And I'm back.... :)

Finally, I decide to start blogging again...

Here's a link to start you off with ...

5 Tools to track how much time you waste/spend online... :)

Another presentation post...

Following up on my post on giving presentations, here's another link

Merlin Mann gave a talk at Google called Inbox Zero - which was basically on time management and being more efficient with email.

In his presentation, his slides are minimal and have very little text on them - like how Steve Jobs did in his MacWorld talk which is basically a simple graphic with a very few words next to them. Below is an excerpt from Merlin's post -

Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 Rule

... if you’re really struggling with your visuals, it’s worth making “10-20-30” a rule that you break only with mindful and deliberate care. At least until you’re more comfortable with what you want to say, and how you want to say it, hew to Guy’s party line:

It’s quite simple: a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.

Get in, get out, and don’t make people squint. Awesome.

And he really does this in his presentation at Google. If you get a chance, take a look at the video. It's good.

How to Present

Following up on my last post, here is a article from BusinessWeek - Deliver a Presentation Like Steve Jobs

The main points I liked in the article were how he talked about specific things Jobs did .... I noticed the same things and was impressed by Jobs because of that ....

Read some excerpts from the article below -

Set the theme. "There is something in the air today." With those words, Jobs opened Macworld. By doing so, he set the theme ... and hinted at the key product announcement—the ultrathin MacBook Air laptop.

Demonstrate enthusiasm. Jobs shows his passion for computer design. During his presentation he used words like "extraordinary," "amazing," and "cool."

The one below really caught my eye and is a very good point.

Make numbers meaningful. When Jobs announced that Apple had sold 4 million iPhones to date, he didn't simply leave the number out of context. Instead, he put it in perspective by adding, "That's 20,000 iPhones every day, on average." Jobs went on to say, "What does that mean to the overall market?" Jobs detailed the breakdown of the U.S smartphone market and Apple's share of it to demonstrate just how impressive the number actually is. Jobs also pointed out that Apple's market share equals the share of its top three competitors combined. Numbers don't mean much unless they are placed in context. Connect the dots for your listeners.

Some of the classic points are worth repeating.

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Steve Jobs cannot pull off an intricate presentation with video clips, demonstrations, and outside speakers without hours of rehearsal. ..... You can see he rehearsed the Macworld presentation because his words were often perfectly synchronized with the images and text on the slides. .... The entire presentation was coordinated. A Steve Jobs presentation looks effortless because it is well-rehearsed.

If you're interested in reading more, do read the article at BusinessWeek.

Steve Jobs Keynote

I've become a big fan of Steve Jobs. I watched his keynote address at Mac World 2008 through a podcast today and was very impressed. One of the small things I liked was that he was in jeans, a casual top and sneakers.

He's a good presenter and powerful speaker. His personality is engaging and I can see how he's become the face of Apple. Now, he's probably got his faults but what I really admired was his drive and forceful personality.

I was reading about him on Wikipedia today. He's very shrewd and smart - obviously.

Chinese Proverb

The journey of thousand miles starts with a single step. – Chinese Proverb

I really like this proverb. When I read this, I was reminded of a slide in a presentation at work which had a excerpt from a book which was on a similar tone saying -

How does a large software project get to be one year late? Answer: One day at a time!

- Fred Books from the The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering

Was quite amusing to me... :-)

Runnerup for Times Person of the Year - J.K.Rowling

Came across Rowling's interview on Times. She was the runner-up for Times Person of the Year 2007. This probably came as a surprise to a lot of people.

Her books have had a huge impact on a lot of people - she's done a lot of charity work. She definitely belongs in the nominations. As to whether she deserves to win, let me put it this way - I would not have been unhappy to see her as Times Person of the Year 2007.

Also, I came across this other article - 10 Questions Rowling answers about Potter and I'm going to copy the ones I liked and found interesting over here... :-)

Did Harry die?
Rowling wrote this very carefully, so it could be read two ways. "Did he just go into a state of unconsciousness in which his subconscious tells him everything he needs to know? Dumbledore doesn't tell him anything he couldn't have figured out with some educated guesses." But in her mind, Harry entered a limbo between life and death, and faced a choice about which way to go.

