Experiences

Quarantine survival kit

Posted on by Samyak

You have only got once in a lifetime opportunity to stay at home, lying in front of the TV to save the world. Don’t screw this up!

-Some WhatsApp story

Hey!

Hope you are doing well.

Do I even need to tell you how bleeped up we are at this point in time? Have you ever seen something that motivated such mass action, let alone in your lives, but in your history books? So much so, that governments around the globe are pleading to people on their knees, to avoid going out and stay at home. Hell, they even cancelled F1! (Breaking news: Virtual Grand Prix!)

Well, it’s happening – all before our very eyes. We can have stories for a tragic novel set in a corona-stricken Venice! Just imagine telling your kids (rather emphatically) about how these times were like!

Even though there’s not a vaccine available so far, there’s a lot which can be done to contain it. Social distancing – I know this is the umpteenth time you are coming across this term today, but really, that’s our only hope right now!

But some things are easier said than done – and this is one of them. While you may feel suffocated inside your own home, there’s nothing much you can do. But once we habituate ourselves to the silence, things should get better, and you’ll make it through – you will find something or the other to while away your time. And that would suck too, well, at least a bit, if you waste it away entirely.

Learning from my past mistakes, I decided to make some use of this time. And guess what? Things have been going great so far! So, here’s a list of things I have been doing, probably you can try something out:

  1. Exercising – To avoid making this year’s fitness resolutions harder to achieve, I am trying to stay in shape. While it may seem comfortable not to do anything but slouch on the couch watching Netflix, the body feels bad when the things are over. Needless to say, it also makes you look bad. I have also made a running group on WhatsApp with a cool name with friends, where we share our running stats of the day!
  2. Reading – I was lagging behind my reading goals for this year. So, it was a golden opportunity to catch up on some reading.
  3. Writing – I got off track during my midsem examinations. Got off schedule this week too, I’m a lazy bum, after all. But there are things queued up and ready to come in some time!
  4. Resting – I felt pretty worked up for the past couple of months. Need to get into a schedule and give this mind a reboot. Other than wandering about YouTube, I am also watching random episodes of Tom and Jerry for probably the thousandth time.
  5. Other cool stuff – I’m currently going through The Nature of Code. It basically involves making simple physics simulations on Processing. Wanted to do this for a long time. Keeping in mind my mistakes of the past, I am also pushing all my work to GitHub. I also deleted my Instagram account.

Here’s a bunch of cool resources which could help you get in the groove. It contains this list of companies that have made some of their services free of cost. Though their motive is understandable, for now, it’s a win-win for all of us!

(Note that I am not promoting any of the products in any manner. Not this time, at least!)

  • This is a limited offer. Codeacademy is offering its Pro membership to the first 10000 students who avail this offer. Codeacademy is a renowned platform to learn the basics of a variety of coding languages.
  • PluralSight is a coding platform with special emphasis on skill development for professionals. Nevertheless, I love its user interface. The service is FREE for the month of April! All you have to do is make a free account and reap the benefits.
  • Audible Stories – A collection of audiobooks for children and teens. It contains some fine classics too. You don’t even need an account to access these!
  • Scribd – A collection of books, audiobooks, PDF documents, music sheets and Snapshots (a collection of concise book summaries). I particularly like this because their accessible library is much bigger than audible at this point. They have kept a 30-day free trial on their services for this month.
  • Headspace‘s Weathering the Storm collection of guided meditations. They have also made their services free for students and school staff in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
  • Adobe is giving 2-month access to Creative Cloud. Here’s a little article which shows you how to do it, just in case you’re interested.
  • Since MOOC platforms such as Coursera, edX have made a lot of their content free and accessible to a broad audience, you can head over to Class Central and choose your favourites among thousands of courses on dozens of MOOC platforms.
  • It’s a good time to learn a new language. There are dozens of high-quality, free apps such as Duolingo, Drops, Babbel and Beelinguapp which make learning fun and effective. Even though I have heard a lot about the other three, I have only tried learning French on Duolingo, so far. C’est tres bien!

