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. 

Live Internet Streaming - So what does it take?

Alright. So here are some answers. We still have a long way to go in terms of quality, performance, making it mobile compatible etc, but here are the basics and they are "Rock" solid.

Oh and a warning in advance - this is a technical post.

We need the following components:

1. Recorder

2. Media Converter

3. Transmitter

4. Receiver

Although these components can be technology agnostic, for the sake of our understanding, let us assume that we build these components in java.

In this post I will be addressing the core challenge which is of seamless communication lines between the transmitter and the receiver. In my next posts I shall talk about the first 2 components viz Recorder and Media Converter. Why you ask? Cos I haven't really figured out the best way to address those, and besides getting that done is the easy part. Getting the stream transmitted seamlessly over the socket by a protocol of our choosing ensuring that we have minimal packet loss and having a reasonably good number of receivers hooking onto the stream without noticeable impact on performance is the tough part.

The primary requirement would be for the transmitter as well as the receiver to be able to talking to each other, either over the LAN or over some socket of communication.

The Transmitter

Let's jump straightaway into a little bit of pseudo code:

private String createMediaTransmitter() {

DataSink transmitter;

Datasource dataGen;

        String transURL = "rtp://" + ipAddress + ":" + port + "/video";

MediaLocator outputLocator = new MediaLocator(transURL);

//create implementation of dataGen before transmitting

        transmitter = Manager.createDataSink(dataGen, outputLocator);

//provide implementation of transmitting

// for eg- transmitter needs to be opened and started. Then the dataGen needs to be generated from a source

    }

The transURL is of particular interest. Notice two things. The first is "rtp" implying that we will be using the RTP protocol to provide transmission. The second is "video" indicating that the transmission will happen for video content only. Of course that is hardly sufficient for us, unless we transmit audio content also. Silent movies aren't exactly a 21st century thing. What we need to do is send Video and Radio as sessions. As a result the transmitter cannot be of type DataSink but needs to be of type RTPManager. The RTPManager works well with sessions and can be used to keep track of individual video and audio streams.


private String createMediaTransmitter() {
private RTPManager rtpMgrs[];
DataSource dataGen;
PushBufferStream objpbss[] = dataGen.getStreams(); //video and audio or only audio
rtpMgrs = new RTPManager[objpbss.length];
SessionAddress srcAddr, destAddr;
InetAddress ipAddr;
SendStream sendStream;
int port;
SourceDescription srcDesList[];
for (int i = 0; i < pbss.length; i++) {
   try {
rtpMgrs[i] = RTPManager.newInstance();    
                 port = portBase + 2*i;
ipAddr = InetAddress.getByName(ipAddress);
                 localAddr = new SessionAddress( InetAddress.getLocalHost(),
port);
destAddr = new SessionAddress( ipAddr, port);
rtpMgrs[i].initialize( localAddr);
rtpMgrs[i].addTarget( destAddr);
System.err.println( "Created RTP session: " + ipAddress + " " + port);
sendStream = rtpMgrs[i].createSendStream(dataGen, i);
sendStream.start();
   } catch (Exception  e) {
return e.getMessage();
   }
}


return null;
    }


In this case there would be 2 rtpMgrs one for video and one for audio. The SessionAddress object is used to create RTP sessions. Also in this case the time complexity is O(n). However n is finite in this case which means there would not too much latency in terms of the video and audio being received at the receiver end.

The Receiver

The implementation of the reciever is fairly straightforward. One has to create a RTP session via the RTP Manager and keep listening for any new streams that come in. Also a Media Player needs to be instantiated which will then stream the media content. 

Following is a pseudo code

public synchronized void startReceiving(ReceiveStreamEvent objRSE) {


     rtpMgrs= new RTPManager[sessions.length];
         for (int i = 0; i < sessions.length; i++) {
         rtpMgrs[i] = (RTPManager) RTPManager.newInstance();
rtpMgrs[i].addSessionListener(this);
rtpMgrs[i].addReceiveStreamListener(this);
        rtpMgrs[i].initialize( localAddr);
        rtpMgrs[i].addTarget(destAddr);


     }
   if (objRSE instanceof NewReceiveStreamEvent) {
   stream = ((NewReceiveStreamEvent)objRSE).getReceiveStream();
DataSource ds = stream.getDataSource();
        RTPControl rtpctl = (RTPControl)ds.getControl("javax.media.rtp.RTPControl");
// create a player by passing datasource to the Media Manager
Player pl = javax.media.Manager.createPlayer(ds);
pl.addControllerListener(this);
pl.realize();
PlayerWindow pw = new PlayerWindow(pl, stream);
playerWindows.addElement(pw);


}

Live Internet Streaming - for you and for me...

...and the entire human race....

