Thirty one

Finally, here I am at my first milestone. It was not as bad as I thought. Few days in Kerala, I had log using mobile. The mobile interface is not that great.

This blogging every day from the past 30 days, made me aware of time. I lost 30 days and what did I learn or progress? Or is it necessary to improve?  But one thing I observed. When I am genuinely productive and learning something new, I feel happy and good about myself. When I have a lot of things to do and progress to make, I am at peace with myself. Not sure about meditation, but I am very confident about the fact that learning new thing would bring a lot of peace and happiness to life.

New 

Thirty

After 6 years I am upgrading my PC. I don't want to go into technical details. I keep asking myself, do I need an upgrade?

The present PC has worked well. At the end of the sixth year, power supply died and I replaced with a new one and PC is working fine.

However, photo editing software (Affinity photo), video editing is too slow. Booting up time is 5 mins. More than that, I have some excess money is sitting in my account! 

The constant itch to buy and read a lot of reviews is the true reason for buying a new PC or for that matter anything new.

It is a kind of addiction. However, reading reviews and understanding technology is a great way to keep updating with the ever-changing technology world. 

Twenty-nine

I am lazy. I started one new habit for the new year. I continued that till date. I felt good I thought, I will add few more. I was over enthusiastic and added 4 more. Difficult. Difficult for a lazy person like me. I think I need to add one by one can't add all at once.
Why we all feel great about doing something meaningful and find it difficult to do. Most of us know how to be successful but we fail to follow the well tested and super optimized methods passed on to us from the last two thousand years are more. This is because we fail to put the things in practice. The theory is important and putting into practice is more important,

Reflection 

Twenty- eight

Monday. The weekend was reasonably spent. Time wasted and also well used. Reading books still a challenge. The nonfiction books are difficult to focus. There is no story and only theory. Following a story is easy and gripping.
I have to make dal. Dal is an interesting dish. Every time I make dal it turns out to be different. A simple dish with amazing taste.
This weekend I have added a few more things along with this everyday blogging for "to do " list.

Twenty-seventh

Last night my daughter was asking what is cancer? I don't like these questions in the night. In the night, the brain doesn't work logically. Dark wired thoughts popup in night and chain of horrible thoughts follow that.
I said we will talk about that tomorrow. NO was the answer. I said, our own cells grow more and more, just like when you blow balloon beyond the limit, it will burst like that body would burst. She was reasonably convinced. But she wanted to know the consequences of that n to the family. Now I am terrified. I just started telling her a story.
She was also asking the difference between the love of husband and wife, father and daughter and brother and sister. She asked what is really love? I said liking. But to be honest I failed to give an answer.

Thinking is difficult 

Twenty-six

Today is "Republic Day" in India. We have come a long way from 1950. But we have many more things to do.
My country is complex. More than 1500 languages are spoken across the country. The accent of the same language would change within a few kilometres of travel. This is true for food also. So-called Indian food is just representative.
This is good and also disadvantageous for progress. It is always easy to manage the homogeneous population.
I strongly believe, the only way to develop our country is "education". Don't get confused with the school education. Our educational system needs a comprehensive overhaul. This is another lengthy topic for some other day.

Twenty-fifth

Yesterday I was listening to a podcast about asking questions. One most important thing that struck me was "people/students are rewarded for answers but not for asking questions" It is just the opposite. Those who asked most relevant and intelligent questions came up with innovations. One Noble laureate said I am not intelligent enough to ask a deep, pondering questions. For people who love deep and, thought-provoking questions should visit the website "Edge". Here every year one annual question is posted. The brightest minds around the globe would answer. These answers are collected and posted as a book.

 somewhere answer is there! 

Twenty-four

I managed to read more than one page of the book Thinking Fast and Slow. This log I am doing on 24th January but the blogger is showing published on 23rd January. I tried to solve this issue but found that it is a lot more complicated than I think. I have put that on the task list.
Time is passing very fast. I am planning to keep a log for time. Will life become boring? jor interesting? an experiment worth trying.

Twenty three

Selfishness. My daughter says it is good. I asked how? She said if I give up everything I will be on road. I asked her, why you don't like some girls and have cold wars? she said, if things around all look rosy, life will be boring. So I am learning many things from a 9-year-old.
Children imagination is unlimited. Our schools for sure killing the creativity. We don't need to learn so many things at school. I need to teach her to think. Difficult task. I am thinking and devising some methods. 

