Walmart in India!

So Walmart is officially in India now. The Indian Left has predictably started making noise. I suspect a lot of article must have already come out about the imminent death of the small Indian shopkeeper. They will write about how Walmart got a “backdoor entry” into India.

But is this tie-up between Walmart and Bharti a convenient arrangement to scale the policy barriers? Or is it something more?

We have seen Walmart has been the reason for many papa and mama businesses to close in US. Is that possible in India? I am sure they will offer very competitive prices thereby forcing other traders to reduce their margins just like they do here.

Is that a good thing for India? Will Indian government slowly turn into a government run by corporation and lobbyists?

or am I over reacting just like others?

All you have to do is ask

There are various times in my life where I have been very shy to ask for things. I knew I wanted it but always felt shy to ask. Even if somebody asked me whether I wanted it I still used to say ’NO'.

This truly is a bad quality to possess. Always ask what you want and you'll see better results. This quality will also make you a better negotiator. Without this you'll end up accepting what comes to you even if you don't want it.

A good manager always conveys what he wants very clearly. An over worked employee doesn’t express his dislikes and ends up working overtime.

I understand this is a fairly obvious observation. But some things make sense only when somebody points it to us.

Interpretation

There are quite a few differences in the way Indians interpret some English words/phrases and how Americans interpret it. Here are few differences that i have observed

Dress - in US this word is strictly used for 'formal' attire. In India it is used for both formal and casual attire

Pretty good - in US this means 'not exceptional'. In India it is used sometimes to mean that it 'VERY' good.

Bath - in US this mean actual bath in a tub. In India it is used for both bath and shower.

Affair - in US Having a relationship with your wife not knowing it In India general relationship
between a boy and girl before marriage

Freak out - Scared in America, Having fun in India

Scooter – This is what kids ride in America. This is what adults ride in India

Bike - For Cycle in America, is for a motorized two wheeler in India

Gang- 'group of thugs' in US, generally refers to a 'group' in India.

I am sure there are lots more. Just type it in if you can think of others.

Funny incident -

When I went to give my marriage invitation to one of my American friend, he asked me how I and my wife met and how I knew her?
I replied to him 'We met in India and have been having an affair for almost 3 years'. He gave me a weird look. I think he realized what I meant. But looking back it sure was funny.

90-10 Rule

I got this email from one of my friends about the 90-10 rule by Stephen Covey. I just felt that I should share it with you guys.

According to Stephen Covey '10% of life is made up of what happens to you.
90% of life is decided by how you react.'

He quoted the following example

In the morning you are getting ready for work. Just when you are ready to eat your breakfast your child spills his/her breakfast all over you.

You could react in 2 ways.

1. Become angry. Scold the kid. So the child now starts crying and you get more frustrated. It’s a chain reaction and both you and your family leave the house in an unpleasant manner. Then you think about what happened for the rest of the day, feel sorry for what you did.

2. Just clean up the mess, change your clothes and leave home with a happy face. Now everybody is happy.

So from the above example you can see that 90% of what happens to you is decided by you. Try following it. For all those human soul filled with anger and rage, just keep this in mind and you'll see a big change in how your day goes.

This does not mean that you should not speak out when it is necessary. Just try using it in those situations where it seems apt.

What's wrong with you people?

One thing that really bugs me is the fact that some people don't even have a common courtesy of smiling back when I smile at them. They usually give a stiff look or just look down and walk away.

I know it's not just me. I have heard this complaint from others too.

Funny!

Indian government recently banned reptiles in public places (Don’t they have other things to worry about?).

Anyway i saw this funny clip on TV where they were showing the snake charmers letting the cobras loose on a busy street as a means of protesting against the ban.

It was really funny to watch the video clip. I had a hearty laugh. On the other hand my 2 year old was very excited to see the snakes.

Dark side!

I have met some people who can only see the negative side of things. They always talk about the negative aspect of others. They constantly look for things that could be wrong in others.

Here are a few reasons why i think they are like that.

