Monthly Archives: December 2009

2009, top 10

My Top 10 things of 2009

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The world is currently full of 2009 lists..here is the list from my world !

If you are curious – here is the link to my top 10 things of 2008 – http://kvrlogs.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-top-10-things-of-2008.html

10. Running 10KM/hr for 8 minutes

This might be easy for many – but this is a huge achievement for me. I could run for 2 minutes at the most at this pace before I had to slow down to 8KM/hr and then 6KM/hr. I have been trying to increase this duration slowly and nowadays I can run for a flat 8 minutes at this pace on the treadmill without my heart jumping out onto the floor.
9. Blogging

Started writing regularly in all of my blogs :
this one you are reading – kind of a satire nonsense blog – http://kvrlogs.blogspot.com
my entrepreneurial journey – http://venkat2.blogspot.com ,
and a new one I started this year – on books for startups –http://artofstart.theindianstartup.com/
The last couple of months things have been crazy and my blogging has been sporadic or I might have got a blogger’s block..but it is over now I guess!
8. MJ

MJ shocked the world for one last time.

Aside, “This is it” happened to be Prithvi’s first movie theater experience. We took him to a late night show expecting him to doze off. But he watched intently the entire movie and dozed off only on the way back home. The next morning he wakes up and first thing he says is “Akka dancing” ( sister dancing ).
7. Twaddicted !

This year I became a Twitter addict. I love watching the trending topics, discovering new sites posted by tweeples, reading comments about news as it happens. Obama winning nobel prize news was lot of fun – I was right there when it happened and shared lots of funny one liners with others. Twitter is just amazing.

6. The no beach year!

From 1994, the year I started my studies at CEG, Chennai – I would have visited a beach every year atleast once ( Juhu, Florida keys on the day of Tsunami, Galveston, Santa Monica, Chicago lake – technically it has a beach ). This year I went to Beasant Nagar 3 times, but could not go to the beach. I know it might not be worthy of a top 10 list…but hey this is my list 🙂
5. Ubuntu

I had an on-off relationship with Linux for the past 10 years or so – Mandriva, Red hat, Ubuntu, Suse. But this year, thanks to the gem of an OS called Vista, I started spending more and more time with Ubuntu and kept uncovering the beauty of Linux like never before. Now Ubuntu is my OS of choice and I am not upgrading to Win 7. Perhaps that shiny OS X might tempt me away someday, but who knows..with gnome 3 blowing the socks off OS X I might stay put.
4. Movies
I love watching movies. But this year I kind of rediscovered the movie magic. I could switch off completely from my work threads and let myself be immersed in a movie. Dev D, Slumdog millionaire, Avatar, Up..relished them all.
3. Swine Flu Scare
All of us in our home went through a bout of flu one after the other. The first one to get hit was Sangeeta at the height of swine flu mania and she almost wrote her will. Later Prithvi picked that weird flu and it was painful to watch that energy ball lie quietly on the bed conveying something through his eyes..
2. “Naana kaapi deddiee” – Naana Coffee Ready!
Thats my toddler shouting and banging our home-office door around 11.00 A.M every day when coffee has been prepared by his Avva ( my mom ). It has become our daily ritual. I might be the luckiest of all Dads ( touchwood ) to be with my son all the time – day in and day out. Starting Jan 1, 2010 I will be moving to an office and he will start his playschool life – hope we both can manage the separation anxieties.
1. ApartmentAdda : My life, My mission !
  • Receiving the first cheque for ApartmentAdda Premium package.
  • Cutting the first salary cheque for 3Five8’s personnel.
  • Registering 3Five8 Technologies Private Limited.
  • 10 PM Demo which went till mid night!
  • Demos in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad
  • The small mentions of ApartmentAdda in print ( Deccan Chronicle ) and media ( CNBC TV )
  • And many many more I cannot divulge here – but can do over a CCD cuppa 🙂
Wish you all an awesome event filled 2010.
agile, manage, tips

Dont block facebook!

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A couple of days back a friend of mine working in the ad industry called me.

“Venkat, how do I block facebook chats, gmail chats? Should I block the domains?”.
Answer is No. If you block Facebook, Gtalk – your team will find workarounds. All it takes is a google search nowadays. It will annoy the team and you will get bracketed with the “manager” managers.
So – here are some tips on how to engage your team effectively and reduce the hours spent on SN sites.
1. Daily Stand Ups

This is the most simplest and effective tool. It is a core practice in agile projects – however it will work for any project / environment. There are tons of resources on effective standups. I will give a brief primer :
  • Every one stands up – no slouching, no sitting. Keeps everyone alert and they talk less
  • Stand in a circle like rugby teams.
  • Give brief updates on what you did yesterday, what is your plan today, and any impediments in doing your work
  • Any long discussions do it after the standup.
  • The standup is sacred ( start on the same time daily, cut off trolling etc.. ). You have to protect its sanctity 🙂
Advantage is – the team’s productivity will increase. They number of hours spent on idling will start coming down because the next day you have to give an update.
2. Give more responsibility

Ideally visiting social networking sites should be used to take a break from work – not the other way round. So make sure the plate is full. And coupled with standups they will try to finish off the work promptly.
3. Knowledge sharing sessions

You can introduce regular knowledge sharing sessions – can be on any topic – team could watch a TED talk, someone can critique on a movie, present on the new social media or any area you think will help the team become better. This will involve preparation ( except for TED talks of course ) and will also create a good competitive spirit.
So follow the above steps and your team will adore you and they will invite you for the informal team outings 🙂