2022-08-26 12:30
It took several days to unpack what the trip to Kolkata had been about. I had two goals - one to help my parents complete long-standing tasks that required my physical presence and two to ma… Read More
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Heartcrossings Blog
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About culture, technology, parenting, marriage, relationships. music, art, literature and poetry
2022-08-25 12:30
My thoughts turned to the two women I had reconnected with after a long time during my stay in Kolkata. One a friend from college and the other a cousin. Both find themselves in the position… Read More
2022-08-24 12:30
It's impossible not to feel the energy of NYC if you are visiting. I did the first time and do every time since then. Not sure how that manifests for people who live there and call the city… Read More
2022-08-23 12:30
The last day before I returned from Kolkata, my father asked me when I would visit next. It is a natural question to ask and a hard one to answer. I realize we don't have a lot of time left… Read More
2022-08-22 12:30
Great interview on the true cost of customer experience from a seller's perspective. A generous return policy is a key component of great customer experience. There are examples of best in c… Read More
2022-08-21 12:30
One of the folks I met on my visit to Kolkata works in the printing operations of a Bengali newspaper that's been around forever. A has worked there for over twenty years and likes that he h… Read More
2022-08-20 12:30
At one of the banks I had to visit with my parents, the bulk of the staff was from Bihar many of them domiciled in Bengal. Everyone understands Bangla and many speak the language fluently. O… Read More
2022-08-19 12:30
A cool way to see see scenes from a movie filtered by key phrases. The tired and cliché lines we've heard over and over in movies, many are typical for a genre. Then there are catch p… Read More
2022-08-18 13:40
Nice article on the boom to bust cycle of social media. It used to be that people were creating content much in the manner of my writing this blog. The material was whatever the producer car… Read More
2022-08-17 12:30
Every time I come to Kolkata, there is a hard reset to the last time I lived in my parents' home as a dependent child. This was before I left to college and it is where their understanding o… Read More
2022-08-15 12:30
There are several elderly couples in my parent's neighborhood who have one or more of their children and grandchildren living abroad. I ran into at least have a dozen of them. They have visi… Read More
2022-08-14 12:30
One of the neighbors I met around my parents' apartment is a woman about a decade younger than me the mother of a twelve year old. She is a stay-at-home mom. The husband works at a bank in c… Read More
2022-08-13 12:30
Sometimes D sends me videos of her grandson being adorable. I have known her for a long time now. We met when she was at the prime of her career, sharp as a tack and not afraid of any challe… Read More
2022-08-12 12:30
I have been spending the bulk of my days in Kolkata cooking traditional Bengali food to feed family and friends. The process involves going to the market with my father in the mornings and c… Read More
2022-08-11 12:30
T is a neighbor of my parents. He is a doctor and an amateur stage actor. The wife and daughter are semi-professional vocalists. Having the family over for dinner naturally occasioned improm… Read More
2022-08-10 12:30
One afternoon, I decided to scan the headlines of a Bengali newspaper that was lying around my parents' living room. The political news is too disheartening to read and besides its all every… Read More
2022-08-09 12:30
I have never enjoyed visiting Kolkata - not while I lived in India or now that I don't. It was a like eating a bitter pill - the thing you had to do so you could spend time with people you c… Read More
2022-08-08 12:30
Seeing my best friend from college after four years was bitter-sweet. The physical decline was hard to see. This is someone who had lived independently her whole post-college life, away from… Read More
2022-08-06 12:30
This is the first time I have spend alone time with my parents in their home. This is not the place I grew up in or have any memories of. They bought this apartment after my father retired a… Read More
2022-08-05 12:30
Reading this made me smile and reminded me of a conversation with a data science guy a few months ago. L was solving for a problem that all sales organizations can relate to. Are they catchi… Read More
2022-08-04 12:30
I have traveled alone more in the past few months than I have done in a long time. While the pandemic raged, I also grew older and a less happy traveler. Looking back I am not sure when if e… Read More
2022-08-03 12:30
I will be traveling alone to India for the first time since I immigrated to America. For most people there is nothing remarkable about such an event but it created a heightened sense of anxi… Read More
2022-08-02 12:30
The character of Marion in Another Woman epitomizes the ultimate state of an inwardly focused person. The world shrinks constantly until becomes the point inside their mind. Marion does not… Read More
2022-08-01 12:30
Longish essay musing on Covid but the part that resonated most with me was on travel. I had chance to travel internationally several times during the pandemic. Sometimes to visit a loved one… Read More
2022-07-31 12:30
