http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog by Ramesh Narayanaswamy Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:07:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This is truly jaw-dropping. http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2008/08/22/wow-i-mean-wow/ I have a problem with the word "blog." No, really. I don't mind "website", "web page" or "webspace." On a particularly delightful day, I might even be hand-wavy at "weblog." But the word "blog" is a downright irritant and has the unfailing effect of bringing out a wince on my ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2008/08/08/i-dont-want-to-blog-i-want-to-write/ Exactly one day after I wrote that Jeff and Joel are two of my favourite writers, both of them announce a joint venture they're doing called stackoverflow.com which is the new Usenet/newsgroup. For the dear reader who perhaps has not seen the wonder that is the Usenet - I learnt most of ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2008/04/17/down-usenet-lane/ What does a talentless, soporific New Age writer do when he realizes he is all three? Simple: he points elsewhere. Abnormal Returns: I'm not a fan of talentless, soporific New Age writers who point somewhere else, but this is a happy exception. The average quality of content being pointed to is ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2008/04/16/talentless-and-soporific/ WEDDING (n.) A ceremony at which two persons undertake to become one, and then spend the rest of their lives deciding which one. Dear, Dear Reader: (Nota Bene: The crucial details are right at the end, so if you are busy, maybe the scroll down button is a good idea.) We find the ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2008/01/27/mysteries-of-the-wedding-invite/ Time for some trivia. I work out of the same building as the London Stock Exchange at Paternoster Square. Here is a view from the inside. What you see in the picture is the famed artwork of Greyworld called The Source, which is a physical representation of the stock markets, ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/09/21/updated-contact-details/ Wall Street is a game that’s played between the smartest people in the world with the highest stakes. --A portfolio manager Ten years ago (that makes me sound like an 80 year old).... anyway, ten years ago, I'd never have imagined a career other than programming, technology and software. And yet, ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/09/04/first-steps/ Warning: the content in this article is long, boring and oftentimes both. During a meeting with company management for a project I recently worked on, I happened to have an interesting discussion with the CFO regarding the current liquidity in the global capital markets. He was an interesting chap and had quite ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/08/08/securitizing-death/ It so came to pass that I was digging through my old archives of backed up files and folders; and lo, I find this piece of writing in the mishmash. I post it here since I think it is valuable enough to not lose, and valuable enough to share. I ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/08/08/the-invaluable-moment/ Three links for your browsing pleasure. Not one more, not one less. Three it shall be. The Best Page in the Universe: is arrogant, funny and uses language that might be termed offensive in most Parliaments. "This page is about me and why everything I like is great. If you disagree with anything you find on this page, you are wrong." The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/07/29/now-thats-what-i-call-funny/ The news IIM Bangalore has decided to go public and fully transparent with their flagship PGP selection process. I, for one, welcome that! Apparently, there's been a heated debate amongst IIMB faculty regarding this move, but it's now official. A 5-page document detailing the admission process is available on the IIMB ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/07/27/iim-bangalore-admission-process/ You can't escape it, can ya? It's like potholes on Indian roads--all over the place. And you'll run into one whether you like it or not, whether you see it or not, whether you approve of it or not. Harry Potter. Quite like ah, potholes. Heh. (To all those fanatics who ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/07/26/a-theory-of-potterdom/ Well, Chennai is hot. Smeltering hot. That's not so bad in itself, but, I had to be in it for two days. And my primary mode of transport was auto-rickshaws, and so, as Ali would say, "Oh blimey." Now anyone who's gone to Chennai knows the highway robbery and pillage that is ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/07/25/of-civil-action-and-auto-rickshaws/ Euonymous aptronym: An appropriately named name that suits its owner. A semi-recursive name, the hallmark of a true geek. I was very pleased with myself when I came up with it, and found that there was nothing comparable on Google. Now, searching for euonymous aptronym on Google yields my blog as ... http://www.rnspeak.org/Weblog/2007/07/17/trivia/