Power of Choice

I have always been a staunch supporter of choice. I have felt that it is better to educate people and let them make the choice rather than push it on to us like we are kids. Previous post title Grow up here

However, as per Psychologist Barry Schwartz this might not be the best idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6XEQIsCoM

Another blog post that I came across was on the freakonomics blog on whether it is better for the Government to behave like a Kind mother or a Big Brother here

What do you guys think?

Spamming by so-called MBA Colleges

In a recent discussion among friends I heard that a lot of them were getting sms's / emails from second and third rung colleges from last years admission process. Several of them have their numbers on the national Do Not Disturb registry. (You can check if your number is on the DND registry here )

I find this trend disturbing. I have also noticed sites where their terms and conditions state that they can send sms's even if registered under DND. While most people do not really read the terms and conditions, I find that a lot of people are still being spammed without consent.

I was given to believe that there exists a market for people's personal information. Email addresses and Cell phone numbers are being bought by colleges / agents and are used to harass students. Authorities are reluctant to crack down since it is not worth their time.

What can we do to make it worth their time? A protest fast at Jantar Mantar manages to grab eyeballs but is difficult to organize. Thus I have an idea for our media folks. Can you get a separate cell phone number and email address and register for the CAT in November 2011? The total cost would be about Rs 2000 (SIM + Registration). The total time investment would be about 10 hours (Register the sim, create and email address, obtain the CAT form, give the exam, etc). However, at the end of July 2012 you have a full page story with a lot of hard facts. Any body interested?

Facebook's Zuckerberg now richer than Google founders - No. Not Really

A friend posted this on FaceBook today.

Zuckerberg now richer than Google founders

A quick Google search showed me that almost all the news papers were running this story (Money Control, Times of India, The Hindu, Business Today etc). It being a lazy Sunday morning I decided to do some math on it and it went as follows

If GSV bought 225k shares at $29.28 that is hardly an investment of 7 million. To say that this implies the company is worth 70 Billion is just a play with numbers. It means that because I bought 0.009% of the company at that price I am willing to pay that much for the full 100%.

Facebook is not publicly traded. So using the premium that someone might have paid to obtain shares can hardly be used to justify the price for the remaining 99.991% of the company.

Anyway, Going further into Price to Earnings ratio's I found that it is now beinghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif dubbed the Tech Bubble 2.0 since they are trading at a P/E ratio of over 100+ when the average P/E should hover around 20. More details are present at this NASDAQ story

I have to also add that the $2 billion in revenue is again just a estimate. Is it an estimate like the $70 billion worth of the company or is it more solid? I do not know.

With Google+ Being launched, GSV may end up being the poster boy for the slogan there is a sucker born every minute.

New Year Resolutions

One of the forums I visit regularly had a long post on New Year Resolutions. It does seem pretty similar to the Wikipedia entry for New Year resolutions. (Links below)

Anway, After going through it I feel that I should update my blog more often. (Possibly once a week). Considering that I usually watch a movie or two over the weekend, there should be enough food for thought.

What are your New Year Resolutions?

http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/chit-chat-your-interests/61047-whats-your-new-years-resolution.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year_Resolution

A New Year's resolution or a commitment is done to make your new year a better one. If someone makes resolutions to reform a habit, then there are people who want to make changes in their lifestyle. These promises are made on New Year's Day, the first day of a brand new year. These resolutions are supposed to be either fulfilled or abandoned by the end of that year.

The list of resolutions in New Year never ends. Different people come up with thousands of innovative resolutions every year. Some remain abandoned, while some get fulfilled. The New Year resolutions help plan for the next year.

These resolutions made during the New Year have a religious connotation. This secular tradition started during Judaism's New Year, Rosh Hashanah, when one was supposed "to reflect upon one's wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness." This ritual helped in one's self-improvement annually. Following this tradition, today everyone makes their own resolution every New Year, be it on the 1st of January or by late January, and set their goals.

Megamind (3D)

One line review - Watch in 2D if you like witty one liners and don't mind cartoons.

Long Review: I ended up watching this by accident. However, I was pleasantly suprised at the movie story. There are well written dialogues and sequences. 3D hardly makes an impression. There are hardly two or three sequences that actually make you realize that it is a 3D movie.

Not for the faint of heart

I got a complete shock when I opened Money Control just now. Market Crash of 17000 points?



It took me a few minutes to read the +150 points headline and the realization to dawn that circuit breakers would have halted trade for the day.

The Karate Kid

Watch Karate Kid only if
- You are a Jackie Chan fan and will watch even his worst movies
- You want to see capitalism at its best. Pay money (Producer) to have your son play the lead role.
Utterly disappointed to say the least