Parakaashtha

[Google Maps] : A Wife Lead?

2009-02-03T14:14:00.003-05:00

Is this where Drew Walter Peterson trial attorneys should be looking at?

Was browsing through my neighborhood today and bumped into this (A Wife Lead):

Any idea what that is? I am not sure if this is the name of a town or ...

Looks VERY interesting, though.

A Wife Lead?

2009-02-03T10:12:00.004-05:00

Was browsing through my neighborhood today and bumped into this (A Wife Lead):

Any idea what that is? I am not sure if this is the name of a town or ...

Looks VERY interesting, though.

Obama's rise predicted as far back as 3 yrs ago

2008-06-05T08:20:00.001-05:00

Barack Obama's astonishing rise to prominence as the first black presidential nominee of any major American party was predicted as far back as three years ago when the senator from Illinois with the self-confessed "funny name" was virtually a non-entity and no one could have believed he would oust Hillary Clinton as Democratic candidate.

Back in October 2005, a left-leaning British magazine listed Obama at the head of a 10-member rundown of "people who could change the world". The list, which included Sania Mirza and was sub-titled "revolutionising the future: from tennis to teleportation", pointed out that Obama was the only "out-and-out politician" it chose.

The prescience of the New Statesman, a substantially well-written if a trifle staid magazine originally established by the famous Fabians Sidney and Beatrice Webb, is now seen as nothing short of miraculous.

In India, it is astrologers who tell political fortunes. In the west, it is that other soothsayer - the media. In Obama's case, it appears to have come true.

Obama's proud place in the magazine's list of people who could change the world came barely 10 months after he became a senator and learnt to read a teleprompter. The New Statesman based its forecast that Obama would rise and rise and go on to do great, world-changing things, on his "political rock star attributes" and self-deprecating refusal to take himself too seriously.

The magazine admitted Obama "seems a little too primed for political superstardom" and acknowledged Washington's "habit of hailing new political celebrities, chewing them over and then spitting them out".

But it insisted the new senator appeared to have "come to DC prepared to shoulder the burdens of high expectations" and that its list was all about "being bold...our ten world-changers... reflect the ways that power and influence operate in our complex, interconnected world ...(the list) is intended to offer hope. Given that the present is characterised by relentless violence and carnage, man-made or otherwise..."

Scientology fever on Digg

2008-01-25T19:54:00.001-05:00

Digg will give IT Admins of these scientology-based websites a hard time...

Ron Paul Letter Writing Campaign

2007-12-16T12:03:00.000-05:00

Ron Paul Letter Writing Campaign

Contribute as much as you can. If you can not be in Iowa, you could still do the needful by writing letters to voters urging them to know more about Dr Paul. He is still not getting enough media coverage, even though he has crossed the much awaited 12 mil mark!

Go Dr Paul!!

McCain has lost touch with reality

2007-12-11T20:16:00.001-05:00

CNN: Military Sources Respond To McCain's Escalation Remark With 'Laughter Down The Line'
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told radio host Bill Bennett that President Bush's escalation is working. "There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today," he said. Today, when CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked McCain why Americans still aren't able to safely leave the Green Zone in Iraq, the senator replied that Blitzer was giving three-month-old talking points:

General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee. I think you oughta catch up. You are giving the old line of three months ago. I understand it. We certainly don't get it through the filter of some of the media.

But according to CNN reporter Michael Ware, who has been in Iraq for four years, McCain is "way off base." He stated, "To suggest that there's any neighborhood in this city where an American can walk freely is beyond ludicrous. I'd love Sen. McCain to tell me where that neighborhood is and he and I can go for a stroll."

Ware also rebutted McCain's assertion that Petaeus travels in an unarmed humvee: "[I]n the hour since Sen. McCain's said this, I've spoken to military sources and there was laughter down the line. I mean, certainly the general travels in a humvee. There's multiple humvees around it, heavily armed."

Source: LiveLeak.com

Behind The Scenes Media Censoring Ron Paul?

