Dust Bunnies!

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The above is what Mark found in a laptop a few days ago as he was taking it apart to replace the system board. This is probably one of the worst collection of dust bunnies I've seen in a laptop. I have seen worse in a desktop computer. No wonder this system wouldn't POST (Power-On-Self-Test).

New Swimming Pool!

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We finally have a swimming pool. Woohoo!

The pool was installed today (7/18/07) by Avalon Pools, the company where I purchased it from. I met them at the house around 9:00AM to go over some details and where I wanted the pool installed. The ground was dug & levelled, pool setup, 3 truck loads of water delivered, and the pool was ready in 6 hours! That's incredible! It was a big investment for us but in the long run, it's worth the cost. We don't have to deal with inflatable pools and pay for water deliveries every year. This pool should last us for at least 20 years! My kids will be out of the house by then, so we'll say 15 years!

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The new pool is 24 feet wide and 52 inches high. The water depth is around 4 feet. Tempereature of the pool today is 62 F.

Brrrrrrrr..... A little too cold!

My Family Returns

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My family returned home this afternoon after visiting relatives in Chicago IL for a few days. They arrived on United Airlines around 4:00PM and I was already there waiting for them. I got to the airport a little early and spent a few minutes in the observation tower which used to be the old air traffic control tower for the Burlington airport. In the last picture above, you can see Hannah in the 4th window from the back and Sabrina in the 6th window from the back.



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My kids were excited to see me and so was I. It was nice to have them back including my niece, Audrey from Quebec who travelled with them. The house was way too quiet and boring without them.

Zoning Permit

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I applied for a zoning permit last week to have a swimming pool installed at the house. It wasn't too complicated but you still had to pick up the forms from the Town Office, fill them out, draw a diagram with the structures and property boundaries, submit the forms, wait wait wait, nag nag nag, return to Town Office, pay for the permit, and finally pick up approved permit. But wait, now you have to display the permit in your house window for 15 days.
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Geez, all I want to do is install the damn pool! Picked up the permit from the Town Office today (7/16/07). Read the permit closely, I modified it for your entertainment pleasure.

Ferrari Show 2007

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I was invited to attend the annual Ferrari Show on Church St in downtown Burlington by John Nichols, the president of the Ferrari club. John was quite impressed with my pictures from last year's show and asked if I could take pictures of this year's show as well. My wife knows John too as they both attend the same ballroom dance event in Essex held once a month on a Saturday. I was given a wrist band and was freely allowed to move around to take pictures. I enjoyed photographing this event as I was able to get really close to the cars and managed to capture some creative shots, Harjit style! The Ferrari show is a charity event and all proceeds go to Camp-Ta-Kumta, a camp catered for children with cancer or had cancer. This was another reason why I was excited to photograph this event and could not decline the offer. Cancer hits close to home as my father, a few relatives, and some close friends have succumbed to this deadful disease.


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That's me in a Lotus. I can't tell you the model of this car as I'm not too familiar with exotic cars. The gentleman that owns this car is a chiropractor from Stowe VT. He approached me and started a conversation as I barely started to photograph the show. He then invited me to sit in his car to check it out and took this picture of me. He was one of the most pleasant guys at the show, and I'm Thankful to him for giving me the special opportunity.
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So, after a few hours, I managed to capture close to 200 pictures of the show and they look great. Check them out on my Flickr.
For a slideshow, click HERE.

Friday The 13th

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My wife, kids, and a niece flew to Chicago today to visit her sister, Betsy and her husband, Joe. I drove them to the airport very early this morning, especially to avoid a long check-in line and to get seats together. I dropped them off at the curb and told them to go ahead and check-in while I parked the car. I found a parking spot right away and hurried into the main terminal only to find them heading to the gift shop. There were no lines, no waits, and no fuss. I was only gone for about 3 to 5 minutes and couldn't believe that they had checked in that fast. Then, it dawned on me that it was Friday The 13th and people were too nervous to travel today. That explains the lack of travellers at the airport this morning.
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I briefed my kids on the security check-in procedures at the boarding gate, and they both did phenomenally well. I watched and waited until they were cleared, waved my good byes, threw some flying kisses, and headed to work. I monitored their flight periodically on the Internet, and was amazed with the live details of their flight. I got to see where they were on the map, their altitude, speed, heading, etc. There's no limit with what you can do and what you can get with the Internet these days.
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They had a very smooth flight and arrived safely at Chicago O'Hare. Sabrina called me as the plane was taxing to the gate. They were greeted by Betsy. I felt quite lonely when I got home from work today. The house was really quiet and it felt weird. Usually, we have the kids dancing, singing, fighting, screaming, running around, and so on. Oh ya, don't forget the wife yelling at us from time to time about something or another. I actually do like the house with all that activity rather than total silence. I picked up some Vietnamese noodle soup and some movies on my way home from work and did just that, watched movies and had my noodle soup. By the way, the above picture shows the plane in which they flew on.

Live Free or Die Hard

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My wife and I saw "Live Free or Die Hard" starring Bruce Willis on July 7, 2007 (7-7-07). The movie was pretty good, and the special effects were great. At times, it was over exegorated but that's what you get with a Die Hard action movie. I think this was the best of the Die Hard movies.

Happy 7-7-7!

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My wife and I had the opportunity to have a wondeful date together this evening. I can't remember the last time we went out on a date. Our lives revolve around our kids, home, relatives/family, and work. We have very little quality time with each other and it was time that we thought about us and spend some quiet time together.

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My wife arranged for a babysitter and made dinner reservations. We headed for the movies first and watched Live Free or Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis. Then, we headed to the A Single Pebble Restaurant in downtown Burlington. The food was excellent. We had dessert and coffee at Leunig's Bistro on Church St. It was a nice enjoyable fun date, and I love spending time with my wife.

I love you, Jen.

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p.s. It's July 7, 2007 which translates to 7-7-07 or 777 or 7-7-7!

Super Dad Milkshake

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Today, July 5 2007, is the mark of 10 years since my Dad passed away. It's amazing how fast time has passed but it doesn't feel like 10 years have gone by. In remembrance of my Dad, my kids and I went out this afternoon and enjoyed some milkshakes. My Dad was very fond of milkshakes, and since his passing, my siblings and I have made this into a tradition. No matter where we are on this day, we will stop to have a milkshake and remember the great man.

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I miss him a lot and think of him often. We all miss him.

Cheers, Dad!

The Parade

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Attended the 4th of July Parade with my family. There's a parade in almost every town and community. My kids love to go to the parade to watch the decorated floats, fire trucks, interesting costumes, candies, and other goodies. It's fun, it gets you out of the house, and gets you in a celebrative mood. Never once I thought while growing up in Malaysia that I would be doing this.

Happy 4th everyone!

4th of July Fireworks

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I went downtown this evening to catch the 4th of July fireworks display by the City of Burlington. The main reason I was there was to practice some techniques I had learnt on photographing fireworks. I brought my Nikon D70s, 3 lenses, a couple of batteries and compact flash cards, Nikon remote control, and a tripod. I got there a little early and scouted for the ideal spot which was hard to find. There were lots of people around and most had chosen their spots. I did find a nice location after peeking over a wall at Battery Park. I setup my tripod and camera, took some test shots and then waited for the show. I have to say that it's not easy to capture a fireworks display for many reasons but I think I did pretty good. A small apperture and a long shutter speed was the key. These are some of the shots I took of the fireworks at the Burlington Waterfront.

Happy 4th of July y'all!!