Comet sighting

The Neowise comet is the "star of the show" ironic as it may be.. 

We have a neighbor who has a decent telescope. So for starters he helped me find the general direction of the comet. Given the clouds and the fact that we are not at some skyline on a hill top viewing this, the general strategy was to zoom out , set a 4 second aquisition time and see if the comet is in the frame..

Then zero in on it and play with settings.

Finally have someone show an iphone flash on you for a split second to illuminate foreground during a 4 second shot where you hold your breath as much as possible.. That is where the yoga helps. 

as an added bonus got Jupiter from the front yard.. they are almost in exactly opposite directions.. you can clearly see at least 4 moons of Jupiter (used the 70-200 mm lens with a 2x extender set to 400mm.. the trick I learned was that if you set the focus ring at infinity it doesnt work.. you have to focus on Jupiter.. easier to do than a dull comet which you really have to hunt in cloudy conditions). 

Hoping to find a view point just post sunset locally here to get a decent shot of this in next two or three days. 

Fathers day gifts from family

Most of the families we know went out to some beach, local park etc. We did not go out today. Went for walks around the block, did yoga, took pictures and that was it.  Really did not know how crowded it would be in those places and wanted to go next week when it would be less crowded. 

I love my family for their support when it comes to yoga. They might not all be doing yoga with me, but they do support me immensely. 

They watch me with amusement as I keep trying to do the same thing over and over again. 

Usually there would be a yoga class on Sunday morning at BYSJ and they would give our a rose to take back for all dads and we would take a picture. The missing years are ones where I had to catch a 1PM United Flight to China on Fathers day.. 

Today we had to make do with a small rose from our own backyard but the kids obliged with a picture and even gave me permission to post it ! That is two old photos to recreate in one day!

Then after I finished the 90 minute class, they helped me with a little demo where I wanted to see how close to "sitting in the chair, not below the chair" the awkward pose was.. and if I did indeed straighten my back. It was weird to do this.. but if you have family volunteers this is worth trying to get a feel for what this pose should be like..

The end result was okay.. Need to do a lot more exercise to get rid of some belly fat. Sitting all day in the same place in meetings does not help that much. There was one yoga teacher who would stand only on his big toes and go ballerina style on this.. in another 5 years will try it.

This has been a good day! Wishing all of the dads out there a happy Fathers day. I am not too thrilled that my dad is in Chennai and I cannot even go see him right now if I want to. Hopefully that changes soon. 

My wife and kids made my day!

A bittersweet moment

When I posted this in 2007, there was always the realization that before we knew it, this girl would be going from high school to college.

We have had a good run in this home when it comes to the kids, schools and the folks in the neighborhood. 

The virus was a curve ball that has spoilt the graduation plans. The kid has been doing her work from her room in silence for the most part.. (I say that because when she plays that Alto Sax, no other zoom meetings are possible in the house or in a 500 meter radius). Hearing her play is a treat though!

In a lot of ways, we are going to miss her when she goes to Indiana, if and when Purdue opens. 

The original plan was for me to go with her and drop her in college as the little one (who is not little by standards outside my eyes) has first day of school the same week. 

The kids lobbied for me to stay home and my darling wife to be the college dropper and room setter upper.. 

Happened to be in the other room listening in on this discussion between grandma, mom and the two girls.

Apparently, I am emotionally unfit to do the drop. They were predicting that I would cry, make Jr. cry etc.. there was betting that I would say something like "nee padichchadhu porum. veetukku pogalam vaa!" (you have studied enough, lets go home!) or something like that right after the first day orientation is over and bring her back home with me.

Then they were talking about me being depressed if I don't go and the little one says "don't worry. I have him covered. Will take care of him and will make sure he is kept busy and distracted when you are gone!" 

The confidence and authority in that voice was a little scary. It is one thing to know that you have been managed by these three women for the most part of your life, but looks like I am the kid and she is the adult. 

There was a time when I was incharge of distracting them while San fed them gerber with one of those spoons which would change color if it got too hot.. now the kid is distracting me while one of them is being dropped off to college. In a way the world is coming full circle for me.

The official high school graduation from home is next week, but we did go take pictures this morning with the gown and cap that were received. . .

Here is a comparison photo..

Really wish this kid would go on to do everything she wishes to do as she steps out into the world!