Libre Office versus MS Office

 

There is a lot of chatter on Zoho replacing this and that. 

Opensource Libre Office Suite has been there for a long, long time. It is as good as MS Office, probably better. You can download it from here:

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/

Here is what the Libre Writer interface looks like:

What's more, one can save it as a Word document, among other text formats:

Ephemerality of Puja Pandals

 

We saw beautiful Durga Puja Pandals during our visits, as well as images of them in social media posts. 

One such Pandal is captured below:

But, somehow this thought came to me: the more beautiful a Durga Puja Pandal, the more keenly we become aware of the Pandal's ephemerality: four days, and gone.

Only She prevails, And, Her Grace remains.

Grows on the killing tool left behind

 

She killed him

Up to the stump,

But left behind,

Her killing tool,

And yet he grows,

Slowly, but defiantly,

On the killing tool,

On her heart left behind.

Together, did we find it, Google?

 

It's Google's birthday today, and, Google says, 'Thank you for searching with us throughout the years.'

https://share.google/WFG4gzk0TxzC2h6fW

So, I asked Google, 'Together, did we find it, Google?'

Squared and Cubed Dates: Tomorrow is a Squared Date, 5²/3²/5²

 

Tomorrow is 25/09/25,  a squared date: 5²/3²/5² in dd/mm/yy format. It is also a squared date in mm/dd/yy format:  3²/5²/5². 

The next squared date will be on 1²/1²/6², or, 1/1/36. In this case, it is same for both dd/mm/yy and mm/dd/yy formats.

However, the next cubed date is nearer. It is on 1³/1³/3³, or, 01/01/27.

It is festival time. Please buy and read my sci-fi book that deals on going forward and backward in dates. In Amazon India buy it here:

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0FFGKR6RC

In Amazon US you can buy it here:

https://a.co/d/8SDTsZ2

And, in Amazon UK you can buy it here:

https://amzn.eu/d/da2JIb4

Love happens, unhappens

 

This is the way of love:

Neither can you stop me from loving,

Nor can I ask you to love,

Love happens, unhappens.

What is 1906?

 

What is 1906?

No, it is not only a year. It is not only the year after Einstein espoused his Special Theory of Relativity. It is also a toll free number in India.

We called 1906 yesterday when we suspected a gas leak as we plugged a newly filled gas cylinder with our gas stove.

1906 is an emergency number to attend to cooking gas leak issues. This help is provided irrespective of whichever Gas company one is a client of, and without charge. The gentleman at the other end of the phone assured us that our problem will be fixed by our Gas Agency within the next two hours. In the meantime, he told us to take precautionary measures like disengaging the gas cylinder from the stove, opening all windows, and placing the errant cylinder outside the house.

Help arrived within thirty minutes of our call, and the problem was fixed. It was truly immediate and extraordinary service.

We forget to acknowledge the small ways in which our country is marching forward. It is truly remarkable. Only a few years ago, realistically, we would have to wait for two to three days before such a problem could be fixed. But imagine, in the meanwhile, how would a home with such a gas leakage problem cook its meal?

My country is changing, and for the better.