIMs. Maybe all universities in the world. And it's ALL my work. I'm terribly proud of it, etc. etc." (OK, I didn't say all that, but I came close.) Kim, for the first time, not interrupting, and speaking relatively slowly, "There was a problem at NTU with this. The professors stole the reports and passed them as their own." Brilliant. All I could come up with was, "Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't considered that. I'll let the students at IIMB know of this danger." Then we moved on to the case. "Our client is a food processor. One of their products is Cool Wave (or something like that). It's a non-dessert cream topping, with 40% of the market share. They have excess capacity. Though the industry is growing at 6%, the sales of Cool Wave is flat. You have to find out why and give recommendations. Then you have to move on to other products." The interview went on for a gruelling half-hour. I can recall the details, but it's too painful for that. Most of the time, I kept asking questions to which the answer was, "We don't have that information right now. Maybe it could be this. Maybe it could be that." Then we'd agree on something. After 5 minutes, I'd say something, and she'd come back with, "But how can you say that?" "Because we agreed on this 5 minutes ago." "Well, we don't have that information. Maybe it could be this. Maybe it could be that." Wonderful! Finally, I did manage to piece together that the dominant competitors were pricing 15% lower, and the rest (fragmented) were pricing it 30% lower. The lower-income group was now able to afford the product. So the market was growing at the bottom, and since Cool Wave was a premium brand, they couldn't capture that market share. Me: One possibility is to reduce the price of Cool Wave. But that's a bad idea (I give reasons). Another is to introduce another brand at the low end. Kim: Anything else? Me: (Struggle for 2 minutes. Then...) No idea. Kim: Well, they could just sell the capacity to Wal-Mart or somebody, who could make their own-brand of the topping and sell it at the low-end. Then I caught on to this idea, and began giving recommendations on how to do it and stuff like that. I was into my conclusion, "So they should ensure that the contract with Walmart does not appear hostile to their other retail customers..." Kim: OK. Case is over. Do you have any questions for me? Me: Sorry? The case is over? Kim: Yes. Any questions? Me: About the case? Kim: No. Case is over. Any questions? Me: (After about 10 seconds) Yeah. What is work like at BCG? I don't remember the answers. I don't think I even heard them. They were too fast for me. Anyway, she ran me out of the building, and, as I picked up my umbrella from the reception, said that she'd let me know by Sunday evening if I got through. I made my way to LBS, wondering if my chances were even 50-50. Second Round Anyway, I got through to the second round, to be interviewed by Marcus and Joon. Marcus asked me, quite casually, "This isn't a case, really. It's something I've been asking a lot of people and haven't found a satisfactory answer to. Why is it that hotels charge you when you book a room and don't turn up, but rental car companies don't charge you if you book a car and don't turn up?" To cut a long story short, I really thought Marcus (who was a VP) was just casually interacting. So I just had a casual conversation with him, exploring some possibilites. I wasn't getting anywhere, but I didn't worry. I thought the point was to test how cool I was under uncertainty. Turned out to be a complete mistake. Anyway, after half an hour of pleasant conversation, Joon came over. Joon said, "There's an airline company that ships freight. It has passenger planes as well as freight planes, and uses both to ship. They have been losing money recently. Why do you think this is so?" This proved as straight-forward case, and was over in 15 minutes or so. In fact, Joon volunteered most of the information himself. I was so thrilled that I left my umbrella in the office and walked off in the rain. A couple of days later, Joon calls up from Kuala Lampur. "Hello Anand, this is Joon from BCG." My heart starts thumping. Is it a yes? Is it a no? "We were very happy with your resume and your qualifications. However, we are very sorry to say that we are unable to take your application forward at this point." It's a long distance phone call, so he had to pause for my response. Which was something like "(croak) Of course." "We are extremely sorry, but hope you had a good experience through the interviews." "(cough) Of course." I was brain-dead by the time anyway. "Would you like some feedback about your performance?" "(glug) Yes, of course." "We felt that you did not have the analytical skills. When Marcus and I discussed, we felt that your interview did not have enough structure." By this time, I'd found my voice, so I managed to mutter something like, "Thank you very much, Mr. Ooi, I'm sure the feedback will be very useful. It was a pleasure interviewing with you. Bye." So there it is. Lack of structure. I've been told that before, of course. Got to work on it... Comments Sai 13 Nov 2006 7:46 pm: Anand, i commend you that you remember everthing that happened, especially the first interview. But i thought that you worked at BCG, so how come i see here that you did not get through? EE 7 Dec 2006 6:58 pm: That was a very interesting story. I had a similar experience with McKinsey in one of their US offices recently - ding in the final round. I don't have any business education though - Btech EE from IIT-B and now close the end of a PhD in ECE. I would love to talk to you about how to improve the "structure" - because that is one of the reasons why McKinsey did not like me in the end. If you are willing, please reply to this note. Ap 2 Jan 2007 4:28 pm: Anand, Thanks for recounting your experiences interviewing with BCG. As someone who is interviewing with them for the first time - I would really appreciate any pointers on improving structure - I didn't make some comparable firms because of this issue. saurabh 29 Mar 2007 12:31 pm: This was motivating for me. The vagueness of selectors has always caused me a lot of pain. You bring it out quite succinctly and sardonically. swethaN 25 Nov 2000 12:00 pm: Really interesting one. Kaviraj Nair 25 Nov 2000 12:00 pm: Anand!! long time man.....i chanced on your website as I was searching for Viriboni varnam in google...(I am learning that in my class now!!).....it took me to ur Carnatic page and I was thrilled to see your website flourishing with newer branches around!!........and then browsed the site to read this write-up........very hilarious........!! anyways, how have u been? Best Kaviraj NAir T.C.Srinivasan 14 Aug 2008 4:20 pm: thank you for giving insight of what consultant expects in a interview Kyrylo 10 Nov 2008 9:26 am: Hi guys,\ \ Occasionally, I ran on this post. First of all, thank you for the experience you shared!\ \ You know, I want to submit my CV to BCG and even before having the interview I imagine the answer "lack of structure". Thus, if you guys know how to work on this issue I would really appreciate your help. ta23 5 Mar 2009 9:39 pm: Hi guys! I would like to recommend you to read some Plato's stuff (philosophy). When you read his works, you will find that his statements (actually by Socrates) are not only brilliant as far as content is concerned, but you will discover that he structures them perfectly, utterly comprehensible and easy to pass to others (even though they are very complex matters). here is what I have found on the internet, but this seems for me as an easy-version how to tackle the problem, and I don not think that a 2day work can be efficient. Nevertheless worth mentioning. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080117190910AAzIXIl Good luck anywhere you go! T>A Trang 3 Nov 2009 12:42 pm: I enjoyed reading this a lot, very useful. I had pleasant first round interviews and now about to have 2nd round (also final round I believe). Not sure if cases are gonna be harder and how I should be prepared (thats why I googled online for BCG interview tips haha) but your post is very helpful while entertaining. I'm sure you can make a good script writer ;) kiran 11 Oct 2009 5:08 pm: hi dude .. tx .. i was just abt to apply for it now :) i thought i have to do my ground work .. Tatiane 3 May 2010 1:45 am: Hey, Anand, thanks a lot for sharing your experience on the web. I'm preparing for my interview and it´s really to have this kind of information before it happens! Thanks a lot! M. Rafik Sama 22 Dec 2009 1:10 pm: I am also working as Visiting Faculty of Strategic Management. Well tried. but I fail to understand where your concept were " Lack of structure". Will you please put some light on it. so, it will be beneficial for me in my profession. Amit 4 Sep 2010 6:29 pm: Hi All, am working with one of the big4 Chartered Accountant Firm in Mumbai as an Analyst in Mergers and Acquisition prior to that i was working in Treasury operations in J P Morgan Chase. can anyone here help me out to make it to BCG...... Sanghamitra 22 May 2010 10:21 am: Thanks Anand for sharing this. It really insightful.....and specially because I am right now working on "no structure" problem. Would be happy to hear of any suggestion if you have for me. Vaidy 4 Dec 2010 5:46 am: Hi Anand, Good piece and thanks for sharing, I am on my way preparing for the interview and if I read between lines, the interviewer was more on the EFAS and IFAS with his discussion route leading to SFAS, well I hope to do well and will be in touch for some tips Frank Castle 21 Nov 2011 11:05 am: Thanks for giving such wonderful ideas and suggestions. Plz keep writing on such interesting topics. Thanks for sharing this information. Partha Srinivasan 9 Jun 2011 6:21 pm: Hi, your blog is very interesting and written in a satirical way.. :)...I looked up your linked in, so it appears you did make it to BCG eventually. Could you please publish that story ? Thanks, Partha. Andre 18 Apr 2011 5:50 am: I just read your hole story. It is interesting and very well written. How old were you by that time ? Did you ever join a Consulting Company ? What are you doing nowadays ? Sorry to ask. I mean I have nothing to do with it except my own interest. I am a recently graduated engineer. Took 3 exams before they invited me for my first round of interview and this is next week at the BCG Office in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I want it so bad and I am putting so much effort on it that I can sorta guess how you felt getting that negative answer back. Hope you are doing good ! Thank you for sharing it I feel even more prepared right now. If you can answer me my email is listed. S Anand 10 Jun 2011 1:55 pm: There wasn't much to that, actually. This interview was at LBS during my exchange. I attended placements again at IIMB and got through :-) calvin 14 Feb 2012 9:15 am: I will be interviewed as local specialist on thursday at BCG Jakarta, I found your post is very helpful. did you have phone interview though? I will be interviewed with someone from BCG India. I'm quite nervous because I'm a graduate from international relations, though I'm interested in economy and finance in general. I just hope I could pass the interview cases... Riddhi Mohan 29 Feb 2012 7:31 pm: Very Informative and the way to come up that is even more interesting. Landed to your blog seeking something and found more than what i was looking upon. Thanks for sharing. Sauarbh 14 May 2014 6:16 pm: Thanks for this,but still could not get,why lack of structure

Boston Consulting Group Interview


I realized the importance of practicing case interviews before my first attempt. During a business class, we analyzed The Body Shop’s success, debating how cultural attitudes toward animal welfare differ between the UK and France.

