Object Oriented Programming - Object #5: Circa 200 A.D. - Screw it all!

Preface: During Graduate School, Object Oriented Programming had a very specific meaning. Now I'm more "meta",  and stuck in a different time-warp for the next few weeks in Bangalore with time to ponder. I now see objects around me that had very specific meaning to me in an earlier life.

While in this time-warp,  I'll post some of these interesting objects.

Object #5 (Circa 200 A.D.): Screw it all!

This screwdriver still repairs things!

First, man created the wheel!

Then, he discovered fire!

Then, after putting a few things in the fire and moulding them, man built this amazing screwdriver.

Then, my dad got it (I don't know if he bought it or dug it out of the earth :-))

The years of use have left both the metal tip and the wooden handle a glossy shine!

It still says: "Screw it all!" 

A Single Leg Journey in the Metro

Namma Metro

A couple of weeks before my dad passed away a couple of years back, I had asked him if he had any regrets in his life. His answer was no, and I believed him.  We didn’t call him the Happy Man for nothing!

Those few weeks, he had trouble sleeping, and I saw him a few times just standing quietly near his bedroom window, holding on to the bars for support and looking out at the non-stop traffic on Old Madras Road 6 floors below, contemplating ... He was above the Metro that he had made his own, the city that converted his shy bangla-speaking wife  to learning english and the (tamil-kannada-hindi) chow-chow she still speaks, the city where his children grew wings to fly, the city that he’d fought for during his years of community service. I had wondered what he was thinking about. Had he realized that the end was around the corner?

There was one thing I know he wanted to do before he left. He wanted to ride the brand new Metro train - Namma Metro. It had been almost done for months, and was supposed to open for test runs in weeks.  Byappanahalli station was within walking distance to our flat, and that had been one of the reasons he’d purchased the flat … “I can walk to the Metro Station”.

At the window, I think he was thinking why the construction had taken so long, and why they had delayed the opening, and that he would not be able to take that Metro ride after all… Bangalore had been too inefficient for this efficient man  - his Metro had let him down.

After I hurt my leg, I knew I had to postpone my first Metro ride as well; I was planning to accompany Ma - she’d not yet been on it. Our driver had suggested we get on at Byapannahalli, get off at Mahatma Gandhi Road, and come right back on a two-leg round-trip; he’d pick us right up where he dropped us off. We had laughed it off... I had crutches.

Today, we were driving past the Mahatma Gandhi Road station, and he teasingly suggested we take the Metro back home and he'd pick us up at the station!  Great idea! Despite protests from my mother on my lack of mobility,  I decided we would do this ... somehow ... crutches and all.

I’d do this for her, and for my dad.  She would get to ride Namma Metro, and I’d do it on his behalf!

I took that single-leg journey on the Metro today!

Mahatma Gandhi Road Station

Ma waiting for the train to come

It's a great ride!

Object Oriented Programming - Object #4: The Sound of Music

Preface: During Graduate School, Object Oriented Programming had a very specific meaning. Now I'm more "meta",  and stuck in a different time-warp for the next few weeks in Bangalore with time to ponder. I now see objects around me that had very specific meaning to me in an earlier life.

While in this time-warp,  I'll post some of these interesting objects.

Object #4 (Circa 1955): The Sound of Music!

The tabla I learned on - now in disprepair!

My mother is a good singer. Yes - she does know hundreds of Rabindra Sangeet songs - she even remembers most of the the lyrics now!

When she was married, and arrived at her in-laws' place in Kolkata, the above tabla (then in disrepair) was granted to her for her use.  It belonged to my father's sister, who was not very musically inclined (but almost all Bengalis are to learn music :-))

A couple of decades later, when I expressed some interest in music, and I got tabla lessons scheduled at home, we got out the tabla (again, in disrepair) and got it fixed. Why did I not learn the tabla well at that time? It was tenth grade (ICSE year!) and I wanted to go play in the evenings instead of practicing or taking lessons -- I needed to play something in the evening in order to focus on my academics  at night.

When I went to the U.S., I learned tabla again for about 6 months in Houston. At the time, I had a pair including the tabla my wife had that matches her vocal scale - yeah ... she's a trained classical singer.

This tabla was stowed away again in Bangalore. (Sounds like Toy Story?)

Now,  again in disrepair, this instrument that is more than sixty years old, is awaiting another new head and a restringing (I know that sounds kinda bad...)

Maybe, if Rikki continues to pursue the tabla  (he's been learning for 2 years),  I'll clean it, re-head it  and gift it to him.

