Personal Information Management

So, these are problem statements ...

1. I know a lot of things and want to know lot more.
   
2. I read tons of material and my to-read list is growing exponentially everyday.
3. I come in contact with a lot of wonderful people. And I need to stay connected with them.
4. And finally I want to be able to manage my todo list on a daily basis.

And with busier and mobile life, its imperative that something about managing information is done. And fast.

I have decided I would use online tools for these tasks. Simply because Internet is now as ubiquitous as it could be and online tools are almost as good as offline ones. Also I want to use simple tools. Life is too complex anyways, why use complex tools?

So, here is a list.

1. A pen drive for files that are too large to be shared on the Internet. And carry along data that is very critical that if Internet goes for a toss.
   
2. del.icio.us - bookmark links, webpages and other things that I want to keep track of.
   
3. pbwiki - take notes and invite comments
4. Google Docs, Calendar - for creating lists and schedules
5. Google Reader - to keep track on my reading list
   
6. SaurabhGarg.com and septemberthe22nd.blogspot.com
7. Slideshare and Scribd - for managing files, documents and presentations
   

And then I will continue to use these online tools/services

1. Twitter
2. Dopplr
3. Facebook
4. Flickr
5. LinkedIn

What else should I use? Is there a good contact management software? Where I can keep a list of my contacts, where I know them from, what do they get to the table and all that?

In Delhi, I did ...

I am in Delhi right now and back in Mumbai tomorrow morning. Here are few things that I did on this visit. In no particular order ...

• Met @pjain. We have been planning to meet for about 6 months now. Finally caught up with him. Had a nice chit chat about barcamps and entrepreneurship in India.
• Hogged onto "fried" Paranthas from Paranthe Wali Gali.
• Saw Dev D. Finally. No more comments. Except that it was emotional atyachaar ;P
• Visited Birla Temple - the same place where Mahatama Gandhi was killed in 1948. And for some funny reasons, you are not allowed to take your cameras inside the temple.
  
• Practised driving on my dad's car. Drove atleast 300 KMs within Delhi. I can now drive comfortably as long as its not the uphill part of a crowded flyover. 
  
• Read WEB's 2008 letter to shareholders (notes here). Did not understand a major chunk of it. Hopefully would get clarification at Value Investors Mumbai's Meeting No. 3 on Sunday.
  
• Dropped my sis at Delhi's domestic airport.
  
• And Picked a friend from Delhi's international airport.
  
• Visited People Tree. Bought one teeshirt (for myself) and a bell (for a friend).
  
• Dropped my phone thrice. Time to buy a new one.

And these are the things that I normally do, but did not do this time

• Meet Kunal. My partner with Cyntax Labs and n00b.in.
  
• Travel on Delhi Metro.

Warren Buffet's 2008 Letter to Shareholders: Notes

WEB released his 2008 letter for shareholders. Download it here. 

Following are the things that I underlined while reading the letter. Samples of his gift of the gab at play. 

• By yearend, investors of all stripes were bloodied and confused, much as if they were small birds that had strayed into a badminton game.
• Like it or not, the inhabitants of Wall Street, Main Street and the various Side Streets of America were all in the same boat.
• When investing, pessimism is your friend, euphoria the enemy.
• sucking my thumb
• Long ago, Ben Graham taught me that “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”
• Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.
• As we view GEICO’s current opportunities, Tony and I feel like two hungry mosquitoes in a nudist camp. Juicy targets are everywhere.
• A promise is no better than the person or institution making it.
• If merely looking up past financial data would tell you what the future holds, the Forbes 400 would consist of librarians.)
• We never want to count on the kindness of strangers in order to meet tomorrow’s obligations. When forced to choose, I will not trade even a night’s sleep for the chance of extra profits.
• Approval, though, is not the goal of investing. In fact, approval is often counter-productive because it sedates the brain and makes it less receptive to new facts or a re-examination of conclusions formed earlier.Beware the investment activity that produces applause; the great moves are usually greeted by yawns.
  

The End. Of The New New Thing.

The New New Thing - my other blog on businesses comes to an end. This is what I posted while announcing it.

After about 11 months of putting time and energy behind the New New Thing, I have decided to shut it down. I was thinking about it till last week and now I am clear on what I want from my online presence.