1. They are not satisfied with their lives
Or
2. They are Jealous of others
Or
3. They derive happiness by hurting others feelings and seeing them suffer.

What these people have to realize is that they hurt themselves more than hurting others. They should realize that nobody is going to like them or respect them no matter what good they do. People always remember the hurt inflicted by you more than the good done by you.

What do you think?

To spend or not to spend!

This question always pops up in my head - Should I spend what I have today or save a lot for tomorrow?

Sometimes I feel that I should enjoy whatever I have today because tomorrow is uncertain. What is the use saving a lot of money and having millions and millions of dollars at the age of 60 when we are weak and can't really do anything? We are young, fabulous and energetic now. Why not enjoy when you can?

On the other hand I learn a lot of stuff in papers, magazines, internet etc. where they always advise you to save as much as possible so that you can have a good retirement. I completely understand that it makes sense because of inflation, health care cost etc... But it just feels I am missing something by restraining myself so much.

It just feels like one of those moments on TV where they show your evil and good self arguing with each other.

Do you feel the same way?

China and Dollar !

United States is perceived to be the richest country in the world. But in reality US is the biggest debtor nation in the world. Do you know who US is indebted to? What many consider to be a Third World country: China.

Did you know that US borrows a lot of money from china to buy goods from china. It's like going to a grocery store and borrowing money from them to buy groceries. The way world monetary system works is funny .

China sends US lots of goods like computers,chips,clothing etc.. In turn US pays china with dollars. Since China can't spend all the dollars at home, they lend it back to US.

Somehow it makes sense for financial and banking analysts.

Nothing special about it!

I just removed all the stickers and labels in my new Dockers this morning. The first thing that caught my eye was the label 'Made in India'.

Back in my childhood days I used to get excited whenever I get presents from someone in the US. But now the world has changed so much that most of the things that I find here in US are actually made in India or China or other developing country. So there is nothing special about it anymore.

Memories!

My wife strongly believes in the fact that life should be nothing but good memories. So we try hard to create as much good memories as possible. She always says that living in a big house or driving a big car etc.. does not mean anything because if one of us were to leave this world, the only thing other person would have are good memories.

We don't know what's going to happen to us next minute. Also it is not easy to satisfy and impress everyone around you. So we should at least try to be good with our nearest and dearest family.

What do you think?

Men and Electronics!

I went on a shopping spree on Black Friday. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving.It's called 'Black' Friday because the retailers lose a lot of money by seriously marking down the price of retail. Electronics are the hot commodity during black Friday.

For the record i went to Officemax 3 times,twice to circuit city and once to bestbuy,office depot and compusa. I even bought an electronic label maker!! Where in the world am i going to use a label maker?
As i type this, the day is not over yet.

Men are attracted to electronics like an iron towards a magnet.

I very badly wanted to buy a few things today even though i know that i don't need it. I had to have it. I sometimes feel like men never mature. When we were young we always wanted toys. That instinct doesn't go away even after we grow up.On the other had women hate men buying buying electronics as much as men love electronics.

Wives are like the president. We are like the senate and house. We decide what to do. We debate so much within ourselves, do a lot of research on the internet to find out the best deal and pass the bill to our wife. But they have the ultimate Veto power!

Where is 'GOD' in all this?

I was listening to National Public radio(NPR) yesterday where they were talking about genocides that happened in Sudan and how it is now slowly moving to Chad. Literally millions and millions of people are getting killed in those genocides.I have been hearing about these genocides for almost 3-4 years now.

I don't expect any one nation to take care of the issue.But no nation seems to be effectively standing up to the cause. This is horrible.

One thing i don't understand is - What is UN doing? That was the whole purpose why UN was formed. I am hearing that their hands are pretty much tied by the sudanese goverment and there is nothing they can do about it. If UN doesen't have the power to control these horrible crimes who else can?

It is a proven and documented fact that these are true incidents and the magnitude of the crime commited is tantamount to the holocaust. If holocaust received so much attention, why not these genocides?

It really is an unfair world where rich thrives and the poor gets beaten down.

Now where is 'GOD' in all this?

