Tri’s Trivia and more…..

Can’t wait for the weekend. I am rooting for Eagles. My 2 cents about the matchups… Pats are gonna lose only if Chargers are way too dominant (read Tomlinson). If it is a close one.. Pats will pull it off.. Colts vs Ravens… no idea.. but we are well familiar with Peyton’s postseason jitters.. even tho I hope Eagles wud win.. I think Saints have a better chance.. last but not the least… it shud be Bears.

Other updates… T is getting very observant… she knows.. the coffee-cum-tea-maniac of the house is yours truly…

Books read include a stupid James Patterson.Beach Road.. it was going just fine.. and should have just ended 100 pages before.. no just for filling in more pages..he decides to put a twist in the tale… well.. it dint turn out as a twist.. it was more like stupid.. what the ..? More like indian movie surprise kind….

Planning to put a few more audio books onto my ipod for the week trip. Let’s see if T’ll let me listen… high on the list is Catch-22 which i never tire reading..

Watched Da Vinci Code… well… the director assumes we have read the book.. otherwise cud be a wee bit confusing..

Anyways.. enuf of filler..

It’s been a long time…. hehehe…. no I wudnt say i was busy.. just lazy.  Well, let’s see…. items to cover.. the holiday weekend, and following.

Main aim is to cover T’s progress in all areas… so next year this time.. I shudn’t be wondering… hmm… what exactly was she doing then etc etc.

Was really looking forward to a lazy long weekend, but got over the slacking by day 2. Day 1 was spent baking cookies with my Madam T’s help ofcourse. So day 2 was …what do we do now.. and then the phone rings and S’s family were checking to see if it was not too late to come over. We were glad to have them over… me with my cooking… hehehe…

Anyways… the rest of the weekend passed in that fashion. T’s talking quite a bit these days. On saturday I was at Target exchanging her shoes for a larger size..and she was like.. “Mommy look at me…. no hitting T”… all because i held her hand when she was about to hit me…. ahh the ways of children. Last week was pretty dull at work… with hardly any work and the holiday hangover has set in.

Today is our game at Eagles… Monday Night Football. How I wish we cud make it to playoffs… hope hope..Checked out “Munich” some days ago. Cool movie. Might end up buying the DVD.

I am soo tempted to do a semi-food blog.. but my site wud have the best of the all the countless blogs…. hehehe… imitation is the best form of flattery.

T calls me honey these days…infact she calls everyone honey… she goes.. “honey read book”..”honey dont want it”..

Ohh well….later

Do you know how the varakh on your sweets (mithai) is manufactured?

Silver foil, or varakh, as it is generally known in India, adds glitter to Indian sweets (mithai), supari (betel nut), paan (betel-leaf), and fruits. Also it is used in Ayurvedic medicines and on deities in many Jain temples. The silver-topped sweet is even served as prasad in temples and on auspicious and religious occasions. Varakh is also used in flavored syrups as in kesar (saffron) syrup.
Several years ago, as suggested by BWC, Indian Airlines instructed their caterers to stop the use of varakh on sweets (mithai) served on board their flights. Today, many ask for sweets without varakh, having realized the cruelty involved in its preparation.

Just how is varakh made and what is it that makes its preparation and consumption so sinful?

