What I learnt by Reading Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. He is the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. His novel The Alchemist has been translated into 80 language.^] Coelho has sold over 200 million copies worldwide and is the all-time bestselling Portuguese-language author.

My Humble Tribute to the Amazing writer...

Vacation for Food but don’t go for a Ride…

My favorite theme whenever is go for a Vacation is to go for the local cuisines and taste the flavors of the place. My wife sometimes chides me that I travel just for food. But who could miss the Dr. Shakshuka in Tel Aviv, Garlic Naan in India, Fried Halloumi Sandwich in Cyprus or Hot-Dog in New York. We have so many varieties of food available for all palates that it would be a crime, not to appreciate and taste them.

 While the vacation is kind on my food cravings, it’s not too kind on calories. It would be easily evident by the choice of my favorite foods in the countries; that I have scant regard to calories inside as long as they taste great. The idea is to enjoy the culinary experience of the place and be like a local.

 Also since it’s a vacation, the fitness regime of gym, goes for a toss. You either do not have for it or get too lazy after a great meal. J It’s a double whammy where you eat great food and don’t have time for exercise. I’m sure most of you also would have faced the same dilemma.

  The solution however is in 2 devices, One free and One under 100$
Google Maps and Fitbit Wristband

 I’m sure all of us have Google Maps in our Smart Phones. However, not many of us knows that it has a feature to “Go Local” inbuilt in the app. The “Go Local” feature allows us to check for directions using Local Transport and Walking instead of Cars. When travelling, I try to go with this option as much as possible.

Club the Google Maps “Go Local” feature with Fitbit Wristband and what you get is a full fitness regime. The sleek looking Wristband counts your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and stairs climbed.

 So the solution is to use public transport and walk as much as possible. Google Maps aid us with the directions and Wristband arms us with the data to ensure that we are doing enough. I try to go a step higher than the usual steps per day that I take. Usually 50% more steps than normal work day will do. This way, I feel less guilty about skipping the Gym and enjoying the gourmet food.

In the eternal battle between, “Eat to Live” and “Live to Eat”;
I’m on the “Live to Eat” side and proudly so. All the guilt pangs that come with it, are eradicated by my Vacation innovation shown above. So in your next Vacation, will you... “Eat to Live” and “Live to Eat”?

                                                                                              ~~Sanjay Ishwarlal Upadhyay

Amdocs -- AT&T Mobility Team -- Get to know us...

AT&T Mobility Get to know us...
An insight into us and our team in Amdocs..

 

 

 

Have a look when you find time :-) 

Telecom Innovation and ARK  Act of Random Kindness:

Telecom Innovation and ARK à Act of Random Kindness:

                Directed by Tom Shadyac, the movie Even Almighty have a completely new innovative look at the old concept of old age Noah’s Ark. Is Tom Shadyac’s outlook even relevant to us in the Telecom Business...? Do our Telecom Innovations also symbolize ARK à Act of Random Kindness? Interested? Read On…

       Last lazy Sunday I was watching the movie Evan Almighty… It’s not a new movie, been released in 2007, but it had all sort of animals so my son wanted to watch it.

I started watching it with no specific interest and then the fun started.

God (Morgan Freeman) contacts Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) and tells him to build an ark in preparation for a great flood. It’s an amazing movie made by two of my very favorite actors…. It’s a simple movie, where God asks (rather Forces) Evan to make the Ark which in turn saves the neighborhood. My son enjoyed it due to all the animals and I enjoyed it for the message.

What struck me is the end when God (Morgan Freeman), describes the meaning of the Ark used to save,
A à Act of
R à Random
K à Kindness

What a beautiful message in a comic movie with no major impact. I’m sure the movie passed without any awards or even recognition, But the message must not be let to pass. Why not have an ARK – Act of Random Kindness every-day.

And the ARK need not be major; it could be as simple as:

·         A smile to someone who works with you regularly
·         A compliment to someone
·         A good work completed diligently
·         Providing way for someone who is getting late
·         Helping someone stuck in work
·         Helping Out at Blossom
 

So how does it relate to what we do in telecom?

The Innovations we do can have long lasting impacts like
·         Banking the underprivileged
·         Connecting remote parts of the earth to loved ones
·         Learning over internet for inaccessible areas
·         Agriculture alerts to poor farmers in developing countries
·         Mobile Finance and Payments for inaccessible populations
 
The list goes on and I’m sure out small telecom Acts of Kindness à ARKs will go a long way in making this world a better place to be in J

                                                                                             ~~Sanjay Ishwarlal Upadhyay

Home Innovation -- How about 30 minutes of me time

How about 30 minutes of ‘me time’?