Here’s a small list of interesting sources of information about the outbreak, which can give us a bird’s eye view on the situation and also things we should do at this point (and why):

  • Bill Gates has been actively involved with COVID-19 response by specifically pumping in $100M through his foundation. They recently conducted an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, which is summarized here, in his blog. He answers several important-yet-unanswered questions which are lingering in the minds of many. (For those of you who don’t know, Bill said in his 2015 TED Talk that we were unprepared for a pandemic and that could cause worldwide distress, something which is happening right now!)
  • This article by Elemental can help you distinguish between the seasonal flu and Covid-19.
  • Kurzgesagt’s video on how coronavirus spreads and what can we do about it. They are widely known for their amazing illustrations and reliable sourcing of information.
  • An interesting (yet insightful) video by Mark Rober, who shows how easily germs (in our case, the virus) spread, and also how important it is to wash hands.
  • Imperial College London’s course on Coursera about the science behind the disease; this is a tad formal as compared to the ones mentioned above.

I’d be very grateful if you can tell me some other services/resources which could help people with their current, strangely-closeted lives. It’s a crucial time, and we need to hold back our temptations and act with caution. There’s so much on this list already that you won’t need anything else to do if you populate your day well enough. And yeah, there’s always the option to fall back to your bed and get some shut-eye!

So, here we go. This was an attempt to collect useful stuff, and it did take a lot of time to research and document. I’ll try to keep this space as up-to-date as possible. We have some 10 days before getting back to college and sure, we can do a whole lot before going back.

Till then,

Wash your hands!

2
Experiences

Interesting content #1

Posted on by Samyak

So, mid-semester exams just got over. I am finally a free bird – not for too long, though. But I’ll prefer to enjoy the freedom while it lasts.

I hurried back home as soon as I was done with the last exam. Hurried back like a fish flutters to go back to its water. I was so, so suffocated.

I want to get back on things now. Have a lot of things on my platter. At the same time, some rest, mental and spiritual, is required.

My first day was spent watching a wholesome lot of YouTube videos. The best part is – this comes after a week of restraint, thanks to the busy midsem times! I recalled that YouTube has really given me so much to think about. It’s hard to imagine how would life be like without watching all the wholesome stuff it has offered me over the years!

To my amusement, I was exposed to 5 new high-quality videos today itself. Here are the YouTube links for the same.

  • Should I wait until I’m smarter to read difficult novels?
    A very insightful video by one of the most charismatic YouTube book reviewers I’ve come across. For those who are into reading literature, I’d highly recommend his channel!
  • Nike: Find Your Greatness
    This is their 2012 ad campaign and easily one of my favourites. The cinematography, the narration, the models, everything is just so spot on. For some reason, I came close to welling up.
  • Why new diseases keep appearing in China
    Warning: Fish-market-level graphic content. View with discretion. Probably you know the answer. Understanding how and where this virus comes from will help us take care of us. Spread the word and prevent mishaps like these from happening. A slightly disgusting, but important watch.
  • Unfolding the first trifold phone
    But I love to see that China is still on the edge of innovation (they have been this way for thousands of years! Tea, silk, paper; hello?). I am so much pumped up about foldable phones and the potential they hold. Just imagine one of these in your hands, and then in the hands of everyone around you. We are probably not very far away from seeing this!
  • Shooting a Video with a World War 1 Lens (100 years old)
    This got my thoughts running. The lens has seen so much. Mathieu also takes us to Vienna’s Central Cemetery, the biggest in the world. Heavy stuff. A lot of subtleties to take in.

If they are anything of some value to you, maybe do this on a regular basis? I love to share such content with my friends. If you like it, I can share and discuss a lot more, across a variety of media (podcasts, blogs, etc.). Like I said, there’s a lot on my platter!

Till then,

Breathe!

0
Musings

A super cheesy poem

Posted on by Samyak

Hi!

Here’s a little poem I wrote, back in November. It was 3 a.m., and I, half asleep, half unwilling to sleep, felt like writing something. Under the soothing glow of my yellow lamp, I took a notebook and started penning down whatever I had in mind.

This is one of the most spontaneous poems I’ve ever written. In less than 10 minutes, with just a single correction, I was simply taken aback. Well, the best ideas come at night, I recalled, reaffirmed.

Thanks to my sheer carelessness, one of my friends caught hold of it and leaked it to some other friends. The embarrassment that ensued deserves a poem of its own!