2007-12-11T01:14:00.000-05:00

MACKINAC REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE: September 22, 2007

Fox News Folks trying their best to keep the Ron Paul support close to zero...

Yep; that's what comes to my mind when I think of 'Fair and Balanced'

FOX News: A Ron Paul fan gets extreme

2007-12-10T21:28:00.000-05:00

A fan of Ron Paul covers his entire Hyundai in Ron Paul stickers. Interesting to find this on FOX News!

McCain: I don't care if it's a banana

2007-12-09T21:04:00.000-05:00

McCain says what he really thinks about a poll showing that 60% of military families don't believe the war in Iraq justifies the cost.

Why doesnt this lady give up!? John McCain doesn't believe in facts. The Bush government doesnt believe in facts. The facts are for stupids.

Beware of Invisibility

2007-09-28T07:18:00.000-05:00

You never know when invisibility is going to strike. Or is this message too deep? Will surely make people stop and think.

(Near Ngorongora Crater, Tanzania)

My Ass opens at 6am

2007-09-28T07:13:00.000-05:00

OK. Don’t get any ideas. This has nothing to do with my sanitary habits. This is a McDonalds sign posted in Yass, Australia.

Osama's Latest Video

2007-09-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

Osama Bin Laden's latest video.

Am not sure if this is the full video or it truncated towards the end... but this sure has given some 'job security' to our media - they have something to report about every few minutes..

Oh well -- your comments are welcome.

Spammers getting very creative

2007-09-04T12:18:00.000-05:00

This website looks very authentic and I almost gave my info to them...

Please spread the word around - the below mentioned email looks very authentic and takes you to a very authentic looking website -- but look at the URL -- it takes you to user888183311.com domain. I have notified etrade of this but in the mean time, please do spread the word around.

Awesome Panaromic Views of Epcot

2007-08-28T10:25:00.000-05:00

Amazing panaromic views of Epcot (Disney, Florida)

