Places around Bangalore

What to do in Bangalore?

What places to visit near Bangalore?

Day trips near Bangalore?

Driving short trips near and around Bangalore?

Several friends usually ask for details relating to outings, day trips, driving short hauls etc, and I had got this attachment as a forward and decided this might be helpful to all.

Download Link

Enjoy the beautiful places, be a clean and responsible traveler, leave the place as you found it.

Source: Internet Forward

m.m

Make My Trip - Services Management - An IIMB Casestudy

A case study prepared by us for a module under the guidance of IIMB Professor Mr. Ashok D. The subject was services marketing.

MakeMyTrip-IIMBCasestudy

Would love your comments and views.

m.m

Java File Loading in Web Application

Different applications, different technologies, different designs, different packaging, different servers, different developers... Everything is different in web applications the loading of files becomes really difficult.

So how does one load files (with relative path / with absolute path) in the project structure in their java code within web applications.



1) Get the real path of the file from ServletContext or HttpServletRequest
ServletContext sc = (ServletContext)context;
sc.getRealPath("temp.txt");

or

HttpServletRequest hsrTemp = (HttpServletRequest)context;
hsrTemp.getRealPath("temp.txt");

2) Try with context path
HttpServletRequest hsrTemp = (HttpServletRequest)context;
File fileTemp = new File(hsrTemp.getContextPath()+"/resources/temp.txt");

3) Input stream - file in classes folder
InputStream inpStrTemp = this.getClass().getResourceAsStream("temp.txt");

4) resource url - file in classes folder
URL urlTemp = this.getClass().getResource("temp.txt");

5) Try this one.....................the magic one :) (all four above failed for me, this worked and yes I wrote it on my own ...)

URL currentClassFolder = TestClass.class.getResource(""); //this gives you the package reference of the test class
String pathFromUrl = currentClassFolder.getPath(); //this gives the actual path
String finalPath = pathFromUrl.substring(0,pathFromUrl.indexOf("WEB-INF/classes/com/test/web/")); //navigate to where ever you want to
finalPath = finalPath.replaceAll("% 20", " "); //command prompt doesn't like % 20'

Hope it helps, if it does - do leave a comment!

m.m

Hassled by Traffic & Their Guardians!

Every commuter yes the same citizen of India (Consumer is king???) has a daily dose of hassle commuting from East Bangalore - the silicon hub of Bangalore a.k.a Whitefield side to South Bangalore. Adding to the irritation is the honking noise, the dust pollution from the construction debris. If it is the English / British tradition to never let a conversation end without referring to the weather, we @ Bangalore never end a day without quoting the great trouble that we face in the form of traffic jams.

Trapped like a bee

Last two day's the traffic jam's have behaved decently but not their guardians, the nice trendy guys with their blackberries and ever itching fingers to print out a ticket for some violation or the other. These guardians wear the color of peace - white neat uniforms but are hellbent upon creating violence by booking each one they meet under some section or the other. Yes the world is competitive and they have their monthly targets as well!!

Case 1 - Friday
Every commuter knows Bellandur, Agara, SILKBOARD (minimum 15 - 30 minutes) have regular bottlenecks so what does one do?? drive at a decent speed where ever the road is free and where one can drive freely, basically this is common sense. I followed the same logic and was driving at a decent speed on the outer ring road near the More - Mega store, EMC2 office, suddenly I was flagged off the road by an army of traffic cops say about 6 - 8 cops, I went for about 300 metres (though I was so far away didn't have the smallest temptation of running away due to the respect for cops), stopped, parked my bike and got of. A nice young junior cop came and spoke to me in crisp English and asked me why I was cruising at a place where the speed limit was 50 KMs. I asked out of sheer surprise 50 KMs / hr in a 6 lane road with two service roads which makes it almost an 8 lane road. He said yes sir this is a BBMP blah blah blah, I went to the senior person and asked him boss this is unfair etc. etc.. but I am sensible enough to understand a 'stupid' rule has been broken and I cough up RS 300 and get the receipt.

Pros
1) Not once was corruption evident with the young police force.
2) Professional equipment to print the ticket and receipt system.

