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New lens and my mom..

Picture of my mom taken with my new toy (Canon 50mm F/1.8 lens). My mom is usually a shy person and this is probably the first time I saw her being comfortable in front of a camera.

I took a photography class recently and am finally enlightened to what a good lens can do :).  Prior to the class, I was always of the opinion that a zoom lens is the way to go. But my instructor opened my eyes to the world of fixed (and expensive) lenses :).

More pictures from this photo shoot at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kudithipudi/sets/72157625773287053/with/5385052525/

January 26, 2011 by Photography Uncategorized 2

HOW TO : Check IO speed on a Linux Machine

For my notes.. if you ever want to check the IO capability of a disk (local or network) on a linux machine, use the following command

[bash] dd if=/dev/zero of=test.file bs=4M count=1000 [/bash]

The above command make a copy of the output from /dev/zero to a file called test.file (you can locate the file on the disk you want to measure) with a block size of 4M for a total file size of 4000Mb.

January 3, 2011 by HOWTO Linux Technology Uncategorized 0

2011 Resolutions..

For the few folks that keep in touch with me through this website.. Happy New Year!! :). Hope this new year brings you health and love.

I am usually not a resolutions guy :).. But I wanted to give it a try this year. And I am making them public, so that I have more incentive (read pressure) to reach them. Without future adieu, here they are

  1. Take a look at this picture No.. not the part, where I am eating Jhanvi’s head :).. But that big fat gut hanging out for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Loosing that is my first resolution.
  2. Second picture..This is a picture of the traffic to this site, according to Google. I want to double that by the end of this year. In other words, write more often :).
  3. The third resolution doesn’t have a picture :). I have always wanted to get a CISSP certification. Well, this year, I am going to stop thinking and act on it.
  4. And finally, the fourth one is to go on a decent vacation. Ideally, some place exotic :)..And hopefully, we will have a visa to visit it.
January 2, 2011 by Rantings Uncategorized 2

Last run for 2010?

Jhanvi and I ran the 2010 Hot Chocolate 15K last Saturday (11/6/2010). I don’t know why I keep doing this.. but I don’t seem to realize that I am not a superman 🙂 and cannot run races efficiently without practicing. Anyways, here is what happens when you run a race without ANY training..

My Results

I was aiming to be the last in everything :).. but looks like some people still beat me..

Jhanvi’s Results

Thx to Jhanvi for making me run the race… I wanted to run the 5K and call it a day 🙂 (and no. it is not called cheating when it is 27 degrees and you are freezing your butt off!! 🙂 ).. but she encouraged me to run the 15K. Clearly not my best time.. but I am proud I completed it never the less.

November 8, 2010 by Running Sports Uncategorized 0

Cloud Computing and your company's infrastructure

Bold forecast :).. But in 5 to 10 years, I predict the majority of a company’s infrastructure will be hosted in a “cloud”. If you recall (circa 2000..), most of the companies were hosting “anti-spam” services in house. If anyone suggested that we can outsource that service, you would get a “are-you-crazy” look :). And now, you will get the same look if anyone suggests they run the anti-spam service in house. I believe the same is going to happen for infrastructure. You might still be running some components in house, but it will get smaller and smaller. Companies will be forced to focus on their core competency rather than try to maintain an army of engineers to perform tasks that someone else might be a lot better at.

Speaking of being visionary, apparently Netflix operates most of their infrastructure in the cloud. If Netflix can operate in the cloud, a majority of us can too :). Here are some links regd their lessons from moving to a cloud.

http://blip.tv/file/4252897 (Video of Netflix Director of Engineering explaining their move to the cloud)

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxwcmFjdGljYWxjbG91ZGNvbXB1dGluZ3xneDo2NDc2ODVjY2ExY2Y1Zjcz&pli=1 (Write up by a Netflix engineer about the move to the cloud from a storage and DB prospective)

October 30, 2010 by Management Technology Uncategorized 2

2010 First Half Marathon

Guess what happens, when one runs a half marathon without any training? You break all records for finishing late :). Jhanvi and I ran the 2010 Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Chicago today. It was hot and humid.. but we managed to finish the run. Am so proud of Jhanvi for finished faster than me.. She just started running last year and I think she is a natural.

2010 August : Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon

August 1, 2010 by 2010 : Half Marathons Running Uncategorized 0