Astrophotos
Yes, she IS my daughter.
We had a little incident today. Ashwini’s daycare teacher arranged an outing for all her kids and their families at Chuck-E-Cheese. This was our first time at this place. I can’t imagine that I never went to this fun place during my 13-14 years of stay in US.
On the way there, V took Ashwini and I went later. When I was going in, they stamped my arm with UV-visible ink like they do in nightclubs. I couldn’t figure out what it was all about. Then, V had to leave early to go for a work-related dinner and I stayed back with Ashwini to play for some more time. It was so much fun. All the noisy games and chances to win prizes… I think I had more fun than Ashwini.
Then, it was time to leave and I figured out what that stamp was all about. The Chuck-E-Cheese people were matching the stamps on the arms of children and adults that were carrying them out. Obviously my stamp didn’t match Ashwini’s and they wouldn’t let me out with her. I kept explaining to them what had happened, but, they wouldn’t listen. I tried calling V, but, I think she probably left the phone in the car. I was quite helpless. Couldn’t think of what to do next. Finally, after much arguing the manager came out. She talked with all of us in the group that were still there and agreed that Ashwini was really my daughter and I wasn’t stealing her. We were finally let out. In a way, it was comforting to see that they are so careful about this. I shall feel safe to go there with Ashwini again.
My 3rd Father's day
A’s teacher: Ashwini, what did you do for Father’s day? A: My say happy father’s day to dada. My do drawing on card. My give card to dada.
- I started off the day with golf at 7:04am. Had my best score of 58 on 9 holes.
- V made aloo parathas for me.
- Took a nap with Shwini.
- Went grocery shopping with Shwini.
- Spent the evening blowing bubbles with Shwini.
- Put together my new tool chest in the garage.
Overall, it was a nice enjoyable Sunday.
Pulp Fiction accessories
This is an essential accessory for all the “Pulp Fiction” fans out there. I would love to get one for myself, but, ‘boss’ won’t approve of it.
Some memorable dialogues from Pulp Fiction, one of the best movies ever made.
What's the next word?
Follow-up to this post about Ashwini’s Punjabiness…
Yesterday, V made my favorite aloo parathas for Father’s day. Ashwini got one for lunch too and she kept calling it ‘pratha’. Don’t know where she is getting it from… We don’t even have any local Punjabi friends that she sees often.
Happy Father's Day
Happy Father’s Day to me… Over the last two years, I grew up as a father and learned so much more about life and love than I ever knew before.
Colin Mockery and Brad Sherwood show
Went to see the stars of the TV show, “Whose line is it anyway?”. They kicked off the three-week long Ann Arbor Summer Festival. They were incredibly funny. Laughed more in that one and half hour than whole of last month combined. I think I almost peed in my pants a couple of times. It was one of the best improv shows that I have ever seen.
Petting farm
Ashwini’s class went on a trip to a petting farm on Tuesday. I decided to go along and give a hand to her teachers. There were 4 teachers with 10 kids including me. Thankfully, it was a cooler day after last week’s heat wave and everyone enjoyed the trip. It lasted only a couple of hours that included going on a hayride, eating a snack and petting goats, sheep, ducks, pigs and cows. I went back to work and all others went back to the daycare.
It was a farm complete with barns, windmill and tractors.
The hayride was a little bumpy, but, it took us around the farm and we could see all the cows and the horses.
Here is a photo of all the kids in Ashwini’s class. Who wouldn’t want to go out and play with them???
Plough
A: Plough. I want to eat plough.
That is how she answered to our queries about her food preference for dinner. It took us a minute to figure out that she meant ‘Pulaav’. I think Ash is turning into a Punjabi woman ;)
Don't expect me to cry...
Have been listening to “Nirvana: MTV unplugged in New York”.
This song “Jesus don’t want me for a sunbeam” is just stuck in my head. Must have listened to it at least 10 times.
Jesus, don’t want me for a sunbeam
Sunbeams are never made like me
Don’t expect me to cry, For all the reasons you had to die Don’t ever ask your love of me
Don’t expect me to cry Don’t expect me to lie Don’t expect me to die for me
Jesus, don’t want me for a sunbeam Sunbeams are never made like me
Don’t expect me to cry, For all the reasons you had to die Don’t ever ask your love of me
(x2) Don’t expect me to cry Don’t expect me to lie Don’t expect me to die for me
Jesus, don’t want me for a sunbeam Sunbeams are never made like me Don’t expect me to cry, For all the reasons you had to die Don’t ever ask your love of me
Don’t expect me to cry Don’t expect me to lie Don’t expect me to die Don’t expect me to cry Don’t expect me to lie Don’t expect me to die for me
This song was inspired from a Mormon song: Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.
The Revenge of the Sith
Thanks to “Summer hours” at work, we went to watch “The Revenge of the Sith” yesterday. Loved it. As usual, the acting was atrocious and dialogues were horrible. The best actors were Palpatine and Yoda; one of them is computer generated. Overall, the movie was very fast paced and full of action. There is no dull moment in the whole 2 hours. The transformation of Anakin is shown very nicely. Obi-wan’s fight with General Grievous was awesone.
The best line was delivered by Anakin while talking to Obi-wan, in the same style as W: “You are either with me or you are my enemy”. Also, I can imagine Carl Rove sending out a message last year during the election campaign: “Execute order 66.” Fiction imitating real life or other way around?
