Walking Diary

May 2025

Last year while I was on a family visit in Canada, we started planning a group trip to China. A China trip has been on my bucket list for a very long time now, so we were all excited and ultimately decided to do it. Firstly we booked a tour agent called Jenny, who was recommended by my sister. She came up with an itinerary after we suggested places we wanted to visit. The advantage of doing it with a travel agent is that they take care of everything, travel, hotel, food, guide. So you do not need to worry about these things. In other countries, we probably would not have needed this service, but in China where the rules are strict and nobody speaks English, I think this is a must for first-time travelers. We planned to go to Beijing, then Xian, then Chongqing, then Zhangjiajie. It was 11 days of a super fun trip. I noted down some highlights.

Communication

We knew beforehand there are challenges to communicating in China, firstly I don’t know Mandarin and nobody speaks English. Even where we stayed in 4-star hotels, from staff to even machine labels all in Mandarin. So you need to install a translator app. The other issue in China is that most of the apps are blocked by them. The workaround is that I installed LetsVPN, which costs 5 dollars, but works great. So when we are in a hotel or where Wifi is available, with VPN on you can Google, YouTube, and WhatsApp without any issue. The other thing I got was a local sim, which used a service called ChinaUnicomHK. This sim works like a charm, is very fast, and has inbuilt VPN technology, so all apps I need work. I used Google Translate mostly, this works great, mostly I took pictures in Mandarin and translated it. There is even a conversation mode, which kind of works well when the speaker is loud enough and speaks clearly, it can do a live translation of Mandarin to English.

Great Wall

We all learned and read about the Great Wall. This was definitely on the bucket list. It’s crazy how they did this, another marvel by humans. We had to walk/climb the Great Wall. The idea was to move up from one tower to another, till we reached a high point, where the view was amazing. The way the stairs were made, and the steep nature of the climb, it’s not for somebody who is not fit. I reached tower eight, by which time my head was feeling light. At that point, I gave up and sat there for some time. Others went further ahead, but only one reached the top 12th tower.

Chongqing

This is a crazy modern city. I have never seen a city lit like this. There is a place from where it seems the whole city seems to be lit with millions of LEDs. It’s a view to behold. It’s amazing to walk through. I wonder what the electric bill of this city is like! There is so much light I am thinking probably not a great place to stay or work at, it has to be blinding at some point.

Technology

China is pretty advanced as a country, I have been to Canada but this surpasses that also. The super fast train running at 300 km/hr, and you don’t even feel it inside is really impressive. In our hotel they used a robot to bring you stuff from the ground, it takes the lift, and delivers it to your room. It can carry things like food, and drinks.

One part that I did not like was the constant surveillance, not only do they scan your face in the airport. They scan it in every city you reach. They also scan it in places you visit. So at any point, these people know where each individual is. This makes me uncomfortable, any country that monitors each citizen that closely, has major trust issues. There are also huge privacy concerns. But I guess Chinese people are used to it. Maybe other countries will do the same, I just don’t like this.

Jenny

Jenny was the tour agent we booked. She was traveling with us throughout the trip, and doing all the work of organizing travel, hotel, and food. I would say she did excellent work. She also provided us with additional tips along the way, like she bought stuff via AliExpress. That way we bought lots of stuff at a much cheaper rate than the stores. She also has an effervescent personality, always on the move, always positive and smiling. This additionally made the entire trip there a lot of fun.

Zhangjiajie

I would say this is by far the best thing about the trip. I absolutely was wowed by the beauty of Zhangjiajie. You have to be there to enjoy the natural beauty. The photos, and videos are great, but you need to be there to appreciate the beauty. Absolutely otherworldly. It starts with a wonderful cable car ride to the top of the mountain. From there you slowly move downwards enjoying the many wonderful views of the amazing Zhangjiajie mountains. I would love to go back and spend more time there.

