Share ride for commuting…

Although my wife and I have been carpooling for quite few months now, I didn’t realize the impact we were making to the community, until I saw these numbers lately after recording my commuting status for the past 4 weeks.

I noticed Veena‘s post today asking if it is really worth driving big SUVs alone instead of ridesharing, and other options. Looking at these numbers for elements like carbon-monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide, etc.., Certainly! – helps community and the environment, bring down the pollution a bit. We can do the best we can.

Go Green…

Shuttle from new Airport in Bangalore…

Thejesh twittered about a shuttle service from Bangalore international Airport – http://www.airliftonline.com/ – that’s cool of having WiFi for the longer commute that’s going to be between devanahalli and any other remote place in Bangalore city. I believe, I am going to have to ride about 2 hours or more between the airport and south of bangalore when I arrive there… It took me about 55 minutes to get to the HAL airport a month ago. Anyways, free wifi for the amount it stated on the website, I don’t know if it is for real. Any one tried yet?

-Ram

Scorpion in a carton of watermelons…

that’s a scary one… http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=&vid=01e385e7-21f2-4aec-9681-a0a37125a6df

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24831118/

Why is stop light RED?

Off late, my 3 year old daughter V- has been learning all the colors and what they mean, the traffic, the pavements, the roads, etc etc. So, few months ago she learned “Red” light at an intersection means “stop”, “Green” at an intersection means “Go”.

Since then, she has been saying it every time we come across the lights – either while driving or walking across the street. This evening, I took  her to the nearby library. My dad and I were walking a bit slow and she being a toddler started running but still at a distance that she would hear me if I called her name.

On the way back from the library while we were waiting at the light for us to cross the street. She asked number of questions.

1. Daddy, why is that car not moving?
2. did he stop because of the red light?
3. why is another car moving?
and so on…

I tried my best to answer most questions until I heard, “why is stop light RED, and why not any other color?“. Me being always learned about the standards for certain and certain things, I couldn’t give her a better answer. I tried my best again, and she being an ignorant 3 year old toddler, accepted it. However, I wasn’t convinced myself to my answer.

Why do you think the stop lights at the intersections are Red,Yellow and Green? How did that standard of red,yellow,green (universal) come into picture at the first place?

although, she accepted my answer for now, I don’t think she would accept such answers few months down. I think she already asked me a follow up question, that I can’t remember now, as the light turned on for us to walk across and she got deviated from the topic.

Point Defiance Zoo ….

been to a nearby zoo over the week end. Though we went around the park for over 2 hours, one thing I liked the most was bunch of peacock going around the park freely and being friendly with the people around.

It was a pleasant evening just an hour before the sunset. One of those birds started dancing around with the feathers wide spread.

D6: presents interview with Microsoft…

 

through techmeme, I noticed a post about D6 presenting an interview with Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. There is also a link to Bill Gates’ last day at MS video posted in a section about windows 7 preview.

Acronyms Acronyms Acronyms….

I don’t know why lot of professional organizations still use the Abbreviations (acronyms) in their application forms, and still expect people to fill in right. I understand the the communication jargon when people talking the same language ( i mean, people from same background or profession or industry), but how would other people know.

being from software industry, I understand if some one say the words like  C#, VSTF, ASAP, VSS, CGI, FYI, etc etc .. that we normally use, but if I go to a banker and say, “provide your documents in jpg format” or “would you mind exporting data into CSV format?” , he would be puzzled.

At the same, I don’t understand, why lots of banks use the terms like HLST, pur of prop, HL, EMI, HFC, PAN, APR, GPA, GPF,  etc etc.. –> what in the world are these terms mean? these are the ones I noticed on a bank application form. I could make out a few of these, but not all. Very few organizations have the foot note or the glossary page to describe these acronyms – thanks to those organizations, but not many of them do.

I don’t know if that’s the norm across the industries, however, it is hard to the customers to understand, at least to fill in the application forms legibly. Agreed, there are few acronyms that are widely used across the industries, and that is perhaps okay.

One of the key tips taught at the professional speaking course, Toast Masters, and such organizations, is to avoid using the abbreviations, or in case those are used ( because, at times those short forms make more appropriate) then say what it stands for, several times during the early conversation so the audience could understand the talk better.

Software Quality…

280Group writes an article about “why Software still stinks here“. In this article the author says the product management is the key reason for why software fails. I like the way this article starts and pointing one of the key impediments as “being open for critical feedback and ideas“. I liked the way it was put across in one phrase as “this industry still so amused by its own opportunities” as an improvement factor.

I believe there are other factors to be accounted as well.

a. Strategy: Good strategy to drive the project management

b. being able to coach the teams and being transparent of what product management thinks of the end product and the teams knowing the exact same thing.

c. being open for feedback from the team – this has already been addressed in this article. additionally, most times the managements are firm on what they want and not really listen to the team though the management change the course (shift) when market changes. Why not the management listen to the internal team for what they have to say.

d. when it comes to “about buggy, inflexible and incomplete applications” –> irrespective of how the product management is, only the team can certify the quality gates and the entire team has to come up with the measures to comply with that. It is the team work and not just one product manager, I think.

I have been in the application development projects where the customers did not really know what they really really wanted, and I agree, it is our responsibility to help customers to define the features they really really want and omit the obsolete requirements. Agreed, product management plays a key role here, at the same time, I think, the entire engineering team should put themselves in customer shoes while designing the solution early on and not really blame the customers for not providing the requirements.

note: I am probably sounding a bit biased or defending here, but I am trying to see from a cursory look and from my own experience being in the industry.

 

Technorati Tags: Software Quality,Product Management

Funny motorcycle …

Received this in my email. Not sure how to interpret this but looks funny though..

volkswagon makes 230mpg car….

I think we need such vehicles now that the gasoline price going up.