FJ cruiser

FJ cruiser

Did you guys see the new FJ cruiser? I love it.I have been making up my mind that my next car is going to be a 2 year old car.I want to be financially savvy. But FJ is making me think twice. I really love the yellow one. Plus it's from toyota. So you know it's gonna work hard for a long time.

Plasma/LCD Craze!

Plasma/LCD TV's seem to be the craze this thanksgiving. Prices have gone down so much in the last few years.I bought one a year back mainly for watching world cup soccer in HD. It truly is a great viewing experience.

My 32 inch tube TV now looks like a piece of crap.But i am still keeping it. I am sure when my son grows up he'll have a big laugh looking at our old tube TV. I and my wife have watched a lot of crap in that. So this one is going to be with us in the basement just for the memories.

Early Days!

I was born in one of the south Indian cities. We were a lower middle class family at that time.My father worked really hard to make ends meet.
Here are some things I remember in my first 4-5 years of my life.

I remember living in a one room house till i was 4 or 5.

The room used to have a table fan, a stove to cook, a radio and mat to sleep. Pretty much that's it.I used to sleep in a swing like thingy made from a saree (Traditional Indian woman's attire).

I remember being very scared of the stove. Whenever my mom tried to light it up, i remember getting scared. In fact even now I am scared. Those kerosene stoves are very unsafe. Another thing I used to be scared of is the pressure cooker.

There used to be 4 or 5 families living close by in the same community. I remember that we all shared the same restroom (Gross!)

My house was near a temple.

I remember a woman committing suicide in the house opposite to us.

Funny incident - I know that after that suicide happened all the families were scared to go to the restroom when it was dark. They all thought that the ghost of the woman who committed suicide is going around. In fact some of them even claimed that they saw the ghost walking around. So because of that I used to be very scared when it got dark.

My best friend who was the same age as me used to go out early in the morning with his father. I remember coming out everyday to say 'hi' to him.

My father used to get me a candy everyday after work. I always wished that he would get me a 'cadbury eclairs' candy. So I used to eagerly wait for his arrival.

My mom loves music and i remember that she turns on the radio every day in the morning and night and sing along with it. I guess that's what got me interested in music.

When i first started school, i remember coming out of the classroom and crying and waving goodbye to my parents.

I also used to get excited whenever I see my parents in the evening. We could clearly see the school entrance from my class room. When my mom comes to pick me up, she used to stand outside till the school is over. I always used to wonder why she doesn’t just come in and pick me up.

My grand father used to take me to a railway track to show me a train. I think there was just one train which used to cross that way everyday and it was made sure that i see that train.

I remember that whenever my parents didn't buy me something I wanted, I used to just lie down on the road and refused to get up.

Why can't I?

Why can't I strike a good conversation with any body? I was told by the daycare provider today that my son is a very good friend to one of the kid there and they said it right in front of the kid’s parents. I smiled at the day care provider, said bye to my son and walked off.

Then in the car while I was driving back, I was thinking what all I could have said to his parents. I could have had a good friendly conversation with his parents. At least I could have smiled at them. I am such an introvert.

Zune

Microsoft released its Zune mp3 player last week amidst all negative reviews. I looked at it and it looks very ordinary. It is said to have capabilities like short range wireless File sharing . This feature obviously is targeted towards the teens and their endless quench for download. Other than that it is an heavy IPOD with a wide screen capability. In fact Steve Jobs would have smirked when he saw it for the first time.

Criticisms behind, when you look back X box started out the same way. Ps2 and Nintendo were so popular when X box first hit the market. I have the old x box and i still haven't figured out how to play with it. For the record It's my limitation and not an X box design flaw. I think i don't have enough patience to figure out how to play those games. So i pretty much use it as a DVD player.

Now X box 360 has a lion’s share of the gamers market. All these in 3+ years. MSFT definitely has enough money to penetrate any market. They don't seem to care much about their shareholders. So they better do something with all the cash they have been holding off to make Zune more appealing to consumers.