Bonus

While returning to India we had to take a long transit via Singapore, so we got to spend some time in Singapore also. The airport is out of the world. Two things stood out, there were many more which impressed me. First, in one section they had an Amazon-like setup, lots of trees, and plants, and then in the middle an artificial waterfall. You have to see it to appreciate it. Another relatively smaller one that intrigued me greatly was that they had an installation where hundreds of gold droplets were attached with string. They were placed in a grid formation. Each of these droplets can individually move up and down some 15 feet in length. When all move synchronously they create wonderful patterns, like a wave, like raindrops, etc. It’s mesmerizing to watch what they have done with it. As a programmer, I can totally think of ways to program this installation to create so many different art, different random designs.

October 2024

At the end of this year season 2 of Squid Game will be released. I remember how much I was into it. It was one of the best shows I saw during the pandemic. I did not start watching when it got released, but soon I started seeing the buzz. Everyone was talking about it, it became a global phenomenon. I do not remember any show that no one had heard of before catching fire like this. It became the No. 1 show for Netflix in most of the countries.

When I heard a podcast about it, I was immediately intrigued and decided to watch it. I was immediately hooked and binge-watched the whole show. After that, I started searching for more content about it. My verdict was that it was a very violent, bloody show, but the violence was justified and shown perfectly. The acting and direction were great. The biggest USP of the show is the suspense. There were many shocking moments, and it was awesome to watch.

It used very creative ways to turn a fun kid game into a deadly game. I would not go into detail otherwise it would spoil it. From the very first episode, you understand the stakes, everyone in the show soon gets to know how serious this is, and you as an audience are on full alert from then on.

One of the genres of YouTube that interests me is the react videos. It’s very entertaining to watch these Youtubers react to movies/songs and comment on them. The reaction videos on the show were a lot of fun. I watched those videos on a loop. It was super fun to watch people react to certain scenes about it.

Since the series was so great to me and it ended well also. I do not like that they are continuing and making season 2. I don’t agree that limited series when they become super successful, you need to make more seasons. I can’t see how the new season will be great, but still, it will be intriguing to see it.

September 2024

It’s been many years now since I have switched to listening to podcasts from listening to music. Whenever I travel to work or other places that is a good time when I listen to podcasts. There are many podcasts I love listening to, one is by Bill Simmons, and the Ringer podcast. He is great in both sports and movie/series podcasts. One thing I do not like is that he speaks a lot about gambling related to sports. I understand in the US there is a culture more than the Asian side where they always gamble, they gamble in everything. So there can be multiple bets on a single game. I think up to a point it is fine. But now all these big betting companies are taking over the sports. They sponsor the game itself, and all its related companies, like they give big money to the Ringer, ESPN, etc. Currently, it is everywhere in US sports.

Many issues come with it, and there is an inherent risk with the culture of gambling. You can lose a lot of wealth doing this, it may sound fun and game initially, but then it becomes addictive. The second is people involved in the sports, gamble in it, so they are compromised. If you are a player and you know the stake involved in a game you get to profit hugely in how it goes. Then you might not perform as well sometimes. Then the integrity of sports is compromised.

Recently a big gambling scandal broke out, Shohei Ohtani who by all accounts is a model sports superstar, well loved by all. His interpreter was caught gambling, and for a time being there were big questions as to how much Shohei knew about it or was involved in it. It was later found that his interpreter cheated him. I would not be surprised if one day it is found that a big star is involved in it, cause the money is so big now. That would kill the game. It would be my wish for the influx of cash from Betting/Gambling sites to come down, and for sports and its related network(people I love listening to) to be less involved with it, but that is wishful thinking, when have people, corporations ever turned down money!

August 2024

My interest in baseball is mainly due to my following Shohei Ohtani. For some time now, the only way I have followed the sport has been via YouTube. I have never watched a full baseball match before, mainly because it’s not a sport I follow a lot, and also the timing of the games is not convenient for the Indian audience. It so happened that on my trip to Canada, my sister bought tickets for a match between Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.

So I was going to watch my first ever full baseball match live with my brother. The first impression was that the stadium looked awesome, the inside view was great and also the outside view, as it was an open stadium you can see the Toronto skyline, with the iconic CN Tower. We also had a great seat. It was right in front of the pitcher, and on the batter’s side, you could view the pitch and the batter hitting the ball very clearly.

