Geek Google and Helvetica

And such are the after effects of Helvetica. Had to get it out of my system.

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One score Ten

A Happy New Year...

...to begin with in case my computer conks off before I can write anymore. Yes we all say we hate them. But we all know you will read through the list I am about to make now. So here is a list of the things that I have loved about 2009:

1. The winters. January and December. All of it was spent eating, cooking and meeting people. (The cooking and the eating concern food, not the people I met). There were some amazing walks, with a loved one, yes. And although we walk all the time anyway, there is something about Calcutta winters that make them unforgettable. Oh and somehow, I always associate Calcutta winters with the song Autumn in New York. 'It's good to be living again.'

2. I loved working. I met some good people and I learned some important lessons. Plus, I made some money which is not too bad either.

3. The loved one started staying on her own. So there was this entire excitement and tension of finding an apartment (or an establishment, if you like). Then putting an entire household together. The almirah, the curtain, the fan, the spatula, the doormat... you get the drift. Although I have always credited myself to be pretty aware of the requirements of a household I was quite shocked at just how much effort it takes to actually make it happen. It was a huge learning experience. And totally worth it in the end.

4. I cook better! Yes. I have never actually cooked in such quantities so many different kinds of food for so many people in my life. Knowing how to do it is one thing. But the execution is something else. So I learned some of that too. If there is one thing I have really done this year, it is cooking. And big thank you goes out to Panu, Alton Brown and Gordon Ramsay.

5. I love how neat and organized the loved one is! It is incredible. I am extremely happy at how well she manages everything. Frankly I don't think I could ever do it this well. I am happiest however about the fact that she has learned to cook really well and eats healthy homemade food as much as she can.

6. I am very glad I quit my job. Not only because I did what I felt was right, but because I got a lot of time to myself which I spent doing what I like doing.

7. I am happy about Google Wave and about how well Chrome has turned out. With the extensions (like add ons in Firefox) in the current Beta, I can safely say that it is the best browser around. I love it. Muahs to Google. Oh and if you are planning to make your own website/blog at any point please consider joining this campaign.

8. I read a lot more on web marketing, social media now and design and UI now. A lot more on food. I cannot imagine how I would read the number of websites/blogs I do without Google Reader. It is something I recommend to everyone.

9. I started reading books after a hiatus of about a half a year. I did read quite a few good books. I specially loved Sea of Poppies and Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River. The last one I will recommend to anyone interested in history and anthropology in general.


10. I got a Grand Effing Piano in my house and one that is from the 19th century. It's lovely.

11. The best find of the year was How I Met Your Mother and more precisely Barney Stinson. It is one series that I can safely call my Bible. It's legen-wait for it-dary.

What I could have done without:

1. Perennial fights with parents.

2. The hypocrisy at office over the article I had written but was intentionally credited to the boss's brother.

3. A friend who wasn't a friend, after all.

What I am looking forward to in 2010:

1. The Google Phone named Nexus One which is Android based. I heard this rumour today that it could be release as early as January 5th. At least an announcement on the part of Google is expected.

2. The Chrome OS which is visionary. It is not something that will change the world now. But it will redefine the concept of an operating system and set goals for everyone else to follow.

3. Working in TCS. I hope that will happen by March, touch wood.

4. I want to stay on my own even if I am in Calcutta. I need to.

5. A computer that just works. I want one.

Well, that's all. A happy new year to you all. Oh and luckily my computer survived long enough to bring this to you!

For you and I :)

There was this girl I loved. Now believe me when I say this, folks, the girl was all nice and fine but she had no time to see me at all. So when I fell in love with this another girl next time (and for good) she said to me, don't worry pal. I will always write songs for you. And true to her word, she did. Every one of them.


Even now when I have to say the most difficult of things I go back to her songs. And since the earth has gone around the sun once since we fell in love, old girl, she wrote a song for us. Man I love her. :)





Here's what she wrote:
You and me and,
Me and you,
In my little room,
There's room enough for us to do,
The things we like to do.

Oops, I hit my elbow on the doorknob,
Its right there,
It's by the bed next to my head,
But I don't even care.

There's stars up on the wall,
And they all glow in the dark,
And we can hear the children playing,
Outside in the park.

There's bars on the window,
And if there were a fire,
We'd burn up for sure,
But that's just fine by me 'cause,
We would be together ever more.

In this little room,
In the big city we're so far,
From the people that we knew in,
My big ol' blue car.

But if we stick together,
Then I know we'll be ok,
'cause when it gets too cold outside,
This room is where we'll stay.

In other news I quit my job (the folks back at office passed off my writing as theirs and I said well what do you know I'm off) and am on a break. It is so wonderful to be meeting people and having all the time to yourself. Loving it while I wait for my joining at the next company. Date not confirmed yet. But it won't be very long.

The Poo treated me to a wonderful buffet and red wine at Sigree (Flame and Grill). The fresh river crabs were awesome. Hug. Not for you. You know who.


Edit: Here is some wood for you to touch. I missed this out totally.

Type in Bengali on any website: Google Transliteration Bookmarklet

Ever wanted to type in Bangla on a blog comment or a website or a mail or a chat?

Well, Google Transliteration Bookmarklets is just what you were looking for.


Type just like you would to write the bangla word in English usually and see it turn into bangla. What's best, you don't need to install a software or download something ridiculously lousy that shows at start up everytime.

How does one use it?

Just drag and drop the text below to your bookmark toolbar (you can enable it by going to View>Toolbar>Bookmark Toolbar in Firefox or Ctrl+B in Chrome):

Type in Bangla

It will look like this:

Now when you want to type that comment in Bangla on a blogpost, or on that Gmail Chat window, just click on this bookmarklet on your bookmark toolbar and wait for a text that says:

Transliteration is enabled. Please click on a textbox to start using it.

You can now toggle between English and Bangla by using Ctrl+G. Oh and you can click on a word to see other word suggestions.

On that note a Happy Birthday to Google!

Pic: Insiya

আর সবাইকে বিজয়ার প্রীতি ও শুভেচ্ছা :)

Sometimes, I guess there just aren't enough rocks.