Me

I am Hrishikesh Ballal, but that much you must have figured out by the domain? I currently work as a Platforms Engineer at Microsoft. I work with Microsoft's Office Division and am a part of a team manages some of back end infrastructure and processes that enable Office's Internet and worldwide presence. Previously, I used to work with a major automobile company as a Process Improvement Specialist. It involved a whole bunch of different things: I worked on inventory management, forecasting and a lot of systems engineering related work. I also worked with the IBM AS/400 system and the green screen. In the early days I used to work as a part time web designer. I have scaled that down a lot. I have worked before as a wireless content developer, simulation engineer and a web developer. In my current job, I work with IronPython in the context of managing the behavior of chaotic systems especially during the time they are operationalized and scaled. My work focuses on how humans interact with these systems with a focus collaboration and information aggregation using technologies such as .net 3.5.

I have a couple of degrees in Mechanical Engineering. My focus has always been a mixture of Design and Operations. I recently finished my SM in Engineering and Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Working fulltime completing the degree and trying to have a social life and pursue my interests was one of the most challenging experiences in my life. I am very passionate about environmental issues and am interested in sustainability especially with application of advanced technologies. Recently I was offered a fellowship to work on solving the collection and end-of-life aspects of ewaste in developing countries and it was the thesis for my degree.

I am very fascinated by algorithms and actively working with them was one of my most enjoyable jobs. Mechanical engineering did introduce me to optimization and in turn to Systems Improvement and it is what puts bread on my plate currently. That is not completely true because I am also into technology research and entrepreneurship and intend to start a not for profit technology company one of these days. In the summer of 2007, I was involved in co-starting a non-profit Internet company with (for) a friend which led to mixed results but the experience was invaluable.

I have had what I consider as a exceptionally privileged background. I am a Virgo in the zodiac and can relate to most of traits of a Virgo in the popular websites.

Music, Meditation, Mathematics and Design in general have come to define my spirituality. Studying and practicing music actively has been one of the most rewarding personal experiences. You can check out what I am listening to on my music profile. Designing and executing a global operations platform for my company over the last two years along with studying Systems Design has been a life changing experience. Therefore the spirituality statement.

I have come to realize that the most important thing in my life are my personal relationships with my partner, friends, family and acquaintances. Internally therefore, it is my life's mission to strive to be a kinder more humane person by pushing my boundaries through inner and outer exploration. I try to do this by being a life-long learner and practicing love, compassion and kindness with myself and anyone who crosses my path.

In my previous life, I was involved with open source software. I used to use and actively develop applications for the Fedora Project. I have scaled that down the development aspect to almost nothing now-a-days but hope to keep my friendships from there. Mostly because my interests have shifted from development to Operations research. I use development as a tool to enable cool things in Operations and especially its applications related to complex systems.

I have had cygnus2936 as my online ID for as long as I can remember. The 2936 was the registration number on my first and only motorbike's plate. It was a Kawasaki. Incidentally, it was also my telephone extension in one of my previous jobs. That was at Yamaha Music. That is when I had my own personal Keanu Reeves moment.

I moved to this domain some time ago. It is a bit long but thats my name. In real life, everyone calls me Hrishi. The H is silent so it is pronounced as 'Reeshee'. The etymology is religious related to Hinduism, personally, I blame it on the English language because there is no English equivalent to the original Sanskrit character.

This is so self-absorbed, it makes me sick. Thank you very much for visiting my website. Any comments, brickbats, bouquets, bugs will be greatly appreciated.