Varakh is not derived from an animal source. However, a crucial material of animal origin, ox-gut, is used in its manufacture. This ox-gut is obtained from the slaughterhouse.
In the by lanes of the villages of Ahmedabad (Gujarat state, India) and other cities, amidst filthy surroundings, placed between layers of ox-gut, small thin strips of silver are hammered to produce the glittering foil.
The intestine (ox-gut), smeared with blood and mucus, is pulled out from the slaughtered animal by the butcher at the slaughterhouse, and sold for the specific purpose. Note that it is not a by-product of slaughter, but like everything else meat, hide, and bones are sold by weight. This is then taken away to be cleaned and used in the manufacture of varakh.
The gut of an average cow, measuring 540 inches in length and 3 inches in diameter, is cut open into a piece measuring 540″ x 10″. From this, strips of 9″ x 10″ are cut to give approximately 60 pieces of ox-gut, which are then piled one onto another and bound to form a book of 171 leaves.
Next, small thin strips of silver are placed between the sheets and the book slipped into a leather pouch (note that the use of leather-an animal product again). Artisans then hammer these bundles continuously for a day to produce extremely thin foils of silver of 3″ x 5″.The leather and ox-gut, being supple, can withstand the intense manual hammering for up to 8 hours a day till such time as the silver is beaten to the desired thickness. When ready, the foil is carefully lifted from between the leaves of ox-gut and placed between sheets of paper to be sold to the sweet makers (mithaiwallas). A booklet of 160 foils weighs approximately 10 grams and costs about Rs. 200 ($5.00).
To make a single booklet of 171 sheets, the guts of 3 cows are used. And the yield per book is generally 160 foils of silver, the rest of which may be damaged or unfit for use. Thus one book, used on an average of 300 days of the year yields approximately 48,000 foils of silver which means that each ox-gut yields an estimated 16,000 foils.
The leather used for the pouch to hold the book (made from ox-gut), is cowhide or calf leather, and uses about 232 sq. inches of material. Assuming the size of an average cowhide to be 18 sq. ft or 2,600 sq. Inches, the yield per hide will be approximately 10 leather pouches.
Usually 4 foils are used per kilograms (2.2 lbs.) of sweets and the ox-gut of one cow is used to produce foil for approximately 4,000 kilograms (9,000 lbs.) of sweets. It is estimated (by Surveys) that the average consumption of sweets by a middle class family of four in India is about 100 kilograms per year.
Thus, an average middle class Indian family of four consuming approximately 100 kg of sweets per year for forty years consumes silver foil produced with the gut of 3 cows and one-tenth of a cowhide!
India is not the only country where foil is made by such methods. In Germany, small-specialized enterprises produce gold leaf, which is beaten down to 1/10,000-millimeter thickness, for decorative and technical purposes by similar methods. The Jews use the gold foil for as much the same purposes, namely for food preparations, as it is in India.
In India the 275 tons of silver that are beaten annually into varakh utilize intestines of 516,000 cows and calf leather of 17,200 animals each year.
Therefore, we hope that someone; somewhere will develop an alternative process for the making of varakh without using ox-gut.

Dear Diary,
>
>For my fortieth birthday this year, my wife (the dear) purchased a week
>of personal training at the local health club for me.
>Although I am still in great shape since playing football 20 yrs ago, I
>decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.
>
>Called the club and made my reservation with a personal trainer named
>Vanessa, who identified herself as a 24 yr old aerobics instructor and
>Model for athletic clothing and swimwear. My wife seemed pleased with
>my enthusiasm to get started! The club
>
>encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
>
>MONDAY: Started my day at 6:00 am. Tough to get out of bed, but it was
>well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Vanessa waiting
>for me. She was something of a Greek goddess with blonde hair, dancing
>eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!!!! Vanessa gave me a tour
>and showed me the machines. She took my pulse after 5 minutes on the
>treadmill. She was alarmed that my pulse was so fast, but I attributed
>it to standing next to her in her Lycra aerobics outfit. I enjoyed
>watching the skilful way in which she conducted her aerobics class
>after my workout today. Very inspiring, Vanessa was encouraging as I
>did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in
>the whole time she was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!
>
>
>TUESDAY: I drank
>a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out of the door. Vanessa
>made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air, and then
>she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill,
>but I made the full mile.
>Vanessa’s rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT!!
>It’s a whole new life for me.
>
>
>WEDNESDAY: The only way I can brush my teeth is by lying on the
>toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it.
>I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as
>I didn’t try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club
>parking lot. Vanessa was impatient with me, insisting that my screams
>bothered other club members. Her voice is a little too perky for early
>in the morning and when she scolds, she gets this nasally whine that is
>VERY annoying. My chest hurts when I got on the treadmill, so Vanessa
>put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine
>to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Vanessa told me
>it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other shit
>too.
>
>
>THURSDAY: Vanessa was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth
>exposed as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl.
>I couldn’t help being a half an hour late; it took me that long to tie
>my shoes. Vanessa took me to work out with dumbbells. When she was not
>looking, I ran and hid in the men’s room. She sent Lars to find me,
>then, as punishment, put me on the rowing machine – which

>I
>sank.
>
>
>FRIDAY: I hate that bitch Vanessa more than any human being has ever
>hated any other human being in the history of the world.
>Stupid, skinny, anemic little
>cheerleader. If there were a part
>of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with
>it. Vanessa wanted me to work on my triceps, I don’t have any triceps!
>And if you don’t want dents in the floor, don’t hand me the F***NG
>Barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill
>flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why
>couldn’t it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir
>director?
>
>
>SATURDAY: Vanessa left a message on my answering machine in her
>grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today.
>Just hearing her made me want to smash the machine with my planner.
>However, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up
>catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.
>
>
>SUNDAY: I’m having the Church van pick me up for services today so I
>can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next
>year, my wife (the bitch), will choose a gift for me that is fun
>– like a root canal or a vasectomy .

