What can be done?

Mumbai terror attach has again brought up the biggest question that the world faces - how can terrorism be tackled? Any views - sorry - this post doesn't help us get anywhere, but would love to discuss further

Parallel Algorithm for Quick Sort!

It's been a while since I last logged on to Blogger. Over the last few days, I have tried to justify this temporary sabbatical attributing all possible reasons ranging from global warming to crude oil prices, but after extruding these set of reasons through a truth-funnel, the same age old problem emerged as the primary reason - my struggle with blogging topics! This time, it was a problem of plenty. I was confused with tons of topics to blog on - Tata Nano, about my latest challenging drive to highest peak at Cameron Highlands, aircraft technology and the airline industry, IPL business model, Sachin's statistical comparison with other greats, da da da...

I then did the mistake of again asking Ninja for a topic to blog on - and this is what Ninja the geek came up with. So, I thought, well why not? After all this blog was started to enlighten the world! :-)

At first glance, the topic looked fairly okay - "Parallel Algorithm For Quick Sort". Within first few minutes, I realised that I had understood all 5 words listed within the quotes - so should be a no brainer! Little did I know that the phrase that once appeared is one of my finance books would hold true here as well - "the whole is greater than the sum of parts"

Since then, I have spent the last 3 hours trying to figure out what this topic could mean before getting down to blog on it. These are the possible interpretations that I could come up with:

1. At all points, it is equi-distant from algorithm for quick sort
2. Logical sequence of steps (algorithm), parallel to each other, quick to compute in some ways (sorta)
3. Parallel algorithm that fast bowlers in cricket (quicks) could use to sort opposition batting order
4. You type in 4 words in excel - "parallel", "algorithm", "for", "quick" and then use data sort function
5. Parallel algorithm to kick start a scooter?
6. On par with allege rhythm for quick sort?
7. Pyare Lal agle road pe quick sutta!

... yesss... I think, I cracked it! :-)

Tata Nano – the most amazing thing to have happened to auto industry!

All through the post medieval history, any technological advancement has caught human attention – be it Wright Brother’s first flight, invention of internal combustion engine, the first super computer, the discovery of antibiotics, the decoding of human DNA – needless to say, one theme links it all - “technological advancement’. Lately, a new dimension to ‘innovation’ has emerged. Over the past decade or so, ‘cost’ and ‘affordability’ have started to drive changes. A lot of changes are now focused on bringing on redesigned products at much lower cost – be it the $100 laptop, a low-cost mobile phone or an ultra-cheap car. Yes, this post is about Tata Nano, priced at Rs. 1-Lakh or $2,500, it has halved the entry price for a car.

Ever since Mr. Ratan Tata first declared in public to manufacture the 1-lakh car, I have nearly followed every possible news article on this car. To me, this is the most amazing thing to have happened to auto industry, particularly for developing economies and will possibly impact entry level sedan segment world over. Before going in to details of the car and its impact, let me provide the views of a distant observer, from the day the plan became public (~4 years back) till today (just after the official launch of the car)

• Announcement of 1-lakh car project (~4 years back): I thought “hmmm… interesting, but not sure if they can pull it off” I was excited, but didn’t have too much confidence if this would be ever possible!

• My first impression: As more information started to come in, I thought this car would be without doors, possibly with a basic 2-wheeler engine and suspension system, possibly a cloth cover on top instead of a metal roof, no dashboard panel, wooden seats – in short, a car, but possibly not meeting the basic safety requirements and comfort

• My first inference: But even with the above description, 1-lakh car seemed attractive – it would be the same value for money that a Maruti 800 is at Rs. 2 Lakhs. It might have been a success, but Tata would have probably struggled to sell half a million units a year

