The rush to spend money

This was during my early days in Hyderabad.  Days just went by with nothing much happening.  I woke up on a Saturday (or maybe a Sunday) morning and I randomly decided that I'd buy a pair of Bose earphones.  It's well above the cost of typical earphones I'd buy, but I wanted to buy the Bose anyway.  Reason?  I was kinda fed up and I had to spend some money.  Like a therapy.

Next time I remember this happening to me was when I was sitting at home doing nothing for a few days.  This time, I somehow managed to get over it without spending money on useless shopping[*].  For the past week or so, I have been dying to buy a tablet.  Today I walked to the Apple Store on George Street to look at the new white iPad.  I searched Amazon and Best Buy sites to  buy Asus's Eee Pad Transformer.  iPad, I must go super nuts to buy; I'm not there yet.  Eee Pad was sold out, so that saved me.

You know what's the worst part?  I know I don't want a tablet.  I am very happy with my laptop.  So happy that I am not reading my Kindle books on the Kindle anymore.  Hope I get over this rush without wasting money!

[*] Okay, so the Bose is not useless shopping, but a Zune definitely would have been... I guess.

Heard of pyrexia?

Sometimes it's annoying when people ask questions of no value.  Like asking what happened to you when your status message reads "NFW" or "ill" but you're actually active like any other day.  One of the things you can do is scare them by using words they may not understand immediately.  "Oh yeah, I went to the doctor and she said it looks like pyrexia."  "py what?"  "Pyrexia.  No idea what that is, but she said I'll be okay in a few days."

• Pyrexia is fever.
• Cephalgia is headache.
• Rhinitis is stuffy/blocked nose.
• Veisalgia is hangover.
• Pharyngitis is sore throat

PS: I am no doctor, so I could have gotten few (or maybe even all) names wrong.

Making decisions

If you are not willing to pay the price of a bad decision, you restrict yourself from making even good decisions.

Not a conventional company!

It's been almost 5 years now, but I still remember two things I saw on my first day at Google:

• The induction presentation had a slide that said "Everything aside, don't get too serious; remember to have fun."
• The first two sentences of the founders' letter to investors: "Google is not a conventional company.  We do not intend to become one."

Assests and liabilities

Don't ask if it is an asset or a liability.  Ask if it is more of an asset or more of a liability.  For, everything is both an asset and a liability.

My experience with Samsung N150+ laptop

I bought a Samsung N150+ laptop about 2 months ago.  I have been extensively using the laptop since then.  I use it for a lot of browsing, literally no gaming, sometimes to watch videos, occasionally writing some code.

After using it for a while, I think I'm quite happy with the device.  I like the fact that it has an anti-glare LED display and very portable at only around 1.25kg.  There are, of course, a few shortcomings.

The machine isn't very powerful.  If you want a lot of processing power, this laptop isn't for you.  I believe that we only get what we pay for, and the price point of 17,500 INR justifies the reduced horsepower.  (It has 2GB of RAM, which is twice as much as most comparable laptops.)  Also, the fact that I run Kubuntu helps.  I haven't tested extensively, but I believe that Windows 7 will be slower on this machine than Linux.

I hate wide screen displays.  This laptop's 10" screen also has wide screen aspect ratio (1024×600).  I recently figured out that keeping the task bar on the left side makes the effective screen aspects a little less wide.  It also gives a little more vertical space to apps.

Overall, I am quite happy with my purchase.

Does God exist?

What is my answer for the question "Does God exist"?  My answer is "Yes"!  There's a lot of hypothetical but useful things in the world.  Inches, for example.  Strictly speaking they don't exist; we don't find inches lying around.  But are they useful?  Of course they are.  In the same way God does exist and is useful.  If you don't want to, or cannot, make use of God just keep quiet.

Inspired by this post on Puri Subzi.

Split in several pieces

Last night I was chatting with a friend when I said "One part of me likes you, but the other part of me wants to ignore your existence."  Well, our relationship is like that.  Then I started thinking about work, and the fact that the whole day I wasn't focusing well enough on work.  Then suddenly it dawned on me: I don't do anything completely.  By doing something completely I mean doing it without second thoughts.

For instance, I like this friend but I have some reservations.  I want to get work done, but I don't do it because I end up choosing to do something else.  I don't want my parents to be anxious yet I run away from marriage.  In everything I do, I can see a part of me that sits behind my mind scratching its head frowning at the part of me that does it.

Osho says that we are fully ourselves only occasionally.  Like when we laugh for a joke.  We don't stop to think if it's okay to laugh.  After last night's revelation I am able to understand this at a deeper level.  I am writing this now, but I have been fighting myself about this since last night!  Why is it so difficult to be one single person?!

8 easy steps to get a motorcycle licence in Australia

One of the reasons I moved to Australia was that I wanted to travel.  But looking at the process for getting a motorcycle rider's licence in New South Wales state makes me weep (and laugh at the same time).  Before even applying for any licence, I must live in Australia for 6 months continuously.

After being here for 6 months, I should get a pre-learner training.  Then I should appear for a rider knowledge test.  Once I have passed the test, I should apply for a Learner rider licence.  After at least 3 months I have to enrol for a pre-provisional training.  At the end of the training I'll have to take a riding test.  Passing the riding test will make me eligible to apply for a provisional rider licence, P1.

I must keep the P1 licence for at least 12 months.  After the 12 months period I can upgrade to another provisional licence, P2.  This P2 licence, I must keep for 24 months.  After the 24 months period I can convert the P2 into an unrestricted licence.  All this while (and afterwards), I should keep renewing my licence because temporary residents must renew their licences every year.

A friend and I were talking about cross-country motorcycle rides in Australia before I left India.  Dude, if you're reading this know what to expect when you visit me :-)

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