Got the much awaited book!

Finally got the book 'Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography' which I wanted! Thanks to Flipkart for its prompt service. :)

 

Buy this book in Flipkart,

http://www.flipkart.com/books/1408703742?pid=2nx3f24tgf&_l=CJHVEqJO3veuHytbACc9dw--&_r=7Xjkv%20VtDg1aDHsmodr_Rw--&ref=aad451b4-b35a-42fb-b248-3ee909387c25

Currently amidst my exams, so couldn't read this book. Looking forward to read this soon. Awesome hardcover. Will write my review soon after I read.

PS: Would like to write an article on Flipkart soon! One of the best customer Services

Technology and Facilities - No Constraint

Still there are many small towns and villages in India, where there is a lack of basic facilities for education. It is very difficult for children those who are really willing to study and learn. Several social and economic factors adds to this menace. I personally feel that technology and basic facilities must not be a constraint for those who are willing to learn. So, we as the future Indians, must make sure that we somehow identify such villages and places which are deprived of these facilities, and take the best possible efforts to provide it. Especially with the Computer Technologies and e-learning technology at a boom, it is now possible to setup some kind of a "development center" to provide technology amenities like Computer, Internet etc. The standards of facilities in schools must be raised and everyone must be provided a par education. Government alone can't do anything as managing a country of more than 1 billion is very difficult. But contributions from its citizens can help a lot. I may be saying what several others are saying, but I feel I need to do something. May be at present I don't have much earnings, but I feel after some years I would be able to contribute my part. :)

Hoping for a developed India soon,

Vivek Venkatesh

Happy Diwali

I wish every Indian brother and sister out there a Happy and prosperous Diwali !!

Writing our goals

Everyone of us wants to achieve something in this world. But it is very common for us to feel bad they we are not doing anything fruitful to make our dream come true. The implication from this is that it is very easy to dream but on the contrary it is very difficult to accomplish it. I am currently facing this kind of a problem. When I analyzed what I am doing I drew a big blank. I have somehow fallen a victim to procrastination. Recently I came across an article by Anthony Fernando on his website Dare to Dream, http://www.anthonyfernando.com/2007/01/17/staying-on-track/ , which I would like to share with you. In that he suggests us to have a written goal, in that process he wants us to be more specific with our goal, and keep it with us. So every time we take an action we have to classify it as either Opportunity or Distraction. We must try to avoid that action if it proves to be a distraction. This is a wonderful little article by him. :)

To put it in a nutshell,

Take the time to write down our specific goals. Whenever we come across a new opportunity, read our goals and ask ourselves, "Is this an opportunity or a distraction?". Take action accordingly. 

Why education is very important?

For everything in this world we use a tool. For example, to clean our tooth we use a brush which is a tool, to cook food we use various utensils as tools, to move from one place to another we use a car which is a tool. Similarly we need some tool to develop and enlighten us and that is the EDUCATION. Without some form of education we are just like any other creature in this world.

There are two types of education - Formal education and Informal education. Formal education is the one which we obtain by going to schools and colleges and the informal education is which we get by experience and not going to colleges or schools. We got to have at least one among these two. However putting into perspective the two education I feel Formal education is more vital; that is because with informal education we only have a Vertical expertise (that is we specialize in only thing and barring that we don't have a broad horizon of knowledge) whereas with formal education we can have an Horizontal Exposure (Knowledge that spans through a wide range of spectrum i.e knowledge about many things) and in the process we can develop Vertical Expertise.

Sometimes we get the sense of feeling that this education is only a hindrance to my ambitions and I got to be a drop out of the school to reach heights (Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg did so, and so will I). But the fact is these are just illusions. The probability of achieving without proper education is very very less and we must be wise enough to understand it. This makes me remember the quote said by Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani (Founder of Reliance industries) 'Without education I became the No.1 in India.  But had I got education, I would have been a numero uno in the world  by now.' In fact those persons who came to various high positions without formal education have made it a point that their children get quality education from top universities in the world. So it is our duty to get the best out of our education. And remember that every single thing that we learn will help us in one or other way at any particular moment in our life. So our education never goes waste. Spiritual experts says that our 'gynam' (meaning Knowledge) will always be carried over by our soul, gets accumulated and helps in the process of evolution.

Multiple Voices in a Democracy

Multiple voices are an essence of any democratic establishment. In fact the crux of the system itself is that a new favorable solution would come only via these various voices. At this point I would like to bring the current situation or to be more precise the confusion that is seen in the current regime of Indian Politics. By saying Indian Politics I mean that it is inclusive of all parties.

First we had an Anna Hazare who started a movement for demanding the implementation of a regularly denied Lokpal Bill. When he had started a fast which no one would have imagined it would later on turn out to be one of a revolutionary movements of all time in India, on par with what had happened in Egypt very recently barring the violence. From a truth perspective it was a great success, in fact it managed to unite the people of India as it was during its Independence period. The government had no option but to accept their demand for a committee to overlook the issues in drafting the bill plus their wish for the inclusion of "civil society" members in it.

Although the fast was a success the progress after approximately three months haven't given much satisfaction. The government members and the civil society members have been at loggerheads ever since the first meeting. While such a situation is now existing, we have got another fresh controversy building over the "Godmen" Baba Ramdev's fast. While skeptics of him continue to say he is a proxy of some opposition parties, the government shocked the nation by a brutal attack on the supporters of him at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. All these happenings are unfortunate and I personally feel it is a tactic of Divide and Rule that is being played by some influential politicians  who somehow wants the Lokpal bill to be stopped. All these fiasco must somehow end and we must now put our efforts on speedy implementation of Lokpal bill and make sure that it doesn't have any loophole rather than putting ourselves in a difficult situation. Well in this case, whether these "Multiple voices" are doing good or bad, only time can answer..

System Software Exam

Well I am gonna face the real test tomorrow. 3 days completely devoted to studying System Software and this is one of the subjects for which I have put my best efforts into (this semester) , and I hope everything goes well. God please give me what I deserve.