Brown Motion

I was wanting to pen my joy of traveling by trains in Germany during the summer of 2014.  It is somewhat weird to describe the feeling one (me) gets when on board a tube made of steel and glass traveling over or under ground or through mountains whether at a crawl or at over 200 kph. It is first and foremost a means of transport.  Therefore every train I was on was essentially just an appliance. But then once you got past that technicality it was something else...to a buff like me it was engineering and nature coming together in a sublime experience that can make your heart sing..or whatever the poetic incarnation of 'the trains are alive with the sound of....is'. Here then are some pictures of these appliances that took me north to south and west to east as I traversed the Deutschland.. Regional Double Deck Train in Berlin HBF (main station) Regional Express near Berlin Berlin Tram near Alexanderplatz Berlin Metro or U Bahn Berlin S Bahn Dresde

A lot of foodie influences make for a wonderful film showcasing cast and crew from various continents. Directed by a Swede (L Hallstrom whose film credits include movies about edible items - Chocolat, Gilbert Grape etc); the film stars are French-Canadian, British, Indian and an American of Indian origins.  The Indian hero of the film has a food item for a last name - Puri (a puffed fried bread made from wheat flour). It is a tale, an adaptation from a book - about two restaurant owners who vie for success in the French countryside.  One is an established Michelin star winner and the other across the street - 100 feet apart- an upstart started by a migrant family from India. As cuisine goes the story tries to dispel the notion that one country's food can be superior to another while conveying that what really matters in the end is in the palate of the beholder.  It also does a decent job of effectively showcasing some masala - the edible kind - not item numbers - that is at t

Not something a kid in a dimly lit math classroom might encounter.  Far from it unless that classroom happened to be in a home in southern China or at least in a restaurant that served this delicacy. I am refering to the food preparation that I enjoyed with some work colleagues at a going away event (for another colleague) over lunch.  Lunch was at a local Cantonese (that which is from southern China - specifically the Canton aka Guangdong; and Fujian provinces) restaurant close to work. Dim Sum or DianXin literally means pieces of the heart - as in small bite sized food portions lovingly made for someone - if I remember - based on my research in talking to the locals who are from that part of the world. But for the English speaking crowd it is simply 'Dim Sum' which is available in variety of Chinese restaurants in California given the preponderence of the expats that love their native food.  The food traditionally is small portions prepared individually in steamer baske

One of those feel good (food) films of this year.  It is all about the food and sights and sounds of places across the contiental USA. A renowned chef working at a LA area restaurant decides to spin a daring feast for a blogger / food critic about to visit that night.  He is banking on complete surprise and a wow factor when the owner played by Dustin Hoffman comes in and advises against it.  He plays safe and wants hired help (chef -Favreau's character) to focus on cooking what works, that pays the bills. That takes away from the chef whose creativity feels inhibited and he decides to take a chance on himself to prove what he is capable of.  With some cliched storyline involving a divorced father (also the chef) that yearns to spend time with his kid who is growing up missing him, and some item number (by popular vote played by the estranged Sofia Vergara in her loud over the top mannerisms) the story tends to showcase the spunk of the protagonist who despite being ignorant of

This past week we traveled some 3,000 miles in total visting parts of four western states most of which was spent in hiking around the southern region of Utah state. Somehow I still have great respect for nature and things that have been crafted without the hand of the human.  Millenia of geological events and weather have shaped this part of the world identified by the humans /scholars as the Colorado Plateau. Time passed and the earth thrust, stretched, rusted and fractured into existence, this wonderful imagery that is today preserved in the form of 'Arches National Park' near Moab; Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks near St. George. The red sandstone is a result of iron oxides - literally iron particles that have rusted away to give the rock its classic red color. Our journey lasted about a week and here are some pictures that speak for themselves... Sandstone arch in Arches NP My first attempt at a Panorama shot in Arches NP Ba Ba Red Sheep Liv

My first visit up the 925 foot mount in the middle of what is the city of San Francisco.  I happened to visit because I had a few hours to kill before going to attend a film festival in town.  It was a beautiful fall day with warm temperatures that made the hike from the bus stop to the lookout (over a 100 feet vertically) quite strenuous but I was eager to get there to see what the view would be.  Sutro Tower on the hill Steps lead up to the look out from the bus stop Sunset over the Pacific (looking west from the hill)      But the views from the top were specatcular. It provides 360 degree view of the surrounds from certain vantage. To the west is the glowing Pacific with the sun still an hour away from setting.   Market Street all the way down to Ferry Building (almost invisible looking NE) Towards the north one can make out the metallic orange glow coming off the Golden Gate bridge over the strait as the Pacific waters rush in to form the large bay