She explains on her website that this encounter involves some very deep laws of magic, which Voldemort himself did not understand: "Having taken Harry's blood into himself, Voldemort is keeping alive Lily's protective power over Harry — except that the power of Lily's sacrifice is a positive force that not only continues to tether Harry to life, but gives Voldemort himself one last chance ... Voldemort has unwittingly put a few drops of goodness back inside himself; if he had repented, he could have been healed more deeply than anyone would have supposed. But of course, he refused to feel remorse." Also, since Voldemort is using the Elder wand, which actually belongs to Harry, neither the Cruciatus or the killing curse work properly. "The Avada Kedavra curse, however, is so powerful that it does hurt Harry, and also succeeds in killing the part of him that is not truly him, in other words, the fragment of Voldemort's own soul that is still clinging to his. The curse also disables Harry severely enough that he could have succumbed to death if he had chosen that path."

What did Dumbledore really see in the Mirror of Erised?

His family, alive and whole and reconciled.

Where do wizard children go to school before Hogwarts?
Most are homeschooled, because they aren't really able to control their powers so it would be too dangerous to let them out and about.

Are Harry and Voldemort related?
Yes, distantly, through the Peverells; but nearly all wizarding families are related if you go back far enough.

Who does Draco Malfoy marry?
Astoria Greengrass, younger sister of the Greengrass family. We meet Daphne Greengrass, part of Pansy Parkinson's Slytherin posse, in Book V when Hermione takes her O.W.L.s. Neville marries Hannah Abbott, who becomes the owner of The Leaky Cauldron. "I do have it all worked out in my mind because I couldn't stop myself doing that."

Where do the main characters work as adults?
Harry and Hermione are at the Ministry: he ends up leading the Auror department. Ron helps George at the joke shop and does very well. Ginny becomes a professional Quidditch player and then sportswriter for the Daily Prophet.

Was Teddy Lupin a werewolf?
No he was a Metamorphmagus, like Tonks (who, incidentally, was a Hufflepuff).

Hope you liked it. I did .... :-)

Ilayaraja

Today, I was watching Ilayaraja's concert on Jaya TV. He's an amazing music director.

A lot of his songs are evergreen hits. You can listen to them even after 20 years and still love them as much as ever.

Most songs these days have a lot of noise - too many beats and hip-hop. The music gets drowned in the noise and the lyrics sound like they were just randomly thrown together to go with the music. A simple tune with good lyrics that touches the heart - that's what I would like more of. Sure, sometimes party music is a lot of fun but they're passing fads.

Songs from movies like Sindhu Bhairavi, Punnagai Mannan and Mouna Raagam are favorites even today.

Movie themes

I was watching an old Tamil movie yesterday and was just musing on the some common story lines back then.

A very common theme - Rich heroines who are extremely arrogant get the guys (after being taught a lesson by them). On the other hand, either in the same movie or in some other movies - good gals who are in love with the hero or are related to him either end up alone, with somebody else or with the villain. Talk about the irony of life. I wonder what that is supposed to teach us.... :)

Another common theme is about the sanctity of the thali. It doesn't matter if your husband is a murderer or traitor or just plain evil, if you're married to him, you need to stay married to him and beg for his life when the hero is going to kill him.

A lot of story lines based on the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship. One of them is not good to the other and so on.

Another typical story is the hero being a good guy and all but the bad guy does something to hurt him and he goes all-out to take revenge on the bad guys.

Although today's movies have some better story lines, a lot of them are still variants on the same themes. There are very few really good movie directors out there whose movies are really worth watching. To me, ManiRatnam is the best out there. His movies are amazing and they can be watched over and over.

Future Quote

Yesterday night I was reading a book - Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert and I came across this quote which I really liked.

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time."
-- Abraham Lincoln

The future comes one day at a time and we can change our future however we want to. Even if we make mistakes, we can rectify it.

What do you think he means?

Tired?

Came across this article today - was pretty interesting.

Are you tired a lot? Feel very sleepy at work? Here are some things to avoid which can make you better

• Lack of Sleep - make sure you get enough sleep. Sleep when you feel sleepy at night and get up at the same time everyday.
  
• Sugar - Avoid it. There will be a energy dip after 30-60 mins.
• Caffeine - Initial kick of energy and then you get tired and irritable
• Lack of exercise - If you don't use it, you lose it. Exercise for at least 20-30 mins everyday
• Not enough oxygen - Take a dew deep breaths
• Processed Foods - Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
• Dehydration - Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day
• Stress - Try meditation. Learn to say no. Trim your schedule.
• Chronic Pain - Find ways to reduce any pain you have through medication or avoiding things that cause you pain.
• Toxic people - Avoid people who are negative.

There were some nice tips in the comments section -

• Lack of a compelling purpose
• Florescent lighting
• Clutter

If you have any ideas, lemme know.