Vishesh Soochna

2007-08-27T22:07:00.001-05:00

Agar aap bus, train, plane ya kahin se bhi aa jaa rahe hon aur kisi mahila/ladki ke hath mein phool, dhaaga, ya chamakti hue koi bhi vastu dekhein to turant wahan se bhag jaye. Ye vastu RAKHI ho sakti hai. Apki zara si laaparwahi aapko BHAI bana sakti hai.

~~~~~ Bharat Sarkar dwara purush hit me Jaari ~~~~~

Man has 21st child at the age of 90

2007-08-26T20:39:00.001-05:00

After SuperDaad's news [link], heres another weird guy... he became dad at the age of 90 and has no plans to stop!!

Read on...
_____________________________________________________________

The world's oldest father has done it again, fathering a child for at least the 21st time, at the age of 90.

Indian farmer Nanu Ram Jogi, who is married to his fourth wife, boasts he does not want to stop, and plans to continue producing children until he is 100.

Mr Jogi admits he is not certain how many children his series of four wives have borne him - but counts at least 12 sons and nine daughters and 20 grandchildren.

Two-week-old daughter Girija Rajkumari is the latest addition to the proud father's family.

"I want to have more children. I can survive another few decades and want to have children till I am 100 - then maybe I will stop." Mr Jogi said.

Mr Jogi, who attributes his remarkable virility to daily walks and plenty of meat, said: "I eat all kinds of meat - rabbits, lamb, chicken and wild animals."

Mr Jogi fathered his eldest daughter, Sita Devi, in 1943. His latest wife, Saburi, who has given him seven children, was first married to his eldest son Shiv Lal, who died 10 years ago.

Speaking from the family home in a remote village in Rajasthan, she said:

"At first I didn't want to stay here after my husband died. But Nanu promised to look after me and now we have seven children."

Mr Jogi's children and grandchildren live in six houses attached to his two-storey family home.

He said: "I have a perfect life - with so many children and grandchildren all around me, it keeps me young."

Superdad - SUPERDAAD!

2007-08-22T21:47:00.000-05:00

A one-legged father-of-78 is preparing for his next two marriages as he closes in on his target of having 100 children by 2015.

UAE national Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman, 60, has already had 15 brides, though he divorces wives to make way for new ones in order to stay within the legal limit of four. His youngest child, Tariq, is 20 days old and his oldest, Ayoob, is 36. And he has more babies on the way from two of his three current wives.

Daad Mohammed lost a leg in a road accident and plans to have an artificial limb fitted in Jaipur in India – and while there he hopes to find one of his new brides. One more has already been lined up in Baluchistan, Pakistan.

“In 2015 I will be 68 years old and will have 100 children,” he said. “After that I will stop marrying. I have to have at least three more marriages to hit the century.

“Two of my wives are pregnant and they will give birth within two months. Tariq was delivered by my wife Mariam. He is healthy and happy and will have two more brothers or sisters soon. And I am also happy because Allah is giving me more children.” The retired truck-driver, policeman and soldier has two other babies – fourmonth-old Alma and eightmonth-old Sara.

Two other children, Adnan and Sulaiman, are under two years old. His wives and ex wives include Bedouins from the UAE plus women from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Oman. They live in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Daad Mohammed, whose home is in Al Bustan, Ajman, spends time with each of them and has a family get together every Friday.

He is head of possibly the largest single UAE dynasty with 127 members, including 49 grandchildren, and has 15 houses. Two of his wives have died. Now he is going to have the same type of artificial limb – known as the Jaipur foot – that Indian dancer Sudha Chandran uses.

“After Ramadan, I will go to Jaipur to get an artificial leg and marry a beautiful Rajasthani girl,” he told Emirates Today. “I have had seven Indian brides.

“At present I use a crutch to move around. I am told that the Jaipur foot works better than other artificial limbs.” Daad Mohammed said he received generous support from the Ajman Government, including houses and cash. He was paid a military pension of Dh24,000 a month by the Abu Dhabi Government.

“Even though my family is big, I don’t have any problem managing the budget,” he said. “If I buy fish for the entire family I have to spend a minimum of Dh500 per day. If the menu includes mutton at least Dh1,000 per day is required, and that’s just for the meat.” And despite having so many offspring he does not overlook the vital duty of any dad. He added: “I take care of their requirements – and pay pocket money to each and every child.”

Sholay Ke Thakur Ka Inteqam

