June 25, 2011
June 24, 2011
America becoming India even as India becomes America?
Here is an interesting article in San Jose Mercury News about multi-generational households from recent census survey.
http://www.mercurynews.com/census/ci_18335066?nclick_check=1
Here are some excerpts.
Influenced largely by cultural and economic forces, multigenerational households experienced a dramatic resurgence in the past decade, rising 30 percent, according to the U.S. census.
1 in 5 Latino households have at least three generations living under one roof, census data released this week shows. "It's a real stigma in Latino families to send your parents to a nursing home," said Darlene Tenes, a community activist who lives in Alum Rock. "You take care of your parents."
The same goes for many Asian immigrant families. At the Indian Community Center in Milpitas, many of the seniors there emigrated from India to live with their children and grandchildren.
1 in 5 Latino households have at least three generations living under one roof, census data released this week shows. "It's a real stigma in Latino families to send your parents to a nursing home," said Darlene Tenes, a community activist who lives in Alum Rock. "You take care of your parents."
The same goes for many Asian immigrant families. At the Indian Community Center in Milpitas, many of the seniors there emigrated from India to live with their children and grandchildren.
Happy Wedding Anniversary
Poonam Bhabhi and Krupakar Anna.... Many many more happy returns of the day!! :-) Love you both!!
June 23, 2011
saradas grihapravesam at hyderabad
https://picasaweb.google.com/ranganadhams/SARADAGRIHAPRAVESAM?authkey=Gv1sRgCJmkvOmG9d7zxwE#
June 22, 2011
June 21, 2011
June 20, 2011
Happy Father's Day to all fathers new and old
A baked from scratch chocolate cake......Come over to enjoy!!!!!!
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The definitive HP quiz
The final HP movie is being released in about 3 weeks. So it is time to dust up those old quills and practice those memory charms- the definitive HP quiz is here!
Rules:
1. No googling the answers! (Yes, that means no binging and no yahooing either). If you are sorely tempted, you can google to verify your guess, perhaps. Referring the books is allowed.
2. Try not to build on the earlier comments and try answering all questions yourselves- this will allow me to score properly and announce the CHAMP ("Comprehensively Harry Aware Muggle" Prize).
Happy Quizzing, Muggles!
Rules:
1. No googling the answers! (Yes, that means no binging and no yahooing either). If you are sorely tempted, you can google to verify your guess, perhaps. Referring the books is allowed.
2. Try not to build on the earlier comments and try answering all questions yourselves- this will allow me to score properly and announce the CHAMP ("Comprehensively Harry Aware Muggle" Prize).
- His name in Latin means 'unknown', which is appropriate because of his unique accomplishment. Who is this?
- Never tickle a sleeping what?
- Through the use of this magical device, Harry discovers many hidden truths about his parents' death and new powers in himself, but destroys all such devices by accident later. What is the device?
- Name 3 things that you can find at Borgin and Burkes?
- What are the 2 spells that help protect the treasure in Bellatrix's vault at Gringotts? What is the effect?
- He is half-Kneazle, as evidenced by his lion-like appearance, ability to solve problems on his own without aid or teaching, and clear dislike of and ability at recognizing untrustworthy persons (even if they are transfigured). Who is this?
- What is the final resting place for the elder wand?
- This place has beds, curtained windows, candles in brackets next to the beds and you can buy hot chocolate, hot water and toothbrushes of any color. But be careful with the hot chocolate, as it is very likely to spill before you drink it. What is this place?
- What is the only beast in the HP series that can talk English?
- It is silvery in color. It will keep one from dying even if one is an inch from death, but then the person's life would be a cursed one. What am I talking about?
- One of Hermione's finest characteristics is her stand against discrimination and her determination to judge a person by merit and not his/her creed. The SPEW and her stand against house-elf slavery is one example. What is another example where she tries to protect an individual's reputation from normal wizard prejudice?
- I am nice as long as you play the harp to me, but if you stop, I am triple trouble! Who am I?
- What does Dumbledore see in the Mirror of Erised?
