New Year 2011

I am going to learn guitar next year - have always wanted to but not got around to it. Couple of days back I saw a banner advertising guitar lessons and something just clicked into motion and I have been researching guitars and ukulele's every evening. Have called up the music school and registered as well. All set to learn and play to Ishita. Hope she has some musical temperament and becomes a prodigy. As any new parent, you want your child to have the best - be the best. You also have this inner responsibility to develop yourself that you may set a good example to the next generation. That they may look up to you and be inspired by you to do even better by themselves. You want to do things and achieve things in life so they may be proud of you and you would be able to tell them anecdotes of the lessons life has taught you.

So yes I am going to learn guitar, I shall continue to improve on my badminton and I have to do well in my career (i guess I might have to upgrade myself there as well - still figuring out how best to go about it).

Building on one's strengths

Yesterday Sachin Tendulkar scored 50 test centuries - the only batsman in the world to do so. When the press asked him about his feelings about his achievement, his response that he did not play for records. He played because he loved the game and wanted to deliver his best each and every time. The numerous feats he has achieved on the way are just by-products and recognitions  of his efforts and talent. Donald Trump too has similar sentiments. For him finding value in properties and closing deals is what he enjoys doing. And over time he has got good at it. Wealth was never his motivator but only a way of keeping score!

These achievers in their own matter of fact way teach one the value of identifying one's true interests, one's inner motivators and strengths and doing what you like not for some extraneous benefits but because you like doing them. Rewards and recognition will come by if you truly excel in your field and that would only happen when you put your heart and soul in to it.

Starhub - Big promises

I had recently renewed my 2-year contract with a Maxonline Express hubbing package that promises download speeds of up to 16Mbps. Well to my frustration, these speeds are offered only locally, ie, within Singapore. Now I wonder what proportion of the websites a normal user visits are located in Singapore - probably a digit after four or five zeros after the decimal. So I decided to test exactly what speeds do they offer to the gullible customer they have locked-in for the next two years. I opted for a server in Palo Alto, California where I believe a substantial portion of the world's web traffic is hosted. The results are truly revealing: http://www.speedtest.net/result/1076519060.png
A download speed of 0.55Mbps and an upload speed of the same amount! Am I being taken for a ride or what?!!