Wipro Technologies registers 64 as TOGAF 8 Certified

Great achievement this, I think.

The course itself was so-so, and the TOGAF framework itself needs LOTS of rework, overall, I came out benefitting from the training, due to the fantastic thought provoking discussions. The training group consisted of really experienced, hard boiled architects, so the insights from their previous projects were just really really useful.

Country for old men

What a perfect foil this video (even though from the US) is for my article on old age crisis in the UK
http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-walt-babyboomers-blurb,0,1036393.blurb

Enjoy!

What does pro-poor mean?

Chiranjeevi's party is pro-poor. Without going into the details of party's policies, let's just say that Chiranjeevi hasn't thought about any as yet. Well, this is India, you don't have to worry about boring details such as policies and plans. You invent them as you go along, based not on whether they benefit the people in the long run, but on whether you can fool the people with them.

Chiranjeevi's party is pro-poor. What does that mean? Will there be no policies for the middle class and the rich? What happens when the poor upgrade themselves to middle-classdom? Are they doomed into obscurity and neglect.?

Will they have to pray to Lord Balaji for mercy? And offer atleast Rs. 2000 in the 'Hundi'?

I am sure Chiranjeevi's party - Pro-ja Garibyam, I mean Praja Rajyam will win a lots of votes. I just hope, he doesn't start singing and dancing to the tune of 'Abba Nee Teeyani Debba' when things go belly-up (God!, As a teenager, I used to think that the dancing was stupendous)

Stephen Colbert out of character at Harvard

One of the very few rare occasions when Stephen Colbert is out of character. And probably the longest he has been so, in public. A truly delightful exchange.



Because he the character most of the time - this ego-manic, right-wing, rigid fool- it makes you wonder if he really is a smart guy at all, or is he just playing himself.

This video sets to rest all your doubts. This guy is a genius. He is one of the most intelligent, gifted and witty tv personality ever. It is clear that not just the writers writing top-class material on his show, but Colbert's owns insights and spin of the news would be responsible for more than 1/2 the funny stuff on his show. His off-the-cuff remarks about J D Salinger testify to this guy's intellect.

The way he acknowledges Jon Stewart without being fawning was touching; he could easily slip into his character and make impudent remarks about Stewart and get away with it (the audience were laughing even when Colbert paused between serious statements).

Mr Colbert, I bow before thee.

Children outnumbered by over-60s

Children outnumbered in the UK by over 60s

Soon, the business model for baby shops will change. They will change the name from Mothercare to Grandmothercare. Mamas and Papas to Grandmas and Grandpas. No prams, only mobility scooters. Nappies, well... they will still keep those.

Toys are Us will be Bowls are us. Largest selling oral hygiene product- Pepsodenture. All public transport will go bust giving free service for over 60s. Government income due to speeding fines will decrease drastically as no one is driving above 30 mph. In the tube, instead of finding people plugged into their iPods, you will find them plugged into their hearing aids.

50% of the GP appointments would be missed by those seeking treatment for Alzheimer's. They will be found at Bingo or Bowls.

The cakes will be bigger; you can't fit 60+ candles on normal cakes, can you? Bakers and candle makers (incl. Kapadia Limited) will rake in the moolah.

Flats all over the country will be razed to make way for lavish retirement homes (Motto- We care coz there no one else left to). Britain from Above will look like a mass of grey.

Replaced Hip, hip hurray!

TISCO and TESCO

Tata Steel was earlier known as TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Co Ltd)
So, what a concidence that TATA is now going into a joint venture with TESCO.

For those of you who are not aware, TESCO is the largest supermarket chain in the UK (similar to Walmart in US). Of course the supermarkets in the west are veritable warehouses - massive complexes almost always greater than one football field. We still don't have them in our Indian cities as yet. But I guess a lot of these supermarkets will sprout in these satellite cities that are coming up all over the country

CBIP preparation - my experience

Recently took 2 papers of CBIP. CBIP is Certified Business Intelligence Professional. You can specialize in a number of streams - details here but you have to take 2 main papers - Core exam and Data warehousing.