• At the half way stage: Once Tata announced that it would indeed be a “proper car”, with a cute design, I really got excited about it. For this was not cost cutting, but a complete new invention of "traditional car". In one of the recent interviews, team at Tata Motors described their experience working on 1-lakh car – “we worked towards cutting almost 50-60% of costs for most parts”. Kudos to the team and the leadership – they would have pushed for 1-lakh price tag from seemingly impossible situations at many stages all through the development of this car

• The day before the official launch: The day before the Auto Expo Launch, I was betting my money on the following specifications – a price tag of 1.25 lakh, a boxy design, high proportion of plastics esp. with doors, a basic rear engine not meeting environment norms, two doors with seats folding to access the rear seats, etc

• Tata Nano launch: … and then, you get to see a much better car than a Maruti-800, meeting Euro-IV emission norms (I think engine sensors are a must for this), a killer design, plenty of space to seat 4-5 people, etc, etc – in short, a super car! In my books, if I was to benchmark this car with existing models on the road, it is worth at least Rs. 2 Lakhs

… well, at price tag of Rs 1.Lakh, it is a killer product! A pure market share eater!

Congratulations again to the team at Tata Motors, they have really redefined car designing and manufacturing. With the success that Tata Indica and other models have been, I am confident Tata has the operational capability to put the design to assembly line and manage the entire supply chain from suppliers to dealers producing a consistent good quality product. A big thanks to Tata Motors Team!

Harbhajan ban: time for us to set things right...

Sydney test had been a fantastic great test match - for the fight that Indian team put it, I seriously don't mind the result. However, Australian team, umpires and the match referee deserve no respect what-so-ever.

It's been 3-4 days since Aussie's first complained against Harbhajan - for apparently calling Symonds a 'monkey'! I just can't believe it. This is just stupid. You don't need a masters degree in lip reading to understand the kind of language Australians use on the field - apparently all that is absolutely normal stuff for them. The world's best performing team "yes", but one seriosuly needs to question the way they are playing cricket. I would instead watch an ethical Kenya team defeated by most teams by an innings and 450 runs play cricket as opposed to the current Australian lot.

That's not the end of the story - the umpires and the match referee join the party as well. The number of decisions that have gone against India cannot be defined as 'errors' even by the probability corresponding to the long tail of a normal distribution function. Statistically, it is impossible to be at the receiving end of the umpire goof ups so often. Steve Bucknor should be sent out of the game right away - this is not the first time this has happened.

Match referee deserves a spot light as well - what a decision to suspend Harbhajan for 3 tests. If this ban is to be enforced, lets set the whole system right. Suspending the entire Australian team wouldn't be enough. ICC would need to invent a time machine, go back in time and suspend all current and retired players from 1995 or so.

I am a bit worked up - this is not an issue of "just a game of cricket". There is more to it. This is racism at its peak. Team India is representing India the nation as well. There is a narrow line that separates "Well, lets just take the crap" and "compromising on self-respect"... and the line has been crossed. Irrespective of the fine (I hear it is $2.3Mn), team India should call off the tour - no matter what it is, BCCI has sufficient corpus to take the hit. It is a situation far from "for sake of the game and the relationship between the two nations, lets get on with cricket" - India should pack up and leave Oz land right away.

There are millions of viewers world over who are crazy about cricket, just as I am. We watch the game under the assumption that it is fair for one and all. We respect umpire's decisions, assuming that it is a simple case of human error, never for once doubting the "intent". We assume that match referees are there to make sure that things go in the spirit of the game and are the match is fair to one and all. When that basic assumption goes for a toss, I seriously wonder why we have woken up at 3am to watch a test match irrespective of anything else for over two decades - be it long work hours, board exams, etc, etc - just about anything on this planet.

Some very strong and serious measures need to be taken here. This is simply not done - unless the ban is revoked, the umpires/ match referee changed and punished, a few Australian players banned, I refuse to watch the scheduled 3rd test match at Perth. There is absolutely no need to be diplomatic anymore.

... may be, I will chill down in sometime, but I don't think I am gonna edit this post very much even after my head gets down to its STP (standard temperate and pressure)