nikhilbhaskaran's posterous http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com random thoughts posterous.com Fri, 20 May 2011 15:38:58 -0700 What to read next http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/what-to-read-next http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/what-to-read-next

I've been reading a lot of books lately. The last few books I've read are

  • The Serialist by David Gordon
  • The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch
  • Volume 1 and 2 of a graphic novel called Hack/Slash.
  • Punching Out by Paul Clemens

One question that always arises after I read a really good book is "What to read next?". I usually get my reading suggestions from

  • Friends
  • Library's recommended reading
  • Borders / Amazon Bestsellers list

Now, I have another source of recommendations. Your Next Read. You type in the name of the book you are currently reading or just about to finish and hit Search. From the search list, select the book you are reading, and click on it. The site shows you up to 8 suggestions of similar books to read next. I used it with Richard Doetsch's The 13th Hour and it recommended The Thieves of Faith by Richard Doetsch among others and I picked it up. Try it out and see if it helps you decide what to read next.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:36:00 -0700 Backup! http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/backup http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/backup

It is always a good idea to back up your data regularly. Drive failure is inevitable, but unpredictable. However, most drives do make sounds that can clue you into their impending demise. Datacent has uploaded this handy collection of sounds of hard drives that are about to kick the bucket.


Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sat, 02 Apr 2011 03:25:05 -0700 Overheard http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/overheard-0 http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/overheard-0 Hang on, let me put on my glasses so that I don't have to sit on your lap to read from your laptop.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:18:00 -0700 Overheard http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/overheard http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/overheard

Man: Son of a bitch!!

Woman: Hey, don't take my name in vain!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sat, 26 Mar 2011 00:37:16 -0700 Making sense of my weight gain http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/making-sense-of-my-weight-gain http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/making-sense-of-my-weight-gain

I just came across this on Lifehacker today. This makes so much sense! My sleep habits started taking a dive when I started working night shifts. It was so difficult to change my circadian rhythm that I wouldn't get enough sleep. I haven't work night shifts in more than 5 years now, but I have moved half-way across the world, so in effect, my days and nights have flipped. I have trouble falling asleep*, but when I do fall asleep, I have no trouble sleeping for 8-9 hours at a stretch, but I usually cannot, because I have to get in to work at a decent hour. 

*I have trouble falling asleep because I can never fully unplug. I'm always either checking email, browsing facebook, or twitter, watching TV, or Netflix. The only thing that helps me sleep is reading a book, but I haven't done that in a while. I really need to reset my sleep clock.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:30:33 -0700 It started off bright and sunny... http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/it-started-off-bright-and-sunny http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/it-started-off-bright-and-sunny

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:45:15 -0700 Oooo cupcake! Thanks Tim! http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/oooo-cupcake-thanks-tim http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/oooo-cupcake-thanks-tim

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:42:28 -0700 The Sun's out today; the watch is getting some much-needed juice http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/the-suns-out-today-the-watch-is-getting-some http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/the-suns-out-today-the-watch-is-getting-some

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:38:00 -0800 Google Profile http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/google-profile http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/google-profile

Today I noticed the option to "Create a Google Profile", while trying to sign in to a second gmail account. I thought Google Buzz was dead! Seems like Google's attempt to get more people to use Buzz.

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:32:00 -0800 Mmmmmm M5! http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/mmmmmm-m5 http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/mmmmmm-m5

Yes, I am waiting for the new M5. Can I afford it? No. Do I want one? Yes!! Just look at it, playing in the snow. I want one so bad!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:33:50 -0800 I see you! http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/i-see-you http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/i-see-you

A facebook friend recently posted this video on her Wall.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2vARzvWxwY&

The news piece does actually inform viewers of a real threat to safety that comes with geo-tagging photos that you upload online. But the exaggerated sense of danger that they portray is, IMO, uncalled for.  