Had an opportunity to go see the US premiere of a Pakistani film (Hindi with English Subtitles) at the Castro theater in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco.  Film is titled Dukhtar (urdu for daughter) and is about a rescue organized by a mother who cannot foresee being a silent part of a criminal undertaking where her underage daughter would be wed in an arranged marriage to a local warlord. The Castro district (so labeled to remember a one time Mexican Governer of Alta CA)  as it is called is a colorful community with a lot of non-straight individuals calling it home.  Wonderfully located on a hill slope rising in the middle of the 50 sq. mile city limits, I was also able to do a short hike up said hill (twin peaks) which I shall write about in another blog. The theater almost a 100 years old is reminiscent of the old days of movie watching.  It has still retained some of its patina, glazed tile street foyer Castro Entry and old carpeting as well as the fixtures in

Getting a virus was bad news.  In some cases it still is.  Think AIDS, Ebola, Hanta etc...not good. Of course there are those kinds that infect all known computing devices - from large mainframes to handheld devices - also causing serious side effects.  Getting rid of said viruses is big business. Then there is like this thing with like the new generation...where things you think or better yet would not even think of go viral.  Encouraging all to partake in this virology rather than eradicating it is also big business. Anything is fair game... a bagger in a store to cat clawing the heck out of a carpet to someone taking a dump on a highway or repeatedly vomitting... Access to technology in the hands of new generation - created by some of the best minds in Silicon Alley is causing massive amounts of data pollution that transcends all known logic. At the end of the day - all this twitting, facing, gramming and tumblering is so bizzare that it causes companies to buy more hardwa

There is an expression in English that reads - I told him to take a hike.  This is to imply that the addressee (him) was causing undue stress to the I and I was not willing to listen to him. Hike literally is a long walk preferably in a country (or country side - which is a strange term given country sides are usually the most dangerous locales - if anything you want to be as far away from the sides as possible) setting where country means wilderness.  Then there are the implied meanings of taking a hike i.e. get lost or out of sight. Of course there are also tax hikes and price hikes and others where the implication is on the rising or raising of said tax or prices. I on the other hand take walks.  Could be a hike or a stroll but it is the act of wandering with no particular plan in mind.  That is my contribution to my being healthy.  Or not ill. I am not quite gaga about the health and fitness craze myself nor do I envisage a day when I have any packs (6 or otherwise) that I

Hilarious.  Slice of NYC's boroughs and the life in it.  Easy to watch yet subtle and informative at the same time.  John Turturro has written and directed this wonderfully funny love story about an out of work handy man who also is friends with a maybe-Jewish bookseller going out of business. Turturro plays the handy man while the bookseller is Woody Allen.  Few films deliver laughs without too much drama but this one does.  Item numbers have been added in the form of an aging Stone (Sharon) and not so aging Vergara (Sofia) to introduce an element of purposeful garishness to go with the silly and nuanced comedy of Allen and Turturro. There is a plot where Allen becomes an accidental pimp to Turturro who is his 'ho' or a Gigolo. Allen scouts candidates / customers from all that NYC has to offer - lonely, rich females, married or otherwise.   Turturro satisfies them. Allen's character even comes up with names for the both of them and decides that this is definite

Fever is an elevation in body temperature that typically causes the fevered to slow down.  Accompanied by body aches or general malaise.  So the expression 'working feverishly' is an oxymoron given  it describes someone working in a rushed manner to get lot done in short time.  So either you work or you have fever - not both. Also it begs the question - another curious expression - why someone would want to work feverishly when they could just work? Given the fever and it's consequences would you want someone to do your work in a feverish manner?  It might just give you the fever. As an aside the expression to describe someone with fever is to say - he or she has temperature.  I think that is silly.  It is like saying he has blood.  Duh.. Without temperature he would NOT be. Forget about working..

