Time is not just numbers on a clock - it’s slices of our life that we give away. When we work, we’re not just trading hours for money; we’re trading pieces of our existence that we could have spent with family, friends, or pursuing what we truly love. Our life is actually just a series of such hours - moments that we’ll never get back. We often think we have infinite time ahead of us, living in the comforting illusion of “years” that stretch endlessly forward.| blog on Gautham Shankar
Masters of Doom, by David Kushner, tells the story of the two Johns - John Romero and John Carmack; and how they created Doom and Quake - which revolutionised computer games, giving rise to the gaming culture as it exists today. I’m not a gamer. What, or who caught my interest was John Carmack - a legend in the field of technology and programming. Also, I love to read on how makers make.| blog on Gautham Shankar
AI should help me find words to my thoughts, and should not do the thinking for me. Once I start to use AI to think for me, what I write is no longer my work. It isn’t authentic. Writing, or any other art for that matter, is a deeply personal affair. It looses its meaning the moment I outsource it. I understand and crystallise my thoughts as I write; I gain clarity.| blog on Gautham Shankar
I love the moments of silence in company of people dear to you - a lover or perhaps an old friend. It is comforting and serene, where there is no urge, no compulsion to fill the void with words. Instead, it is a gentle quiet that wraps around like a warm blanket. There’s a lingering feeling of sweet melancholy, the feeling of being together yet in our own worlds. These moments are liberating, the fear of being judged as uninteresting disappears, so does the desire to entertain or impress.| blog on Gautham Shankar
some envision a future where ai renders humans obsolete; many remain unconcerned, going about their everyday lives. i prefer to strike a balance, staying at the forefront of developments and figuring out how to stay relevant. in its current form, ai is a tool that helps people be more efficient. it can help people and industries become insanely productive by acting as a co-pilot. however, there is the need for human guidance and oversight, which essentially determines the quality of output ...| blog on Gautham Shankar
morning cup of coffee, evening cup of tea. afternoon nap after a full lunch. siesta. smell of rain. sound of rain. petrichor. reading by a window, lying on the bed. watching the washing machine wash. working hard on important things. a clean room, a bed that is made. feet in water. or sand. or both. first rays of sun on my face. finding words to my thoughts. reminiscing with friends.| blog on Gautham Shankar
Have you ever caught yourself thinking that a certain achievement or possession will make you happier? And when you finally attained it, did it bring the lasting happiness you expected? This question led me to discover the concept of hedonic adaptation. Hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation, is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes.| blog on Gautham Shankar
about six months ago, i started contemplating the purchase of a new bike. my existing ride was sufficient, but i longed for a more powerful machine - one that brought me joy beyond mere commuting. i wanted to buy the perfect bike for me, just that i had no clue on what it meant. i began observing bikes on the road, getting excited when i see a bike which suits my taste and my head nodding sideways in disapproval when i see one which i detest.| blog on Gautham Shankar
i recently published bookmarksheet, a tool for adding your favorite web content to google sheet in a single click. why build it when there is a plethora of bookmarking apps out there? honestly, i wanted to build something to overcome my builder’s block. i wanted to prove my ability to create something independently. i just wanted to build, and build i did. surprisingly, i find myself using it regularly. when i come across something interesting while browsing the web that i want to save for ...| blog on Gautham Shankar
I love the beach for its gentle breeze, caressing my face. I love it for the setting sun, painting the sky in vivid colours. I love it for the endless waves. But I love it more, for the moments it holds. A child holding the hand of her father, feeling the sand under her soft feet for the first time, her eyes wide with wonder. Friends, their laughter against the sound of waves rising and receding.| blog on Gautham Shankar
I have two great passions in life - writing and building. I’ve spent the the past few years doing the latter, but I’ve neglected my love for writing. Writing helps me articulate my thoughts. It’s where I discover and develop my inner voice - the very essence of who I am. I live life at a more leisurely pace when I write. I’m more attentive to the smaller, simpler joys of life.| blog on Gautham Shankar
The third time today it struck me I ain’t so naive. A falling feather or an autumn leaf on a wuthering day finding it’s way, sometimes carried away. Soaring high and stooping low in an act of let go.| blog on Gautham Shankar
“It’s a Punaar Puli”, he would say. A fragile man in his late 70s, Achachan was always sure of everything. “No, it’s a Kodam Puli Acha " my mother would tell him. “I planted it here, wouldn’t I know?” We all were at our ancestral home to spend the summer holidays. This was the third time in five days since we came here that the exact same conversation was playing out.| blog on Gautham Shankar
Her fluttering hair, soaked in the ocean air. Distant smiles o’er a squeal of surprise as the sea waves rise and recede. The sudden glimpse of a faraway memory like a gentle sea breeze to put a disturbed mind at ease.| blog on Gautham Shankar
I’ve been using Obsidian for all my writing lately, and it’s been a game changer. The local-first model means everything lives as plain text on my machine, and with the Minimal theme, the interface stays clean and distraction-free. My vault lives in iCloud (Dropbox or Google Drive work too), so notes sync seamlessly across devices - I often start drafts on my phone and finish them later on my laptop.| ingau