- Name three gifts that Harry gets on his 17th 'coming of age' birthday (apart from what Dumbledore's wills him)
- This was the only known time ever that a student asked a question in this boring class and the only time the class was interested in what the teacher was to say. Who was the teacher, student and what was the question?
- 3 things that you will encounter or see on the way to the Lestrange vault at Gringotts
- Tonks’s patronus changes shape from its normal form in the 5th book- why does that happen? For whom else does this happen?
- What does Ron describe as the trio’s finest hour?
- When Dumbledore invites Harry to step into the night and pursue a 'flighty temptress', who is he referring to?
- This berry tree bears white flowers (see pic) and has a strong connection with the HP series. The elders of pagan European tribes say that if you cut this tree, its spirit would be released and would take revenge on you. What is it?
Happy Quizzing, Muggles!
June 19, 2011
Happy Father's Day!!
There are three stages in a man's life: He believes in Santa Claus, he doesn't believe in Santa Claus, he is Santa Claus.
To all the dearest Santa Clauses in the family a very very happy father's day :-D and thank you for everything!
June 17, 2011
June 14, 2011
Should Weiner resign?
The unfortunately named congressman (equivalent to Lok Sabha MP) Anthony Weiner( Google for meaning of Wiener, spelled slightly differently but pronounced the same, or as Aditya says, a homophone) was recently caught sending some lewd, suggestive pictures of himself to random women.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/13/bloomberg1376-LMP0PM0YHQ0X01-7S63QDDIBEA2TI9SJ5GDU24M08.DTL
He declined to resign.
Fairly recently, there was a similar case involving another Congressman Chris Lee, who resigned.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/house/new-york-rep-chris-lee-resigns.html
Now this begs the question. Should public officials be asked to resign for their personal proclivities, however bizarre they may seem, if they are not illegal? Isn't this a matter between him and his wife?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/13/bloomberg1376-LMP0PM0YHQ0X01-7S63QDDIBEA2TI9SJ5GDU24M08.DTL
He declined to resign.
Fairly recently, there was a similar case involving another Congressman Chris Lee, who resigned.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/house/new-york-rep-chris-lee-resigns.html
Now this begs the question. Should public officials be asked to resign for their personal proclivities, however bizarre they may seem, if they are not illegal? Isn't this a matter between him and his wife?
June 13, 2011
Conquering Mission Peak
Yesterday, we finally took that step of a "strenous" hike, pushing Adi one step further. This is a hike in Fremont that is sort of a Fremont Desi Folks' own thing, "climbing the Mission Peak". A web search for Mission Peak hike returns many blog posts, particularly from the Indian diaspora. Well, we finally joined them.
Mission Peak is a 2500 Ft hill bordering Fremont. The out-and-back hike is about 5.67 miles ( roughtly 10 km). The altitude gain is equal to Tirumala hill. The distance is about 1.5 km less than the Tirumala hill. So, in essence we climed the Tirumala hill in about 3.5 hrs.
Not many comments about the scenary, as we were focused on getting to the top, braving the steady climb up. We did see a great many cows that graze the hill though.
Here's the hike description http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/missionpeak.html
Pictures https://picasaweb.google.com/ksingampalli/2011611MissionPeak?authkey=Gv1sRgCJDpt6Xl9qubIw#
Adi is on his way to becoming a full-fledged hiker. He wore his brand new hiking boots and carried his allergy medicines, energy bar, candy and a CamelBak full of water in his backpack up and down the hill.
Unlike other hikes, this did not end in a restaurant as we were too tired to go sit in a restaurant. So, the hike was followe by an at home lunch of rice, pappu and curd. While the adults were sprawled on the bed exhaused from the hike, Adi still found the energy to jump from soft to sofa and annoy the heck out of us.
Mission Peak is a 2500 Ft hill bordering Fremont. The out-and-back hike is about 5.67 miles ( roughtly 10 km). The altitude gain is equal to Tirumala hill. The distance is about 1.5 km less than the Tirumala hill. So, in essence we climed the Tirumala hill in about 3.5 hrs.
Not many comments about the scenary, as we were focused on getting to the top, braving the steady climb up. We did see a great many cows that graze the hill though.
