27 May 2023

What is a good use case for this?

Strolling down the aisles of Walgreens, waiting for my medication to be ready, this caught my eye. Tests to see if you have marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy in your system…

My question: Who uses this?

Surely the cops are not going – “Let’s pick up some of those tests on our way to the beat”. Parents aren’t forcing the kids to take these tests. Are people taking these before going for drug tests for jobs and all that?

Who buys these from Walgreens?

Any ideas?

Category: Travelogs | LEAVE A COMMENT
27 May 2023

Rewind-Pause: Memories of the incredible Sampath family

Ranga, Meera – do you remember this? I think summer of 1986? You folks were moving from Delhi to Kolkata and the container with all your stuff took its own sweet time to find itself to your place. Dover Lane, right?

I remember the incredible South Indian food auntie used to make everyday and the English and Bengali crossword puzzles uncle used to sit down with every morning’s newspaper.

And when Ranga and I would go out to run errands for your parents, all the neighbors would be addressing Ranga as “Rongorajon, Rongorajon!!”

Next time I am in India, I have to make time to visit them in Chennai!!

Category: Time Travel | LEAVE A COMMENT
26 May 2023

Bamboo pens. Trying for the first time

Thank you Miriam for pointing me to bamboo pens. These may not be the same style that you grew up with in Afghanistan. I got this from China. I need to source some more of this with thinner tips. Great for calligraphy though! On the other hand, I was so excited, I extended your name to be that of a Nobel laureate!

Category: Fountain Pens | LEAVE A COMMENT
22 May 2023

5K run amidst continued dizziness

The allergy/sinus theory did not work out – or at least Zyrtec did not fix it. Interestingly, most all my dizziness – or I should say sense of instability – comes when I am running or walking downhill. Not much when going uphill. Signal? Noise? Who knows?

Meanwhile, ECG came all clear. Will see if the doctor wants me to check the arteries next.

But before that, coming up next – full vision check day after.

The root cause analysis continues. My head is still around something gone awry between by ears or eyes.

Meanwhile, I am sneaking in the running miles, all the same!

Category: Running | LEAVE A COMMENT
21 May 2023

Pen of a different ilk

Weekend catching up with pen friends. Do you see something different in the picture? Check out the pen. It is not a standard fountain pen. In fact, if you zoom in the picture, you will notice that it has no nibs. Or any ink barrel for that matter.

These are pens made of glass. The whole thing is one piece of glass. You have to dip in the ink to write. There are some serrated grooves near the tip that hold the ink due to capillary action when you dip. And then it flows down as you write!

I am still trying to master the art of right amount of dipping to keep the thickness of font as uniform as possible.

Category: Fountain Pens | LEAVE A COMMENT