I had my first case interview today. Four of us (3 exchange students and one LBS MBA grad) sat together and tried giving each other cases. It's an excellent learning experience. Had I gone in for a case interview without this preparation, I'd have flunked. Our class on Financial Analysis was good fun -- and an exposure to yet another illustration of internationalism. Prof. Higson (in his perfect British accent) mentioned that he was part of a programme on TV for some society of animals. (Not as a caged animal that looked sorry, he assured us. He was talking about stocks -- no idea why.) We were discussing the 'Body Shop' company (the one that sells natural cosmetics), and apparantly this company was blacklisted by the programme, for failing to be 'animal-friendly'. Prof. Higson was mentioning that one of the reasons for Body Shop's success was the British obsession with being kind to animals. He suggested that, therefore, Body Shop may not have been as successful elsewhere. That was a leading question, naturally, and someone disagreed. So Prof. Higson quietly murmurs, "Perhaps there's someone from France in this class?" Prompt comes the response from the back row. "Yeah. And we don't give a f\\\ about animals."

British and animals


I'm observing the shifting browser landscape where Internet Explorer holds a dominant lead over Netscape. I highlight recent statistics and speculate on whether Netscape 6 or Microsoft's antitrust split will impact these market share trends.

The latest browser stats say that 69% of the world uses, Internet Explorer, while only 27% use Netscape. BrowserWatch says 57%-26%. Netscape 6 might do something about it, given that Microsoft's split.

Browser stats


I explore the surprising results of the Business India business school rankings. I'm reaching out to LBS to get their take on these unexpected shifts in the management education landscape and ranking methodologies.

Business India's business school rankings seem surprising. I'll check with LBS and ask them what they think.

Business India B-school rankings


I analyzed Business Week’s 2000 B-school rankings, highlighting London Business School’s high non-US ranking while noting the surprising omission or poor performance of top Indian management institutes like IIM-A and IIM-B.

Business Week's B-School rankings ranks LBS as the #2 non-US school (behind INSEAD). IIM-A is not listed even in the third tier, while IIM-B is not even included in their survey.

Business week B-school rankings


I found that Vault.com and Wetfeet.com are excellent resources for career planning. They offer deep dives into company cultures and industry trends, which are helpful when researching potential employers and job opportunities.

Vault.com is another great career resource like Wetfeet.

Career resources


I shared resources for recording MP3s onto audio CDs and backing up software, featuring the comprehensive CD-Recordable FAQ and a beginner-friendly tutorial for those looking to burn their first discs.

Want to record downloaded MP3s into an audio CD? Want to take home software? See the CD-Recordable FAQ. Rookies, see Josh's page

CD-Recordable FAQ


I explore early chatbots like AOLiza and Biz that inhabit chat rooms. These programs facilitate bewildering interactions, such as a strange conversation with a jilted user that illustrates the oddities of automated dialogue in the early 2000s.

Biz, AOLiza and other chatbots are programs that lurk chat space. Have a look at their conversations, especially this one with a guy who was jilted. It's bewildering, and yet...

Chatbots


I discovered ClicheSite, a resource that explains the meanings of common idioms and cliches. It is helpful for looking up the origins of phrases like "ass backwards" and understanding everyday expressions we often use without thinking.

Cliches. Tells you what cliches like ass backwards mean.

Cliche site


I find Clifford Pickover's website a constant source of inspiration, offering a unique blend of art, mathematics, and science. While his puzzles are fantastic, the site truly shines through its creative exploration of computers and scientific discovery.

Pickover's site is always a pleasure to visit. His puzzles are great, but you really go there for a blend of art, computers, mathematics and science.

Clifford Pickover


I highlight CNet's comprehensive global overview of digital signatures. I find their 'Big Picture' presentation format exceptionally useful for tracking complex international developments and legal frameworks in the emerging digital signature landscape.

CNet has a comprehensive outline on what's happening all over the world on digital signatures. Frankly, I'm won over by CNet's "Big Picture" concept.

CNet Big Picture view


I found In Passing, a collection of overheard remarks and casual comments people make in public. It captures the fleeting nature of everyday conversation and the unintended humor or insight found in brief human interactions.

Comments people make in passing.

Comments people make in passing


Learn about the organizations competing with ICANN for domain-name governance, including YouCANN and Open-RSC. These alternatives highlight the early push for diverse internet naming authorities and decentralized control over the root.

ICANN isn't the only domain-name body. There's competition for that too, with YouCANN, Open-RSC and others. Wired has the story

Competition for ICANN


I am calling for the expedited passage of India's Convergence Bill following its delay until the budget session. I want Sushma Swaraj to move faster on this legislation to modernize telecommunications and broadcasting regulations.

Would someone please tell Sushma Swaraj to hurry up the Convergence Bill? Now we have to wait till the budget session!!

Convergence bill delayed


I explore why currency forwards are not unbiased estimators of future spot rates but function instead as certainty equivalents. This distinction clarifies risk-adjusted forward pricing and connects financial valuation concepts to the Kelly criterion principles.

Prof. Apte mentioned that the currency forward is not an unbiased estimator of the future spot rate, but is the certainty equivalent of it. The Kelly FAQ gives a good description of what certainty equivalence means.

Currency forwards


I'm sharing Ridley Scott's confirmation that Deckard is indeed a replicant in Blade Runner, settling a long-standing fan debate. I've included links to the BBC news report and the full film script for further investigation.

Deckard was a replicant! The movie BladeRunner starring Harrison Ford raised a controversy. Read the script if you like. Was he an android? The author says he was.

Deckard was a replicant


I attended a Deloitte recruitment presentation at LBS, observing their firm culture and Q&A dynamics. I found that thorough company research leads to better questions and that "aggressive" networking is less valuable than asking insightful, career-focused questions.

Deloitte Consulting gave a presentation today for campus recruitment. Apparantly, we have to be in business suits to sit in any of the presentations! But luckily, since Deloitte has an informal culture, they said 'business casual' was OK. I squeaked past with just a tie. Need to buy a suit! The hall could seat about 100 people, and was full. Of course, you had to sign 24 hours in advance to get in, and they take attendance outside the hall. I took a copy of their annual report (which they were distributing outside) and sat in the front row. A huge contingent had come for the presentation: 1 big shot from manufacturing, 1 senior HR person, the liason for LBS and DC, 3 managers, 2 senior consultants, and 2-5 others who had recently joined! After about 20 minutes of a snappy presentation (the usual stuff, telling us about the companies), I took out my notebook. I wanted to see if LBS was really as 'aggressive' in asking questions as all these people made them out to be. Once the floor was thrown open to questions, no one jumped up. Slowly, one guy stood up, and said, "I'm in the Masters in Finance programme. I want to know how you can use us people in Deloitte Consulting. Or are you here for recruiting MBAs only?" To which they said they've got financial services consulting, their own corporate finance department, and they value the analytical skills & valuation capabilities of finance people anyway. The other questions (and answers) were: 1. When you joined Deloitte Consulting, you must have had an impression about consulting. How has that changed? ("Good question." Then they proceeded to give a vague answer.) 2. How are projects and consultants assigned to each other? (I asked this. They told me their system. Sounds pretty much like what we had at IBM. Meaning, you know the right guys, you get what you want. Apart from that, keep trying.) 3. Do you really do implementation? (Yes, yes, yes. They were emphatic. Seems to be their key point.) 4. We've heard the same thing from all consulting companies. What distinguishes you? (End-to-end consulting, willingness to listen to customers. The same guy then said, "It sounds the same...") 5. How do you segment your services? (They'd covered this in the presentation, and went through it again. Basically, by function, by industry, by geography.) 6. Could you comment on your turnover? (It's 20%. It's shot-up, largely because of the dot-com fever. But lots of people who left are coming back. They handled this question extremely well.) 7. What will the SEC say to your staying together as a firm? (Good question. DC believes there's value in staying together.) My observations are: no, they're not that much more aggressive. But their questions were better. In the sense, they were asking stuff that they really wanted to know, and they wanted to know a lot. Secondly, the good questions were either those that addressed something a lot of people wanted to know, or pointed out something interesting about the company that might affect our careers. Guess research pays -- both into the company as well as into ourselves! Anyway, today we had a class on 'Advanced Financial Analysis and Shareholder Value'. I don't know why, but Prof. Chris Higson reminded me quite a bit of Dustin Hoffman in 'Hook'. The same accent: something to do with the way he held his teeth, I think. Anyway, the class was interesting. One thing about the classrooms is, they're closed and sound-proof. So sound really travels. Which means, of course, that there must be pin-drop silence in the class. The lecturer is heard even when mumbling, and so are the front-benchers (who thereby avoid cries of 'Loudly, please!' :-) Incidentally, Prof. Higson mentioned that Gary Hamel (whose room I walked passed and nearly fell at the doorstep) has patented the word 'core competence'. So every time we use it for non-academic purposes, he can send an invoice! Projects are starting up. We've had 3 classes so far, formed 3 groups, and are looking for 3 companies to do projects on. Some things never change!

