Karunashraya

This is one step.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/where-would-you-go-if-you-were-dying--024748837.html

Death Anniversary for the Father of the Nation

A glimpse of the fateful day.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/lightbox/bapu-s-last-journey-slideshow/gandhi-s-funeral-photo--2058040485.html

Harvard B School to promote women protagonists in its case studies.

Among other things, Nohria pledged to more than double the percentage of women who are protagonists in Harvard case studies over the next five years, to 20%. Currently, about 9% of Harvard case studies -- which account for 80% of the cases studied at business schools around the world -- have women as protagonists.

Nohria's newly stated objective for case studies would have a big impact on the way leadership is taught in the world's business schools because almost all MBA students are exposed to HBS cases. His new initiative would be as ambitious as a previous effort by the school to make its case studies more global. Today, some 57% of Harvard's cases are international in nature, up from less than 5% a decade ago. The school produces roughly 250 new case studies a year.

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2014/01/29/harvard-business-dean-apologizes/

This post is apt for the title of this blog :P

"Retirement means I can choose when I want to work and when I want to golf. Maybe next week I venture off to Peru and the following week I plan a media tour to expand our franchise awareness. Designing each day of your life is a privilege. It's a privilege earned through the proficiency in which you design your team and your company's culture."

http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/retiring-27-ambitious-lazy-crazy-140000847.html

The coming-of-age story of a young woman who began losing her eyesight at 15.

An awesome read!

http://in.news.yahoo.com/why-should-disability-spell-the-end-of-romance-055837779.html 

A SubMarine that can let you Fly UnderWater

The DeepFlight Super Falcon, developed by California-based Hawkes Ocean Technologies, is a two-seater, winged submersible that can take passengers on undersea joyrides. The custom-built underwater vehicles are designed to dive below the surface, swim amongst marine animals, deftly navigate through underwater canyons, and even perform aquatic barrel rolls.

  Traditionally, submarines are constructed with an inner shell and an outer shell. To dive, submarines fill the space between the two shells with water, changing the ship's density and creating so-called negative buoyancy — when the gravitational tug on the sub is greater than the force of buoyancy. When submarines remain on the water's surface, the area between the two shells is filled with air, which again changes the vehicle's density and enables it to float.
The Super Falcon, however, dives underwater like a whale, using thrust to generate "downward lift" to help the vehicle descend below the water's surface. Essentially, the submarine uses lift and drag — the principles of regular flight — to "soar" underwater

http://in.news.yahoo.com/1-7-million-personal-submarine-lets-39-fly-130601919.html

IT industry in India is adjusting to its middle age

As the $108-billion industry enters middle age and its growth slows, the three-million-strong workforce is also getting older, making it harder to extract some of the cost advantages of the young, cheap labour for which it is known.

Firms have had to change in order to attract and support employees with a more mature set of priorities, as the bright youngsters they recruited years earlier have become earnest family types.
"Middle-aged or married couples prefer to go back home on time, so don't like to stay back at work till late or do weekends," said Megha Jain, 34, a Bangalore-based employee of an IT company. "There is more focus by the company to fine-tune policies around work from home and overtime."

Organised weekend outings for staff were a common way of building bonds in the workplace for IT firms whose employees had mostly come straight from college. Now, many Indian IT firms have tied up with childcare centres to help working couples manage. Some offer flexible working hours or extended time away from work, options that exist with few other Indian employers.

http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/once-preserve-youth-indian-staffing-025004606.html

Sony has plans to bring Sheryl Sandberg's message to the big screen.

Sony Pictures confirmed that it has acquired the rights to make the Facebook COO's book into a movie.

Published in March 2013, "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead" encourages women to advance their careers. 

http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/24/news/companies/sony-lean-in/index.html#!

I never knew I can undo a Sent Email in Gmail

Gmail's Undo Send feature, a lifesaving little hack buried in the Gmail Labs settings. It gives you a 30-second window to "undo" sending an outgoing email.

http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-undo-sent-email-gmail-072137144.html

Becoming an AAP member...

Becoming an AAP member is just a few clicks away, the pitfalls of an online drive without any apparent checks in the system.

People can register twice, any number of times and list details without fear of being asked for verification.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/narendra-modi-rahul-gandhi-now-aam-aadmi-party-members-here-s-how-474701

RBI to withdraw all pre-2005 currency notes to curb black money

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-rbi-to-withdraw-all-pre-2005-currency-notes-to-curb-black-money-1955355

Eddy, an Android tablet for kids, launched for Rs 9,999

Educational solutions startup Metis Learning today launched an Android 4.2-powered tablet targetted at kids aged between 2 and 10 years. Its focus is clearly on educator-selected learning content, while there are infotainment apps preloaded on to the tablet.


Eddy, which the firm claims is India’s first Android-powered kids learning tablet, is being offered at an introductory price of Rs 9,999 till February 20th and at present is exclusively available on Amazon.com and the startup’s website.

http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/eddy-android-4-2-tablet-kids-launched-rs-9999-216748.html

Why So Many Tech Founders Who Are Jerks Become Insanely Rich And Successful

Robert Sutton spent a lot of time conducting research for his book, "No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One that Isn't," What he found was disappointing.

But as Paul Graham says,
"It's certainly possible to build a multi-billion dollar startup without being a jerk. We've funded several, and the founders are all good people.  In fact, based on what I've seen so far, the good people have the advantage over the jerks. Probably because to get really big, a company has to have a sense of mission, and the good people are more likely to have an authentic one, rather than just being motivated by money or power."

