House of Flying Daggers

About India and China Economies

Chinese economic liberalization started in 1978 - 14 years before that of India in 1992. The nature of the government clearly has an impact on the discipline with which policies can be pursued. Nevertheless, will India's economic match current day China's in 14 years? OR could it be faster or slower?

Economic reform in China
Economic reform in India

Reliance and Dreamworks

Hmm. Could there a be a connection?

Oct 2, 2008: The Reliance-Spielberg Deal: Anil Ambani's Next Blockbuster?

Jan 11, 2009: `Slumdog Millionaire' Wins 4 at Golden Globes

Feb 22, 2009: ‘Slumdog’ Wins Eight Oscars, Including Best Picture

Jul 15, 2009: Reliance, Dreamworks to Launch Films This Year

Done with electives

Got done with my second elective on Friday July 10, 2009. That's good because now I will have only 3 courses to take for each of my remaining 2 semesters.

I took a law course called Commercial Transactions that deals with the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code). Was a great learning process especially because it is the first law related course that I have ever taken.

Now on to the final push towards the pilot launch of Entreave.

Saina Nehwal creates history

Saina is the first Indian woman to win a tournament of the kind.
She's from my home town - Hyderabad.

Great point from 2:04 - 2:40.

Silicon Valley mourns Rajeev Motwani

Rajeev Motwani, the Stanford Professor and Silicon Valley angel investor died Friday afternoon in a freak swimming pool accident.

According to TechCrunch, "Motwani influenced hundreds of entrepreneurs and students".

Motwani' bio is here.

Rajeev was the mentor to Google's Sergey Brin at Stanford. See Sergei's comments on Rajeev's death here.

I am wondering if the City of Austin has any Rajeev Motwanis. If so, I'd like to meet them !

Shubha Mudgal

One of my favorite singers. Has a background in Hindustani classical music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shubha_Mudgal

Ek Toona Achraj is a must listen.

News related to India

Here's the channel in India that is the equivalent of CNN or MSNBC. Although they are much better with presenting news and unbiased analysis.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/videos/video_live.php?id=LIVE_BG24x7

The CNBC equivalent.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/videos/video_live.php?id=LIVE_BGPROFIT

Dead and Gone

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Gone-Feat-Justin-Timberlake/dp/B001GLHBMC

Pratibha Singh Baghel

From 7:52.

New Venture Creation class

Professor Adams punishment for late comers is push ups or singing. Since, it was the last class, the guys had to do push ups on their desks :)

Rabbi Shergill - Bulla Ki Jaana Maen Kaun

Nice !

Heidi Roizen

Heidi Roizen is an influential person in the Silicon Valley. A Harvard Business School (HBS) case talks about her in more detail.

Heidi Roizen HBS case
Heidi's personal web site



She is currently CEO of Skinny Songs that sells "Music to motivate you back into your skinny jeans".

Skinny Songs

Austin High Tech Happy Hour

A decent event to network with the techie types in Austin. You might find the person that could anchor the IT aspects of your venture.




Here's the URL.

Sugar free Red Bull

Be conscious about how much of this stuff you drink.

Red Bull: it promises energy, but doesn't mention sticky blood...

To me sticky blood means clogged arteries, high cholesterol and heart disease.

Nouriel Roubini

Nouriel Roubini is a professor of economics at the Stern School of Business, New York University.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roubini

Roubini put his neck out and made dire predictions about the US and world economy when no else saw it coming. Many people with high credentials like Jacob Frenkel of AIG dismissed his predictions.

National Solidarity Fund?

Zbigniew Brzezinski was the National Security Advisor during the Jimmy Carter administration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski

According to him, some $300 billion was transferred to Wall Street finance professionals during the Clinton and Bush administrations. Most of this was in the form of $1 million plus bonuses. Remember, the basis for these bonuses was the inflated stock market that was caused first by the dotcom bubble and then by the housing bubble. Some like Paulson and Rubin made 100s of millions during this time frame. Given the crisis that the US economy is in, Brzezinski thinks that these folks could form a National Solidarity Fund and give back.

I don't hear much from such folks these days. Are they waiting for someone else to solve the crisis before they start investing their money?

25 people to blame

Time's 25 people to blame for the financial crisis. Entertaining.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350,00.html

India's economy

Professor Angus Maddison of the University of Groningen (Netherlands) has done a great deal of research on world economy over the past 2 millennia. According to him, India's economy contributed to 24% of world GDP in 1700 AD. This was a drop from the 32% contribution in 1000 AD, which was prior to the Mughal era. The contribution decreased to less than 4% in 1950. This roughly corresponds to the period of British occupation of India. Some have suggested that the demolishing of existing textile and other industries complemented by no proper replacements explain this dramatic fall. Meanwhile, the Indian diaspora was too busy fighting for freedom.

http://www.ggdc.net/maddison
http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/articles/moghul_3.pdf

Financial Times - Global MBA Rankings 2009

The rankings.
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings


The Indian School of Business is ranked #15. It is located in my hometown - Hyderabad.
http://www.isb.edu/isb/index.shtml

The Midas List - 2009

Just released.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/99/midas09_The-Midas-List_Rank.html

The Brand called You

This is refreshingly sensible. Considering decades of career-related articles that mislead individuals into not focusing on this aspect.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html

Nikki Flores - Suffocate

Cool, kewl song.

