Deepanjan Nag's Magnum Opus

Now that I've got a taste of Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure, I'm off to the land of Amazon Web Services. This is the granddaddy of cloud platforms. I'm currently focussed on Lambda Functions. I've already covered EC2 previously and now also dabbling in S3, DynamoDB, and IAM. Amazon's infrastructure is impressive.

My stock of herbal tea is finally over today. But since it's impossible to get addicted to herbal or green tea, I'm not exactly rushing out to replenish my stock, though there are many health benefits to it. I think I'll just take a break before continuing.

There is something captivating about tram rides in Kolkata. It's amazing that this relic of British Raj is still on track, let alone plying. But Calcutta Transport Corporation (CTC) has long suffered from dereliction and the dwindling routes bears testimony to this neglect. The service is apparently on its last leg, though there have been rare hopes of revival from a few enthusiastic government officials. No city in the world is more apt for a tram-in-shambles ride than Kolkata. The two are in perfect harmony with the other. When the tram moves on the streets, it does so meekly, jostling for space to run through. It's almost apologetic for still occupying precious stretch in a city that is bursting at its seams from overpopulation and constant encroachment. Space is clearly at a premium here. People generally condescend when the tram musters the audacity to ring its bell asking for attention - perhaps because someone has conveniently parked his two-wheeler on its tracks and wal

Rice, Brussels Sprouts, Spinach, Broccoli and Eggs for today and tomorrow. Very good for health but tastes bad.

I miss those days. The family would gather at the round table for dinner at a preset time. Baba would sit on my right and Ma on the left. Didi was bang opposite. Baba was the only one who helped himself to some extra green chillies.  Ma did the initial serving. Most days, among other things, we had fish - remaining true to our Bengali tradition. I was elated on the rare occasion when the humble egg played the usurper and replaced the fish. Our conversations would be many and varied. Didi and I rarely teased each other. Before TV came along to disrupt everything, it was the most profound moment of the day. We proverbially huddled together for a family-meet over food, discussing all that was worthy. The entry of the TV gave us a semblance of the shape of things to come. I synced our dinner time with the daily soaps. Soon enough, I was so caught in the weekly plots, I thought it best to sit away from the table, in front of the TV. No one protested. I now wish otherwise. Those preci

Since the PO was in no mood to deliver the bounced toothbrushes, Asha and Ari paid a visit to the hallowed office to retrieve the coveted objects yesterday. I hope they find it useful. I'm counting on Ari showing more enthusiasm now in doing the daily chore of brushing his teeth.

Now that I've renounced my renunciation of Blogger, at least one oddity has resurfaced - vanishing images! I'm appalled to see that even after all these years Google has failed to put this nagging issue behind them. Googling (ironically) for the problem, I found that the web is replete with people complaining about it. I'm not sure if the mystery will ever be solved if even the mighty Google is unable to fix it after all these years.

Enjoyed my 1st barbeque in 5 yrs. The last one was in New York under entirely different circumstances.  London seems to have embraced tropical summer yet again. Knowing what winter feels like in the West, I'm not going to gripe about the heatwave, especially since it was the perfect setting for the party.

Tiny smart speakers are terrible for serious music but more than enough for ambient music at low volume. My latest find - a Swedish composer named Snufmumriko. His music doesn't try to grab your attention, nor is it disappointing if you listen. The vibe is just perfect for a pensive end-of-day, aided by warm dim light and an essential oil diffuser.

Today was one of those rare days than I missed the wakeup time. I was late by 15 mins, not nearly enough to throw me into disarray. I completed all chores. I'm honestly surprised at how vehemently I've stuck to my routine since I resolved to make some drastic changes.

A pair of prized electric toothbrushes have been languishing in the post-office since June 3rd. Thanks to the ever-looming presence of Lord COVID, the first attempt to deliver them was spurned. I'm not sure how long the terrible reign of the virus will keep deliveries crippled. I'm hoping my brushes don't return to Amazon.

