Monthly Archives: December 2009

A Better Year

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

This year has been a trying year for many of us. In the US and most of the West, unemployment is high and a gradual recovery is the best we can hope for. In the IT world, in India and … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | 21 Comments

Investing, My Way

Posted on December 29, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

This year saw a sea change in the way I invest. Umm…let me take that back. This year I finally decided to put in place an investment methodology. Something that will hopefully form the basis for the way I invest … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | 15 Comments

Evernote for Android

Posted on December 29, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

I recently moved to an Android phone. I also use Evernote extensively and so I was thrilled when they launched Evernote for Android. Besides the fact that it makes it so much easier to access my notes when I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | Comments Off

Indian Church in Fremont

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

Fremont has a very high percentage of immigrants among the city residents. Especially North Fremont, where I live has a sizable Indian crowd. Most, like us are immigrants. Because of which Indian food, groceries and Bollywood movies are all within … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | 3 Comments

Make Work Homework

Posted on December 26, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

A few years ago my son who is now in middle school got some vocabulary homework for English. It was a pretty long list of words. He was supposed to write the meaning of each word and then use it … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Education | 1 Comment

Copenhagen – the Mother of all Negotiations

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

Who hasn’t been in a tough negotiation? If nothing else, negotiating with your kids can often be most difficult. But the negotiations at Copenhagen summit and next year on climate change are going to be the hairiest negotiations you can … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Sustainable Living | Comments Off

Ideas from the New York Times

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

The NY Times Magazine’s latest issue is on “ideas”. The ideas are of mixed standards, probably because they were force fitted into an alphabetical list as much as possible (“hey, we don’t have any ideas for X Y Z. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Comments Off

More English and More Non-English

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

Chetan Bhagat has a recent post on his blog which is a transcript of a speech that he gave at the British Council in Delhi. He defines two groups in India. One, which he calls E1, is proficient in English … Continue reading →

Posted in India | 10 Comments

Coevolution in Telemarketing

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

Coevolution in species (predator-prey, for example) is a commonly occurring phenomenon. The same thing, loosely, can apply to many other things like criminal behavior and how it coevolves with law enforcement techniques. An interesting place where you see coevolution at … Continue reading →

Posted in Business | 1 Comment

The Numbers Behind the Numbers

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

This week’s big news was that the US economy lost the fewest jobs in a month since the beginning of the recession. There were reams and reams of news and opinion on the matter. Quotes from the White House, Republicans, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | 1 Comment