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| Adi at the top of Mission Peak |
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| All decked out |
Here's the hike description http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/missionpeak.html
Pictures https://picasaweb.google.com/ksingampalli/2011611MissionPeak?authkey=Gv1sRgCJDpt6Xl9qubIw#
Adi is on his way to becoming a full-fledged hiker. He wore his brand new hiking boots and carried his allergy medicines, energy bar, candy and a CamelBak full of water in his backpack up and down the hill.
Unlike other hikes, this did not end in a restaurant as we were too tired to go sit in a restaurant. So, the hike was followe by an at home lunch of rice, pappu and curd. While the adults were sprawled on the bed exhaused from the hike, Adi still found the energy to jump from soft to sofa and annoy the heck out of us.
June 11, 2011
It is back!
- A century old tradition(108th edition)
- 3,471 KM
- 21 stages
- The ultimate test of human endurance
The big questions:
Will it be Andy Schlek’s time to wear the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) this time? Can he repay Alberto Contador for his high mountain betrayal on the Alpe d'huez in the TdF 2010?
Can the bad boy of British cycling, the master of sprint finishes, Mark Cavendish, snatch the much coveted green jersey from Petacchi this time?
Who will claim the honor of winning the highest ever finish in the history of the TdF, on the Col du Galibier at an altitude of 2,645 m?
Cant wait to find out!
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| The tour itinerary |
June 10, 2011
Piled Higher and Deeper!
I so LOVE the name... :-)
Piled Higher and Deeper I'm not a PhD student but yeah, i can relate to it :)
The class i am a TA for is mobile programming for undergrads where we program on android phones in Java. Its a totally new environment (for some a totally new language too...yes there are some who have no idea about Java but signed up for the course...) Need i say more??
June 7, 2011
Memorial Day Yosemite Hike
While this Saturday was a washout(literally) for hiking ( an unseasonal rainy day in June put a wet blanket on our plans), the weekend before was a long weekend due to Memorial Day holiday and we hiked in Yosemite National Park. This was our first visit to Yosemite, even though it was barely 180 miles from home. Vidya and Madhav also joined us for a beautiful albeit a bit chilly day outdoors.
We stayed the night in Sonora, a historic town from the times of California gold rush. It was a picturesque, quaint town, where the structures and atmosphere of the 1850s has been preserved.
We visited the Moaning Caverns on our way to Sonora. These are limestone caverns carved from the rainwater over millions of years. We descended 170 feet via a staircase. We saw some very interesting limestone formations including Stalactites and Stalagmites. Once we reached the cavern floor, the guide turned off all lights which allowed us to experience pitch black darkness. According to the guide, the only two places where such darkness can be felt is in a cavern or under water below 100 feet where Sunlight does not reach. It was a goosebumps inducing experience.
Some pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/ksingampalli/2011527MoaningCaverns?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDs0PuWgPTM2gE#
The next day, we drove 70 miles to Yosemite amidst winding, picture perfect roads. The waterfall viewing area, with Yosemite Falls on the left, the Granite Monolith El Capitan in the middle and Bridalveil falls on the right was indescribable. I tried to capture the spectacular scenery of Yosemite in a camera, but these pictures do not do full justice to the views.
We chose to hike to the top of Vernal Falls via the Mist Trail for our hike. The trail goes next to edge of the waterfall where one can feel the mist. The day we went, the falls were in full flow from the melting snow and we climbed the "Rain Trail" rather than the Mist trail. The total round trip was about 4-miles with an elevation gain of 1000 feet, 600 feet of it in the last half-mile. This was already a high-altitude hike, going from 4000 feet to 5000 feet. Srinivas and I were exhausted when we reached the top, but Adi scaled the wet, stone steps like an agile monkey. The views from the top made the climb worth the effort.
More about Mist Trail and Vernal Falls: http://www.yosemitehikes.com/yosemite-valley/mist-trail/mist-trail.htm
Yosemite is a gem in our backyard that I plan to explore more this year. I kick myself for not doing it sooner!!!!!!
More pictures here.
https://picasaweb.google.com/ksingampalli/2011528Yosemite?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjLmv_ylvKc8AE#
We stayed the night in Sonora, a historic town from the times of California gold rush. It was a picturesque, quaint town, where the structures and atmosphere of the 1850s has been preserved.
