Shubham strikes again - he has tagged me with this topic this time ... well to be frank all that I want to do in my life is still unfinished, so this list could as well run into 100s, but let me try to hand-pick the top 5: 5. Startup Needs no explanation - I try to keep innovating even in my job; but starting up my own enterprise could be an ecstatic milestone. Lot's of ideas keep coming to one, but as yet nothing has come to mind which can make me quit my cosy job. 4. Become a columnist As I have written earlier as well, writing is an old hobby with me. I grew up writing for my diary, then the school magazine, also becoming its editor, then kept writing in private, till I started on this blog. However, my childhood dream is to become a columnist in a newspaper. Perhaps, I have achieved that dream by becoming a Long Tail columnist (on this blog), but it would indeed be a satisfying achievement to become a 'real' columnist. 3. Drive a Social organization Well, may be an N

Continued from Part I The strategy of increasing domestic oil consumption worked well as the indigenous oil reserves were going well and sufficient reserves were secured in the middle east. But OPEC stepped in and soon after being formed, it caused havoc in 1970s with the oil embargo . Soon, a reverse trend was to set in - just as war had lead to increase in oil production, now oil was to lead to war. By the mid 1980s it was well clear that the encouragement of oil consumption had backfired on western governments and something had to be done to control the menace of increasing oil prices. Iraq presented a classic opportunity to the US in the early 90's by invading Kuwait and opening doors for a direct and legitimate intervention of the western politicians and regimes into the middle east. The war for oil has continued with stops and spurts thereafter well leading upto into the recent Iraq conflict. With more than a decade of war and 5 decades of politics behind it, governments in t

While travelling on the crowded Powai belt of the JVLR [ map ], a colleague exclaimed that it is surprising that rising fuel costs and pollution have not yet created enough concern for serious research and product development in the area of Alternative Fuels. This lead me to wonder as to why, just like an increase in fuel production in the mid 1900's cause an increase in automobile traffic worldwide, is an increase in fuel prices not causing a wave of alternative technologies? The reason, I think is - what it has always been - political will! Oil was discovered way back in the 9th century, however it did not find much use till the industrial age began. But even after the onset of the industrial age in the 17th century, coal remained the primary source of energy till the 1950s. And then suddenly, the consumption of oil started rising thereafter - why? Coal was a viable source of energy till it was used as a fuel for factories and other static energy consuming centers. However, earl

Many of you must have read about the famous 'The Man in the Arena' speech by Theodore Roosevelt. The passage from the speech which has made the speech memorable and is oft quoted is: It is not the critic who counts;The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face in marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. However, I was reading the rest of the speech when I found another paragraph which was as thoughtful the first one ... here it goes: War is a dreadful thing, and unjust war is a crime against humanity. But it is such a crime because it is unjust, not because it is a war. The choice must ever be in favour of righteousness, and this is whether the alternative be peace or whether the alternative be war. The question must n

The Mobile revolution in India is no more a dream but a reality - the benefits of which we are already reaping everyday. « Image Source : blog.ThematicMapping.org India emerged as the hottest mobile market in the world during 2006 [ 1 ], overtaking China to claim the top spot by adding more than 73 million new mobile customers in 2006 [ 2 ], a 97 percent increase, to reach 149.5 million in total. But what makes Indian Mobile market more attractive is that it has the world's lowest service charges and huge future potential for further growth. Apart from the growth factor - Telecommunications industry is significant from another perspective to India. This is one industry where India is leading the pack in technology adoption. While we might not lead the pack in premium services (VAS etc) but in terms of ubiquity of connectivity and introduction of innovative services using this ubiquity is something India is actually ahead of even some developed nations. I personally have an exa

Continuing my previous   post I encoutered another example of "innovation"  ... Like IKEA , a giant Swedish furniture-maker, Kunskapsskolan gets its customers to do much of the work themselves. The vital tool, though, is not an Allen key but the Kunskapsporten ("Knowledge Portal"), a website containing the entire syllabus. Youngsters spend 15 minutes each week with a tutor, reviewing the past week's progress and agreeing on goals and a timetable for the next one. This will include classes and lectures, but also a great deal of independent or small-group study. The Kunskapsporten allows each student to work at his own level, and spend less or more time on each subject, depending on his strengths and weakness. Each subject is divided into 35 steps. Students who reach step 25 graduate with a pass; those who make it to step 30 or 35 gain, respectively, a merit or distinction. Again like IKEA , no money is wasted on fancy surroundings. Kunskapsskolan Enskede,

As I prepare to leave Norwich tomorrow and the UK the day after, just trying to reconcile if I met all my personal goals (as they would call in corporate lingo) :-) I couldn't visit London as often as I had planned, partly because I got busy with work and partly because I kinda liked staying in Norwich. Norwich is a small town and staying here felt like going back to my childhood days at BHEL township in Bhopal. So anyway, not having time in London I could not meet a lot of people there. However, I did manage to steal a visit to Stonehenge , Windsor and Bath with Piyush. Then instead of spending a day at the St. James park reading a book - I did the same at the local park in Norwich. I spent almost two weekends in the park reading books - finished The World is Flat and Shantaram - would soon post a review of Shantaram. Finally, I did spend a day at the Borders book store but not the one on Bond Street-London, but the one at Chapelfield-Norwich. Though, my day was not very succe

Responding to Shubham's Tag ... My 5 Favorite Websites:- Wikipedia LinkedIn SlideShare bloozle IMdb Two more sites which I don't use that often (because they are services and used only when needed), but I like a lot are erail.in , IRCTC . Favorite Browser:- Firefox 3.0 :-) Google Tools and Services I use (apart from Search):- GMail and Gmail on Mobile Blogger Docs and Spreadsheets Bookmarks & Web History Calendar Google Groups Picassa Maps Alert Adsense

I wrote this post about an year ago, and it has remained a 'draft' since. Got round to completing it today - however, it can also be read as a continuation of posts I made a few days ago . I once travelled about 35 odd kilometres within Mumbai at a time. Started from Powai for Nerul via Ghatkopar-Mankhurd-Vashi and back to Powai via Kharghar-Aeroli-Mulund and then went to Vile Parle and came back. Click to see on Google Maps It was a good bike ride - the roads have improved - yet back breaking. During the bike ride, travelling through Mumbai, I somehow remembered my visit to Switzerland and started comparing cities in India to cities in Switzerland. Below is what I could theorize .... As per the wikipedia , "cities formed as central places of trade for the benefit of the members living [in them]". The keywords here are - 'trade' and 'benefit'. I think cities even today can be classified into those which are built with the intent of enhancing &

Here are some more photos of what I have been eating (and cooking) ... Got bored of Eating Subway sandwiches, so tried something different; cooked "Aloo Sabji" (the one which you get in a Masala Dosa). Then ate it along with a Veggie Delite subway wrap - the wrap can be had like Roti. After my success in making the Aloo Sabji, I became a bit bolder - made that kind of a thing again ... Wet some bread...and made a cutlet like package of bread and Alloo sabji, but instead of frying (which I could not), I toasted it on the frying pan. Finally ate it along with Baked Beans .. And this is what I had yesterday - a McDonald's burger with Mayonnaise in it and some Khichdi with Mayonnaise on it! .