Mayank Misra

Forbes.com Mobile Reader story - How To Build A Powerful Professional Network

Great article on networking at work. Ref: Forbes.com

It is important to know the two Q's as you build out your network: quality and quantity. But have you considered the importance of having a well-rounded network?

In this job market, having a strong network is critical to your professional survival. There are plenty of tips and articles on where to find people, how and when to connect to them and even what you need to say to attract and maintain your network. This article focuses on who should be in your network.

Here are the top 10 people that should be in your network:
"How To Build A Powerful Professional Network"

See also, " Work In Progress--Talk for Women Who Mean Business "

Asia's Top Golfers

How To Rejoin The Workforce After A Long Break

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First day of summer. Here is to a fun filled east coast summer... here's to the great outdoors, camps, road trips,fireworks, BBQ, swimming, tennis, tall cold cocktails and summer hours at work ;)

First day of summer. Here is to a fun filled east coast summer... here's to the great outdoors, camps, road trips,fireworks, BBQ, swimming, tennis, tall cold cocktails and summer hours at work ;) -If the dutch win fifa that'll be that perfect dash in my Mojito
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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Jaisal being driven around downtown Stamford - Bedford promenade

--Mayank

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Bomb squad downtown Stamford CT

--Mayank

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Stamford Alive@five schedule is out includes Soul Asylum, Marcy Playground: http://tinyurl.com/29ssky8

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Forbes.com - How Facebook Ruined My Career

Must read for all FB users who work for the man:

Forbes article: "How Facebook Ruined My Career"

With 400 million registered users, Facebook is a great place to find a job. For more than a few cavalier souls, it's a great place to lose one, too.

By now you'd think folks would know what to let fly on Facebook and what to keep to themselves. Not so.

"Common sense is a good guide here, but people can be so taken by the novelty of these sites that they forget there are consequences to posting the wrong thing," says Kerry Ryan, a litigation attorney with Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rogers in Boston. Ryan specializes in disputes between companies and former employees--and he's seeing more and more bad situations kindled by poor judgment online.
Video:

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Two income, kids and few hrs of family time - why it may not be a good idea

Why we have decided that only one of us will work: "All The Richer For Staying Home"

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Great insight into where China Gov Inc is investing. 'Ten Myths on China' a must read.

Forbes.com:  "Tracking Where China Invests"

The People's Republic of China will be among the world's largest investors for a long time to come. Its official foreign exchange reserves are closing in on $2.5 trillion and its financial institutions hold hundreds of billions more. The bulk of this investment is in U.S. Treasuries and other U.S. government securities, but those bonds serve more as places to park the money than as valuable assets. To the extent it can, China over the next decade will increasingly seek to divert its horde of dollars and euros to nonbond investments at home and abroad.

ALSO:  (See "Ten Myths About China." ) The data are also not useful in evaluating where the money is going: Beijing's statisticians say that two-thirds of Chinese outward investment is into Hong Kong, but most of that money is merely routed through Hong Kong on its way elsewhere.

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Tharoor exit: almost certain

There is a reason why good people avoid it like a plague. Still, from time to time, folks like Shashi Tharoor get into the ring with the intent to make a difference. Here is a person who could have easily become a lobbyist in Washington DC and remained a person with global influence. He choose to go back to India however, to do good at the grass roots, to change the body politic from within and be part of an India that he idealizes in his many books.
It seems even a career diplomat like him is no match for the hand to hand combat politics prevalent in India today. I am not sure in the merit of recent allegations. No matter which we you slice the current controversy, in a final assessment its in India and Karnataka favor to have Shashi Tharoor as their representative.
I think Oscar Wilde said it best "we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars". In a sea of dishonest politicians, Shashi will in the end do more for India.
I hope he survives this.

Tharoor exit: Not if, but when?

via NDTV News - India on 4/17/10

It’s now almost certain that Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor will not survive the Kochi-IPL controversy. Sources have told NDTV that Tharoor’s exit is only a matter of time after allegations that he had misused his authority to help his friend Sunanda Pushkar get 'free' equity worth 70 crores in the Kochi franchise.

