There is a bird that hangs out in the tree behind our apartment, its chirp is super distinctive. It goes like this (recording below is me whistling an octave down from the actual bird call):

If I were describing it in musical notation, it’d be in F minor starting on the fourth, then to the minor third, then to the root, then repeating the root in a pattern three times. Maybe two times? I’m not sure, it’s night right now and the little dude is asleep.

Musical notation of the distinctive chirp of the White-throated Sparrow.

I don’t think it’s identical every time, I think I’ve heard a few that have a very slightly different interval between the second and third pitches, and a different duration for the third pitch. But they’re all usually within this range, very close.

Also, I found this NYT article about identifying local NYC birds. Based on that, I am 99% sure our neighbor is a White-throated Sparrow.

It’s funny though, when I listen to other White-throated Sparrow calls online they are similar, but not really the same. Ours is a bit less frantic, more relaxed and sing-songy. It’s like a slightly different dialect or something. Maybe our neighbour have a Indian accent!

I’ve never been super enthused about identifying birds via sightseeing. I mean I find it find it interesting, but not compelling. But identifying birds by their chirp, that’s something I could get in to :)

Makes one 1lb loaf

Preheat the oven to 175C (350F), and line a 1lb loaf tin¹.

In a large bowl, beat together 57 g (¼ c, ½ stick) softened butter², 70 g (⅜ c + 1 T) granulated sugar, 1 large egg³, 2 T milk, a pinch of salt, and the zest of ½ lemon. Then mix in 85 g (⅔ c) self raising flour⁴.

Pour in to the loaf tin and bake 50 minutes at 175C (350F). In a small bowl, prepare the drizzle by mixing the juice of ½ lemon and 1½ T icing sugar. Set aside.

When done, remove the tin from oven and place it on a cooling rack. Poke holes from top of cake all the way through with a skewer, then slowly pour over the drizzle so that it soaks through. Leave to cool at least halfway, then remove the cake from the tin.

So, when life gives you lemons, make drizzle cake! 🍋🍰

Scraping the butter and lemon mixture. Always, I find this part so satisfying maybe it's the smell of zest that makes it so nice.

The finished cake, with a drizzle of lemon icing on top. I think I might have overdone it a bit, but it was delicious! I promise :)

Really need to make a habit of reading something that makes me giggle before bed. It sort of sets the day straight.

I’m reading He Used Thought As A Wife, Tim Key’s first lockdown book, i got from public library. It’s perfect. Funny, poignant, captures so many of the absurdities of the first lockdown in the UK. Also the title is perfection, though I didn’t really get it until I got going.

This is the part that made me giggle last night. It’s the middle of a vignette titled “Book Arrangements”, the designer of this book speaking with him about his progress on said book.

JUNIPER: Get anything down today?
KEY: Huh?
Key approaches the SodaStream, strokes its shoulders and smashes a flask up it. Bubbles and a honk. Infinitesimal animated prisms are released into the air, kissing themselves to death and falling to the counter. Key pours the magic into his Simpsons mug.

JUNIPER: Tim?
KEY: I’ve placed my books in order of how many pages they’ve got in them.
Key nods at what he has said.

JUNIPER: You should be writing.
KEY: Well, I did that in the end.
JUNIPER: How does it look?
KEY: Unbalanced, I feel like my lounge is going to tip over.
JUNIPER: Richard E. Grant has his arranged by spine colour.
KEY: Classy.
JUNIPER: So you’ve not made a start then?
KEY: You listen to Five Live enough, you start to believe it’s fine to do fuck all.
JUNIPER: It is Tim.

Ugh, kind of regretting writing that down here because reading back through it, the humor is gone without the context. Leaving it in since it took a few minutes to format.

i mean, just read the book... it’s great :)

Most consume.
Some produce.
Me? I like to think I'm a prosumer.
I produce and I consume.
Balance is hard but I have to try.

Who doesn’t love a good easter egg? There’s a fun one in Google for typophiles: try searching for Matthew Carter or Georgia font. Works for a handful of other fonts, too.

I tried to hand-draw a leafless cherry tree, which i saw outside my sliding window, in ASCII-style but got the grid wrong. Here’s a re-attempt.

               
                    \
          |         |
          |       \ /
   _ .     \   „;=`y   .   |
 .⁻⁻> \«  ` |  `: /”» ’   /
. ,/ `\;`.  `=„\`/; „=’  ”.=’    |
 ’   , =\;` /, =”;„  ==./--=.”» /
    ’     \`v  8/,”-./ ``  ,-`/--’
           \\\|//  ` v__,=”   \
            \\y¡’ _,/,<=’      
             \8|y’,-’  ``\
             |{ o/
             |) |
             |; |
             |; |
            „{) o\

A teensy, tiny bit of snow stuck to the ground overnight and there was a light dusting when I woke up. End of the season.

Charging hourly for creative work is a good starting point, but keeps you small in the long run.

A task that took me 3 hours when I first started might take me just 30 minutes now.

Alternatively, you may find it taking more time than you originally quoted the client to find the right solve, leaving you in a place that chooses between doing more work without proper compensation or delivering a final product that might not have reached its full potential.

Pay yourself for all the time it's taken you to get to this point. You haven't been working for 8 hours or a couple days. You've been working since the day you started.

So CtrlR hasn’t been reloading my VSCode window. But the “Reload window” command in the palette (ShiftCtrlP to open palette) shows that it should work. Mike told me how to fix it!

