My enemy, my wife’s good friend!

Short update today on my enemy, my wife’s good friend: Rabbit!
Sighted this rabbit in the backyard where some Raj Farm transplants are.
First the rabbit acted coy pretending to be enjoying a pleasant, sunny morning.
Next took off like rushing to work.
Finally posed for a picture as if catching up breath after a hard day’s work: flattening the cucumber plant ☹️

Voracious appetite, good at posing, appears to have discriminating taste!
Remains to be seen if tomato and basil plants, that were not part of the diet for the day, survive the onslaught!
Wife finds the rabbits cute, son likes the sight of rabbits running around, taking a nibble here and nibble there. What can I say? 😄

2020 Raj Farm Update# 4

Time for Raj Farm update! It’s been a period of hectic growth and lot of activity at Raj Farm. Let’s cover this week by each plant category
1) Cucumber: 2 set of seeds were planted this season (Top right picture). One set has grown large enough to warrant moving to own container, the other set can for now remain in the container and probably will grow faster without the shadow of bigger cucumber plant looming large
2) Jalapeno Pepper: Growing in same container as the cucumbers. Will have more room to grow when bigger cucumber moves out
3) Habanero Pepper: Growth acceleration seen after moving to own container
4) Roma Tomato: 2 set of seeds planted this season. Top right in separate pot and bottom left co-located in a bigger container with basil. Bottom left Roma tomato outgrowing container, will to be moved out
5) San Marzano Tomato: Bottom left picture. Growing in separate pot, first sign of tomato observed with yellow flowers making appearance. Outgrowing the container. Will be moved out
6) Sweet Bell Pepper: Growing in separate container (bottom left picture). Some buds seen
7) Basil: 2 set of seeds (bottom left picture). Co-located with Roma tomato in bigger container. Growing well, more space need will be met when Roma tomato co-tenant moves out
8) Roses: All growing in their own separate container/pot (bottom left an bottom right). Seeing them flower brings a smile always
9) Strawberry: Growing in separate small pot (bottom right). Newcomer to the farm. Showing signs of early promise
10) Onion: Onion seeds planted this week (top right corner of big container in top right picture). Right now only black patch visible as we allow onions to settle in
11) Watermelon: Waiting in the wings, not planted yet. They will soon be in action!

Next update will feature “The Great American Transplant” 🙂

Fight against the pandemic

https://www.businessinsider.com/dr-anthony-fauci-daily-routine-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-4

Few weeks ago read Dr Fauci interview where he described his daily routine during the coronavirus pandemic. He puts in like 20 hours/day all 7 days of the week. While that in itself is impressive, especially for a 79 year old person, and puts to shame many people much younger what impressed me most was him being able to squeeze in 4 hours of sleep each day! I dug deeper to find out how he makes that happen. He used to run 7 miles/day earlier. Now he has cut it down to 3.5 miles/day. Aha, the guy is slacking off! 😂
Jokes apart, his background makes for interesting reading. Raised in a religious family, service to others was instilled in him very early in his life 👍 Prior to attending medical school he studied the classics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classics) giving him a well rounded personality. Learned to listen to critical views during the HIV/AIDS epidemic bringing out the humility in him. Speaking truth to power and holding on to job is a big achievement in itself these days which he has been able to do 👏 Professionals like him may not get it right first always but give hope to ordinary citizens their heart is in the right place even as they let their scientific training guide their approach to work 🙏

2020 Raj Farm Update# 3

You thought we would have taken it easy last week? Nope, Raj Farm has been humming with activity 🙂 The growing needs of this season’s batch has been recognized along with the need to still maintain social distancing. Major activity at the farm the past week has been transplanting and moving the plants around. Leftmost top and bottom pictures are the plants in their dorm before the move. It was obvious the dorm was getting crowded and space was getting tight if the plants wanted to spread their wings and explore growth opportunities. Some of the plants, like the roses (middle 2 bottom pictures), wanted to move to new digs hoping to blossom on their own like their friend in bottom rightmost picture. Their wishes have become real. Hey, we are all about making budding dreams come true and letting those beauties flower even more feeling free to express their colorful personalities. Sweet bell pepper was feeling a bit of a misfit with the roses and expressed a desire to move to own place preferring solitude. That was accomplished too. The cucumber plants wanted a break in sharing space with the tomatoes and were hoping to share room with the pepper plants (jalapeno and habanero). Their desire has been fulfilled too and they appear to be liking the newer dorm with bigger room to grow (top rightmost picture)! Promises to be a busy summer here at Raj Farm. We wouldn’t want it any other way 🙂

Memorable chess game!

