More new vistas

Tata launched the new Indica yesterday. It's called the Indica Vista. (Feel free to groan, or retch, as you see fit) That means Slow start up, frequent stalling and it's gonna be a resource hog like nothing before. And people across the board will want the old version to come back. Oh, wait, sorry. We're talking about Tata here, not Microsoft :D

But seriously, when it comes to car names, why would you give it a name as blah as "vista"? Especially given the kind of bad images that the name "vista" brings up? Judging by the design, Tata wants it to be an aspirational family hatchback, if I'm not mistaken. And it will cost more than a lakh over the current Indica. Why vista, then? Why?! Automotive forums are already filling up with jokes about how the car will need more RAM and crash more often.

About the car itself, well, meh. The design is no great shakes. It looks like a blend of a European and Korean hatch in profile, but the front is bad. Finally, there's a front end that looks worse than the Swift. Honestly, what's with the swoopy, slash headlights? And the angled grille? It just looks jarring, if anything.

Thing is, I'm a big fan of the old Indica's design. It looks cute and hides its bulk well (admit it, the Indica is the most spacious hatch in its price range) The new car just doesn't look right, somehow. But hey, that's just my opinion. Judge for yourself.

Little boxes, little boxes...

Ever realize how easy it is to fall back on your identities? The boxes other people put you into. Right now, the ones I choose to fall into are bio-geek, non-jock, tamil. Never mind the fact that I just met a couple of 1st year students discussing families of fungi to pass time, I took up running and making a conscious effort to get into shape. And that it’s been over 5 years since I wrote a full sentence in tamil.

Why do I choose to fall into these boxes? It’s simple. Bio-geek means I don’t have to be particularly bothered about my physics grades, or anything my physicist batchmates say in general. Non-jock means I don’t have to try to play football and look stupid. And tamil means I don’t have to pretend to enjoy, well.. anything “northie”. I know, it makes me sound like a wuss of the first order. But that’s what you do in the face of change. Go with the tide. Go against the tide strong enough that you look eccentric, but people follow you anyway. Or box yourself in, hiding, hoping it all goes away. Hey, I’m cancerian. That’s what I have my shell for. To hide in.

AV, you wanted to know about the “back to Pune blues”? Here they are.

In other news, a new batch of students have joined my institute. It’s a little scary that so many of them look like they’re straight out of the classic nerd mould. You know, thick-rimmed glasses, awkward build drooping shoulders. The works. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe as a percentage of the batch they’re not very much more. Damn, I hope I’m wrong.

Tagged again

Chitra tagged me. And since I was just bored enough to do it, I did. There are 30 - 3 questions in the tag. I'd like to know who came up with them first...

1. What's your latest addiction?
Chocolate chip cookies. Just rediscovered the addiction, actually

2. What are you listening to?
Kangal irandal from Subramaniapuram. The tune is simply fantastic.

3. How late did you stay up last night and why?
Midnight. I was supposed to keep tabs on a friend, and fell asleep on the job :(

4. Who were you with last Friday night?
Technically, alone. My roommate doesn’t count, cos I see him every night.

5. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now?
Unlikely, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed :)

6. When is the next time you'll see your close friends?
Probably around October. (That reminds me, I really have to go book my ticket to Madras)

7. What were you doing this morning at 7am?
Sitting up groggily, trying to shake the sleep out of my eyes

8. What radio station do you listen to the most?
92.7 F.M.

9. What was the reason you last cried?
It must’ve been over a year back. I’m kinda sketchy about the reason, though

10. Have you ever talked to someone when they were high?
Yeah, unfortunately.

11. What's the fifth text in your inbox say?
“Processing request for a refill of INR 100.0. Please pay to retailer” :)


12. Where was the last coffee shop you went to?
Coffee Day in IIT-M, about two weeks back

13. What's your outfit right now?
A polo and sweat pants

[No 14 and 15]

16. What were you doing at 11pm last night?
Watching Scary Movie 3 (yeah, yeah. Think what you will)

17. Who was the last person you talked to last night before bed?
Arpit. I needed some software for Albus (Yes, I'm going to work Albus into as many posts as I can)

18. Will you be driving in a year?
I already have my licence, if that’s what you’re asking…

19. Is there anything that you are craving right now?
Right now, no. But I woke up this morning wanting some of Mithali's delicious garlic bread.

20. When did your last hug take place?
August 1st, with dad and mum just before I boarded the train to Pune.

[No 21 either.]

