vsbabu.org : living http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/categories/living/ Gluing passing thoughts to foregone conclusions en-us vsbabu@gmail.com Copyright 2008 2004-03-19T08:00:00+05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 So, How is Bangalore? http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2004/03/19/so_how_is_bangalore.html Back to the city ruled by dust, engineers and bygone days of quiet gardens. 985@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ HP Nadig asked in a comment how is Bangalore?. A month after we relocated from US, here is what I feel.

]]> living 2004-03-19T08:00:00+05:00 Relocation http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2004/02/05/relocation.html DC to Bangalore. Low site activity predicted for some more weeks. 980@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Another big change in life. On Tuesday, we moved from Washington DC. Decided that we should try Bangalore instead of continuing in the USA. Landed in our little God's Own Country this morning. The only random thought that comes to mind is that Air India has the best seats in the economy class, for inter-continental 747s. Terrific leg room.

Last 2-3 weeks were spent packing, donating and selling household articles. The move and the new job should take up some more of our time and energy. So, the activity here in the blog will be less for a while.

]]> living 2004-02-05T07:01:33+05:00 No TV is good! http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/12/27/no_tv_is_good.html Last Sunday, we sold our TV and VCR. I can already feel the cloud lifting. Quick notes about three books I read. 957@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ My wife and I have now completed one full week without TV. It doesn't surprise us that we don't miss it one bit, considering our sentiments towards the idiot box. What has surprised me is that my thinking has become much more clearer and my eyes are much more relaxed. By American standards, I suppose we watch very little TV. About 1.5 hours per day.

I am very grateful that my parents didn't have TV till I turned 15. Reading used to be my entertainment. Unlike TV, reading stimulates visualization and curiosity, which I think is essential for a child's development.

]]> living 2003-12-27T22:19:33+05:00 Black & White #3 http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/12/20/black_white_3.html India, Pakistan, space exploration, Arabian Sea 952@http://vsbabu.org/mt/
  • Pak girls allowed to choose their husbands. Allow them to choose their governments and there shall be peace in South Asia.
  • Pilot suspected of drinking. Cool, let us get a FOX 5 news reporter reporting live from -- oh oh, should she be in a bar or in an airport?
  • Four spacecraft to reach mars over next month. Did Saddam tell CIA that his chemical weapons are in Mars?
  • U.S. seizes $3M in drugs in Arabian sea. In related news, descendents of California gold rush folks are planning to go swimming in the Arabian Sea as soon as possible.
  • Defence Minister George Fernandes said Wednesday that India would put its own man into space in the near future.. After that, there are plans to create a Loksabha seat for space; Several leaders of Congress(I) are secretly contemplating nominating K. Karunakaran.
  • DMK's exit will have no influence on the stability of NDA: Advani. Others agree that it will have no influence on the efficiency either.
  • Indian lawyers for Saddam. Try him in Indian courts and he will outlast the next 5 US administrations.
    • ]]>     living 2003-12-20T14:24:37+05:00     Seconding first rule of programming http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/12/19/seconding_first_rule_of_programming.html In Jarno Virtanen, I trust. 951@http://vsbabu.org/mt/
    The first rule of programming: do not program if you have a flu.

    Because of that, I've not yet been able to start the tutorial on MS Project 2000.

    ]]>     living 2003-12-19T07:16:38+05:00     Disturbing... http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/12/09/disturbing.html As if having flu, sore throat, cough and lousy climate are not enough. 947@http://vsbabu.org/mt/
  • Student expelled for one year after carrying Advil in her purse. via Petrilli. These kind of right-wing philosophies (zero-tolerance) make me wonder if the compassionate conservatives are depressingly full of "I'm OK, no one else is" mentality.
  • Understanding Object Oriented Programming. No wonder why Phil Greenspun thought Java is an SUV. OOP is a wonderful paradigm, but as is with any paradigm, healthy dose of reality is required to make it practical. Comments by Simon Willison, Hans Novak, Kimbro Staken, Mick and Jarno Virtanen. To be fair, the example they have chosen to illustrate the merits of OOP is completely counter-productive. Other than somehow calling people who solves a problem at hand efficiently as hackers, this article, IMO, scares the hell out of anyone who is interested in OOP!
    • ]]>     living 2003-12-09T18:02:15+05:00     My luck keeps coming! http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/11/11/my_luck_keeps_coming.html Why do Spaniards and the Dutch like me so much? 935@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Two months after winning El Gordo lottery, I won the Dutch Overseas Lotto today. The Dutch company seems to be not as creative as El Gordo. They are using e-mail to announce winners --must be cutting costs. El Gordo was creative and resourceful enough to get hold of a bunch of international postal addresses and snail-mail the notifications.