Imagine you are walking down Brigade Road or Dover lane or Central Park or..................   anyways it's not important where you are. Now imagine that you spot somebody playing a really awesome guitar riff that you have never heard before. How would it be if you could stream the person live through your handheld on to an audience on the internet and maybe take live requests. You could make the person famous. You could get famous yourself. The obscure man with the guitar could now get a face.

Just a thought - not an impossible one though.....

Best Band Emblems

Was wondering about this for quite a while. The best band emblems through times. Some are extremely creative. Come to think of it, most musicians are art school dropouts at heart.  Read on......

10.  The Offspring

The famous flaming skull emblem has become the "torch bearer" of sorts for the new age punk rock revolution and is also identified with Napster. Reason being they were the only ones who supported P2P file sharing and even had Napster t-shirts distributed at their concerts.


9. Phish
 

On the surface its a logo that looks like a fish for a band named Phish. But that's only on the surface. If you read it upside down it reads "Acid". Variations of the logo have it reading as liquid (as in LSD). Wicked.




8. Jamiroquai

This is a very good example of how a picture can lead to brand identification. The picture is an identification for the band's lead vocalist Jason Kay.He did come dressed as a buffalo in quite a few of the videos :)

7. Nine Inch Nails

NIN for the win as they say. If you are from the 90s and if you did not have atleast one t-shirt with the perfectly symmetrical NIN drawn on it then you have not been alternative.

6. AC/DC

You like hard rock, you have heard AC/DC, you have been hit by lightening and you know what the logo looks like. The "/" is made to look like a electric volt. For obvious reasons.


5. ABBA

I find this one especially creative. As we know the band's name is an acronym for the two couples in the group -- Agnetha & Björn, and Benny & Anni-Frid . So in the logo the two B's face each of their respective partner A's. Sensitive Swedes ;)


4. Queen

A work of art this one. The letter "Q" in the queen's crest is surrounded by the zodiac signs of each of the four band members. Freddie Mercury (the band's lead singer) came up with this logo. That he was a graduate from the London school of arts must have come handy.

3. The Grateful Dead

The famous "Steal your face" symbol was originally intended to "mark" the band's equipments so that other rock bands did not accidentally exchange guitars et all during rock festivals.


2.  Led Zeppelin

The biggest band of the early seventies had perhaps one of the most popular emblems of the century. The four symbols on the logo and inside sleeve of Led Zeppelin IV, representing (from left to right) Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Robert Plant.

 Each had their own unique reason for the symbols.

1.  The Rolling Stones

One of the most easily recognizable motifs, done by John Pasche the emblem was inspired by Mick Jagger's lips and the Hindu goddess Kali.

Sorry for being Dormant

Dear RhthymFishers

Our apologies for being so dormant for such a long time. RhythmFish is going to be back with a brand new look in 2010. So thank you for your patience, and stay tuned.....

Hootie and the Blowfish on RhythmFish 21.5FM

Although they split in 2008 (why do great bands always have to split?) Hootie and the Blowfish continue to rule our hearts with their soul stirring rock songs. Cracked Rear View is perhaps one of the most definitive and popular albums to have made it to the Billboard (number 15th actually in terms of best selling albums in the US). We bring you two hours of non-stop Hootie and The Blowfish including quite a few chart topppers  Cracked Rear View.
Our sincere gratitude to Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker and Jim Sonefeld. ..........why do great bands split?

Where's your will to be weird?

.... Thus spoke the lizard king. And backed it up with songs like The End. It goes on for 11 minutes and explores a psychiatric condition called Oedipal Complex. High, that;s what we are saying. High and very high :) If you do not believe us take a look at the video.
The band made the Electric Organ it's signature instrument and even today when one listens to The Doors, even without listening to the vocals can make out the distinct high notes. Take a listen to The Doors on RhythmFish 21.5FM for the next coming days. If you haven't loved Jim already, you will now.

RhythmFish Quiz:
How many times does Jim wish to be loved?

Bangla Rock

In our attempt to keep looking for lesser knows bands who are really big on Music, RhythmFish 21.5 FM over the weekend will host a lot of Bangla Rock. Most of these artists have distinct influences of Pink Floyd, Punk Rock, Metallica etc. The heavy bass guitars and the distinct sounds of lead and metal are hard to miss. Also, a lot of songs have a very strong psychedellic bend to them. Combined with fiery Bangla lyrics and a fusion of the popular Bengali folk music poured in generous amounts along with heavy metal , these songs make for a gripping experience.
Sample these soul stirring lyrics from Mohiner Ghoraguli


bhebe dekhecho ki
tararao joto alok borsho dure
taro dure
tumi aar ami jai krome shore shore

Mohiner Ghoraguli was perhaps the first band that ventured into this phenomenon, which is now mastered by some very popular Bangla Rock bands.