2007-08-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

Ramgadh ke vaasiyo -- Ab tumhe Gabbar se darne ki zarurat nahi. Thakur has a new weapon. Classic Sholay shot in new setting.. Thakur equipped with new tools.

Amazing Mother - Hats off to you

2007-08-10T18:15:00.000-05:00

Ma Tujhe Salaam -- Hats Off to her courage, determination and her willpower.

This video just woke me up. We all think we have problems, but look at this lady. She has lost both of her arms, but she lives absolutely a normal life as everyone else. She looks after her baby, drive a car, and even run a business at home! Hats off to her.

A Very Rude No Parking Board: Hilarious

2007-07-25T22:17:00.000-05:00

It would take guts to park here after all this is stated...

Accountability from Indian Railways? You must be kidding

2007-07-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

This story is unbelievable but very welcome and appreciated... some hope in a bright future...

-Mg
____________________
Source: DNAIndia.com

In Japan, if a train is late by more than a few minutes, it is said that the Railways pay the consumer some compensation, or at least refund them their fare for the journey. Most Indian consumers would laugh even at the thought of the Indian Railways offering them such a facility.

That is why the order of the Andhra Pradesh State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission in a recent matter (General Manager, South Central Railway vs. Vinod Sanghi & another) will come as a whiff of fresh air to the suffering Indian commuter.

Sanghi and a companion had booked tickets from Hyderabad to Delhi by Train No 2723, and had a further booking from Delhi to Haridwar, by a connecting train.

The Hyderabad-Delhi train was supposed to have reached Delhi by 8.40 am and the Delhi-Haridwar train was to leave some time shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, the train from Hyderabad was delayed by four hours, the passengers missed their onward connection and had to travel by another train for which the railways charged them an additional Rs500.

Sanghi protested against the unfair charge being levied on him. The railway refused to listen and Sanghi was forced to cough up the money. Sanghi then approached the District Forum at Hyderabad for the redressal. But the railways said the derailment of another train en route was the reason for the train to be delayed. They further stated that the consumers had thereafter cancelled their original tickets and bought fresh tickets for the other train.

After hearing both parties, the District Forum came to the conclusion that the delay in catching and/or missing the onward train was entirely the Railways fault and it would not be just to penalise the consumers for the same.

The District Forum held in the facts and circumstances of the case, the consumers should be paid a sum of Rs110, which they had lost on the cancelled tickets, refund of Rs500 that they paid in addition for the new tickets and a compensation of Rs500 for the harassment meted out to them.

The Railways went in appeal against the order, primarily on the ground that the claim should have been filed with the Railway Claims Tribunal and not in the Consumer Forum.

The State Commission negated this claim saying that the Consumer Protection Act was enacted specifically for relief to consumers. It said the District Forum was right in ordering the compensation to the aggrieved consumer and refused to interfere with the order of the lower court.

Google Maps take you into woods!

2007-06-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

Link

I was trying to map directions to a place I need to go over the weekend and look what I found! Google Map recommends I spend some time in the woods! :)

On a serious note, looks like the image is a bit old and that the roads are newly built - a small phase lag. Hard to find such inconsistencies with Google products - for me at least. Interesting to see that the hybrid view shows the roads (map) in the woods.

Pencil Art -- This is creativity!

2007-04-27T00:52:00.000-05:00

Am not sure what the source of these imges is -- I just got them in a forwarded email -- but the creativity is awesome. Pencil Art is one of my favorites. Very subtle, sublime, smooth art. This is more contemporary but still worth a few minutes. Looks like the artist is an architect too -- good understanding of angles and orthogonals

Please let me know if you know the artist -- I'd love to see more of his/her work.

Enjoy...

Bhojpuri Spiderman

2007-04-26T14:24:00.000-05:00

As Bhojpuri movies outperform Bollywood in India, it is but natural that Bhojpuri movie makers desire to spread their wings ….. er ……… web. Today’s edition of “Uber Malarial Video” is, rightly, Spiderman speaking Bhojpuri. Hey, if he can speak in Punjabi, why not Bhojpuri? Also, check out the trailer for the upcoming desi-Spidey a.k.a Bajrangi in the same clip.