It is the sound of our family tradition.

Object Oriented Programming - Object #3: The Weight of a Microchip!

Preface: During Graduate School, Object Oriented Programming had a very specific meaning. Now I'm more "meta",  and stuck in a different time-warp for the next few weeks in Bangalore with time to ponder. I now see objects around me that had very specific meaning to me in an earlier life.

While in this time-warp,  I'll post some of these interesting objects.

Object #3 (Circa 1975): The Weight of a Microchip!

A glass paperweight with a suspended faux microchip

Even before we realized the importance and power of the chip, it made its weight known!  Let's just say it was worth much more than on paper!

I'll bet I must have asked "What's that thing in the glass?" when the cool-looking paperweight first surfaced in our house in the 70s.

Little did I know that I would later be studying how to work these chips, program them with assembly code, and, eventually, design and build my own. At Rice, I designed, and built a chip that was shipped off to  MOSIS to fabricate.  When the chip arrived, in "flesh and blood" and we ran our first tests, it was a thudding heart - did I miss a gate here, or a circuit line there?

For kicks, we put our names in the corners of the circuits - you can see our signatures in the photos of the chip design masks.

But most cool ... my chip worked!

I'll post a pic of my chip when I get home  - as you know, I am at my other home halfway across the globe right now!

Object Oriented Programming - Object #2: The Table Fan that Rallis!

Preface: During Graduate School, Object Oriented Programming had a very specific meaning. Now I'm more "meta",  and stuck in a different time-warp for the next few weeks in Bangalore with time to ponder. I now see objects around me that had very specific meaning to me in an earlier life.

While in this time-warp,  I'll post some of these interesting objects.

Object #2 (Circa 1963): The Table Fan that Rallis!

Rallis Table Fan - Older than yours truly!! Still works perfectly!

Note: In the above photos, note how the image on the right is blurred due to excessive speed :-)

This fan was purchased in 1963, before I was even born. Bangalore, until then a non-fan-station, had just started warming up during the summers.

My dog Pixie knocked it down, and  the fan was out for about 2 years, with a bent frame. Not to be outdone, my dad got the frame and blades fixed, and the fan repainted.

My mother uses the fan everyday since it is so convenient!

Now - it keeps the mosquitoes off my legs as I watch Champions League matches.

Object Oriented Programming - Object #1: Hello World (IIT)!

Preface: During Graduate School, Object Oriented Programming had a very specific meaning. Now I'm more "meta",  and stuck in a different time-warp for the next few weeks in Bangalore with time to ponder. I now see objects around me that had very specific meaning to me in an earlier life.

While in this time-warp,  I'll post some of these interesting objects.

Object #1 (Circa 1983): Hello World (IIT)! The alarm clock that I took with me to IIT[M] 

This clock often got me up in time during the 4 years at IIT(M)

Gift from my brother-in-law.

In some cases, the clock did its job. I'd wake up to its loud jangling, which was hard to ignore.

Sometimes, I'd shut it off, and one my wingmates (A-Z) would bang on my door every 5 minutes until I woke up.

Some days, when life was just suspended, I avoided winding it up, so I'd just sleep on!!

I'm not sure it works any more, but I'm afraid to try it - the loud jangle will surely cause me a heart attack!

I'm like Kobe Bryant!

Note: In the above photos, note how the image on the right is blurred due to excessive speed :-)

Kobe and I were both born on the same day - August 23. I did not know this when I started writing this blog post! I think that’s an awesome coincidence!!

Ok - let’s start with what’s not in common between me and Kobe Bryant:

• He’s tall, I’m short
• He is a professional basketball player - I’m an amateur table tennis player
• He has 5 NBA rings. I have more patents :-) (yeah sure,  everyone cares!)
• He launches three-pointers. I launch products.
• He’s rich. I’m not.

Now - don't be disappointed. We have a lot in common:

• We share a birthday.
• We both like Michael Jordan. We both think Jordan's the greatest basketball player ever.
• We both love soccer. We are both fans of Barcelona.
• We both ruptured the achilles tendon on our left legs in 2013 :-(

Here’ what both of us said after the incident:  “I made a move I’ve made a million times and it popped,” Bryant/Mukherjee said afterwards calling the injury “by far” the biggest disappointment of his career. (Please note - Bryant has a real career, Mukherjee does not!)

Kobe’s getting ready to get back to the game in a record 3.5 months - he’s been diving into a pool from 40 feet already!

His idea of 40+ :  “If I can run, I can jump.”

My idea of 40+ :  "Will I be able to play table tennis/soccer again?"