22. Have you ever started a sentence with "No offense, but..."?
Occasionally, yeah.

23. Do you drink tea?
Yes. Black with no sugar and just a hint of lime. Chai is just too sweet.

24. Have you ever been arrested?
No. And I don’t intend to be.

25. Have you rode in someone else's car today?
No

26. Have you made a mistake this past week?
Not that I know of.

27. Who was the last person you texted?
AV

28. Are you happy with your life right now?
Well, not over-the-top happy. But I’m content with my life right now.

29. In the past 72 hours have you been under the influence?
No. Nobody good to drink with here :D

30. What's the connection between you and the last person you texted?
Best friend’s sister. Plus counselor, when she has the time.

I'm not tagging anyone. Take it up if it looks interesting.

In the last 48 hours

It’s funny how I find myself thinking, nay ruminating, a lot more now that I’m down with a cold. It’s almost as if my thoughts were escaping out my nose and the only way to stop them was to partially block the exit with snot. Yep, it’s gross. Why should I be the only one who’s gonna be miserable today?

I was looking through some notes that I made in my journal some time ago and I came across a piece I didn’t complete. The gist of what I wrote before I stopped is this: the worst fate that can befall a person is not thinking. Now though, I’m not so sure it’d be all that bad. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of aimless wondering, which could lead to self doubt, or worse. By the way, I can’t quite remember why I didn’t finish writing that. Maybe the strain of thinking about thinking was too much for me.

It’s been another wet weekend here in Pune. Miserably wet, if you don’t like the rain. Or are sick. Thankfully, the rain hasn’t been too heavy, because we really could do without new potholes. In fact, in 2007 the condition of the roads was actually an issue during the Municipal elections. Every newspaper had articles about potholes almost every day, including the gossip rags *cough* Times of India *cough*
The fact that the rain isn’t particularly heavy now is a cause for concern. I haven’t looked at the official data, but the general consensus is that the monsoons are starting earlier, pouring heavier in June and August, less in July and less rainfall overall. Commentators have also said that the unique geography of the Indian sub-continent has shielded us from the effects of climate change. But maybe there’s only so much that the Himalayas can do when everything else changes.

And to wind up, fun cold fact. The reason your phlegm is yellow when you have a cold is because bacteria that are normally under control in your nose have a surfeit of snot to gorge on. And the reason that there’s a surfeit in the first place is because that’s how the cold virus gets around.

....

Go, navigate away from this page. I have a conscience. I can’t willfully gross you out more than this.

Update 11/8/08: As it turned out, yesterday was pretty wet with landslides on the Pune-Bombay Expressway. And there's more rain expected later this week. Plus, my cold wasn't all that bad today, but it's still fun to think I can gross people out :D

The era of Albus

Exactly eight days back I got a new laptop. Yes, I’ve put the old Toshiba to rest. For now, that is. I think my dad’s thinking of patching it up and using it now. After all, it was a pretty solid laptop. Four years and no hiccups, except for a battery that conked off in late 2006. And it was pretty decently specced for a late 2003 model.

Anyway, this post isn’t to remember things past. It’s to look to the future. And the future is… wait for it… a little more…here goes…

An Apple MacBook!!!

Allow me to indulge myself for now. I won’t get all geeky and fill the page with processor speeds and amounts of memory and compare it to other laptops. Although, in case you're interested, the spec sheet is over here. (Mine's the MB403LL/A)Suffice to say that it looks brilliant, it’s great to use, I don’t have to worry about Windows viruses (ha!). And that I got it on a student’s discount (you might be able to as well. Check this out)

Yes, it’s been smooth sailing so far. Until the day before yesterday, that is. An upstart second-year student came up to me, asked me about my laptop (I’m thinking of calling it Albus, cos it’s white. Maybe Niveus… hmmm…)

Anyway, he asked me how much I paid for it. And then when I told him, the lousy bugger tells me he paid 4k less for the same model. I mean WTF!!!

And that brings me to a very sobering fact. No matter what you do and how cocky you feel about it, there will always be some upstart who goes one better.

End of story. Class dismissed.

P.S. I missed watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics cos I was watching old episodes of Scrubs on Albus (Albus it is). But I’ll make it a point to watch the closing ceremony.

P.P.S. Just because I named my laptop Albus doesn’t mean I’m some kind of Harry Potter nut. And to clarify, I wouldn’t name it Voldemort if it were black. Nor Sirius. (Note to self: STOP!!!)