India court orders Gere's arrest - CNN.com

2007-04-26T13:06:00.000-05:00

India court orders Gere's arrest - CNN.com

Once In a lifetime event!

2007-04-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

At Three minutes and Four seconds after 2 AM on the 6th of May This year, the time and date will be 02:03:04 05/06/07.

This will never happen again in our lifetime.

Hitler's Phone Message

2007-04-23T10:03:00.000-05:00

Adolph Hitler was a evil man. He may have had ideas and personality, that led to thousands of people following his ideals over the years, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have the same problems as everyone else. Like what to leave on your answering machine message. Friendly? Direct? Cool? Or homo-erotic? I suppose it all depends on who might be calling you.

Salma Hayek -- Beauty Personified

2007-04-23T03:08:00.000-05:00

Quick And Easy Windows Prank (Its payback time!)

2007-04-23T01:33:00.000-05:00

I know a few GEEKs at work -- I can use this trick ... :)

Korean Bodyguards For Kim Jong il Training (Extreme)

2007-04-23T01:16:00.000-05:00

Some shocking footage of the training that Kim John Il's bodyguards have to go through.

Can I borrow someones cute little dog? (NSFW)

2007-04-23T00:58:00.000-05:00

Please email me if I can borrow your little cute dog...

Can I borrow someones little/cute dog?

2007-04-23T00:38:00.000-05:00

Please email me if I can borrow your little cute dog...

Orgasmalarm

2007-04-22T23:52:00.000-05:00

Car Alarms have become so routine, no one pays attention to them anymore.

That is a gadget that your car needs!

Kid Falls Out Of The Car

2007-04-22T23:30:00.000-05:00

The mother turns quickly on a busy street and her son falls out the side door. She would have driven off if it wasn’t for the kid running to the front of the car.

Wats happening with me today -- this is right after I found this earlier today...

Why moms don't give little boys dolls

2007-04-22T19:56:00.000-05:00

OK, this is crazy... this makes me think there is some 'bug' in guys head even when that small... damn! Has anyone seen or heard about something like this before?!?

This page cannot be displayed because you need some fresh air

2007-04-22T19:50:00.000-05:00

The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. Your ISP has told us that you're on-line several hours everyday, and that just ain't right.

Roller Coaster Fat Kid

2007-04-22T10:57:00.000-05:00

Fat kid screaming for his life on an amusement park ride while his mom laughs her ass off at him. Priceless.

Retard/Highly Irresponsible Parents

2007-04-22T10:55:00.000-05:00

Retard/Highly Irresponsible Parents

Jeez -- why do they have to play with the kid's life and be proud of it by videotaping it!?

The OJ Simpsons - If I Did It (Director's Cut)

2007-04-22T10:53:00.000-05:00

The OJ Simpsons -- If I Did It (Director's Cut)

The famous lost episode of the OJ Simpsons..

Naukri Ki Tokri - Haasya Kavi Sammelan

2007-04-22T02:37:00.000-05:00

Great Amateur Haasya Kavi Archana from California.

Talks about Life of a married girl in USA on H4 Visa..

Archana recited a poem, Naukri ki Tokri -- a comedy depicting her experiences with the many jobs she tried, as an immigrant woman trying to balance her job and family.

Definitely worth a listen.

Arnold Schwarzenegger shares the bodybuilder's secret

2007-04-21T00:40:00.000-05:00

Arnold Schwarzenegger shares the bodybuilder's secret

Stupid Brazilian Girl -- No one seems to complain though

2007-04-20T02:10:00.000-05:00

Every time the girl gets an answer wrong, the tube is flooded a little more. Good thing that the girl is soooo stupid!

Arab-American Psychiatrist Wafa Sultan

2007-04-19T00:40:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Dr. Wafa Sultan was a largely unknown Syrian-American psychiatrist living outside Los Angeles, nursing a deep anger and despair about her fellow Muslims.

Today, thanks to an unusually blunt and provocative interview on Al Jazeera television on Feb. 21, she is an international sensation, hailed as a fresh voice of reason by some, and by others as a heretic and infidel who deserves to die.

In the interview, which has been viewed on the Internet more than a million times and has reached the e-mail of hundreds of thousands around the world, Dr. Sultan bitterly criticized the Muslim clerics, holy warriors and political leaders who she believes have distorted the teachings of Muhammad and the Koran for 14 centuries.

She said the world's Muslims, whom she compares unfavorably with the Jews, have descended into a vortex of self-pity and violence.

Video here, and transcripts here.

Homeless James Bond Part 2

2007-04-18T23:49:00.000-05:00

Someone is cleaning car windows instead of making them dirtier. It is up to Homeless James Bond to stop this madness and bring the mysterious wrong-doer to justice.

