Do you think You're Amazing ? Think Again !

As we come to the end of the year, it's time to look back at our successes in 2018. And of course failures. Since they are or could be the cornerstones of our successes in 2019.

And while we're at it, it might be a good idea to pause and see if we're becoming victims of our ignorant self-confidence or in some cases our incorrect modesty.

The Dunning-Kruger effect which I learnt about today (And that's not modesty, just a statement of fact on my Ignorance), is a good concept to review and inspect as we look forward to 2019.

I wish each of you a eventful, memorable and happy 2019. Where your dreams become realities.

Whatever dreams you see
And desires your heart has
Let this New Year make them true
This is our Best wishes to You
Happy New Year !

http://rightquotes4all.com/happy-new-year-2019-wishes-in-hindi/

Here are a few YouTube video which summarize the Dunning-Kruger effect and its impact well;



The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Why You're Dumber Than You Think

The Dunning Kruger Effect

And here's Dunning who explains not only the effect, but what we can do to counter it.
Why incompetent people think they're amazing - David Dunning

A few good articles on the subject:

https://thedecisionlab.com/bias/dunning-kruger-effect/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-psychology-of-the-breathtakingly-stupid-mistake/

And for those who would like to read the original article:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CX9O4LTvr4XLsGqyf6cR1qg4QUn68RtS

Statue of Unity

Less than 2 months ago, an extremely interesting event unfolded in India. A statue was unveiled. Called the "Statue of Unity". What made this event interesting is that it's the world's tallest statue.

Its not very often that India is in the news for its marvels. And when it is, we love to debate about whether the investment could be used elsewhere in a more meaningful way. Like all things there is no one answer. And each of us will have different points of view. My view: For once, let's just enjoy having the world's largest statue and see if we can, as its name suggests, allow it to Unite us.

A quick look at the Inauguration ceremony of the statue on Oct 31, 2018

The statue has its own website. Filled with interesting facts. Check it out.
http://www.statueofunity.in/

And if you'd like an In Depth on the Statue of Unity
In Depth : Statue of Unity

Happy 50th Mari

Today is my sister-in-law Mari's 50th birthday. Reia and I along with my brother Frank had come to San Francisco for the celebrations.

Yesterday my daughter Freia who lives in SFO took us along with a couple of her friends to  "Commonwealth" a fancy SFO restaurant. It was her attempt to help me get rid of yet another item on my bucket list. A meal at a Michelin Star restaurant. We had the tasting menu with the wine pairings. The experience needs a complete blog of its own, and so in this one, I'll summarize, "An Awesome Experience."

https://www.commonwealthsf.com/
https://guide.michelin.com/us/san-francisco/commonwealth/restaurant

Mari's birthday event was at the FOB Kitchen in Oakland, across the Bay from the city. In Shipping, FOB is an acronym for "Free On Board". It didn't seem like that made sense for a restaurant. I found that here the FOB stood for "Fresh Off Boat". Which is most Phillipinos. And Indians. And me. So perfect start.

The restaurant which is normally closed on Sundays was exclusively reserved for the Tilos-Lobo party. And around 50 people joined in wishing Mari. In the invitation Mari had specifically mentioned "No Presents", but added, "Would like everyone to get a Haiku". Ignorant me had no idea as to what a Haiku was. Turns out, it's a Japanese poem style. And turns out that everyone knew what it was. And also turns out that they teach it in Indian schools too. Seems like I wasn't paying attention even as a kid.

For the 1% like me who have no clue of what a Haiku is:
"
hai·ku
/ˈhīˌko͞o/
noun
noun: haiku; plural noun: haikus; plural noun: haiku

a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world."

 
I turn to Freia, our local poet and say, "Please write mine". At the same time, Reia, Frank and PJ turn to her and say, "Please write mine". Freia looks up and says, "And who'll write mine ?".

She finally agrees to help us all, on the condition that we participate and contribute. And we all joined in. And had a lot of fun. Here's what we came up with. Some good. Some not so.

Reia
Mari is her name
And Granola is her game
Baking is her fame

Frank
Her beauty and brains
Is graceful and tenacious
She's strong and kind

PJ
Quiet but yet strong
Her heart goes to her children
We know we belong

We decided to have Ivy and Mummy (my Mom) and Mabel represented and so wrote for them too.

