Potpourri

My blog identity has never been more different from my real self than right now. I am exceptionally silent on the blog but have been talking and talking with lots and lots of my friends, people I love. So do not think of this silence as some low phase in my real life. However, the urge to update the blog comes irrespective of the way I am communicating otherwise. There used to be days when I couldn't communicate very well with most and so the blog gave me a way. But not right now. Today I wish to write something very specific. This is about the service care staff of my institute. When I joined this institute I was given a hostel room the day I arrived. I was lucky, to say the least. I had bought a lock and key, was going out to buy a broom and a mop. But I was immediately informed by seniors that one doesn't need to do that. There is cleaning staff here. They come and clean rooms everyday. And they are so trustworthy that one doesn't even need to lock the rooms. I had never...

I came across this people-who-don't-know-what-to-do-better-with-their-time-go-waste-time-here kind of website called blogthings.com. I have wasted time taking some tests here. Currently, I feel like boasting. So let me put up what a small personality test said about me. This site is very likely bogus, but I love their analysis. Its almost always good..:) ***You Have A Type B+ Personality*** You're a pro at going with the flow You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer A total joy to be around, people crave your stability. While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity. Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done You're passionate - just selective about your passions Take this test, if you have nothing better to do / are suffering from low self-esteem/ want to feel better just like that/ want to see how badly the whole web world is filled with junk. Do You Have a Type A Personality? http://www.blogthing...

After a long time, I am actively back on the web. Following are the web pages I have visited in last few days and have liked. 1. A must read article about PhD experience . I reached this link via my guide's homepage. 3. Luca Trevisan's short course on Additive Combinatorics . I have done first lecture (Intro) and half of the next lecture. I hope to finish the series in about a month's time. Anybody interested in reading along? He has provided videos of his lectures. You can see Luca Trevisan talking to you as if in a lecture. Really lucid as of now. (It was actually offered as 4-5 days course. But I will be spacing it out over a month). 4. Metoo's blog called "My Slice of Pizza" I stumbled upon via comments section on Fortnow's (now Bill's) weblog. He commented on representation of minorities in the FOCS. And the comment was witty enough for me to actually go and check the link. His blog is pretty interesting. He writes brief and crisp entries every n...