Category Archives: Life notes
Rule o flaw — part III
Make sure you’ve read part I and part II. The project of demolishing the building opposite my house has taken a new turn. As part of the deal between me and my neighbours and the contractor, Monday, November 18, was … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged demolition, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, The Hindu
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Rule o flaw — part II
Make sure you’ve read part I. On November 15, I lodged a complaint of excessive noise with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), whereupon I received an update saying the complaint was pending with the district environment engineer. Later … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged demolition, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board
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Rule o flaw — part I
This building right opposite my apartment was locked in a legal dispute for years. That must have ended a month ago (in October) because since then a bunch of workers have been toiling nine hours a day, six days a … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged compressed air, demolution, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, noise pollution, Noise Pollution (Regulation) Rules 2000, pneumatic jackhammer
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The frustrating wait for quiet in Chennai
Deepavali is less than a month away — then again it will only be a storm amid a steady drizzle of noises Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Life notes
Tagged acoustic pressure, Deepavali, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, hearing loss, NIOSH SLM, noise map, noise pollution, Noise Pollution Rules 2000, The Hindu, Vinayak Chathurthi
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Games and life
Running through the games on my phone and what I like about them Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged 1010, Factorio, Idle Slayer, Kingdom Rush, Loop, Lost in Play, Monument Valley, Rytmos, smartphone games
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The meaning of 294-227
As of 4.25 pm on June 4, the NDA alliance stood to win 294 seats in the Lok Sabha while the INDIA bloc was set for 225 seats. This is more than a pleasant surprise. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged Bharatiya Janata Party, Constitution of India, Lok Sabha elections
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12 years and counting
I’ve been a journalist for 12 years. For the first few years these anniversaries helped to remember that I was able to survive in the industry but now, after 12, I’m well and truly part of the industry itself — … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged journalism, paywall, The Hindu, The Wire
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End of the line
The folks at The Wire have laid The Wire Science to rest, I’ve learnt. The site hasn’t published any (original) articles since February 2 and its last tweet was on February 16, 2024. At the time I left, in October … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes, Scicomm
Tagged science journalism, The Hindu, The Wire Science
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Happy Lord of the Rings Day
War is on all our minds these days. There is a war happening in Ukraine and something barely resembling a war (because it’s a genocide) in Gaza. Governments have been fond of casting our collective responses – such as they … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Life notes
Tagged fantasy fiction, JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings day, Malazan Book of the Fallen, military fantasy, Steven Erikson, war
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A difficulty celebrating Chandrayaan 3
I’m grateful to Avijit Pathak for his article in Indian Express on August 29. After the Chandrayaan 3 mission achieved its primary objective, to soft-land a robotic lander on the moon’s south polar region, there was widespread jubilation, but I … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes, Op-eds
Tagged Avijit Pathak, Chandrayaan 3, Indian Express, Indian Space Research Organisation, nationalism, Patriotism
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