Ivy
We love her visits
Dosas and filter coffee
See you soon Mari

And also figure we could do multiple languages
Mummy - Konkani
Aamche sobeet chedu
Dusranche bore kerta
Donuchi baiil Mari

 
Translated means:
Our pretty girl
Does good for others
Don's wife Mari

Mabel - Hindi
Sundar aur susheel
Hamari pyaari Mari
Bade dilwali

Translated means:
Beautiful and good natured
Our dear Mari
Has a big heart

The poetess saved the best for herself

Freia
Like a second Mom
She nurtures and she feeds me
Home away from home.

 
And finally mine
Her beautiful soul
Abundant patience and love
Inspite of Lobo

 
At the party we were all ready with our Haiku's in case no one else had brought theirs. As it turns out, everyone had. And everyone had put an effort. And given it their personal touch. We got to say just a few.

The surprising twist was that when the Haiku session was about to wrap up, the restaurant staff said they had one. And they had their very own Haiku thanking and wishing Mari.

Post Haiku, we sat down for a delicious never ending Philipino meal. And my favorite, the Turon - banana, jackfruit, macapuno ice cream.

At the end of a lovely evening, we headed to the airport, for yet another long night at airports and on planes. Goodbye SFO. And Thank You Mari.

Learning to shoot

One of the things I've wanted to do was to hold a gun and see what shooting feels like. And this was one of the items that appeared on my bucket list. A couple of weeks ago, Reia peeked at the list and decided to help me complete it. She found a shooting range that had a shooting class and called them for details. They had a class on the 9th. It was $200 and there were spots available. I signed up.

The class was at the Fairfield County Firearms & Archery in Norwalk. I arrived at 8.45 not knowing what to expect. I was hoping that we would actually use guns and shoot a couple of rounds.
https://fcfaa.com/

Our instructor was Bill who had been shooting for over 50 years. And teaching for over 30. The session was divided into 3 sections. The classroom session. A written exam with a 90% requirement for passing followed by a shooting of 55 cartridges using 3 different guns, of which 20+ had to hit the bulls eye.

I was petrified. The silver lining was that I was not alone. The other 5 participants looked equally nervous. Bill tried reassuring us that it was going to be okay and we would do okay.

The classroom session was one of the most hands-on classroom session I've ever attended. In addition to the theory, there was a hands-on demo cum training session for each part. We handled 3 sets of guns 3 times. The 1st was learning to hold, loading blanks, and unloading. The 2nd was receiving a gun safely, dry firing, making the gun safe and passing to another person. And the 3rd time was learning to aim and shoot.

The written exam was not difficult but not easy either. Bill had warned us to listen carefully and make notes. It was an open book exam and the course book and notes were helpful in answering the exam. There were 50 questions, a combination of multiple choice and True or False. I managed to get 98%, which means I passed.

And then was the main event. Live shooting at the range. Bill was testing 2 people at a time in the range. And as 1 finished, the next would go in. 3 of the participants had shooting experience and made their targets easily. The other 2 were new but did well. I was the last person in, and was super nervous.

 

Once in the range, I managed to load the magazine and shot the first cartridge. And the second. And the third. And with each shot, I was getting a little less nervous. 3 guns and 55 cartridges later, I had completed the firing. The target was retracted. And the instructor counted the ones outside to see if I managed the minimum bullseye of 20 required. I had done it. And got the "Basics of Pistol Shooting" Certificate.

If you're interested, you should check out
https://fcfaa.com/pistol-permit

Ada

I get a strange feeling that you're thinking, "What is Ada". That's what this blog will try to clear up for you. And don't feel too bad if you've never heard of it. Until earlier this week, I hadn't either.

The story of Ada starts with my cousin Preema. She lives in Ohio, and has been inviting us for the last couple of years. She's always been very warm and I promised I would try and visit her. A few days ago, I asked Reia if she wanted to visit her in Ohio. She was game, and we decided to go. We thought we would drive. Leave on Friday. Stop on the way. Visit Preema on Saturday. Drive back. Stop on the way. And be back home on Sunday.

I asked Preema for her address and she sent it, thinking that we were kidding. And she made it amply clear that in case we weren't she wouldn't allow us to leave without spending at least 1 night at her place. Her excitement was contagious and we decided that we could not let her down. And the only way to do it was to fly.