So if you are in it for the music, and (and you really need not know these lyrics) do tune-in at the hours mentioned on the right hand side events list.


PS: If you really like some particular song, do leave a comment. This will help us promote the voice behind the song.

Let's go Pearl Jam - ming!

We veer into Pearl Jam this week folks. A band that along with bands like Nirvana was responsible for the Grunge movement during the early 90s.
Although Eddie Vedder springs to mind the moment we say Pearl Jam, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready are two of the most underrated guitarists who deserve a lot more credit. Listen to Deep on RhythmFish if you don't believe us.

We are featuring some of their best albums like Binaural, No Code,  Vs and Ten (but of course).

Also fusion lovers do not miss the fusion titled The Long Road. An amazing fusion by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Eddie Vedder - guess we have your attention now :)

Pay Heed - It's Amy Lee

"Britney Spears and all that, they don’t threaten me, they don’t bother me, because they’re not talented. " . There you go. She said it. And we have agreed. On numerous occasions.

We also think that it would take some real talent to be a threat to this super rocker from Evanescence. There have been quite a few women who have tried to imitate her but none have come close to this talented and powerful lead singer/writer.
RhythmFish pays it's respect to Amy Lee. All you rock fans who fancy women power on the rock scene should pay heed and listen.
If you fancy any particular number / songs just leave a message, tell us why and if we find it interesting enough, we shall line it up for you at RhythmFish Radio 21.5FM.
Event List for Evanescence is on the right panel.

In fond memory of Creedence Clearwater Revival

With sincere thanks to the Fogerty Brothers, Stu and Doug, RhymthmFish Radio 21.5FM continues its fervent yet brief rendezvous with classic rock this month. Stay tuned for dedicated CCR radio hours, as in the events listing on your right panel. Honestly, we would have loved to play Creedence all day, but then we wouldn’t be able to give you a taste of RF’s personal favorite - Creedence Clearwater Revisited.

Laides and Gentlemen - let the Bad Moon Rise.

Thank you dear editor for fixing some unpardonable mistakes.

Eighties Rock on RhymthFish - All of October

Alright. So it's Eighties Rock for October on RhythmFish Radio. Time for Hard rock, heavy metal, Big Hair Bands, and Glam metal. We have been overwhelmed by the amount of requests for Petty, Genesis, Billy Idol, Motley Crew, Poison etc.

Come to think of it guys like Billy Idol aka Broad from The Bromley Contigent were serious punk rockers :)

But this post is not about punk rock per say, it's more about crooning to lyrics like :

Well Ive been waiting, waiting here so long
But thinking nothing, nothing could go wrong, ooh now I know
She has a built in ability
To take everything she sees
And now it seems Im falling, falling for her.

She seems to have an invisible touch yeah
She reaches in, and grabs right hold of your heart
She seems to have an invisible touch yeah
It takes control and slowly tears you apart.



If you have figured out the song then it's time to hook on to RhythmFish 21.5 - all through the month....

Rock On you junkies!

Enter Originality. Enter Individualism. Enter Grunge.

Quite frankly we were tired of listening to Mariah Carey crooning "I'll be there". I mean it was good, but I guess we we were all looking for something more than mushy love songs vis-a-vis Bryan Adams + MLTR + BSB + Boyzone + ....the list is endless, at times relentless ... And then there was "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - like fresh air filling in the vacuum created by good original music as a result of impregnable layers of mush. They say that every generation feels that the music they listened to during their growing up years is the best music of all times. And maybe that is true. But then it is also true that this "Alternative" genre of music (punk rock with hooks or the more commercially known version of it called "grunge") was something never heard before and it did take over mainstream music pretty quickly. Yes it did draw inspirations from Heavy metal and hardcore punk and the likes, but what came out was something very unique.

I got drawn towards grunge mostly due to Nirvana which is when I started learning more about their influences and it was clear that bands like The Melvins and Mudhoney had already defined this alternative genre of rock, which eventually bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden popularized. Of course there were others like Alice in Chains and Live and Bush, but it was really Nirvana and Pearl Jam who sort of defined the era of their music. Contrary to what most people think, it was not just about sex and drugs and "I hate myself and I want to Die" rants. Of course it was about that too - but then for a completely new style of music that originated from Seattle to take over mainstream music, it was that and much much more. It was also about dry humour, sarcasm, morbidity and overall very good music.

So that's me talking about my generation and why I think Grunge rules and unlike what a lot of people say, I totally do not think that Grunge is Dead. Which is why RhythmFish 21.5 FM has distinct flavors of Grunge.

Would love to hear from you folks on what are the genres that you absolutely like or hate.