micro

Caught up with s1 of the bear. While good didn’t see anything remotely close to this being *succession* killer and all. Maybe s2 is dramatically different?

One of the most annoying things about WhatsApp is how it latches on to the ringer sound for notifications and not the actual sound for notifications. The result is that you cannot silence or reduce the sound of WhatsApp notifications with just volume buttons alone – you have to adjust the ringer volume to adjust the notification volume. In essence WhatsApp assumes that their notifications are necessary as phone and forces you to make a choice to silence both phone ringer and WhatsApp if you just want WhatsApp notifications at a lower volume. Just shitty design this by Facebook, but then what to expect. In an ideal world WhatsApp notifications can and should be controlled via sound volume not ringer volume but here we are.

> [What Happened to Wirecutter?](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/08/wirecutter-recommendations-worse-new-york-times/675075/)
>
Longtime fans have turned on the product-recommendation website. An evolving internet may be to blame.

I am one of them. I used to trust Wirecutter recommendations over anything else on Internet, but I dont get the feeling it is the same anymore. I am sure NYTimes buying it had to do lot with that feeling, but now more often than not their recommendations are basically *here’s the most expensive item on the shelf and we recommend it* mode. Heck, I literally bought their budget sunrise alarm clock pick reading their recommendations last week and immediately regretted making the purchase. I could and should’ve gone for something else that had better reviews.

Buzzfeed’s entire business model is *X asked this question on reddit and some of the responses are shocking* articles with embedded gifs. Thats fucking it. The one part of their site which was actually very very good, the news division was gutted.

This year it will almost be 10 years since I last visited Ahmedabad. I grew up in Ahmedabad in my formative years and the place holds a very special place in my heart. And yet because of movement of my own families there is nothing left in Ahmedabad for me, even though a good chunk of my relatives still live there. Its a place I once wanted to live forever, a place my dad and mom thought they’d retire forever too. Every time we go to India my aunt asks me to visit, and there is just never enough time to do so. I haven’t been back to our house in 10 years, and even the last time I was there it was such a weird feeling walking inside the apartment I grew up. I keep thinking one of these days, but lets see maybe next trip to India I want to see if I can make it happen.

I was fully invested in 2016 and 2020 election year, but I am making a conscious effort not to be so involved in 2024, for my own mental sanity, and more importantly, nothing will fundamentally change about my vote. The issues that I cared about in ’12, ’16’, 20, ’24 are exactly the same and will remain the same in future also and it aligns more closely with democrats than republicans. Why even bother investing time in listening to anything republican candidates or party has to say anymore because the only thing they’ve proven is how they are turning into repulsive humans (if they can be called that) year after year.

So yeah, IDGAF what Vivek or Nikki says, what Trump says/does at this point. I am of firm opinion that the American society is spiraling into a inevitable decay thanks to the rot that republicans have sown into it. My only role (&hope) is to delay this as much as possible by making sure my vote counts in ’24 and canvas/educate others around me (in my own capacity) about perils of voting anyone but democrats anywhere – from school boards, to state elections to national. Thats all I can do, and I will do.

Post procedure my dinner for tonight is simple dal rice. That said I have already had bunch of junk food to reset my tummy. Gladly the outcome of the colonoscopy was I don’t need to do it again for 5-7 years and I will gladly take it. This 2 day prep work, liquid diet and one evening of self induced diarrhea was more than enough for me for a while.

Cant wait for that ugly piece of turd to be roaming around the streets soon, or otherwise called as Tesla Truck. Like Jesus, what even is it?

Had the best nap of my life it feels like. They were not wrong after all about colonoscopy. Still drippy though but gosh propofol is one helluva drug.

Learned a new phrase today: *toxic activism*.