A night of less sleep and more of trying to sleep. Yesterday T had a “boo-boo incident” at the daycare.. she fell running in the playground and hurt her lip. Upon asking her what happened.. she explained as well as she cud.. “T running oushide… falling down… “. However she seemed to have forgotten all about it by bedtime. However.. she woke by 1:00 AM..and wanted to “brush her teeth”. Ofcourse that could be attributed to S going tangential with his questions… “are u hungry…” .. “yes”… so.. Anyways..long story short.. she had a fitful sleep.. and I spent the night on the futon in her room…. yawwwwwwwwnn…

This AM..T..did u sleep well ?… “yes”..

I know… nothing to feel so great about. We lost to Bengals… but the silver lining is I am getting good at predictions… when Jake was about to snap the ball.. at 1 and goal.. i told S.. ahh..watch out..he is gonna throw an interception…. The rest as we know is history. Similarly after watching 10 mins of last night’s game… I told S… Giants are gonna sweep the game..and guess what happened !!! Am i good ..or am i good..or am i good !!! The Micheal Strahan sacking of Bledsoe was ultimate.. S said just one thing..when i asked about Cowboys chances for the Super Bowl… as long as Bledsoe is the QB..they won’t go nowhere…

What else ? T latest is … “what ?”… everytime I say something.. she replies with a “what ?” and a nonchalant expression… i need to think of something to counter that.

OK..gotta go now..

Thanks to all the outsourcing and others.. these days there are lot of opportunities for people to go back to India on a better scale.. be it financial and/or position. And some weeks ago.. S casually asked me what my thoughts on the subject were…would I be interested ? And my immediate response.. more reflexive than anything was.. “No way..”. Then I started thinking about it..and it is true.. I dont miss India. I miss my family…I wish I could spend more time with them.. but I never get the feeling of going back and staying there. Maybe the bad experiences of varying degree override whatever good memories I have.  Yes..i dont miss India…

I dont miss the perpetual comments that you get to hear whenever you walk on the roads.. just because you are a “female”. I dont miss being on a constant lookout whether it is in the buses or trains or movies… just making sure somebody is not out to “get” you.
As a woman… I agree to thequote.. “A country is truly independent only when a woman can walk safely on the road at midnight.. “

What is the most efficient way to manage passwords ? In the beginning…I used to have just a bunch of them and they were all quite manageable in my head…but slowly .. the number kept rising and my brain power kept diminishing.. and more than once I had to do the “password reset” thingy.. Is a flat file the solution..possibly but what happens if your system is hacked… As though this wasn’t enough.. there is this 90-day policy for password in corporate world. Now I need to remember to forget the old one and remember to remember the new one… (sic ?).. ohh well…

On the T side… this morning we find that one of the home theatre speakers lying on the carpet.. we have no idea how it got there..anyways..while S was trying to fix it back.. T wanted to make sure she was on the clear…. “Mummy.. Daddy boke it.. “.

I love the months of October to December. I find them sooo romantic. The days just run past…and the festive mood..with the Halloween, Thanksg.. and Chirstmas… My experience with Halloween has been varied…over the years. Initially it was just me digging into some quick dinner..as I watch the “Law & Order” series for the bazillioneth time.. and then the door bell rings.. Neighbours screaming “Trick o Treat..” and it would dawn on me.. quickly get some candy from the surplus always available..and that wud be it..

After wedding too.. we kinda did the same… no active participation..not until last year when T was ~15 months.. and then I had a costume for her and dragged her around to couple of neighbours.. with me doing the “Trick o Treat” .. more to get her into the mood then anything else.. Well..this year it is gonna be different.. she is going to the active participant.. and am soo looking forward to it… Hallween has arrived at our household this year.

Cardinals choke…!!! Actually I dint watch the game…and I am glad..Because I would have definitely switched off during the third quarter with a 23-3 score..and would have felt miserable missing the 4th choking quarter. Happened to check out the coach’s outburst while  getting some coffee at the breakroom….per the writeups.. he might be in the line of fire..

Last evening.. did some networking with the neighbours… T liked it..as she has plenty of her age kids..and she runs around with them. Should try doing it more often… Couldn’t make it to the gym last evening..thanks to the doc appt in the AM..so had to squeeze in 50 mins on the stairMaster at home..observation..can allow T to play alongside with her toys..she has learnt not to come close when i am on it..

note to self… try cutting on the coffee…