Deloitte PPT


I've observed a growing trend of websites like Online Solutions and PassThisOn successfully implementing DHTML. These examples highlight how dynamic HTML is becoming a practical tool for building more interactive and functional web interfaces.

These days, I see many sites put DHTML to good use. Online solutions and PassThisOn, for example.

DHTML use growing


I celebrated Diwali in London, witnessing firework displays in Ilford that rivaled home in India. During a busy week of reading movie scripts, I also experimented with Fotango, an early service for free online film development and hosting.

It was a rather busy week. Nothing much happened. I realized that I'd been roaming around too much, and that it was time to get to some assignments. Not that much work was done. Understandable, since most of my time was spent reading movie scripts -- notably The World is Not Enough. Diwali was not at all bad, considering that most of it was spent away from home. After spending 10 hours in front of the computer, I walked home from the Ilford station, when I was greeted with a BANG! It was with pure delight that I turned around, just in time to see a rocket exploding. It took me 45 minutes to walk home that night, watching as I was all the sights in the sky. Never, even in India, have I seen such lovely firework displays. The noise was probably a BIT subdued, but I wouldn't even be sure of that. The place even smelt like home! I did hear the comment that "Indians have to bring noise pollution even here, do they?" Sure. We make ourselves at home. We lit a lamp, and that was about it for Diwali. There this site called Fotango that develops films for free and posts them online. I sent 4 rolls to them. The deal is that, you put all these rolls in an envelope, and mail it to them (postage is prepaid). After 3-4 days, the develop your film, mail the negatives to you, and put up the snaps online on their site. So how do they make money? Well, if you print out any snaps, they charge you. But they're also in the process of building online communities and all that. Well, sounds good, but my bet is still on Yahoo!

Diwali


I'm exploring the dynamics of strategy using system dynamics software like Vensim and Ithink. These simulation tools provide a powerful framework for modeling complex business environments and improving strategic thinking through quantitative analysis.

We're doing a course on Dynamics of Strategy, and using some system dynamics software for this. Vensim and Ithink are powerful simulation tools to think about business.

Dynamics of strategy


I noted President Clinton's signing of the US e-signature law, set for October implementation. I compared this digital signature legislation with India’s IT Bill to highlight international differences in early electronic commerce regulation.

Clinton signed the e-signature law. To be implemented in October, it's an interesting contrast to our IT Bill.

e-signature law signed


I voice my opposition to India implementing an e-Tax system after reading a report in the Economic Times. I discuss my skepticism regarding digital taxation and hope the government avoids moving forward with the proposal.

Will India have e-Tax? Let's hope not.

e-Tax


I recommend the Electronic Commerce Resource Center as a comprehensive directory for e-commerce, while suggesting Digital Commerce Center and internet.com for more in-depth articles and news on the industry.

The Electronic Commerce Resource Center is the Yahoo of e-commerce. But if you want articles, go to Digital Commerce Center or internet.com.

eCommerce resource center


After 150 years, a cryptographic puzzle created by Edgar Allan Poe has finally been solved. This breakthrough deciphered a complex challenge that had stumped enthusiasts for over a century, revealing the hidden text and methodology.

Edgar Allen Poe's 150 year old puzzle has been solved.

Edgar Allen Poe puzzle solved


I traveled to Edinburgh by coach during rail floods, staying in a bizarre makeshift hostel. I met a Braveheart lookalike at the castle, learned about kilt weaving, hiked Arthur's Seat, and struggled with the city's strict bus fare rules.

Scotland's wonderful. We left on Friday night at 10:30PM on a 'coach', as they call it. A bus, really. We would've gone by rail, except that because of the recent flooding, trains weren't available to Scotland. The coach was far too uncomfortable to sleep, until exhaustion overcame me at around 2AM. We reached Edinburgh at 7AM. (Incidentally, it's pronounced Edinburough, though if you heard a Scot say it, you would be forgiven for thinking it's 'Edinbarra') The cold there is to be felt to be believed. The forecast said 3 degrees, but it could well have been sub-zero. We stood shivering at the bus stop, waiting for the next bus that would take us to the hostel where we'd booked dorms. The place was called "The Edinburgh House Hostel". So we knocked at 1, Craiglockhart Terrace, and a lady opens it. "Excuse me, is this the Edinburgh House Hostel?" Stares a while. "No, this isn't exactly a hostel. Wait a minute." So we wait a minute. A man in underwear appears. "Come in, come in." "Excuse me, is this the Edinburgh House Hostel?" "Uh, well, um, yeah, kindof. Would you like a room?" He had just been woken up, and wasn't at his brightest. "We already have a reservation. We would be staying one night." "Ah, very fine. That would be 15 pounds, then." "But we already booked this place for 12 pounds!" After that, the conversation degenerated to chaos, and we finally sorted it out. A guy called John, who lives in Canada, and probably owns the place, had confirmed the booking for us over e-mail. The guy in underwear (Tom) didn't know about it. Anyway, he said "Here's your room. Here's the bathroom. Here's the kitchen. Good night!" and went back to sleep. There might come a time that you'll be fazed with plumbing concerns whichever place you're in. If that happens, you can visit Sarkinen Plumbing web site or similar ones. An Australian girl called Kim, who stays in the same house, said it was just their house, which they had let out during a festival season, and were now using it as a boarding house of sorts. You could tell. It looked like a normal house, except with bunkers. Scottish bus drivers are crazy. They insist on having us give the EXACT change, failing which you cannot get on a bus. No cards, nothing. After having struggled with that a bit, we managed to get to Princes Street, the main street in Edinburgh. Edinburgh has these hop-on hop-off tour buses that go around the city giving commentary. You can get on and off at any point. Our first stop was at Edinburgh Castle, where we met William. William (not his real name, I'm sure) had painted half his face blue, had long hair, and was dressed in armour. He even had a sword. If none of this sounds familiar, you haven't seen Braveheart. (Incidentally, our tour guide tells us that William Wallace is supposed to have been 6'7". ) He was collecting donations for children with leukemia, and we donated liberally in exchange for a snap with him. We gave the inside of the castle a skip. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all. We went, instead, to a weaving exhibition, which showed the history of the Scottish kilt. The Scottish dress is basically a skirt of sort (the kilt), and a cloth you tie to the shoulder. It started as a blanket that you wore when you moved around, but became a fashion item later. These things cost over 500 pounds today. We also got snaps of ourselves in these kilts at the exhibition. Our next stop was Arthur's Seat, which is a hill that has a great view of Edinburgh. Being the great athlete that I am, I could climb up about 30m before I was panting. We did manage to get close to the top, though. The lovely thing about the UK (perhaps all of Europe) is that the colours are so bright that, even when people dress in greys and browns, the scenery is splendid. It was dark by 4:30PM. The evening was spent window shopping, and in my case, eating anything that I could find. Good, as it turned out that I had to skip dinner. The neighbourhood pub told us at 7:05PM that they served dinner only up to 7PM. Strange country!

Edinburgh


I found eLiterature.org, a directory for electronic literature. Although the current listings are underwhelming, I think it has the potential to become a useful hub for tracking digital-born fiction, poetry, and hypermedia.

eLiterature.org is a directory of electronic literature. Nothing great so far, but maybe, some day...

eLiterature


I recommend the latest Emerging Digital Economy report. I found the first two editions extremely informative for understanding how the internet and ecommerce were reshaping the global landscape during the early 2000s.

The new Emerging Digital Economy report is out. I found the second and first extremely informative.

