Whom do you consider as a role model in your life

This was the topic given to us during the English test that was given to us.That was an year back. I don't remember the essay exactly but the essay goes something like this.

Of-course my dad. Who else can it be. I am actually amazed at how fast i decided on the person who was my role model. I had not even completed reading the question but I had already decided on the answer. At every stage of my life i have been amazed by his nature and attitude. Most of the things that i have learned from him are not the ones he has told me, but the ones that i have learnt from him looking at him handle his daily situations.

What would you loose if you earn 300 Rs in an year for nothing ( mGinger : The concept of targeted marketing)

Welcome to the information age where information is wealth, time is money and customer is the king. Every second of customer attention is so valued as there are so many marketing companies out there who are competing to get your attention. Remember that you(the customer) are creating so many marketing jobs and you are the reason that so many marketing guys out there are getting fat fat salaries and bonuses. But the irony is that the same marketing guys makes fools out of you by making you buy something which is of absolutely no use to you. They are mocking at you by using Salman Khan's to image to sell a Wheel detergent powder and Hrithik's fan following to sell a hide and seek chota biscuit pack.

Its time that we the customers(cum ad viewers) show that we are smart enough. Its time we show those so called marketing gurus that our choice is based on the true brand value and utility. And not on the brand value that any Bollywood actor brings along. I see targeted advertisement as a way to do it. Targeted advertising is advertising to the prospective buyer. What happens in mass marketing is that most of the ads that you watch are related to the products which we might never intend to use.(Just remember the Whisper,Kotex..... adso we see gusy.. ;) ) Whereas targeted advertising is a selective marketing strategy, where you first decide who your prospective buyer is and then try selling your product to them. It doesn't take a genius to realize that this has better probability of succeeding and hence better ROI. When mGinger introduced this concept in India, I was still a student then, and I was pretty much impressed with the idea. The inherent beauty of this idea is that all the three parties in action get to benefit. 

1. The advertiser is happy because he get better return on investments. 
2. The middle men(mGinger) is happy because they are making money by meeting the other two parties meet. 
3. The consumer is happy because he is respected. (Salman Khan doesnt try to sell Wheel to him)

What makes it more interesting is that customer is getting paid for reading the ads. In an era where attention spans of the consumers are very less and loyalty is short lived, marketers had to find something to keep the consumers motivated. And they chose to go with the best motivation that man has always found very difficult to resist : money.  Though we(customers) always knew that our attention was always valued, getting paid for that takes it a step further and proves us with proof that indeed the marketers do really value our attention.

For  more details on mGinger click on mGinger

ಕುಡುಕ ಕುರುಡನ ಮೂಕ ಕಥೆ - ಭಾಗ ೧

ಕಲಾವಿದ(ಕುಡುಕ) ರಂಗ ಮಂದಿರದ ಮಧ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದು ಕೆಲವು ಸನ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವನು. ಪ್ರೇಕ್ಷಕರಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗದ್ದನ್ನು
ಮನಗೊಂಡು ಮಾತನಾಡಲು ಶುರು ಮಾಡುವನು.

ಕುಡುಕ :ಏನು ಅರ್ಥ ಆಗಲಿಲ್ಲ ತಾನೆ? ಸರಿ ನಾ ಮಾಡಿದ ಸನ್ನೆಗಳ ಅರ್ಥ ಹೇಳ್ತೀನಿ ಕೇಳಿ. ನಾನೇನು ಹೇಳ್ದೆ ಅಂದ್ರೆ, "ನಾನೇನೋ ಕುಡುಕ ನಿಜ. ಆದ್ರೆ ನಾನು ಕುರುಡಾನೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಮೂಕನೂ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಎರಡು ನಿಮಿಷ ಕಣ್ಮುಚ್ಕೊಂಡು ಸನ್ನೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರೆ, ನಾನು ಯಾವ್ ಕಡೆ ತಿರುಗಿದೀನಿ ಅಂತ ನನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗ್ಲಿಲ್ಲಾ , ನಾನೇನು ಹೇಳ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದೀನಿ ಅಂತ ನಿಮ್ಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೇಕ ನಮಗೆ ಈ ಕುರುಡನ ಮೂಕ ಕಥೆ. ನಾಟಕದ ಹೆಸರೇನೋ 'ಕುಡುಕ ಕುರುಡನ ಮೂಕ ಕಥೆ ' ಅಂತ ಇರಬೋದು, ಆದ್ರೆ ನಮಗೆ ಅದ್ರ ಗೋಜೇ ಬೇಡ. ಸುಮ್ನೆ ಈ ಕುಡುಕನ ಕಥೆ ಕೇಳಿ ಮಜಾ ತೊಗೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಿ. ಕುರುಡನ ಮೂಕ ಕಥೆ ಹೇಳಕ್ಕೆ ನಾನೇನು Helen Kellerಉ ಅಲ್ಲ, ನಮ್ಮ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರು Annie Sullivan ತರಹದ Miracle Worker ಕೂಡ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಏನು ಹಂಗೆ ನೋಡ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದೀರಾ? ಅದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಅಮಿತಾಬ್ ಬಚ್ಚನ್ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಣಿ ಮುಕರ್ಜಿ ಅವರು ಮಾಡಿರುವ Black movie ಇದ್ಯಲ್ಲ ಅದು ನಿಜವಾಗ್ಲೂ ಹೇಳ್ಬೇಕು ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಹಾಲಿವುಡ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದ Miracle Worker ಅನ್ನೋ ಚಿತ್ರದ ರಿಮೇಕ್. ಆ ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಮೂಲ ಸ್ಪೂರ್ಥಿ ಈ  Annie Sullivan ಮತ್ತು Hellen Keller. ಆ ಚಿತ್ರದ ತರಾನೆ ನಮ್ ನಾಟಕ ಅನ್ಕೊಂಡ್ರ? ಇಲ್ಲ ಕಣ್ರೀ, ಹಳೇ ಕಾಲದ ಮೂಕಿ ಚಿತ್ರ ಅಲ್ಲ ನಮ್ದು ಈಗಿನ ಕಾಲದ ಟಾಕಿ ನಮ್ದು."