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Blistering heat in North India with Delhi at 52-year high 43.7 Celsius (110 ºF)

I was in India in March and the heat was already high. It was impossible to get anything done outside between 10am and 6pm. If this is the way it is in spring, I am sure there'll be many causalities this summer. NDTV is reporting temperatures of 110 degrees F now.

North India boils, Delhi temperature at 52-year high

via NDTV News - India on 4/17/10

North India remained in the grip of blistering heat on Saturday with the mercury soaring to a 52-year high for the month of April in the national capital. Shimla too recorded the highest temperature in over a decade. Heat wave threw normal life out of gear in the national capital with the mercury shooting up to 43.7 degree Celsius.

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A Better Way To Store Data

A case against tape backup - or more of a case for CDC on HDD ;)

FROM FORBES.COM

"A Better Way To Store Data"

Tape storage has been around for decades and is showing its age. Tape stretches, breaks, unravels, and all of it needs to be loaded by hand. But it's also cheap, and the cost of migrating it to magnetic storage has been prohibitive in the past. So what's changed?

Forbes caught up with Bill Andrews, president and chief executive of ExaGrid, to talk about deduplication of data and why many companies are now swapping tape for low-cost disk drives.

See Also:

Is Multiprocessing Possible?

Outsourcing Core Compentencies

Oracle-Sun Creating Churn

Hewlett-Packard's Mark Hurd: He Wants It All

Virtualization's Disaster Plan

Infrastructure

Reading this on your BlackBerry? Try the Forbes.com Mobile Reader now by clicking http://reader.forbes.com.

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Obama's Data Visionary

In Tufte we trust (at least for data visualization) - Obama taps Edward Tufte to track Recovery Act spend data

FROM FORBES.COM

"Obama's Data Visionary"

Edward Tufte

Before Edward Tufte came along, no one would have suspected that "data visualization rock star" could be a job description.

But Tufte's seminal, self-published 1982 book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information has become the bible for graphic design in every medium from newspapers to corporate reports, focusing on what Tufte calls "intense clarity": displaying as much data as clearly and honestly as possible.

Since then he's traveled the country spreading his graphical gospel, and written three other books, most of which can be found on the shelf of any graphic designer who still consumes words and images on paper. (If you recognize graphs like this and this , thank Tufte for digging them up and popularizing them.)

President Obama, it turns out, is a Tufte fan too. Earlier this month the administration announced that Tufte would join the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, tasked with tracking the distribution of the $787 billion economic stimulus package Congress passed in 2009. Tufte's assignment: to make Recovery.gov an easily readable Web site, even while quantitatively tracking hundreds of individual stimulus projects around the country.

To read more of Andy Greenberg's stories, click here . Contact the writer at .

Check out Forbes' new Security blog, The Firewall .

See Also:

Tame Your Data

Microsoft's Data Play

3-D Movie Stars

Alpha Geek Cory Doctorow Attacks iPad, Defends Mom

Developer: It's Easier Building Apps For The iPad Than The iPhone

Technology

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Why Predictive Analytics Is A Game-Changer

Predictive Analytics taking center stage as more andd more organizations mature in BICC

FROM FORBES.COM

"Why Predictive Analytics Is A Game-Changer"

In a tough global economy, sloppy decision making and "going with your gut" can get you punished--swiftly. That's why leading companies are increasingly turning to a new management discipline called predictive analytics to compete and thrive. Rather than relying on intuition when pricing products, maintaining inventory or hiring talent, managers are using data, analysis and systematic reasoning to improve efficiency, reduce risk and increase profits.

In simple terms analytics means using quantitative methods to derive insights from data, and then drawing on those insights to shape business decisions and, ultimately, improve business performance. Thus predictive analytics is emerging as a game-changer. Instead of looking backward to analyze "what happened?" predictive analytics help executives answer "What's next?" and "What should we do about it?"

Dave Rich is managing director at Accenture Analytics and Jeanne G. Harris is executive research fellow at Accenture Institute for High Performance .

See Also:

Making Data Work For You

Who Is In Charge Of Your Data?