The game of 64 squares is about as bloody any non-contact game can get. But it’s much more than that. Involves knowledge, strategy, patience, stamina, calculating ahead, waiting for the right opportunity, knowing when to attack and when to defend and most importantly knowing how to put available resources to good effect. At the highest level it’s a game of lyrical beauty and balance with top players having almost same and similar pieces on the board for most part of a game. It’s in how the pieces are positioned that makes a difference. Controlling the 4 central squares is crucial to gaining upper hand. For interested and casual observers like me most top-level games appear balanced (and at times it can be boring when a player appears to take forever to make a move). When you replay the game on the computer move by move, and especially if there is expert comment along with it, that’s when the almost imperceptible shift in advantage of one player becomes somewhat clear. Growing up when I used to read about a player being a pawn up I used to wonder what is the big deal, a pawn is just a loyal foot soldier. Later I realized why that could translate into a decisive advantage. When the players start exchanging pieces rapidly (generally it’s like for like or pieces considered of equal power) the board starts clearing up and the game could reach a stage where a player with extra pawn could have a king and pawn while the other player could just have a king. In such a scenario the player with extra pawn could advance the pawn (under protection of their king) to the other end of the board and promote the pawn to a powerful piece, for example a queen! All married men know how powerful queen of the home can be 😀 Jokes apart the queen is the most powerful and therefore coveted piece on the board that can move straight up or down and diagonally across end to end and capture other pieces coming in the way.

One memorable chess game that comes to mind is the final game of World Chess Championship in 2016. After the regular games ended with both Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin tied with the same # of points they had to play set of tie-breaker games to determine the winner. Tie-breaker games tend to be with stricter time control. Meaning each player should make at least N moves within a time limit. Just for the sake of example let’s say 30 moves in 30 minutes. That could translate into a player under time trouble making a serious blunder that could lead to a disastrous result and the player resigning if the position is hopeless. In serious competitive play the game does not continue till a player makes a final move and announces “Check and mate!”. The # of games in a championship are a even number to give both players potentially the same # of games with white and black pieces.

Coming back to that game Magnus Carlsen playing white in final game of tie-breaker retained his World Chess Champion title with a move that was stunning. He offered to sacrifice his queen with a check and won immediately which is considered ultimate winning move and a beauty in chess. That move had both chess experts and non-experts gushing 🙂 Not a bad return at all for a 26th birthday gift 😀 If you look at the attached image it shows where the white queen was moved. Player with black pieces (Karjakin) has 2 options for next move
1) Capture white queen which is moved to H6 with pawn which is on H7. This would result in player with white next moving rook from F5 to F7 and giving check to black king that cannot move to open squares on row 8 as that would be check from white rook placed on C8. Black king cannot move to G6 either as that would result in check from white pawn on H5. Black checkmate would be the end result
2) The other possible move is capturing white queen on H6 with black king on H7. If that move is made, white rook on C8 will be moved to H8 resulting in instant black checkmate as black king cannot evade check by staying in column H with white rook at H8 nor can the black king move to G6 as that would be result in check with pawn on H5!

Needless to say Karjakin resigned immediately as soon as white queen was moved to H6. Of course The Raj had to work out all possible moves by black to figure out why it was a certain loss for black 😀

Ironically for Karjakin without a check Carlsen would have lost to opponent Karjakin’s next move either by giving check moving black queen from F2 to G2 or moving black rook from A2 to A1 😦

As in life it helps to stay ahead one move in chess too!

The Unsung. The Unwanted. The Extinguished.