Cons + questions from few fellow commuters
1) Another commuter who was held up asked the cop "What are you doing in such vacant roads when we really need your clearly over sized team in places where we suffer everyday from traffic jams" - He got no reply - sad!
2) Another commuter asked - "What is your target for today, and what is your monthly target?" - The answer was a blank and fallen face - very sad!
3) My question is - "When you fine us for over speeding, CAN WE FINE YOU & YOUR DEPT FOR under-speeding caused every day in many long stretches? Our average speed would be a mere 0 - 10 kms/hr.
4) Need to have some limits.. one guy was 5 KM over the limit and was fined, anyone heard of something called common sense??


Case 2 - Saturday
Was happily house hunting in Whitefield. Near the hope farm circle (while coming from ITPL), wanted to take the 'U' turn. Apparently there is a board there says no 'U' turn allowed. I turned my indicator to turn and stood there, there were many cops there again beaming their blackberries proudly. [Lets remember that if I wanted to break a rule, I wouldn't dare to do it in front of cops, thats common sense] This junior cop, a slightly aged gentleman from the other side calls me to come, I was wondering why? At this point I was only standing in the intersection and had not violated any rule in the rule book, he calls me so I gently move to the other side and he says you have violated the U turn rule. I completely lost my cool and now lost all my respect for these cops. If he was genuine he would have told me there is no U turn - (i.e) when I was standing at the intersection wondering where I need to go. He called me to the other side, made me violate a rule and fined me. I got off my vehicle went to the senior cop and explained that I am from South Bangalore and not familiar with the routes in this part of town and that the other cop made me violate the rule by calling rather ordering me to cross the road. I spoke in what ever Kannada I knew and filled the gaps with Tamil, Hindi and English. I explained my issue, he was hellbent upon typing in his new blackberry, I started losing my cool, people around the place noticed how these guys were cheating me. I told them in a clear loud voice that they were cheating me and committing something very wrong. But I guess it was equivalent to the effect of rain falling on a fat buffalo. He printed a slip, I paid the fine, threw the sheet down in disgust and walked away clearly ashamed of the apathy that these guys exhibit. As I start my vehicle I can hear him speaking in the local language saying "The next time you meet policemen, talk less" YES RIGHT, next time I will fold my hands, greet you with a namastey, serve some snacks and juice and then stay bowed and speak to you, cause you have the so called "powers". The cop's name is "Rajanna" near Hope Farm Circle. If you haven't guessed I was fuming at the end of all this and made it very clear to the senior guy that I wasn't amused or happy by the whole experience.

Pros
1) NONE what so ever

Cons + questions from few fellow commuters
1) Stupidity
2) Lack of common sense
3) Misuse of power
4) Cheating
5) Can't speak or understand English
6) Not to help or educate the common man / citizen

Anyways at the end I do agree there are tons of awesome cops who make our life simply great, hats off to you guys and a big thank you.

m.m

Attrition Management - An IIMB Casestudy

Attrition Management & Analysis

A case study prepared by us for a module under the guidance of IIMB Professor Mr. Narendra Agarwal. It also contains details of a live survey collected among a diverse audience across the IT sector.

Exciting Contents Inside the PPT
Abstract
Basic Definitions
Pictorial Definition
Case Study Definition
Introduction
Organization Chart
Scenario
Scenario Analysis
Summary of the ‘Live Industry Survey’
Snapshot of ‘Live Industry Survey’
Decipher data from the ‘Live Industry Survey’
Comments from the Participants of the Survey
Charts and Diagrams
Survey Result Analysis
Closing Note

The Link – PPT

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B5tFapIDbb_gYTEwMzM3YjktZTUzYy00NzU5LWFjMzgtMGE3OGQ3ZTBlM2Jk&hl=en

Would love your comments and views.

m.m

My learning's on KM

My learning's from the Assignment Creating An Organizational Culture for Knowledge Management at IIMB are as follows,