Emerging Digital Economy report


I’ve stopped providing regular updates for my London travel series due to time constraints. This post serves as the final entry for the collection, concluding my digital record of the London 2000 trip.

Sorry, didn't get time to write more. This page will no longer be updated.

End of the London updates


I’m fascinated by ePrarthana, a site that lets you conduct pujas online. It offers true disintermediation by performing rituals on your behalf without a local pujari, bringing ancient religious practices into the digital age.

ePrarthana.com lets you do your puja online. That's what I call true disintermediation. No pujari anymore -- they do the puja for you, and you get the benefit. More details at CNET. Comments A.Chandrasekhar sarma 27 Feb 2007 1:27 pm: i request you to give moreinformation on Vedic culture and stotras on ain voice mode

ePrarthana


I'm preparing for my upcoming European tour by researching rail travel via Backpack Traveller and bus routes with Eurolines. I also found a guide for sightseeing in London to help plan my first stops.

I hope to tour Europe next week. The Backpack Traveller tells me about rail travel, and Eurolines about bus. Of course, there's a lot to see in London.

Europe sightseeing


I used Fed Funds Futures to predict that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in late January 2001. Based on these market estimates, I recommend buying stocks now before the rate cut takes effect.

You can use the Fed Futures to get the market's estimate of whether the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates. My guess, based on the numbers is that it will happen in late January 2001. Buy up stocks before then!

Fed will lower rates in Jan 2001


I use the 'What's new' sections on 123india and Yahoo's India directory to discover the latest Indian websites. These curated lists are effective tools for keeping track of new additions to the regional web.

What's new on 123india is a good way to find out new Indian sites. So is What's new on Yahoo.

Finding new Indian sites


I compared book prices across Indian online retailers and found First and Second significantly cheaper than competitors like Fabmart and Rediff. The consistent price differences make me want to build a bot for automated comparison shopping.

First and second looks much cheaper than Fabmart or Rediff. Compare Archer's "To cut a long story short", for example. Rediff: 167. Fabmart: 127. First and second: 105. Or "Built to last". Rediff: not available. Fabmart: 354. First and second: 274. Oh well, I'm going to need a bot. Why can't I make one?

First and Second is cheaper


I discovered First and Second, a massive Indian online bookstore that stocks Richard Dawkins titles unavailable elsewhere. I received my order in just two days, making them a remarkably efficient resource for readers in India.

First and Second claims to be the largest bookshop in India. It's possible. They're the only ones that stock The Blind Watchmaker and The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. I ordered them instantly, and it came in 2 days! I'm sold.

First and Second


I never saw the point of forwarding joke emails. Instead of cluttering inboxes, I prefer visiting curated archives like rec.humor.funny to find the best content without the repetitive chain message spam.

This site has a menu of messages that have been forwarded many times over. I never saw the point in forwarding jokes in the first place. You can always catch up with the good ones at rec.humor.funny.

Forwarded messages


Jain Internet’s shift from a free to a paid model underscores the reality that selling services for less than they cost is unsustainable. Expect more ISPs to follow as they abandon the free-access strategy.

Jain Internet is the first to move from a free ISP to a paid one. How long before the rest follow? LESSONS: It's NOT okay to sell products for less than what they cost ( USA Today).

Free ISP becomes paid ISP


The decline of online advertising has killed the free PC and free ISP models, yet free software like the Opera browser continues to succeed, highlighting a divide between ad-supported hardware and open software ecosystems.

Free PCs are dead. Freebies are dying, since online advertising is dying. Now, Altavista's free ISP died. Is this the beginning of the end for free ISPs in India? For that matter, is this the end of free everything? No. Free software thrives (Opera will be free). Why is that?

Free PCs are dead


I highlight resources for movie special effects, including technical breakdowns from Visual Effects HQ and About.com. Discover the tools behind cinematic stunts and curious trivia, like the flying cow hidden in Speed 2.

Speed 2: Cruise Control. The climax. A tanker is getting blown up. Why, then, is a cow flying out as debris? If you're interested in special effects, Visual Effects HQ is all about FX in movies. About.com talks about the technology. Yahoo!, as usual, has a whole bunch of deadly FX links.

FX in movies


I found that Tamil movies finally have a dedicated online presence via Galatta.com. The platform features early site launches for films like Seenu, Priyamaanavale, and Snehidiye, marking an important step for Kollywood's digital media history.

Tamil movies finally get a website at Galatta.com. They've started off with Seenu, Priyamaanavale and Snehidiye

Galatta.com


I experienced a global classroom where students challenged the professor on national accounting and bankruptcy systems. Despite feeling intimidated by my classmates’ elite industry connections, I held my own during the Koito case discussion through independent research.

The reality of international interaction really came through today in the Mergers & MBOs class. Prof. Paulo Volpin commented that 'So, eefectively, ve see Germany has a pooor accounting seestem." To which, immediately, a German pounced up and said, "I don't go with this result," and proceeded on a defence of why the system was right for Germany. A few other Germans joined in. Poor Prof. Volpin had to make a hasty retreat. Later, when making a similar comment about Belgium, he first clarified: "Are there any Belgians in the class?" A while later, he gave an example in China. One of his friends, a consultant, told him that the Chinese sometimes picked a well-running company and forced it to go bankrupt, just to show the World Bank that their bankruptcy system was working fine. A Chinese practically shouted out that bankruptcy protection was needed, because otherwise 20,000 labourers would be in the streets, and this stupid consultant obviously was not aware of what really happened, because the Government had lots of bad companies to make bankrupt, so why would they pick a good one? Today's case discussion was on a Japanese company called Koito. A Japanese is in our team, and he was often asked to comment on what he felt was the situation. He didn't speak much in class, really. During the break, he came over to me and said, "You know, I would like to speak much. But I cannot. My English is not very good." As with most Japanese, his entire education was in Japanese, and while he did have some courses in written English, there were almost none in Japanese. One of the slides was a comparison of market capitalizations of various countries. India was not found on the list. So the Japanese turned to me, politely, and asked "Where is India?" Naturally, I didn't feel like telling him that the Bombay Stock Exchange had a market capitalization so small that it wouldn't have been possible to put it on the table. Well, so much for globalization! The standard of class participation is extraordinary, though. For example, when we were discussing the EMI-Warner Music merger that was called of recently, one person commented, "Last week I was talking with a Director of EMI, and he said the reason was such-and-such." I mean, we have people who've actually been involved in some of these deals in class! I feel like a baby when I open my mouth. But that proved not quite the case, actually. We were discussing the Koito case and I did open my mouth on a couple of occasions. During the break, Prof. Volpin comes up to my desk and says, "So, Anand, you seem to know quite a bit about the Koito case. How come?" I mumbled something about Internet searches. Guess there's something to be said for IIM-B after all...

Global classroom


I found the Golem project, a distributed computing initiative similar to SETI@home that uses idle screensaver time to design and evolve physical locomoting machines. It is a unique application of evolutionary robotics and crowd-sourced processing.

The Golem project is rather like SETI@Home, except that your screensaver builds 'physical locomoting machines'. Neat.

Golem project


I've curated observations on how Google’s early algorithms favor directory sites and Yahoo!. These notes explore their use of peer review concepts to rank quality content in the search engine's formative years.

Google likes directory sites. Google likes Yahoo!. Google uses peer review. Google is good.

Google notes


I discovered a detailed narrative of a computer network breach and the subsequent recovery efforts. It provides practical insights into incident response, security forensics, and the logistical challenges of restoring a compromised infrastructure.

An interesting story about a hacked computer network and how they recovered.

Hacked computer network experience


I found a report on a honeypot trap where researchers recorded hacker conversations to analyze their motives and techniques. It offers a fascinating look at early digital forensics and intruder behavior that is essential for UNIX-savvy readers.

An behind-the-scenes report on a hacking attempt. These guys set up a trap and waited for it to get hacked. Once it did, they recorded the conversations of the hackers. If you're UNIX savvy, it's a must read.

Hacking attempt logged


I missed my Stonehenge tour but ended up at Hampton Court Palace. I navigated the confusing hedge maze, saw Henry VIII’s royal kitchen, and visited Windsor Castle and Eton School, marveling at the vibrant English countryside along the way.