Twenty two

Natural selection. Survival of fittest. Darwin proposed that best set of features would prevail in the given conditions. Even smallest advantage would be favourable in long run and eventually, it will out-compete its nearest rival. For example how Gmail prevailed over other mail providers. It is true for everything.
However, often in spite of this vigorous selection pressure, some organs (appendix in the intestine) survive in the course of evolution. I also see in the modern society or in companies some people survive or make it to top of the organization without true capabilities handle that position. Is it because they are not smart in the job in the hand but exceptionally smart to knock out the competition? 

Twenty-one

The weekend was reasonably well spent. Though calorie count went out of hand! Did not read much, but sticking to read one page+ per day. Yes, went for a short photo shoot with my daughter. Just behind my building, a hill is there  and the sun sets behind that. Therefore, I lose at least one hour of direct sunlight. Sticking to the plan.
Monday, a number of things to do. I have to start planning hour basis checklist.

Perspective

Twenty

I said you are watching cartoons which show "black thoughts" and are not good for a ten-year-old girl. My daughter said, but you watch "black mirror". The only way to teach the kids is being a model and follow the rules yourself. They are blunt.
The checklist is long. But I still don't know what to do today. Maybe I go out for photography. After 20 days, I am adding a second new habit. Read one page of a  book (difficult to read and hard copy). I am starting with Thinking, Fast and Slow.  On Kindle, I will read one page or more, the book I selected is "Skin in the game". 

Le there be light

Nineteen

 "one more than eighteen; nine more than ten; 19."

An interesting definition for the number. The Saturday morning after a hectic week is like a speed breaker. I need to make a checklist as soon as possible otherwise Youtube will eat my weekend. I need to start reading a new book. Book buying is fun but reading not sure about that. I haven't done photography from quite sometime. I should go out this weekend. I will update and review the weekend on Monday post. 

Eighteen

This year I would like to list out the books I have read cover to cover and a separate list of books which are half read or a few pages/chapters. Let me see how would that go.
1. Atomic Habits - author - link and link for review and buy - good book- score- 8/10 - finished on 17-1-2019

Seventeen

Today morning started with a discussion about science in India. I don't want to get into right and wrong argument. My opinion and practice is that , let me try and put all my efforts to enhance and improve scientific and technological output that would help the nation.

Sixteen

Almost end of the day. Trying to log now. Busy day. Did some experiments with pineapple. All day busy. Staying in a town Muvattupuzha, Kerala. Interesting small town. But traffic jams are rampant. A topic for another day.

Fifteen

Logging from Kerala. After very long time traveling by train. Don't know how to check pnr , coach no, flatform etc. Finally in coach. Technology improved by leaps and bounds. Cleanliness. Is long way to go. With proper vision and administration Indian Railways can be most profitable company. High load on limited infrastructure.

Fourteen

First time in thirteen days, I forgot to put a post in the morning. Today I am travelling to Kerala. Before travel, I have a lot of uncertainty. I enjoy travelling but there will be always kind of anxiety in the background. 

Thirteen

Lazy Sunday. Many things to do. The Internet is stealing my time. When do I read my books? I should admit that I love buying books but I am not reading them. Even few pages of the books remain long in the memory but the stuff I read on the internet never lasts. Therefore, I should spend less time on the internet and more time with books. How to get away from the internet? It is not an easy thing. I need to devise a method or a plan to do so. Just like a food diary, I may have to maintain an "internet time" diary.
Why the internet is so addictive? My opinion is that the internet has infinite subjects; you get bored from one site, hop on to next site and if you really get bored of all these sites then you have Youtube or Twitter. When you are reading a book, if you get bored you have to search a new book. Physically searching some information is a forgotten art. Thanks to Google. That inhibition brings you back to the internet.

Think

Twelve

Today is Saturday. Many things to do. First thing is to make a to-do list! Recently shifted to a new place on the ground floor. When this apartment was constructed, only one person worked (male-husband!) and therefore atleast one person is there at home all day. Hence, no mailbox is provided at ground-floor. We both are working and we need a mail-box. Doorbell, mailbox arrived. I will post tomorrow the photo of the mailbox fixed on the wall. Time being I am going to the mall; you don't need the reason for that! Let me go and find the reason and come back and update!

