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Yesterday was my first day in India. My hotel costs 900 rupees a night, which is less than $20. It is nice and clean, but not fancy. The staff is very friendly and speaks good english. A fancy hotel here costs over $300 a night, there’s a huge difference between bargains and high end costs here. Breakfast is 50 rupees, or about a dollar. Internet access is 350 rupees for 24 hours, which is a bargain. [Read More]

I try calling Lola with Skype using my USB headphones. It mostly works, but there’s a definite delay. But at 1c a minute vs. $3.00 a minute, it seems worth it. The call breaks up towards the end and then gets better. Lola says the delay is like talking to someone who isn’t paying attention, so it is must not be that different from talking to me when I’m in San Jose. [Read More]

I take a 2:15 flight from SFO to Frankfurt, and then Frankfurt to Bangalore. How things worked: iPod – this works great. I listen to “1491” SFO to Frankfurt. This is crowded flight, so I can’t even look at my laptop, so I’m glad I have the audio book. But by Frankfurt I’m 2/3 down on battery. I have a 45 minute layover, so I pull out my laptop and top off the iPod battery from the USB port. [Read More]

Today I went to the Consulate General India (CGI) in San Francisco to get my visa. I left San Jose about 6:45, and got to the Consulate around 8:15. I’m expecting something huge, like an embassy, but it is a small building between a pet shop and some residential homes. No problem parking at all. It opens at 9:00 AM, there are about 5 people in line. [Read More]

I decide to try Skype so I can do cheap calls from India to back home. I try and hook up my new Bluetooth headset to my PC. It doesn’t work with the Microsoft drivers, so I install some Widcom drivers. Now my Motorola phone tools won’t work over Bluetooth. Bluetooth feels like tcp-ip in the mid-80’s, you have to kind of know what you’re doing and it doesn’t work all at the same time. [Read More]

I quit the old job today. Kind of painful since I like the team I’m working with, but sometimes you just have to move on. Things I obsess over: Books - I usually take about 5 books just to get to Europe and back, so I obsess on what I will do on the plane. The flight is twice as long, and I can’t take 10 books. I order a new video iPod and start looking for Audio books. [Read More]