A Good Read at
http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/jerks-startups-one-become-kajillionaire-134511337.html

Driving on thin ice: Motorist takes risky detour by crossing 1km-wide frozen river in their CAR

Amazing!

http://in.news.yahoo.com/driving-on-thin-ice--motorist-risks-life-by-crossing-1km-wide-frozen-river-in-their-car-121607139.html

Huge Messaging App WhatsApp Adds 30 Million Active Users In A Month, Promises Not To Become A Snapchat Killer

We are also contributing to these stats! :P
http://in.news.yahoo.com/huge-messaging-app-whatsapp-adds-193213651.html

The Nerd Superstar You've Never Heard Of

This week at the Jaipur Literature Festival an Oxford mathematician evangelised rather successfully for his discipline.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/the-nerd-superstar-you-ve-never-heard-of-042255456.html

Three wealthy men who got rid of their riches

This seems so amazing and inspiring!

http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/three-wealthy-men-who-got-rid-of-their-riches-105945809.html?page=1

Scale The Walls in This 22-Foot-High Rock Climbing Office

It feels crazy to have such a workspace :)

The Truth about MLM: Multi-Level-Marketing

Following are the excerpts from the article How QNet Pulled It Off. I really liked the insights provided.
Do take out time to read, if you have ever found such a scheme lucrative and charming.

Highlights from How QNet Pulled It Off:

• MLM is about using your customers as your agents, instead of a traditional distribution network like agencies and wholesalers. 
• Those you refer can further refer others, and you form a long "downline" which guarantees you future riches. 
• The hardsell eats up good relationships; you find that your friends no longer want to speak with you, and the few that were sold the idea are bitter that the income is next to nothing.
• You can't con an honest man. Most people who buy into the "dream" sold to them are those who want to earn a lot of money without doing any real work. They blindly believe figures.

The best way to avoid being duped by a MLM scheme is to ask yourself (as suggested by the author in How QNet Pulled It Off):

- Are you expected to sell a product to other people? Do you need to pay for the privilege of signing up? If so, it's most likely a scam.

- Is there a refund policy? Can you return products unused to get back your money? If not, it's most likely a scam.

- Does it use the words "in your spare time"? My vast experience of hearing most of these sucker schemes tells me this is the biggest warning bell of them all.

- Can you buy alternative products that do the same thing at a much cheaper price? Then you're just being a sucker if you buy into a much more expensive product just to get a small commission back.

- Are you made to visit a "meeting" where a well-heeled gentleman extols the virtues of this scheme? And you can't ask too many questions? That's a sign of a scam

Om Dar-B-Dar: An Indian cult film releasing after long time in India

I never heard of this film (Om Dar-B-Dar) until I read the article below. One thing that I really don't understand is if the film is acknowledged to be such a charm and internationally acclaimed, why was this never released for audiences in India and if not for all these years, what prompted its release now all of a sudden?

http://in.news.yahoo.com/the-return-of-the-gleaming-frog-062644792.html

Anybody ever heard/known about this movie earlier?

Macbook Air Cheaper Than Windows Laptops?

This is really surprising! And I am sure would be loved by many Apple lovers who have maintained distance from Apple owing to its expensive category.

Ditching the 'Apple Tax': Is The Macbook Air Cheaper Than Windows Laptops?

This reminds me of the old Indian Families in many ways.

How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves
Surely, a good read, it reminds me of the old Indian Families in many ways. Sometimes, it seems we are periodically reinventing the wheel let it be science or families or society.

For Fitness Freaks!

5 Things You Should Know About Stretching And Mobility

Prisons turned into hotels

I really liked this idea!

http://in.finance.yahoo.com/photos/in-pics-prisons-turned-into-hotels-slideshow/jail-hotels-liberty-hotel-photo-1389217347259.html

Michelin Guide for Food Lovers

On the food trail - Food Glorious Food - The Real Stuff
Excerpts:
Liken it to the Grammy’s or the Oscars, the Michelin Star is one of the coveted awards in food critiques. The Michelin Guide is looked upon as ‘Europe’s Red Food Bible’. It was created by Andre Michelin in 1900 with a view to list all the major restaurants along the roads of France and as a marketing strategy by Michelin - the foremost French tyre company. The Red Cover Book guides travellers to good food establishments of France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. Now, of course, it has reached American and Asian shores (with China having the highest number of Michelin establishments) and is finally coming to India.

Inspectors make visits like other customers, but ‘undercover’. Sometimes visiting a restaurant several times, never asking for a particular table or dropping hints to the waiter, or asking to meet the chef. Each one, eats, drinks, pays the bill and leaves. A restaurant can be visited by several different inspectors before a verdict is given.

Most of the criteria like those of Michelin for star status  are a safely guarded secret. Taking into account all the facets of the restaurant for service, amenability, cleanliness, which are secondary; the main criteria pertain to food, its taste and presentation – and consistency of quality.

Michelin stars also known as rosettes or macaroons, and are awarded primarily therefore on the work of a chef, and then of the establishment. If the chef leaves a restaurant, the star goes with him. And there are times when stars are taken away. To maintain a level of consistency is a feat in itself.

The curious case of a missing Marathi actress

The curious case of a missing Marathi actress

Partially frozen Niagara Falls

Partially frozen Niagara Falls! It's so amazing and chilling of course;)

This is equally amazing!

I never knew it's such a long hiring process at Amazon!

Amazon's Current Employees Raise the Bar for New Hires

Marriott Opens Tallest Hotel in New York as Demand Rises

Marriott Opens Tallest Hotel in New York as Demand Rises

This is worth a look!

This is worth a look!

Some Nice Art

This is some nice art.

Frost paints a winter canvas

Frost paints a winter canvas :)

This seems really  cool :)

A Good Read Worth Your Time!

If you really want to get an insight into why things happen the way they do, Freakonomics can be a good read worth your time.