I don’t often laugh out loud reading stuff on the Internet. But every now and then I do.
So here are some slightly more elegant versions for GGP, from the bwg.
First Web Peeves [en]
OK, so I’m developping a new set of pet peeves.
- coloured scroll-bars
- “rate me” boxes
- chunk after chunk of IM (or IRC, or ICQ) conversations
- “see this” or “go here” links
- all-centered body text
Phew! enough for now.
Grandma and Bagha [en]
Each time I sit down to write one of these Life entries, I think of my Grandma. She lives in England – not that far off but still quite far.
My Grandma is over 70 now, and she logs onto the Internet regularly to visit my website. I know that what she looks for are these little (rare) Life entries.
So today I had two rather long phone calls with England. One with my Grandma – who will hopefully soon be fit to fly over and meet my animals – and one with Somak.
Speaking of animals, Somak told me he received an email from IUCAA with a rather intriguing signature:
When you find life is coming down on you, think of Bagha.
Well, Bagha was quite well known in IUCAA – particularly for breaking into people’s fridges and hanging around the canteen. And obviously, the word has spread that he emigrated from India and is now a lucky Swiss citizen. I’m sure he’ll be glad to learn that his fate helps members of the IUCAA staff lift their spirits during the hard times.
I should be going back to India beginning of August. I’m actually starting to miss India. I have cravings for dreadfully hot Marathi food (the kind of stuff I found simply dreadful when I first tasted it).
I will have a Hindi course in Rishikesh again, and I hope to be able to spend a couple of weeks in Pune before that. That means I’m going to have to work hard to get my October exams ready before I leave ; )
Fame [en]
Maybe being famous just means that people get a chance to see what you do. I’m not sure it means that what you do is better than average.
Chick Pea Salad [en]
Whoo! I’d forgotten how nice and easy to prepare this chick pea salad was. I used to do it quite often pre-India.
Here is my no-fuss meal-for-one version of Roshi Razzaq’s original recipe. It’s “Indian” – the kind of Indian you find in western cookery books – and it’s really yummy.
First, stick the following into a tupperware (or any lid-able recipient):
- 250g cooked chick peas (that’s about one tin)
- 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped mint and corianders leaves
- chilli powder (use paprika if you don’t want it strong), salt, ground cumin (the white “asian” variety) – 1/2 teaspoon of each
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger (in little sticks)
Put the lid on, and shake.
Then, add about 200g of cooked potatoes (cut them up!), plus – follow your inspiration – tomato, cucumber, radish, spring onions (I usually end up with tomatos and spring onions, because I’m too lazy to buy everything).
Mix everything up together with some lemon juice – it’s ready!
You’re supposed to serve it with tamarind sauce, on lettuce leaves, with lots of fancy decoration. The tamarind sauce is really nice but a bit troublesome to prepare for one. If you have guests though, do take the trouble.
Bon appétit! – and tell me if you liked it…
Grimm Fusion [en]
So maybe you have heard about fusion. Now there is the text equivalent, daniel’s latest creation.
Have a peek at the second grimm. There’s a surprise for you at the end.
Animals [en]
If you’re an animal weirdo like I am, please do set some time aside to read Dr. Roen‘s column.
It’s funny and informative.
Renaming Software [en]
Quick, run over and see Davezilla renaming software.
I absolutely love “ScreamWeaver”… hehe!
Blog Stuff [en]
Going through the bookmarks I had collected when I was staying at my brother’s, I pulled out
non-negative blogging for you. What is it about?
First of all, if you are not very familiar with the “blogging” subject, read Rebecca Blood’s excellent essay on weblog history. You might also want to read Deconstructing “You’ve Got Blog” (a comment on Rebecca Mead’s article) which puts notes the “star-system” and “incestuous nature” of blogging.
Sorry for the interruption. Dink’s take is that lots of bloggers openly criticize other bloggers. Not their opinions, but their person. Not later than yesterday, I must say I noticed something very similar to a blog-war going on not far from what I call the “waferbaby community”.
Before I had a site, I spent the major part (if not all) of my online time in chatrooms. I used to go on crusades to convince my fellow chatters to treat “online people” with as much respect and care as “offline people”. Too often, it was not the case.
People online are treated as “virtual”, denied an existence of human beings with feelings.
Positive blogging goes in exactly that direction. “Think of the person behind the webpage or the keyboard, maybe at the other end of the world.
Excess [en]
There are lots of talented people in the world. They produce good music, that I can hear on the radio, or write interesting things that I can read on the Internet.
I can access something that was produced at the other end of the world in the click of the mouse or a flick of the radio button. And that is wonderful.
But it also brings on some sense of frustration: there is too much good music for me to listen to it all. There are too many interesting sites or articles for me to visit them all.
There is too much out there for me to absorb.
Life is too short. Choices have to be made.