Astrovelo

Call me a wine-snob, but when one goes to a fancy restaurant and orders a whole bottle of a White Zinfandel, they proclaim to the whole world that they don’t have any taste in wines.

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

– John Lennon.

Thanksgiving dinner has been a tradition in our house since 1998. Some of our friends have attended every one of these gettogethers over the last 8 years. Due to reasons beyond our control, we had to cancel this year’s event. So, for the first time in 9 years, it is Thanksgiving day but, there is no mad rush of cooking. We’ll definitely have to get back to our tradition next year.

Y’all have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Almost last whole month had been quite rough for Adit. He caught an ear infection that turned into bacterial meningitis. He needed to be treated with intravenous antibiotics. I don’t want to write about all the gory details, but the poor guy had a lot to go through. We are so proud that he was so strong and brave while enduring it all. After 17 days of tough battle against penicillin-resistant Streptococcus bacteria in the hospital, Adit finally came home last night. He is doing very well and his recovery is on track.

Here is Adit smiling for the first time after first 4-5 days of this ordeal. It was hard to see him not smile as he has been such a smiley baby all the while.

Adit back to being his mischievous self.

So many of you have been asking for information on GM diet. Here is what I had received from a friend.

Indianised version of the diet.

GENERAL MOTORS WEIGHT LOSS DIET

The following diet and health program was developed for the employees and the dependents of General Motors Inc., US of A.

The program was developed in conjuration with the grant from the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. It was field tested in the Johns Hopkins Research Center and was approved for distributed by the Board of Directors of General Motors Corporation at a general meeting on August 15, 1995.

General Motors Corporation wholly endorsed this program and is making it available to all employees and families. This program will be available at all General Motors food service facilities.

It is the Management’s intention to implement a welfare and fitness program for everyone.

This program is designed for a target weight loss of 5-6 Kg. per week. It will also improve your attitude and emotions because of its systematic cleaning effects. The effectiveness of this seven day plan is that the foods eaten burn more calories than they give to the body in caloric value. This plan can be used as often as you like to without any fear of complications. It is designed to flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well being. After seven days you will begin to feel lighter by atleast 10 pounds. You will have an abundance of energy and an improved disposition.

During the seven days you must drink 10 glasses of water each day.

• DAY ONE: All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all fruits you want. It is suggested you consume lots of melons the first day, especially watermelon and bantloupe.
• DAY TWO: All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat all raw and cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount of type. Avoid oil and coconut while cooking vegetables. Have large boiled potato for breakfast.
• DAY THREE: Any mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet and no potatoes today.
• DAY FOUR: Banana and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. You can also have 1 bowl of vegetable soup.
• DAY FIVE: Today is feast day. You will eat 1 cup of rice. You also have to eat about six whole tomatoes and drink 12 glasses of water today to cleanse your system of the excess uric acid you will be producing.
• DAY SIX: Today is another all vegetables day. You must eat 1 cup of rice today and eat all the vegetable you want cooked and uncooked to your hearts content.
• DAY SEVEN: Today your food intake will consist of 1 cup rice, fruit juice and the vegetables you care to consume. Tomorrow morning you will be five Kgs lighter than 1 week ago.

If you desire further weight loss, repeat the program again. Repeat the program as often as you like, however, it is suggested that you rest for three days before every repetition.

We followed the program as described here, but made our own adjustments like eating guacamole as one of the vegetables. Probably not a good choice, but it tasted so gooooood. On day four, we made a vegetable soup with onion, green pepper, tomatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Something similar to Manchao soup that you get in “Indian Chinese” restaurants. Also for day five, we made tomato soup instead of eating raw tomatoes.

I lost 7 pounds in a week and the wife lost 4 to 5 pounds. My knees are thankful as they have a little less weight to carry around. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

Whoever did the casting for Casino Royale has totally messed up. Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, looks more like a KGB agent than one in her Majesty’s service.

It has been two weeks since we did the GM diet. I lost 7 pounds during those 7 days of GM diet. Even after returning to my gluttonous lifestyle for two weeks, those 7 pounds haven’t come back. Excellent, eh!? Should do this week-long diet again sometime in the next few months.

October is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”. It is one of the most prevalent cancers in women around the world. This year, about 200,000 women will be diagnosed of breast cancer in the US alone. Early detection leads to best chance of recovery. There are many excellent sources of information on the internet, such as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month website, National Cancer Institute’s section on Breast Cancer.

Remind your mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, friend and neighbour to talk with their doctor about it to understand their risk. With your girlfriend or wife, take matters in your own hands: schedule a doctor’s appointment for them and give them regular exams. They’ll appreciate it. Remember that early diagnosis is very important for successful treatment.

Wish You All a Very Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year!!!

Mark Nov. 8th in your calendar. Mercury will transit over the Sun. It should be easily seen through Solar viewing goggles or with the use of a pinhole camera. Here is a predicted image that shows the progress over time.
NASA - 2006 Transit of Mercury

I am going to be busy with a day-long meeting that day. Hopefully, will be able to spare some time to get out and view the transit.

I was always amazed at the heroines from Bollywood movies who changed clothes so often and so fast. Check out this video, where the clothes change routine is done on-stage.

At this morning weigh-in, I have lost about 7 pounds in one week of this diet. I don’t feel any other benefits from it. My knees feel better with little less weight to carry, but that is it. Maybe, I don’t feel any different than before, because I am still sleep-deprived. Part of this weight loss could be attributed to sleep-deprivation. In the week before I started this diet, I was away on a business trip and used to get at least uninterrupted 7 hours of sleep and was eating huge three meals per day. Anyway, if these 7 pounds stay away, that will be good.

Eating just fruits and vegetables isn’t so bad. I mostly eat that always anyway. During the week, at lunchtime, one of my colleagues was eating a big sandwich. I wanted to snatch it from his hand and eat that yummy bread. That was the only time I felt bad about being on this diet. At home, we ate home-made guacamole as vegetable (avocado is a fruit, right?) and made spicy vegetable soups. So, it was quite enjoyable.

Today, I started eating regular food. Wonder how long it will take for these 7 pounds to come back.

Today was the last day of this diet. Tomorrow morning, I’ll weigh myself to find out how much weight I lost. I liked doing this routine for the week. What you eat is restricted but not how much. Someone like me who likes to eat almost everything in large quantities, I was getting full everyday even with the restrictions. Wouldn’t mind doing this again in the future to lose another 5-10 pounds.