I discovered Scratch when J was in elementary school and got her started on it - to play and make things with. In her case the curiosity and fascination was short-lived - started strong but… Read More
2022-07-30 12:30
Saw this story recently and could not help thinking that I would not score one of those free tickets - but it would be a great to more small public service give-aways like this. If not a fre… Read More
2022-07-29 12:30
All around me I am seeing the push and pull about returning to the office. In many situation no one is insisting that you do but rather leading my example that you are no beholden to follow… Read More
2022-07-28 12:30
Watched The House of Gucci recently. The story is made for the movies and a testament to truth being stranger than fiction. Everyone in the cast seemed to try a little too hard to act Italia… Read More
2022-07-27 12:30
The idea of being in a state of controlled hallucination makes you wonder what that means for the art of the possible. We take in the same scene but the highlight reel looks different for ea… Read More
2022-07-26 12:30
I was forced to live apart from J for over a year when she was a baby. That experience stands out in my life for how dark and depressing it was. To this day, I wish the clock would turn back… Read More
2022-07-25 12:30
Indian businesswoman Barbie seems like a hit based on the reviews. Would be great to see it taken a step further, the power suit traded for a beautiful saree. A lot of powerful Indian women… Read More
2022-07-24 12:30
In the last couple of decades there has been a lot of talk about following the digital exhaust of consumer behavior to better learn their needs and wants. Better yet, be ready to fulfill tho… Read More
2022-07-23 12:30
Missed this piece of news while being inundated by stuff all around - at home and work. Customer data tracking is butting up against a raft of regulations these days and as I customer I am v… Read More
2022-07-22 12:30
Watched Antardwand and it was a sad experience. Having spent a good part of my growing up years in what is now Jharkhand, the cast of characters felt realistic and compounds the miserable af… Read More
2022-07-21 12:30
I have Covid a few weeks ago and I had to travel a long way back home after that. By now this is so common and routine that it goes without remark or attention. When I tested positive, my th… Read More
2022-07-20 12:30
Finally finished watching Ozark, it had been on our list for the longest time but four seasons felt like a big commitment. Much has been written about the show and everyone has their own per… Read More
2022-07-19 12:30
I had a female boss who wore her vulnerability like a suit or armor. When people first encountered her they saw that are different and bold for a woman. Men and women agreed that F was not a… Read More
2022-07-18 12:30
I would be more a "periodical" reader than a book reader these days but good to know that every little bit of reading helps. When traveling, I am always curious about books people are a… Read More
2022-07-17 12:30
A robotic replacement of a pizzeria is a sign of the times I suppose. Food service workers have been underpaid and overworked for the longest time. For a bit, wages crept up due to labor sho… Read More
2022-07-16 12:30
A robot that could take over household chores could be great for the elderly who want to live independently but are not quite able to take on all the work that comes with it. My parent… Read More
2022-07-15 12:30
I met the group of people I work with after a year of having been part of the team. The first day was awkward, the second was better and the last day was a relief - both to have had this cha… Read More
2022-07-13 12:30
Good article on the gradual "demise" of classical music. Many reasons could be cited for this but the author argues the main reason is : .. the near-total inability of post-World War II… Read More
2022-07-12 12:30
I remembered my grocery list too late and Walmart was my only option by then. At the checkout lines that evening was predominantly Afghan. I live close to the neighborhood in my town where r… Read More
2022-07-11 12:30
Watched The Phantom Thread recently. The characters may not average but the complications of the relationships are such that the average person can relate. In a healthy relationship there is… Read More
2022-07-10 12:30
Always a fan of Photoshop never an owner of the product, this is exciting news for me - a chance to play with a fair set of the features in a free online version. Getting your prospective bu… Read More
2022-07-09 12:30
No surprise that a Chinese smart coffee maker collects data quietly. It would be ironic (but entirely plausible) that the same data will get sold to an American data aggregator that can now… Read More
2022-07-08 12:30
Love the idea of converting fallen trees into beautiful furniture. I did not realize all these trees were destined for the landfill:..people are incentivized to dispose of trees “… Read More
2022-07-07 12:30
This post about the protests in the wake of the Roe v. Wade leak reminds of the documentary on the subject I had watched a while ago. The justices at the time did not have to content wi… Read More
2022-07-06 12:30
Watched In a Lonely Place recently. The story is about love and fear, set in a time when societal norms were very different from what they are today. As the plot unfolds, the modern viewer m… Read More
2022-07-05 12:30
