In 17th and 18th century the supply of nails was strictly controlled by the British empire. For people in American colonies, moving from an old house involved burning it down to recover all the nails to build the new house.
Heard in an interview with Roma Agrawal on 99%Invisible.
Want to read: Nuts and Bolts by Roma Agrawal 📚
Hey @mikehaynes : Loving your micro.blog theme “Outpost”. Thanks for sharing!
Went for my birthday ride a couple of days early. Started this tradition of riding the same number of miles as my age. Let’s see how many more years I can continue this.
I have planned a 2-day trip to Texas this Fall. I must make sure that before leaving, I have my will and all the other documents in order. Who knows if I will return alive from Texas?
Last night was the year-end concert of Connecticut Youth Symphony. It was one of the best concerts that I have ever attended. These high-schoolers really hit it out of the park last night.
It started out with “To uncertainty” - a modern piece composed by a student at University of Hartford. I have yet to learn to appreciate modern classical music made by composers who are alive right now. Thankfully, it was short.
Second offering by the group took it at least 10 notches higher. The violin soloist Mindy Zhao was super impressive. She won the yearly concerto competition with this Mendelssohn violin concerto and they orchestra accompanied her beautifully in this performance. Considering that Mindy is only a sophomore in high school, she has a lot of music greatness in her future.
After a brief intermission, CYS played the best music of the evening - Tchaikovsky’s 5th symphony. Four movements spanned over 45 minutes and it was just amazing. The wind section did a fantastic job and the strings accompanied them admirably. The whole performance was so beautiful and moving that even the conductor couldn’t contain his emotions and was in tears at the end.
According to my son who played viola in this performance, the first two movements of this symphony are the two best symphonic movements ever. Check out Tchaikovsky’s 5th if you haven’t listened to it yet.
My son had an enriching experience and he grew as a musician playing in the “Opus 83” string ensemble last year and in the CYS this year. Sad to see that this chapter in his musical life is ending. But, looking forward to more great classical music as he joins the orchestra at Davidson college this Fall.
Watched a movie - “Bridesmaids”. My favorite was the cyber security lady. She was the funniest of all. I was quite certain that the main character was played by Rachel from “Friends”. Couldn’t believe my eyes when the credits rolled and turned out that she was a different woman.
For a long time, I used to bite my nails to a point where they started bleeding. About 12-13 years ago, I decided to stop doing that. Now, every week as I trim my fingernails, I tell myself that I don’t have to worry about any addiction, I’ll be able to stop doing anything if I want to.
Rosette nebula - April 2023
The Rosette nebula from Monoceros constellation at ~5000 light years, is one of the brightest nebula in the sky. The cluster of young stars (~4million years old) in the center provides the energy that makes this cloud glow. As always, the streaks of dark dust are the most striking features.
This image is a stack of forty 3 minute exposures (total exposure of 2 hours) taken with a 2.5 inch refracting telescope, William Optics ZenithStar 61, attached to ZWO ASI533MC-Pro camera with Optolong LeXtreme narrowband filter.
The Rosette nebula from Monoceros constellation at 5K light years is one of the brightest nebula in the sky. The cluster of young stars (~4mil yrs) in the center provides the energy that makes this cloud glow. As always the streaks of dark dust are the striking features. #astro
My son will be going off to college in North Carolina this Fall. We have a few months to wrap our heads around the fact that he will be going outside of this nice New England bubble that he grew up in. I am sure the transition will be stressful for him/us but, hope it will not be toxic.
May 1st is college decision day. It is final. This Fall, my son will be joining the class of 2027 at Davidson College in Davidson, NC. He is currently thinking of majoring in Physics. Let’s see what direction the liberal arts education takes him as he starts taking classes.
OMG! Just realized that my streak on Day One is longer than one year.
Thanks for getting me started, @pratik !!!
This Eastern Redbud is absolutely the most favorite tree in our yard. I planted this as a little sapling more than 10 years ago. Happy to see it thrive over the years.
On grieving
I grew up in a religious household but, in my current life, I am not religious and am a non-believer. We do celebrate Hindu festivals as a tradition (food and merriment) but not their religious aspects. Two weeks ago, when my father passed away my bother and I rushed back to India to be with my mother. When I learned about all the religious ceremonies I was expected to participate in as the elder son, I was in two minds. I didn’t want to do all that as I no longer believed in it. At the same time, my dad was moderately religious and although we never talked about it, he would have wanted me to do all the rituals for him. Also, I didn’t want my uncles, aunts and other relatives to say to my mom (or behind her back) that her kids didn’t do any of this for their father to ensure his safe passage into the afterlife.
After some thought, I decided to go through with all the prescribed rituals on 5th, 10th, 12th and 13th day after my dad’s passing. The 13th day marks the end of the grieving period with a big meal with family and friends. It is time to move on even though the void left by loss of a loved one is hard to fill. As I look back at the process, I am glad that I did all that. It was good to have this schedule of events. It helped with the grieving process by providing it a structure rather than us just sitting around and not feel like doing anything.
As I talked with friends and relatives, I found a silver lining to this shocking loss. Even with some age-related issues, my dad was mobile till the end and was proud that he took care of himself. He passed away peacefully in sleep with no sign of pain or suffering. I think one has to be very fortunate (lot of good karma) to go like this. I hope for the same when my time comes.