1) Learn't from the article on how to create a culture and environment conducive for Knowledge Sharing.
2) Also learn't the importance & power of Knowledge Management where available knowledge is sieved and reused.
3) Understood the role of Knowledge Management in increasing productivity and the power of harnessing the implicit and explicit knowledge within the organization.
4) Before the assignment I didn't see Knowledge Management in a bigger picture, I was seeing it in bits and pieces and as mere applications.
5) After the assignment I am able to appreciate that the various modules / applications of Knowledge Management co exist and works harmoniously as the spokes of a wheel and that each are needed for smooth running of the Knowledge Management Initiative.
6) Apart from the 90, 270, 360, 720 feedback systems, the real need is to have open loop feedback systems and not closed loop feedback systems.
7) Also learnt that the Knowledge Management must evolve as fast as technology advances like having e-learning systems, wiki, discussion threads etc.
8) Also learnt good usable content management systems need to be in place for people to use them effectively.
9) Also learnt the difference between Proactive learning and Adaptive learning.
10) Understood Knowledge Management is the collection of processes that promotes the creation, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge. Learnt this from the article by Brian (Bo)Newman.


11) Understood creating a KM culture or environment means - creation of supportive organizational structures, facilitation of organizational members, putting IT-instruments with emphasis on teamwork and diffusion of knowledge (as e.g. groupware) into place. Learnt this from the article by Thomas Bertels.
12) Knowledge has started been treated as a resource by itself.
13) Learnt about the following sub modules Knowledge Analysis (KA), Knowledge Planning (KP), Knowledge Technology (KT), Computer Supported Work Systems (CSWS).
14) Knowledge management complements and enhances other organizational initiatives such as total quality management (TQM), business process re-engineering (BPR) and organizational learning, providing a new and urgent focus to sustain competitive position.
15) KM is used to serve customers well and to remain in business companies must: reduce their cycle times, operate with minimum fixed assets and overhead (people, inventory and facilities), shorten product development time, improve customer service, empower employees, innovate and deliver high quality products, enhance flexibility and adaption, capture information, create knowledge, share and learn. KM proves as a framework promoting all these initiatives.
16) KM implementation should not be blind, it should be - Develop and monitor the value proposition, Secure top management commitment, sponsorship, and leadership, Create business unit knowledge sharing performance measures, Develop an implementation and migration strategy, Define knowledge sharing processes, Define knowledge sharing roles and responsibilities, Define requirements for involvement, Create and implement a communication plan,Develop and deliver a training program, Address incentive issues, Develop proper user support, Model system design on work processes, Investigate traditional methods as well as emerging technologies, Establish a standardised knowledge management architecture, Define operations standards.
17) Knowledge Communities or COP - Communities of practice are very useful.
18) The barriers of KM are Mindset, Concepts breathing life, Operational issues, Incentive based issues.

m.m

React or Respond ?

I don't know if this is a reaction or a response to the forwarded email that I got today.

The email content screamed - "An intelligent person responds; a fool reacts." Now it was my turn to check if I was a fool, if I react or respond.

English Meaning
React: Show a response or a reaction to something;Act against or in opposition to
Respond: Show a response or a reaction to something;React verbally;Respond favorably or as hoped

When the meaning is so very similar in fact they are synonyms what is the main difference, the key lies right above in their meanings.

Do take note of the key words against & favorably - this is the key differentiator between the two words.

React means you are against something and you are giving out something not favorable to the other party. Well when I think of myself I can relate to myself reacting many a times and responding many a times. I react when I get offended, when I am upset, when I am hurt. I respond when I am normal, when I am happy, when things are going smooth. I would say it is human nature to align oneself towards this behavior. Can't term one as a fool or intelligent. But having said that am sure a more stable and mature individual will have a very high percentage of response rates rather than react back rates.

Anyways here is the forwarded mail, decent read, read and learn. [Click to look at the bigger, clear image]


I guess I choose to respond and not react.

Cheers,

m.m

Capitalizing On Capabilities - pointers

Capitalizing On Capabilities by Dave Ulrich & Norm Smallwood from the HBR spotlight.

The article speaks of the most admired companies like GE, Starbucks, Microsoft etc but a layman doesn’t know what transpires behind the screen, the number of leaders, their structure to success etc…

I will try listing some key points

* All specific organizational capabilities are called key intangible assets. They are difficult to measure. [That is why there is a clear difference in evaluation of startups in the same space, some might be generating more revenue but valued lower as the other has some great leaders and potential – Ex – Delta vs. JetBlue]

* In a unit these 4 are the main factors, Individuals Competence, Individuals Leadership, Organizations core competencies and Organizations capabilities (includes DNA, culture and personality).

