Part Of Being Sane Is Being A Little Crazy

Finally I did it. I made myself a bootable USB flash drive which can run Linux. I’ve always been a fan of Linux and wanted to try it out. Kubuntu, using Wubi , was my first foray into Tux land. While it went quite well, I lost the installation to a format. Then I tried Ubuntu, this time by actually installing it on my HDD. I did find Gnome better then KDE, but there was still something lacking; not to mention the fact that my wi-fi didn’t work. Then last month I stumbled across Mint. It seemed like a good alternative for me to try, it looked way better than the default theme that Ubuntu comes with. So off I went & downloaded the ISO. Little did I know that my CD drive had decided to take a hike, leaving me with an ISO image and nothing to burn it onto. I thought my Mint foray was doomed. Except I found LiLi (Linux Live) Usb Creator . From the website: LiLi USB Creator is a free software for Windows that allows you to create a bootable Live USB key with a Linux on it....

I just finished reading Dan Brown’s latest effort ‘The Lost Symbol’ and it feels exactly like my post title implies. One explosive secret that could destroy society, a secret society that protects it, one man who is determined to find it and our professor who must stop him along with the subsequent chases and thrills.  *Spoiler Alert* In fact, it differs from the previous book only in that the murder isn’t in fact a murder and the possibility of marriage for our irrepressible bachelor hero. * End *. Looks like Angels and Demons will continue to rank as my favorite book from Dan Brown, even better than The Da Vinci Code . Sometimes I wonder if the only reason I once thought highly of that book was because I read it before its predecessor. Angels and Demons was a riveting, action packed thriller with quite unexpected twists and turns.  While The Da Vinci Code had an explosive secret at its heart, it definitely lagged behind in the action. And The Lost Symbol com...

What does it mean? It means no newspapers. That’s right. Nothing. Zip. Nada. ET, The Hindu, Eenadu or The Daily Mail. It’s the worst nightmare to be stranded on a Sunday without the morning paper(s). Those papers would have normally kept this family of four busy for at least 3-4 hours. But alas! We might have to look at other avenues for entertainment. View Full Album What happened? Diwali happened, that’s what happened. Thankfully this is one of those festivals where the puja is at a minimum. Deepavali in Chennai is a feast for the eyes and ears…or maybe not. But it was definitely more fun. Festivals are supposed to be occasions of joy, celebrations and thanks. When I was still officially a kid, it meant all that and more (school holiday for example). Now all it means to me is yet another opportunity for tempers to flare, tensions to run high and moms to get exasperated. As far as I’m concerned, Indian festivals have way too many rules, at least in my house. Every fes...

I just noticed that my last post, Who needs God? was my – get this – 50th post here! And of course this is cause to celebrate. Not only do I get to write about it but I also increase my post count by 1. *insert maniacal laugh here*. Ok. Gloating done. When I first started this blog, I probably didn’t imagine that I would actually stick with it. After all I’ve started blogs before and abandoned them just as quickly. I’m one of those people who has a great idea/insight whatever (imagine a bulb lighting up over my head), rushes off to do it and then because it takes a lot of effort to keep going, I quit.  Nowhere is it more obvious than when it comes to video games and web projects. My sister and I will both start off a game at the same time. I usually stop playing once I hit a difficult level and start looking at another game. My sister on the other hand will not only keep playing till the end, but she will also replay   it till she makes expert on all levels *shudder...

I just ran across this blog post on a subject close to my heart. It is about the book Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment , by Phil Zuckerman (New York University Press, New York and London, 2008.) What I noticed first was that the title of the book is ‘ Society Without God’ not ‘ Life without God’ or some such nonsense. I've always found it curious that while many people would readily admit that their lives could be happier and certainly more convenient without a constant presence looking over their shoulder (aka “God”), the very same people are reluctant to admit that society itself could be better off without Him. It’s the ‘holier than thou’ attitude that always manages to annoy me. As in “I’m good enough that I don’t need a moral compass but the rest of humanity sure does!” Which reminds me of a sentence from the book ‘ The Necessity of Atheism ’ by David Marshall Brooks. In the book he asks ‘If religion really helps us...

Well after an exhausting trip down south, I’m back! But not for long. I’m leaving tonight for my interview at Kanpur. Yet another nerve wracking trip. * Sigh* What with all the tension and pressure, it is a wonder I haven’t lost my already tenuous hold on sanity. Hopefully I’ll get this job and put an end to all the uncertainty. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.