Unwinding road

Nice mash-up for a wonderful song (via Daring Fireball)

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:35:17 -0600

Nice mash-up for a wonderful song

(via Daring Fireball)

Funny Satire…on artificial beauty… (via Om Malik)

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:52:00 -0600

Funny Satire…on artificial beauty… (via Om Malik)

Picturesque video on “why athletics?” taken using...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:46:22 -0600

Picturesque video on “why athletics?” taken using the new Nikon D4. I recommend you to see it in HD (720p or 1080p) see the quality of the video.

Sehwag's Double Century

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:37:00 -0600

Today, is one of the days in cricket that the batting gods have blessed the most entertaining batsmen in the world. When I woke up in the morning to check the score, Sehwag was already OUT but he had scored 219 runs. 219 runs!!!

Couple of decades back, if a team scored 200 runs in a one-day match it was considered to be a respectable total. To see a batsmen score it in one one-day innings is magnificent.

Cool but slow robot….

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:57:44 -0600

Cool but slow robot….

Nice overview of Papers 2.1, this is a software I use daily and...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:15:00 -0600

Nice overview of Papers 2.1, this is a software I use daily and I can recommend for any one who wants to organize their PDF files (it is designed for scientific researchers but works well for all types of PDF files).

Interesting approach to make bone-like materials.

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:28:40 -0600

Interesting approach to make bone-like materials.

Nice bonsai plants at the chicago botanical garden.

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:38:00 -0600

Nice bonsai plants at the chicago botanical garden.

Bitcoins - Rise and Fall of the digital currency

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:31:00 -0600

Bitcoins - Rise and Fall of the digital currency:

A very interesting news story about bitcoins, a digital currency.

No to 'Air India Bailout'

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:23:31 -0600

There is a famous quote by Richard Branson which goes like this:

“I’ve always said the easiest way to become a millionaire is to start out a billionaire then go into the airline business.”

Airlines are like bus companies, only difference is that the bus cost a ton of money (couple of hundred millions dollars). It is a very capital intensive industry and the recent high oil prices is pushing the industry to bankruptcy. In India, were the interest rates are high (10-14% for borrowing), it is difficult for airlines to operate given that the interest costs are very high.

I recently came across an article in Livemint about the restructuring AIR INDIA.

According to the latest plan submitted to the government, Air India is seeking total equity support of Rs. 42,920 crore till fiscal 2021. It also wants government guarantees for aircraft loans worth Rs. 30,584 crore till fiscal 2021. Air India’s board will meet Tuesday to decide the future course of action in the context of RBI’s approval and the lenders’ meet on Monday.

That is a total of Rs. 73,504 crores ($14.16 billions at currently market rate). The government of India is making a big mistake by still running Air India (they had their chance to sell to Tata/Singapore Airlines in 2001 and they missed the opportunity, a costly miss). I wish they spent this kind of money on education and poverty elimination.

The video accounts the thinking and the history of...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:01:00 -0600

The video accounts the thinking and the history of google’s search products (and how google has tackled the problem of search). I realize that Google is in the business of helping users to find ‘information created by others’ and make money by serving ads. Whenever they face a scenario where a website or database (say Facebook or Yelp) denies them rights to search and index them they create their ‘clones’ (Google+ or Google Places) or ‘droids’ (as in the case of android).

Pensions & AMR Bankruptcy

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:17:00 -0600

Pensions & AMR Bankruptcy:

That “failure” today means that taxpayers are likely to assume AMR’s pension costs and creditors will now queue in a New York bankruptcy court, collecting less than they are owed. The new airline, when it emerges at some point in 2013, is likely to be a smaller operation focused even more intently on its hubs, which have critical strengths. (Assuming it is not merged with some other carrier.)

Obama and the United States need to fix the spiraling rise in the cost of pensions and healthcare.

Pandora's Choices

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:42:00 -0600

I use Pandora Music service to listen to tracks which I like but I don’t own. It selects music based on the Music Genome Project. Here are some of the tracks I like and the Pandora’s reason for choosing the track:

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Propellerheads

“classical influences, beats made for dancing, a repetitive song structure, buildup/breakdown and use of tonal harmonies.”

Carmina Burana, Scenic Cantata For Soloists, Choruses & Orchestraby Orff, Carl

“a waltz feel, a well-known composer, a modern style, a concert band and pitched percussion”

Diamond Music by Tim Neumark

“new age aesthetics, an overall meditative sound, acoustic sonority, a prominent rhythm piano part and minor key tonality”

Bond 0n Bond (Bonus Track) by Bond

“classical influences, acid jazz roots, funk influences, beats made for dancing and straight drum beats”

Update - I learn from Wikipedia that Pandora uses the information obtained from the music genome project as a ‘trade secret’, all along I was thinking it was an open research project.

American Airlines goes bankrupt

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:48:00 -0600

American Airlines goes bankrupt:

Today, the parent company of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy:

Today, AMR reached Chapter 11, saying that bankruptcy proceedings had become necessary “to achieve a cost and debt structure that is industry competitive and thereby assure our long-term viability.” Although the company has debts of around $30 billion, it said it has $4.1 billion of cash at hand, which it insists is more than enough to keep it flying during its restructuring. Passengers, staff and suppliers should notice no differences during the Chapter 11 process.

High oil prices, low ticket prices and increasing interests rates (in the future) are going to bankrupt more airlines.

Update - Another reason which is often cited in the bankruptcy of American companies also holds true for AMR.

Computers & Stock-markets

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:39:48 -0600

Computers & Stock-markets:

Nice correlation…

It is time….

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:16:07 -0600

It is time….

A wonderful HDR video. Must watch! via: Om Malik

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:47:00 -0600

A wonderful HDR video. Must watch!

via: Om Malik

Too big to fail - financial earthquake in the making?

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:39:00 -0500

Too big to fail - financial earthquake in the making?:

The real problem is Italy, not Greece. Greece is a nano-state, representing 2 percent of the European Union’s gross domestic product. Italy is a G-7 country. Italy’s debt is 1.9 trillion euros, or 120 percent of its economy and greater than the debts of Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece combined. Italy’s bonds are trading at 4 percent more than those of Germany, unprecedented in the euro’s history and unsustainable. Italy is too big to fail but might also be too big to bail.

The proposal that the emerging nations such as China, India, Brazil and Russia (BRIC nations) should lend money to the IMF, which would then bail the wealthy nations such as Italy is interesting but less feasible. Why should the BRIC nations bail out the rich and wealthy (who are in heavy debt), without getting a seat in the table (in IMF, World Bank, etc where they don’t get the proper representation) and greater reform at the WTO.

The European Union (EU) should gets its act together - kick Greece, Italy and … out of the Euro.

Environment & Economy

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:49:05 -0500

Environment & Economy:

Even at the best of times, building political support for action on thorny environmental issues is difficult in the United States. Recent events serve as a stark reminder of what happens when times are hard. Faced with the alarming possibility of a double-dip recession and an energized opposition that has demonized environmental regulations of any kind, President Barack Obama is picking his battles carefully and seeking to carve out a middle ground on what will surely be the fundamental issue of the 2012 presidential election: the economy. Sadly, if understandably, the environment has been placed on the back burner.

Photo

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:41:48 -0500