          In the current dynamic world of speed, getting sometime for oneself is a rarity, even more so when you have kids J . So when asked to think about Home & Kitchen Innovations, I thought I would list the simplest yet the most effective arrangement I have at home. One which allows 30 minutes of ‘me time’ daily... Interested??? Read On…

          The biggest obstacle to have time for yourself is when you have kids. I have a toddler of 4 years and I can assure you he does not leave me even for 5 minutes. He even watches his favorite cartoon sitting on my lap.J You can never compromise on such a great time you are having, however from time to time you need a solace for yourself.

          The easiest is to give the Kids; TV or mobile and have them watch their favorite shows. This is a temporary solution for 5-10 minutes. As soon as TV starts showing advertisements or YouTube shows Ads, you are back to square one. Mobile and Tablet has an additional issue of them clicking the ads or other buttons which distracts them further.

          So what is the solution? It’s simple and no rocket science.

ChromeCast comes to the rescue and it’s done in below steps

1.   Connect ChromeCast to your TV

2.   Setup ChromeCast to connect to your Wi-Fi and your Smart Phone

3.   Setup YouTube playlist with whatever your kids like, e.g. Nursery Rhymes, Doreamon, and Mickey Mouse Club House.

4.   Project YouTube via Chromecast to you TV

5.   Now Relax and control what all you Kids can watch

Some distinct advantages:

1.   TV is better than mobile/tablet when it comes to watching

2.   Full control of what they watch, forward Ads, disturbing scenes, etc.

3.   No possibility of channel changing/buttons pressing as Phone stays with you.

I must admit, the setup has given me the solace I so much crave for in my daily life. I’m also guilty on sneaking in some study items like number rhymes, etc. in between the shows.

Overall, my Home Innovation is not a great break-though. Some of you may also have it ready at home. But it has successfully give me 30 minutes of ‘me time’ daily. Would you like to give it a try too???

         

                                                                   ~~Sanjay Ishwarlal Upadhyay

Movie Innvovations -- From Connected Cars to Bioports

From Touchpad Car to Bio-ports --> Journey of Fiction to Reality

          Who does not have a fascination of James Bond Gadgets growing up? I too for fascinated with all the top gadgets and cars that were used. My craze for the Austin Martins grew after Aston Martin DB5 which was used in “Tomorrow Never Dies”, way back in 1997.

          I think that car chase in “Tomorrow Never Dies” is the best car chase ever in the world. In 1997, where even a mobile phone was a rarity in more than half of the world, James Bond had a Touchpad Car taking commands from the mobile phone. Driving, Firing and even Drifting was at the touch of a button was amazing. So now in 2015, are we any closer to the reality?

          I would say a ”Yes”, and proudly being a part of it is us at Amdocs along with AT&T offering the connected cars to the world. Our small step in the right direction, will revolutionize the way we see cars driven in the future. Android Auto already provides a way for Android smartphones to connect to car infotainment systems. Connected Cars are now taking advantage of the rise of smartphones, apps are available to interact with the car from any distance.

Users can now unlock their cars, check the status of batteries on electric cars, find the location of the car, or remotely activate the climate control system with their smart phones. A step further and I’m sure we’ll see Bond like Touch-pad ready to Drive the Aston Martin away from the bad guys, or Call it to the gate of the Mall, so that you need not walk two aisles with shopping bags or Bring up the car to the reception from 2^nd floor of the car park in office, or sneak out quietly for your guys night out ;-)

          Another idea which I am fully fascinated with is Bio-ports, Bio-Ports are computer port installed on the back of the head as shown in The Matrix series of films. It allows you to do cool things like instantly download expert kung fu skills, learn how to drive a helicopter, and so on. Initially in The Matrix the bio-ports were installed by intelligent machines which used them to keep humans enslaved in a simulated reality, later they were used as a weapon to free the mind.

We have a step in this direction for Bio-ports, with Samsung doing Demo for a Tablet Controlled by Your Brain in April 2013. But it’s controlled by a big audacious helmet and not a port. Nevertheless a step in the right direction. The technology still has a way to go before everyone is plugging computers into their spines to download skills they want or even play a hyper-realistic video game as in eXistenZ.

          So when asked, If I had seen something awesome in a movie that you’d like to bring to life, it’s the Touchpad Car and Bio-ports. Touchpad Car maybe a reality in the next decade. Elegant Bio-ports however seems like a long way to go. But who knows, nobody knew cars could be mobile controlled in 1997, I’m sure future as always never cease to surprise us!!!

