Yahoo!

Yahoo! The exclamation mark there is as much for emphasis as it is part of my new workplace's name and culture. I started work at Yahoo! today.

I couldn't figure if Obama / Clinton was more popular than Yahoo! / Microsoft today.

There is free latte.

Update: Saturday, 05/03, after 4:30pm. Definitely Yahoo! / Microsoft is more popular now.

Leaving The Emerald Towers Of Oracle

After nearly 7 years in Oracle, today is my last day of work here. It has been a great ride. This is my first job out of grad school. So obviously I have learnt a lot here -- a lot about American corporate environment and a lot about writing large scale business applications. My time at Oracle spanned across Oracle Exchange, iProcurement, Purchasing and Receivables teams and it has indeed been an incredibly rewarding experience. Working in PO and AR has given me invaluable exposure to both the buy and the sell sides of business.

I have also learnt a lot how big software development companies are run effectively. Oracle Apps seem to be run in a very lean and mean way. Resources are mostly utilized to their fullest. There is minimal wasteful expenditure, at least in the engineering and development organizations. Can't speak of sales and marketing though. Ha! I have heard rumors that Oracle sales guys sometimes have very lavish parties. Never seen it actually. Never in dev orgs.

Larry Ellison: So Near Yet So Far

My lament is that I could never meet our celebrity CEO Larry. He is never seen in the RWS campus, like you know, strolling around or something. But tales abound about people running into him and his bodyguards in the 500 building elevators. The closest I have come to Larry was once during his Open World keynotes in the Moscone Center when I got the first row seat. He is shorter than I had imagined.

I once wrote an email to him when I completed 6 years here. I requested a 1-on-1 with him. You know, regular business. Never got a reply. Hmph.

HQ Campus Cafes

The cafes are great. I really like 300 and 400. The 300 cafe has an Italian section for pasta, pizza and lasagna, a grill section for fresh fish like salmon, mahi mahi, etc. and also a salad counter. I liked the spinach salad "with everything". And it has a cafe which is open late afternoons. So 300 is a popular hang out for coffee drinkers during the 3:00pm hours. The 400 cafe has a grill with burgers and quesadillas, a self-serve section for salads and sandwiches and another section which serves exotic delicacies like pot pies served with cheese and macaroni on the side. Yum.

The Gymnasium

The gym is a sprawling facility. It has an indoor basketball court, an outdoor beach volleyball court, a full size lap pool, lots of treadmills and other strength and cardio equipments. Also a couple of ping-pong tables. The gym hosts a lot of activities year round. It hosts summer and winter leagues for volleyball, ping-pong, basketball, badminton, etc. And miscellaneous events like the Health Fair. And it runs classes for yoga and aerobics and such like. And there is massage facility too. Never utilized.

I have been part of the winning team once for the indoor volleyball recreational league. It was a memorable win. And once we were runners up in beach volleyball. Again recreational league. Just to be clear, there are 3 levels -- recreational, intermediate and competitive. So you know where recreational stands. And I have been a runner up in the competitive ping-pong league once. Doubles with Ben Ao. It was a great win when we beat the favorites in the semi-finals.

Lake Larry

The main lagoon in front of the HQ buildings is fondly known as Lake Larry. It is customary to take a walk around it after finishing up the lunch. The path has recently been widened which makes it easy to avoid bumping into the very many pregnant ladies that love to finish their quota of the prescribed daily dose of walk around Lake Larry. So much better now.

Anyways Dude, What's Next?

So I wanted to learn more about how the products that I develop in Financials and Procurement, are actually being used by our customers. How is life on the other side of the table? What are the issues in real business scenarios? And so on. I got this opportunity to be part of a big lovable company and work in their Corporate IT team, where they use Oracle Apps. I like the new role and the new company and decided it was time to explore new frontiers. So here I am at a very important point of time in my life. My last day at Oracle is today.

I am going to Yahoo! tomorrow.

The Model-View-Controller (MVC) Song

MVC is a design pattern now heavily used as part of the base architecture in many business applications. For non-software folks, the phrase 'Model-View-Controller' may be as unintelligible as it can get. But for all the software developers out there, it is not less than the Holy Grail. And a really important topic for job interviews. Yes, really.

So to find a song written on this topic is quite amusing. I found it here in Peteris Krumins’ blog. The YouTube video shows a geeky Apple engineer, James Dempsey, singing this song in their worldwide developer convention in 2003. Here are portions of the lyrics that I found interesting:

Controller’s know the Model and View very
uahh - intimately
They often are hardcoding
which is very verboten for reusability.
But now you can connect any value you select
to any view property.
And I think you’ll start binding,
then you’ll be finding less code in your source tree.
Yeah I know I was astounded,
that’s not even a rhyme.

