This is a weekly blog that puts forward my thoughts, and my point of view.
You may agree with some. And probably disagree with most. And we can agree to disagree. After all, wouldn't life be boring if we all thought the same way.
I've always had difficulty in managing relationships. I've been fortunate that my spouse has been more mature than me. And we've been able to have a great relationship. Not because of me. But in-spite of me.
And this talk by T. T. Rangarajan is a must listen to every couple. It highlights how we can be silly and petty and just listening will make us laugh and the next time we think of something as a big deal, relook at the issue. And more importantly, Life.
p.s.: The talk has no video. So for a change, enjoy listening without watching.
Blockchain is one of those technologies most people have heard about, but very few people understand. While many of us know that its the underlying technology used for the digital currency bitcoin, not many know what it is.
Here are 3 videos that will give you an introduction into Blockchain and a peek at what it is capable of doing. Which is changing the world, as we know it.
What is blockchain? World Economic Forum
How the blockchain is changing money and business Don Tapscott
How the blockchain will radically transform the economy Bettina Warburg
On Friday, my colleague Al and I were having a discussion on the US economy. And he was complaining that it was bad. Very bad. Al is a staunch Republican and in his opinion, the Democrats always mess up the economy and the current administration was historically the biggest culprit.
As is to be expected, I disagreed. And my reasoning was that on all objective parameters the US economy was better than it had been since the previous 8 years when the Republicans held office. I pointed to the unemployment index which was under 5%. Al threw a huge list of attributes, all subjective and I was dismissive, since that was not data. And then Al mentioned that the real unemployment was over 10%. He mentioned the U6 unemployment index and he had my complete attention. And we checked that it was 9.30% as of November 2016.
I was now interested in the unemployment index and U6. And what exactly was the 4.9% that the media talked about. And the answers were fascinating. And like most things, the fastest way to know exactly what each of these is, is to watch a few videos.
What Does 'Unemployment Rate' Mean?
What is the 'real' unemployment rate?
Word of the Day: Unemployment (U3 and U6)
And you can view an interactive an interesting unemployment chart at Macro Trends.
"This interactive chart compares three different measures of unemployment. U3 is the official unemployment rate. U5 includes discouraged workers and all other marginally attached workers. U6 adds on those workers who are part-time purely for economic reasons. http://www.macrotrends.net/1377/u6-unemployment-rate
And finally for those who like definitions, here are the definitions for U1 through U6.
U1 : Percentage of labor force unemployed 15 weeks or longer.
U2 : Percentage of labor force who lost jobs or completed temporary work.
U3 : Official unemployment rate per ILO definition.
U4 : U3 + "discouraged workers", or those who have stopped looking for work because current economic conditions make them believe that no work is available for them.
U5 : U4 + other "marginally attached workers", or "loosely attached workers", or those who "would like" and are able to work, but have not looked for work recently.
U6 : U5 + Part time workers who want to work full time, but cannot due to economic reasons.
Very rarely do you come across something which seems to be in line with some of what you were thinking. This week I came across a talk by Dave Snowden. Its a little long winded but definitely worth listening to. The author is not a great speaker or presenter and you may get bored, but stay with it. Overall you're likely to get a lot of insights that go against popularly accepted theories, such as those of Malcolm Gladwell.
Earlier this week, as we were leaving the office, I wished my colleague Robert a great evening and he said, "Yep, hopefully I'll get a few good rides". And its only then that I realized that he drove for Uber.
Uber is one of those amazing phenomenon's where most people either love it or hate it. But cannot ignore it.
I had read and viewed several articles on Uber and the mathematics of driving for Uber always fascinated me.
Here's a video that does an excellent job of breaking it down.
Why Uber Is A Scam - Math Explains
I asked Robert about his Uber experience as a driver. His math was a little different. He thinks he makes around $ 15 - $ 20 per hour. And it gives him the flexibility of working when he can as well as whenever he feels like it.
I reviewed the numbers with Robert and for the large part, they were accurate. A large part of his earnings came from being smart about where to wait during certain hours and manage to get surge pricing. Outside bars around midnight and at 2 is almost guaranteed to get surge pricing. This could be as much as 2x and sometime even 3x. And in the last few months, Uber allows its drivers to take tips. This increases the earning even more. Of course he did not take into account depreciation, taxes and maintenance. He also calculated hourly based on how long he was driving and excluded the waiting. All of this gave a skewed hourly rate. My guess is the real earning would be around $12 - $14 per hour.
So it seems like the truth about Uber is neither what SciIQ portrays or what Robert thinks. Its somewhere in the middle. And given that, my guess is it'll keep getting better for the drivers, as the passengers willingness to pay a little more will keep rising as they continue getting used to the luxury of having their own private driver with a tap on their smart phone.
On November 8th at 8 p.m. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation. The speech announced demonetization of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency note. The move took the country by total surprise. A move that would impact only those who had unaccounted cash or the infamous Black Money.
The finance minister, Arun Jaitley answers many of the questions that come to mind.
The next few days in which it's been implemented has led to long lines at banks and a short supply of usable currency. Surprisingly the common man has been extremely supportive of the move and there was relatively very little criticism of the move by the common man who stood in line.
The move has been roundly criticized by the political parties who are using the woes of the common man as the reason for urging the government to roll back its decision.
And even the spiritual leaders are publicly voicing their opinions.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Speaks on the Demonetization
In researching the subject, I came across one created by Dr. Navneet Goel. He has managed to convey the positive benefits in under 3 minutes.
Demonetization - Long Term Benefits Explained
While there may be long term benefits in the short term there's a significant impact on the day to day lives of people. The government has promised that everything will normalize in a couple of months.
Whether the move has a major long term impact only time will tell, but even the harshest critic of Modi will acknowledge that its a bold move which has zero political upside for Modi but could have significant downside.
And such moves can only be made by leaders who believe in trying to make a difference to the country at the risk of their own personal careers. Hats off to a man who is attempting to do the impossible. And surprisingly, he seems to be succeeding.
This week I visited the Orient Land Trust for a project. http://www.olt.org/
Its nature at its best. Hot-springs. Ranch. Bat-caves. Astronomy Pad. The place and the views were out of this world. It was breathtaking and would be impossible to describe.
A picture speaks a thousand words and so I'll let the pictures do the talking.
And natural is taken to a whole new level. They are self sufficient and generate their own power, using off-grid alternative energy. Their very own amazing hydro power plant, all on the OLT property. http://www.olt.org/nature/alternative-energy