We visited the Moaning Caverns on our way to Sonora. These are limestone caverns carved from the rainwater over millions of years. We descended 170 feet via a staircase. We saw some very interesting limestone formations including Stalactites and Stalagmites. Once we reached the cavern floor, the guide turned off all lights which allowed us to experience pitch black darkness. According to the guide, the only two places where such darkness can be felt is in a cavern or under water below 100 feet where Sunlight does not reach. It was a goosebumps inducing experience.
Some pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/ksingampalli/2011527MoaningCaverns?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDs0PuWgPTM2gE#
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| Limestone Formations |
The next day, we drove 70 miles to Yosemite amidst winding, picture perfect roads. The waterfall viewing area, with Yosemite Falls on the left, the Granite Monolith El Capitan in the middle and Bridalveil falls on the right was indescribable. I tried to capture the spectacular scenery of Yosemite in a camera, but these pictures do not do full justice to the views.
More about Mist Trail and Vernal Falls: http://www.yosemitehikes.com/yosemite-valley/mist-trail/mist-trail.htm
 |
| Vernal Falls - Mist Trail visible on the left |
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| The rock-hewn steps of the Mist Trail |
More pictures here.
https://picasaweb.google.com/ksingampalli/2011528Yosemite?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjLmv_ylvKc8AE#
June 4, 2011
Awards and Rewards
Another school year coming to an end......Adi will be in second grade soon. Time flies so fast......
End of the school year means progress reports, achievement awards and test scores. Adi repeated his good performance from previous year and got the $800 scholarship for scoring good in the standardized tests( these run much along the lines of the GREs and GMATs, with a multiple choice test comprising of math, reading comprehension, logical thinking etc). In addition he also got an achievement certificate for getting over 90% in all regular class tests( much like the unit tests, half yearlies etc). US school system gives grades rather than a rank system, so multiple kids can get the same grade, which in one sense lessens the stress factor. Challenger school shuffles the students each year, much like the Indian school system, with your typical nerds in the A section etc..., so close to half kids in Adi's class got the awards, unlike last year where he was one of 3. Challenger is the closest to Indian style of teaching in US :-)
One surprise( at least for me) award Aditya got was the presidential fitness badge. This is a physical fitness evaluation for all school kids, and based on your level, you get the badge. Apparently it involves doing a certain number of sit-ups, push ups, running a certain distance etc within a certain specified amount of time. He was one of the 3 kids in the class to get this badge, the two other being girls named Maithili and Kavya. It was surprising, but again not too surprising now that I think about it, that the 3 puniest kids in the class were the ones to get the badge. Maithili is the thinnest in his class girls and Adi is the puniest among the boys :-)
Of course end of school year also means, horror......SUMMER VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
End of the school year means progress reports, achievement awards and test scores. Adi repeated his good performance from previous year and got the $800 scholarship for scoring good in the standardized tests( these run much along the lines of the GREs and GMATs, with a multiple choice test comprising of math, reading comprehension, logical thinking etc). In addition he also got an achievement certificate for getting over 90% in all regular class tests( much like the unit tests, half yearlies etc). US school system gives grades rather than a rank system, so multiple kids can get the same grade, which in one sense lessens the stress factor. Challenger school shuffles the students each year, much like the Indian school system, with your typical nerds in the A section etc..., so close to half kids in Adi's class got the awards, unlike last year where he was one of 3. Challenger is the closest to Indian style of teaching in US :-)
One surprise( at least for me) award Aditya got was the presidential fitness badge. This is a physical fitness evaluation for all school kids, and based on your level, you get the badge. Apparently it involves doing a certain number of sit-ups, push ups, running a certain distance etc within a certain specified amount of time. He was one of the 3 kids in the class to get this badge, the two other being girls named Maithili and Kavya. It was surprising, but again not too surprising now that I think about it, that the 3 puniest kids in the class were the ones to get the badge. Maithili is the thinnest in his class girls and Adi is the puniest among the boys :-)
Of course end of school year also means, horror......SUMMER VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 1, 2011
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