I know most of the basic rules, but I had to google to find the full basic rules. There were still things that confused me a little. But overall the game is simple enough, the pitcher tries to get the 3 batters out per inning, and the batters try to hit. Which is quite difficult. If you know Cricket you can slightly compare this to that, but unlike that sport where the batsman has the most advantage, here the pitcher has it. Most times batters miss and/or get struck out. There are only a few very good batters who most likely can hit but even they miss.

I have not been to a Cricket match live for a long time now, but one thing similar here is the gaps in between the plays, there are so many breaks, and unlike football, the game does not flow. In my opinion, there are too many and too long a break. They tried to simulate excitement with announcers shouting and trying to cheer in each break. I am not a fan of these constant loud announcements.

I know there are lots of baseball matches, so in the regular season, these have lower stakes and it feels that way sometimes. In the end, it was a close match, the final score being 7-6. The team that lost did not seem to mind too much, and the team that won(including the home crowd) was not overjoyed. I would say when the home team did hit the home runs that was fun, those were the highlights of the game.

Overall I quite enjoyed the experience, I don’t think this is the sport I would follow closely, but it is always fun watching things live, with all the people cheering, the atmosphere is special which you will never get watching at home. I would recommend people go to live events.

July 2024

This show comes from the same person who created Seinfeld, my all-time favorite. Larry David is an absolute genius with comedy. I love the show, it is super funny, and each episode is unique and hilarious. I would say, unlike Seinfeld, this is a lot more crude, the humor is more raw, so if you are a sensitive person possibly you will not find this funny at all. Unlike Seinfeld, I would not recommend this show to everyone. Seinfeld had its moments, where people may not like some of the episodes or the jokes, but overall I thought they did it very well and intelligently so most people would enjoy it. This show goes all out trying all sorts of things without worry it could offend a section of society, they push a lot of boundaries with their comedy which in today’s world generally will not happen. I quite like that they made bold choices.

I can see why it would not be for everyone. It is basically about a person who is just not a socially acceptable person, who does not have a filter, says and does all sorts of things without caring how others may feel. We all have weird thoughts but rarely act on them. The premise of the show is that if that person would not hold back, this creates a lot of funny moments.

The show is so good that in my opinion Larry David like his character is a bit of a jerk in real life, I cannot believe he can create and act so well that character without actually being a lot like him, perhaps he does not blurt out all those things in real life but he definitely must have lots of same tendencies. Not saying he is a bad guy but he is definitely in a lot of cases can be said to be not a great guy either, if my thinking is right. He and others who know him have denied that is the case in many interviews.

Of the comedy series I love, this probably is third after Seinfeld and Office. The thing that works well is that the ideas are new, they try new weird stuff each episode. It’s obvious who worked on it has put a lot of thought into the new scenarios which would showcase the worst of Larry in unique ways. All the main cast are superb and do a great job. Even the many cameos are all super fun. A great show is one where you are reminded of it randomly from time to time, even when you have not seen it for some time. This happens to me once in a while. I would remember a particular episode and why it would be funny.

June 2024

This happened a year ago, we had an interesting meeting with the founder of an NGO. So we were brainstorming how we could help the children to learn better. He went on to say, one issue which we all had was to get good teachers. So he said one new theory they were trying out was where the logic is where teachers are not that important(or not the main component), the focus is on the students. Can we do so that learning is not dependent on teachers? If they are there then it is good, but can the student learn on their own? He termed it as ‘Science of learning’.

One project he and his NGO started in rural China, which he gave us as an example. So they go to areas and set up libraries for children to come and start loving reading. The unique thing is the library is run by children only with very little to no help from adults. So day 1 they get the kids to bring all the books to the library, then on day 2 get them to categorise them in a particular order, here the kids decide how they want to do it. One example is to do it under the subject matter, other is by the color. The next day each book is labelled with an RFID tag, and the book is put into the system via a computer. Then each kid is given a library card which they can design on their own. Then a set of instructions is given to the kids on how they can use the library card and how to scan the book they are lending. The kids then hold an election to nominate the library lead. So the starting few days are under supervision and guidance of adults, but with very little being done by them, thereafter the kids take full control. This starts the library, where the kids take the book they like, scan it, read it, and then put it back. The onus is totally on the kids, they are told from the very beginning that there will be very little supervision from adults. They are free to do what they want and how to manage the library.