I get the feeling that people have lost the ability to distinguish between what they feel and what they say to express said feelings. Creates headlines from silly to outright dangerous. Most recently a large Fortune 100 CEO declared to the world media that 'he is proud to be gay'.  Now to paraphrase Seinfeld- while there is nothing wrong with that- it does beg the question of how someone can be proud of a natural accident?  Accident in two parts - that he 'is' and that he is 'gay'. Proud is sometimes defined as - feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one's own achievements, qualities.  Being gay is - as one can surmise neither an achievement nor a quality.  It is an accident of nature as much as being straight is.  Nothing of it - that would be straight forward thinking.  Which if you are so inclined could under circumstances make you feel gay or happy. Another confusion that goes into such declarations is around the idea of coming '

As the readership might recall a recent blog chronicled the death of Mary who swallowed a pencil. I am about to expose who Mary was. Remember the nursery rhyme - Mary had a little lamb? Exactly.  Mary is the same - one and only.  Now here is the reasoning behind the claim. First of all if Mary had a little lamb why emphasize little?  Lamb is a little sheep.   Hence we can do without the emphasis on little.  Mary had a lamb.  That is enough information. Next the rhyme says - Her fleece was white as snow,  and everywhere that Mary went,  the lamb was sure to go. Stupid lamb I must say.  Never follow anyone esp today's world to everywhere unless you know them that well.  Given I have not seen any lambs in the workplace or even in the neighborhoods I frequent I must say Mary had to have been a sheep herself. That would explain her ability to chew on grass and swallow a pencil not knowing what it was that she had just consumed.  Guts ripped no glory! 

This cliche of 'watch what you eat' has been beat to death in health conscious locales such as Northern California.  Of course it is a good idea to watch what you eat otherwise you end up like Mary. She did not see what she was eating and she swallowed a pencil.  It was 2B since she was gabbing with her friends and not watching what she ate. She swallowed it intact with the eraser and ferrule.  The lead however broke in the process and the coroner ruled lead poisoning as cause of death.  Actually that to me was debatable because technically there is no lead in the pencil but graphite. Softest known form of carbon which makes a pencil write.  But it was proved wrong by the ME who indicated lead as the root cause.  Now the sharpened end had a point so maybe that did her in.  Tore her gut out as she swallowed the implement whole. Moral - Even a good eraser cannot undo a stupid act.

Have been watching a fascinating documentary on how our modern life with its tools and conveniences originated in very unlikely situations. People today mostly do not know these true inventors and thinkers that drive modern life. Here are some notables that may or may not be known to scores of people who benefit from their guts  and voice of dissent. Doctors John Snow and John  L. Leal independently in the UK and later in the USA respectively le d to the understanding of how to keep water clean so we do not die of cholera - Snow's secret was to map the cause of water pollution to locations where people were dying from the disease,  while Leal's was to discover that chlorine in water could kill most bacterium - indirectly helping promote other secrets like Victoria's.  The bikini and skimpier undergarment trend became possible because it was now possible to provide clean water for people to use for drinking or fill swimming pools where gals could show off their bodies

Last night I attended a guest lecture on the subject of disruptive technology and entrepreneurship.  Lecture was free but it was used as a pitch by the University that hosted it to attract new customers. The speaker was somewhat respectable fellow who happened to hail from India and spoke eloquently.   One of the key message was around how the professors in this university were ranked among the very best money can buy. Cost of the MBA program mere $110,000 and oh we also buy some dinner if you have late class.  So now the math is simple-  is learning to be entrepreneurial worth the cost of entry? That is assuming you end up being one.   What of those that do not?  or the ones that are not successful at being the entrepreneur?  Is that being a pessimist before even being handed the glass. What I found strange is that people will bet big money on the glimmer of hope that they might just make a entrepreneurial debut and hit it big.  The university pitch I remember also included a

There is a spate of news articles conveying everything from what Farmers will not tell you to what Billionaires will not tell me to what the Government will not tell us to what McDonald's will not... To keep up with the Joneses or Donald's (Mc or otherwise) in a manner of speaking, here are top five things I will not tell you - the readership. 1.  This I will not tell you 2.  This I will not tell you 3.  This I will not tell you 4.  This I will not tell you 5.  This I will not tell you You may wonder if the top 5 are really the top 5 - but again - This I will not tell you.