Stonehenge is jinxed. To those who don't know, Stonehenge its a bunch of huge rocks from pre-historic Britain, and no one knows why they're there. I tried to visit it last week, but had to cancel the trip and lost about 50 pounds. (No, I don't want to know what that is in Rupees.) So this Sunday, we'd planned to go again. I called up this Magical Tour Company, which offered tours for just 22 pounds, and said, "I want to go to Stonehenge on Sunday." The guy on the phone took my credit card number and said OK. Sunday morning, I wake up at 6AM, get ready, and go to Great Portland Street, where the bus is supposed to pick us up. I was with my cousin, Vishnu, and my classmate, Pallavi. The operator says, "Dear me, sorry, there was a mistake, and we had accidentally put you down on YESTERDAY's tour. Not to worry -- there's place today." Good. We get on. The operator says, "Welcome to the tour of Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle." So I walk up to him and say, "Excuse me, aren't we going to Stonehenge?" "Oh, I see, so that's what the confusion is. You see, we go to Stonehenge only on Saturdays. So the guy at the desk must have put you down for yesterday. We were worried when you didn't turn up..." "Very nice of you. But I don't want to go to Hampton whatever, I want to go to Stonehenge. So when's the next tour? Can I take it?" "Afraid not, sir." Classic British accent. "You see, we'd put you down for yesterday, and we're giving you seats today instead. We had to turn down 20 others yesterday. So if we have extra seats on the next tour, we may be able to accomodate you, but otherwise, it would have to be on the 25th of November." Wonderful. So we decide to go to these two places. The journey along the countryside itself was worth it, though. We went past the Thames (pronounced Temz) several times. Lots of boating teams were practising -- probably Oxford or Cambridge. Those who read Archer's "Dougie Mortimer's Right Arm" in 'A Quiver Full of Arrows' would know about the famous Oxford vs Cambridge boat races. Then we went past a place called Richmond Hill, where an apartment typically costs 5 million pounds. Lots of famous people live there apparantly, but I couldn't recognize a single name. The best part, however, was the grass. The empty countryside itself was so green that I wonder what grass that is treated would look like. The scenes in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge are no exxageration -- the European countryside is really splendid. We also passed some classic English estates -- with dogs and geese and all that -- and the place where the Magna Carta was signed. Hampton Court Palace is where Henry VIII lived. He's the one that had 6 wives, and here's what happened to them: beheaded, divorced, survived, beheaded, divorced, died. The Palace in itself was beautiful. But even better was the garden behind it. Lovely green, as usual. Had a fountain and a pool. There were geese, swans and ducks all over the place. These animals look extremely well fed. They weren't the least bit scared of people (though I was fairly apprehensive of touching one). So I happily ended up finishing off a whole role -- mostly filled with close-ups of these birds. The Hampton Court Palace also boasted of a maze. So we went in. It's just a maze made of bushes, and fairly small. So we went in at 10:55AM. I of course knew that if we kept the opening wall to our right, we'd get back to the starting point. But after all, it's a small maze. So we explored. It was all fine until about just past 11, so we decided to get back. We turned, and followed what looked like the path we came along. No. Dead end. 11:05AM. OK, other people are lost. So let's just walk around. Another dead end. Walk a little more. Pallavi's commenting that the path looks very familiar. So what? Walk on a little more. We ended up in the same place we were about 5 minutes ago. 11:10AM. Turn around, walk on a more promising path. Pallavi again comments that we've been here, and it turned out that it was exactly the same spot she'd mentioned earlier. We'd been walking around in circles. Now panic begins to set in. We got to a place that was just one bush away from the entrance, and wanted to scream to be let out. But that would've bruised our egos too much. Besides, there were some people who had been with us in the maze who were walking outside. So let's give it another try. By hit and trial, we kept trying path after path, until we were out at about 11:20AM. Whew! The crazy part is, the maze was amazingly small from the outside. But inside, it gave 'labyrinthine' a whole new meaning. Then we went to the Royal Tennis Court, where someone was learning something that looked like a cross between tennis and squash. Then to the Royal Kitchen, which at its peak would have empoyed about a 100 people and fed 600. After that, it was on to the Windsor Castle. The Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle. That's where the Queen stays on weekends (not this one, though). We walked past the roads, which looked exactly as they were in the Georgian times. The grass, as always, was terribly green. We didn't go inside the castle, though. We chose to eat at a pub and visit the Eton school. Apparantly, that's where the Royal family sends their children to study, and it's the poshest school in England -- perhaps the world. It was closed to visitors, but I took a snap of some of the boys. Who knows who's royalty? A day well spent. But I intend getting to Stonehenge. Someday.

Hampton Court Palace


I've encountered a suspicious email attachment named Hanson.scr that automatically resends itself and attempts to connect to the internet. I suspect it's a virus and am looking for more information on how it operates.

Speaking of viruses, anyone heard of a virus called 'Hanson.scr'? I got this mail from home that had nothing but an attachment, and I'm sure it's a virus. It keeps sending itself to me, and tries connecting to the Internet when I run it.

Hanson.scr


I suggest visiting Harappa.com if you want to learn about the Indus Valley Civilization. It is an excellent resource for archaeological findings, historical data, and rare photographs documenting this ancient South Asian urban society.

Check out Harappa if you're interested in the Indus Valley Civilization.

Harappa


I navigated Harrods in a sweatshirt and backpack, feeling out of place among suited shoppers. I hunted for the most expensive items, finding a £189,000 diamond watch and luxury wines like Montrachet Grand Cru before heading to Hyde Park.

I had the courage to walk into Harrod's today. Rather silly of me, really, since I had about 250 pounds in my pocket, and was wearing an IIM-B jacket with my backpack. As soon as I walked in, a guard came up to me and said, "I'm afraid you'll have to carry your backpack in your hand in this store, sir." Struck me as slightly crazy. What, is it a measure against shoplifting? Or is it like you're supposed to wear suits in some shops? Or did he just want me to feel uncomfortable? If so, he succeeded extremely well. It's painful to carry a backpack in your hand, even if it's got next to nothing. The entrance led to the perfumes section with lots of French names. I sensibly walked out, and into the men's accessories section. The only thing in my budget was a teddy bear on display for 19.95 pounds, and I've promised myself not to buy any more teddy bears. Went on to the frosted foods section. Looked really nice. For the first time, I walked past meat without a revolted look on my face. I mean, pork was actually packed like a pig, but it looked so elegant. Then to the coffee and tea section. There were some coffee jugs that looked like they needed buying. But not now... Uptil now, I had consciously avoided looking at the prices. I was window shopping, after all. But the designer jewellery section forced me. There were, of course, tiny diamond rings for 1,000 pounds. I looked around, for the first time, at the people around -- who could probably afford these rings. Sure, all of them were wearing suits. The ladies were wearing some kind of sophisticated casual dress (can't describe it -- too sophisticated for me), while there I was, in Allen Solly trousers (luckily), unbranded T-shirt, IIM-B sweatshirt, torn backpack, and IIM-B hip-pack. Unshaven. It speaks volumes of my courage that I decided to explore the section rather than run away. I began hunting for the most expensive item. Thought it would put life in perspective. I found a necklace for 45,000 pounds. That's over Rs. 30 lakhs. Being courageous, I didn't faint. A few rows down, there was a ring (had to be gold) with something big and red in the middle. 135,000 pounds(over Rs. 91 lakhs). Should do well as a wedding gift, I guess. But the pick of the lot was a watch. The tag said 189,000 pounds (almost Rs. 1.3 crores). It was a diamond watch. Let me explain what that means. Watches usually have a strap, right? Sometimes they're made of steel, right? This one had one that was made of diamonds -- with steel between the diamonds. You could barely see the steel. Watches also have a dial, right? That was made of diamond too. I could see it because it was cut. The hands were probably studded with diamonds too, but I couldn't see clearly. That's because the glass cover on the watch wasn't glass, but diamond. Feeling decidedly sophisticated at this point, I walked up to the Food & Wine section. Again, with the objective of determining the costliest item around. It wasn't an exhaustive search, mine, but I figure there aren't many wines that sell at 45 pounds for 0.375l. That was Schilfwein Halves, Wills Optiz 1994. (Don't ask.) Of the Champagnes, Brut 1985, Savlon, Blanc de Blancs, Le Mesmil was 115 pounds for 0.75l. But the costliest piece on the floor was Montranchet Grand Cru, at 435 pounds for 0.75l. No, I have no idea what kind of beverage it was. And this is just one floor of Harrod's. I decided to come back to explore the other floors when I had a suit on, and did not have a backpack. So I walked down to Hyde Park, where hundreds of birds insisted that I feed them my lunch, failing which they would take it by themselves. After having escaped with a few cake crumbs, I made my way back to LBS.

Harrods


I found this 2000 article questioning if Linux and Linus Torvalds failed to achieve mainstream dominance. It captures the historical tension between open-source enthusiasts and those skeptical of Linux as a viable desktop competitor to Windows.

Has Linux failed?

Has Linus failed


I recommend HowStuffWorks and Learn2 as great places to learn new things online. I used Learn2's practical guides to master the skill of tying a necktie, showcasing the value of these instructional web resources.

HowStuffWorks and Learn2 are great places to learn something new on the Net. I learnt how to tie a necktie at Learn2.

How Stuff Works


I found a fascinating collection of articles on Websearch covering diverse methods for searching the web. It highlights many advanced techniques and hidden tools I didn't know existed, offering valuable insights for improving your online research skills.

Websearch has an interesting set of articles on how to search the Web. Makes interesting reading at the very least. But more importantly, it tells you so many ways of searching that you never knew existed.