To sort it out, click the cog icon next to the “Reload window” command in the palette to open the Keyboard Shortcuts settings for that command. Then under the “When” column, right-click isDevelopment and select “Change when expression”. Delete the contents, then press enter. There should now be a dash under “When” to indicate that it’s empty. Close the Keyboard Shortcuts file, then try reloading a window by typing CtrlR and it should work.

Passion and career are two different things. I was raised told that I should do whatever I feel passionate about so the time passes faster. Being good enough at something is a mean, not an end. Seeing how everyone is confused by their relationship to work is strong confirmation of this statement.

Writing

• real life, 2025
• finding my way back to you

In span of 2 weeks written two substack posts which i had in drafts, happy to move them to published.

Margazhi, holy month of music (15th Dec to Jan 14th), is here. Year after year, i do madras sabha hoppings to sample both the musical ragas and the sabha canteens to check out the seasonal Vazhaipoo Vadai (banana blossom fritter). Such is the vibe of this season.

now, i am in united states, and i am missing the Margazhi season... trying to recreate the vibe by listening to the Thirupaavai and cooking the Vazhaipoo Vadai. I am also trying to keep a new tradition of my own, by reflecting on what i need and what not.

Listening

Reading

• சிதம்பர ரகசியம் by Indra Soundarajan (re-reading my childhood favorite)
• Assembling Tomorrow by Scott & Carissa

A patterned sky with birds flying in the distance — is that the arrows point backwards so nobody gets lost on the way back home. Isn't that clever?

Tried my hand at making Vazhaipoo Vadai — a seasonal favorite during the Margazhi in Chennai. Actually turned out pretty good for a first try!

Nature is one thing I relearned to admire in the last two months, it's an fascinating feeling to dive through every layer of nature on our little planet. There's so much complexity and fascinating things to see from just being calm and open.

One thing I've noticed is that tech-savvy individuals, who often spend significant time in front of screens, tend to be drawn to nature and value this time. This is an interesting phenomenon, maybe you can relate.

Listening

Reading

• Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
• Say Nothing by Patrick Keefe (not sure I’ll finish this so may just drop off after this month)

Experiencing nature without fully immersing oneself can feel hazy and indistinct.

A close-up exploration of the intricate textures and vibrant hues of nature.

My website's now feed is a bit of a mess. I wanted somewhere to post more regularly, but it just doesn't work as it is. It's all over the place.

So, I'm planning to merge my /notes and now sections into one big feed. I'll use filters and tags so you can still easily find what you're looking for.

September was the most relaxing month of the year. It’s interesting that came at the heels of the most stressful month of the year. Or probably not. Because I recognised what needed changing and changed it.

Here are the cliff notes for the month:

1. I stayed true to the ‘no obligations’ mantra. I pulled out of clubs, meetings, and projects that felt energy-draining and obligatory.
2. I let go of a long-term friendship that had been a source of much anxiety and distress. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done and took a lot of courage but I know that I did the right thing.
3. I declined to connect with people that I didn’t feel good connecting with.
4. I did connect with people that are uplifting and fun. I feel blessed to know them.
5. I started taking Sundays off for restaurant hopping.
6. I read 15 books – 10 non-fiction and 5 fiction.
7. I spent a lot of time reading books that are about ‘less but better’ such as Essentialism, Free to Focus, and The One Thing. These taught me the importance of not having too many goals. It’s critical to identify those things that are our highest forms of contribution to the world and focus our energy on them.

I haven’t written in a very long time. I see it as I see the dates. I have so much to write about. There have been moments when I have thought to myself - “yes, this happened. i should put it on the blog , yes. my internet nerds will like this.”

okay - i won’t try to remember everything. I have to be recent.

Very relatable. I love brunch, and the quiet time I get before anyone else is up. I admit to often counterproductively and obsessively thinking of how to best leverage this precious time, which, like Zeb keep me up and further away from it. When I just let it happen, it is Grand.

I went to a popular bookstore here today, called Blossoms’, and got a couple of books. I wasn’t intending to get any at first and I only went because of a friend, but then I started reading something with interest and after reading a few pages I thought that I should after all buy something. Let’s hope it’s not one of those times that I buy something and then never read it again.

I got a different book from the one I had started reading, and I understand that it sounds like a stupid thing to do, but I had my reasons. I am too lazy to explain, but I did get a new scientist book and then I saw one at the counter titled “The Beauty of Everyday Things” and it attracted me. I want to find beauty in everyday things. It’s my kind of philosophy. That there is beauty in everyday things. There are things to feel excited about which aren’t out of the ordinary. I want that, so that I don’t trivialize the ordinary.

I wanted to hear out the author’s take and explore my own beliefs more deeply. I read a couple of pages and so far I’ve not been disappointed. I am so excited that I’ll read a few more this night.

I’m done filing my ITR after all ehehe.

Life’s good. I need a job or a convincing reason to startup is all. I’m in some talks and experimentation. Might have an update on this at some point.

I started diversifying my skillset:

• small business fundamentals
• software sales (B2B SaaS)
• digital marketing & SEO
• even a bit of policy & regulation

& with that came much more perspective: I see the bigger picture of "product" much more clearly now.

Let's build futures worth seeing

I'm back
& I'm codin' again
but this time it's different...

While the first read seems to indicate a desire to justify, perhaps even appreciate solitude rather than seek attention and romance, I hear something broader. Especially when replacing the term ‘anyone’ with ‘something’. I’m rarely at peace with rejecting something or someone, even when I have truly no interest. Saying no allows peace to be kept and judgment surrendered, ideally on both sides.