By the time we finished eating Sushi and rushed to the movie theater, we missed first 5-10 minutes of the movie. That gives me a reason to watch it again.
HOT HOT HOT
It is so hot, I feel like I am melting. It was 75F at 730 in the morning when I got out of the house. Today’s high is going to be 90+ again. Lat year, we had only three days with temps 90F or more. This year, today is the third 90F day already. And this is just the second week of June. AAAARRRGHHHH… Can’t wait for the Fall…
The only nice thing about the Summer is “Summer Hours” at work. From June to September, we can work 1 extra hour Monday through Thursday and get half days on Fridays. Hope to see a lot of movies in theatre this Summer. Tomorrow, we are going to watch “The Revenge of the Sith”.
Golf IV
Yesterday was extremely hot when we began and then got soaked in a thunderstorm. Managed a score of 67. That was pretty good as I tied my average for the season. Was quite pleased with my strokes off the tee. I was hitting too hard on my short game and was going too long. Need to control those shots. Must get some practice at the driving range. The only time I hit balls is when I go for playing. That is not good.
Happy 2.25th birthday, Ashwini!
- The greatest achievement for Ashwini over the last month is singing songs in tune. Many of you must have already heard her rendition of A B C D. We get to hear a lot of songs these days... Jack and Jill, Itsy bitsy spider, Two little blackbirds, Little miss Moffet, Wheels on the bus, and some that she makes up. She can also sing Marathi songs: ye re ye re paavsa, chandoba chandobaa, sasaa sasaa disato kasaa
Here is one more song from Ashwini. I should record some Marathi songs too.
- Running around the house and playing peek-a-boo is her favorite passtime right after reading books.
- Ashwini loves to be outdoors on her new playset and also helping us with gardening. She has her own set of tools and likes to take her wheelbarrow around carrying things.
- Any place we go out to is a 'grocery store' for her. Doesn't matter if it is a restaurant or a store at the mall. The only special case is 'Home Depot'. I think she just likes to say those words together. Even in the morning, she wants to go to Home Depot instead of her daycare.
- She is very good with recognizing colors: even different shades of pink or purple.
- Anywhere she sees some letters, she starts to idetify them. She is very good at finding 'A for Ashwini', but also knows 'P for dada' and other letters. I think she knows half the alphabet by now.
- Now for the bad things: Ashwini's tantrums are growing worse by the day. She cries for no apparent reason to us. V: Why are you crying, Ashwini? what happened? A: Ashwini crying. I want to sit on pillow and cry. She proceeded to get a pillow, sat on it and cried for a few minutes. She stops crying if distracted, but goes right back to it after a minute or two. Hope this phase passes quickly.
- It is getting more and more difficult to get her ready in the morning. A couple of days ago, she didn't want to wear any clothes. She wanted to go to daycare in her diaper. I am resorting to something that I didn't want to do. These days, I bribe her with TV to make her sit down to put clothes on and do her hair.
Here is one more picture of Ashwini watering the new saplings in the veggie patch…
Cleaning the CCD
After I wrote about the dust on the CCD of my Nikon D70 yesterday, did some digging around on the web and found that this is a common problem. Don’t have to hyperventilate, thinking that I did something wrong. Eventhough I take all the precautions such as, holding the camera pointing down while changing the lens, the process of changing lenses allows some dust to go inside. Especially, if it is done outdoors, which I do while attaching the camera to the telescope. So, the dust on CCD is going to be a fact of life for me and I shouldn’t worry about it.
Here are a couple of nice descriptions for cleaning the CCD:
The tools for cleaning the CCD: I have already ordered my supplies for the cleanup. Hopefully, they will be here before the weekend and I can clean the camera for a weekend shootout.
Problem with Nikon D70
Noticed that a couple of small particles of dust and small fiber have gotten onto the CCD of my Nikon D70. I can see it there when I open the shutter, But, I don’t want to touch it before knowing more. Does anyone have experience with cleaning such dust from the CCD? Should I use a small bulb blower or a can of compressed air? Any comments or suggestions will be very appreciated.
Health...
Since Ashwini was born, I haven’t done any regular exercise like I used to. I haven’t been watching what I eat, how much I eat and when I eat. I was very apprehensive about my visit to the doctor for a physical a couple of weeks ago and was thinking that my cardiovascular health is in real trouble. Just received the blood test reports and seems like whatever I have been doing wasn’t too bad. Here are some numbers to prove it.
| resting heart rate | 76 |
| Blood pressure | 110/70 |
| Total cholesterol | 179 |
| HDL cholesterol (good) | 50 |
| LDL cholesterol (bad) | 109 |
| HDL/total ratio | 3.6 |
| Triglycerides | 102 |
Not bad. All the numbers are in the normal range. Some exercise could bring down the heart rate and improve my HDL/total ratio, but, I am not worried.
Thanks, Ashwini for making sure that I get enough exercise by running after you and keeping me healthy.
Cool wedding
A wedding on Mount Everest
Now, that must be the coolest place to get married. Congratulations and best wishes to the newlyweds.
Ashwini strutted into a large gathering room at her daycare this morning showing off her new skirt. (Damn… I forgot to take a picture in the morning, now it will all be ruined by the time she comes home). While all the teachers oohhed and aahed about her skirt, she walked upto the table and asked her teacher: “Hi Sara. What’s for bikfasht?”
That was a good beginning for my day.