Posts

For as long as I could remember I have assumed that I procrastinate a lot. On the other hand, if it’s something fascinating, I’d find it extremely hard to stop doing it. There was no in-between. I have also known that I get distracted by the slightest stimulus and go in a complete tangent. I’d do well in subjects I like and do pretty poorly in subjects I hate. I’ve known that I’d space out a lot. Even when I really want to do something I’d struggle to do it unless there’s an immediate deadline or a payoff. Surprisingly, I have also been told I’m a good listener - may be because in reality my head’s somewhere else. I could learn by listening to my brother read (he had the habit of always reading out aloud) but taking the book and reading it myself was always challenging. And yet somehow, I have done decently well in school. Although, I still remember the look on my Principal’s face when I told him I got into a decent college. Every one of my teachers thought I had the “potential” to shine if only I put in my effort. ...

There’s an entire range of depictions when it comes to AI in space-travel themed science-fiction movies and TV shows. Hal, for example, is a conscious AI - for some definition of consciousness. While this is a wonderful plot device and something tech visionaries have been saying is right around the corner, it’s not how I view AI at all. ...

The seeds are sprouting and growing much more rapidly than I thought it would. With summer here the temperatures are hot, and the need for watering has gone up. I figured it would be a good idea to setup irrigation to reduce water usage, even watering and save some time. Even water pressure is much harder to achieve. The irrigation systems on Amazon come with 1/4" tubes. The pressure on these fizzle out with just a few atomizers and sprinklers. The better option would be to run a 1/2" tube as the main line and use the 1/4" tubes as feeder lines. Even that doesn’t work beyond a point especially when your house uses the same line to feed all faucets and taps. Next up is dealing with the stupid cat that wants to poop in my raised bed. A net would provide the necessary barrier. I needed a frame to support the net. This nifty hoops from Amazon provided a decent frame, and it was extensible. It also doubled as the supporting frame for the irrigation lines. ...

The past weekend, with a little help from my friends , I started a vegetable garden in my backyard. It’s been a really long time since I did anything similar. The choice of what to plant was almost a lottery pick. Maybe next time I’ll learn to identify what makes sense to grow and what to buy instead. Here are the first sprouts of some of them. ...

The Human brain has evolved to being lazy [1]. It’s the natural state of things. It is also more likely than not that you’re average—it’s the very definition of it. In our society, neither of this is adequate. ...

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World Hello, I’m Sankara, and I’m a social media and smartphone addict :). Social media and smartphones are not always recognized as an addiction, at least not clinically, but the result is the same. They consume so much of our time and influence our mood that at times we could fall behind on the things that really matter. Even when I read the book, I wasn’t fully bought into the philosophy of it. I mean I struggle with a lot of what the author had to say. I even agree with and have personally seen the way my personal and professional life is impacted by unchecked social media usage and even quit various social media platforms as a result. However, I never fully took charge of my digital life. The whole COVID situation only made it worse. This weekend (August 2020) is when I finally decided to full on and minimize my phone usage to a minimum. I’m not quitting everything in rage. I’d still stay connected. However, I’d be making a clear plan on what I want to use, why and how much and stick to it. ...

Children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-time Children of time is a fantastic creative novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Since this a summary of a thriller with a suspense ending, you have to stop reading right now if you don’t want to be ruined by a spoiler. ...

Embracing Your Life With The Heart Of A Buddha by Tara Brach 1. The Trance of Unworthiness We live our world in a trance; inherent in this trance is the belief that no matter how hard we try we are always falling short. This belief of unworthiness goes hand in hand with the alienation we feel from others and life. The belief that we are unworthy makes it difficult to trust that we are truly loved. We also assume that our physical sickness or emotional depression is our own fault. ...