Homeless James Bond

2007-04-18T23:41:00.000-05:00

Now thats Funny!

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs @ Party

2007-04-18T22:50:00.000-05:00

Kinda Lame and predictable... but some found it funny.

Third Man ever to walk on water

2007-04-15T14:43:00.000-05:00

The 3rd man in history to ever walk on water!
The 1st one was Jesus Christ…
The 2nd one was Peter (the apostle)...
Then there was this guy… Jose

Sachin Tendulkar

2007-04-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

Brown men know how to jump...

Sachin avoiding a bouncer...

Latest Aishwarya-Abishek Photos

2007-04-10T22:44:00.000-05:00

Latest Aishwarya Abhishek Photos

Mythbusters -- inflammable fart

2007-04-10T22:33:00.000-05:00

Funny Mythbusters episode -- inflammable fart

Amazing french beat boxer

2007-04-07T10:58:00.000-05:00

Amazing french beat boxer

Personal Rockets!

2007-04-01T10:38:00.000-05:00

Talk about low investments in technology -- why don't we have personal rockets yet when we had the technology to fly for 15 seconds 46 years ago. Imagine the kind of technology we could have had today!

What Happens When You Ask A Little Girl About Monsters

2007-03-25T23:58:00.000-05:00

One of the best videos I have seen this month - the kid is ADORABLE!!!

Abhishek Bachchan uncensored

2007-03-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

Amazing creativity in this Motorola Ad... I love some of the recent Indian Ads - world class!

Top 14 IT Managerial lessons from World Cup

2007-03-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

At the risk of being very wallstreetish, india's loss may do good to exams and deliveries and revenues, even though it may shave off half a % of india's growth this year on sentiment.

Bhai indian cricket mein bahut problems hain magar ek do baat seekhne layak hain - for a manager:

1. Hiring decision(sehwag) is the most important decision for a manager's career(dravid). Dil se naheen, dimag se khelo.
2. Live project par use na khilao jo kabhi bhi bug likh de (sehwag).
3. Jo lagatar do bar kharab khele use teesre match mein bitha do (uthappa).
4. Enthusiasm (zaheer) can be more valuable than experience (sachin)
5. Talent (dhoni) is not enough. Technique (skill set) bhi mangta hai.
6. If you want a manager (chappell) to do well, to uske sar par doosra (vengsarkar) na bithao.
7. Fancy resume ya ppt ya english (chappell) ko hire mat karo. Code likhwao (moody).
8. When asked to lead a team with too many stars, run.
9. Don't promote a great coder (dravid) into a bad manager (dravid).
10. Manager ka pichhla record (pura cup, western australia never won a thing under chappell) persists.
11. Current form, not past record is important. 1900 mein aap bakait the to ye apka problem hai.
12. Rely on those who do well under pressure and in crunch games (close to deadlines).
13. Don't go by reputations. Go by performance.

14th one is from amway... Agar koi team 16 match mein 12 mein 50 over na khele to 13wan bhi naheen khelegi.

Stupidity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. In that sense, it's different from perseverance. You persevere with something (like hard work) that's known to work often in your other people's experience and has an economic justification.

You persist foolishly with (Agarkar) that's known not to work.

Jesus Camp and Stupid Bush

2007-03-23T02:03:00.000-05:00

Jesus Camp and Stupid Bush... Jeez!

Limited Warranty from Sony Ericsson

2007-03-19T23:02:00.000-05:00

This is so funny... Sony Ericsson offers Limited Warranty in case of Acts of God.

Exceptionally Smart Kid - Solves Rubik Cube in minutes!

2007-03-17T19:12:00.000-05:00

This is one of the smartest kid I have ever seen... I'd hope she gets good education - even if it means having to take loads of Student Loans for her... it will payoff big time...

A man throws off his wife from 2nd floor in Jiddah Saudi Arabia

2007-03-17T05:35:00.000-05:00

Taped by cell phone equipped with a cam, shows a man throwing off his wife from the 2nd floor at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. On Monday Feb.12.07, she died in the hospital an Hour later. The man would be facing the death penalty by chopping his head off if found guilty. The story is the talk of the day here.

This is very unfortunate. I wonder what crime she committed - served him hot tea? Jeez!

Saudi Kidnap, Rape Victim Faces Lashing for 'Crime' of Being Alone With Man Not Related to Her

2007-03-17T02:46:00.000-05:00

A 19-year-old Saudi woman who was kidnapped, beaten and gang raped by seven men who then took photos of their victim and threatened to kill her, was sentenced under the country's Islamic-based law to 90 lashes for the "crime" of being alone with a man not related to her.

The woman is appealing to Saudi King Abdullah to intervene in the controversial case.

