Even though this was not our first trip to San Francisco, we did experience quite a few firsts. So what City Lights was closed on the night of Xmas, we found this quaint little cafe in the North Beach that was serving the most scrumptious cheese cake and defining cappuccino - Caffè Puccini (yea i know - we went for books and ended up with cheescake, not bad huh?).
Well actually, let's take a step back...before all that we took a drive to Santa Cruz and started off in the beach - nice and warm, something that the weather gods nod against in the Puget Sound area in this time of the year.
Next stop was Mystery Spot, a place where the law of physics behaves, well, a little intoxicated, and I kid you not, the gravity of the situation is quite serious. ;) There you will find your center of gravity off base by about 17 deg. So when you think you're standing straight - your level headed friends actually think you're looking funny, leaning forward. There if you pour water in a plank that's leaning one way, the water may actually flow towards the other direction. Why? You got me...I'm sure there's a little bit of showman hanky panky going on, but it does have a true basis.
Ok now comes the super fast exit out of this blog for (most) things we've already done before...
...posing in the golden gate, missing the Alcatraz tour, walking around in Fishermens Warf, yummy street side lobsters, caricature artists, the cable car ride, Pier 39 sea lions, real desi treat from Shalimar, Xmas tree in the Union Square, comfy goose down pillows in pickwick hotel, getting chocolaty in the Ghirardelli Square and more trips to Shalimar!
...there...
Friday, December 29, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Stormed in without power
Seattle and surroundings had quite a storm Thursday night with a gust going about 70 mph, double of that in the Rainier area. This left most of the area with no power and 700,000 victims. For some it came back by Friday but for most it was sometime on Sunday while many are still left out in the dark. This meant no light, no heat, no cooking for most and no hot water for many, with the temperatures dropping down below freezing by Saturday night. Puget Sound Energy had to call for backup, not only personals but also for machinery's as they scurried to move fallen trees and reestablish the power...which for some areas mean rebuilding poles and setting up new transformers.
Many houses were destroyed by fallen trees, fences took flight and some also caught fire because of candles or accidents with propane tanks. Services in the gas stations were interrupted, causing a wave of panic and even fist fights in some gas stations while waiting for hours for gas. The grocery stores that remained open on Friday with dim lights had to throw out all of their perishable goods and items such as fuel, torchlights, candles and easy to make foods were soon out of stock.
It wasn't too bad for us though, even though we were mocked by the neighborhood across the street which got it's power back by Friday (for good reason though - there's a hospital couple of blocks away). We called up our buddies and met over at a kind friends house (with gas stoves) and cooked a hearty meal...us Bangladeshis managing to make a feast out of a disaster. Then we realized another friend, who's out of the country, had full blown power in their neighborhood. We took refuge there (keys left with another friend). The 15 of us had a wonderful weekend, cooking, eating, playing board games and watching movies.
Personally, it was a great way to spend time, especially on the Independence day of Bangladesh - December 16...what better way to be than with a bunch of Bangladeshis and do what we do best - cook, eat, chat and play.
(Don't mean to pour salt in the wounds of the less fortunate ones with property damages or who were stuck in hotels or office building or trying to keep warm in front of the fireplace)
Many houses were destroyed by fallen trees, fences took flight and some also caught fire because of candles or accidents with propane tanks. Services in the gas stations were interrupted, causing a wave of panic and even fist fights in some gas stations while waiting for hours for gas. The grocery stores that remained open on Friday with dim lights had to throw out all of their perishable goods and items such as fuel, torchlights, candles and easy to make foods were soon out of stock.
It wasn't too bad for us though, even though we were mocked by the neighborhood across the street which got it's power back by Friday (for good reason though - there's a hospital couple of blocks away). We called up our buddies and met over at a kind friends house (with gas stoves) and cooked a hearty meal...us Bangladeshis managing to make a feast out of a disaster. Then we realized another friend, who's out of the country, had full blown power in their neighborhood. We took refuge there (keys left with another friend). The 15 of us had a wonderful weekend, cooking, eating, playing board games and watching movies.
