Apple and IBM are both companies I hold in great esteem – in the top 5 of all companies I care about. I worked at IBM for a long time, and I own a lot of Apple devices. I have small investments in the stocks of both companies . My day job is to make…
Month: August 2014
Six Reasons Why Kerala’s Proposal For Prohibition Will Not Work
Kerala wants to be a dry state http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/kerala-to-close-down-700-bars-sundays-to-be-dry-114082101171_1.html It is ironic that I have to write this blog post against it – as a guy who has seen the evil effects of alcoholism at close quarters and with every bit of my soul, I wish this menace went away for good. But as I read more…
I have a whole new appreciation of Business Intelligence now
As many of you know, I grew up as a BI and Data warehousing guy – I have implemented BI for a lot of users across the world . I have collected requirements from shipping clerks as well as CXOs , and in at least a dozen different languages. I have spent countless hours thinking…
Dog Shows – Where Rational People Do Irrational Things
Dog shows are a fascinating ecosystem by itself – with a lot of participants like owners, breeders, handlers, judges, trainers, backers, vets, psychics, merchants ….and dogs. Ancient lore has it that people started dog shows as a way to select the best dogs for breeding. If you walk into the world of dog shows today…
The flip side of automation and scale
A significant part of my work life is spent on figuring out how to scale everything . And in this case – I am talking about increasing the size and efficiency . I grew up professionally believing that scaling up is a good thing , and automation is the best thing ever . But along…
Depressing thoughts
Every so often, I read about someone taking their life due to severe depression – the latest being Robin Williams ( and every time I think of him, I remember a cheerful “Gooooood morning Vietnam !”) . And then I typically read multiple articles on depression in twitter and facebook. I feel terrible for a…
Max Schireson, the most unusual CEO I know
My boss, Max Schireson, announced yesterday that he is stepping aside as the CEO of MongoDB and will become the deputy Chairman of our board. And he probably wrote the best piece ever that I have read from an outgoing CEO http://maxschireson.com/2014/08/05/1137/ . Last year, when I was considering employment at MongoDB – there were…