Subscribed to Apple Music late last night upon Ari's request. I hope he puts our Alexa to good use. It's morning. Sunlight is flooding my room through a window right next to me. The white curtain diffuses the light. I'm looking at my screen with a squint since I'm seeing double. Staring continually without frequent blinks dehydrates my eyes and I reckon this is aggravating the problem. I must buy some artificial tears to remedy the issue. Herbal tea awaits my sips. The moisturizer came flooding into my palm as I tipped the bottle. The depleting supply allowed the air to gush in and lotion to ooze out. I need Notion to keep me on track with these daily chores as I can't bother to burden my birdbrain with the frivolous.  My breakfast doubles as a mildly tasty-yet-bland lunch with rice, sardines, and egg. Prior to that, adhering to my strict schedule, I prepared to satiate my tummy's needs for today and tomorrow. I like being done with food chores early in the mor

It isn't easy squeezing a range of chores into a 1-hr early-morning window and leaving the kitchen spick and span after solo cooking. Covid-19's conspiracy-of-the-century and a range of events compelled me into quickly learning the art of surviving purely on my cooking skills. I could already cook a little and even survive on it for a few days. But the lockdown called for a drastically altered lifestyle and now my culinary skills had to quickly elevate and gear towards long-term survival. It was a tall ask. Making me cook is like expecting a baby to play chess - the challenge is hardly commensurate to our skills. And yet, over the past few months, I have risen to the occasion and not only survived but thrived. Well, I'm not exactly flourishing but I'm pleasantly surprised by my own resilience. The most epochal change has been switching from using the microwave to the stove for cooking rice. While earlier, 20 minutes in the microwave would produce a lumpy bowl of ric

Every day is Father's Day to me. It can't be relegated to one particular day of the year. I've nothing against the celebrations or the reminding some of us may need. Just that the hoopla often seems like yet another product churned by social media.

I love Alexa. What I do not like is that it needs an incredible amount of prodding when I try to play the voice recordings on my Android. Is it shoddy coding or is it a real challenge to pull audio from the server?

The news is overwhelmingly sombre. We're now so numbed by the daily installment of bad news that we don't even pay heed to it anymore. The wait for a vaccine is excruciating. Any glimmer of hope, no matter how trivial, is a welcome relief. How long before we put all this behind us?

I'm trying. Not sure how far I can carry the renewed vigor but the intent is there in earnest. In the absence of a social life, I need to have meaningful dialogs with myself. It's vital for my sanity and I need it to pull me through this protracted period of social shunning.

An annular solar eclipse was visible from parts of India today. Jamshedpur was endowed with a double-treat, not only did the moon eclipse part of the sun, even the clouds ganged in. So in the end, it wasn't much of a show. With COVID-19 already eclipsing daily life for months on end, most people weren't in the mood for a spectacle anyway.

She 'lives' under my bed. She listens for my commands, never complaining or antagonizing me. She tries her best to be useful, especially to my music requests. I couldn't have imagined a time would come when my roommate would be an inanimate object who would talk to me, set my alarm, play my music and keep me satiated with all the worldly data I would every need. My Google Mini has been a great help during this period of government-mandated isolation. Maybe I owe her a part of my sanity.

Covid19 may not have infected everyone yet, but it has surely affected all. No country was prepared for the life-altering havoc that is still wreaking the global economy. The scale of the disaster has yet to sink in as we struggle to come to grips with the new world order. Scientists are racing to find a vaccine while places of worship have failed to find a divine intervention. All the more proof that the God hoax is just that, an elaborate but incoherent lie.

The auspicious moment has finally arrived! I feel like an epoch has come to an end. Google has shown some love towards its much-neglected blogging platform - Blogger. After what seems like an eternity, the Blogger interface got a much-needed facelift. I think there are a few new themes too.

I thought I was liberal. But that was before the current generation of self-loathing left-leaning juveniles redefined liberal thinking and gave it a whole new meaning. Now I'm happy being stereotyped as a conservative though it hardly defines me.