He looks a bit awkward and the guitar strumming could be better. And yes, sometimes it does not even rhyme. Yet, I still like the whole idea of this rendition. But again, an M-V-C song, come on... what next? A song on Ruby on Rails anyone?

Cell Phones Leapfrog Drinking Water

I recently had an opportunity to travel to our native village Naithana in Garhwal, which is in the state of Uttarakhand in India. This is a tiny remote village with a population of less than 100 people in the hills of Himalayas in northern part of India. I had been there just once before when I was 6 years old and only had faint recollections of the place.

This time I had a very different experience. The village has dilapidated even more. The houses are in ruins. All this because of the one-way migration from villages to cities. My father's family migrated out 46 years ago. No one ever goes back there. Our ancestral house, which was quite palatial at one time, is now totally disintegrated. In Hindi language, we have one word to describe it -- khandhar.

No Water Supply For 2 Days

The village does not have drinking water reliably supplied to the houses. Although the water pipes have been laid out to some houses, the supply is erratic at best. I was there for a couple of days, and the taps had been dry for over two days they told me. So the people living there had to fall back to plan B -- fetch water from the natural spring water sources that surround the village. That is what they had been doing for generations, so actually it was not much of a plan B for them. It was more of a plan A prime, I suppose. They do not expect 24x7 running water in the taps at home.

I did not expect much signs of progress in this village. In the morning, we were going to the water spring outside the village. You know, for the shower. On the way, I saw a couple of village girls walking back, carrying bucket full of water on their head. But lo and behold, to my surprise, here is what I heard and saw next.

... To Fetch A Pail Of Water

As the girls approached me, I thought I heard a cell phone ring. Maybe it is a transistor radio, I wondered. But as they passed me by, I saw one of them pull out a cell phone from under her scarf.

And she started merrily chatting away. I was blown away by the sight. It was a great contradiction, something you can only see in India.

Leapfrogging In Developing Countries

Is this really the way things are supposed to progress in developing countries? You now have cell phone service in places where there is no drinking water service. Similarly, there is a burgeoning air travel market in India, leapfrogging the investment required to build roadways infrastructure. And India has more number of poor and malnourished people than any other country, yet 4 of the top 8 richest people in Forbes Richest People list this year, are of Indian origin. At the Delhi airport this time, the immigration line for foreign passport holders was much longer than the Indian passport holders. Yet, the Delhi airport is a shambles.

I am amazed by these set of contradictions. It would be wonderful to get an objective third-party account of the current conditions and progress in India, maybe from an American/European tourist. Much like the venture capitalist Mark Davis wrote during his recent India trip.

Maybe these are just the growing pains of India. These inconsistencies should smoothen out in a few years. That is what I hope for. Go India!

To Lose Dad

Posted on April 07, 2008

My dad passed away on Feb 21st, 2008, in Delhi -- sudden cardiac arrest. He was 68 years old. Born in a tiny village called Naithana in the Himalayas, he was the most positive and eternally optimistic person that I have ever known in my life.

This post is meant to be a recollection of the tragic event and a homage to my dad. So if you don't like reading this kind of personal and tragic stuff, please move on.

The Bad News

I got the phone call at around 3:00 pm on Feb 20 PT, while I was at work. A sudden rush of emotions engulfed me as I dropped everything and rushed home to my wife and kids. I barely managed to inform one of my managers before leaving the building. It was a totally unexpected news for me. With tears rolling down my eyes, the elevator ride through the 16 floors seemed like an eternity. By the time I reached my car in the garage, I was sobbing uncontrollably. Once inside the car, I just let my emotions lose. It was only after a few minutes that I gathered myself again, cranked up the engine and started to drive home, tears still rolling down my eyes. After a quick check with my wife and kids, I started calling the travel agents for a ticket to Delhi.

I took the 9:50 pm Lufthansa from SFO to DEL via Munich. It was Lunar Eclipse that night and the eclipse had just ended a few minutes ago in the west coast. As the flight took off from runway 28L, I could see the full moon in the clear skies above. A beautiful view that unfortunately I could not enjoy at that moment. For me, it was going to be a long 19 hours flight.

The Last Rites

I reached our home in Delhi at 9:45 am the following morning, just in time to begin the ceremonial last rites. Dad was kept on the floor wrapped in a white piece of cloth. There was a large crowd of friends and relatives gathered around. I could not believe that all that was happening. As I walked into the room, I kneeled besides my dad and caressed his hair. He was cold. So cold. I got up and hugged my uncle very very tight and let it all out.