Wowd: Searching The Darkness

Data-Driven Companies

FICO's Lead In Virtualization

Technology

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Talk to people you can't stand. - 9 tips from Forbes

Good advice: http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/29/talking-to-people-you-cant-stand-entrepreneu...?
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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The Immortals of MELUHA - Book 1 of the Shiva trilogy from Amish Tripathi

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Around Delhi

--Mayank

   

Click here to download:

Around_Delhi.zip (890 KB)

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Mughal Emperor Humayun's tomb

--Mayank

       

Click here to download:

Mughal_Emperor_Humayuns_tomb.zip (1073 KB)

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Chandani Chowk - Delhi

--Mayank

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Chandani Chowk - Delhi

--Mayank

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Chandani Chowk - Delhi

As you can see my hands were shaking after reading all the tasty treats on the menu. ;)

--Mayank

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Chandni chowk - Delhi

Took the metro to Chandnichowk for some good old chat, paratha's and kabobs. --Mayank

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Qutub minar - Delhi

--Mayank

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Qutub minar - Delhi

--Mayank

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Servants and gunmen not allowed at the pool :) - Delhi Gymkhana

--Mayank

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Call for your car - self service @ Delhi Gymkhana

--Mayank

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Jaisal on the merry-go-round

--Mayank

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If Congress party in coalition can - why can't the Dems in majority can't in US?

The women's bill raises the reservation to 33% for all lower, upper legislative seats. It still has to go through another round of deliberation but the chances are good that the bill will become law. This time the anti-quota activists are raising unfounded fear that this bill will dilute representation from the Muslim and other minorities (who have a percent of seats reserved).
In India, no party can win a majority unless they win the minority vote (of which there are many and thin segments). An anti minority allegation is very powerful. Even more so when a party is governing through collation with many small parties. Hats off to Congress for making a stand on vision and not for short term gains. If Congress governing through coalition in India can push a controversial bill through - why can't the Dems in majority do the same with the health care bill in US?
--Mayank

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Bahenji and bahi giri?

--Mayank

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Leaving lucknow

--Mayank

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Kakdi - for the uninitiated

Kakdi is like cucumber. You can eat it on-the-go by tabbing in rock salt. --Mayank

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Jaisal with sunglasses

--Mayank

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Chai in a kuladha aka earthen/recyclable/ zero foot-print cups for the tree huggers

--Mayank

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Pakodi and Chai on the way to Varanasi - Vindhyachal

--Mayank

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Visit to Namisharanya - birthplace of Vedas

Went to Namisharanya today.  This is where Veda Vyasa wrote most of the vedas and puranas. There are many places of mythological importance to Hindus.  Some prominent ones include Lalita Devi temple, Hnuman Garhi, and charkra teeratha. 
Namisharanya is a small town in the district of Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh. It is on the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway No-24 - sbout 90 minutes form Lucknow.  Special thanks to Pandit Rajnikanth ji for taking us around and for his hospitality.
More on Namish here if you are interested. 

--Mayank

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Holi hai :)

--Mayank

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Jog at Lohia park Lucknow, India

--Mayank

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$3 meal for two :) @ DEL airport

--Mayank

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Welcome to India

The Maharaja --Mayank

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Samosa and Chai :)

--Mayank

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Incredible INDIA

:)
--Mayank
(w) 212 733 9503 || (c) 347 702 2225
-----------------------------

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Stamford YMCA nears completion - Opening March 23rd

The "city that works" will soon have a working YMCA.  Another good step to revitalize the Stamford downtown.  Stamford Family YMCA gets facelift.  The March 23rd launch will open a new lobby, cardio center, locker rooms and a refinished gym.
Since we moved to Stamford a few years ago, we have been anxiously awaiting the renovations to complete .  We need a more affordable fitness facility in Stamford.  Speaking from personal experience, the NYSC, LA Fitness and Stamford Athletic Club have stringent exit clauses in their contracts and are not cost effective for a family membership.  I hope the Y will have an affordable family plan for the health club services.    

