In today's hot take I feel personal AI assistants are doomed to fail. The problem with personal AI assistants is the same we had (and have) with TODO lists, reminders, task management tools, habit trackers, etc. They are highly effective at onboarding novelty but fail at long-term behavioral retention, leading to high user churn.
The solution to this, if any, isn't simple. I don't think anyone has cracked it.
The solution to this, if any, isn't simple. I don't think anyone has cracked it.
One of the movies where the slow-mo scene was placed perfectly, where the background music doesn't force you to feel the emotion in a certain way, where the lead characters are not introduced by NPCs, where you are presented with the mundane in fresh prespectives & angles, and where the story was good and gripping enough to hold your attention for 2.5 hours. Balan: The Boy. Tovino is of course a miscast, not because he is a poor actor, but because he is too urban and too well fed and I didn't see him the way "Balan" sees him. Overall, time well spent.
#bookmark #movie
Yajna is a vedic ritual performed in front of controlled fire. It was performed by the affluent, such as kings to increase prosperity and regional soverignity through ritual sacrifice and oblations. It still is done to the present day with the same intent.
I was watching a youtube video and I (mis)heard the narrator hinting that Yajna was an act performed to clear the forest for cultivation during the bronze age (4000 years ago). That made sense to me. I thought it was a very clever mythologization of how the early nomads became farmers.
But it wasn't the case. This ritual, at best, was performed after clearing the forest. #personal
I was watching a youtube video and I (mis)heard the narrator hinting that Yajna was an act performed to clear the forest for cultivation during the bronze age (4000 years ago). That made sense to me. I thought it was a very clever mythologization of how the early nomads became farmers.
But it wasn't the case. This ritual, at best, was performed after clearing the forest. #personal
I recently noticed that my nose itches a lot when I am in a long 1-on-1 conversation with acquaintances. I need more data on this, but the correlation is definitely there. Which makes me wonder - why?
2-minute googling tells me that either fear or excitement pumps more blood to the nose, apparently it is a mild stress response. This is not a good look for me. I mean, I know I am an introvert, but nose itching? Ugh.
Or maybe it is just allergies 🤷♂️ #personal
2-minute googling tells me that either fear or excitement pumps more blood to the nose, apparently it is a mild stress response. This is not a good look for me. I mean, I know I am an introvert, but nose itching? Ugh.
Or maybe it is just allergies 🤷♂️ #personal
For the first time since I started programming for fun and profit, I felt the need to have a secondary monitor. AI coding agents need a lot of attention. Alt+Tabbing constantly is never going to work. [Notifications](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/coding-agent-notifications) are a distraction if you are listening while working. A secondary monitor just to run the agents on the terminal emulator works well for me. The trick is to have a swivel chair to avoid neck pain.
#personal
Through an Alumni meet, I got the opportunity to visit the school I studied classes 11 and 12. It was a feeling of acceptance more than anything else. I felt like "Yes, I was here. I went through these incidents in my life. Now here I am." I was surprised with what I wasn't feeling - pride, joy, pain, fellowship, regret, longing. Probably because I only spent 2 years in that school and I didn't meet MY teachers.
#personal
Watched Sinners in a flight from Frankfurt to Chennai. I should've watched it in a big screen with theatrical sound system. It has soul. I interpreted the vampire confrontation as an IRL incident, in which racists cause death and destruction. The community fights back, KKK comes for revenge and the protagonist has the final say in a one-man Commando-style showdown. The music was amazing. A terrific watch. Of the limited films I watched in 2025, this one is up there at the top.
There are at least 3 standalone movies packed in one, which appears to be the movie's main criticism, but I am happy with this version and with my interpretation. #bookmark #movie
There are at least 3 standalone movies packed in one, which appears to be the movie's main criticism, but I am happy with this version and with my interpretation. #bookmark #movie
A Real Pain is the first time I watched Kieran Culkin for full 30+ minutes on screen. What a terrific performance! I felt his every facial muscle movement. His eyes when he is alone vs when is with company. I saw his world shatter when he heard his grandma talked about him behind his back - a behaviour which he disapproves of. Jesse was amazing too. Themes about survival, depression, pain and suffering - so poignantly depicted and left to the audience to "feel" them rather than get preached about like its done on most Indian movies. I watched with my daughter and it was a memorable one.
#bookmark #movie
2025 has been a blur. Personally and professionally it wasn't a good year. I am diabetic now, but not taking medication yet, it is borderline. Didn't really ship anything meaningful at work, I seem to find busy work to spend weeks on that somehow is complicated yet low impact. My exit plan didn't go well either. I got calls from dream companies but couldn't clear interviews. On the plus side, I completed one semester in OMSCS - Machine Learning for Trading, more on that in another post.
#personal
Chicago.
Growing up in India from 1980s to 2010s and knowing how things get and not get done there, it still fascinates me that a group of people can come together and plan a city with an eye for the future. #travel #picture
Growing up in India from 1980s to 2010s and knowing how things get and not get done there, it still fascinates me that a group of people can come together and plan a city with an eye for the future. #travel #picture
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
I mean, of course the book should have a lot more content than the two trilogies could possibly cover. But I was still pleasantly surprised. It is an honour to say that I now belong to the group that read the LotR books. Now on to other books based on Middle Earth. #book
I mean, of course the book should have a lot more content than the two trilogies could possibly cover. But I was still pleasantly surprised. It is an honour to say that I now belong to the group that read the LotR books. Now on to other books based on Middle Earth. #book
Matt Damon gave an interview about winning the Oscar award as a 27 year old. He says what a wasted life it would be if someone is chasing this well into their 80s and getting it and realising that it wasn't worth it. That he was blessed to have this realisation in his 20s because he got the award that early.
This is a profound statement with two key takeaways for one's career:
1) Chasing job titles isn't worth it
2) Job titles come to you when you work hard and show results. The results part is important.
#personal #lifeadvice
This is a profound statement with two key takeaways for one's career:
1) Chasing job titles isn't worth it
2) Job titles come to you when you work hard and show results. The results part is important.
#personal #lifeadvice
The festival of Pongal is celebrated today, usually by people of Tamil origin, which includes me. My earliest memories include in no particular order: sun & sun worship, cow & cow worship, the colour white, sugarcane, Kamal Hassan, venpongal & chakkaraipongal, a pile of ashes in front of each house, long holidays, special programs on TV, traffic-less Chennai, and Tamil the language.
Ever since I moved to Sweden I never got the chance to celebrate the festival in India, including this year. I do hope I get the chance to observe Pongal celebrations in India someday. #pongal #festival
Ever since I moved to Sweden I never got the chance to celebrate the festival in India, including this year. I do hope I get the chance to observe Pongal celebrations in India someday. #pongal #festival