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My trip to Washington D.C.

We went to Washington D.C. this weekend. A historical place everyone must visit.
Our trip was for two days. Though we couldn't cover everything, we visited important presidential memorials, capitol building, the white house and air and space museum.

I thought Washington D.C would have sky scrappers like NYC but to my surprise they were not. Later I was told that according to a law "Heights of Buildings Act of 1910" the height of any building that is built in D.C could not be taller than the US capitol building. Hence D.C has "low and convenient" buildings with "light and airy" streets, keeping with Thomas Jefferson's wishes to make it "American Paris".

We went on a guided tour on first day of our trip. It proved to be extremely informative. I think one must go on a guided tour to know the historical importance of all these memorials and monuments. We visited memorials of Roosevelt, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, the war memorials of World War II, Korean war, Vietnam war and the Washington monument. (We visited few more places..but I forgot some..:P) Out of these my favorites were the Roosevelt and Lincoln memorials. The war memorials were disturbing and I didn't understand who gained from those wars....

Air and Space Museum

Next day we went to Smithsonian Air and space museum. Even here we took a guided tour and it was soooo interesting that we ended up spending half of the day here.. I saw rockets and missiles from U.S.A and U.S.S.R, touched a moon rock, saw several space capsules and the lunar module which Neil Armstrong and his friends used to get to the moon. we were also given a brief note on evolution of airplanes, supersonic airplanes and passenger air travel.

Some interesting facts

- There was an exhibit which compared German missile technology with that of the USA at the beginning of world war- II. German one was 100 times more capable than USA's!!!

- What astronomers eat?? They eat all preprocessed, crushed and vacuum packaged food so that it stays fresh for years.

- Space capsules are typically smaller, highly insulated and have an internal temperature of 70 F, even though its base temperature is around 7000 F.

- Neil Armstrong was initially not interested to get into Apollo project as lots of opportunities were open to him as a pilot. He was more interested in flying supersonic aircraft. Later after the success of various space capsules, he changed his mind and enrolled for space travel.

- Boeing is the largest aircraft manufacture. Boeing 747 the popular 'Jumbo jet' had a capacity of more than 2.5 times that of the largest capacity aircraft (Boeing 707) before it was introduced.

- Earlier airplanes were just used for mail delivery across the U.S. The first civilian passengers who flew were made to sit on mail bags.

- The Wright brothers never went to college and they used to run a bicycle repair shop before they invented an airplane! The main reason for their success was the design of controls which were required to maneuver an aircraft. This they were successful in implementing because of a sense of balance they had to ride a bicycle.

- R.H.Goddard was experimenting on how to design rocket and the first one went a few feet higher. A News paper made fun of his experiments with a head line which read "We are just 238857 miles far to land on moon!". Goddard ignored all these criticisms and with great dedication in 1920's he launched the first liquid fueled rocket. He is known to be the "Father of Rocketry". His principles were used in making missiles, rocket airplanes and most importantly in exploring outer space. Many of his patents were used by NASA in their effort to reach the moon later in the 60's.

- During world war II, there was a high demand for rubber and Germans used human hair as a substitute for rubber. There is an exhibit demanding hair from women as a contribution to the German war effort.

- Space shuttles have tires and do you think they are made with rubber and filled with air?? Nooooo...they are like our normal tires but they are made with metal springs.

Funny thing was I saw some kids sleeping on exhibits, rolling on floor and crying for their parents to take them out of this museum :) but like me all their parents were totally involved in watching all exhibits.

I have learnt a lot both from historical and scientific perspective and wanna go next time and visit what all I missed this time...
This trip was completely different and outstanding from all other trips i had been to.

King of pop

It has been almost 2 months since Micheal Jackson died...
On June 25th-
We were at Rockefeller center when we heard the most shocking and tragic news..
There was a huge gathering with banners and flowers near MTV studio..the one which is closely associated in launching greatest and all time hits of MJ...
and then just few yards away...everybody was dancing and paying tribute to king of pop in their own unique way.
In which city do u think i was at that time?? Rockefeller center, MTV studio...!easy to guess right?
Find rare pictures of MJ on his tour to Mumbai, India at
http://forum.santabanta.com/showthread.htm?t=138847

A very cute video of MJ at the age of 10!!!My fav that I downloaded form youtube..



So adorable na?
RIP MJ...the pop icon who brought the whole world together with his mesmerizing voice, magical music and stunning movements.

I watched District 9 movie..first day last show :)

Hey...district 9 movie is too good.
Its about aliens and their life as refugees on our earth!!
Its not like all regular ET movies where aliens attack earth(in particular USA) and we humans suffer...
It starts up with series of interviews...I felt as if I was watching CNN!
20 yrs ago..due to some malfunction in alien's ship, aliens ship settles above Johannesburg, SouthAfrica and after quite some time, aliens were found half dead. These creatures were housed by government in district 9. Later,nigerians start black market and they start treating aliens as workers/slaves.
In course of time, aliens were left disarmed and helpless.
Later due to public pressure, MNU starts a ,massive operation to relocate aliens from district 9 to 10..and the hero(wikus) was then assigned this critical task...
Then...at last with wikus help alien finds their way to home.

I enjoyed this 2 hr sci-fi movie and in particular I fell in love with the baby alien :)
I just loved the way, the hero's character was built up and sharlto copley did his best.

