The Pareto Analysis Fallacies

This is in continuation to my previous post on the the dilemma of multiple objectives where we had talked about pareto analysis as one of the possible solutions......

The dilemma of the multiple objective functions

"To be or not to be?"

Through my various heated discussions with my colleagues / ex-colleagues (who I love to death - pun intended) and at times even at a personal level with my family members, what I have learnt is questions that lead to the highest amount of deliberations are the ones that have multiple possibilities and hence in all probability do not have cookie cutter answers.
Here is an example to illustrate what I mean further:
Assume that you want to answer the question -
"Should I quit my job?" - Perhaps not the best example -but hey if it were useful to you then what the heck.
Typically, here are 4-5 things that one would consider (this is not an exhaustive list, I am just using this to illustrate an example). They could be
1. Drag yourself to office
2. Do you feel like you are banging your head against a brick wall explaining things to your manager?
3. Instances when you have walked out of 1on1s totally confused about the next steps.
4. Instances where even after repeated requests have not got any proper feedback
5. Do you often feel hungry right after lunch because the office food  sucks?
6. Instances where you have found yourself having to explain yourself more than you would have liked. In the same meeting.
7. Instances where you have caught either yourself or your colleagues cribbing about the way "things are being run these days"
8. Kept wondering about your growth prospect
9. Generally tired without having done any work at all

etc etc

You get the idea. 

Which among the above points mentioned do you think can actually be dropped? Like is crappy food really that big a deal? 

To remove ambiguities such as these, people use various different kinds of techniques. One among them is the Pareto Analysis. It basically hinges on the fact that most things that matter are driven by the 80/20 rule. 

So  you end up providing weights (lets say on a scale of 10 with 10 being the highest  weight) for the points above in accordance of their perceived importance.  Arrange them in order of how many times they occur in each of the job offers / new opportunities.

• Arrange the bar chart in descending order of cause importance, that is, the cause with the highest count first.
• Calculate the cumulative count for each cause in descending order.
• Calculate the cumulative count percentage for each cause in descending order. (Percentage calculation: {Individual Cause Count} / {Total Causes Count} *100)
• Create a second y-axis with percentages descending in increments of 10 from 100% to 0%.
• Plot the cumulative count percentage of each cause on the x-axis.
• Join the points to form a curve.
• Draw a line at 80% on the y-axis running parallel to the x-axis. Then drop the line at the point of intersection with the curve on the x-axis. This point on the x-axis separates the important causes on the left (vital few) from the less important causes on the right (trivial many).

Basis this, if you get lets say points 2,3 and 6 above. You could then decide whether you could change things there or if it is hopeless. If it is hopeless you have your answer :)

BTW there is a fallacy in the pareto analysis. More on that later, for now let me go figure if I really want to buy that 52 inches 3D TV ;)

How to Create your own Radio Station on the SHOUTcast 2.0 platform?

Here is a simple step by step tutorial on how to Broadcast your Internet Radio Station on SHOUTcast 2.0 platform.

Remember this is basic broadcasting. If you wish to know about advanced settings, that's a separate discussion, details of which I could post later based upon user interest.

Here is a simple video of that shows all the steps:



Step 1
Download and extract latest DNAS from the SHOUTcast site
Step 2
Register yourself as a broadcaster on SHOUTcast.com and get a authkey. The authkey is important
for you to broadcast in the 2.0 mode. Once registered this will give you a conf file that you need to
pass to the DNAS (sc_serv)
Step 3
Configure the downloaded conf file for DNAS and execute!
Step 4
Download and extract the latest SC_TRANS from the SHOUTcast site
Step 5
Configure the SC_TRANS conf file

Also, find below a sample SC_TRANS conf file that you could use - make sure to change the serverip and the serverport fields to the IP and the port of the machine where your DNAS is running.

Let's name the file sc_trans_demo.conf

;; ENCODER OPTIONS

encoder=aacp
bitrate=64000
samplerate=44100
channels=2
aacpbitstreamformat=0


;;; NETWORK OPTIONS
outprotocol=3
serverip=YOUR DNAS(sc_serv) IP
serverport=PORT
password=foobar
uvoxstreamid=1
uvoxauth=foobar
uvoxradiometadata=0
uvoxnewmetadata=1
uvoxmetadatafudgefactor=0.0 secs
shoutcastmetadatafudgefactor=0.0 secs


;;;; LOGGING OPTIONS:
;where does the log file go
logfile=C:/sc_transdemo.log
; 1 to do screen logging else 0
screenlog=1


;;;;;; METADATA CONTROL
public=1

;;;; PLAYLIST CONTROL
; your playlist
playlistfile=C:\sc_trans_demo\sc_trans drop 02_22_2010\playlist_win32.lst
; set our crossfade time to 2 seconds. zero means no xfade
xfade=5
; file must be at least 20 seconds or we don't crossfade
xfadethreshold=20
; drop folder for priority playlists
playlists=playlist/
; where finished priority playlists get copied
archive=archive/




;; REPLAY GAIN CONTROL:
applyreplaygain=0
calculatereplaygain=0

;;; OTHER:
adminport=5555
adminuser=admin
adminpassword=goaway

That's it. Congratulations!! you are now a broadcaster.

