October 2009
54 posts
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Burps Bathrooms and Sunsets: Riding the Train in...
Everyone says that to experience humanity, you’ve got to ride an Indian train. Well, now I can say that I have — and I have lived to tell about it.
The berths are actually much more comfortable than people make them out to be, and there are even Chaiwallas that wander up and down the aisles offering hot tea in very-non-insulated cups. We even had the very rare veggie-cutlet-walla offering a...
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My Ruba Travel Guide to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.: Off the Beaten Path Travel Guide By Budak
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Google CEO Donates $25 Million to Princeton →
First of all, I should make clear that donating money, rather than keeping it to oneself should be applauded. That said, I really wish Eric Schmidt hadn’t donated that money to Princeton. I understand that it’s his Alma Mater, and that it’s a great school, but it also already has an endowment over $16 Billion — enough that even $25 million doesn’t make a huge...
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Don't Stick Your Feet in the Naan (and other...
Having eaten Indian food for all but about three meals during my three months in India (and let me tell you pizza has never tasted so good), I became interested in learning a little more about the cuisine. So, my friends and I decided to take Indian cooking lessons while visiting the northern town of Udaipur.
The class, which began at 5:30PM and ran until well after 10PM, was taught by an...
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Rule #1 of Travel: Always Carry Your Camera
Like a face filled with the wrinkles of time, my camera’s scratches evoke a life well-lived. My trusty Canon Powershot camera has been with me for multiple years, on multiple continents, and across state borders — tucked away safely in my pocket. It’s survived drops, falls, and the occasional guy in India yelling at me to put it away. It’s not the fanciest, priciest, or most high-tech camera out...
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Synthetic Biology: just as Darwin and/or God...
My weekly blog for my “Networked Technology and Society” course. We were asked to read this brilliant New Yorker article “A Life of its Own” by Michael Specter about Synthetic Biology. Below is my reflection on human agency with regards to manipulation of genetic code, technology, and evolution.
“If our moral and political language for evaluating technology includes only...
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Sports Travel: Just Do It!
With the 2016 Olympics recently being awarded to Brazil, and the World Cup in South Africa less than a year away, I thought it would be a good time to share stories of my experience at the biggest sporting event I’ve ever been to — the 2006 World Cup in Germany. If you haven’t already made your plans to go to Cape Town next summer, start looking into it, because huge events like this and the...
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On an Apolitical Internet
Note: I’m taking a class right now called “Network Technology and Society,” which is a wonderful, multidisciplinary look at the way in which technology affects society and vice-versa. As part of the course, our Professor has asked us to do a weekly reflective post for the class blog based on a question that arises from readings and our discussions. I figured I would start...
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