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  • Simple steps to get started with R

    R as a programming language has taken the world by storm especially because of its capabilities in terms of data science and data visualization.

    By virtue of being open source, R can be learnt without incurring any additional cost given the fact that there are myriad resources on R freely available over the internet.

    Getting started is as simple as following the steps mentioned below:

    • Download the CRAN of R from R’s website
    • Install RStudio the IDE for R
    • Myriad videos on R are available on youtube. Along with this easy to understand sample R codes are freely available over the internet. We can go through these and get started with R.

    The following link from pluralsight mentions 5 simple steps to kick start your journey with R.

    https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/data-professional/how-to-get-started-programming-in-r

    I have found the sample codes on tutorialpoint very helpful to get an understanding on R.

    Please refer to the following link to get started with R.

    https://www.tutorialspoint.com/r/

    About RStudio

    RStudio provides a very user friendly interface to get started with R.

    It is very easy to install and gets installed very fact on Windows, Mac, Linux machines.

    RStudio has 4 tabs.

    • The tab on the top left is where we can enter R scripts in .R extension files and run them , debug them through very easy to use tool bar icons.
    • The top right tab is the workspace tab wherein we can see how work variables get changed when R codes are run. This is especially helpful when debugging R codes to have a look at important variables and their values during run time.
    • The bottom left tab is for R console wherein we can run R commands and is the R command line interface.
    • The bottom right tab is where we can get to see results of different plot functions and is especially useful for data visualization related functions.

     

    Happy learning!!!!!

  • Riding the digital wave by taming the mind is the need of the hour for IT professionals

    In this age of digital disruption ,  especially in a knowledge worker age reskilling oneself in digital technologies is the way to go for an IT professional.

    Rather than cribbing about having to unlearn old things to learn new technologies ,  tuning of the mind is needed to make oneself believe that “Yes I can.” Trending technologies like Big data HADOOP , Data science including R and Python are technologies that can be learnt by having access to internet with myriad number of blogs , forums and repositories available to enable learning.

    Aside from this , getting enrolled for online courses by expert vendors  would silence the nerves and instill a belief that these are just like any other technologies to learn and adapt to. Adaptability has a lot to do with the mental strength of an individual and for professionals is the need of the hour.

    Everything is there in the mind , unlearning what has been learned and learning new technologies in line with digital transformation is definitely the way forward.

  • Over customization has sounded the death knell for the beautiful game named cricket

    Cricket of the modern day is a far cry from the past days where in there used to be equal competition between the batsmen and bowlers. For cricket lovers of the 80’s or 90’s or even early 2000’s, modern day cricket would be difficult to digest with the absence of any world beating legendary bowler.

    All these eras had amazing batsmen and equally potent and capable bowlers to give them a run for their money. This is why cricket was so enchanting because a victory for the batsmen or bowlers would not come cheap.

    If you take the clock a little back to 2007, advent of T20’s (a new and intelligent form of commercializing the game by customizing it to get quick money) has led to the death of great bowlers. Modern day cricket has a lot of entertaining batsmen, finishers which is evident in an era where in cricket has become a game for batters.

    Thanks to T20’s, and because of its shortened duration, spectators nowadays shell out money to see the big shots and grounds men needless to say oblige for the interest of cheap entertainment. As a result of this customization of the game, not only has test cricket lost its sheen nor do we any longer remain glued to our seats to watch battles like Tendulkar v/s McGrath, Tendulkar v/s Akram, Tendulkar v/s Warne, Brian Lara v/s McGrath, Michael Atherton v/s Donald.

    None of contemporary games like tennis, soccer to name a few have customized or played around with the format for cheap popularity and hence have stood the test of time. This is why we still have legends like Federer, Nadal to compete with greats of yesteryears like McEnroe, Sampras to name a few. Soccer still produces Messi’s, Ronaldo’s who can take on any legend of the yesteryears like Maradona or a Pele.

    It is high time for cricket authorities to take stalk of things and make the game worthy enough to start producing good quality bowlers to regain the lost prestige by bringing in more competition between bat and ball. If this happens and India wins , then only we should be in a position to even think of comparing modern day greats like Kohli’s with Tendulkar’s and Dhoni’s with Gilchrist’s.

    Let’s all hope against hope to get back the Akrams’ , Tendulkars’ , Laras’ , Mcgraths’ in the modern day game as well.

  • Debt mutual funds way to go for risk averse investors

    As a risk averse investor , deciding to invest in mutual funds always remains a big challenge.

    But with rate of FDs falling by the day , ever reducing interest rates offered by banks on money stuck up in savings accounts , starting to invest in mutual funds in bits and pieces is the way to go to receive higher interests on hard earned money.

    For individuals who are skeptical about investing in the equity market , there are instruments namely debt mutual funds that invest in relatively secure debt instruments. These instruments even though are not fully secure are worth starting off with for a risk averse investor to get a feel of investing in mutual funds.

    Long term debt funds , short term debt funds , ultra short mutual funds , liquid funds are relatively secure followed by gilt funds and these mainly investment in debt instruments  as opposed to equity funds.