--Mayank

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Avatar - Cool CGI / 3D, weak story - waiting for a prequal

I know as soon as this hits the eithers, I'll be inundated with emails on how I missed the point on Avatar.  Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the movie.  This is probably the first real shot at making 3D more main stream.  The visual impact is stunning. 
I loved how the movie brings together escoteric concepts like the Gia hypothesis = Eywa, neural networks, singularity and social organism.  The CGI, 3D composition and the seamless way the frames moved between the real and the animated is worth an Oscar. 

I don't think the movie will be applauded for its story though.  The plot is weak.   Only after a few minutes into the movie one is broadly aware of the way the story will unfold.  The mythology was sparse too.  The movie could have used some background themes on how the planet came to be the way it did or a bit of history on the indigenous people.  The music is ok.  Not too impressed by the chants and the theme song. 

After a while the neon blue and neon pink started to get to me.  Kept feeling I was watching Cameron's interpretations of his psychedelic dreams. 

I am sure there will be an Avatar 2.  I hope its a prequal or a sequal that gives enough time to the mythological angles.  Will I watch it again?  Absalutly.  Why?  beacuse this is probaly one o those movies that wgets recognized as a watershead moment in the history of movie making.

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TOI guide to spotting single women - really funny

Love google for sometimes connecting the dots in surprising ways.  I was looking for an old article in TOI and the key words fetched a hit with a page summery that had " "She's full of eye contact" and "Touches your arm or leg subtly".  Obviously my curiosity was kindled.  :)

Seems TOI has a section on Relationships and this is from a guide for single men
You have to read it to believe it. 

I can't believe that the Times Of India bastion of News in India has come to this.  Some tips
Some other articles in this section "How To Attract Women - How Quickly Do You Want To Attract Hot Women Begging To Be With You! : PuaTraining.com?Attract_Women"

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Shop around for your Electricity

Old man winter is shifting into high gear.  Tis the season to be merry and wise.  Don't leave the Xmas lights on  all night.  Rudolph's nose will guide Saint Nick to the naughty and nice. 

Save on electricity by dong some comparative shopping as well.  We switched our electricity supplier to Energy Plus with the Green Option. Up to 12% of our energy will come from wind power.  If you are in CT / NY - use this link to compare and switch. 

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Food Inc - watch it if you live in the west

Watched Food Inc. If you read 'the omnivores dilemma' then already
know of the CORNucopia in our malls. Watch this documentary to see
it. The visuals made it really hit home.
Need to find a local farm where I can actually see what they are doing.

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Wireless electricity is here

David Colker of LA Times is reporting on a Massachusetts company's
plan to market wireless electricity 'WiTricity in 18 months to power
lights, televisions, computers. It will even power your electric car.
I for one don't want to be around if there is a short circuit.
Read more at the 'All Things Digital' section of LA times.

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One stop shop for the latest on social media

Guy's AllTop has a subdomain just for social media - check it out http://clickz.alltop.com/

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Mobile NEWS delivery > TimesSkimmer for NYTimes - WSJ Mobile Reader for Wall Street Journal

The print media as a whole and newspapers in particular are finding revenues depleting in this tough economy.  A cyclic downturn in the print industry coupled by being at the cusp of a new era in the way we consume news, is not helping sales either.  Finding a new way to generate revinue has become an existential threat. 

As they say necessity is the mother of all inventions, NYTimes and Blackberry have partnered on the TimesSkimmer that delivers NYT news to you in seven ways.  I think the WSJ Mobile Reader, which is now subscription based, was the first rally usable news reader (not counting icon - shortcuts) and still remains a leader.   

I don't have a iPhone nor do I see myself or my company making the switch till MS Outlook/Exchange enterprise email is supported.  It looks like the two readers are for Blackberry only. 

Humm... Is there an App for that? :)

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Remembering Bhopal - 25 years later

Check out 'the big picture' from Boston Globe and 'the frame' from
sacramento Bee on pictures on Bhopal.
Union Carbide is still around. If this had happened in the US, the
lawsuits would have put them out of business

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Copyright your photographs

Copyright is the best defence against anyone using your photograph commercially without your permission.  Copyright registration is electronic now and can be done in bulk.  Some links:

Photography IP Attorney

A guide to completing your copyright registration

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