Chinese market at Singapore

Eleven

Spelling has been the biggest nightmare from my childhood. I did spelling mistakes in my mother tongue Kannada and also in English. This could be an inherent problem in my brain for spellings. Or I read silently and not loudly pronouncing the words. And also maybe I don't pay attention to spellings. Now from past 18 years, I am using the computer and that saved me from the spelling problem. Now I am finding the same problem with my daughter. She too does spelling mistake in native language and English. Both of us are horrible with "a" and "e" usage. Seems genetics! or both of us are lazy and never say things loudly.
Finally, I am learning many spellings now!

I enjoy everything except........

Ten

Easy to preach, difficult to follow. I have my own image of "how I should be" I am trying to be that from past 20 years. Essentially I can't do what I preach. I realized this truth very late. Now I preach less, though not stopped! I need to stop.

The mind is like this; thoughts will go back to come again!

Nine

Couldn't get sleep at night. Don't know why. No sleep means a train of thoughts would begin. I always try to control them. I go to my dreamy world and assume myself an underdog in a game or president of a country and what all things I could do. But often night is not a good time for good thoughts. Often small worry would look like a big mountain. The same thought would look so silly in the morning.

Dream world 

Eight

Managed to write till the eighth day. Running out of subjects. My daughter watches a lot of cartoons and vlogs on youtube. Essentially she learnt more about American culture than Indian culture. She would say, I will shift to America. I ask her why? Her favourite singer, actor and Youtubers all are Americas and therefore she will shift there. I am telling many stories of Indian mythology, Indian freedom struggle and ancient heritage of our nation. Not very convinced by that. Hope she would realize as she grows up. Now she is nine years old.

Seven

Monday. The brain is flooded with things to do. Sometimes overwhelming and depressing. It doesn't mean that the work is difficult but it is mundane or getting too many permissions from higher-ups. Attending meetings also kind of boring.
Hard disc story: There were two partitions to the hard disc. One part, I was able to retrieve and the other one is showing a raw partition. I need to take it to a professional. 

Being brave on Monday.

Six

Today is Sunday. Every Sunday I would like to do some productive stuff. What about being lazy? I prefer to do that. Hide the to-do list. My hard-disc is still not working. They are charging more than Rs 5000/-($100). I am trying to recall the things were on that hard-disc and are they worth of money. I thought of reading some photography books. Thinking and imagining are so easy and doing is so difficult. We can always accuse and abuse the internet and today also I did the same. What's up takes up a lot of time. I moved What's up and Twitter from home screen to a folder. I muted the notification sound. The Twitter temptation was not much but, today I moved back What's up back to home screen. Today, haircut and colouring hair- getting old but holding on to a cliff!
  Time is everything beyond the age of 40! till then did a mistake of wasting THE time.

Five

Today I lost one hard disk. I am not sure what all stuff was there on that. Worried about unknown. I hope I could recover data from the hard disc. Maybe old photos, songs, books and many more. However, day to day work is not hampered. I will update once it is repaired.
So there are many things which we have kept saving assuming they are important and even when they are lost, we don't notice.

Four

So yesterday I cleaned the keyboard. I told this story to my daughter. She asked me, how did you put back all the keys in the same position. I asked her to think. She did not come up with the obvious answer that "take a photo and refer to that". She came up with two more alternatives which I did not think. She said you take out each key at a time, clean it and put it back. Another solution she said was' you type without seeing, so you know where the keys are and you put them back!. well ...you can't beat a kid in creative thinking.

Three

Are you a review addict? My keyboard was not working. New keyboard, wow start research. Wait, I should not be buying too many things. Let me see if I can clean and repair my keyboard.
I knew my daughter abused the keyboard with milk, chocolate, egg and many more eating stuff. Often the computer used as a dining table.
So I watched Youtube and as per suggestion, the keyboard was cleaned. 

Before the operation

Inside the keyboard

closer look

keys are taken out and kept in the same order 

 after vigorous cleaning with all possible solvents and a brush.

Now the keyboard is assembled back and is not working!  

wow

I am buying a new keyboard without any guilt! 

l

Two

Oh, today, I am doing this thing now! I will finish this task and then waste my time on the net. This tree must have taken years to grow, cell by cell. As a species, we are just like any other species. The tree is not concerned about where it is growing or how much water it is consuming; we too.

One

First post of 2019. Still, 18 min remaining for the next day. Snail pace... one step at a time.