My clothes don't.  The girth is the root cause that the trunk is expanding beyond the band. Other exampels of fit when I got thinking include... Conniption Fit Hissy Fit Honda Fit Good Fit Bad Fit Mamla Fit ...

I had forgotten my elementary school history and the term 'Tsar' or 'Czar' until the American government rekindled old memories.  My soporific (both him and his listenees)  history teacher used to blab on and on about Russian rulers with bizzare titles like the Czar and Czarinas and I never quite caught on as to what was going on over there. Obama recently appointed one.  A czar.  For Ebola.  Imagine that.  Ebola Czar.  Deadly?  I think so. Origin of the word 'Czar' comes from the name of the great military general Julius Ceasar.  Before Jesus there was Julius.  As titles go folks that could dominate other folks were given this title.  Russian monarchs adopted a variant of it and called their commanders Tsars. The ladies that made it to the throne were Tsaristas aka Czarinas.  (Not sure if an Indian actress somehow got mixed up in these cults and came to be known as Zareena Wahab - although her last name suggests some alliance with the House of Saud in Ara

People have stopped naming their kids with unusual names found in Indian mythology and history.  Here are top suggestions male or female with potential role based alignment: Esp if there can be bibber fever and Tom can cruise then- Ghatotkacha - the name might suit a future baseball or football player Rakumai - might suit a rock climber or a skilled bar tenderress? Vibhishan - might be an actor in horror flicks Vitthal - could be someone selling vitamin drinks Yudhishthir - could be a race car driver Gyanoba - could be a exotic health drink seller Dwarkanath - same as above Narad - could work at NORAD or some such outfit Birbal - could be a beer connoisseur Bheem - could work in construction Jagdamba - could be a doctor for autistic kids or nut jobs Draupadi aka Panchali - could be a marathon runner

That's right.  Maidan.  As in field or a park.  Modi set out from India on his maiden voyage to visit the US on a US invitation after providing him the much denied Visa. A 'Water under the bridge' (where does all this water go is for another blog as is discussion on which bridges are particularly amenable for this type of activity) event was reported before said Visa was granted. Coming back to the subject at hand  - PM Modi's maiden visit to America included visiting maidans like Central Park.  Also on the agenda was Madison Square garden (which is not a garden or a maidan rather a large arena which may or may not be square - math was not America's strong suit) and some other gardens including Rose Garden which happens to be next to the Oval office at the White House that contains a black President. Madison Sq Gardens fondly referred to as MSG is where everyone wants to be seen in when visiting America but when it comes to eating food they do not want any MSG i

This question can be asked by a doctor to a woman about to deliver a baby Or A whale watcher to the Beluga that keeps teasing the crowd Or A credit card customer to their bank inquiring about how safe their personal information is

This would be the new job title for people being hired at Americas airports.  Our nation it would appear faces two grave challenges both of which happen to have a similar mode of attack.  Aka the Virus. In the first instance the threat of being hacked is grave - it now appears that two out of every one American has been hacked I.e.their identity has been stolen multiple times by hack attacks from entities native and foreign.  One of the mechanisms used to  inflict financial pain is using a man made virus (by so called computer hackers)  that could enter sensitive system vaults at any major financial institution and extract personal information cleaning out your bank account. In the second instance the hacking is in the form of physical heaving caused by strains of different viruses like Ebola and Entero that entered the human body.  This can literally take you to the grave. Reminds me if a Bruce Lee film called ' Enter the Dragon'. Entero and Ebola virus outbreaks have le

Sounds like a diarrhea epidemic.  Far from it.  Running has been the quintessential way of garnering money for charitable causes in the USof A for decades.  'Run for a cause' or as we more recently discovered 'dump a bucket of something over your head' and somehow extract people's money have been making more and more headlines. Ever since someone dreamt up the idea that we can ask people to pay for participating in an exercise (literally and whatever) involving a running race, charities all over the country have piled on.  The more people that join the more money is raised for a cause tagged to the mission statement by the race organizers. Notice how the act of running got tied to an organizer and that in turn got tied to some branding that ties into a charity that you may or may not recognize. Okay so as far as raising money for a cause I get it.  But what I never got was the idea to tie that event to a race and also get some corporate visibility while at it.