How to search the Web


Explore the Human Genome Project’s efforts to map every human gene. You can spend hours browsing genetic sequences through the NCBI database and considering the ethical, legal, and social implications of this massive scientific milestone.

The Humane Genome Project maps what each of our genes do. You could spend hours exploring genes. It's implications are quite interesting.

Human Genome project


I purchased a Tamil MP3 CD from tamilmp3cd.com, getting 150 songs for about Rs. 900 including shipping. Since it's in MP3 format, I can only listen to the collection using my computer.

I bought an MP3 CD from Tamil MP3 CD. You get about 150 songs for about Rs. 900, including shipping. Of course, you can only listen to it on a computer.

I bought a tamil MP3 CD


I highlight I-DNS as a compelling service for registering domain names in any language. As the localized internet grows, this tool enables global accessibility by moving beyond English-only web addresses for international users.

I-DNS looks like a great concept. You can register a domain name in any language. Localized Internet is taking off like mad.

I-DNS


I made an audio CD-R using Remix downloads but messed up by closing the session before testing it. This mistake means I can only listen to the tracks on a computer rather than a standard CD player.

I cut an audio CD-R today. Remix downloads came in handy. Only problem is, I goofed up, and closed the session before fully testing the CD. So I can listen to the songs only on a computer.

I made an audio CD


I won my bet regarding October page hits, recording 14,340 visits compared to the 2,931 reached by mkalidas. Despite the clear statistical victory, a few people still disagree with the majority's take on the traffic results.

I win the bet. sanand strikes 14340 to 2931 versus mkalidas. Must admit that some people disagree with the majority, though.

I win page hits in October


I recommend checking out the Ig Nobel Prizes, which honor the most eccentric and hilarious scientific achievements that make people laugh and then think. They are the perfect, goofy counterpart to the traditional Nobel broadcasts.

If you've been following the Nobel prize broadcasts, don't miss the Ig prizes -- for the goofiest achievements.

Ig prizes


I've been relying on AltaVista and Yahoo Gallery for image searches, finding AltaVista to be the primary innovator in the space. Its early image service and the unique BabelFish language translator give it a distinct edge.

These days I need to search a lot for images. images.altavista.com and gallery.yahoo.com have proven very handy. To me, it seems Altavista's the eternal innovator, and gives away its lead to Yahoo. They came up with the image service first (and its still better). But their babelfish language translator is still one of its kind.

Image searches


I found that I have seen nine out of the ten highest-rated movies on IMDb. I have watched classics like The Godfather and Casablanca, but I still haven't seen Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.

It turns out that I've seen 9 out of the top 10 movies according to the Internet Movie Database. As of today, the list read: Godfather, Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, Schindler's List, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Star Wars, Godfather: Part II, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Dr. Strangelove (which I haven't seen).

IMDb top 10


I found inc.com to be an excellent resource for business management, offering practical articles on e-commerce, legal issues, and strategy. Their detailed category guides are especially helpful for navigating specific entrepreneurial challenges and planning.

inc.com has lots of good articles on anything to do with business -- business plans, customer service, e-commerce, law, strategy, etc. Especially their guides.

inc.com


I recommend Tradeport for its excellent collection of Indian industry reports and market research. The site also includes comprehensive data on many other countries, serving as a great resource for international market insights.

Tradeport has a wonderful collection of Indian industry reports and market research along with lots of other stuff on India and other countries.

India reports


I found a searchable database of Indian parliament acts and bills. It provides the full text of legislation passed by the government, making it easy to research specific laws and historical legal records.

I found this law site where you can search for all the acts and bills the Indian government has passed. It's got their full text as well.

Indian parliament acts and bills


I navigated technical glitches and uncomfortable seating at London Business School while observing the impressive caliber of its students. I met professionals with diverse backgrounds in consulting and finance, highlighting the school's focus on significant prior work experience.

The session on Mergers, MBOs and other corporate reorganizations by Paulo Volpin started 5 minutes late. Reason: They had a problem with the computer projector. Fixing it turned out to be a hi-tech exercise, though. A guy came in with some kind of a hand-held device, pointed it around like a remote control, and the projector was on. 6:05PM -- 5 minutes lost. 5 minutes later, "IP address conflict". The Professor gives up and moves on to trusty slides. He came prepared. Their IT isn't all bad, though. In fact, it's rather good. They have mail terminals scattered around the place for people to check e-mail, without having to go to the Computer Center. The computer center isn't far away, though -- just across the road -- about twice the distance from the IIM-B hostels to the Computer Center. What's lovely, though, is their audio-video system. They have one in each room, and the control panel looks lovely. Their chairs are awful, though. The seats are cramped. There are no arm-rests. They don't move. They're too close to the table. (OK, I'm fat.) They aren't shaped to my back. Anyway, to sit there for 3 hours on those chairs for a fidgety guy like me is tough. Couldn't tell much about the Professors. So far, they look just like IIM-B professors. The students on the other hand, are something exceptional. Each has tremendous work experience (a prerequisite for getting into IIM-B in the first place). There's a Russian consultant who used to work for BCG for 5 years (before you ask: he wants to become an I-Banker -- that's why he's here) an English lady who started a company called WorldCom (no, not that one: she sold the name to THE WorldCom :-) an American IBMer who worked at Lehman Brothers for summers (his name is Stephen, and he's not me, and I've never heard of him) an English VP from Lehman Brothers a French film production expert about to join UBS Warburg and lots more.

Infrastructure at LBS


I tracked the evolving internet cable infrastructure situation in 2000, specifically monitoring updates on submarine connectivity and bandwidth expansion projects that were crucial for scaling global web access during the early digital boom.

An update on the Internet cable scenario.

Internet cable scenario


I shared a link to an Economist article from 2000 discussing the perceived failure of new media and the general disappointment surrounding the internet's impact during that period of economic and technological skepticism.

The Economist has an article on The failure of new media -- about how the Internet's a disappointment. In fact they have lots of articles on the Internet.

Internet disappoints


Explore how the four layers of the internet economy have progressed through this detailed report from Internet Indicators, offering insights into the structural growth and economic impact of the web during the dot-com era.

Internet Indicators has a report on how the 4 layers of the Internet economy have been progressing.

Internet indicators


I found the Internet Law Journal and dotcomfailures.com to be essential resources for my dot-com project. They provide detailed legal insights and case studies on failing companies during this period of internet startup volatility.

The Internet Law Journal has a lot of stuff on legal issues on the Net. It's going to come in handy for our dot-com project. So is dotcomfailures.com, which has details on failing dot-coms.

Internet Law Journal


Track the shift as internet telephony becomes legal in India via these reports from 2000. These sources cover the early regulatory changes and infrastructure developments that first allowed VoIP services in the country.

Internet Telephony in India is legal. Some stories: 1 | 2 | 3

Internet telephony legal in India


I visited Inverness and Loch Ness, learning about the real history of Macbeth and the numerous hoaxes behind the legendary monster. I toured the Urquhart Castle ruins and navigated the challenges of traveling through Scotland on a Sunday.

The next stop was Inverness. I didn't know Inverness had any history to it. It wasn't till we got there that I learnt that the Inverness castle was where Macbeth (of Shakespearean fame) ruled from. In fact, it turns out that Macbeth was a really nice king. There was this barbarian who fought him, lost, and turned to the English for help -- who of course were delighted, and they killed Macbeth. This barbarian stupidly signed a document saying that Scotland would pay tributes to England, and that's been the source of all the trouble. The other thing to see, of course, was the famous Loch Ness monstor, or Nessie as the locals like to call it. We made one mistake, though. We landed there on a Sunday. As we got off the bus, we learnt that no tours operate on Sundays. The tourist information center was closed. I wanted to buy batteries for my camera, and the shops were largely closed. The only practical thing that was open was MacDonald's, so we picked up a meal. Fortunately, a guy called Tony Harmsworth came along on his van. He conducts guided tours to the Loch Ness, so we hopped on with about 8 others. Tony was apparantly involved with the Loch Ness centre since its founding, and had in fact headed it. So he was very knowledgeable about the history of the monstor. Loch Ness in itself is beautiful. It's a huge lake, very calm, and apparantly very deep. On one end is the sea. On the other end is the Urquhart castle. It's a stone castle that was destroyed by the Jacobites (who had the habit of destroying everything they saw, actually). I have a sneaking suspicion Tolkien borrowed quite a bit of inspiration from the Loch Ness and the Urquhart castle. It could well be the remnants of Isengard -- or the fort of the Uruk-Hai orcs. The monster itself, of course, is just a myth. The local folks always thought there was a large fish in the waters. In 1933, Mrs. McRoy saw something large -- about 6 to 9 feet -- that she thought was a whale. Journalists caught on, and blew it up to a monstor. A Mrs. and Mr. Spicer claimed to have seen a snake-like monstor walking past the road. (We drove past this spot.) A vet student told his mother that he broke his bike because he fell off in surprise when he saw a dinosaur-like creature. Since he was a vet student, journalists believed him. A famous reporter found hippo pugmarks. In the end, it turned out to be a hoax using his hippo foot-shaped ash tray. Then this reporter rigs a photograph that looks like a dinosaur peeping out of the lake. That's a hoax too, using a toy submarine and a piece of cardboard. Many of the other 'monstor' photographs turned out to be fakes -- in one case, a labrador fetching a piece of stick (see if you can spot the face of the dog). In the 1987, operation Deep Scan searched the whole lake, and found 3 suspiciously large living objects, but they were no where near large enough to be a monstor. Sure, there's probably some big fish down there, though. The rest of the evening was at a local pub with some loud music on. Then we hopped on to the bus, reaching London at 7AM on Monday. In time to get back to class.