The founder says after that the kids take ownership, as they feel they have set up the library and are involved in it. They have peer pressure to maintain discipline and keep books well. In this example, there is a very minimal role for an elder/teacher. The kids learn on their own and take ownership.

I am always curious how we can do a better job teaching. I taught off and on for some time, with varied success. Something like a computer, how I can simplify, make it interesting, and teach so that the students understand it. I think it’s a constant challenge, so this new concept where we have less of a teacher role is interesting. One famous app is Khan Academy, which has a set of videos, and tasks with progress. The child is not dependent on anybody, it goes to the tutorial video, and then tries to solve the task on its own. Similarly Duolingo, it helps you step by step to learn a language. The steps are simple and gamification makes it interesting to learn, and a person will be interested to keep learning.

May 2024

In Matrix Neo is given a choice whether to take a blue pill or red pill. The red pill will let you know the real truth which can be unsettling and not something you want to know. The blue pill lets you be in the same situation as you are, with the truth that you currently know, though it may not be the real truth. In an interview I saw recently, Keanu Reeves says he was talking to a few kids, and he was explaining about the movie Matrix to them. He was explaining the central theme of the movie, where the Neo character is in search of what is real. One girl’s response got his attention, she said, “Who cares if it’s real?”. It does not matter to her whether the world she lives in is real or not. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UhmFE-C7vsw

If given a choice we all think we will do what Neo did, and take the red pill, we all want to know the truth. But if we are really honest I think a lot of us would just like to be the same. What is real is what we know, it does not matter what others say. Our reality is all that matters to us. If our current reality is that we are happy, then why would we want to change it, just to know the truth?

This is what is happening with a lot of things in the world. A lot of people are in a bubble, whether it is a political bubble, corporate bubble, religious bubble, or any other. Once you are deep into it, there is no interest in believing anything outside it. So outside opinion even though it may be real, you have no interest in it. The best is not to get inside it, cause once you are in it, it is very difficult to get out of it. Just ask Neo. So whatever your opinions and beliefs are, always have the capacity to accept alternate opinions.

April 2024

This is the latest book I finished reading. This book feels more like a blog, an educational article. I need to keep notes while reading it, as there are lots of points, and you want to remember them. I definitely would recommend this, for one it’s a small book only 194 pages, so you can go through it quickly. Secondly, there is lots of good advice here in my opinion. Here are some notes.

Ikigai

The term means to find something to do to make life worthwhile. It’s the purpose of life, the reason for being, there has to be a reason to get out of bed. (This reminds me during my MCA degree course, when we were practicing for job interviews, one great answer which I still remember was given by a girl, she said I would like to work in a place so that I am ready to jump out of bed to start work.) To find one’s Ikigai is to find something that you love to do that you feel positive about.

Whatever you do, do not retire

In the book, they took examples from people in Japan who have lived a long fruitful life. One thing in common is they remain active even in their old age. They still do some form of work every day. The idea is while you are physically active, you are better physically and mentally. When we say don’t retire it does not mean never stop earning money, at some point you can always leave your main earning jobs. But the idea is to keep working on something, if not for money but for some other goals. It could be just working on your hobby, like planting trees, painting, or singing. You just have to remain active.

Don’t multitask, concentrate on a single task

It may be counterintuitive as in today’s world everybody is multitasking and proud of doing so. But it suggests if you do multiple things you end up being less productive, it is better to concentrate on doing one thing and doing it well.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle

The idea of excellence comes up, and it can be only achieved if you do it repeatedly, and with dedication. The book gives the example of a chef who takes years to just perfect the way to do simple tasks like making an omelet.

80 percent rule

This is a technique where you fill your belly up to 80 percent then stop eating. Do not eat till you are full. This is a good habit to follow, we should practice eating in moderation. Eating is a major reason behind how healthy you are. One quote “Eating the rainbow” is a good one, that means eating lots of variety of food. There are lots of good details on the topic of food in the book, so I leave you to read those.