I checked in with my mom and brother in as vacant room. I wanted to learn all that happened during the last moments the previous night. Long story short, my dad had passed away quickly and peacefully in my mom's arms, before the ambulance could arrive.

Soon we began preparing for the last rites. The priest was waiting. Being the eldest son, it was my privilege and duty to perform the last rites -- kriya. The rituals were quite elaborate. Although, I consider myself a very non-religious person, it was interesting how I became very receptive to learn the meaning of each and every ritual at that time.

After a long morning of multiple rites and rituals, we all went to the banks of river Yamuna. A pyre was erected around my dad's body and I lit it up while the priest chanted holy mantras . The fire burnt for around three hours. Meanwhile, I, my brother and my dad's brothers got our head and facial hair shaved off -- all part of the rituals.

The Finality

The pyre burnt for 3 hours. I and my brother Vineet and all our friends and relatives patiently waited for the fire to burn out. In the end what was left was just ashes. The body was gone. Vanished. My dad was gone. Nothing could undo that. The finality of the event sunk in into me. I would never see or talk to my dad ever again.

The Elaborate Hindu Rituals -- 13 Days And More

The Hindu religion has this set of rituals that go on for 13 days after the demise. And then some. I guess the idea is to help the family members go through the grieving process in a more systematic way. And in some ways it really helps in the emotional healing. The rituals include a daily reading of a few chapters of Garud Puraan -- an ancient scripture that narrates that passage of the departed soul from the Earth to Heaven through a bunch of intermediate Nark's or Hells. At the end of the 13th day, the soul reaches Heaven, and all friends and relatives are invited for a simple lunch. This concludes the main rituals.

A Stone In Memory Of Each Thapliyal

At the end of one month of the demise, another little ceremony is scheduled. This one is for establishing a stone in the memory of the deceased. And this is performed in the native village, the birthplace of my dad.

Apparently, similar stones can be found for many of my ancestors in the same site in our native village. See pictures below. I did just that for my dad as well. We picked up a small stone from the banks of the river Alaknanda and put it along with the other ancestral stones. For this part, I traveled to our native village Naithana in Garhwal Himalayas. This ceremony really put things in perspective about my lineage and ancestry. There are about 25 stones in place, each representing one of my ancestor. Truly valuable and historic for all Thapliyal's.


This is like a small little cemetery for all of Thapliyal family of the Naithana village. It just occupies much less real estate.

Life Story Of My Dad

The story of my dad's life is very unique. He joined the Indian armed forces soon after completing his graduate studies. He fought against the Pakistan aggression in 1965 war. But that is not really what is interesting.

In 1968, he was on a training mission to learn about explosives. Sitting in a trench with another soldier, he was observing the working of an explosive on an I-beam. The bomb was a safe distance away. Or so he presumed, crouched inside the well dug trench. In a freak occurrence, some splinters ricocheted and struck the right side of his head. The protective helmet was not enough to prevent a deep gash on his skull. He was rushed to the hospital and the splinters were removed and his life was saved.

However, due to this brain injury, he was paralyzed on his left side. For life. He was just 28 years old.

It was the beginning of a struggle that would last another 40 years. A struggle that would see a bright young army officer limp for the rest of his life. A struggle that would confine a dashing young man to a sedentary office job in the administrative wing of a paramilitary force. A struggle that would make him see his peers grow to far reaching military ranks, while he remained an entry level commissioned officer.

Yet, he was the epitome of human spirit, life and optimism. I would never find him talk about any of these negativities in front of myself or my siblings. He was always a powerhouse for us. He was a brave fighter. Despite his handicap, he always maintained a dignified posture of an army man. He was also an eternal learner. He was famous amongst his friends and relatives for knowing the botanical names of every flower grown in the region. He had keen interest in Hindustani Classical Music or Shastriya Sangeet. He would immediately identify if a song playing on the radio was based on a raaga. He loved to hum along the original raaga along with the newer song that was playing. He had a passion for dogs and training dogs. He had dog training manuals dating back to the 60's. His general political knowledge was far above average and I believe he was a news junkie -- I seem to have inherited that trait from him. When in US, he would love to devour the SF Chronicle each day. In the evening he would discuss with me all about the local politics here, including the antics of mayor Gavin Newsom at that time. He loved the Americans for their passion for gardening and their manicured gardens, especially in the by-lanes of Redwood Shores. Fond memories of my dad... Ah.

