Artiscence

Note: I wrote this blog post over a year ago (I know!), but never got around to posting it. So, here it is. "Pull yourself together, man." Who said this? Anyone? Anyone? No? Well, it was what Argus Filch told Hagrid before Hagrid led the kids into the forbidden forest (in Harry Potter). And it was what I told myself as I hesitated walking the Golden Gate Bridge. Ha ha, I see my "nerdiness" showing. After walking miles on the Shoreline Park in Mountain View the day before, I readied myself for another test of endurance (or lack thereof) the next day. I wanted to walk the Golden Gate Bridge. If you don't know, the bridge is close to 2 miles in length. You could walk all the length from the Presidio side to the Marina side and then choose to take a boat back (for a nominal fee, I suppose), or walk back if you are up to it, making a total of almost 4 miles forth and back the bridge. I chose to walk forth and back the bridge. There were people hanging...

 I went to San Jose, California to attend a conference. But while there, I had loads of fun with my colleagues and friends. After all, " all work and no play .... ". You get the idea. San Jose is not too big and the surrounding area is easily accessible by train. So the first "non-academic" event was simply strolling around the area.  I had to present my work the next day. The presentation was in the form of a poster presentation. I had presented this before and I am quite familiar with my work, so I was not apprehensive. Also my dear friend and (senior) colleague was there and getting feedback from her was definitely good. After the presentations, I enjoyed a well-earned rest sipping drinks at the hotel bar with friends. I do not drink much but the company was divine and I couldn't refuse when the bar guy concocted what looked and almost tasted like lemonade but burns a little while going down the esophagus. :)  The next day...

Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California eat, walk, see the floating restaurant,  buy some trinkets, shop,  ride the Powell-Hyde cable cars,  go to Ghirardelli Square act like a tourist and take loads of photos,  go to/or take photos of Fisherman's Grotto,  Pompei's Grotto and Alioto's, eat more seafood, try the Dungeness crab and clam chowder, watch the time skip by Realize how late it is getting and say goodbye to Fisherman's Wharf.

Buildings of companies like Yahoo, Canon, Juniper Network, Motorola, Rambus, NASA Ames Research Center, e.t.c were the sightings that awaited me when I took the light rail to Mountain View in California. I wanted to go to Mountain View to visit the Shoreline Park and Trail. However, on getting there, I realized that Mountain View is a  distinct extension of the Silicon Valley. What do I mean by this? I mean that many of the high-tech companies were right in Mountain View, and very close to the Shoreline Trail.  Companies like Microsoft: 23andMe (a genetic testing company for health, disease and ancestry): and Google: Also right in Mountain View is the Computer History Museum, a museum aimed at preserving the history of the information age. I saw the oldest computer I'll probably ever see when I walked in to ask for directions to the Shoreline Park and Trail. Anyways..... Like I mentioned prior, the mai...

*So, it turns out I am going to do this backwards. That is, start from the end of my trip to California and end at the beginning. I might throw a dash of other activities in between as well. Let's see how crazy my creativity gets. Should be interesting.* While on the CalTrain going from San Jose to San Francisco, I wrote "what I saw" at each train stop.  I wanted to see and (try to) walk on the Golden Gate Bridge. So on my last day in California, because my plane doesn't leave till late at night, I decided to go spend a few hours in San Francisco. On getting on the train, I realize my camera was deep inside my bag, and I wanted to write as well, so I tripled up my iPod Touch as a camera, a nifty notebook and music player. The pictures look grimy, but I like how they describe (as is) the different stops along the ride to San Francisco. Gritty graffitti in Lawrence. A reminder of South Bronx. Clothes hanging in the backyard. Blazing sun in the dusty ...