Well, now that it’s up online, the pressure to hide has gotten off my chest! And yeah, what could be a better time to share this than the cheesiest of days – the day you question your existence as a single kid (“Alexa, play ‘How Long’ by Charlie Puth”), and say to yourself, “Agla Valentine’s phodenge,” and then secretly cry in disbelief…

I wrote this poem in Hindi (sorry to some out there). Translating it would steal the fun out of it. Also, I am too lazy, duh.

दुविधा

क्यों चाहता हूँ इतना तुझे
मेरा मन यह पूछे मुझे

सोचता रहूं, जागता रहूं,
यूँ ही करवटें पलटते
आखिर क्या ढूढ़ता है यह मन,
उन्हीं रास्तों पर चलते

ऐसा क्या ही छिपा होगा तुझमें
जिसकी रहा हूँ बरसों से तलाश में
चिंता हटे, दुविधा छटे
आगे बढ़े मेरा समय, और काश मैं

कौन का जवाब तो है अब मेरे पास
क्यों का जवाब, फिर भी नहीं
लेकिन एक बात तो हो गयी है तै
तेरा सच में जवाब नहीं।

Also, apologies for not being able to post on a regular basis (as if you bother :P). I have come up with some things, but some of them require finishing, others are scheduled for later publishing. Some of the things are too crappy to be shared, others are badly timed. Well, I’ll try to improve!

Till then,
Breathe!

0
Experiments

New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on by Samyak
*Gulps hard*

Hi!

Here’s the list of resolutions that I have for the first year of the upcoming decade (yes, that is kind of a big deal for me). I have put it here, instead of writing them down in a notebook and throwing it away somewhere, This way, I’ll have an external pressure of being monitored by others (this will be online in the least, even if people bother to see or not).

Besides simply making them, I had to research a fair bit to make sure that I was improving my odds of success at these tasks, so that I don’t get into a demotivated rut.

  • Get four pack abs. 1
  • Wake up before 7 for 15 days. 2
  • Read for 15 minutes a day for 15 30 60 days. 3
  • Do 20 25 push-ups in a row on average. 4
  • Average typing speed of 80+ WPM. 5
  • 8.5+ GPA in both semesters. (2-2 and 3-1) 6
  • Work on a cool engineering project. 7
  • Do a 3 5 successful pull-ups in a row in proper form. 8
  • Write 10 posts for this blog. 10

I’ll keep you posted on my progress, mostly under the “Experiments” section. Also, as you see, I have not stretched most of my goals for the long term. This is a strategy I learnt the hard way. So, I’ll update the items on this list as I go on (you’ll get to see these soon, hopefully!)

I’d urge you to post your resolutions on a public platform and let me know, so that we may help each other do those things we’ve always wanted to do! Believe me, it’s going to be pretty fun! 😊

Till then…

Footnotes:

  1. Mandatory requirement: This has to be verified by others.
    1/3: Almost halfway through! I have not been very consistent in Jan, got a little better in Feb, saw results. Ready to do much more!
    15/4: Got a green flag from some of my gym-freak friends. So, I can safely say so! I’d prefer maintaining this over getting a six-pack (it probably a demands a whole new level of discipline…)
  2. I love mornings, so it should be nice.
  3. I love reading, but recently I have been having some trouble in staying consistent and finishing off a long piece of text, because I get kind of disinterested when I try to resume after a long time.
  4. Current average: 13-15 (and I’m stuck!)
    Managed to do 20 in a row for the first time in January second week!
    7/3: A neat little trick (not cheating!) helped me increase my number of push-ups substantially. Let me know if you’d be interested in reading something on this!
  5. Current average: 65-70 WPM
    Achieved 80 WPM for the first time in the second week of January itself! Closing in…
  6. I need it. Badly.
  7. More details on this later.
    24/6: Tagged along with some professors and students in college for a cool project. Will share the details after some progress.
  8. I want to improve my upper body strength.
    20/1: Did my first proper chin-up!
    31/1: Did a pull-up for the first time ever! Not the cleanest in terms of form, but OK!
    16/5: Came a long way, now that 5 pull-ups are easy-peasy!
  9. I want to keep on writing and add some content up here.

 

2
Experiences

Clearing off my reading list

Posted on by Samyak

The air was cold. The ambience, quiet. You could hear the footsteps of people walking down the street, even determine the number of people walking together. The figure didn’t exceed three.

