A. C. Lyles, a producer at Paramount who worked at Paramount for over 60 years -

When I was 10 [in 1928] I wanted to make movies…

After four years in the job [he was then 14] I eventually met Adolph Zukor… when he came to Jacksonville. I asked him to let me come to Hollywood to work for him. He said, “Well, you’re just a kid, but you’ve been working for Paramount now for four years at the theater. So you finish high school, keep in touch, and I’ll hire you when you get out of high school.”…

So I wrote him every Sunday for four years.

Read the rest at Marc Andreessen’s blog.

Paul Tyma, a senior engineer at Google, talks about Software Engineering interviews. Something he said, really struck a chord with me -

if you are the smartest person at where you work – QUIT

I came across the same idea while reading Paul Graham some time ago. He mentions the talk You and Your Research by Richard Hamming. In Paul Graham’s words, ask yourself these three questions -

1. What are the most important problems in your field?
2. Are you working on one of them?
3. Why not?

These are the questions that can change your life.

I have been thinking about switching to a four day work week, so I can spend at least a couple of days a week working on more challenging and interesting problems. And today, I feel I am ready to make that move.

I see happier times ahead

According to one person from Chennai, the death toll would have been many times higher if the Tsunami struck in the evening when there are many more people on the beach, it being a public holiday.

Most of my friends seem to be safe, except for someone I knew, living in Maldives now; no news from there. Here in Malaysia, nearly 50 people lost their lives in Penang.

The news in today’s paper about a suicide bomber killing 15 people in Iraq appears almost ironical.

Caring for Your Introvert