Tekdi fan?

Gaurav sums up the influence of the tekdis on life in Pune here. Brilliant.

Imagination

Amazing thing, imagination. Came across an interesting "history of the future" piece in a Web Mining class today - someone's done a lot of thinking about what Google could do to the Fourth Estate. Don't know why the emphasis on the news, but for me, the GoogleZon idea was the killer :-)

Home'fit'

Homesickness has probably been one of the biggest tormentors of hundreds of young students or professionals who come to distant lands for study or work. Quite naturally then, that was something I wasn't ruling out to happen to me too. Surprisingly however, there has hardly been any of that feeling ever since I landed in America over a month ago. Sure, I missed Ganeshotsav and the food and all the fun that comes with it (that the wisarjan miraunook chaos ruined it this time is a different matter), but I wouldn't call that homesickness just yet. Casual after-dinner chats over coffee with room-mates revealed a very similar picture... none of them really feel homesick, which also makes me feel less cold. Of course you could put it down to better means of communication these days than say half a decade ago, but the consensus that emerged from that conversation was that this was not really all that different from home. All the eight people that live in two adjacent apartments, are from in and around Pune (true to my Puneri upbringing, Mumbai is casually included in that circle :P) and all are Marathi speaking people. So there is the same food, the same language, the same jokes and many have common friends. Its almost like a home away from home.

Leaving your family and friends behind can be tough. Living it out on your own, making new friends and adjusting with their lifestyle does not make it any easier. Most of this post may make you go "duh " but I feel its importance is rather underplayed. So a simple word of advice for anyone who is planning an away-life - choose your roomies - and do it right.

Google's explanation of 'failure'

Google's seach engine has apparently been foxed by some clever pranksters. Try searching for "miserable failure" in Google and see the amusing results. Google ofcourse, has wiped its hands clean!

Oil

A great article by Dave Barry on the rising oil prices. Its a bit old, but still relevant and just as funny.

(Pinch of salt: You might have to register with The Miami Herald (free, of course) to get to read it)