Inverness


I've completed a business proposal to leverage the upcoming IT Act implementation in India this September. My goal is to secure a first-mover advantage with itsvalidated.com, though the window of opportunity is narrowing daily.

The IT Act will be implemented in September. We're just done with our business proposal. If we rush in now, we may be just in time to get a first mover advantage. But we're losing the lead each day. Read about itsvalidated.com.

IT Act in September


I’m exploring business opportunities after the IT Bill passed, legalizing digital signatures in India. My team drafted a proposal for our IIMB e-commerce course to leverage this change and potentially build something profitable in the new regulatory landscape.

The IT Bill has been passed. That means digital signatures are the same as written ones. We're hoping to make money on that! We wrote a first-draft proposal for our Business Modules in E-Commerce course.

IT Bill passed


I shared a link to a classic joke about Jeff Bezos and Amazon's early growth. Hosted on NetFunny, the piece offers a lighthearted perspective on the company's rapid expansion and business model during the 2000s.

A neat joke on Amazon.com.

Joke on Amazon.com


I found the Kleinman report to be an interesting monthly publication covering web developments and internet trends. It serves as a useful resource for tracking the early evolution of the web and digital media happenings.

The Kleinman report is another interesting (monthly) report on web happenings.

Kleinman report


I recommend Krislyn's Strictly Business sites as a focused portal for business resources. It stands out for its flat structure and curated selection of high-quality links, avoiding the clutter found in larger, more complex web directories.

Krislyn's Strictly Business sites is a portal for business sites. It's appeal is in its flat structure and small list of good sites.

Krislyn strictly business sites


I document my first day and ongoing experiences at London Business School (LBS) starting in October 2000. I share personal reflections on the classes, environment, and my journey through the MBA program in London.

Today was my first class at the London Business School, and I've written up my experiences on day 1. I plan to keep updating it.

LBS experiences


I compared London Business School and IIM Bangalore across faculty, placements, and campus life. While LBS leads in industry connections and location, IIMB offers superior physical infrastructure and a traditional student campus experience.

How would I compare LBS against IIM-B so far? Let's see. Faculty: LBS probably wins marginally. More famous faculty, more industry experience, better communication. But like I said, marginal. IT infrastructure: IIM-B wins! IT management: LBS wins. They manage what they've got extremely well. Companies coming for placement: LBS wins. Placement process: Debatable. IIM-B definitely has a more student-friendly process. Library: Books-wise, IIM-B wins. Electronic resources-wise, LBS wins. Students: Comparable. Too early to tell the difference probably. The point is, however, that everyone in LBS has a lot of work-experience. Campus: IIM-B wins hands down. I mean, LBS faces Regent's Park and all that, but it doesn't really have a campus. Lecture rooms: LBS wins marginally. Slightly better rooms, better equipment. Hostel: IIM-B wins. LBS doesn't have one. Location: LBS wins. Heart of London. Exchange programmes: LBS wins. LBS is ahead, but not by far. Today, I saw a train coming late for the first time. The British Rail comes to the Ilford station at minutes ending in 3 (11:03, 11:13, etc.) Today, the train was TWO MINUTES late. Two whole minutes. Probably because it was raining. I hear people complain about the punctuality of these trains. Well, most of the day was spent at the computer center doing assignments. If you want a flavour of what I'm doing, check out my report on Koito, which is about Pickens trying to take over Koito.

LBS vs IIMB


I scanned and uploaded a collection of photos I took during my summer internships at Lehman Brothers. These images capture the office environment and professional culture at the firm during the late 1990s.

I've scanned the photos I took at Lehman Brothers during summers. Comments Praveen 10 Jul 2000 12:00 pm: I would really like to see some photos of LB Mumbai.

Lehman Brothers photos


I reconsidered my pessimistic outlook on the 21st century after discovering 'A Force More Powerful.' These stories demonstrate how non-violent conflict often achieves more effective results than traditional warfare, providing a compelling model for future social change.

On 24th August I said "Life in the 21st century doesn't look promising". A Force More Powerful would make me eat those words. It's a collection of stories about non-violent conflict in the 20th century, and it appears to work more effectively than most wars.

Life in the 21st century


I've curated Life Magazine’s best photos of 2000, featuring a powerful but graphic science gallery on the birth of Sarah. It offers a raw look at professional photojournalism and significant human events from the turn of the millennium.

Life Magazine has picked the best photos of the year. The squeamish may wish to avoid the Science section featuring the birth of Sarah. You have been warned.

Life magazine photoes


I explore the online visibility and reputation of IIM Bangalore by searching for websites that link back to its official domain, questioning how the institution was perceived during the internet's early years.

Is IIM-B known on the Internet? What do people think? Who links to IIMB?

Links to IIMB


I highlight the emergence of localized Indian portals like Yahoo! India, CNet, and ZDNet. These sites, featuring dedicated sections for finance and news, represent a significant milestone for India’s growing presence on the global internet.

India's truly on the Net. With a slew of localized sites -- Yahoo! India, CNet India, India.internet.com, and ZDNet India. -- we've arrived! Don't underestimate any of them, especially Yahoo! and its finance, news (with full coverage) and movie sites.

Localised Indian sites


I visited the London Eye and was later mistaken for a cab driver in a bar. I also reflect on the precision of British Rail timings and the cultural differences in railway delays between England and India.

After lazing around the whole morning, I went to the London eye this evening. The London eye is this huge giantwheel that's probably one of the tallest structures in London. When on top, you're supposed to be able to see all the important places in London. It was arranged by the LBS for the exchange students, but not many had turned up, since it was raining. So we got on, and despite my fear of heights, it was a nice experience. You do get to see quite a bit. The only problem was that it got over too soon, and since we didn't have a guide, I didn't know what most of the buildings were anyway. I did spot St. Paul's Cathedral, which looks lovely, and another building which I'm told is a famous gay club (of which there are tonnes in London). The real fun began when we decided to go over to a bar after that. I don't think it's my first time in a bar, but it certainly is the first time in a bar where there's lots of smoke and people are dancing. So as I walk in, I spotted something that I'd been hunting for ever since I got to this city: a belly button piercing. Since it was a rather rare sighting, I decided to follow it and examine it -- at a safe distance of course. As I was occupying myself thus, a man (pretty huge one), walks up to me along with a couple of friends, and started staring at me. I stopped worrying about the piercing and started worrying about the door. The big guy pointed a finger at me (I prayed) and said "Are you a cab driver?" I'd been expecting a lot of things, but this was one question I didn't have an answer to. No, I was not a cab driver, but I didn't think I wanted to tell him that. In fact, I didn't want to tell him anything. So I walked around him, when all the while he was pointing at me, and asking "Are you a cab driver? Are you a cab driver?" As I walked past the Big Ben, I told myself that it must have been my black jacket that made him think I was a cab driver, and headed home. On 18th, I'd mentioned how dependant I'd become on the railway timing. To corroborate a bit about that, let me tell you about another night. There was a train that's supposed to leave at 10:43PM. I'd set my watch by the railway clock. When I looked at it, my watch showed 10:42PM. I was a fair distance away from the train, so I made a dash for it, and reached with barely a second to spare by my watch. Whew. I sat, waiting for the doors to close. Nothing happens. I look at the watch outside. It reads 10:42PM. It turns out that my watch gains about 10 seconds every day. I'd set my watch against the railway's clock a week ago, and my watch was 70 seconds ahead. In India, it would have scarcely mattered. So I found out that you can sell your watch here, and was able to sell my watch and buy a new one. Which is not to say that the British are thrilled. There was a railway crash last week, as a result of which all overground trains had a maximum speed imposed all of a sudden. So EVERY British Rail train was delayed by half-an-hour, on average, and the service became erratic. This morning, I was waiting for a train, when an elderly man next to me said, "You know, this speed limit thing, it's silly. I mean, the problem is in the tracks. They should have replaced them ages ago. Such a thing could happen only in England..." He nodded at me wisely and said, "Only in England." I wanted to tell him about the time I slept in a station, waiting for a train that was delayed by 8 hours, and ended up travelling by a different train. "Only in India," I would've said.