It’s been an extraordinary week of grim reality in what has been an extraordinary year full of grim news so far. We approached and then surpassed 100,000 coronavirus/covid-19 related deaths; more than 40 million Americans are now unemployed; one life needlessly lost due to force which was clearly avoidable. Take it all in.

The Extinguished: One life lost needlessly. Gone forever
The Unsung: 100,000+ lives lost to coronavirus/covid-19 related deaths and counting. Gone forever
The Unwanted: 40+ millions Americans now unemployed. Jobs and livelihoods gone. Hopefully not gone forever

We may have come a long way but there is no starker reminder that we have a long way to go.

We have multiple crises on our hands. Some who are tasked to lead are shying away, some who are tasked to protect and enforce laws are breaking them instead.

The world is watching America. There are fires raging all across the land. The need to act is urgent. We may have been viewed as too self-absorbed, short-sighted in our actions with a tendency to show off but the world still looked up to us as we were considered open, generous, flawed yet precociously talented and leading the way. The need to lead and act is now. Will we find a way to dig ourselves out of the mess we find ourselves in? Time, already in short supply, will tell 🙏

The Last Dance: Life lessons

It has been more than a week since the last 2 episodes of the 10-part series ‘The Last Dance’ aired, chronicling the Chicago Bulls multiple championships won in the 1990s with primary focus on Michael Jordan’s journey to greatness. Now that the dust has settled down a bit here are some thoughts. I had watched the last 2 championships won by the Bulls against worthy opponents, the Utah Jazz, which were very well fought and absolutely riveting to watch. After watching those triumphs it appeared that Mr Jordan was capable of rising from deathbed to win against the strongest teams, so strong was his will to win. Watching ‘The Last Dance’ just reinforced that feeling. While I love sports I don’t look at sporting greats as anything more than human beings with highly developed skill in their trade/profession. Beyond that if there is anything positive it’s a bonus. Fascinating as it was to watch how it started and unfolded, for me the most significant part were life lessons learned watching the episodes. Below are some of them, a mix of positive and negative, not in any specific order of importance

1) Being blessed with transcendent talent means nothing if it’s not allied with burning desire to excel and work hard
2) Succeeding in team sport requires understanding role and importance of teammates and reposing trust in them
3) Many of us are Scottie Pippens in a way: underappreciated, undervalued and have to be prepared for the possibility of employers letting us go
4) Caring parents willing to offer sincere and sensible counsel helps in keeping one grounded and focused on the task at hand. MJ’s parents came across as decent, cultured, classy folks with a big role in his success. His mom forced a reluctant MJ to listen to Nike’s pitch which has resulted in MJ laughing all his way to bank ever since and Jordan Sr was a regular presence at Bulls’ practice sessions staying back afterwards to offer kind words of encouragement and support to the team after practice
5) One can get away with bad behavior if it’s perceived as coming from a winner with ultimate intent to improve and win
6) Success in one area of life is no guarantee for success everywhere else
7) Success extracts its own price like broken relationships, personal tragedies
8) If having a chip on the shoulder helps provide motivation to succeed in some aspect of life carrying it forever makes one come across as a small person
9) Living in the moment, unaffected by past failures and worries about future, is key to success
10) Some exceptional talents need to be given more freedom and do things their own way for them to give their best and succeed
11) Persons considered winners get to write/rewrite history from their own perspective which may not reflect full reality. Unvarnished truth is not always attractive and more difficult to sell 🙏

2020 Raj Farm Update# 2

Yes, Raj Farm has been chugging along! Come rain or shine, flora at Raj Farm keep smiling and growing. Sorry, the farm is not yet open for public visits as social distancing protocols have to be maintained and some of the fledgling plants need extra protection. 🙏 For now you have to be content with the content you see online 🙂
It’s been a great year of learning for Raj Farm class of 2020. Some have blossomed beautifully in colorful ways 👌 Tomatoes (Roma and San Marzano) and cucumbers are coming into their own, peppers have been a mixed bag 👍Habaneros started a little slow but appear to have hit their stride now. Sweet bell pepper plant may need some personal attention as it appears to be withering a bit. Jalapenos have been a no show so far, expect them to emerge from their shell shortly. The motto of Raj Farm has always been “Grow at your own pace”. In accordance with that some of the plants that have grown quite a bit will move on from their dorm, where they share space with other fellow plants, and graduate to living separately in their own space. Other plants that are still getting their feet wet will stay in the dorm for now. Their development will be monitored and they may move to their own place if the farm faculty determine that would speed up their development. All in all good show by all plants. Kudos to class of 2020, you have come a long way! We are proud of you all 👏

Miss my spitting image, do ya?

