Child of Labour

“Papa, we’re not buying crackers this Diwali!” Stwabbit declared.

“Fine”, I said, and continued with my work.

“Do you know that crackers are made by little children in factories run by bad men?” she continued.

“Really?” I said.

“Yes. They are hardly paid anything, and if they get tired and stop working, the bad men hit them and make them work harder!” Stwabbit exclaimed.

“That’s bad!” I replied.

“Yes! It’s called Child of labour!”

B.C. and A.D.

Stwabbit believes there were two distinct eras – B.C, or Before Color, and A.D., or After Dr. Eastman (You’ve heard of ‘Eastman color’ haven’t you?!!).

The B.C. era was the era before color was invented, where the world was in black, white and shades of grey. Everything, including the sky, trees, people, gold jewelery, et al.

One day, Dr. Eastman discovered color, and that changed the world. He went around painstakingly coloring everything around him, so that the world could be the way we see it today.

Salman Khan Dumped!

 Stwabbit has changed loyalties – Salman Khan is out. Ranbir Kapoor is in!

Demystifying the Sundial

Stwabbit was reading up on sundials.

“Papa, look! This is what people used to tell the time before watches were made!” she exclaimed, pointing at a picture.

I dutifully expressed my ignorance and allowed her to explain how sundials worked.

“How did they tell the time at night?” I asked innocently.

“Papa, you’re so silly at times – with a torch, of course!”

LWUIT 1.1 for Java ME Developers

My father’s book, LWUIT 1.1 for Java ME Developers, is out! It’s available on Amazon as well…

LWUIT 1.1 for Java ME Developers

On the eve of the operation…

So, here I am, finally! After a hearty meal, I was admitted to the hospital by the Missus and in-laws. Went through a series of tests – blood tests for a zillion things (including HIV; negative… yay!!), ECG and chest X-ray. Everything seems to be fine, and the doctor specifically said that smoking has caused NO damage to me whatsoever! That’s a great feeling, and another point for Lady Nicotine!

Tomorrow is the big day. I’m not allowed to eat or drink anything midnight onwards… the thought is freaking me out! I’m put up in a twin-sharing room, and I’m the only patient in it right now, but I’m hoping that the next bed is occupied by a stunning babe, if at all!

What sucks is that the rooms don’t have washrooms attached – one has to avail the facilities down the hall. I wonder how I’ll manage once the surgery is over, and my hand movements are restricted! Oh, and I couldn’t find any soap next to the basins… I’m carrying my own soap dispenser around! The Missus is trying to convince me to shift to a private room, but I think I’ll endure the torture as part of the experience .

My bed’s next to the window, on the third floor – looking out, I get to see trains passing by, and traffic on the overbridge. The latter, I could’ve done without…

That’s about it, as far as my first day here is concerned. I’m supposed to attend a meeting with doctors at 7:10 in the morning tomorrow, where they will drool over me and decide when to cut me up – at 11:00, or 1:00… . Till then, ‘not a drop to drink’!

Update August 31: Post-surgery, I was moved to a private room – the Missus had her way (I’m grateful to her for it)!The surgery took around 3 hours, and now I’m well on my way to recovery. Should be home in a couple of days. As for the experience of spending one night in a twin-sharing room, it deserves a post of its own!

What Indians Want

The country is reeling under the effects of swine flu… the miserable state of healthcare in the State has been laid bare… our health minister opens his mouth only to change feet…

Yet, what Indians want is that our “celebrities” should be given VIP treatment… suddenly, swine flu is no longer a matter of concern…

Former President Dr. Abdul Kalam is searched by security guards and he accepts it like a thorough gentleman… yet, Indians are outraged by a movie star being questioned?

Why can’t our politicians and the public concentrate on the innumerable real issues that we have to sort out, as a nation?

Shoulder Dislocation

X-ray image of right shoulder, dislocated

(Un-interesting post warning!)

Way back in my younger years, I suffered my first shoulder dislocation while indulging in contact sports. It had fallen back in place by itself, and the family doctor had passed it off as a weak muscle at that time. Ever since, it has happened numerous times and every time I felt my muscles were too weak, leading to ‘discomfort’ to the shoulder. My parents once took me to a leading orthopaedic in Pune, and he suggested I look into the mirror and observe the angle of the shoulder the next time it happened, and report back. It didn’t happen for a while after that, and even when it did, the pain was too much for me to move, let alone admire myself in the mirror. Fortunately, the shoulder would always fall back into place and I learnt to live with it.

On the 26th of July, it happened again while I was trying my hand at a bit of plumbing. Had a nasty fall, was stuck in a weird position for a while, but the shoulder fell back into place within 10 minutes, so that was that.

On the 1st of August, I had a major attack again. This time around, the shoulder refused to fall back into place, even after about 5 hours of agony, and an ambulance had to transport me to the hospital, where the arm was set right (under mild anaesthesia). This incident prompted the doctors to launch investigations into the affair, and they have come to the conclusion that surgery is required to set things right. The shoulder, apparently, has undergone quite a bit of damage, ruling out the possibility of arthroscopy, or non-invasive surgery. Google has been a great friend, explaining terms like ‘Bankart’s lesion’ which appeared in the MRI scan report. I am now awaiting the results of my blood test for calcium, Vitamins B12 and D3, and am due for a CT scan to evaluate the exact extent of damage to the bone. The date of the operation will be finalised later this week.

I feel like a pig, being readied for the slaughter house… Till then, it’s the sling for me.

Update (Aug 13): CT scan done, damage assessed, and the surgery is to happen sometime in the last week of August. Currently, due to stiffness of muscles, the shoulder cannot be operated.  Oh, and the Missus snitched to the doctor, so now I will have to be off nicotine till the shoulder has healed – a good 4-5 months from now! Cold turkey – just like that…

Update (Aug 19): Going under the knife on the 28th of this month. Will undergo a “Modified Latarjet Procedure”… sounds impressive!!!

Conceiving a Notion…

There’s no way you can hide these emergency contraceptive pill advertisements from children. Stwabbit is rather impressed by the benefits of iPill…

“Mamma, I think I should start taking iPill”, she declares one day. “I don’t think I want to get pregnant till I grow up!”

Can someone please tell her not to give her father sleepless nights, right from now?!!

School’s Out!

A fellow blogger, Naveen, has penned his thoughts on the current pandemic. Read about it, here. Thanks for the mention, Naveen

Just got back from an open house meeting at the school – school’s out till August 18!

During the course of the meeting, I realized that parents really do act silly at times. Imagine, considering the kind of situation the country is faced with, the parents (especially mothers) are more anxious about the syllabus the children will undertake! I would have understood if the children concerned had been in one of the crucial years of their academic lives, but Class 2 students? Sheesh!! My sympathies are with the school administration, for having to deal with such parents!

And finally, my take on academics in the present scenario: I’d rather have a living dud, than a dead topper!