While there were several airports between 1 - 2 hrs drive from Ada, Dayton seemed to be the most convenient. Unfortunately, the non-stop flight was reaching late evening and so we took a early morning flight via Chicago. We set out at around 4:00 am for our 7:30 am flight. We got lucky and were bumped to Business. Reia who had slept on the way to the airport, and at the airport decided that this piece of luck should not be wasted and decided to sleep like she was at home.

We reached Dayton, picked up our rental and drove to Ada. The drive was scenic. And a big change from the East Coast. We pulled into Preema's house and her son Ethan welcomed us. Preema greeted us in her typical, warm and friendly way. And then spent the next 15 minutes in trying to get us to confess the real reason for us being there. She had several theories, but the 2 I liked best were, "You'll have come to buy land here." And "You'll are running from the police." She finally decided that we were not going to divulge our secret mission. And made Bhel Puri, a favorite Indian snack. That was accompanied by Chai, my favorite beverage, the famed Indian tea.

Reia is giggly and chatty. Preema is also giggly and chatty. And the two of them got along like a house on fire. With me being thrown a few pity questions along the way. Preema's husband Ranjan who is an accomplished Professor and Doctor came home late from work. And the chatting continued. And I was no longer the only one being ignored. We discussed board games and Preema’s favorite was Bluff. Reia educated us it was called "BS" in the US. We ended up playing Phase 10, an interesting card game, that involved in addition to luck, strategy and technique. Naturally, Ethan won.

Dinner was a huge spread of fusion cuisine. Korean and Indian. We ate way more than we should have. But then, it’s not often that you have great company and great food together.

During the time that Reia and Preema were chatting, Ethan was busy playing a video game with his friends. Preema and Ranjan mentioned that the game was being played by almost everyone including smaller kids and high schoolers as well as adults. I was intrigued and after dinner asked Ethan about the game. It was "Fortnite". And Ethan was happy to share his knowledge with me. And to call him an expert on the subject would be an understatement. He educated me not only about the game, but also the reasons the game was successful, the business model being used and why on his opinion it would continue to be a huge success in the coming years. It was all fascinating to me and what stumped me completely was when he brought out a book published by Scholastic on Video Games.

The next morning, we were treated to homemade rice pancakes and chutney, an Indian delicacy. One of Preema's neighbor joined us for breakfast and we learnt about the challenges of being a Democrat in a Republican town. She also got 2 amazing vegetables and we learnt the benefits of being a part of a co-op farm.

After breakfast, we were taken on a tour of the town of Ada. There were several things I noticed in this small yet beautiful town. Satellite dishes at ground level. To beat that, the town observatory was also at ground level. And just when I thought this couldn't be topped, we came across a solar farm at ground level.

Back home, we had another amazing meal and more awesome conversations. And before we knew it was time for us to go. And just when I thought that this trip couldn't get better, Preema threw a curved ball. Neil Armstrong's childhood home house was on the way to the airport not far from Ada. And Reia and I drove there. An Amazing trip had a cherry on top.

We flew back, direct this time and drove home reaching late and tired. And Reia summed it best as she crawled into bed, "I'm so happy we visited Preema." For lack of more powerful words, "Thank you Ethan, Ranjan and Preema".

p.s.: We also discovered that not only were the D’souza family one of the towns most famous residents, each was famous in their own right. Check these out.

http://www.adaicon.com/news/201806/what-are-you-reading-0

http://www.adaicon.com/news/201601/pharmacy-professor-honored-new-investigator-award

 http://www.adaicon.com/feature/201707/slim-never-ends

http://www.adaicon.com/photo/201811/zombies-library

2040 - What will be new ?

A few weeks ago when I was in Vegas, an Australian gentleman came to our table and wanted to know more about our product CyberGlass. My pitch was that it would help reduce the number of engineers required to manage clients by 2x initially and by 10x in around 3 years. His first reaction was, "That's impossible". He went on to explain that 80% of the work that the techs did was not technical, but guiding and correcting users and hence advanced technology would not help. While this was true, we had actually taken this into consideration.

 
And my point to him was that human error was due to non-intuitive and poor design and not due to any lack of ability in the human users. And over time, adjusting human expectations as well as modifying the interfaces would achieve the improved efficiencies.