My Mom's Relentless Struggle

The story of my dad would remain incomplete without the mention of my mom. She is the epitome of devotion. They had been married only 3 years when the accident happened with my dad in 1968. Since then she had been taking care of him like a baby. She would feed him, bathe him, dress him up, take care of his medicines and even administer the twice-a-day insulin injections that were part of his life for the last 15 years. My dad was diabetic, and my mom was his nurse. He could not survive a single moment without her.

Here is a little bit of statistics to challenge you. My mom and dad never lived apart for more than 40 years. Not even few hours. They were always together -- mainly because my dad acutely depended on her. Again -- not even for few hours did they live separately. For 40 years. Glued together.

Can you beat that?

I can not even begin to comprehend how much she would be missing dad now.

The Cycle Of Life

With time, I have begun to digest the fact that my dad is gone. I guess, time is the biggest healer in this situation. The one rule of this game is that everyone has to go one day. No one can change that. Now I have 2 young sons. It is their turn to begin their lives. It just completes the whole circle.

Rest in peace, papa.

Hillary Cry Scoble Cry

Whats with crying now a days? Everyone seems to be shedding a tear in public. Having tears in your eyes is suddenly fashionable. It certainly is driving up votes for some. For others it may just be driving up the page hits on their blog.

Real Men Cry: Blame It On Microsoft

The popular tech blogger Robert Scoble wrote a piece today about a forthcoming product announcement from Microsoft. It was titled "Microsoft researchers make me cry". Apparently he is so pleased with the product demo that it is making him cry with joy. Aww. Building up the suspense, he compares this upcoming 2/27 product release to the release of some well known software products in the past, like Excel, Photoshop, Netscape, ICQ and Skype. He really seem to be totally awed by the research efforts of M$. And yes, he got my attention with his post.

The Onion Peeling Machine ?

What else could it be? It certainly could make anyone cry. But Scoble mentioned that it is actually a piece of software, not hardware. So we can rule out the Onion Peeling Machine, or a newer XYZ-Box or Zune 2.0. And no, it can not be a Microsoft iPhone either.

It is a piece of software "that really changes my world", he says. Is it IE8? Well, IE7 makes me cry. Hell, many Microsoft products make me cry. Is it Virtual Earth meets Multi Media meets Multi Touch meets Distributed Storage meets Silvershit, or whatever? Whatever.

Stealing The Thunder From Adobe AIR and Mozilla Prism Launch?

Looks like Adobe has a pre-release tour going on for a planned launch of its Flex and AIR products at the end of February. Is it a coincidence that the M$ launch is scheduled around the same time?

And Mozilla Prism is supposed to be released at the end of Feb. as well. That would bring Mozilla's popular browser a step closer to the desktop -- a territory where Microsoft is king. Is it making Microsoft nervous?

Would It Really Make A Difference?

Sometimes shedding a tear in public can be a good thing. It is drumming up the hype for Microsoft. The whole blogosphere is now holding its breath. I can't wait till February 27th. I hope it does not turn out to be a dud like like the over hyped Segway that Jeff Bezos praised so much before it was launched at the end of 2001. Let me quote Bezos from 2001:

"You have a product so revolutionary, you'll have no problem selling it. The question is, are people going to be allowed to use it?"
—Jeff Bezos, Founder Amazon.com

Scoble seems to be drooling with a similar enthusiasm. So really what is left to be seen is that even though this new Microsoft product may be super cool, but would it really matter?

Update 05/13/08: It was all about the World Wide Telescope. Doh.

iPhone Competitor From A Company That Has Never Made A Phone Before

One of the most desirable features for iPhone 2.0, whenever it launches, I am hoping would be "real GPS capabilities", not just what we have today -- Google Maps with some shoddy triangulation services. With the integration of real GPS to Google Maps, this navigation feature would be a killer app in v2.0.

I never thought that instead of GPS-in-iPhone, I would instead be getting an option of iPhone-in-GPS. That too from a company that has never made a phone before.

Garmin Nuviphone

The GPS device maker Garmin, is launching an iPhone like device that has GPS built right into it. They are calling it the Nuviphone, perhaps to signify it as an improvement over their successful line of Nuvi GPS devices. I own Nuvi 360 and have been a happy customer. So I am excited to see what the Nuviphone would offer.

Nuviphone Videos

Garmin has released some videos to advertise the Nuviphone. I am embedding a couple of them here:

Video 1:



Video 2:



These advertiement videos look promising. However, it would be difficult to compete with iPhone, not only as a classy breakthrough phone, but also as a popular fashion statement. I wish Nuviphone all the best!