Christmas is not celebrated with much rigour here. People take this opportunity to relax – wrapped in their beds, either sleeping or using their phones, or maybe watching one of those Christmas movies which makes them feel warm and fuzzy in the comfort of their blankets, all of which makes them appreciate the holiday season for the hibernation period it is supposed to be.

My mind, however, was in altogether a different tone. If the net heat of the world was a zero-sum commodity, my brain would have had a monopoly. “HOLD ON, KID! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING THERE?” As if someone roared beside me.

The voice roared again. “DO YOU EVEN REALISE WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? DO YOU EVEN REALISE THE TOTAL WORTH OF THIS COLLECTION? DO YOU EVEN REALISE HOW STUPID WOULD IT BE TO DELETE A BOOK AND DOWNLOAD IT AGAIN? DO YOU EVEN…”

I chuckled. This was not the first time it had happened. Whenever I deleted a photo from my phone, whenever I ran the occasional scans to clean my phone up, this voice whispered. It sounded annoying but friendly. As if someone was trying to help you.

But it actually didn’t.

I realised this when I stumbled upon this idea of ‘paradox of choice’. The more choices we have, the more time we’d spend choosing, the lesser time we have living with our choice. It makes sense that way. But wouldn’t you like it if your nearest ice-cream parlour gave you more flavours to choose from?

That’s where I got wrong. I mistook the residue of books that I had (as I am courageous enough to call them now) as important. But I realised, if I hadn’t started reading, all of these books, no matter how expensive, how great they were, would have been immaterial to me.

I ‘started’ some 20 books in the last (and first) 6 months, of which, there were barely 4-5 books that I managed to read in full. I went through the first 20 pages, sometimes as much as 150, when a sudden change in schedule messed things up for me. I failed and never got back on the book. This had become a rather frustrating habit.

And it was not the question of enjoyment. I enjoy almost every other book I pick up. I left with grace the books I didn’t enjoy, for the time being. Leaving the books I especially enjoyed, though, filled me with amazingly deep guilt.

It had become a bad habit, and I had to get my way through this somehow.

I am really seeing the upcoming year as a new year, much newer than usual. It’s 2020, after all. Start of a new decade, end of a rollercoaster one. A new decade, beginning with a leap year. That happens once in 20 years! Added to that would be the onset of adult life for us, we will all be here, leaving our childhood behind. Do you realise the gravity of that? Remember the time you left your homes (if you did), and came to a place you’re unaware of, away from the comfort of your homes? You have heard things about the place before, but you haven’t experienced things so far.

I have been dead serious about changing this year. I am ready to pull off any radical decisions that I need to make in this regard. I believe what I do this year will set a course for the following few years, which can be the most impactful years of my life!

Okay, I think I made myself clear on the novelty factor, so…

As a ceremonial way to giving a fresh start, I decided to clear off all the e-books I had on my phone. I don’t usually read paperbacks due to, well, issues. We’ll talk about it later.

I selected each of the 23 books I had, one by one, keeping in mind that I was probably seeing them for the last time, trying to recall as much of the content I could remember. I gulped hard. Horror-stricken, I tapped on the bin shaped icon at the top right corner.

And boom! The phone, the mind, cleared off dues, digital and psychological.

The college dues still remain, though!

0
Experiments

Why I decided to blog (and why should you)

Posted on by Samyak

Hey there!

Before starting off, let me tell you that this was a HUGE leap of faith for me. All I wish I could put that ‘huge’, huge enough to put things to perspective! A few hours ago, at the time of making this site public, I was jumping around my room like a 5-year old kid (it would have surely looked amusing!). I was that excited. Let me tell you – I still am, not very clear of what I am going to post, that I only have a rough idea of things to follow. But I always wanted to write in length and share interesting stuff, perhaps meeting interesting people with common interests in the way. Hence, this blog.

It all begins with me starting to write these little ‘articles’ I made up for myself, back in November 2018, in my hostel room, hiding all I wrote from my roommate (sorry, Varun) and everyone else who simply barged in. I had this tinge of an idea of sharing what I write. I soon discarded it though. At that time, neither was I on Instagram nor did I use Facebook regularly. All I had was YouTube, and I spent hours and hours, exploring new content, wondering how people are so good at expressing themselves. I saw people from all walks of life – engineers, doctors, freelancers; putting out how were they living their lives, basically. It was all too fascinating for me; a breath of fresh air from all the video lectures and tutorials I had been surrounded by for the past couple of years.