And this took us into yet another extremely interesting discussion. What can we expect in the next 20 or 30 years. And we stumbled upon an amazing fact, Less than 3 decades ago, which of us would have imagined that more than 50% of the world's population would be holding a small piece of equipment more powerful than the most powerful computer which would be able to do almost anything we could dream of. From making voice-calls to video-calls to chatting to ordering goods and services to browsing the Internet to taking on-line courses to listening music to watching movies to ...

And the realization of this was, a decade is a long time. And just as none of us could ever have imagined the smart phone the only thing I'm certain of is that I have no idea of what will happen. However, it seems like someone actually has an idea of what 2040 will be like.

I have a feeling that whatever our most aggressive expectation is, it will be beaten. And all of us will be pleasantly surprised.

This conversation also let me to have a look at the impact smartphones have had on our lives. And as expected, several articles and papers on the subject had been written. Here are 3 that I liked.

How Smartphones Revolutionized Society in Less than a Decade  
http://www.govtech.com/products/How-Smartphones-Revolutionized-Society-in-Less-than-a-Decade.html

The impact of smartphones and mobile devices on human health and life
By Leonid Miakotko
https://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/waoe/miakotkol.pdf

Impact of Smartphone's on Society
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236669025_Impact_of_Smartphone's_on_Society

However the most interesting article on the subject was contrarian.

12 ways your smartphone is making your life worse
https://www.businessinsider.com/12-ways-your-smartphone-is-making-your-life-worse-2018-6

An Ayurvedic Massage

My friend Salil did a massage treatment a couple of months ago and then went to Kerala for a 2 week massage therapy.

I've never had a massage and had heard quite a bit about it. My curiosity was piqued and so decided to get one. I picked Kairali Ayurvedic Centre in Chembur, Mumbai, mainly because Salil has done his 7 day therapy there and was quite happy with it.

Since I wanted just 1 massage, I picked the one that did the most good, the "Abhyangam".

"A full body massage therapy with medicated oil to rejuvenate and stimulate your senses.The person undergoing this treatment is seated on the Droni (a wooden bed specially made for the therapy). Two masseurs stand on either side of the person applying herbal oil on the head and massaging gently. The therapy is continued on the neck, ears, shoulders, chest and back. The person then lies on the back and the massage is continued from shoulder to toes. During the course of the therapy the person lies on his right side, left side, stomach, and again on his back , and finally in the sitting position. Abhyangam has been found very effective for removing stress and strain, improving eyesight, immunity, longevity, sound sleep, rheumatism, vitality and provides with a glowing skin. This massage also improves the immunity, rejuvenates and maintains the physique.

https://www.kairalicenters.com/ayurvedic-therapies.aspx?id=1#abhyangam

It was a unique experience. After changing into a loin cloth, I was asked to lie down on a wooden bed. 2 masseurs poured warm oil and simultaneously massaged all parts of the body from the head to the toe. During the process, I did not feel great. Or awful. It seemed exactly as it was - someone rubbing oil and a slight pain when the rubbing was hard. At the end of almost 45 minutes, it was over.

They then led me to a small cupboard structure and closed it with my head popping out. That was the steam bath. The steam was meant to open your pores, so that the oil would be absorbed by the skin. This seemed to work, as after I stepped out after 5 minutes, my skin wasn't dripping with oil.

I dressed and went to the lobby. I was given a glass of warm water and some herbal tea. Thanking the masseurs who probably sweated way more than I did, I went home, took a shower and went to work. I didn't exactly feel rejuvenated, but there was no negative either. Am not sure if I didn't get it or its an acquired taste, or is only effective for some.

Nevertheless it was an interesting experience and I would strongly recommend trying it at least once to anyone who hasn't. Check the Kairali website for a wide variety of Ayurvedic treatments and massages.

https://www.kairalicenters.com/default.aspx

A long drive

Earlier today Ivy and I drove from Mumbai to Kalaburagi. It was a long drive that we expected to take around 12 - 14 hrs.

We started from our Mumbai home in Powai around 5.30. Ivy and I were to share the driving. I hadn't driven a car in India for over 5 years. And hence told Ivy, I wanted to go first. Early morning, empty roads, I could afford a few mistakes and stops and starts and ... My biggest challenge was the stick drive. Having driven an Automatic and on the wrong side of the road in the US over the last 5 years, I was not very confident and a little nervous. However after around 10 minutes, my confidence came back and I was feeling good about it.