As usual The Raj believes in discussing and reviewing the most pressing issues facing humankind 😉 In the spirit of sharing and helping I start with the question “I miss my spitting image, do ya?” 🙂 No, I am not referring to any Raj doppelganger though it’s amusing to imagine a world full of Raj the Bod lookalikes, wouldn’t you agree? 😀

The important issue involves shopping for fruits and vegetables and plastic bags provided by grocery shop where I go. Man, those plastic bags are so thin and slippery as an eel. In my old avatar during pre-covid-19 times it wasn’t a problem at all. Any non-bagged fruit or vegetable I wanted all I had to do was pull out a plastic bag, one dab of the tongue with my index finger and voila! those thin plastic bags used to open when I rubbed my thumb and index finger on either side of the bag. I was on a roll then 👍 Not so now 😦 Saliva is a strict no-no now due to risk of infection and anyways licking finger in my masked glory not a comfortable thing to do. While I was struggling mightily to get open those pesky little plastic bags every time, I noticed it was a breeze for other shoppers around. One day in desperation I sheepishly asked a lady shopper nearby is there a technique to opening the bags. She suggested tugging the top handles of the plastic bag away. I think the idea is to let some air get into the bag and then open the bag rubbing the outside of the plastic bag with fingers. Appeared to work for her. Not for me though 😆 Either I used to pull those handles too vigorously ripping the damn thing apart or give a few gentle tugs and keep trying in vain to open the bag. Resigned to the prospect of an almighty struggle with the flimsy plastic bags, at least for the near future, I moved to the section where the shop has cilantro, green onion, parsley and other greens. To keep them fresh shops either spray water periodically or have ice around those veggies. Boom, I had found my savior! 👏 One light touch of the ice or the water on a veggie and the thin, smooth, flimsy plastic bag was no longer my archnemesis 🙂

These days when I go grocery shopping I first go to the section where veggies have water or ice around, grab a few plastic bags, touch the water or ice, open all the bags a bit, dump them in the cart and off I am for some Raj shopping glory sans plastic bag opening woes 👌

2020 Memorial Day weekend thoughts

Memorial Day weekend sure feels different this year. In years past in addition to remembering and honoring those who served the occasion also symbolically marked the start of summer translating into more outdoor activity, travel, shopping and eating out. This year spread of novel coronavirus / covid-19 across the globe has ravaged health, upended normal life leaving behind savaged economies in its wake everywhere. Lockdowns and stay-at-home while good at containment play havoc with the economy.

Leaders’ (both public and head of corporations) choice come with poisoned chalice: enforce lockdowns/stay-at-home orders for longer period to increase safety OR lift lockdown to allow businesses to open and add risk to safety.

Employees/workers are left with Hobson’s choice: Stay employed with a price to pay (could be a combination of reduced work hours/pay cut/furlough/compulsory vacation) or in the worst case scenario being let go.

It takes gallows humor to get through this extremely difficult time.

One silver lining at this time is that nature is showing some signs of healing. Cleaner air, clearer water and sightings of rare birds and animals have been reported with reduced industrial activity and reduced outdoor activities.

Set against this backdrop this Memorial Day weekend certainly is and feels different. Whether it turns out to be sign of better times depends largely on human nature: Will this crisis bring out the best or worst in all of us?

Meaning of some of the phrases used above (this time for a change decided to use the phrases first to express my thoughts and add the meaning later)

poisoned chalice : an assignment, award, or honor which is likely to prove a disadvantage or source of problems to the recipient.

gallows humor: grim and ironic humor in a desperate or hopeless situation.

Hobson’s choice: a choice of taking what is available or nothing at all.

silver lining: a metaphor for optimism which means a negative occurrence may have a positive aspect to it