For a woman to decline marriage is still hard in India. This "first" of its kind marriage in a great act of courage. I was not familiar with the word or concept of sologamy - the… Read More
2022-07-04 12:30
Listening to this quote by Theroux during my walk recently was most timely "the cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immedia… Read More
2022-07-03 16:54
I would not know the difference between a dead father and an absent one. My father is thankfully still alive and if anything he was always hyper-present in my life. I have swung between rese… Read More
2022-07-01 12:30
It has been an intense few days getting my house in order. The detritus from times past needed cleaning up to make way for the here and now. Once I got started, it became impossible to stop… Read More
2022-06-30 12:30
Reading this story produced a sense of calm and permanence in a time the turmoil is the order of the day. The trees featured here lived long before we did and and will outlive us by a lot to… Read More
2022-06-28 12:30
Two decades and three todayNo grand milestone year, butIf you remembered know I did tooThe knicks and cuts we gave each otherFollies of youth those wereI forgive me, you and us for thoseThos… Read More
2022-06-27 12:30
Being the mother of a daughter the return to medievalism perpetrated by the Supreme Court hits very close to home. My friends and family in other countries can't stop talking about how Ameri… Read More
2022-06-26 12:30
As a consumer that started to re-engage with the food service industry coming of the pandemic, I can't say the ubiquitous tip options at every turn makes for delightful customer experience… Read More
2022-06-25 12:30
Reading this article makes me painfully aware of my lack of understanding of where social media is headed. As it is with such things, people are less likely to engage with what does not make… Read More
2022-06-24 12:30
I am that point in my life that if I were to interview for a role, chances are that the person interviewing me is significantly younger and with children not yet in middle school. Unlike me… Read More
2022-06-23 12:30
The local symphony orchestra was giving a free performance at a local park a recent weekend. They used to do this every summer until the pandemic so people were out in their numbers for the… Read More
2022-06-22 12:30
I have seen a lot of amazing work done on Excel but these paintings are at a whole another level of Excel mastery. It reminds me of my boss P at my second job out of college. Changing jobs m… Read More
2022-06-21 12:30
Reading this poem always fills me with a mix of energy and sadness - that is also what makes me return to it. A poem about death, but not everyone who loves it sees only death - there is som… Read More
2022-06-20 12:30
An interview prep bot is an intriguing idea. For a young person embarking on their first job search or someone older who is seeking a new career, it could be a good way to learn the ropes. T… Read More
2022-06-19 12:30
I had been yearning Cheeslings for a while and had not been able to stop by at the local desi grocery store. So each time I passed a snack aisle in another store, it triggered a reminde… Read More
2022-06-18 12:30
A lot of younger folks I know have recommended that I consider working for a start-up at this stage in my life because many of them value having an adult in the room and I can afford to take… Read More
2022-06-17 12:30
I was talking to a friend recently about unrealistic goals on which people's performance is measured at work and how some people feel like perpetual failures because they can't meet them. We… Read More
2022-06-16 12:30
On our recent trip, going out to eat proved to be an illuminating lesson on how the world has change since the pandemic and events following it. The waitstaff is paid a decent wage for a hig… Read More
2022-06-15 12:30
One weekend in May, we decided to rent a place in a sleepy town by the ocean lacking the kind of beaches that draw the tourists in. We "planned" the trip in under thirty minutes and got our… Read More
2022-06-14 12:30
We were passing by a playground the other day and saw a child with her grandmother there playing by a gnarly old tree. The little girl was clearly taken up by its strange beauty - its limbs… Read More
2022-06-13 12:30
I have to say I was familiar with most of the words on this list that people in my age bracket are not supposed to know. This list caught my eye because I have been thinking about how the wa… Read More
2022-06-12 21:01
A few days ago, we woke up to a loud thunderstorm with huge lightning flashes. Majestic and scary sight with a dark and brooding sky to match. At some point we realized that the baseme… Read More
2022-06-12 12:30
Loved this story about trees whose seeds have been to the moon and back. The fact that these seeds could have been the subject of a scientific experiment but were not, should have been… Read More
2022-06-11 12:30
I am not using voice to text software to take meeting notes for me yet but it seems like the best way to deal with many meetings. Specially for the times a person is triple booked - a note t… Read More
2022-06-10 12:30
Nice essay on what it feels to finish a book or audiobook that you loved. The deepness of the engagement is driven by the reader or listener:"What the author or writer does is provide maybe… Read More
2022-06-09 12:30
Cruising is cheaper compared to cost of assisted living. That alone can be enough for some to choose sea over land. The idea of being able to sea the world comfortably for a price point that… Read More