A macro in Office Outlook to export mails

There’s no honour in working hard inefficiently. Only disgrace.

I read this somewhere on net. So I thought, why not make my daily chores like sorting and clearing my inbox more automated and less time consuming. Hence I wrote a code snippet that saved me a lot of time and effort. And moreover it made me happy everytime i ran the script. ;)

What the script does : It send all the mails in the folder "Nice" under "Inbox" to an email id of your choice and then deletes them from the folder "Nice".



Steps to set up this in your Outlook
1.) Goto Tools->Macros->Macros or Alt+F8
2.)Type Macro name as ExportToGmail and click on Create
3.)Microsoft Visual Basic Editor will open up.
4.)Copy paste the below code in the appopriate place for the Sub ExportToGmail()

==============================================

---

Sub ExportToGmail()


Dim objOutlook As New Outlook.Application
Dim objNameSpace As Outlook.NameSpace
Dim objInbox As MAPIFolder
Dim objConvHist As MAPIFolder
Dim objMail As MailItem
Dim myFolder As MAPIFolder


'Get the MAPI reference
Set objNameSpace = objOutlook.GetNamespace("MAPI")


'Pick up the Inbox
Set objInbox = objNameSpace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
Set myFolder = objInbox.Folders("Nice")


For Each Item In myFolder.Items
Set mailToSend = objInbox.Items.Add


With mailToSend
.Subject = Item.Subject
.Body = Item.Body
.To = "ABC@XYZ.com"
.Send
End With


Item.Delete
Next Item


MsgBox "Your mails from folder NICE are exported to Gmail", vbInformation, Oops
End Sub

---

===============================================
5. Change the (.To =) from ABC@XYZ.com to your mail id. and save the code. (Mail Id should be in double quotes)
6. Create folder called "Nice" below inbox in your outlook. If you want to change the name of the folder, change the entry in the code respectively.
7. Move all the emails that you want to export to the folder "Nice" .
8. Now go to Goto Tools->Macros->Macros or press Alt+F8
9. Click on the ExportToGmail() Macro in the list and click Run

If you want to use this macro regularly just let me know. I will explain how to create an icon on Outlook for the same. So that you can export all the mails in the folder just by a click of the mouse.

ಏಕೆ

ನನಗೇಕೆ ಬೇಕು ಈ ಲೋಕದ ಹಂಗು?

ಲೋಕವೇ ನೀ ಆಗಿರುವಾಗ.

ಮಾತೇಕೆ ಆಡಲಿ ನಾನು ನಿನ್ನೊಡನೆ?

ನನ್ನ  ಮನದಾಳದ ಗುಟ್ಟು ನಿನಗೆ ತಿಳಿದಿರುವಾಗ.

ನಿನ್ನೊಡನೆ ಜಗಳವೇತಕೆ ಆಡಲಿ ನಾನು?

ನೀನೆ ಗೆಲ್ಲಲಿ ಎಂದು ನಾ ಬಯಸುವಾಗ.

ನನ್ನೊಡನೆ ಏತಕೆ ನಿನ್ನ ಅಹಂಕಾರ?

ನಾನು ನೀನೆ ಆಗಿರುವಾಗ.

ನೀನಿಲ್ಲದ ಬಾಳು ನನಗೇಕೆ ಬೇಕು?

ನನ್ನ  ಬಾಳು  ತುಂಬಾ ನೀ ತುಂಬಿರುವಾಗ.

ಚಿಂತೆ ಏತಕೆ ಮಾಡಲಿ ನಾ?

ನನ್ನ  ಚಿಂತಾಮಣಿ ನೀನಿರುವಾಗ.

ನಮಗೇಕೆ ಈ ಲೋಕದ ಹಂಗು?

ನನಗೆ ನೀನು, ನಿನಗೆ ನಾನು ಇರುವಾಗ..

ನಮಗೇಕೆ ಈ ಲೋಕದ ಹಂಗು?