The main 11 traits that are looked for are

1) Talent – Competent employees have the skills for today's and tomorrows business. The functions here are buy – acquire new talent, build – develop existing talent, borrow – get talent through networks and leaders, bounce – remove poor performers and bind – retain the best talent. The must is that good employees must get the best.

2) Speed – How fast can the company adapt to new opportunities and existing changes in the environment, ROTI – return on time invested index must be maintained and used.

3) Shared mindset and coherent brand identity – Get a consensus from your employees and customers on what they want to remember you as. Example – ask them what are the top three things they want to remember the company as? Good companies are in the range of 80 – 90 %

4) Accountability – Performance accountability needs to be firm and in place. Instead of giving an average of 3 – 4 % across the board ensure you give 0 – 12 % depending on the performance and the work done.

5) Collaboration – A organization needs to collaborate across projects, divisions, units etc.It also promotes huge savings.

6) Learning – Benchmarking, experimentation, competence acquisition, and continuous improvement are key factors. Also letting go of old practices and adopting new ones are important.

7) Leadership – The pride for a organization must come from the number of leaders / CEO’s they create and the number of back up leaders that they have. Example: Ex McKinsey employees take pride from the no of CEO’s they create from their alumni.19 former GE stars added a collective 24.5 $ billion to their organizations after joining.

8) Customer Connectivity – As usually one would like to have 20% of customer account for 80 % of profits, the ability to connect with the customer is valued very much.

9) Strategic unity – The three levels are Intellectual, Behavioral and Procedural.

10) Innovation – It excites employees, delights customers and gives confidence to investors.

11) Efficiency – It is the easiest capability to track.

Capabilities Audit – can be done by running through the 11 pointers in each unit, or the business as a whole. The PDF link provides detailed information on how to complete the audit.

Maximizing your capabilities

For the complete article go through the following link.

http://info.psu.edu.sa/psu/fnm/asalleh/Capabilities.pdf

m.m

Startup Saturday March 13 2010

Attended the startup Saturday in IIMB on March 13th 2010. Got to see a demo from Just Books and Ookull.

Also got to attend a presentation on "5 things that a seed / angel investor is looking for in your venture" by Indus from themorpheus.

The five points are

1) Team
2) Market size
3) Product and POC
4) Secret sauce (the wow factor)
5) Growth path and exit (from a VC / angel investor perspective)

http://www.slideshare.net/indus/5-things-a-seed-stage-investor-is-looking-for-in-your-venture

The applications are open for this year till March 25th 2010.

m.m

Compost your kitchen wastes at home and produce free manure

The title could have been “be a miser and make your own manure”.

I am one of those vague self proclaimed naturalists, green activist asking people at home and outside to switch lights and fans off when they are not needed even if it’s for a mini macro nano second. I ensure CFL’s are used instead of bulbs and tube lights, even at the cost of reading in dim light (kidding there are real bright cfl’s). I ensure I give the dirty stare to drivers of polluting vehicles at the cost of them looking back at me with the same look that they would give to a stray dog. That’s the risk of belonging to the rare pedigree of these self proclaimed saintly beings. Before I forget I also relocate many earthworms that get their gps bearings wrong and enter the concrete jungle called human civilization, I will soon try to break the no of centuries that Sachin has hit in his international career.

I see the kitchen wastes going to the bin every day and my ‘sleeping inner do good’ component wakes up and says I will make sure I am going to reduce global warming. My rationale behind that statement was not that I will stop cows worldwide from belching or f**ting, but that these vegetable wastes would end up in a landfill, decompose and release CH₄ (methane if CH₄ isn’t methane please scream at the educational system: watch 3 idiots movie) and increase the temperature. I go searching for a container for making compost and end up buying a bucket with a lid (thanks goodness for the lid). I come and ask the head of the kitchen a.k.a my wife to keep a separate bag and fill it with the cooking, vegetable and edible waste regularly and in return I get this look which in plain English means “oh no not again, you and your crazy antics when will you ever stop doing all this and bothering others”. Then slowly my bucket starts getting filled up but also with that complaints start flowing from my neighbors that the smell is too good and needs to be relocated immediately (so that others can get lucky and experience the heavenly smell). Strangely the dogs in my neighborhood have been avoiding roaming anywhere close to the vicinity and even if they have the guts to get close they have this curious look not knowing what’s wrong (guys didn’t I surprise you for all the peeing that you do on the gate post/pillar). Time for the James Bond secret arsenal - the lid, close it with such ferocity that the buckets vibrates exactly two times - odour under control operation back on track. Now I wait and wait for more than 4-5 weeks see that the waste is very slowly disintegrating into unrecognizable forms which is good but is giving out too much water, time for the internet and google “how to make compost at home” and the search returns 3,210,000 pages enough to last a life time’s of good read.

