Google: Gmail: How Does An e-mail Travel?

Google asked its users to help them imagine "how an email message travels around the world". They asked users to submit movie clips featuring the Gmail M-velope (). Thousands of users submitted clips and Google edited those clips to make a one minute video on how an email travels around the world.

I would say this is a small step from Google, a giant leap for User Generated Content.

Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates

Another one of those Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates battles - but with a twist. This time we have pics when neither of them were famous. Gates with his PCs (and Microsoft) and Jobs with his Apples (and THINK as background).

I found this on BoingBoing.

P.S.: From now, every post that I copy from other sources would be tagged Copied Categories aka CopyCat

Quote from Benjamin Franklin

In his biography, Benjamin Franklin said ...

...like a man traveling in foggy weather, those at some distance before him on the road he sees wrapped up in the fog, as well as those behind him, and also the people in the fields on each side, but near him all appears clear, tho' in truth he is as much in the fog as any of them.

Delhi Autorickshaw Drivers - A Fare Deal ... ?

Autorickshaw (aka autos) drivers in Delhi have always been notorious for fleecing customers and demanding exorbitant fares from passengers. Autos are supposed to charge by a fare meter (installed on the auto). A fare meter is an essential part of any public transport system. All the autos had a meter but no driver ever used them. Even people in Delhi got used to haggling with the drivers before they took an auto. I have spent good part of 25 years in Delhi and have never travelled in an auto that runs on fare meter. Even Lonely Planet Guide and other Delhi travel advisories told people to fix rate before they get into the auto.

I moved to Mumbai three months back and on a recent visit to Delhi, I was surprised to see that somehow all autos were going by meter. All means all autos on the road. I took autos at 2 AM, 8 PM, 6 AM and all the time I paid by meter. This was something new to me. How can this radical a change happen in less than 3 months? What changed? This is equal to a social epidemic. The very basic behaviour of people (in this case autodrivers) changed in less than three months. What brought about the change?

It took almost a day to figure out and this is what I could find.

In last three months, few things changed.

1. The per kilometre tariff for auto was hiked (from Rs. 4.5 per KM to Rs. 5.5 per KM).

2. The fine on not going by a fare meter was hiked. From Rs. 100 to Rs. 2000. In case of second default, the autos could be impounded.

3. Policemen were given incentives for catching defaulters. I asked a cop, he did not share the exact numbers but he said that if they catch even 5 defaulters a day, they make same money as they would make in bribes in a week.(This is what a cop told me when I acted as an innocent college kid :))

Now these three changes had following effects

1. Auto Drivers: Most of these auto drivers do not actually own the autos they drive. These are rented (Rs. 250 per day). It was easy for most of the drivers to cough up 100 bucks if at all they were caught. They could either pay Rs. 100 or bribe a cop Rs. 50. To compensate, all they needed to do was over charge 2 other customers. Now with fine at 2000, if they are caught even once, they are in a soup (large fine and possibility of not getting the auto for next day). And with super-incentives to cops, chances of getting caught and fined became higher. It also became difficult to bribe cops as they make more money if they issue challans (traffic violation ticket).

2. Cops: Earlier, cops were happy catching autos for petty things (no driving license, improper uniform etc) and getting Rs. 50 as bribe. With high incentives, they cracked down on autos like anything. They stop autos at random and instead of asking the driver, they ask the passenger about the fare and if the meter is being used or not. Suddenly cops were making quick and easy money and above all, this money came in form of awards. This probably became the tipping point and suddenly every auto driver wanted to go by meter.

So basically it took two simple step to solve an age old problem of over-charging. An awesome application of what Robert Cialdini, Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell and a lot of other unknown social scientists have been doing (I am taking the liberty of categorizing all of them as social scientists).

Moral of the story is that next time you take an auto in Delhi, make it a point to go by meter (spread the Ideavirus - become a sneezer).

Post BFBV, everything is reduced to application of Mental Models.There are quite a few evident Mental Models in the entire episode. The ones I could spot immediately are

1. Reciprocation – we have increased the fares, now you start using the meters and stop fleecing the commuters.

2. Incentives – catch defaulters and make fast money.

3. Punishments – large (comparatively) and enforced strictly.

4. Positive Feedback Loop – Initially cops made money, they got stricter, autos started going by meter to avoid getting caught, cops getting even stricter with lesser autos defaulting.

