Artiscence

 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...

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...