learning curve

So I am learning another language. No it cannot be spoken. And it deals with computers.Thank you for the boos.


Moving forward. I was wondering whether the fact that our teacher is a total geek has anything to do with my increased levels of interest. Or how he tells stories about the evolution of the language and constant anecdotes about why some things are done better or worse. He promotes doing things on the fly. And nor does he start the session with boring stuff like data structures, data types, classes or objects. 


Flashback to undergrad days, when those very terms were hammered down my throat making it mandatory to learn them (mug them if not understand) to pass exams. I hated computers and anything which taught me how to automate things with their help. 


Coming back to present day, anyone in the technology field will tell you that how even a little knowledge of computer programming languages has been a boon to their existence in this field. And again going back to teaching techniques used to teach these make me gape. In horror. After 4-5 years of collective experience using various languages, this session was the *only* one which really took care of my needs as a learner. And I know a huge credit goes to the trainer, who was more interested in getting us 'grown ups' interested. Rather than forcing us to blindly accept stuff.


Interesting thing he mentioned, 'only our computing platforms have improved, the tools we use remain the same. Which is quite a shame. Even Dennis Ritchie would agree.' Does same apply to teaching ? Why have not our techniques improved ? or have they ?


~nightflier


P.S. may be that's the reason some of my brightest computer engineer friends cringe at the thought of coding. Their teachers did something terribly wrong :D

one wish for today

It's allowed to be cheesy/soppy about oneself on birthdays. After all the hindi film values one has imbibed, it becomes mandatory.


So allowing myself the right of not growing up enough when required, I would say I grew up a long time back. On those little occasions when it was least expected.


Allison keys/clarke says, 'Sometimes the best way to move into the unknown is to take familiar steps, small steps. To do ordinary things to deal with something that is in no way ordinary. We're always going someplace new, all the time. Familiar things just let us pretend that we aren't moving into unfamiliar territory. You take those small familiar steps, and you try to be honest, not to live as if nothing had changed but still to go on with your life. But there are times when what you need is a piece of how things used to be.'


Oh and she is hardly 8. 
So I hope to talk to people, a lot of whom I have not been in touch with out of choice or otherwise, today. To feel familiar.


One last birthday wish this. Promise.


~nightflier

The art of making a snowman - Reloaded!

Since Winter Has Come (Yes, I am a fan of the series and will use this line till the end of the world :P) and there will be no snow in swades and I would like to celebrate the thanksgiving week playing make-believe, here is something from my closet. 

The idea to shoot in frames and then make a video came from this ingenious mind. I was thankfully left to being myself. In the fun Chicago winter! Oh and there is a rainbow in the background as well, if you notice :)
[College band's real hero playing in the background]


Have fun watching! Happy thanksgiving week in advance!


~nightflier

this birthday's advance wish

'I need to be happy. I need to be secure. On my own.'

I don't compare my life with anyone's. Truth. I am human. Truth. But when I am deeply dissatisfied by/with some things (which I directly cannot change) around it happens automatically. A creepy feeling sits inside my head. And then I dread even getting out of bed. Like this Wednesday. I acted like a 6 year old who feigns illness to avoid school and stayed home. For no reason. I did some outdoor work just to let some fresh air inside my otherwise sodden head. The restlessness just did not go away. It remained. Some inventions in the kitchen helped. Staying away from the laptop and internet helped. 

So may be going ahead, I should wish to get rid of such Wednesdays. Initially may be just learn to avoid gracefully ? And for that 'I need to be happy. I need to be secure. On my own.'

An ok wish. You think ?

~nightflier

P.S. There was a slight chill in the air today. Also I wore socks to work today. Winter is coming. :)

on finding conflict

Day before I was watching rockstar (which I liked for its nuances despite overall it being an ok movie with the most beautiful dud for an heroine) and it got me thinking about conflicts. There are some people, emotions, definitions in life about whom/which I still feel really conflicted. In extremes. Sometimes. And I do believe that has triggered a lot of thinking on my part, which has shaped my outlook towards life in general. Of course, I write as if this is my afterlife. Oh well.

And that's why I think I liked Imtiaz Ali's attempt, where he tries to capture the conflict in a not-so-abnormally brought up JJ. I liked that little scene where the erstwhile buffoon JJ thrashes his sister-in-law for being too touchy feely. Also loved the scene where Nargis says yes even before Jordan asks her the question. (That's the only place she did justice to that thing called 'acting'). And JJ's divine intervention moment in faya kun (What beautiful song, been listening to it with tum ko and katiya karu for the past 4 hours). And the turmoil when Nargis is trying to run away from Jordan. So yes, I liked the attempt to show troubled or not so lives of the protagonists. It made me care about Jordan, even if very very late in the movie.

So telling that conflict may give rise to the best or the worst of us, is like saying 2+2 equals 4. At a certain level, I do want my life conflict free, to attain that level of calm and peace which zen gurus have. But then may be for normal people, conflict is the only way to attain peace. No ? (2 biographies which I read recently, steve jobs and andre agassi, namely re-iterate this. Or so I felt).

Oh, and have you felt conflicted? Ever?

[ I had goosebumps all over during the first 3 minutes of the movie. Rehman's built up music does that. But the most I felt touched, the music and voice hitting straight my heart, was when the subdued Kavita Krishnamurthy track started playing at the end.]

~nightflier

P.S. Also KT agrees. So I am not alone in liking the movie :D

finding treasure

Every time during a long holiday (specially diwali) at home, we visit aai's parents. (well, baba's father passed away when he was 19, so he pretty much grew up with lots of responsibilities and really looked upto aai's father. Plus other granny lived with us. We don't have much biases otherwise.)
Aai always tells her mother (my aaji, granny) that  we are so lucky, as we got all this grandparents' love while growing up. Aaji's and aajoba's  (grandfather) parents passed away when they were really young. Hence. Aai thinks all this is very special. We normally take it for granted. Don't we all ?


As a kid, aai used to write letters with all her out-of-station rakhis. I learnt from her and continued the tradition well through college (afterwards I got into work and grew up :(). So much that I would write letters to aaji-aajoba complaining about aai too! Talk of pay back! Just out of making conversations with aai's brothers and sisters in law, I used to address everyone in my letters. Aajoba always replied to my letters. In the most literary way. With marathi verses and cryptic words. He would give gandhi references too! Sometimes it used to take me aai's help to even read them properly and make sense. 
I was his first grand kids who left town for education and he wrote me a 3 page letter telling me to never get home sick and how to work towards one's ambitions. I did not understand any of it much then. 
He followed स्वावलंबन  (self dependence) all through his life. He used to go for long walks, wash his own clothes and thali (dinner/lunch plate). When we were visiting and otherwise as well, he would go to the market and pick the freshest vegetables for us. Sometimes he would pack some stuff with aai, saying we lived in cities where we don't get to eat the fresh veggies. It would amuse us and we would roll our eyes.


Aajoba passed away 2 years back in the most bizarre manner. We are still uncomfortable talking about it. 
And then all the things aai says about being special suddenly strike me. And during this year's visit it gnawed at me.


I still carry all his letters with me. They are my treasure. He was a voracious reader. Aai has most of his books. I think she has found her treasure too!


~nightflier