There are two types of aeration that is needed, one open and one closed, you will need closed ones for home waste due to the smell that is generated. The excess water that is generated can be absorbed by shredding newspaper into small bits and throwing them into the bucket. You can also add some excess soil, mud of sand to aid in the entire process. And if you have access to saw dust it is very good for absorbing water.

Did all of this and finally attended a green stall and bought something called compost accelerator (http://www.dailydump.org/ ) which accelerates the entire process.
Now I wait patiently for the waste to turn into a sludgy compost and then start using it in my garden and get some nice tasty organic pesticide free veggies.

Till then it is Monish signing off and planning for my next green project. Any tips and advice is not welcomed but free manure …YES!

Some useful links
What? http://www.dailydump.org/composting
Why? http://www.dailydump.org/why
How? http://www.dailydump.org/how

m.m

Biking to Chennai

Finally biked all the way to Chennai and back on my Thunderbird.

Distance covered (to & fro) - 720 KMs
Where - Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore
Time taken - 10 Hrs 5 Minutes
Average highway speed - 75
Top speed - 100 (Going to Chennai) , 110 (Coming back to Bangalore) [ps: didn't want to push my bike to this speed but a avenger bike tried overtaking and that got me going.]
Pro's - Good fun, high speed, scenic sections, great highways (part of the golden quadrilateral)
Con's - Sore butt

Things to do
1) Get your bike serviced or checked for long distance riding. (Bullet garages do a long distance service / check), especially brakes needs to be tuned.
2) Fill your tank with fuel.
3) Get your tyre's filled with optimal pressure - I was ok with 23 / 33 (front / back) but even this was a bit bumpy for city bumps, but on the highways it was smooth riding.
4) Get nylon rope and not cotton rope, I was thinking that cotton rope is better than nylon rope and I used nylon rope while going to Chennai and cotton rope while coming back. With cotton rope I had to tie my bags 2 times and adjust them 4-5 times.

Few questions
1) What do I do if I get a puncture on the highway?
I was also very scared if I will get a puncture and few things that I read and did are
a) Don't drive towards the edge of the road - the sweeping action of fast cars and trucks push the nails and other sharp items towards the corners of the road.
b) Don't do offroad driving - try your best to park your bike on the road itself and not on unknown muddy patches.
c) Keep noting puncture shops - as soon as you notice a puncture shop, register the odo reading in your mind. This way you know for sure how far you are from a puncture store.
PS: Ppl suggest to carry spare tubes but my assumption was anyways I will go to a town and get a guy to repair the Tyre so why bother. So you would have a hitch a ride and get the guy to come to your bike (note where you have parked your bike - landmarks) .

2) How far are puncture shops?
I noticed the following,
Closest shops - 2 Kms apart from each other.
Not so close - 30 Kms apart from each other.
Bangalore - Krishnagiri doesn't have many puncture shops but from Krishnagiri to Sriperumpudur there are loads of shops.

3) What do I do if my bike breaks down?
ans) Well nothing can be done if it is real trouble - Clutch you can do some makeshift arrangement, accelerator you can pull manually but otherwise you will have to get a mechanic from the nearest town. For bullet vehicles there is a garage atBangalore, Krishnagiri, one at Vellore and next at Chennai. The royal enfield website has the details http://www.royalenfield.com/.

Route taken
- Bangalore South - Silk Board - 7.2 Kms- Hosur - 34- Krishnagiri - 72- Bargur - 17- vaniyambadi - 37- ambur - 17- pallikonda - 28- Vellore - 25 (230)- Ranipet - 28 (258)- Sriperumbudur - 73 (331)- Chennai City - 37 (368)
Same way while getting back.

PS: Ambur and Vaniyambadi are very famous for Biriyani so one could stop here for lunch / food.

