For years, I lived in very urban areas. I could walk to a coffee shop in my sleep and order a bagel or a croissant with my morning latte, or, speed dial takeout of six different ethnicities. All that changed a few years ago when I bought a house in the suburbs and moved there, mostly because it was the sane thing to do financially. It wasn’t even a suburb then, there was actually a chaupal shaded by a peepal tree in the neighborhood where the erstwhile village folks hung out in the evenings. It meant that I drove 5 kilometres for a decent restaurant or even a haircut and that calling the supervisor was no longer the remedy for all breakages at home. I learnt basic home improvement work as a kid watching my father’s perennial construction work around his house, so eventually I started putting those skills to some use around my own house. Of course, I have always been a DIY-nut when it came to computers. Anything less would be demeaning given my computer science background. Recently when I decided to finally brave the internet spotlight and actually be on the social networks (what led to that is a separate post altogether), I thought I would start by writing about my oddball projects. After all I have benefited tremendously from other people’s writings and this would be the best way to give back.
So, from now on, I will write about projects around the home, the neighborhood and when I am in mood, about my work in the area of computer science. Maybe even books and history when I am irritated.
P.S. If you never have heard of Kernighan and Ritchie, chances are that you will not get the title of this post.