Misc

The Achilles heel of American capitalism

Why does Punjab produce so many singers? Even from the nearby Haryana, New Delhi, or Uttar Pradesh, the best singers usually sing in Punjabi. So, why are so many good singers Punjabi speaking? Well, there is an answer. A perfect pitch is the ability to discern sounds that are close (within 6%) in frequencies. Having a more perfect pitch makes you better at singing. Learning a tonal language makes you better at perfect pitch. And Punjabi is the only tonal language of India! ...

Statistical outcomes matter only if you are playing a statistical game

When Sony’s Walkman was expensive, we used them with cheap earphones. Once the music players were cheap, we shifted to more expensive headphones as a status symbol.

Writing a blog post in plain text isn’t fun. Neither is writing it in a bulky word processor like Microsoft Word. The former is too constrained, the latter too unbridled. Writing in Markdown is fun. It has sufficient features without creating bloat. Building a backend in lambda functions has a strong lock-in. On the other hand, deploying web services on Virtual Machines (or physical machines!), while having little lock-in, is complicated. Docker, however, treads the middle path. Sufficiently robust without pulling in the complications of maintaining a full-fledged virtual/physical machine. ...

One unique aspect of Indian culture is its desire to innovate in culinary. Tomato was first introduced to India in the 16th century. Now, it is an integral part of Indian cooking and is used in ways most others cultures won’t.

There are positive jobs and then there are double-negative jobs. Positive jobs when done well increase the revenue of the company. On the other hand, double-negative jobs when done well, prevent the loss of revenue. Consider HR, lawyer, physical/information security personnel, all are double-negative roles. If they do their job well, you won’t notice any harm. It is hard to justify spending on double-negative jobs. They don’t increase the bottom line. The shareholders question the spending. But when they don’t go well, you end up with huge losses. ...

Quick reference for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa

A sample of LinkedIn requests I receive these days. Hi Ashish, I’m the CEO of [redacted]. [redacted]. I’m looking for financial partners and would like to connect to see if we’re a fit. Hi Ashish, I’m the CEO of [redacted]. [redacted]. I’m looking for financial partners and would love to connect! - M Hey Ashish, I’m the CEO of [redacted] - [redacted]. I’m looking for introductions to financial partners and would like to connect to see if we’re a fit. - S Hi Ashish, I’m the CEO of [redacted]. [redacted]. I’m looking for introductions to financial partners and would love to connect! - K

Checklist for Good Health 3 servings of Beans 1 serving of Berries 3 servings of other fruits 1 serving of Cruciferous vegetables 2 servings of Greens 2 servings of Other Vegetables 1 serving of Flaxseed 1 serving of Nuts 1 serving of Spices 3 servings of Whole Grains 5 servings of Beverages 1 tablet of Vitamin B12 supplement 1 workout session