                                                ~~Sanjay Ishwarlal Upadhyay

11 Office Politics Lessons from Chanakya

          Chanakya (was an Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. He authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra (Economics). As such,
he is considered as the pioneer of the field of political science and economics
in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to classical
economics.

          Originally a professor of economics and political science at the ancient university of
Taxila, Chanakya managed the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta's rise to power
at a young age. He is widely credited for having played an important role in
the establishment of the Maurya Empire, which was the first empire in
archaeologically recorded history to rule most of the Indian subcontinent.
Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both Chandragupta and his son
Bindusara.

Let's see what we can learn from him about Office
Politics...

View the compilation below and put your views too :-)

Leadership Quotes from Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television
series created for HBO by showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.
R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is titled A Game of
Thrones. It premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17,
2011.

Game of Thrones has attracted record numbers of viewers
on HBO and obtained an exceptionally broad and active international fan base.
It has received widespread acclaim by critics, although its frequent use of
nudity, violence and sexual violence has attracted criticism. The series has
won 26 Emmy Awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama
Series in 2015—when it set a record for most wins for a series in a single
year.

The series, set on the fictional continents of Westeros
and Essos interweaves several plot lines with a broad ensemble cast. The first
narrative arc follows a civil war among several noble houses for the Iron
Throne of the Seven Kingdoms; the second covers the attempts of the exiled last
scion of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty to reclaim the throne; the third
chronicles the rising threat of the impending winter and the legendary
creatures and fierce peoples of the North.

 



I've combined the quotes form the series which have
Leadership value into the presentation video below..



Have a Look... N'joi and send comments too :-)

On 1st April -- April Fool's day

When entire world is busy in fooling every other person;

Being a friend I take this opportunity to wish a Happy New Indian Financial Year 2016-17.

 May your Income reach New Heights and you prosper in all the ventures taken up this year. :-)

N'joi the day :-)

Calvin And Hobbes Speaks The Truth About Life

—Bill Watterson’s Calvin
And Hobbes is one of the best comic strips ever created

—This 6 year old boy and his
stuffed-toy-to-the-ignorant-eye tiger friend have been amusing us with their
epic pranks, witty banters and unadulterated wisdom, ever since they took birth
in 1985.

—There have been times when Calvin
and Hobbes have given us the much needed dose
of reality check, often in ways we didn’t expect.

 

Check out how Calvin And Hobbes Speak The Truth About Life

30 Ways to Offend Your Toddler

 Apparently, when it comes to toddlers, if you want to avoid offending them
it's best to avoid a much broader spectrum of subjects like: food, weather, clothing, books, colors, animals, physical activity, rules to games, how they are feeling... basically anything can offend a toddler.
You are never safe, pretty much. Consider yourself warned. You may offend a toddler if you...

Read on the items how You may offend a toddler, I read them on the Website listed below:

1) Present them with merely one option at meal time.
2) Ask them to wash dirt off their hands.
3) Do not know the exact lyrics to every nursery rhyme ever created.
4) Look at them.
5) Don't look at them.
6) Ask them to wipe their nose with a tissue rather than their sleeve.
7) Tell them they are not allowed to play with knives.
8) Limit them to taking less than five stuffed animals in the car.
9) Imply that a nap would make them less cranky.
10) Do not recognize that the yellow and black crayon marks were actually a picture of a cloud.
11) Suggest that they might be using too much glitter.
12) Decline their "help" folding clothes.
13) Mention that bedtime is sometime in the near future.
14) Refer to a Disney or Nick Jr. character by the wrong name.
15) Do not know the rules to a game they just made up.
16) Call them by their name when they clearly stated that they were being a dog that day.
17) Blink while they're showing you something.
18) Yawn in their presence.
19) Not clap loud enough after they poop.
20) Give them water that is "too wet."
21) Pick up food that they threw on the floor.
22) Insist they wear clean underwear.
23) Tell them not to lick the floor.
24) Give the "wrong" graham cracker at snack time.
25) Refuse to let them pull down your shirt in a crowded store.
26) Tell them they can't wear the Newborn Onesie they found in the back of the closet.
27) Do not let them eat Styrofoam.
28) Refuse to let them fart on your arm.
29) Are unable to make the sun less bright.
30) Smile at them when they are not in the mood to smile.

Original Post at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brooke-arellano/30-ways-to-offend-your-toddler_b_7481000.html?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000175&te=ScaryMommy 

Salute to the Indian Army

Now is the time... After Pathankot Attacks...
Salute to the Indian Army!!
with "Aaarmbh hai prachand" from movie Gulal