Entries by Raj Shekhar

Since everyone has been busy drinking the Google kool-aid and simply going in an orgasm over the Google Gulp, I will take the road less travelled and point out the Yahoo Slacker here.

technorati tag to bring this into entry into its radar

You will not understand the below paragraph until you are well versed in geek culture . I am keeping it here, since it is another Frequently quoted quotation

After seven and a half million years of pondering the question, Deep Thought provides the answer: "forty-two". "Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?" "I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."

One of the FAQ on the IRC channel (#linux-india at irc://freenode) is "What is the meaning of moo". I have added a page to my main website where I will try to answer that question.

The meaning of Moo

If you have been using Linux, I think you must have been frusturated with the lack of good fonts when using Emacs. It gets very hard to distinguish between "l" (the letter l) and 1 (number 1) and between comma and semicolon when programming or examining large amount of code.

The Bitstream Inc have done an excellent work in producing and relesaing under a very liberal license, the bitstream-vera fonts. These fonts are really beautiful and easy to read. To use these fonts with your emacs, just add this line to your ~/.Xdefaults file

 Emacs*font: -bitstream-bitstream vera sans mono-medium-r-*--*-100-*--*--*- 

This weekend I had gone to Goa. One of the good points of living in Bangalore is that it is only 12 hours bus journey to Goa. Here are my notes from the visit

• Take the sleeper seat in the bus - The Paulo Travels runs luxury buses from Bangalore to Goa. They have two choices of the seats - sleeper and sitting. We had the misfortune to get the sitting seat and could not sleep a wink for the whole journey. The guy sitting behind us was snoring quite a lot and added to our discomfort.
• Hire a scooter/bike when you get down at Panjim - We did not hire a two wheeler when we got down at Panjim. We reasoned that we would get a bike from the hotel where we were staying. This would make it easier for us to return the bike when it was time for us to leave. However, it was a bad decision. Most buses pass through Panjim when returning to Bangalore. It would have been far easier to return the bike at Panjim and then board the bus to Bangalore.
• Stay away from the autorickshaws if you can - They overcharge a lot. A lot. If you know where you want to go, it is far more easier to get a bus (but remember that the bus service stops at 7:00 PM). The people there are quite friendly and you can ask almost anyone to give you directions. It is even more convenient to hire a two wheeler if you plan to move around a lot.
• Watch the sun set over the sea - It really is a site to behold.
• Eat the sea food and Goan cuisine - If you are a North Indian, give up the desire to eat the chicken tikka and chicken tandoori while you are at Goa. Get your hands on the excellent seafood offered by the restaurants there. Not only is it cheaper, most restaurants make very tasty dishes.
• Try to get a room in the GTDC hotels - Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) hotels are government maintained, somewhat clean, comfortable and cheap. We stayed at Calangute Residency (Annexe).

This is a continuation of my previous blog post (my perspectives on working in a small company - Part 1). Here I will list the disadvantages of working in a small company.

• Lack of resources - By resources I do not mean just in terms of money, but in terms of knowledge-base and manpower too. If a member of the team leaves or is sick, the work pressure on the others increases exponentially. Since most small company lack finance, it usually cuts down on the benefits provided to the employees.
• Not enough ideas floating around - Since the number of employees are less, you do not have much diversity in line-of-thinking. If you feel like bouncing your ideas off someone else, you will not have much choice.
• Too much work pressure - The work pressure is way too high. This usually translates into 6 days per week work days .. often with 9-10 hours per day. Though the work pressure is high, the salary and benefits provided usually do not match up to that. Most of the employers are stingy and usually play the carrot and stick game with the employees.
• Danger of office romance budding - Been there, done that, got stung in the process . Since the number of people are less, and the office hours are long, there is a strong chance of getting involved with someone. Though it does not always have a bad ending, in my observation it affects your work a lot.

Though it may seem that a small workplace is the hunting ground of satan, it is not really so. If the employer is good, the office can be a nice place to work at. I have a small test to check if the employer is a bloodsucker or not. If he says that you have to come in on Saturdays and possibly might have to work on Sunday,it is a sure sign that the office is a sweatshop. Avoid it

It has been a long hiatus for my blog postings. A lot has happened in the interim. I got a job at Yahoo! Bangalore (yes, it is the same Yahoo! that brings you the famous yahoo.com ) .

I have shifted to Bangalore (from Delhi). The city is not as bad as I had imagined it to be. The people at Yahoo! are an excellent bunch of yahoos - intelligent and friendly.

Hopefully I will be able to update the blog more often now. Thanks for staying tuned in