Johnny Cash was so punk

Why you ask? Nothing symbolizes a rebel with a cause like Punk does. And Johnny Cash was safely anti-establishment.
Here are a few facts
1. Extremely strong song lyrics about how the native Americans were slowly but surely marginalized
2. Low rumbling baritone that could make you sit up and listen
3.Just to quote him
“I'd like to wear a rainbow every day, and tell the world that everything is o.k. But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back. Until things are brighter, I'm the Man in Black.”
4. Always, ALWAYS, ALLLWAYS wore black

And the best punk song from him ever was The Beast In Me. So grab your whiskey and your cigarettes and face The Beast in yourselves

Lady Gaga - more than just shock value?

Recently one of my friends came running gleefully (like a little girl who suddenly found her long lost barbie) declaring that "he" was one of the first to check out Lady Gaga's latest number called "bad romance" and that I should most definitely check it out.
Now I don't think much of lady gaga and everytime she comes on VH1 I am compelled to reach for my remote and change the channel simply because she is really an eyesore. Especially telephone where she has paired up with Beyonce is perhaps a very good example of why moms don't let their teen daughters watch TV. Pretty awfully bad to put it mildly.

However on my friend's insistence (and given that previously he did display relatively better taste in music) I went on to check out Bad Romance...

And I was pleasantly surprised. The lady actually does have talent. I especially liked the range she displayed in going from one mood to another. Pretty powerful singing there. Take a listen for yourself guys, this lady is here to stay.....

Greatest Rock Love Songs Ever - Playing on RhythmFish

And you thought that rock-stars did not have a heart eh.

Here is a list of the most romantic rock songs ever and they are on rhythmfish all through the long weekend.

Indulge....TUNE IN NOW!

The List


Eagles :: Love Will Keep Us Alive



Hootie and the Blowfish :: Only Wanna Be With You



Dire Straits :: When It Comes To U.mp3



The Doors :: Light my fire



Guns n' Roses :: November Rain



Matchbox 20 :: Madseason



Aerosmith :: I Dont Wanna Miss A Thing



Def Leppard :: Have you ever needed someone so bad



Pearl Jam :: Last Kiss



Husker Du :: Could You Be The One



Randall Bramblett :: Comin 'Round Soon (Not exactly a love song, but we love this guy)



Stone Temple Pilots :: Plush



Guns n' Roses :: Sweet Child of Mine


TUNE IN  now!!!

Weird lyrics I will never understand

Have you ever come across a song whose lyrics made you go "Huh??!?" Sure you have.


Here is my top 10 list of weirdest / dumbest / worst lyrics of all times


10. Neil Diamond - I am....I said



"I am I said
To no-one there
And no-one heard at all
Not even the chair"


"I am I said" - but what did you say? Did you say "I am"? And then did you stop talking? And you expected the chair to respond by saying.... um, what exactly? A real gem Mr. Diamond.

9. Elton John - Your Song

"If I was a sculptor, but then again, no"

Oh come on Sir John,  make up your mind already

8. Paul McCartney - Let em In

"Someone’s knocking at the door
Somebody’s ringing the bell
Do me a favor, open the door and let them in"


A step-by-step guide on what to do when somebody knocks the door. Hey Paul, why don't you enlighten us by telling us what to do next? Like ask them to have a seat, offer them drinks maybe.....pedestrian. Especially coming from you.

7. Jessica Simpson - I Think I'm in Love With You

I don't know what's gotten into me
But, I think I know what it is

She's taken over from Sir Elton John as the most confusing lyricist ever. Although what's really intriguing is the self proclamation that she can think. 












6. Bono - Grace

"Grace - It's a name for a girl"


Bono the true genius, no?
















5. The Killers - Human

"Are we human? Or are we dancer? 
My sign is vital,  My hands are cold"



We are humans, but whoever wrote these lyrics clearly isn't. Also refutes the theory that aliens are more intelligent than us. 

4. Fergie - London Bridge


"When I come to the club step aside, Pop the seats don't be havin' me a line
VIP cause you know i gotta shine, I'm Fergie Ferg and me love you long time"


Somebody really needed to have a word with her English teachers.

3. Back Street Boys - I Want It That Way

"I Want It That Way"

THAT way as in? OK maybe we get it. But there wasn't any need to make it so obvious. Really.

2. Nile: Unas Slayer of the God

"Behold Amkebu Hath Snared Them for Unas
Behold Tecber Tep F Hath Known Them"


No kidding. Those are the lyrics. And it's a English song. Unbelievable? Believe it.

1. Kanye West - Gettin' It In

"My apologies are you into astrology, 

Cause, um, im trying to make it to Uranus"

Here is a very good reason why I do not listen to Hip-hop. Dear Kanye, even your astrologer would have asked you to consult an astronomer on that. BTW your astrologer did predict that you would grow up to be real stupid.