Springboard

Student Slang

2006-09-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

Was reading through an interesting PDF ' Student Slang at IIT Madras : A linguistic field study' which is an MA thesis submitted at some German university. Very interesting read!

There are some words in IITM slang which did not undergo change in form, meaning or pronunctation, but they are used so frequently that they are typical for the language an IITM student speaks. For example, the adveb generally is used very often. Sentences like "Generally I was watching a movie, "He generally puts fart" or "Generally junta don't study here." can be heard on campus every day. The original meaning of generally is sometimes extended to "just like that" and "simply". For example, the probably answer to the question "Why did you do that?" would be "Generally". The word chumma which also means "just like that" or "simply" is used frequently.

Must read even if you know nothing about IIT-M!!

Biz-quiz at IIM B

2006-08-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

I had been to the Business Today acumen business quiz at IIM B last Saturday. Boiling it all down to bullets -

A couple of hours of superb questions, answers, sheer brilliance of intellect and hair raising excitement
Harsha Bhogle, up close and personal hosting the show. Nobody could have done better! Nope, no Derek fan here and Siddharth Basu is too much to expect at this point in time ;)

Getting to wave at a smiling Harsha Bhogle on the road while the auto we were in zoomed past his Lancer....how much more personal can it get eh? ;)
Experiencing that unique thrill of being at IIM-B.

I am now equipped with the intellect to comprehend why some homo sapiens (the numbers increase annually) continue to inflict CAT upon themselves year after year till they get an admit into the IIMs

All in all, an evening well spent! Congrats buddy for the win!

Silent Kimby

2006-08-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

Found Silent Kimbly on Livejournal. Cartoons which bring word plays and puns to life! Absolutely gorgeous and creative. Take a look!

Baseball and Silicon Valley

2006-08-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

From here

...
trying to make some town into the next Silicon Valley by attracting the best scientists is rather like trying to start a new baseball team and turn it into the New York Yankees. If dozens of sports-mad billionaire team owners can’t do that, how easy would it be for the economic development office at the University of Texas, Arlington?

What is worse, it is a safe bet that as these development incentives become a primary motivation for financing higher education, the competition among universities for stars will start looking much more like today’s baseball scene. Ambitious state university systems will find it easier to steal the stars of another team than to develop their own prospects. As a result,
salaries will go through the roof — just as in baseball.

...

A very interesting analogy. I am wondering if it holds for high-profile CEO job-shifts too. That buying off a 'star' being much much easier than producing one?

And the other interesting piece from there -

But advocates should remember an old maxim of economic development: Beware of investing in things that can move. As it turns out, graduates and research ideas both tend to move around a lot.

Subsidizing teaching is problematic as a development strategy because graduates frequently move out of state.

Queue Theory

2006-08-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

It is not okay to join the head of the queue just because you have one item to buy. Period.

Some exception can be excercised if the stakeholder deems it a courtesy or compulsion to request the granter for this act of gracious kindness

Shopping cart is the index of personality?

2006-08-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever realised that just by looking at the shopping carts at malls, it is possible to get a very good insight into the kind of person to whom that cart belongs to? I predicted correctly 9/10 times! Now this is no less than phishing ;)

Of Cafes

2006-08-20T04:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a cafe revolution of sorts. From the days of "Who'll pay 50 bucks for a coffee?" we have indeed come a long way! The Coffee days, Baristas and Lipton Chais have mushroomed in every nook and corner of the cities. Be it business meetings or a small friends' get-together, cafes seem to be the answer.

I visited this really nice coffee place called the 'Cafe Mocha' when I was in Chennai. It goes by the sub title (?) 'Coffee n Conversations'. The fruit flavored hookahs, the very ornately done interiors, the exotic varieties of Coffee, the uniquely clothed waiters and waitresses (Genie outfit anyone?) dim lights, flowy curtains, everything there lent a mystic touch to the place!

Like almost all the cafes now, they have a smoke and a non-smoking area. The smoking area as expected is outdoors whereas the non-smoking area resembles a house with multiple rooms. Some rooms have tables and chairs arranged circularly, some others have mattresses and cushions laid out on the floor, all of which are very exquisite, transporting you to Arabia the instant you step in. The outdoor area has very minimalist furniture housed in and around bamboo shoots. Hookahs occupy the centre stage. The crowd being mostly college going, the atmosphere is very fresh and energetic. The interiors are more mellow, mystical and soothing.

I liked the way the two different zones have been blended seamlessly. It is a pleasure to see the amount of detailing done in this place. Be it cushions or coffee mugs, you can see the amount of effort that has gone into making Cafe Mocha. Everything here aligns to the theme. Did I tell you the restroom doors have masks that let you know if it is for ladies or gentlemen? It is not the usual girl/boy signboard! A refreshing change!

Coming to the coffee itself, I had 'Jamaican Blue Mountain' and tasted a bit of 'Guatemala Antigua'. Since I am not a connoisseur when it comes to coffee, I really couldn't perceive the essence or the difference between the two. But hey! whoever goes to cafes to drink coffee ;)

First Post!

2006-08-14T03:41:00.000-07:00

This is my first post on blogger. Hello world!