Exercise

“In modern life, we spend days without raising our arms above our ears. Think about it, our arms are down when using computers, when using smartphones, and when reading books. While our ancestors were raising their hands over their heads all the time when gathering things from the tree”. We are not doing enough physical activities, to be healthy physically and mentally one has to get in a routine to do some form of exercise every day. “Metabolism slows down 90 percent after 30 minutes of sitting. Just getting up for 5 minutes is going to get things going”. The idea is to not sit for too long when doing work, it is recommended to take small breaks and stand up, this gets your system going.

Flow

“The flow state is an optimum state of mind when we’re fully engaged in an activity. Things like sports, when we’re playing music, when we’re playing games, and even religious activities. So ikigai, sense of coherence, and flow are relational. When we’re in a flow state, we feel ikigai. The state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.” Flow is a term we use when people are fully engaged in the activity they are involved in, coders get into a “flow” state(another similar term we can use is getting into a zone) where they can work for many hours, days without needing or wanting to take a break. In this state, your mind is supercharged to do that exact work. This is the most productive state. One way to find your Ikigai is to find which work gets you into this flow state, what you do when you start doing it, you are fully engaged in that activity, and are not bothered by any external environment.

In the end, this book gives guidance on how to find your Ikigai and encourages you to search for it if you have not found it already. There is a wonderful prayer mentioned in the book.

Serenity Prayer

God grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to

change the things I can;

and Wisdom to

know the difference.

March 2024

Ever since ChatGpt and other AI have become popular. There has been talk about how far this technology can go. There are even some true believers in AI who believe that this tech can reach the Artificial General Intelligence stage. In that the machine itself has reached an intelligence matching humans, it can make decisions on its own. This is the ultimate goal of the people working on AI. On the other side, this is what scares a lot of people about AI. If AI becomes intelligent they wonder about all sorts of scenarios which are written in books and shown in movies, where robots take over the world!

The debate that interests me is how do we test so we know AGI has been achieved? If passed we can say that AI has reached that stage. In one podcast a person suggested that, if a new movie is released the AI ‘sees’ the movie, but does not get to see any review or read up about it(so no beforehand knowledge). If it gives out a good analysis/review of the movie then it can be said AGI has been reached. It’s a good test, so we just need to think of ways to test the AI in a way we test humans, humans have a way of figuring things out, if AI can figure things out on its own without help(like pulling existing data, producing answer from some other source) that we could say it has reached AGI.

I do not believe true AGI can be achieved. It could probably reach a point that is close to it, that though is still a long way off, but to be like human intelligence I don’t think is possible. The complexity of the way we think, and how our mind works, even with so much science behind it, is still not fully understood well. Humans are just special, for machines to reach that is nearly impossible. Saying that it looks like the advancement of AI will become super useful to humans, and will be a major advantage for people who use it well, against people who have less knowledge about it. AI is likely going to be very disruptive in every field it reaches.

February 2024

When I was in school one of my favourite subjects was Literature because I loved to read stories. I got into reading books, and I still love reading. One of my favorite story I read in school was Quality by John Galsworthy. I remember when I was reading it, I got engrossed in it deeply. It affected me deeply even at a young age. I still remember about it from time to time.

The story is about two old-style master shoemakers called the Gessler brothers. They make great shoes by hand and are religious about their art. They do not compromise on the quality. Because they do not change with time, their business is now not doing well, as their customers now prefer other shoe shops. It is a sad story about people who stick to their ideals, and do not/cannot change with the times. These people are left behind in the modern world.

It resonated with me also as my dad owns a shoe shop, and like the book, used to make leather shoes not too different from the ones described. The story is so great as it is very universal and still resonates now. Even now after a century from when this was written, we can still relate to it. More and more I see people preferring to buy from online stores or go to malls. So the small retail stores are going through tough times now. The other issue is many of these are older generation owners, they have tough times changing, so they do not follow the new models to give options like creating websites, advertising in new media, and selling online. Many still only accept cash.

Like the Gessler brothers sadly I don’t see a great outcome for many of these stores, they will just have to close down eventually. While the world is moving forward at such a fast pace, technologies are improving lives. It is also a tragedy that many are left behind because they just can’t keep up with the times.