Archive for August, 2005

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish

Monday, August 29th, 2005

Seth Godin points to the transcript of the commencement address of Apple CEO Steve Jobs to graduating Stanford students: http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505
(I actually read most of it in the latest edition of Fortune magazine).
It’s a nice reminder — connect the dots, ask questions and don’t settle unless you find the right answers.
Other interesting bytes:
1. You’ve got to find what you love.
2. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. (Don’t be trapped by dogma

India Independence Day 2005: On the streets of Fremont, CA

Thursday, August 25th, 2005

The City of Fremont, California celebrated India’s 58th Independence day. I was just in time to catch a glimpse of Bollywood actress, Urmila Matondkar, the grand marshal for the parade. Unfortunately, I could not get a vantage point for a nice picture of her. Here are couple of other pictures.
I think this one is Fremont mayor, Gus Morrison. Not 100% sure though.

The Orissa float

For Urmila’s pics, go to Google image gallery (if you really need to see some of her pictures) 🙂

Peet’s Coffee’s Garuda Blend

Thursday, August 11th, 2005

Found this unique coffee name, Garuda Blend, while shopping (no, not for me, I drink the instant kind). Garuda Blend is by Peet’s Coffee. As per Hindu mythology, Garuda, the eagle bird, is the mount of the Hindu god, Vishnu.
Reads Peet’s Coffee’s website, “…Anyone who likes Indonesian coffees will appreciate Garuda Blend’s well-balanced flavor. It is named for the great bird that carries the Hindu god Vishnu, guardian of the world.”

Fake Louis Vuittons at Hong Kong

Thursday, August 4th, 2005

I had some time in hand after wrapping up work at Hong Kong early this week. There was nothing much to do, so, accompanied a colleague to Mong Kok area of Hong Kong to test our bargaining skills. Last I remember haggling was over a few kilograms of onions some 10 years ago, in a small street vegetable market. United States is different — 1. You go to a store 2. Choose what you like; check if it has a markdown or not 3. Swipe the card and then drive back home.
Mong Kok’s Tung Choi street, or fondly called “Ladies Market” by the locals, is full of cheap (read, imitation/fakes) goods for women viz. clothing, watches, hand bags, etc. You can safely get the right price by starting at 30%-40% of the asking price and moving up in notches, while the seller comes down in notches, too.
Louis Vuitton. The luxury leather designer surprised me here. Fakes of major designer brands like Prada, Gucci, etc. were being sold openly, except for Louis Vuitton. The modus operandi in this case was different:

  1. Choose a Louis Vuitton deisgner wear from one of innumerable catalogues lying around in the shop. Some “shops” had cut-outs of hand bags on their “walls”.
  2. Let the shop owner know that you are interested in one of the Louis Vuittons. He will tell you that all the items for the said brand are at a different place and one can go there to have a look without obligation. If the shop owner sees fear on your face he will quickly tell you that there are other tourists there…Don’t worry. We did not, as HKG has a very low crime rate. Anyway, it was worth taking a chance.
  3. Follow a local guy through narrow streets and alley, finally leading into a small room in an apartment behind multiple iron doors on the 14th (maybe different for each of the