2022-06-08 12:30
Truer words were not spoken: "In our society, there seems a general rule that, the more obviously one’s work benefits other people, the less one is likely to be paid for it". You only… Read More
2022-06-07 12:30
This graph has been around a while but seeing it for the first time a few days ago made me chuckle. Imagine you stay in that job for a few decade and only ever go as far as learning co… Read More
2022-06-06 12:30
Saw this very excellent visual come through my LinkedIn feed recently and could not agree more. Companies imagine there is this box bearing untold riches and gifts all tagged AIML All… Read More
2022-06-05 12:30
A woman I worked with several years ago seemed to be on a great career track supported by a husband who cared about her achieving her potential. He worked a less demanding job than she did a… Read More
2022-06-05 12:30
Feel good story about scientific research that left me with some questions as a layperson reading this. The fact that Vice picked it up was an interesting data point. So we talk about how th… Read More
2022-06-04 12:30
It was a warm afternoon complete with dazzling blue skies uncluttered by clouds. There were many errands to run and things to complete over the weekend but I chose to do none of what was "es… Read More
2022-06-03 12:30
I have not read much about what it means to be an influencer in the marketing business so this article was educative.From Botox to breast implants, medical providers have turned to social me… Read More
2022-06-02 12:30
The idea of being a shopper in a AR enabled store where the staff are able to see see thought bubbles floating over my head is a bizarre mix of scary and absurd. If I as the shopper pay enou… Read More
2022-06-01 12:30
Creative way to future-proof furniture by design. Not every spilt of material goods need to be tragic and that's where the choice of the word friendly is a nice touch even though the use cas… Read More
2022-05-31 12:30
It's a sizeable portion of the population that misses the lockdown atleast in the UK. Maybe this is true for the rest of the world too. ..an overwhelming majority of respondents re… Read More
2022-05-30 12:30
Doing right by kids is difficult business as most parents and other adults know. Best intentions only go so far. We bring our baggage and biases into what are able to do for them. Monsieur L… Read More
2022-05-29 21:51
Loved reading this story about helping diabetic patients. The problem this solves is one that I have known up close in my extended family. Aunt L was the life of the party and a good singer… Read More
2022-05-29 12:30
Great story about a business evolving with the times and staying relevant. The initial idea was to make a fish on a plaque sing and dance - most notably making eye-contact with the owner. A… Read More
2022-05-29 01:03
Very timely reading when feeling sorry for ourselves given what the past few years have put us through. We experienced a variety of problems during the time but having to live in the afterma… Read More
2022-05-27 12:30
Some good observations in this story about being child-free or child-less not being nearly as bad as society would have one believe. It is a combination of factors that determine the level o… Read More
2022-05-26 12:30
Nice to read that partly used hotel soap is being put to good use. The graphic showing the relatively popularity of hotel amenities is also pretty instructive thought its unclear how its pos… Read More
2022-05-25 12:30
A kid I mentor told me about Budibase. He is a strong developer so I was intrigued that he would gravitate towards low-code but his rationale makes sense. B said, there is development work t… Read More
2022-05-24 12:30
Reading about this cutely named project made me wonder if it would be possible to take the idea a slightly different direction - interpret the pieces of sound that make up birdsong and learn… Read More
2022-05-23 12:30
Fantastic Atlantic essay on the impact of social media on democracy. Long but very worthwhile read covering a myriad of themes. The one that was particularly close to my heart is education o… Read More
2022-05-22 12:30
Reading this article hit me with a severe bout of nostalgia for the mid 90s when I first gained access to the internet. The words on the screen couldn’t adapt to your presence and… Read More
2022-05-21 12:30
For years, I avoided reading The Joy Luck Club based on the negative reviews of the book. When I was a new immigrant to America, the idea of writing about eastern cultures in a way that perp… Read More
2022-05-20 12:30
I have long been a fan of Stitch Fix UX but never a customer. What they sell is interesting as a concept but I am not among their buyer personas. For a company that gets customer pain so wel… Read More
2022-05-19 12:30
Loved reading this writer's perspective on fiction and non-fiction writing. What she does as a professional, I have been doing for a bit as a amateur. Not quite 80 yet but there are days whe… Read More
2022-05-18 12:30
Wanting to run away from home is a common childhood fantasy but very few act on it and even fewer with any degree of success. This excerpt reads like a modern day Walden. The lessons on… Read More
2022-05-17 12:30
Learned a new word murmurations and how starlings make works of art in the sky. The visuals are powerful and they hold hidden meaning that humans don't understand but we can still marvel at… Read More
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