Anti-Vibration Table

This was an exhibit at MRS Spring Meeting 2008 from Halcyonics. I was pretty impressed with their performance. Watch the video. Notice the coins standing on the shock-proof table.

San Francisco

The City and its entertainment

San Francisco was awesome. The city has a color of its own. The downtown area on the market street is like any other city but near the bay, it’s different. With its crooked roads, colorful piers and a wild combination of different people San Francisco is the perfect place for a short vacation. Fisherman’s Wharf is the place to be. Don’t forget pier 39. The Golden Gate Bridge was magnificent. The cruise ride under the bridge and around the Alcatraz was worth $22. You can take a ferry to the infamous prison from pier 33. But it takes a lot of time and make sure you book your tickets 3-4 days before your visit. There are several small entertainment places near the wharf. I visited the aquarium of the bay which required an additional $8 with the cruise ride in a combination package. It takes $15 for a separate visit. However, it wasn’t even worth $8. This place is not recommended unless you have small kids with you. There is a wax museum ($13) which is small and didn’t look interesting. Same with Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum ($15). I visited neither.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz - the infamous prison

The City Skyline

Aquarium of the Bay

The Food

If you are a fan of seafood, you can try out a lot of things. Crabs are the specialty of the region. The Chinatown is typical. However, supposedly this is one of the oldest in the US. You can try the regular American-Chinese stuff there. There are two Indian restaurants New Delhi Restaurant and Punjab Kabab House right next to each other near the 5^th and Market crossing. Both were good. There is an Italian area too boasting Roman cuisine. Of course, you have the ubiquitous McDonalds and Subway.

Crabs - The Specialty

The Transportation

San Francisco probably has the widest range of transportation. BART is the long range railway service connecting several wide apart areas including the airport. MUNI is the local transport. It has the trains (which are like Kolkata trams), buses which run on electricity with electric poles sticking out on top and regular buses. There is also the heritage cable cars which are trams imported from Milan. Each ride costs $1.50 on regular MUNI transportation, $5 for cable cars. BART fares depend on distance. Daily, 3-day, 5-day, monthly passes are available and may be convenient and cheaper depending on how you plan to travel around the city.

A peek inside BART

Several Modes

John Denver

I am not much of a music enthusiast. I can’t really spot the difference in them, no idea about what is rock and what is pop, what’s country and what’s folk, forget further subtleties like punk rock and stuff. All I know about a song is how much I like the tune and how appealing is the lyrics. So that’s what I will talk about.

I listened to a few songs of John Denver and for the fast few days I couldn’t stop listening. Some of his songs are marvelous to say the least. The depiction of nature with his music and the deep voice is bound to captivate your senses. You can feel his songs. My personal favorites are – Annie’s song, Country Roads, I am leaving on a Jet Plane, Calypso and Sunshine on my shoulders. Of course, there are many more you might like. I am putting the youtube links for some of them. Some quick facts about John Denver –

Real Name: Henry John Deutschendorf II
From: Doug Mundy, Monroe, North Carolina, USA
Adopted Surname: 'Denver' after the capital of his favorite state, Colorado
Peak of Career: 70's with several hits and awards
Death: in a plane crash he was piloting (Denver's father, Lt. Col. Henry John Deutschendorf. Sr. held three world speed records in aviation.)

Before I end, I must mention Anjan Dutta, a Bengali singer of recent times. I have been listening to his songs since long and after listening to John Denver, I can clearly see the influence of the later on the former. Anjan’s ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Purono Guitar’ are obvious inspirations from ‘Sunshine on my shoulders’ and ‘this old guitar’ of Denver.

Enough of my bullshit; listen to the songs -

Annie's Song

Country Roads

I am leaving on a Jet Plane

Sunshine on my shoulders

Lunar Eclipse

On 21st Feb, 2008, the world witnessed the total lunar eclipsed which won't happen again before 2010. I had the chance to sneak a peek.

The Red Moon (it looks red because the moon is lit by the refracted light from earth's atmosphere which scatters the blue but lets the red through) courtesy NASA website

A slice of the moon through the branches of the tree on our porch

Stray Snaps

The chief advantage of having a digital camera is your liberty to keep clicking. I remember my dad thinking twice before he took a snap with his Yashica, which by the way is still there but rarely used. Firstly, there was a chance that he might run out of reel. Secondly, what if it wasn't that good a take! He had to make sure that everyone in the group had a fair share of the snaps and at the same time cover the main attractions of the place we were visiting. And no outside pics in the dark. Guess why! Because the flash was an independent entity, which needed to be fixed to the camera and required a plug point to charge it before each flash. Well, those days are gone with the digital version coming in. With a high-capacity memory card and good batteries, it's a breeze taking photos. Here are some samples of mindless clicking. These are the ones that I can post on the blog and still expect you to go through it. There was actually a lot of crap, discarded. But who cares! That's the fun of a digital camera.

Bees finding a safe place on the roof of Buland Darwaja (Fatehpur Sikri)

Read the last line (in Hindi) - It reads 'Even if the visitors park their vehicles outside the parking place, still they have to pay for it" ... what the hell!! (Agra)

The Squirrel in the Agra Fort living inside history (Agra)

At the entrance to the Taj (Agra)

At the Lotus Temple (Delhi)

Can you spot the sleeping man? (on our way to Akshardham Temple - Delhi)

The gas tank reads "Water of Iraq" (on our way to Humayun's tomb - Delhi)

Too many on the same rickshaw. It has 3 adults and 4 children. I missed a better angle. (Delhi)

Through the window of the Rajdhani Express (Somewhere in UP)