The frank politician

Values are faithfully applied to the facts before us, while ideology overrides facts that call theory in question.

-From Audacity of Hope

Barack Obama has become a symbol of hope for millions worldwide, and that includes not just Americans. His Audacity of Hope was a wonderful read. The things that stand out most is his frankness to say things as he sees them without political pamper, his willingness to say that the problems before him may not have simple solutions and also to consider the alternate point of view. Coming from a politician, you might expect it to be dry read, but it's not. The book is enlivened by narratives of the author's encounters with the Aam Aadmi. And I think the things he talks about apply (to some extent, at any rate) to our country too. I think you should not miss it.

2012

My review @ the movie blog.

A forward

Engineer's love story

Mai BE me tha
Wo BE me thi
Mai BE me tha
Wo ME me thi
Mai BE me tha
Wo PhD kar rahi thi
Aaj uski shaadi hai
Mera backlog ka paper hai..


Received this SMS forward a few moments back. And let's face it, it's not very funny. But still, I immediately forwarded it to my old engg. gang and a few other friends. Why? Because it filled my mind with those golden memories (which for the record contain many love stories, in all of which I play the innocent bystander :p). Nightouts, coffee at 1:30AM.. I keep takling about it all the time, and still don't seem to get enough. Drizzling rains and an unusual quiet in the room may have played a part today!

Enjoy the Rains!

Few simple rules

To live by. As you might have guessed, I am in preaching mode today.
So here they are.. (brackets tell where they are lifted from)

Be original! (Parker [Not Peter, Pen])

Know Stuff! (Abstruse Goose)

Travel Light! (My own brain)

Have Fun! (Robert Love, LKD 2nd ed. From the Preface)


Additions (preferably expressed in two words) are welcome!

The Double Helix

I had wanted to read the The Double Helix since forever. I knew the DNA story, and in some detail too, but learning it from the horse's mouth is always a different deal. And it did not disappoint. It's the chronicle of the discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953 (which in turn led to a Nobel prize in 1962), by Watson himself. The things that stand out immediately are his honesty and his bluntness. Without mingling words, he tells the reader where he went wrong, and where others went wrong, before eventually discovering the right answer. There are false starts, professional jealousy and so on; but there also is a sense of fair play, and a thought given to the regular life. Once started, you can not put it down. Don't miss it!

Two States

I read Chetan Bhagat's Two States recently. The thing I like about his writing is his acute observation of Indian mentality. The thing I don't like (or at least don't enjoy very much) is his plots are a tad too unrealistic. This one is no different. The plot is even more dramatic than usual. I personally liked the first half much better. Overall the book is not significantly better or worse than earlier CB novels. So if you have enjoyed earlier ones, you will probably like this one.

Enjoy!!

An old (and somewhat fuzzy) memory

A snap of my Engineering class (second year probably). I think the photo was taken on Tie day (of course it's obvious). A Tip o' the Hat goes to DJ for forwarding me this (and forcing my transition to senti state).