ನಾವಿಬ್ಬರು ಜೊತೆಗಿರುವಾಗ. 

Lets go straight..

A boy and girl are at a crossroad(of their life?...)

Boy : You are a lesby.
Girl : You are a gay.
Boy : Leave it
Girl : Left
Boy : Right(Alright)
Both : Lets go straight.

ಕಲ್ಲಾಗಿದ್ದಳು ನಿಜ,

ಕಲ್ಲಾಗಿದ್ದಳು ನಿಜ,
ಆದರೆ ಆ ಕಲ್ಲನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಿ ಶಿಲೆ ಮಾಡಿ,
ಆ ಶಿಲೆಗೆ  ನನ್ನ ಮನದಾಳದ ಭಾವ ತಿಳಿಸಿ,
ನನ್ನ ಮನಸಿನ  ರಾಣಿಯಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆ

What did the Diode say to me...? (Electronics and Life - Part II)

Part I

1.) In diodes current is directly proportional to the Voltage applied.

It says the output is directly proportional to the input. If Current is the results you get and Voltage is the efforts you put, it says Results that you achieve are directly proportional to the efforts you put.

Success is directly proportional to the efforts you invest.

2.) In diodes the current is not linearly related to voltage, like in a resistor.

In life the outputs are not linearly proportional to the input. And the type of non-linearity varies from one to another.

You cannot expect to get 50% of the results when you put 50% of the required efforts.

Success is not linearly proportional to  the efforts you put in.

3.) The combination of Property1 and Property 2.

The combination of Property1 and Property 2 is an important lesson to be learnt in life. If we know these two properties in separate and their impact when put together, we can lead a contented, successful life.

Success is directly proportional to the efforts you invest. But it(success) is not linearly related to the efforts you put in.

4.) When the applied voltage is less the cut-in voltage, no current flows through the conductor.

When you set out do something, don't expect the results right from the beginning. There is a time till which you have to just keep putting in your efforts, without looking at the results. Analising  your return-on-investments before that will only lead to you to develop a pessimistic outlook towards life.

For every assignment or enterprise, there is cut-in efforts value, below which you cannot expect any results.

5.) Once the applied voltage crosses the cut-in voltage, current flow through the diode becomes exponential.

Once the amount of efforts you have put crosses the cut-in efforts value, the results become exponential with respect to the efforts input. Though in real life the results may not become exponential, they are bound to increase drastically. This point is generally known an tipping point.

Beyond the tipping point, the Return-On-Investments increases substantially.

When the teacher was ready!!! (Part 4)

Part 3  Part 2 Part 1

I had got the job and I was all set to begin my journey in teaching profession from the next day. But the dean had not even mentioned about the salary. I actually thought that it was in my advantage, as i felt that i will have an upper hand in bargaining after proving myself than before proving myself. Money was never a matter of concern. But the pride of being able to bargain and get what you want, was. So I had to prove my mettle before the dean would call me for bargaining so that he would get the maximum of services at the cheapest rate possible. This was one thing that I hated. It might be meaningful in other business(even in business it doesn't make sense in the long term), but in education I somehow feel that it is not the right way to recruit.Why can't the management pay based on the competence showed by the individual., I asked myself. But I left, the question as it is.

What is the reason we don't have many good teachers today.It is not that there are no answers to this questions. It is just that nobody has bothered to find one. I feel the reason is that there is no competition in teaching profession. And there will be competition in any job only when people are paid aptly and based on their competence and not on experience. People nowadays take up teaching as a last option.

How can somebody whose last option is teaching bring about a change in the lives of the students.

How can somebody who waits for the month-end to collect the salary, can even think about bringing a change in students attitude.?

How can somebody who doesn't like the subject himself, create love for the subject in minds of the students.?

How can somebody who is not ready to accept his ignorance, can instill an attitude of inquiry in students.?

How can somebody who is not a good student himself, can become a teacher for other students.?

How can somebody whose thinking is limited to four walls teach the students about the world outside.?

How can somebody who doesn't like what he is  doing, make learning a happy and wholesome process for the students.?

I set out to find out my own answers for these questions. The answers that I found and my experiences while finding those answers form a major part of my later posts.

Next : Algorithm to open a door

When the teacher was ready!!! (Part 3)

Part 2 Part 1

The first interaction which I had imagined would be a cakewalk turned out to be just short of a nightmare. So my doubts and inhibition about the  demo class naturally multiplied as I sat in the office room with a computer science text book of PU I. The interaction I had was with PU II, and I was told by the dean to take my demo class for PU I. Sometimes you don't ask for logics, you just thank your luck and go ahead. Thats what I did.  I started going through the text book. I was happy because all the syllabus in the book was what I already knew and I hardly needed any preparation for lecturing. I was happier because I felt that by all possibilities, students of PU I will be  lesser daemons than the PU II. In less than five minutes, the clerk came over to me, called out "Sir", and offered me a cup of coffee. Though it was a small cup of coffee and  not a great tasting  one, the way it was served was definitely special. So I was considered as a lecturer and I was being served coffee in the staff room. That was a great feeling. The bell rang before I finished the coffee.