I hope Mr.Softy has something up his sleeve and this first release is just for the mad holiday shoppers. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I am a big MSFT fan. Lots of people just can't digest their success. I on the other hand love all their products. Their software concentrates a lot on user experience which i find seriously lacking in other products.

On a side note - Those MAC ads ( http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/ ) are very funny. Don't you think?

Kramer!

Kramer played by Michael Richards is unquestionably one of the most liked characters in Jerry Seinfeld. We all laugh hard whenever he does one his antics on the screen. He truly is a good actor.

It came as a real shock for me to see his video yesterday where he hurled racial epithets on his hecklers during a stand up. Now when i see Kramer in Seinfeld, I am getting reminded of what he did yesterday and that is really killing the fun in Seinfeld.

I just hope my mind gets over it soon and I am able to watch Seinfeld just like i used to. I really love that sitcom. It is no doubt the most funniest sitcom in American History.

I personally have no respect for Michael after what i saw yesterday.But i just love that Kramer fellow!

GRE/Word list

I suddenly remembered about my college days when i used to read for GRE exams. For those who don't know, GRE is a mandatory exam for getting an admission in US universities. One of the things you need to do for this exam is to memorize the entire english dictionary. I and my room mates used to be so passionate about the word lists that we would often quiz each other with different words.

During those days whenever i write a letter to my parents (I am not usually someone who is interested in writing letters. But during those days i just wanted to do it because i wanted to use those words somehow.), i used to use all kinds of ridiculous words like bamboozled,gab,coquet etc.. in my letter.

Now days whenever I hear such words anywhere , I just think of my past and smile. My wife sometimes asks me the meaning of some words that she hears somewhere and i just smile back. She knows that I know the meaning of the word. But i don't think she knows why i smile back. I usually reply that I don't know (I don't know why i do that!!).

Anyway the point is why do we have to learn all those words to get through GRE? Most people here speak English in a way that is convenient for them. I am not saying that's not right. Language is just a means of communication. As long as it conveys what you want to say, that's good enough for me. Even in professional writing, i vouch for writing in clear and simple English.

I think it would have made a lot of sense if we had just studied all the American slang’s. We could at least understand what people here are trying to say when they use their slang’s. Just kidding!

I did not get a chance to write a GRE exam. But looking back if I could get hold of one of those letters I wrote to my parents, I am sure to laugh out loud.

CQ+PQ > IQ

I was listening to CNN other day where they were talking with the author of 'Flat World'. I don’t remember his name. Flat world is the world without borders because of internet, free trade, immigration etc...

He was putting forth the point that in this flat world you do not need IQ to succeed in life.
With CQ = creativity quotient and PQ = passion quotient you can be very successful even if you don't have a great IQ. I think by IQ he meant formal education/training etc...

It does sound true when we look at the world around us . Look at all the founders of successful companies these days. One common trait you'll notice are these are young people who are very innovative / creative (CQ) in their ideas and showed great passion towards what they were doing. Creators of Google and youtube etc...did have all those two traits which made them immensely successful.

Personally I would also add a 'LQ' - Luck quotient to the equation. Because I don't think Larry Page and Sergey Brin really dreamed that they would be this successful (Google shares touched $500 for the first time today!).

Faces and Tacos

I was standing in line at Qdoba's Mexican grill for 20 minutes (Boy I must really like them!). I just happened to look at many different faces standing in line in front of me. How many different ethnicities? This country really is very diverse.

It got me thinking. I have thought about this a lot of times before. How come people from different regions have unique facial identity? I can identify an Indian/Chinese Japanese etc. just by looking at their faces. What gives them that unique facial structure?

Is it influenced by the language we speak (activating various group of facial muscles often depending on the language)? Of course genetics does play a huge part. Then it got me thinking.
But I can most likely differentiate between an Indian who is brought up here in US and an Indian who grew up in India just by their looking at their face. So I do think that language we speak does play a good role in establishing a facial structure.

Excuse me if you think this post is a real waste of your time. I didn’t know what else to think when I standing in a queue for that long. It wasn’t a waste of time for me as I ended up eating a real spicy taco salad after 20 minutes of wait.