London Eye


I am heading out for a busy weekend in London, featuring a night of Antakshari, visits to Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square, a performance of The Phantom of the Opera, Madame Tussauds, and the London Planetarium.

A busy weekend ahead. A night of Antakshari, followed by a day at Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square, an evening at The Phantom of the Opera, and to cap it off, Madame Tussauds and the London Planetarium!

London sightseeing


I visited the Tower of London for a Yeoman Guard tour and explored the British Museum, which is vast and free. I also clarified the common confusion between Tower Bridge and London Bridge while window shopping on Oxford Street.

I went to the Tower of London on a guided tour with a hilarious Yeoman Guard. The Tower Bridge, just next to it, is what people usually mistake to be the London Bridge. Oxford Street was expensive, but great for window shopping. The British Musuem, however, is free, and is a whole universe in itself.

London tourist spots


I attended a brief McKinsey presentation at Lord's Cricket Ground, networking with consultants from London and Kuala Lumpur. I skipped the business cards but prioritized the cricket-ball-shaped chocolates, even salvaging an extra wrapped one from the floor.

The McKinsey presentation was this evening at Lord's. Yes, that's the Lord's Cricket Ground. So at 7PM, there was this huge crowd of people strolling over to the Nursery Pavillion, wondering why Lord's had a square cricket pitch. Google and AskJeeves haven't given me an answer yet. McKinsey's presentation had two high points. First, it was mercifully brief. The entire presentation was for 2 or 3 minutes, and all that this partner said was, "Hey, we love LBS. You know about us. So we're all standing here, here, and here. Come over and talk to us." So we went over and talked. I mean, I hate networking, especially if I don't have any questions to ask. But still, I've been instructed to collect visiting cards. So may as well. I walked over to a lady called Sacred, who told me what she was doing at the Business Technology office at London. Sounded like fun. Then I met this partner at the Kuala Lumpur office, called Alex Smith. He was wearing a terribly funny looking shirt, and I figured he just couldn't be from McKinsey. But he was. So I asked him how he ended up in Kuala Lumpur? I guess it kindof embarassed him, because he started of with how his significant other was there, and that he moved there, and she moved to Paris, and how it was a long story, and let's not get into it. Fine by me. Anyway, I spent the next half-hour just listening to him. It was a nice experience, and I walked away without bothering with a card. I haven't mentioned the other high point, though. Chocolates. The people at Lord's handed out these HUGE balls of chocolate that was shaped like a cricket ball. I ate mine in a flash. When I was leaving, I found another on the floor. I mean, this is getting to be a habit. But this time, there were no qualms. The wrapper was on, and I hadn't stepped on it. Sure was a feast that night!

McKinsey PPT


I noted that the Internet has grown so large that meta-search engines like Lookoff.com are now necessary to search across multiple existing engines at once, marking a significant milestone in web navigation and information retrieval.

It's finally happened. The Internet has grown to the point were a meta-search engine (a search engine to search among search engines) has come up. Lookoff.com.

Meta-search engine


I share my reaction to Microsoft dropping Java support in favor of Perl. As a dedicated Perl fan who never found much use for Java, I'm untroubled by this shift in Microsoft's language adoption strategy.

Microsoft dumps Java. Doesn't worry me to much. I've never had much use for Java as a user. They've 'adopted' Perl, though. And I was always a Perl fan.

Microsoft dumps Java


I found moneycontrol.com, a comprehensive Indian financial portal. It serves as a major content provider for Yahoo's Indian news feed, making it a key resource for tracking markets and business developments in the region.

moneycontrol.com is an Indian financial site. Yahoo gets most of its Indian news feed from here. Comments Jayesh 22 Nov 2000 12:00 pm: very good site

Moneycontrol.com


I curated a list of localized Indian websites featuring regional versions of FortuneCity, Britannica, and The Weather Channel. These portals reflect the growth of country-specific web services and information resources targeting Indian users in the early 2000s.

More Indian sites: Fortunecity India, Britannica India, and Weather India.

More Indian sites


I analyze SEBI's decision to lower the IPO floor from Rs. 250 crores to Rs. 100 crores, which is set to significantly increase the number of companies entering the Indian public markets.

Now that SEBI has relaxed the IPO floor from Rs. 250 crores to Rs. 100 crores, we can see a lot more IPOs.

More IPOs to come


I spent an entire week playing Moria instead of working, reaching level 26 and slaying dragons with fire bolts. To break the addiction and get back to being productive, I finally forced myself to delete the game.

I haven't done ANY work in the last week, except play Moria. I've deleted it. But not before I got to Level 26, could cast a Fire Bolt spell, and slayed a few dragons.

More Moria


I've been playing Moria since 1995. This text-based roguelike, based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, is incredibly addictive despite its simple interface and has kept me hooked for years.

Since 1995, I've been playing a game called Moria. It's based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It's a text-based game, but it's amazingly addictive.

Moria


I found this MSNBC retrospective capturing the year 2000 through impactful photojournalism. It provides a visual timeline of the year's major global news stories, highlighting the most significant cultural and political moments through powerful imagery.

MSNBC: The year in pictures

MSNBC year in pictures


I moved my academic reports from the IIM Bangalore university server to Yahoo! Briefcase due to limited disk space. This migration ensures my work remains accessible despite the constraints of the local Unix hosting environment.

Because of a shortage of disk space on unix2.iimb.ernet.in, my reports are now at briefcase.yahoo.com/root\node. Long live Yahoo!

My academic reports


I spent an afternoon navigating London's Oxford Street to buy my first suit for a BCG presentation. I shared my experience hunting for sales at Ciro Citterio and Marks & Spencer while learning the ropes of retail pricing.

After a group meeting, we went to 'The Biz', a restaurant inside LBS. They served some kind of rice with curry containing lots of vegetables. I ate rather well and found it quite edible, until I heard the price. 3.50 pounds, or about Rs. 233. Roughly what my sandwich cost in Tokyo. Very nice. I needed a suit for the Boston Consulting Group presentation tomorrow, so the afternoon was largely a shopping exercise. I took the tube to the Bond Street station, and walked along Oxford Street. It's something like the Brigade Road of Bangalore, I guess. The first shop I walked into had been strongly recommended by my cousing (Vishnu) -- Ciro Citterio. Luckily they had BIG brushed aluminium signs outside saying "Sale!", and had 99 pounds written boldly, so I had the guts to walk in. (Of course, I didn't convert. I don't fancy buying suits for Rs. 6,650). A salesman walked up and said, "Hey, my man! Can I get you a suit?" "Uh, yes please. Actually, this is the first time I'm really shopping for a suit, and I'm a complete social moron, so why don't you help me?" He walks me up to some hep-looking suits and says, "You should be about 38, my man. So how about these?" "Wonderful. Excellent. Are they 99 pounds?" Stops on his tracks. Turns around. Says, "Oh!" and walks me down to another section. Points at a whole rack of suits, says "They're all 99 pounds." "Why are they on sale?" I must admire his sense of self-control. He probably mentally awarded me the 'Naive Question of the Year' award, and said, "Because, my man, no one bought them for a long time, and we're clearing them out." Suits me fine. So I try out a couple of suits, decide to try other shops, and then come back. The next visit was to Marks & Spencer's on Oxford Street. Nice place, but I don't know what the fuss is all about. Looks pretty much like Stopper's Shop to me, and considering that this is London, probably a whole lot cheaper. There were quite a few suits for 99 pounds too, but Ciro Citterio was offering a shirt and tie for free (upto 30 pounds) along with it. From there, took the Underground to Notting Hill gate (yes, the same Notting Hill as the movie) and then to High Street Kensington. (If all the names sound familiar, you've been playing Monopoly.) There's a shop called Amazon there which had a suit for 79 pounds. Yes, I said 'a suit', because they had one. But I didn't like it. So it was the tube again, this time to Fulham Broadway. More shops, and none with what I wanted. Back to Bond Street station and Ciro Citterio. Now I'm the proud owner of an Oxford Street suit. Comments Mark 15 Aug 2008 2:44 pm: Well well, the use of the n-word from an obviously Indian man.. you take the cake in racism, you piece of shit

My first Oxford Street suit


I accidentally ran the Navidad.exe virus, which crashed my system. I found a fix through a Spanish forum and Babelfish translation before discovering Symantec's official removal tool and restoring my computer's functionality.

I received a file called Navidad.exe a few days ago and stupidly ran it. Turned out to be a virus that killed the system. Google produced no answers to searches on "Navidad.exe virus" except a posting on egroups -- in Spanish. A translation through Babelfish almost yielded readable material and I was able to fix it. Symantec's AV Center has a cure.

Navidad.exe


Internet-based phone calls are now officially legal, following the recommendations of the GOT-IT report. This decision clarifies the regulatory landscape for VoIP and telecommunications convergence during the early days of the web.

Phone calls through the Net are legal. This is based on the GOT-IT report.

Net calls are legal