Golden Globes 2009

Slumdog Millionaire won four Golden Globes. Indian Music Composer AR Rahman won in the category.

Here's the trailer for the movie.

Taleb - Black Swan

A friend of mine recommends this book. Here's the related link for Taleb's (author) interview with Charlie Rose.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9713

Acer Aspire One

Bought one of these only today. $300 + tax in Texas. So far, I don't have any major complaints. It is small, lightweight and should work well as a backup, for travel and for school. We shall see.

India Pakistan peace

http://www.indiapakistanpeace.org

It's clear that all enemies of the sub-continent want continued conflict between India and Pakistan.

Carlo Ponzi AKA Charles Ponzi

This is hilarious.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/12/23/mf.ponzi.scheme/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ponzi

Newsweek's 50 Most Powerful

Sonia Gandhi and ShahRukh Khan are the two Indians on the list.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/30166

I am not sure what the rankings mean though.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

I could "feel" Punjab when watching this movie - even though I have never been there. Now, I want to visit even more than I wanted to previously.

I am Back

Got done with my first semester. Three more semesters to go.

First semester has been great. The HBS cases in the Strategic Management course expanded my thinking. So, did the Managerial Statistics and Financial Accounting courses. Although I took the latter two courses in some form some 18 years ago. The learning experience and being able to connect concepts with real business problems was enlightening.

Next semester will be intense. Everyone that knows about the content of the courses says so. Here is the course list for Spring 2009.

1. Financial Management
2. New Venture Creation
3. Managerial Economics
4. Managing People and Organizations

Learn the Tabla

This is a great musical instrument. There is an instructor in the Austin Area.

http://www.austintabla.com/schedule.php

Financing New Ventures

I have come across a lot of folks who think now is a bad time to kick off a new venture. Apparently, it has something to do with the sad state of the economy. I have a contradictory view.

I don't think the timing could be any better. With the stock markets in shambles, the rich folks need a good place to park their money. What could possibly be a better place to invest than in a great idea?

I'll put my theory to test early next year and see if I can impress any folks to invest in my new venture :)

Nibble Theory

Easy reading with a lot of pictures. This might radically change the way you see all of your relationships, specifically at work.

About Losing

For a long time I have seen losing as a positive experience. Losing allows you to analyze the reasons behind why you lost, strategize on how to fix deficiencies and execute on those strategies the next time you face a similar situation.

But, what if you don't even realize that you have lost? Maybe it means these things.

1. Good News: You won't be depressed.
2. Bad News: You haven't learned a thing.
   
3. Ugly News: Your individual brand (reputation) will take a beating.

About Monkeys and Ginger

Old Indian saying. This is my rough translation with words added for clarity.

Someone gives a monkey a piece of Ginger. The monkey tosses the Ginger.

Someone gives a top chef a piece of Ginger. Chef enhances his preparation with ground ginger.

Moral of the story: If a numskull dismisses your talent, then move on and find someone that actually understands/appreciates your talent. Of course, this assumes that your "talent" is real.

Google Chrome

I like the ease of use. Currently I am using it only for 90% of my needs - because of some glitches. Once the glitches are fixed, I will use this browser exclusively.

http://www.google.com/chrome

For Aspiring Management Consultants

Should be good for interview preparation.

The Obama Strategy

Interesting read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Axelrod_(political_consultant)#2008_presidential_campaign

World Reaction to Election Results

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27542176/

The video is a must see.

Vote Now !!!

http://www.rockthevote.com/

http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Voting.shtml

Changed Focus

With all that is happening, the focus of my blog has changed. It is not about my EMBA experience anymore. Instead, it is about all things that I am becoming aware of while going through life.

Which open up the possibility of a changed focus sometime down the road. :)

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

If you are feeling charitable, you could donate as little as $10 here.

http://www.komenaustin.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1609614&pg=personal&fr_id=1090

Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet

I ran into this article couple days ago. Very interesting.

http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2008/10/balance_sheet_o.html

Blog List

I started my blog list - the blogs that I follow. The very first entry is Hall Martin's "Angel Investing in Austin".

The Google Story

I think this book is a must read for Entrepreneurs.

Wall Street Journal Rankings

The Wall Street Journal's Executive MBA rankings (October 2008) have been published.

http://online.wsj.com/public/page/executive-mba-rankings.html

Meanwhile, here's a video of the Texas MBA faculty talking about the current economic crisis. I don't regret the 1.5 hours that I spent watching this.

http://media.mccombs.utexas.edu/Dean/Deans_Forum100308.wmv

Null Hypothesis

H0: You like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfE2W1kxaO0.

Z = 0.001
p-value = 0.9998

Null Hypothesis is accepted.

Belated blog creation

I originally planned a blog to document my EMBA experience in January 2008. Yeah. This is even before I was accepted into any of the EMBA programs. At that time, I did not know which program I would end up going to. But, I knew I would be going to one of my chosen programs AND that I would be doing a blog :) So, here I am.

In any case, I finally got to creating the blog after we got done with the Fall 2008 mid-term exams. I will do some catch up blogs to document some of the things that have happened until now. Maybe I will have a Catch up Section and a Current section to all of my future posts.