I was that boy in my home who marvelled at Sachin Tendulkar and aspired to become like him – only to realise that I was a horrible batsman. So, it was natural for me to secretly aspire to be a vlogger, or something on those lines, after watching these YouTube creators putting out such splendid content. But the lack of equipment and experience with video pushed me to writing as my only resort. I saw this as a way to share my everyday experiences in a new light for people who weren’t living the way I was. Not that my life is very interesting, but I felt like this new college life was way more happening than the (comparatively) mundane life that a class 12th JEE aspirant has.

In this bright sky of newfound optimism, however, there still were greys of doubt such as:

  1. Why should I even write!?
  2. What would I write?
  3. What would I get out of writing all this crap?
  4. Would you judge me? (I know you are doing that right now!)

The more time I put into thinking about this, the clearer things started becoming.

Among all the reasons I thought of, these were the most solid ones:

  • Remembering things

On the internet, you consume a lot of material. Be it through news, blogs, videos, social media feeds – you basically become an information crunching machine (at least you feel that way, don’t you?). And if I ask you this – if you find something amazing that you would like to tell your friends in person, how many times did you forget it? The answer would most probably disappoint you. (unless you are not one of those average creatures who spends 4 hours a day staring blankly at a five-point-five-inch screen!)

So, as a medium to save all that I see, hear and feel, I needed a place to collect these things together. I had a strong desire to remember and document my life, and this was indeed one of the ways to do so. It is often said that describing is the best way to remember something, so why not?

  • Improving writing quality

As I talked about my fondness to write, I decided to give writing a serious shot. Not that I want to pursue a career of some sorts (at this moment!), I just wanted to improve my writing skills. Having an extra set of skills along with your specialisation doesn’t hurt! Writing with some stranger’s eyes on your work could force you to improve the quality manifold. And being an introvert with a doofenshmirtzic personality (yes, I spent time making that up…), the written word is my most reliable tool for communication!

  • Developing accountability

I would be sharing some things I am up to, trying to achieve something I didn’t have a long-term motivation for. Sharing it here, on this platform, would make my readers aware that I am pursuing this particular goal. Having this thought would motivate me further to do the thing I have always wished to do, but never have gone past the pain of actually realising it.

  • Having a personal space

I have always longed to enjoy my own space on the internet. I could have done all that jazz I am doing right now on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook as well. But, to be frank, I don’t like using social media (more on that later). This space can serve as the quiet nook I had always dreamt of, being the king of my little castle I made with my own hands, sharing stuff only with those who really care to see my stuff. (very punny indeed). I know that there won’t be many people who will follow this blog; but that’s good, in a way… I mean…

  • As a ‘passion project’

I stumbled across this video in my YouTube feed, which pointed me to this TED Talk. Shortly afterwards, I stumbled upon this post, leading me to this book. This really made me think hard – for weeks, in fact. Why was I doing the things I was doing? What if I longed to do something, but failed to do because there wasn’t any time left? I have had run into such situations, far too many times, and this time really didn’t want to miss out on doing something like that. I mean, why not give it a shot, while you can!? It’s winter vacations, after all, and I think this is a better use of my time than morbidly swiping my thumb up my Instagram feed, with TV playing that little bit of something-something in the background, to ward off signs of potential loneliness.

So yeah, there’s that. These were my reasons why I decided to come out of my closet. Probably you resonate with me at some points, and that’s why I encourage you to make your personal space as well. I mean, it’s fun so far. You should try it once! Make sure to share me the link of your online residence, lest you decide to make one! I’d love to hear from you, be it in the comments (we’d have a good discussion in the comments!) or perhaps in a more private space. Let me know if you want to see a part of this post in detail, as a separate post, in the future.

Till then,
Breathe!

1
Experiments

My First Blog Post

Posted on by Samyak

Lights out, and away we go!

Crofty

Hi! This is Samyak, but I guess you know that already. This is going to be my first ever blog post and am I super excited to actually do something I’ve been wanted to do badly for more than an year now!
A new, introductory post will be coming out soon, which tells why I decided to open this blog. So, stay tuned!

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