Before what I would be, let me talk about what I would not be.

1. I would not be a blog/website that pimps brands, businesses or people.
2. I would not publish “exclusive” or “you read it here first”.
3. I would not indulge in link baiting (except when I am specifically working on a project).

I rather want to

1. create and contribute to original knowledge.
2. meet, talk to, work with bright minds. There is one and only one way to get them. Be one.
3. come up with ideas. More importantly execute them and see them to fruition.

What has changed?
Over the last one year, I read about the Internet, tried to understand the basics, talked to tons of people, made few very good friends, obviously blogged about all this and everything else, under the guise of New New Thing. I has been an awesome journey and a very rich learning experience.

Also, I have realized that I am not one of those superhumans who can juggle work, blog, life all at the same time and excel at it. Focus on one thing for me, means loss of focus on others. I have limited time and a peanut sized brain and thus there is only so much I can do. I will have to let go of few things and move on. Blogging on New New Thing is one such dispensable thing.

I now shall focus on doing. Rather than brainstorming about it. I would continue to share thoughts and lessons as and when I create things.May be I will do a new blog. Or a wiki. Or a mailing list. Lets see. One things for sure. The focus would shift from being a blogger to a doer. Please stay tuned for updates and announcements. Although I havent said anything about the nature of things I will indulge in, you still might want to contact me (here).

And as with everything else, new shall replace the old. Lets see how things shape up.

Rampyari

Rampyari: spelt as 'ra-m-pee-ar-i'

Definition: literally speaking denotes a car which is white in colour, is a 2000 make Wagon R with registration number of RJ145C 1491. on a metaphorical level, it is our getaway from the world on the weekends, where we become incommunicado with the usual trappings, especially the ones originating from office. The significance of Rampyari is so much that a highway and Rampyari matter more than the destination. All she needs is petrol and little care.

Of Orbs and World Dominion

All of us are stuck in our respective orbs (time, state of mind, location, cubicles etc) and without having an iota of control over thoughts or even movements of anything of significance, we somehow are trying to justify to ourselves that we are gods and about two steps away from world dominion.

Ok, we can be replaced by me ... to start with.

So, carrying on with the rant, here we are, 20 25 somethings, in pursuit of happyness creative orgasm, working at middle management level (really? or these levels have been created just to make us happy?), suffering from QLC, constantly comparing ourselves with our peers, trying to justify our careers and fat paychecks and in a constant state of denial. "We" are characterized by over-inflated egos, dreams that run nothing short of world dominion (again) and ideas that would put Malcolm Gladwells and Seth Godins of the world to shame.

To be continued ...

Swades - Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera

Last time I blogged about this song, I wrote,

Quite a few lessons and one of the best patriotic songs of all times in my humble opinion.

Coming back to the song, I stumbled upon the video on youtube I realized how much I love the song.

Delhi 6 Disappoints

I was really looking forward to seeing Delhi 6. A R Rahman's music, as always is really good. Prasoon Joshi's lyrics are meaningful and impeccable. The tralior looked wonderful. The on screen chemistry between Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor seemed interesting. The plot promised to be similar to Rang De Basanti. And beneath these tons of expectations, I went to see Delhi 6.

I came out disappointed.

I could go on ranting why its a bad movie and why you shouldn't bother even discussing it, why the story is week, why the characters are lost, why is it not about home-coming of a desi and all that.

In one line, dont bother wasting time and money on it. Just get the music and enjoy Dilli 6, Genda Phool and Masakali.

I am master of my own ...

via Harold's Planet

Couldn't have been more apt.

MacBook. Fixed.

After I spilled water on my MACBook, I was told of 1000 things to do (a complete list follows) but here are few things that you MUST do.

1. Switch it off. Water will act as a conductor and will burn the circuits. Do not, I repeat, do not switch on your laptop (or any other electric device) until its completely dry. You will have to resist the temptation to see if its working after you spill water. Please resist it and let the water dry.
   
2. Remove battery. For obvious reasons.
3. Somehow, remove water. Use a hair dryer, put it under the sunlight, usea lamp, a fan, even bury the laptop in a sack of rice.

And, yes my macbook works fine now.