If there is a different opinion, please share. Please point out flaws in arguments.

I have also made following two assumptions

1. No one paid fines earlier and most cops were happy to take bribes than issue challans (aka traffic violation tickets)

2. Assumed that this exercise is success. However the effectiveness is yet to be proved. Until commuters start demanding to travel by meter and use of meters becomes a norm, the effects would start fading in some time.

Also posted on PseudoSocial at Delhi Autorickshaw Drivers - A Fare Deal ... ?

Charlie Munger at Wesco Shareholders Meeting

Charlie Munger spoke at the Wesco Shareholders Meeting and here are a couple of gems from him ...

"You shouldn't have to try it to learn not to pee on an electrified fence."

"Envy and Greed lead people to do almost anything that looks profitable and does not require the use of a machine gun."

Credits: Email from Prof. Bakshi

Charlie Munger's Wesco Financial's Letters to Shareholders

I Can Not Live

People Tree has got some of the best T-shirts anywhere in India. Located on the Janpath in Caunnaught Place (aka CP - I can never get the spellings right) in Delhi, I have been frequenting this store for about 7 years now.

Yesterday I got this another T, it reads ...

I can not live
if I have to do things just because
I am expected to do them,

I can not breathe
if I have to do things
just the way they are
supposed to be done

I can not make
life – a mere happy
existence, a fixed
pattern of rituals –
a set of rules

Constantly
I will fly
I will dream
I will achieve realize
& I will LIVE ...

I always thought it was difficult to capture what I thought about life. But the guy who wrote these lines humbled me. Interesting thing is that he has been able to connect with me. I feel exactly the same way about life. "I can not make life a mere happy existence".

Point to ponder is that are there more people who think like this ... ? Do I have company? Anyone cares to share their dreams ... ?

Alvida - Life in a Metro

Life in a Metro (wiki, IMDB) is about lives of people trapped in Mumbai. I will say trapped because thats how you feel when you are in Mumbai.

If you happen to live in Mumbai, and don't feel trapped, you are living in an illusion, a matrix and sooner you wake up, better it is for you.

Coming back to Metro, although all the songs in the album are must have on any ipod, Alvida is my favorite. There are two versions, slower one by KK (my favorite singer) and a faster one by James (Bangaldeshi Singer/Composer). Even though its favorite KK vs relatively unknown James, I prefer the faster one. You want to cry with the song when you here James sing it. It pains just to listen to his voice. You can relate to pain and suffering.

KK proves yet again why is he the maestro of high pitched songs. I have heard him sing live and hes a magician. And as a person, he is as charming and down to Earth as anyone can be. Got lucky when I spent some time with him at my college fest in 2006.

Here are the lyrics ...
Music: Pritam
Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri

Full Lyrics

Chupke se kahin, dheeme paaun se
jaane kis tarah, kis ghadi
aage badh gaye, humse raahon mein
par tum toh abhi thi yahin
kuch bhi na suna, kab ka tha gila
kaise keh diya alvida

Jinke darmiya gujri thi abhi
kal tak yeh meri zindagi
dono baahon ko, thandi chaanv ko
hum bhi kar chale alvida

Alvida, alvida, meri raahein alvida
meri saansein kehati hai, alvida
alvida, alvida, ab kehna aur kya
jab tune keh diya, alvida

Sunle bekhabar, yuun aankhein pher kar aaj tu chali jaa
dhundegi nazar humko hi magar har jagah
aisi raaton mein leke karvate, yaad hamein karna
aur phir haar kar kehna kyun magar, keh diya alvida alvida
koi puchhe toh zara, kya socha aur kaha alvida
alvida, alvida, ab kehna aur kya
jab tune keh diya, alvida

Hum the dil jale, phir bhi dil kahe
kaash mere sang aaj hote tum agar, hoti har dagar gulsitaa
tumse hai khafa, hum naaraaz hai, dil hai pareshaan
socha na suna tune kyun bhala keh diya alvida alvida
koi puchhe toh zara, kya socha aur kaha alvida
alvida, alvida, ab kehna aur kya
jab tune keh diya, alvida

kyun socha aur kahan alvida

dono baahon ko, thandi chaanv ko
hum bhi kar chale alvida

Lyrics copy-pasted from Big Bang Bong

Tears anyone ... ?