Education in US

For a guy who grew up in a developing country, education was my highest priority during my teens. In fact in most developing countries if you don't do well in your high school, your future is pretty much bleak. You have to work hard and earn good grades in high school. There is no other option.

After coming here to US, I was amazed with the number of different options available to each and every kid. It's up to the kids and their parents to choose the right way. Of course you still need to work hard (or have a lot of money!) if you want to get into Ivy League schools. But for an average student, there are still lots of avenues.

Even in spite of all these opportunities there are many who don't make it to college. That's sad.

But here in the US you can still make amends and go to college even if you realize it much later in life. Sadly there are very few such options back home.

Isn't that great about America?

Sports!

One thing i notice a lot when the people talk about their kids here in the US is their emphasis on sports. People here seem to be very proud when their kid becomes a sports star. On the other hand a kid who shines in academics is deemed 'Uncool' and labelled a 'geek'. That pretty much is the culture here. I don't understand why? There is a very small probability for a kid to become a professional sports star. There is a much higher probability for 'geeks' to become very successful later in life. Can't the parents just do an introspection of their own life and see what has taken them this far- Sports or academics?

I am not saying that people should totally shun sports. If he/she really has true potential, go ahead and encourage by all means. For a mediocre performer, I think academics is the way to go.

What do you think?

Dollar Cost Averaging

For those of you who don't know what DCA is

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dollarcostaveraging.asp

I have always heard from many analysts that DCA is a good way for long term investment because you capture both the high's and low's as you invest.I think this idea is being propagated because of the fact that people in US do not have the saving mentality and it is just to force them to save.

But isn't it common sense that it makes more sense to just buy during the dips rather than ALL the time during a prticular year? I understand that it is tough to spot a bottom of a market. But still wouldn't it just make sense that you invest everytime the market dips x% even if you are just going to invest in indexes.

I am not a financial expert by any means. But personally i have seen this effective.Just have a game plan on how much to invest in what index when a market dips every X% or so and keep doing it.Try it out. It seems much effective than DCA.

Of course some indexes have a much higher standard deviation than others.e.g Emerging market indexes fluctuate more than a US large cap index. So adjust your percentages accordingly.

I have seen lots of articles trying to prove that DCA is not very effective.I totally agree with that. But for us working class who invest in 401k thru' work, our only option is DCA. We can probably work around that by increasing the % when the market is in downturn and just have a min % to get our company match other times.

What do u think?

Anger!

Anger i always thought was genetically coded in you.I have seen people who get angry for no reason or for a very trivial reason. I understand that it can be controlled but i am always under the impression that your genetic trait shows it's ugly head first even before you realize.

I was watching a program in CNN yesterday where they said that even if it is genetically passed on , it is not something that cannot be controlled. They said that it is same as anything else that is genetically passed on like obesity,diabetes etc.. The argument was that if obesity,diabetes etc.. can be controlled by exercise etc..then why not anger? The program was about the effect of meditation in one's life.

I do realize that it is very tough to control your mind.But the argument does make sense. Doesen't it?

Over Protective

Today we took our son to Chuckie Cheese.It is a play arena for kids. We follow our son around wherever he goes to play . We are kind of over protective about him.
As my son was playing today with a ball, some other kid took his ball away and started playing with it. More than our son getting upset, his mom got upset. She wasn't upset with the little kid but with his parents who just let go not bothering about what he is doing.
Looking at it from other parents perspective, maybe they think that the kid should just learn to survive by himself.
So i am not sure whether being over protective of our kid is right or not?

Good Music Early in the morning

I started my day today listening to a good piece of music. That totally transformed my whole day. I was happy throughout the day.I am always amazed whenever i am listening to a good piece of music. How can some music composers be so creative?

I am a software programmer by profession. I work on Logic and reasoning. But music is a random thought. It's a gift from god. No amount of music practice can make you a good creator. You have to innately have that gift in you to actually 'CREATE' music.

What do you think?