    There are number of financial sites who provide mobile apps as well , that can help create a portfolio of mutual funds a risk averse investor plans to invest in and helps the investor study the trend before zeroing in on the final portfolio. The same can be done for high performing equity funds as well. CRISIL ratings for mutual funds in all categories are also available as a ready reckoner before deciding to invest.

    Demat accounts as well as bank specific securities accounts can be opened to start trading in MF’s either using SIP(Systematic Investment Plan like EMI) or paying money in lump sum. Investors can invest online using the websites of respective MF AMC by fulfilling requirements of e-kyc. These can help in purchase of direct mutual funds which are advantageous in terms of not having to pay commission or brokerage.

    Happy investing..

    Fearless investing..

  • With love for fish loving Bengalis in Bangalore

    For fish loving Bengalis in Bangalore , who believe in hand picking fish they love to have ,  HAL Fish market Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Rd, Reddypalya, Jyothi Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560017 is the place to go.

    Fresh Bengali fishes arrive Friday night and hence arriving early morning(preferably within 9 am) on Saturday , becomes important to get fresh and high quality fishes. Hilsa , Chitol , Parshe , Tengra , Rohu , Katla , Bhetki with prices similar to that in Kolkata are available here. In addition to the variety of fishes , HAL market is a great location to buy all kinds of vegetables , at attractive rates , especially the ones that go well with fishes.

    This place is quite adjacent to Indiranagar metro station hence for people commuting from the South part of Bangalore availing metro service to reach HAL Fish market is a good option to avoid traffic.

    Common Bengali fishes like Rohu , Katla , Ar Tengra , prawns and Pabda are available on local roadside shops as well as non veg sections of supermarkets chain stores in malls.As an alternative to Mourala , which is difficult to get in HAL Fish market , Anchovies provides a very good option and is more widely available.

    Another fish worthy of mention for bengalis , to have a try is the Norwegian Salmon priced at ~1600 INR per kilo and is available in chain supermarket outlets in malls.

    For fish loving Bengalis , working in various professions , Bangalore offers a lot of options in terms of hand picking fish and giving a feel of the best breed of fishes Bengalis are so used to having in Kolkata. So fish loving Bengalis feel at home in Bangalore.

  • Over customization has sounded the death knell for the beautiful game named cricket

    Cricket of the modern day is a far cry from the past days where in there used to be equal competition between the batsmen and bowlers. For cricket lovers of the 80’s or 90’s or even early 2000’s, modern day cricket would be difficult to digest with the absence of any world beating legendary bowler.

    All these eras had amazing batsmen and equally potent and capable bowlers to give them a run for their money. This is why cricket was so enchanting because a victory for the batsmen or bowlers would not come cheap.

    If you take the clock a little back to 2007, advent of T20’s (a new and intelligent form of commercializing the game by customizing it to get quick money) has led to the death of great bowlers. Modern day cricket has a lot of entertaining batsmen, finishers which is evident in an era where in cricket has become a game for batters.

    Thanks to T20’s, and because of its shortened duration, spectators nowadays shell out money to see the big shots and grounds men needless to say oblige for the interest of cheap entertainment. As a result of this customization of the game, not only has test cricket lost its sheen nor do we any longer remain glued to our seats to watch battles like Tendulkar v/s McGrath, Tendulkar v/s Akram, Tendulkar v/s Warne, Brian Lara v/s McGrath, Michael Atherton v/s Donald.

    None of contemporary games like tennis, soccer to name a few have customized or played around with the format for cheap popularity and hence have stood the test of time. This is why we still have legends like Federer, Nadal to compete with greats of yesteryears like McEnroe, Sampras to name a few. Soccer still produces Messi’s, Ronaldo’s who can take on any legend of the yesteryears like Maradona or a Pele.

    It is high time for cricket authorities to take stalk of things and make the game worthy enough to start producing good quality bowlers to regain the lost prestige by bringing in more competition between bat and ball. If this happens and India wins , then only we should be in a position to even think of comparing modern day greats like Kohli’s with Tendulkar’s and Dhoni’s with Gilchrist’s.

    Let’s all hope against hope to get back the Akrams’ , Tendulkars’ , Laras’ , Mcgraths’ in the modern day game as well.

  • Best tips to master the use of clutch – a key to driving manual transmission cars

    For all those who are about to drive a manual transmission car, mastering the clutch remains pivotal to success in driving away early jitters. Steering control does not take much of a doing hence let us focus on the major uses of the clutch at important scenarios that we are faced with right from getting the car started till parking the vehicle. At all stages remember once the feet is off the clutch the car engine is expected to shut off so you better put your feet on the clutch.

    Scenario 1: First interaction with the clutch, starting the car: When you are all set with the front, rear view mirrors, adjustment of seat, fastening of seat belt check the handbrake, press the clutch fully, check the gear is in neutral, turn on the key to start the car. Depending on whether the car is parked downhill or level parking release the hand brake carefully. With the clutch fully pressed, change the gear to first, with feet on brake, look at the mirrors/blind spot, release the brake gradually and release 50% of the clutch(car vibrates that is the indication) without using the accelerator to slowly allow the car to move. Once the car develops a motion, slowly use the accelerator.