What makes Indians, Indians?

After all that has been said and haerd about India at 60, Independence, Soceity, I was wondering what makes an Indian Indian?

Few intereting characterstics of us Indians are

- We like to read from borrowed someone else’s newspaper.

- In a crowded bus we want other passengers to make room.

- We will hang clothes on top of each other on one single nail,.

- We will bargain for 1 rupee for grocery but happily pay extra in shopping malls.

Please note that I am not trying to hurl abuses or mock Indians but its an honest attempt to figure out who we are and what makes us Indians.

I need more additions to the list. If someone can give me some inputs, I shall keep on adding to this list.

Happy Independence Day continued

After I emailed my friends and posted my thoughts about India's 60th Independence Day here, I got a few responses from people. I am posting a couple of them here. I have also added my comments on the same.

PD said this. I thought about it and this is what I have to say to her.

If you want to come back to India, I would say you are not being stupid at all. Don’t know if this is true with you also, but I am always asking myself what difference am I making to people here? Would things remain same if I wasn’t here? Would someone miss me? And most of the times, answer is no. Nothing changes. No one misses you and you don’t make any difference. And this makes me rethink the entire concept of coming back to India or for that matter calling something home. Loads of thinking. Missing Action .. ?

Independence, you have echoed what I believe and hopefully everyone else feels like that. Day in and day out I see people compromising and deciding against using their right of freedom. Why? I don’t know. I wish I knew...

I shall keep my comments reserved on religion. On one hand it gives us the roots. It gives up much needed grounding to think and to act and to dream and to aspire for big and on the other hand it doesn’t allow us to fly like we should. It stops us. It holds us back. We encounter zillions of roadblocks before we can do something. I still don’t know where to put religion. Don’t know what to think about it. May be religion is good and organized religion isn’t. May be it’s the other way round. May be it is not.

Ankit, a classmate from MDI said

Hey people....

Before i begin, lemme confess something...till less than an year ago, i was confused regarding my patriotosm....
i thought why exactly is it should i feel attached to my country, isnt it just like your state, your town...the same way i consider all states in india equally, shouldnt i also feel the same way about the earth, considering the countries as just states....

I put the question to a lot of people (Why should i love my country) and nobody came out with any satisfactory answers...
then one of my frens finally showed me the light...as to why a country is to be loved, respected...how is it different from your
state/town/region...
A country is actually the place which has fed the people you really love/respect..your father, their fathers and so on...it has sustained your entire heritage....its the reason for your existence...that is something u can respect a place for..as a country, not your state/town/region.....

now to the questions put forward....

1. India to me is like the ever present hand that moulded my character, my nature. An invisible hand which made me into what i am today, n i dont mean the external factors like jobs, studies, i m talking about the very basic of my traits, like the nuamces of my nature, the way i behave, act and react....and since i love the person i am (very narcissitic, yes), i can definitely say that i m proud to be an indian, for the way it has moulded me...

2. I am currently living in the UAE, a monarchy...and now i understand the value of freedom (which i as a lot of us, including me, take for granted)...freedom is about being able to say what you think is right....is being able to raise your voice against the institution...is being able to practice your religious, political,cultural beliefs openly, without the fear of prosecution...is being able to make your own personal decisions regarding the art(movies, books, plays) that is right and the art that is not right...not having someone elses ideology having thrust upon you....is being able to play a role in the direction in which the nation is moving forward....
i am not saying its all present in Inida, but that is what i would want india to strive for...land of the free...and trust me the biggest freedom is the freedom of thought, freedom of speech...not just universal sufferage...and sorry to say, but because of a few religio-political factions, India does not enjoy it to the extent to which a democracy should.....