I am waiting for 2nd part....I want to know how these aliens are going to take revenge on humans??Most importantly..will they???Are they going to keep up their promise and help our hero??

The movie with cast of unknowns has turned out to be my favourate sci-fi movie, a massive hit..this yr!

My first camping experience @ poconos

At last we made it!!
We went on camping at kittatinny@poconos.
As usual.. we planned our trip in the last minute and all delaware river side campgrounds were already booked!
A few sites were available in the woodlands and we had chosen one which has got huge pine trees, table and fire ring. Its like a mini dense forest...I felt as if the sky turned out green :)
We have built a camping tent and this reminds me of my nephew "Abhi" who loves to hide under blanket, under dining table feeling as if it's his tiny home :)

One of my fav's.."Grilling" :-
Last time when we went to lake george with our frnds, we grilled all kinds of vegetables...prepared kebabs, pavbhajis...and the list goes... :)
This time we made things simpler...we had chapati for dinner and then sandwich for breakfast.

Then we went for a walk on mysterious mud road.
Next day, we packed all our things and now I am here writing blogs in these weekdays and sharing my experiences...

In short, this outdoor camping has much to offer in the way of family time in todays hustle and bustle life...
Being close to nature,
in the beautiful landscape(vs in closed, compact houses)
with the moon so big and bright vs I dont even want to mention :((...fill it urself
with fresh air (vs ??)
listening to nature's unique music...
an UlTiMaTe experience.
Next time I wanna go for camping on river side with my friends which will make this even more interesting :)

High Cholestrol?? How NUTRITIONAL FACT helps?

Worried on how to reduce high cholesterol??
Browsing sites to choose foods helps to reduce/ control cholesterol??
My DH has high cholesterol...so I have gone through all the above stages and still looking for more and more information.

Here is the simple rule that we found that helps to easily choose foods that have less chances to elevate cholesterol levels....

Just go through Nutritional facts printed on food items.
Two things that you need to consider before you go for an item ..
1) It should have 0% saturated fat and trans fat
2) High fiber content

Basic facts on fats-
Not all fats are bad to health.
Types of Fats-
- Saturated Fat- It increases blood cholesterol levels, especially bad cholesterol(LDL).
Saturated fats are typically found in tropical oils and animal fats.
- Unsaturated Fat(mono and poly) - It may increase good cholesterol(HDL)
- Trans Fat- It increases bad cholesterol. Hydrogenated oils have high amounts of trans fat.

So AVOID ITEMS that have trans and saturated fat.

Fiber-
Food high in fibers help to reduce cholesterol.
So go for food items that are good in dietary fiber.This can be found under carbohydrates section.
These soluble dietary fiber are found in fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes .

In general, considering the above facts..some of the top heart healthy foods are-
Avocado, flax seed oil (available in capsules), Oatmeal, Olives, sprouts, soya beans, black or kidney beans, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, fresh fruits(in particular..apple and orange) and vegetables, brown rice, red wine.
Some tips-
1)Use skimmed milk, fat free yogurt(curd) and in particular we prefer pro biotic yogurt.. it is good for digestion and improves immunity.
2) Try to avoid oily items and if required use fat free oils(like pam spray) and olive oil.
3) Avoid animal fats..(except salmon fish. It is high in Omega-3 fatty acids)
4) Use whole grain wheat or rice(brown rice).

Hey btw do exercise daily. Just the diet wont help to reduce high cholesterol.
I hope the above stuff will help you out to stay healthy :)

Cholesterol in simple terms

What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a lipid/fat which is produced by liver and is crucial for normal body functioning.
Cholesterol exists in outer layer of every cell.

Importance of cholesterol-
-It is required to establish proper membrane permeability - It guards and determines which molecules can pass through.
-It is essential for the production of bile, hormones and is important for metabolism of several fat soluble vitamins.

What is HDL, LDL?
Cholesterol is a waxy steroid and thus it is slightly soluble in blood
Lipoproteins help to tranfer cholesterol throughout the body.
Based on density, lipoproteins can be broadly classified as-
- Low density lipoproteins(LDL / bad cholesterol)- carries cholesterol from liver to cells of the body
- High density lipoproteins(HDL/ good cholesterol)- collects and carries cholesterol back to liver from various body tissues.
- Very low density lipoproteins(VLDL)- Triglyceride is the main component of VLDL

Cholesterol levels-
Desirable-Less than 200 mg/dl
Borderline- 200- 239 mg/dl
High- 240 mg/dl and above.
Abnormal levels of cholesterol such as high LDL or low HDL are a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

How does cholesterol cause heart attack-
When there is too much of cholesterol, it builds up in the walls of arteries. Overtime, it hardens and arteries get narrowed and thus blood flow to the heart is slowed down or blocked. If the blood supply is completely cut off, the result is HEART ATTACK!!!
Go for blood test even though you may be physically fit, young or lean. I am not scaring you..but remember...
He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything

Simple ways to lower cholesterol-
- Exercise daily( 30mins, atleast 5 days a week)
- Eat healthy(avoid non veg/ products from animal and oily items)
- Quit smoking/ alcohol consumption

You may be wondering on why I am asking you to avoid non-veg items...
Non-veg items are source of cholesterol. Liver produces enough cholesterol required by our body. So additional intake of cholesterol through nv will obviously raise levels of cholesterol, especially bad cholesterol.

Will post more on recipes which can lower cholestrol....