I buy and sell a lot on craigslist, and I like posting photos of my family online, and so I am extra careful when it comes to giving out PII in information that I put out on the Internet. However I do like to geo-tag my photos so that I can find photos by the place I clicked them in. So I turn off Location Services on my iPhone whenever click a photo that I plan on posting online. Alternately, I email the photo to myself and edit the EXIF information manually (using Windows Explorer) to clear out the location data before I post the images online. 

This information is not exactly news to me, but if you were part of the blissfully unaware masses, watch the video till the end to see how to prevent geo-tagging your photos.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:09:21 -0800 Feedback http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/feedback http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/feedback

I recently received some indirect (from them to my manager, and from manager to me) positive feedback about my mentorship from a colleague. And this got me thinking about how important feedback is. It helps you know if you are on the right track with what you are doing. There were some challenges mentoring this person and, I must admit, it was pretty frustrating. In a moment of inspiration (or maybe reflection*) I decided to change my strategy. Instead of giving them an answer to their question, I sat them down and had them derive the answer to the question by themselves. At the end of it, my colleague knew the part of the product for which they had the question like the back of their hand. And they thanked me for taking the time to walk them through it. 

Thanks to this feedback, I know I am on the right track with mentoring this person, and this makes my job easier. They think that they were the only one who stood to gain, but they are wrong. I learnt something too :).

 

*I remembered that sometime in the past, I was that kind of person that might have caused a lot of frustrations for my colleagues with the constant questions. If it wasn't for their patience in dealing with me, I wouldn't have been where I am right now. Always pay it forward!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:12:00 -0800 Homesick http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/homesick http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/homesick

I was talking to my father yesterday. He had just gotten back from a trip to Kannur. He was talking about our home there and the updates they've done.

Later last night, while recounting the conversation to my wife, I felt this overwhelming sense of homesickness. I wasn't missing Bangalore where I grew up and feel more at home because I know the language better and have a lot of friends there. I kept seeing flashes of myself relaxing in our home in Kannur; in my dad's house where he grew up, where we'd go as children during our mid term vacation; on the beach nearby; the lake near our home.

I also saw flashes of Nana and Nani (my maternal grandparents), of Ammamma (my paternal grandmother) and my uncles and aunts and cousins. All flashes of happy memories, of a more carefree time of my life. Of a time where I wasn't chained to a mobile phone or a laptop or a desk.

And then a sad realization washed them away. The realization that I'm no longer that carefree person anymore. I'm older, with more responsibilities. I may not be able to go back to being that carefree person anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I love my life. I enjoy being a husband, a father, I enjoy my job. But lately it seems like these things have taken over the real me.

Maybe I just need a vacation.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:42:46 -0800 Why no iPad app for Posterous http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/why-no-ipad-app-for-posterous http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/why-no-ipad-app-for-posterous So much screen real estate on the iPad. Sucks to have to use the iPhone app in 2x mode. I hope Posterous launches an iPad app soon.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sun, 06 Mar 2011 01:37:58 -0800 GTD http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/gtd http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/gtd Or getting things done. There are lots of apps and tools available for GTD, and I've tried a lot of them; outlook, Things, Remember the Milk and so on. But the one thing that always works for me is pen and paper. It's a lot easier to maintain than an app. I always have my notebook with me (while at work or at home) so referring to my list is easy.

• What I do is make a list with all items left pending from my previous list and add new tasks to that.

• Completed items get a tick against them, so they get ignored when the new list is made.

• Meeting notes are made on separate sheets; action items from the meeting are added to the running To Do list.

So far this has worked great for me, and until I can afford a secretary, I think this is what I'll continue to do.

Unless you, dear reader, have a better suggestion. I'd love to hear it.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran
Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:48:00 -0800 Hello world http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/hello-world http://nikhilbhaskaran.posterous.com/hello-world

Welcome to my blog, where I'll be writing about anything and everything that I fancy. Most of it is going to be about photography, cars, my complaints about traffic, food, my complaints about people, gadgets, etc. Hope you find something that you enjoy reading.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1066410/DSC_8885.jpg http://posterous.com/users/hdKDJWsEAJWX0 Nikhil Bhaskaran nikhilbhaskaran Nikhil Bhaskaran