‘Honourable members of the jury…’ (part two)

In my previous post, I spoke about three debate sessions that could’ve been better. For reference, let me list down the three

‘Honourable members of the jury…’ (part one)

I remember saying this in school, when I participated in debate competitions. Boy, those days… Sweeping aside the nostalgic thought for the moment, after having indulged my mind for a second, I re-read the message that I’d received on Facebook Messenger; I wanted to make sure I was reading it right. Sure, my eyes hadn’t betrayed me. Yes, it was real that I’d been asked to be a judge for an inter-school debate competition, organised by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram!

Perhaps, it’s not their fault

Complaining about the government and the ministers is something we love to do these days. Last night, just for the fun, I tried to take the blame off of the ministers’ heads, and put the blame on the officials instead. The result was an imaginary speech I gave to the Station Master of the Chennai Central Railway Station.

The curious case of vision loss

Thanks to WhatsApp and our family groups, I came across a video by Zee News that claimed that you could lose your vision because of smartphones. I was amazed. No, not by the piece of ‘news’, but by the level to which people can stoop to get hits. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Engineering as a form of art (Part 2)

In continuation to my [last post](https://blog.ramiyer.me/engineering-as-a-form-of-art-part-1/

If the story around the TeX world is to be believed, Prof. Dr Donald Knuth, a computer scientist and a mathematician, was publishing the third edition of his book. He had gotten a sample of his book from his publisher. His publisher had just acquired some new computer-based typesetting and printing machinery, which they were super-excited to use. But when Prof. Donald Knuth received the book, he was more than disappointed with the output.

Engineering as a form of art (Part 1)

In the field of computers, irrespective of how long you’ve been with them, some tools stop you on your tracks and take a closer look at the marvel that they are. Now I’m not talking about the usual IT engineers you’ve seen, who care nothing about what they do, who look at their jobs as just jobs; as something that pays them. Granted, technically they’re calling a spade, a spade. But then there are those, who are passionate about what they do; who do not spend a day without trying out something new—who are comfortable with being vulnerable. And those, who do not tolerate.

The media filter

It’s been a while since I started thinking about the daily dose of negative that we receive as newspapers, or on news channels. And this is not the first time I’m expressing my aversion to it. So yes, this doesn’t come as a big surprise to many.

However, we all know that actions speak louder than words. And no matter how strongly we feel about something when we express it, it is of no use unless we take action against it. But, controlling the Press isn’t something that is in my power—or in the hands of most of us.

Those lovely, noisy machines…

Recently, my friend, Gazala, put up a picture on Instagram—a picture of her Kindle with the screen showing the lock image—the slugs of a typewriter—expressing her desire to get a typewriter for herself, someday.

The one thing that people don’t understand

This is to all the other mums and dads in India. If your children are thin, it’s a good thing. Really. Please understand that, and stop torturing yourselves emotionally, and stop taking us on guilt trips. It is nothing to be worried about if your kids are thin, and it doesn’t reflect badly upon you. I repeat: it’s a good thing, please understand that.

Dear Bengaluru, I promise you…

I remember the first time I stepped on your soil. It was August 8, 2010. What an amazing day it was! I know, I know I didn’t really like you back then, for I thought you were quite pretentious. And I thought showing you love would demean my love for my hometowns. I know, that was stupid. Even for a 21-year-old.