R.M.S Titanic

Sun TV's magum opus is here! Don't you miss tomorrow's tamil version of Titanic at 2:00 p.m (GMT +8). I for one, wouldn't. Heck, I never even miss those Bruce Willis, Nicholas Cage stereotypical action movie crap in tamil.

I can't wait to hear the beginning of the old lady's narrative in Tamil. It's already running in my head!

Rose (102 yrs old, read in that typical tamil female background voice in such movies) - Adhai ellarum kanavuhalin kapalnu sonnanga. Amam, adhu kanavuhalin kapal dhaan!

In english "Titanic was called the ship of dreams. It was, it really was!"

They didn't show any dialogues in the preview that they are running every 10 mins. But I am not complaining - adds to the suspense!

It's gonna be the funniest ever sinking of the R.M.S Titanic that you'll get to see. So grab that bottle of beer and your favorite potato chips and get ready to journey down the Atlantic in the South India's very own Tytaanic!!

About Friday..

I didn't go to work on Friday. My part-time masters exams are on. I was supposed to preparing for it all day. But it was too boring to read much beyond afternoon- switched on the tv to take a small break but ended up watching one full movie.

Mojave moon - It's what people would classify as a very average movie but the perverse side of me enjoyed it thoroughily ! Man, never knew Anjelina Jolie could be that hott!! You gotta see it to believe it.

I started after the movie was over. It's about an hour and a half long commute from my place to the university. The exam was at 7:00 p.m. being a part-time course. Did some rather tensed flipping through the pages in the MRT. It's not like I learned anything more in that period but with an exam write, I felt rather guilty to do the thing that I usually do - sleep. Guess I did ok. 1 down, 2 to go.

Working for a Metanational

Metanational - A very interesting term I came across today. We've heard multinational, what's a metanational?

"A metanational is a large entrepreneurial multinational that is able to tap into hidden pockets of innovation, technology and market knowledge scattered around the world, especially in underexploited emerging markets, according to Yves Doz, the Timken Professor of Global Technology and Innovation at INSEAD"

And why is it very interesting? Because, I actually work for a pioneering example of a truly metanational company. Read the article on CNET here. It is actually reproduced from the quarterly management magazine published by Booz Allen Hamilton.

What did you read today?

Below is a Ctrl +C Ctrl +V of the books checked out by me from the university library.

1. Sequential tests of statistical hypotheses [by] B. K. Ghosh.

2. Sequential methods in statistics [by] G. Barrie Wetherill.

3. Sequential analysis : tests and confidence intervals / David Siegmund

4. Uncle Petros and Goldbach's conjecture / Apostolos Doxiadis.

5. The McKinsey mind : understanding and implementing the problem-solving tools and management techniques of the world's top strategic consulting firm / by Ethan M. Rasiel and Paul N. Friga

6. How to lie with statistics / Darrell Huff

7. Only the paranoid survive : how to exploit the crisis points that challenge every company and career / Andrew S. Grove.

8. McKinsey's Marvin Bower : vision, leadership, and the creation of management consulting / Elizabeth Haas Edersheim.

Items 1-3 are related to a module (sequential analysis) that I'm taking this semester. My exams start next week. Wish me luck!

About the rest, item 4 was upon favorable review by a fellow blogger but I didn't find it all that engaging.

The pick of the lot was former intel CEO Andy Grove's "Only the paranoid survive". A brilliant book on what are known as inflection points that are said to be able to make and break businesses.

A wonderful narrative, Grove takes us through various examples of these inflection points and then discusses how intel faced one that ultimately led them to quite memory business (in face of price war with Japanese manufacturers) and to enter the microprocessor world which they now comprehensively dominate. I strongly recommend for anyone with a least interest in general/technology management.

The books on McKinsey - was reading them to learn more about strategic consulting and have concluded that I'll never ever want to go there! They work on problems too abstract/generic/broad for my taste.

Such infrequent blogging? - I'm amidst hella lot of assignments, heavy work load and nearing exams. Things should get less hectic once this month ends.