New strategies that the Indian PM lays out will be termed 'modis operandii'..actually that would be latin but who's checking Any multi year plans that he updates or edits will be labeled as 'Modified' with the pronunciation being key to align with gujju way of saying it Clean India campaign photo will be titled ' Modicum of success' Finally made in India will get rebranded as Modindia.

People can be fanatics about their faith.  They can also be fanatical about fashion.  Simply put some think their 'faith in fashion' makes them fashionably faithful.  That is a mouthful. Here is a sampling of what I mean - Do Sardarjis (practioner of Sikhism) ever develop a bald spot?  I have not actually encountered one.  Now that is a classic example of the faith driving their fashion preference.  That of having to wear a pointed hat all the time.  This time to their advantage.  I mean because the faith advises to constantly wear a hat you never know what is hiding underneath.  Like someone said only when the tide goes out can you see who was swimming naked.  No chance of that for these faithful.  So they can live long with the others thinking that they are blessed with a luxuriant mop that does not fade. Yoga Pant-vasion - this new invasion of the spandex like leggings that has American women (some men) hopping (sometimes as part of the yogic routine) with brand names t

What does that mean?   Many a tragic story in the media today involving a couple of people losing their lives or a fire destroying a few 1,000 acres is determined through serious detective work as 'not being a terrorist act'. To which I say -What? Who is the jackass that has a yes/no voting machine at his desk that provides the designation? Isn't terrorism an act of violence committed with an intent to cause harm to another person?   If so how does a whacko burning a forest on purpose or a psycho beheading a person with a knife because it happens in the bible belt or the Midwest not considered terrorism?

To paraphrase my favorite comedian - people are the worst. I mean it was not long ago that on learning about Apple's intention to launch a new iPhone in market that people expected curved screens. Yes glass on their phone to actually be bent so as to be more suitable for watching movies and whatever else bent screens might do better than their flat counterparts. Enter the iPhone 6.  Its aluminum body lets it naturally bend on application of pressure such as that exerted by the couch parked customers who largely stick their devices (when not in their face) in backpockets of their shaggy trouser. All of a sudden there is a brouhaha about this undocumented feature.  People all over are aghast. They think that the company is bent. Bent on bringing shame to their users who wanted to flaunt it in front of their peers but now looking like fools. So shareholders bent on profiting from sudden change of heart among the fan club sold their positions en-masse. On hearing of all the

Someone discovered a baby roasting in a hot car the other day.   It made national news.   The baby I must say was quite adept.  He had corn and shrimp going at the same time. He had also figured out how to use the solar energy to best cook the corn which take longer than shrimp. On reading the headline though people wondered if someone had the sense to take the baby to the children's hospital.   That it was not necessary is now obvious.   Even if they had I am not sure if children know what to do with a roasted baby in any state of the roast.  That they run this hospital is also somewhat suspect. On a more serious note people died in a UPS shooting.   Why UPS was shooting instead of delivering I am not sure.   May be the person shooting was delivering someone to somewhere in a manner of speaking.   May be the shooter felt left out for not being postal. That is all from the strange news department.

This is not the name of a new saint nor a new pill for erectile dysfunction or to aid in digestion. Rather the three headline grabbing items in the past week. Start with BABA.  A new stock symbol for the world.  A Chinese school teacher who through enterprise and some luck created the world's largest online marketplace called Alibaba.   So now a famous Arabian nights character that not many knew about is made into a household name by a Chinese man going public on the NY stock exchange.   At least popular among those household's that delve into somebody's stock.  A 'khul ja sim sim' moment as the world awaited with bated breath (or whatever version of breath they were breathing) for the equity to begin trading on the exchange. Just like each decade has its blockbuster event - in the 70s it was ABBA for the 10s of this century it is BABA - the largest initial public offering by market capitalization. Initial public included all the black sheep in all families ma

There was an implied understanding when you read or heard the phrase 'Smartly Dressed' that a certain someone was always smartly dressed.  It meant that the dressee was aware of sartorial nuances and chose to suit himself or herself in a manner that the populace deemed was attractive. These days the term may have lost its meaning.  Meaning - Enter The Wearables. Those that live outside the bubble we call the valley aka Silicon Alley - may not be familiar with this strange choice of words.  Let me explain.  Computing has got out of hand in a manner of speaking where it is now on the hand.  Personal and intimate is how the CEO of Apple Computer called it when he recently introduced a product to the world called a  SMART WATCH.  More aptly it was called the 'Apple Watch'.  This is a category of product called Wearables.  Smart devices meant to be worn (out)! Now why you would watch an apple is beyond me - after all Newton already did and figured out what there was

