Pecos Park

The other day I took Afton to play at Pecos Park. My cousin had recommended it as a fun place for small children. She was right. Thanks Julianne! I had forgotten that she had told me there was a little water play area there. Luckily I always bring an extra pair of clothes and Afton was able to partake in the water fun.

When his lips started quivering I knew it was time to get the blanket. Once dressed, he proceed to play in the sand, climb up the slides, and run wild. Then he remembered the water and tried to get wet again. Good thing I run fast.

There is also a skate park right next to the play area. He wanted to sit and watch them, which we did for like 15 mins. Do I foresee a lil skater in the future? Quite possibly.

om nom nom

Afton has been gobbling up a wider variety of foods lately. I believe it is due to the strengthening of his jaw. He only has 4 teeth so it makes it hard to eat many foods. Anyhoo....here are some of his old and new favorites.

• Blueberries - He loves picking them up, squishing them, and popping them in his mouth.

• Nutella - On bread, on crackers, on fruit, on his fingers.

• Cottage cheese - Best served with pineapple.

• Spaghetti - He isn't really a big fan of marinara sauce, but he quite enjoys slurping up the noodles. I actually think he enjoys the mess the most.

• Avocado - He stopped liking them for a while. Strange. But now he can't get enough.

• Kiwi - Yummmmm

• Crunchers - This is what we call any cracker or Cheeto-like snack. He just started liking Cheez-its, but his all time favorite is veggie flavored corn crisp.

• Peas - Never liked them mashed. He LOVES them whole because he can pick them up and eat them by himself.

• Steak - It has to be cut very small, but he will gobble it up. This boy is definitely not a vegetarian.

• Green Beans - Loved 'em mashed, loves 'em whole.
  

Upgrade Your Grey Matter

We finally broke down and succumbed to the need for more cores. The HD vidcam we got last year has generated 50GB of video that can't even be viewed in the native compression by our Ubuntu system. According to the forums, a quad-core is the minimum for editing avchd formats. The new box is running win 7 professional 64-bit. From Newegg:

• Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz LGA 1156 Quad-Core Processor


• Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power Power Supply

• ASUS P7P55 LX ATX Intel Motherboard


• G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory


• MSI GeForce 8400 GS N8400GS-TD512 Video Card

• SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive

Our windows experience rating is hobbled by the bargain video card which only managed a 3.3 out of 7.9. The cpu and ram sailed to a 7.4 each and the hard drive was a barely acceptable 5.9. Not that we're gamers by any means, but I have a strangely predictable urge to get the score up. Now we just need some editing software and we'll have the complete epics of Afton Metrix.

Science Center Fun

We took Afton to the Arizona Science Center last weekend. Here are some pictures of the fun. Prepare yourself for picture overload.

Pluck. Pluck.


Afton showing me the ins and outs of circuitry.

Jeez. That boy has a big head.

Dad & Boy

He only wanted the balls. He didn't care if they floated on a bed of air.

There is a cool exhibit that allows you to feel different weather conditions. Afton didn't mind the wind too much.

But the earthquake was a bit scary. No tears though...and we didn't have to leave like this other little boy did.

We both enjoyed the monsoon.
Well, at least I did.

It was really fun watching Afton run around and get right into things. We will definitely be back!

Mobile Photos of Afton

Afton at the library. He loved this chair so much, and he looked so cute in it, I had to get him one! His is green.

Jackie O?

Sand, sand, sand....can't get enough of it.

Yummy Oreo! This went much better than the time I gave him half a Twinkie. I'll take the chocolatey mess over a Twinkie crazed baby any day.

AzizAziz

Last night Nippon and I watched Aziz Ansari's Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening. Hilarious! (though quite raunchy) I was thinking I'd contact Aziz and tell him to "friend" my brother Lee on Facebook so he could gather new material. Then I thought that he probably has enough with his own family. Not only was he funny, but he has some good taste in music (minus the R. Kelly stuff, which I'm hoping was just for laughs). Now I need to check out his mixed tape he did as Randy with Dave Sitek (from TV On the Radio). Sweek!

*Sidenote* I was reading somewhere that people expect Aziz to use stuff about his culture in his act, but he doesn't. Is that an issue? It's not like he denies that he's Tamil or that he comes from immigrant parents. Anyway, there can only be one Russell Peters.

What we're listening to...

Artist: Broken Bells
Album: Broken Bells

Regardless of James Mercer's relationship with The Shin's, the end result of the collaboration with Danger Mouse proves that sometimes the formula needs to be updated. Danger Mouse add his usual array of percussion and keyboard to Mercer's patented vocal melodies. The recent Rolling Stone interview paints an optimistic picture for the future of this collaboration, so we can hope to hear more Broken Bells soon.

Sona Chaandi

I'm so happy there is a place here in Tempe where I can find Indian garb! I haven't been to L.A. in a while, and the plane tickets to India are a bit steep. Yay for Sona Chaandi. And while I'm on the subject of Indian dress, I just love, love, LOVE this lengha saree! Now if only I had that hot bod to go along with it.

Teammate

Nippon has joined the team! Now (hopefully) you will be updated on the world of geekery....from knife foolery, LED flashlights, and Futurama, all the way to open source software development. Now aren't you excited? I know I am.

I Wanna Go

Coachella Day 3

• B.o.B.
• Babasonicos
• Charlotte Gainsbourg
• Club 75
• De La Soul
• Deerhunter
• Delphic
• Florence & The Machine
• Gary Numan
• Gorillaz
• Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
• Infected Mushroom
• Jonsi
• Julian Casablancas
• Kevin Devine
• King Khan & the Shrines
• Little Boots
• Local Natives
• Matt & Kim
• Mayer Hawthorne & the County
• Miike Snow
• MUTEMATH
• One eskimO
• Orbital
• Owen Pallett
• PAPARAZZI
• Pavement
• Phoenix
• Richie Hawtin presents Plastikman Live
• Rusko
• Sly Stone
• Spoon
• Sunny Day Real Estate
• Talvin Singh
• The Big Pink
• The Glitch Mob
• The Middle East
• The Soft Pack
• Thom Yorke
• Yann Tiersen
• Yo La Tengo

Newbie

So I've been meaning to start a blog for a while now since I'm not so good at keeping a journal and such. Plus this will be a nice way of keeping friends and fam up-to-date on Afton and his shenanigans.

So, let's recap....

Once upon a time in the state of Arizona, a girl named Heather realized that she super liked this chap named Nippon. With her youthful charms she captured this handsome fellow, and they have been together ever since.

Then one day they had a beautiful lil boy named Afton Krishnan Rath.

Born at 6:37am on January 1st, 2009.
Weighing in at 7lbs. 12oz.

And he got bigger and bigger....

And cuter and cuter....

So there you have it. Hopefully I will get the hang of this thing and post often. It's nice to be exiting the world of a blog stalker, and re-entering as a blogger.