"I ask the king to consider me as one of his own daughters and have mercy on me and set me free from the 90 lashes," the woman said in an emotional interview published Monday in the Saudi Gazette.

"I was shocked at the verdict. I couldn't believe my ears. Ninety lashes! Ninety lashes!" the woman, identified only as "G," told the English-language newspaper.

Five months after the harsh judgment, her sentence has yet to be carried out, "G" said she waits in fear every day for the phone call telling her to submit to authorities to carry out her punishment.

Lashes are usually spread over several days. About 50 lashes are given at a time.

More story (source): here

Don't play with nature

2007-03-13T00:47:00.000-05:00

Saudi Road Skating

2007-03-13T00:30:00.000-05:00

iRack

2007-03-13T00:04:00.000-05:00

Amazing spoof - Dubya and Steve Jobs are bound to get a chuckle :)

If you like this story, please vote here

Battle for the World Economy

2006-12-07T23:31:00.000-05:00

Time for Oil Change: New CTO for CA

2006-06-20T21:29:00.000-05:00

Today CA announced a new CTO – an internal replacement. Alan F Nugent will be filling the office of CTO starting today.

He joined CA about a year ago; before joining CA, Alan held the role of a CTO at Novell. He had joined Novell in June 2002 where he was focusing on open-standards, cross-platform technologies, to name a few focal points.

His interview during his last days at Novell revealed some important insight into what he thought of Computer Associates before joining and his views on consolidating hundreds of products CA had at that time, about his views on using single database, on-demand computing.

Most of his works at Novell seemed relevant to what CA products were involved in, in the past few years and I can see the hype that the market has created about on-demand computing and simplicity of Enterprise management software. Recently, we have noticed a strong push towards supporting applications on Linux.

We all see major consolidation taking place in the market; companies choosing divestiture strategies all over to concentrate on just a few core competencies where they hope to be a leader in the market and maybe keep a cash cow that can keep funding the next rising star. The IT industry is getting competitive by the hour. Who knew with globalization the economies would get so intertwined and so interlinked that rising gold prices in one country, when the scientists at the Wall Street are sleeping, could affect NYSE the next day? This is leading to excessive pressure on the visionaries of large corporations to maintain a lead in their arena. Smaller players are as big a threat to them as the major competitors are.

Anyhow, coming back to this event, Alan’s appointment as CTO of CA, what does it imply to do an internal replacement for such an important post – a Chief Technology Officer for an IT company? How do you interview for such a post? What kind of questions do you ask? “What do you think about the SOA hype”? “Can you make us market leaders in Network Management”? I am wondering that because, we get very tough questions in our interviews… “What kind of data structure would you use for …?”; and one of the most irritating question that we usually get asked, “What is a virtual destructor?”

But in all honesty, I have respect for the position of a CTO – this one guy can change the future of a company and so many people associated with it in a small time span. He is the one who influences decisions relating to acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, strategic alliances, etc. I wonder what it takes to get there… I sure would like to work with that kind of responsibilities under my belt.

But what does it take to become a CTO for a company? What benefits does an internal replacement bring? I would think this means a better understanding of our present products portfolio – their strengths and especially, weaknesses – which are harder to analyze when you come from outside. This could also help when you are looking to consolidate and working towards your vision to consolidate many CA products via the EITM vision. What a CTO can bring from outside could be a better understanding of how the market perceives your products, your strengths/weaknesses and your company as a whole.

In all, hope this change is one of the last ones for the top executives. I hope the administrators do not have to change the “About Us” page for a long time to come now. The Wall Street didn’t like this change for some reason, though (the stock was red today), but I am hopeful that this change will do us some good in the long term and with this oil change, CA is good to go for another year without major overhauling.

Associate This!

2006-06-15T22:27:00.000-05:00

Why do we believe in GOD? Maybe because somewhere inside, there is a part of us who hopes that he/she is looking after us and making sure we see a fair mix of good/bad times.