3. If i could change one thing then that definitely would be the corruption in the system...coz i agree think that is the root of all the rpoblems in the country...coz its not that our leaders are not doing anything about say illiteracy, some of them are, but the funds for the same are disappearing on theirway to the grassroot levels...do away with corruption and we will solve most of our problems....

a little verbose yes, but kya karega??????

Looks like everyone is pissed off with corruption in the country.

Ridhima, another very good friend said

1. Sure I feel proud to be an Indian, not because Shilpa Shetty got a doctorate or Lara Dutta won a beauty peagent or Aishwarya Rai got yet another international film..but because India has produced people like LN Mittal and Amrtya Sen. and above all, it has had n important role to play in evry Indian's destiny as it has played in mine..
2. yest i went to watch a movie and everyone stood up for the national anthem, people who had not yet reached their seats stopped in their tracks. the torch boy, who must be listenin to it day in and day out, also stood still. What struck me was, that there was no one to superwise, no policing..no moral policing, yet each one in the hall stood up. Thats freedom to me. Y should we always look at wat freedom allows us to do..y not how we use it?

3. Agree with u totally here..infact, in one of my placement interviews I said the exact same thing, all cast battles, religious issues, dirty politics...everything can be cleaned out if all of us are educated..just think about it, today the politicians have half the country believe that their helicopters are more important that our roads!! wud it happen if we all were literate??

Ankit also has the same concerns I have. What makes you love just your country? Why cant I have strong feelings about an Asian? Why cant I have strong feelings about being a Dilliwala? Ankit is convinced, I am not. It would take lot more.

Talking about corruption, I would again say that we need to make bribing, corruption a taboo (way boozing, pre marital affairs are). Somehow, someone needs to find a way to creating it a social problem.

May be social punishments for people caught bribing? May be huge incentives for whistle blowers? End of the day people are corrupt not because they dont like others. People are corrupt because they think its easy and fast way to reach the luxuries. Something has to be done. Time for action. And yes, one man CAN make a difference.

Happy Independence Day

15th August 1947 - India's tryst with destiny. 60 years ago, Pt. Nehru made an historical speech (text, video, YouTube) and time has come to take a stock of achievements and gaps.

This year instead of sending regular Independence day wishes, I sent the following email to a few people ...

Hi,

As we turn 60 tomorrow, I thought that instead of sending regular wishes and cards, I will ask a few questions.

I am sending this to a select few in my list. I am hoping that some of us will actually take time off our busy lives and ponder on things that have largely been ignored.

Ok here are the three questions, the ones I want us to think on.

Three questions
1. What is India to you? Are you proud to call yourself Indian?
2. What does independence mean to you?
3. If you could change one thing about India, what would it be?

Taking a lead, I thought about each of them and here are my honest answers.

1.
India to me is more than a country. India is my identity. India defines me. I am as Indian as anyone can get. I am crazy about cricket. I am insecure. I am boastful and like to show off. I am hungry for appreciation. I think about society twice before I do things. I crib. I can find everything wrong with the system. I can talk but when it comes down to action, I take the back seat.

I am proud of our achievements. Humble they may seem compared to rest of the world but none the less they are achievements. They are what we have done in past. They are what we have not done in past. They are precedents and they are the benchmarks. Time has come to now actually raise those benchmarks.

2.
To me, independence is about borders, boundaries and constraints. Freedom is about looking beyond these imaginary lines and aspiring to explore things beyond them. It is about thinking, trying, fighting and in few cases, actually achieving. Personally I would say I am still not free. I am still bound by constraints. I think twice before I take any step – big or small. There are many a stones that are still unturned. There are many a frontiers yet to be conquered. There are many a lives yet to be lived.

3.
If I could change one thing, I would change the literacy rate from 50 odd percent to 100 percent. In my view, illiteracy is mother of all evil. Conquer it and rest of the demons shall be conquered. Easier said than done.

Please see if you can share your thoughts with me.

Warm Regards,
Saurabh Garg

I got a few responses and with their permission, I shall post them here over a few days. If someone is reading this and has an opinion, please share. Email me at septemberthe22nd@gmail.com.

15th August over the years
15th August 2006
15th August 2005
15th August 2004

Independence Day Wallpaper