    Scenario 2 : At a 4 way junction to cross without turning left or right : Keep the clutch at 50% with full brake , depending on traffic whenever safe to move , without accelerating , release clutch and move on and once out of the junction accelerate to gather speed by going to a higher gear using clutch.

    Scenario 3 : Uphill stuck in traffic , use of clutch to keep car under control and move immediately without moving back when lights turn green  – While stuck up , keep clutch pressed , brake pressed and handbrake up. When time to move keep brake fully pressed, release 75% clutch and when car vibrates release brake, car moves forward and then accelerate on a need basis.

    Scenario 4: Moving downhill: Keep clutch pressed fully since you are descending with gravity, foot on brake till you come down and then regulate clutch, brake and accelerator depending on need.

    Scenario 5 : Crossing a turning and moving left or right : Keep the clutch 50% pressed , with full brake check whether it is safe to turn left or right and then release clutch and then brake,  move without accelerating , after safely on the side of road on turning use accelerator to move forward.

    Scenario 6: Driving in reverse to find a parking spot: Press clutch fully, set gear to reverse, press brake fully subsequently slowly release clutch to 50% , release brake without accelerating till car moves back and then move it without accelerating and find the spot.

    So master the use of clutch to remove early jitters to enjoy driving.

  • Riding the digital wave by taming the mind is the need of the hour for IT professionals

    In this age of digital disruption ,  especially in a knowledge worker age reskilling oneself in digital technologies is the way to go for an IT professional.

    Rather than cribbing about having to unlearn old things to learn new technologies ,  tuning of the mind is needed to make oneself believe that “Yes I can.” Trending technologies like Big data HADOOP , Data science including R and Python are technologies that can be learnt by having access to internet with myriad number of blogs , forums and repositories available to enable learning.

    Aside from this , getting enrolled for online courses by expert vendors  would silence the nerves and instill a belief that these are just like any other technologies to learn and adapt to. Adaptability has a lot to do with the mental strength of an individual and for professionals is the need of the hour.

    Everything is there in the mind , unlearning what has been learned and learning new technologies in line with digital transformation is definitely the way forward.

  • With love for fish loving Bengalis in Bangalore

    For fish loving Bengalis in Bangalore , who believe in hand picking fish they love to have ,  HAL Fish market Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Rd, Reddypalya, Jyothi Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560017 is the place to go.

    Fresh Bengali fishes arrive Friday night and hence arriving early morning(preferably within 9 am) on Saturday , becomes important to get fresh and high quality fishes. Hilsa , Chitol , Parshe , Tengra , Rohu , Katla , Bhetki with prices similar to that in Kolkata are available here. In addition to the variety of fishes , HAL market is a great location to buy all kinds of vegetables , at attractive rates , especially the ones that go well with fishes.

    This place is quite adjacent to Indiranagar metro station hence for people commuting from the South part of Bangalore availing metro service to reach HAL Fish market is a good option to avoid traffic.

    Common Bengali fishes like Rohu , Katla , Ar Tengra , prawns and Pabda are available on local roadside shops as well as non veg sections of supermarkets chain stores in malls.As an alternative to Mourala , which is difficult to get in HAL Fish market , Anchovies provides a very good option and is more widely available.

    Another fish worthy of mention for bengalis , to have a try is the Norwegian Salmon priced at ~1600 INR per kilo and is available in chain supermarket outlets in malls.

    For fish loving Bengalis , working in various professions , Bangalore offers a lot of options in terms of hand picking fish and giving a feel of the best breed of fishes Bengalis are so used to having in Kolkata. So fish loving Bengalis feel at home in Bangalore.

  • Debt mutual funds way to go for risk averse investors

    As a risk averse investor , deciding to invest in mutual funds always remains a big challenge.

    But with rate of FDs falling by the day , ever reducing interest rates offered by banks on money stuck up in savings accounts , starting to invest in mutual funds in bits and pieces is the way to go to receive higher interests on hard earned money.

    For individuals who are skeptical about investing in the equity market , there are instruments namely debt mutual funds that invest in relatively secure debt instruments. These instruments even though are not fully secure are worth starting off with for a risk averse investor to get a feel of investing in mutual funds.

    Long term debt funds , short term debt funds , ultra short mutual funds , liquid funds are relatively secure followed by gilt funds and these mainly investment in debt instruments  as opposed to equity funds.

    There are number of financial sites who provide mobile apps as well , that can help create a portfolio of mutual funds a risk averse investor plans to invest in and helps the investor study the trend before zeroing in on the final portfolio. The same can be done for high performing equity funds as well. CRISIL ratings for mutual funds in all categories are also available as a ready reckoner before deciding to invest.

    Demat accounts as well as bank specific securities accounts can be opened to start trading in MF’s either using SIP(Systematic Investment Plan like EMI) or paying money in lump sum. Investors can invest online using the websites of respective MF AMC by fulfilling requirements of e-kyc. These can help in purchase of direct mutual funds which are advantageous in terms of not having to pay commission or brokerage.

    Happy investing..

    Fearless investing..

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