Mumbai traffic was light since it was Sunday early morning. Our intention was to try and cross Pune city before 8 so we could beat the Pune city traffic, which makes Mumbai traffic seem like a highway. Our first stop for fuel was at the rest stop on the Mumbai - Pune expressway. While I was fueling, Ivy got us a cup of coffee. What stuck me was the size. It was less than 1/5th of the US coffee size. But quality beat quantity. It was super flavorful.

Ivy offered to take over. But I refused. I was in the drivers seat and told her she could takeover at the next stop. We decided to have breakfast after passing Pune. We entered Pune city around 7.30 and were out of it by 8.30. We got some traffic, but missed all of the famous Pune traffic jams.

We were now on the Pune-Solapur highway. Time for breakfast. I wanted to stop at a traditional Maharashtrian place for Misal Pav. At the same time, we did not want to wander off. We were on the lookout for our ideal place and the ones we saw were either closed or did not seem ideal. We finally settled for Vithal Kamats. A traditional South Indian place. I still wanted to have a local breakfast and so instead of the typical Masala Dosa, I ordered a Maharashtrian speciality, Misal Pav. And it was awesome. The best Misal Pav, I've eaten.

After breakfast, Ivy once again wanted to take over. I had started enjoying my new found skill of driving in India. And once again jumped in the drivers seat. And off we were. The roads were beautiful. There was minimal traffic and we were cruising. We finally halted for lunch just after Solapur around 1. This was once again a Vithal Kamat, but not as nice as the first stop. We shared a Thali and a PuranPoli variation.

The final leg of our journey had good roads, but were single lane. And so it was a little slow. We made it to Kalaburagi by around 3.45. We got lucky and got to our Kalaburagi home in just over 10 hrs. And the first thing we did was have Ivy's awesome homemade Chai. Interestingly enough I wasn't tired and was once again left in awe and thoroughly impressed by the progress that we had made in terms of infrastructure.

Indian Railways & IRCTC - Beyond Awesome

Ever since Ivy was transferred to Gulbarga (now renamed as Kalaburagi), both of us have made a total of more than 20 train trips to and from Kalaburagi in the last 3 months.

I've been completely blown away by all aspects of the travel. From the booking of the tickets to the journey itself. The Indian Railways is one of the worlds largest employer with over 1.5 million employees. And they somehow manage to choreograph the complete operations with a high degree of efficiency.

It starts with the booking of tickets. IRCTC, a subsidiary company is responsible for this aspect. Their website is one of the most technologically advanced websites that I've come across. And this is true even when you compare it to some of the world's leading airline websites. Its not great looking and its UI is not the most intuitive. Nevertheless the features and functionality make up for all of that.

A simple example is their Captcha. The Captcha is an Ad. And you need to fill in the name of the brand. Simple. And brilliant. The advertisers must be thrilled. Wonder why others have not yet used this. And they have Tatkal, which is a premium service for people who want last minute tickets. Once again, this provides emergency travelers a cost-effective option at a reasonable premium. Win-Win for the traveller and for the Railways.

The actual journey is equally impressive. Of the 20 + trips, 100% of the journeys have started on time. And 100% of the journeys have ended within 30 minutes of the scheduled time. Considering that the journey is over 12 hours and there a myriad of technical issues, this is Super Impressive.

The journey in AC starts with an attendant providing a pillow, 2 bed-sheets and a blanket. Once again, its always been clean.

And then the food. The IRCTC has their catering service. Simple, functional meals. And extremely reasonably priced. And you also have the option of other vendors. Who offer local favorites. This time, reasonably priced and Tasty too.

I'm not at all suggesting that IRCTC and the Railways is perfect. Like all good things, there are several areas where improvements are possible. And am sure that the Amazing Teams at the Railways and IRCTC are evaluating and will introduce those which are practical and commercially viable.

What we need to take into account is the challenges and constraints faced by the Indian Railways and the IRCTC and how inspite of that they manage to turn in an extremely credible and impressive performance. Day after Day after Day.

(1 crore = 10 million)

The next time you are in India and have an opportunity, do travel on a long distance train.

And before leaving, enjoy a video on the Indian Railways
A SHORT HISTORY OF INDIAN RAILWAYS (HINDI)

And read:
Timeline: 165 years of history on Indian Railways
By Joe Baker
https://www.railway-technology.com/features/timeline-165-years-history-indian-railways/