Core exam is about general IT fundaes - software engineering, hardware, program management, processes, system design etc.
Data warehousing about the basics of data warehousing which any BI professional would be expected to know.

Though I was relatively free and had loads of time for preparation, let me tell you it is extremely hard to prepare. One, because the scope is vast. You are not expected to deep dive, but cover a lot of different areas and topics. There is lot of stuff that you would obviously know, but then there would be some basic terminology that you might have forgotten or never come across due to the nature of your work. eg. RAID (in networking), SDRAM, Gantt chart etc. So, you do have to ensure you cover all those subject areas and atleast get a basic understanding of these terminologies. But again, due to the questions being multiple choice and mostly of the nature, "What is XYZ NOT used for?", you just can't rely on the basic understanding but actually have to go into the details as well. Thats why I am in a major confused state during the preparation - to skim over to cover all the topics or get into the details to ensure you can trick those trick questions.

Overall, I would rate the tests as tough. It will be difficult to pass without ANY preparation, even though you might be top of the class IT and BI professional. With a week's preparation, it is easy to pass, though to get the MASTERY level (70%) in each test, 2 week full time preparation is mandatory.

More updates

Look how I resolved my mid-life crisis

Mean riding machine. Traffic Obliterator. Road Marauder. King of the Urban Jungle.
This is my latest acquisition.

Cannondale F6 (Hydraulic) Disc 2008.

While you drool over the beauty, why don't you marvel at the disc brakes?
Please don't assume that I am amongst those you has 'gone green' just when the oil rates were burning the pants off half the world (the other half been Middle Eastern). I have always been a fan of bikes.
* My first videshi love -whose seat was stolen
* My second bike - whose seat was stolen along with the rest of the bike - within a day I purchased it.
* My third bike - which the owner couldn't understand, but the one that I tamed through incessant riding.

And now, the Katrina Kaif of all bikes. Hmmmm, yummm!

Killer Deol

According to Hindustan Times,

Bobby Deol will play an assassin in the film Ek – The Power of One.

Yes, he will be killing the film!

Sensational joke from Moi

Nelson Mandela is on a state visit to Mumbai. After a 2 hour mandatory delay at Shivaji Chattrapati Hawai Uddan, and some snide remarks from the immigration officials ("Kiti kaala aahe haa manus!"), Mr Mandela finally came out of the Hawai Uddan.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra was waiting impatiently outside to garland Mandela Saheb. As soon as they saw him, some one in the crowd went, "Mandela aale, Mandela aale"

CM, a bit irritatedly said, "Tuesday la kaa naahi aale. Monday la amcha adhiveshan asta ki ho"

Naina devi stampede

There are some gruesome pics on NDTV showing just how terrible the tragedy was?

150 dead within a few minutes. Notice the bodies - most are women and children. Just heartbreaking and plain wrong!!

What price negligence? Our places of worship are blemished by poor ventilation, lack of hygiene and cleanliness(except the santum sanctorum), complete disrepect for the devotees and absence of any crowd control plan. Something like this is just waiting to happen.

I have been in one or two places like this, and after standing in the queue for about 2-3 hours, when I am closer to the darshan of the God/ess, I am filled with dread. The jostling, the shouting due to the complete absence of crowd management could result in a situation any time. I don't want to be crushed under the fat pujari. I do a quick namaskar, and get the hell out of there. With such chaos out there, how does anyone get a chance to be one with the Almighty?

Compare our temples with other places of worship. There is peace, order and discipline invariably in a church. Even when it is crowded, it is NEVER noisy. The whole aura of the place makes you want to talk in hushed tones. I haven't been to too many gurudwaras, but judging from the few I have been to, I feel it is always sane, and orderly there. Even though they serve free food, there is no pushing and shoving around.

We are the oldest religion in the world. When will we learn?

Scribd

Scribd is a extremely useful file-sharing site. By files I mean, documents, pdfs, slideshows, books etc. In case you are looking for some academic material, then it's a great first stop.

I was looking for material for a test that I am preparing, and certainly found a lot of useful stuff there.

It is very high on usability factor; I like the way it indicates download progress for large files, and also page number indication (such simple trick, but never used before) while scrolling pages of documents.