Today the blogosphere was abuzz with Apple's next generation iPhone announcements so I decided to not let that dumb my blog. I present the iCucumber. A new generation of cool.  Cucumber that is. Long make that longer than before with a thirst killing 24 oz of water retain capacity these are designed for the long road. You do not need any batteries rather these will charge your batteries. I am releasing this newest version of the cucumber for the masses and it is extremely affordable. Only 20 cents with cover and 25 cents without. Sliced or whole the thinnest slice has long been a favorite of sushi chefs worldwide to wrap their rolls. Fits in most shopping bags and backpacks. Its operating system is beyond world class - it helps a parched throat sing. It's crisp and that is not a display but something you tangibly feel on every bite. So remember my friends - when you are truly thirsty an apple a day may be more expensive than my iCucumber.

Stars - Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman Inspired by real events circa WW II. Story of a rail enthusiast Brit, Mr. Lomax, who has served in the second war in SE Asia.  He is living with the nightmares of being tortured by the Japanese Imperial Army as a prisoner in their camps in Thailand.  The movie is based on the story of these British soldiers that were humiliated and made to slave to build the railway line from Thailand to Burma (now called Myanmar). Today there are luxury train rides available on this route starting from Singapore in the south going all the way north into Myanmar that cost a pretty pound. Colin Firth plays the role of a signal engineer that has stood up to the brutal interrogations and beatings when his cadre is discovered to be building a secret radio in the camp.  Memories of the treatment at the hands of Japanese soldiers has kept him suffering deep inside for decades until he runs into Nicole Kidman's character on a train journey in the English count

This is a single character movie. It is a drama with one character burdened with showing a range of emotion as they try to keep an audience engaged for 75 to 90 minutes. It is tough to do.  Especially without too much action, melodrama or suspense. 'Locke' is one such film that manages to weave its narrative around the life of a person (by the name of Ivan Locke), who is a middle class construction manager about to leave work. The movie begins with the protagonist getting out of his work boots caked with concrete and heading out for the drive home.  As he is waiting at a stop light he makes a conscious decision to make a turn away from home and head into a new direction that becomes the narrative of the 80 minutes that follow. Using modern car phone technology to keep the character in conversation with the people on the other end of the line the story outlines the choices we make as humans and how sometimes these choices come back to either haunt us or redeem us. Ivan

It is time to report on some important eyelines (no need for a head to understand these) from the dormant diamond head - which may have activated since the recent 6.004555 quake - Police in Sonoma are groping in the dark for a new Groping Suspect after which they will sample some shaken not stirred (from the 6.00333 - latest USGS data has updated the metric as this blog goes to print) grape juice. Plane in fatal crash - plain and simple. Noah - Hollywood's newest answer to start and end of civilization (PS: clothing styles depicted are the new look from Italian designer Nakedo Shoestringi) Some schools in Los Angeles area are changing their school curriculum to include this edition of Genesis in second grade class (Noah is a must see movie and a must see ship of the year - with special Apple designed headphones to follow the mumbling) James Cameron took a vow of silence after hearing about Noah's ship as the must see version - since he thought he had the coolest ship whe

As a modern day organism and specifically as the human species we have been conditioned to think that Father Time is running out.  Not sure where he is headed but maybe Mother Nature has him running errands? When you sit down and think though it is actually a marketeer designed scam.  The time running out that is.  There is no need to rush to buy that car today for example.  Time is running out on Labor Day sales event..which will be followed by the Golden Opportunity event ..which has the year end sales event on its heels. So what if I wait till after labor day? Nothing .. It just means the stupid car salesman did not make quota..not your problem.  Besides there is the bigger question of how many automobiles we need to have the dealers all take a year long break from selling again? Could they for example be sent to Australia to dig a big hole that could be used to dump the world's non recyclable trash?  I think we might get a pretty large and deep hole to take care of any