    Though I'm in a benevolent mood --I am from a middle class family in India and truly has difficulty counting this much money--, I'm thankful that I still have clouds way above my head.

    ]]>     living 2003-11-11T06:12:27+05:00     Society at war http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/10/30/society_at_war.html What will society do when supply of villains dry up? 931@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ In US, almost every other story begins with some kind of war.

    ]]>     living 2003-10-30T20:34:20+05:00     Arlington Eateries http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/09/21/arlington_eateries.html Sunday noon. Food time. Picks and musings. 897@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Discovered Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide via David Kearns. Why didn't I discover this 4 years ago? Tyler beats Phyllis Richman or Tom Sietsema.

    My picks are below - in no particular order.

    ]]>     living 2003-09-21T12:30:01+05:00     Post Isabel edition http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/09/19/post_isabel_edition.html The good, the bad and the ugly. 894@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Oh well, Hurricane Isabel came and went.

    The Good

    • Not much damage around were I live. Several uprooted trees, thats all.
    • Office closed yesterday and today. Yesterday, metro was closed; today, no power. In effect, a 4 day weekend, with nothing much to do.
    • Only nature's noise yesterday night. Slept very well! Almost like my native village in Kerala.
    • No power from 10pm yesterday till 5pm today. No TV! Not mine, not neighbours'. Silence is golden - especially when the hum of electric equipment is absent.
    • Great brunch at the Eat 'n Run Deli in Ballston.
    ]]>     living 2003-09-19T16:59:57+05:00     El Gordo Winner! http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/09/13/el_gordo_winner.html Economy must be really bad. Spammers are now using international snail mail. 886@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ I got a letter today, posted from Madrid, Spain on Sept. 9. The letter is dated August 20. It is from El Gordo Sweepstake Lottery Company S.L, informing me that I've won some $615K. All I need to do is to fill up a form with my personal information like date of birth, bank account number etc., to my appointed (who appointed, I don't know) security company, Diamond Security Company - also in Madrid. Naturally, I will need to pay them 10% of the winnings. I must hurry or by September 22nd, the money will be returned to Spanish Ministry of Finance.

    ]]>     living 2003-09-13T17:55:56+05:00     Train to Chicago http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/08/19/train_to_chicago.html Photos and notes from a 2 day train trip to Chicago. 868@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Last week, my wife and I went to Chicago. We took Amtrak's Capitol Limited. It took 18 hours, but very nice. We spent a day there. We absolutely loved the city. The train back was a bit annoying due to the delays caused by power outage.

    chicago photos
    79 photos from the trip

    ]]>     site history 2003-08-19T20:58:49+05:00     Black & White #2 http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/08/01/black_white_2.html North Korea, WMD in Iraq, Anthax in Maryland, Senators, Ozone, Gigli 856@http://vsbabu.org/mt/
  • Bush Optimistic About North Korea's Acceptance to Participate in Multilateral Talks. Four years ago, Clinton was optimistic. For two years, Bush criticized Clinton's policy. Did Kim Jong Il send some chocolate cakes last week for this change of heart?
    • ]]>     living 2003-08-01T14:31:07+05:00     On leadership http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/08/01/on_leadership.html "Leaderships is about courage to dream big". And some more. 855@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Rediff.com: At the Gartner Summit India last fortnight, Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor N R Narayana Murthy discussed the role Information Technology plays in creating a developed India with Gartner Asia-Pacific Vice-President Bob Hayward, Research Vice-President (India) Partha Iyengar and Vice-President and Chief of Research (Asia-Pacific) John Roberts.

    I: IT in India, II: On Leadership

    I've had my differences with Infosys and Mr.Murthy while I worked for them. Nevertheless, I really liked the following quotes from Mr.Murthy.

    ]]>     living 2003-08-01T13:49:45+05:00     Black & White #1 http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/07/31/black_white_1.html This is possibly the first of routine dose of sarcasm about the day's headlines. 854@http://vsbabu.org/mt/
  • Vatican calls gay marriage 'Gravely Immoral' - Google News. Good, child molesting priests can now give sunday sermons about what is moral.
    • ]]>     living 2003-07-31T19:04:28+05:00