Personally, it was a great way to spend time, especially on the Independence day of Bangladesh - December 16...what better way to be than with a bunch of Bangladeshis and do what we do best - cook, eat, chat and play.
(Don't mean to pour salt in the wounds of the less fortunate ones with property damages or who were stuck in hotels or office building or trying to keep warm in front of the fireplace)
"You" named Time's person of 2006
"You" have been named as Time magazine's Person of the Year...yes, YouTube that is. Kool ain't it? Jawed Karim, originally from Germany and of Bangladeshi descent, founded YouTube in February 2005, which was recently bought by Internet giant Google for $1.60B.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
elf yourself
this is so funny!!! just get a picture of yourself and turn into a jolly singing dancing elf...or even better - turn your freinds into one...
Monday, December 11, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
No fat New York?
Double pepperoni, but hold the fat??? and New York of all places...
The New York board of health voted unanimously yesterday to go ahead with plans to prohibit the city’s restaurants from serving food that contains artificial trans fats throughout the five boroughs!!! And that includes the pizza joints, the doughnut shops, the chinese takeout around the corner, even the McDonald’s across the street, not to mention the fashionable midtown bistros and restaurants.
First the streets were (apparently) cleaned of night prowlers, then the ban on smoking and now go fat less?
...now that's what i call a big apple polishing...
The New York board of health voted unanimously yesterday to go ahead with plans to prohibit the city’s restaurants from serving food that contains artificial trans fats throughout the five boroughs!!! And that includes the pizza joints, the doughnut shops, the chinese takeout around the corner, even the McDonald’s across the street, not to mention the fashionable midtown bistros and restaurants.
First the streets were (apparently) cleaned of night prowlers, then the ban on smoking and now go fat less?
...now that's what i call a big apple polishing...
Monday, December 04, 2006
Light at the end of the tunnel?
Hopefully we're closer to that light at end of the tunnel in our beloved motherland's political tug of war. Advisors of the caretaker government met with both the alliances day before yesterday and proposed package solutions. After meetings all day long yesterday with the chief advisor in the chair, they announced the outcome - to reconstitute the Election Commission, reschedule the polling date, correct the voters’ list and reshuffle the top bureaucrates even further. So in the end it's just accepting what the 14 party alliance has been forcibly demanding since late October.
The nation is breathing a little easier now, with hopes that life will be normal again, the economy can operate again and that this is the end to the mayhem that was ruling the streets of Bangladesh. We all hope that we will have a fair election early next year, the voice of the people will be heard and a government based on the peoples choice will be formed.
Hmmmm...now that's a fairy tale, even if the voice of the people is heard and a government based on the peoples choice is formed.
Let me ask this...how can an exiting government manipulate the system in such a way that the idea of a free and fair election commission and a neutral caretaker government is jeopardized? And how can the former opposition completely imprison and batter the people and the economy of a country until what they deem necessary for winning the election is met?
So yes we can see the light at the end of tunnel but unfortunately there are always freight trains that follow...and hit us hard over and over again.
The nation is breathing a little easier now, with hopes that life will be normal again, the economy can operate again and that this is the end to the mayhem that was ruling the streets of Bangladesh. We all hope that we will have a fair election early next year, the voice of the people will be heard and a government based on the peoples choice will be formed.
Hmmmm...now that's a fairy tale, even if the voice of the people is heard and a government based on the peoples choice is formed.
Let me ask this...how can an exiting government manipulate the system in such a way that the idea of a free and fair election commission and a neutral caretaker government is jeopardized? And how can the former opposition completely imprison and batter the people and the economy of a country until what they deem necessary for winning the election is met?
So yes we can see the light at the end of tunnel but unfortunately there are always freight trains that follow...and hit us hard over and over again.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Exxon Mobil chief to get $2.8M bonus #%$@!
WOW! Now that's a bonus!!! So I guess we can expect gas prices to go up again huh...
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