DS

Microsoft poised to overtake Apple as most valuable company

I had no idea about this but good for them. They have been on an upswing ever since Nadela took over and it shows. It also says lot about Apple that have become a company of safe incremental updates that bring in the bucks. I had actually thought it would be Google or Amazon at the top of that table, but both Google and Amazon (particularly) have not handled changes well, and frankly stopped respecting their users. If they do, and I am sure they will learn, they will come back stronger.

Kid at a sleepover party which means the other kid today gets 100% of our attention. Which kid is at sleepover party is left up to readers.

We started rewatching Dil Chahta Hai last night because we had nothing else to do and it always strikes me how carefully the movie is staged, especially with color blue. There is a shade of blue in almost every frame of the movie; some artifact or the other in foreground or background is blue - there are very very few frames that don’t actually have blue color in them, which is fascinating. On thw whole I still have problems with second half of the movie but can’t deny this movie was such a generational shift in Bollywood and an iconic movie. It helped that the movie came out literally few months after we had graduated and come to USA and the movie was about recently graduated buddies. Was a trip down the memory lane but I so wish they did re-edited this movie and cut out a whole lot of crap of Aamir Khans second half story.

LOL Supreme Court is going to decide whether Trump can be on ballot. Why go through all the shenanigans when the Roberts can simply put out the decision in a SMS message saying “yes, because we say so and he is one of us!” And be done with it. More nonsense to start the year.

Our neighbors across the street gave a contract to the same contractor who did our kitchen based on our recommendation and now seeing their vans parked right out side my house again gives me mild PTSD.

For All Mankind Season 4 has been such a letdown that I think that 9 hours of it (and 1 remaining) has been some of most boring hours I have spent watching TV. I will finish it this season but I think I am done with it. Its sad that I kept hoping over and over again this series would pick up in S4.

More and more likely we are in for just a rain event instead of a snow event that was potentially in card for us like rest of northeast. Very very glad. Fuck snow. Looks pretty at first and then a disaster. We’ll live with the lack of snow. Also, milder winters, FTW!

Where can I watch Utopia,, the Australian comedy series? Not available on any of the USA streaming channels.

At dinner the kid drops a gossip that three students in a different middle school were caught having a threesome in the bathroom and were expelled. Then she asks, do you know what’s a threesome? It’s three people having sex at same time! Well kid i wasn’t born yesterday 😖!

On one hand i am glad she feels free to talk and share such things with us and on other hand i am like WTF is going on in these middle schools and how fast does these news travel through messages. It’s not even a middle school close to our area!

Today we reached a significant milestone in our 529 savings for kid’s college education. We started saving in 529 right after the kid was born, and we always tried to maximize the amount early on to get state tax breaks. Today we hit a milestone that we had been planning for a while. At this point we have two choices - continue to save the minimum required to get the VA tax break, or just repurpose that money into another saving account. Now that new rules regarding 529 are active (you can rollover unused 529 into a IRA, max 35k if the account has been active for 15 years), I wonder what makes sense.

No, dont want to send an impression we have saved off enough money to fund her entire education. Nope - I still expect her to take on a significant loan for her education, but the Indian dad in me wants her to take on as little as she can. I didnt have to think about education debt while studying, and I am hoping that while I cannot do zero, I can lessen the education debt she takes on.

We have been getting quotes for getting roller shades for around 10 windows and I am legit shocked at the prices of blinds and shades these guys. Feels like a complete ripoff industry.

This year my goal is to be less anxious and take things easier. Its easier said than done, but this year we have made an active decision to absolutely not do any home projects (other than small ones that don’t need a GC), nor plan for anything else. Last three years with home search/selling, moving, and doing so many big projects in house has drained me totally. I am looking forward to not worry about these things at all for a while.

A very fun filled New Year’s Eve at Philly to close out 2023. And now regular programming!

It’s just going to be a wretched fucking year in America isn’t it? Happy new year to peace loving humane people. Hold on!

Unpopular take: People who post on LinkedIn about being in a certain city and how they are “free” to catch up are the people who have no friends or family. I see this most often by desis who are like oh i am in India for so and so for few weeks but i am free if anyone wants to catch up. Like jee, you go to India and you are actually, free?

Let’s be honest, if the tech industry is any indicator it’s only a matter of time before a person of Indian origin becomes the POTUS.

I feel sad for all the Indian parents who till last week were using Nikki Haley as an example of somebody who could be president so why are their not kids doing enough to do more. Suddenly they must be like beta, never mind be more like Vivek.