My belief in GOD has started to wear down... working for CA (or Computer Associates, as it used to be called before some executives on the sixth floor of the corporate headquarters of this prestigious company figured a name change would do Computer Associate’s image some good), one of the largest software companies on planet Earth, you just hope that your patience isn’t tested every day when you come to work!

There was a small period of time when it seemed like the mess that our ex-executives created won’t haunt us now; but there seems to be some sort of voodoo on this company… its one bad news after the other (rather, news that appears bad to the Wall Street and to the media who need to spice up their columns with *hot* news).

I wonder what else can you, as a CEO do? You write down a not-so-vague vision statement for the company; streamline your management; provide a product-suite to the customers that’s hard to beat; grow products organically and by strategically acquiring products to fill voids; manage synergies between the companies and most importantly, execute these strategies well. There has been a huge change in management style since the former execs have left the CA building for good. But all the work that our CEO is doing for CA’s turnaround seems to be taking us no where. How long should you wait?

This begets the question – were our former execs that bad? There is some part of me who doesn’t blame our ex-CEOs for what they did. As I see it, the quarter to quarter reporting system creates the systemic greed. Who came up with these 4 quarters system – presenting numbers to the rocket-scientists on the Wall Street? Huge social losses are incurred when long term strategic projects are sacrificed to meet quarterly numbers. I tend to believe it puts more pressure on the execs to cook some numbers - especially when their bonus is closely tied to their ability to make those numbers. Plus, they tend to put a lot more energy on making these numbers meet than on future plans for the company, products, etc. That includes bell labs getting worried about quarter to quarter... can you ever invent transistors and mobile phones on a q2q basis? Forget it. That's why many small and medium sized firms end up remaining private even today - to reinvent themselves.

Several pundits argue that the financial architecture of Japanese companies allows them to invest in long term projects vis-a-vis American firms. It also allows Japanese firms to recover from bankruptcies without causing massive public pain. The other side of the story is of course the much touted Schumpeter's creative destruction. Pundits must not forget however that Japanese financial architecture can't survive in American Social architecture.

The Wall Street is a concentrated reflection of American society - driven, everyone to themselves, achievement oriented (which means money in America; in not-so-capitalistic-yet countries like India, it has more social dimensions), premium on youth, speed ... all of it. It isn't the CEOS that are greedy, it's everyone else too. Democracy is about awareness. As long as common junta like us remain passive and do not take active voting interest in electing quality directors, CEOs will continue to fleece them. Investors have delegated voting rights to institutional investors which allows CEOs to create sucker boards. It's amazing how much corporate dictatorship there is in an otherwise democratic country, all thanks to the "burger and gas and who cares what else" mindset.

Is this one of the hidden prices you pay for being in an aggressive capitalistic society? Anyhow, I think I will touch upon this later, someday.

For now, I feel CA needs to invest a lot more in R&D than it does currently. Microsoft, Oracle and CA spend about 24%, 20% & 20% of their operating expenses on R&D, respectively (based on 12 month data ending 05/31/2005). Looking at this, it might seem that we are on par with industry standards but to gain an edge in this market, we can not rely on older technologies and can not ride on old horses that have been keeping CA’s hopes to be a leader, alive. We need a, what they call in strategy classes in business schools, leap-frog approach to tackle the recent fiascos in CA’s management and to make up for the greed and unethical acts of some former CA execs (for which a lot of people have to pay).

CA has been doing the right things; we have hope from our management; we are acquiring the right companies – filling up voids in our product suits by offering relevant products to customers (more of this will come in news soon); can this CA management re-instate my belief in GOD?

The question I ask myself (and I hope you can answer), if you did not have the social/psychological investments with this company & the surrounding social framework (as I have), would you want to associate yourself with this company?