Time taken with different average speeds
368 / 60 = 6.1 + 20 minutes (break / food)
368 / 70 = 5.3 + 20 minutes
368 / 75 = 5 + 20 minutes
368 / 80 = 4.6 + 20 minutes

Things to take
Helmet, gloves, backpack, bag, jacket,water bottle, cash, mech no's, bike papers, chocolates. Coolers / Shades are a MUST as the roads are shiny and tough to drive without them. I have a Vega helmet with a inbuilt shades.

Things to be aware off
a) Always don't follow a speeding car or bus - give atleast 50 feet distance.
b) If two or more vehicles are slowing down in the middle of the highway DON'T overtake them it means there is some trouble or a animal is crossing the road.
c) Give yourself and the vehicle a small break every 60 minutes (I gave a break every 90 minutes)
d) Don't race - remember - you are a marathon runner and not a 100 meter sprint runner.

Verdict - Must do - if not now WHEN?

m.m

Food – Price Range(Wide Spectrum) – Purpose(Narrow Spectrum)

An extract from Rohin’s(my colleague) article Food as a leveler – Either way an old Hindi saying which depicts that food can be a great leveler came to my mind. “No matter how rich or poor, no matter how high or low in the society a person might be, he might not bend his head in front of any human being and if he is an agnostic, then not even in front of god but at the end of the day each individual has to tilt/bend his head forward to have his morsel. No individual can take food comfortably without paying it the proper respect, knowingly or unknowingly.”

Sunday the 27^th of May came two days after I had read an article on how food acts as a great leveler between the high – the low, the mighty – the meek, the healthy – the sick, the rude – the polite….. Gokul and I finish our weekly shuttle practice and on our way back, are met with ravaging hunger, hunger enough to kill us a dozen times on the spot. So we start discussing various options which starts with Nandhini, Jayanagar which is ruled out instantly because on weekends you might as well work as a part time employee / door keeper from 12:30 – 15:00 pm because till 15:00 you won’t get a seat and will have to stand near the door keeper giving him company saluting the various patrons entering and exiting and to add to the misery you would be distraught with the confusion of identifying the various aromas of chicken curry, fish fry etc rafting through the air and your mind will be busy calculating the matrix of how many people went in, average time of eating etc. Never mind let me move on from this frightful bashing of having to wait in life. So then we discuss a few more options, and because our DNA constitutions are different, for whichever place I agree, he disagrees and vice versa. Finally our consensus was a place called ‘Surya mess’ which is a place in JP Nagar serving authentic Kerala food. They serve some excellent home cooked food, with amazing curries and can cause diseases with symptoms like dreaming about their food, cravings to go crawling back to their place within a single day for more than three times a day. Also mind you, you can have dinner there for ten times at the same cost that you might have to shell out for a single meal in an average restaurant. So with this idea we drive on, until we smell the same aromas of Kerala wafting around few km away, some where around South End circle. And as we wonder if we have been day dreaming or caught in a sensory mirage about food, bingo right there we see a fishy place with several auto’s and two wheelers standing near a Fish outlet, where they sell a wide variety of fish based dishes. I have seen this place several times in the night when there are several people in cars and from the upper strata of life, does it mean they are there for some good food under the cover of darkness – does it mean they don’t want to be seen in such a small place in the morning light where their actions would come to light to others? Anyways we see people on the pavement enjoying a fishy! meal & now we are in a dilemma as to whether we eat here, else where or take a pack back home. Finally the aroma, the freshness and the native cooking style win us over and food being a great leveler makes us pick up a set of meals, a fish and a prawn dish and we sat right next to the auto wallahs and other co diners and we settled comfortably on the road’s pavement(yes I said pavement) and admired the taste of the food but at the same time was looking with the corner of my eye at the passing cars and vehicles nervously hoping not to catch a glimpse of any person known to me, but gradually the food taste was so great that I was ready to advocate and advertise this place to many a friends and pals. The good food had bought about a nice pleasant mood in me that I ended up buying a meal for a poor kid about 5-6 years who was pointing to the fish meal and asking me to buy him a plate of that nirvana.

So food acted as a great leveler making me sit somewhere where I won’t ideally sit and dine. Food as always has proved to be the connecting factor between many a people.

Fish Joint MAP

Surya Mess MAP

m.I.m