Mint

Every time I install Mate desktop (a flavor of Ubuntu Linux, packaged as Linux Mint), I have to run through a series of steps to get it back up and running for my needs. Problem is, I have to re-discover many of these as random things stop working next time around. This post is more of a document for myself, than for the world out there.

The Need
I need a Linux server that is always available into which I can either ssh into or vnc in to get things done. Also, this would have my (now) 23 year old home directory, that has everything – old source code, emails, documents, etc. The idea is that this is a protected environment, and I use all my other terminals as a means to access this server.
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Vote Like Roevember

We’re experiencing one of the gloomiest chapters of history, with the unfortunate potential of a further downward spiral. The tyranny in Iran, terrorism against Ukraine, the virus that continues to rage (no, it is not over yet) and the threat and attack on basic human decency and democratic rights in the US. Just a few, but these are large catalytic events with outcomes that will predominantly define the future of the species.

Add to this, the hellfire at and on Twitter, both as a company and platform. All under the guise of free speech by a self-proclaimed savior of humanity. The amount of hate, misinformation and disinformation on that platform since the dawn of the “sink” era, is proof of what else lies out there. Continue reading

Science Six

Science Six, a team of six kids from Quail Run Elementary, won a spot in the top 3 in the San Ramon Valley Science Olympiad.

Ameya, Sami, Shreya, Shreyas, Laasya and Vasvi, consistently scored across the board in 13 different challenges, w/ 39 teams participating across 13 schools. Congratulations to *all* the young scientists who showed up, and to the winners. Go Science Six. :)

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Promoted to Manager

Definitions: Manager refers to someone managing people in a professional capacity. Promotion refers to advancing in your career.

tl;dr: When someone transitions to be a manager, they choose a new path in their profession. Going from a non-manager employee to a manager is not a promotion.

Opinion: Promotion implies that you have advanced in your career. Management is generally attained when you Continue reading

Generational Generalization

Categorizing and bucketing people to make statements such as:

  • Baby boomers are…
  • Gen X always…
  • Millennials will never…
  • Gen Z will always…

…is called generalization. This is what we do when we immediately appropriate a singular behavior to over millions of people.

Flawed Logic: At the core of tagging generations with a certain attribute, there is an inherent logical flaw. Before exploring the flaw, here’s a background premise first.

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Ethics: The Small Stuff

(Written for kids with ages 16 and below.)

The one supreme power that the human mind has, is the ability to be ethical in life. This is a power, not because it achieves miracles. This power is supreme because it requires an underlying mental stamina and discipline that is unparalleled. Due to the complexity of human emotions and needs, the mind is often unable to keep things together in life for one to be ethical. If one can master the skill of being ethical, one can be assured to achieve other great things in life with the foundations thus laid.

What does it mean to be ethical?

Consider the simple case of when you have to answer a few questions in a final examination, but do not know how to. Your classmate next to you is at it though. You can almost clearly see what he is writing, and now that you know, what is the harm in writing it out? If the goal is to ensure that you know something, how does it matter if it is from a handwritten note from an answer sheet of one of your classmates?

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The Mother And Her Calf

My father once revealed to me about a cow in his household during his childhood. Given the nature of my paternal roots, this was not particularly surprising. What I didn’t quite understand was that the cow he spoke of was more than a pet or an animal. She was a ‘part’ of the household.

About fifteen years ago, I was visiting a family function in a city in central India. Taking a stroll through the streets, I came across a  calf (bovine), perched on one side of the street. Such sights are not uncommon in India, and the rest of the world now has come to terms with how Indian streets have all kinds of animals on the loose. This isn’t about whether that’s right or not, so I will stick to the story.

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Broken Talent

Have you ever come across people who teach you something every time you interact with them? It is rare to find such gems, but it requires a keen mind to find them, especially if they are not well known and don’t have the regular social achievements under their belt.

More often than not, I have come across such people who are underappreciated by the folks who are a part of their team, their family and very often, by their management. Not to say that every one of these folks are ignored, or everyone who is ignored is somehow in the category of exuding brilliance. Yet, I personally know many (had to mentally go through their faces), and possibly more if I put my mind to it. It pains me every time I think how much more they could achieve, give back to the society and how much further they could be in life than where I am.

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Satyajeet Bhargav

Soni (my wife) published her first mystery novel a couple weeks ago. This project started more than a year ago, and the central idea was rooted in a concept that required a well established character. Characters are established over time, and to be able to realize her original concept, she started on a much longer route.

Soni‘s new fictional character, Satyajeet Bhargav, is a detective in the 1930s, in the city of Banaras in India. Three of the short stories have been published and are now available on Amazon US and Amazon India.

Congratulations Soni!

Reposted from this LinkedIn post.