For all the pontificators on the subject of warming trends et al and how we as a species are causing irreparable damage to the flora, fauna and fundas..it is quite humiliating when the planet lets out a serious belch. It happened not far from our home in the Silicon Valley of CA.  What is known as the wine regions of northern California shook with a burp of 6.0 as measured by Richter scale.  That it did not cause serious human loss of life was partly a function of when it happened - when most of the public near the epicenter (even those that stayed up late to imbibe the local beverages - think Napa Wines) were asleep. It shook our bed many miles away too around 3.15 AM local time and lasted a good 15 seconds.  What I find amusing is that the news hawks decide to make a field day because the people had already tuned them out after the stale story about the demise of one of my beloved comics (Robin Williams - who passed - onto another realm not passed by Napa - about 15 miles from th

What is success and what makes someone successful is matter of intense debate and points of view.  That said America's shopping malls sometimes also contribute to the public discourse wittingly or unknowingly like the sign I recenly spotted in a major department store. Outside of the ubiquitous pitch of a "not to be missed - one of a kind sale" in some department or another, every other day and in between these signs sometimes provide a moment of rare levity...   Now I am one for always keeping your fluids balanced but to make the leap from a well - balanced internal plumbing to feeling career minded was even hard for me to take.  I observed the signage carefully and was even delighted to see the fine print that read " Success Starts Here"! There was no exclamation point - but I thought it deserved one.  What does the readership think?

In the good old days only the mafia had the capacity to pull a stunt like that.   Terminate someone earlier than plan. People would pay to get this service. But these days just about anyone can get early termination.  With no fees whatsoever!  In fact the terminator promises to pay them for you! Case in point is all the phone and cable companies that tout it as a differentiator to the point they actually advertise loudly about how they can not only terminate your plan early but that of your family. It is a good thing I do not do much planning these days anyway since I am getting tired of doing so.  Then to have someone come and terminate it would be such a colossal waste. To have the family involved in any terminal act is also hard to digest. Nonetheless the competitive landscape is eager to pit one provider against another and see whose terminators are up to the task. But all this talk of early termination comes with a catch.....that you have to 'Make the switch'

Cash is still the preferred form of payment, Water has to be ordered - still - I mean STILL - not sparkling if you don't like incessant bubbles in your drink - there are no free lunches for sure but not even free water (except in Starbucks - go USA), Speaking of - there are more bier gartens than Starbucks - go Germany, Beer in general is cheaper than water - go Germany, People buy what they need - because they do not have cars (they export them all - go (to) USA) to haul away a 48 pack of anything, People answer questions as they are asked and answer them literally - a slight mispronunciation makes them think you do not know what you are talking about and they will walk away, Not much new construction going on in any town we saw - except maybe Stuttgart - leads me to think there is zero population growth, In spite of the beer everywhere culture it is rare to see a guy or gal stoned out, Smoking is permitted in many parts of the country - so much so that there is a

As much as you want to look up at things the German machine has built, from massive cathedrals to Tors of various kind;  monumental architecture in the form of train stations and eye catching communication towers there is also things down below that can be interesting to check out.  One such observation included the money the Germans are spending on putting a lid on their drains.  Literally.  This way the money was not going down the drain it was just sitting on top of it.  Get it? Take a look...below... In Koln (Eau De Cologne anyone?) Leipzig - a former trading post - quite impressive above and below ground Fancy Dress passing by a Dresden hole Salzburg - technically Austria - they think alike If all that holee stuff leaves you drained ... well a dog and a drink is round the corner.. Now that I had two tank fulls of that stuff it is time to - you guessed it - find a drain!

Haupt is main or major in German.  Bahnhof is a railway station.  For rail geeks like me Germany is paradise.  The true cathedral (of technology) in this land obsessed with designing those meant for prayers is the haupt bahnhof of Berlin.   It is simply magnifique and massive.  It is a multi function shopping mall, office complex, foodie central and transport hub rolled in one.  Every major city has its own Hauptbahnhof. On the banks of the river Spree the Berlin version is a multi storied super structure that brings together North South railway lines with East West lines.  It serves as a true Grand Central terminal for multiple rail companies that service the city of Berlin. The largest rail company is the Deutsche Bahn.  It is largely owned by the state but operates like a business.  While the service is not exceptional in terms of people interaction the train network is truly vast.  With slower S-Bahn local trains above and below ground including a bus service, in smaller local

That sums up the vast landscape for tourist adventure that is Germany.  Below are some snapshots of what I experienced on our recent and first visit.. Each region is proud of their own heritage and you will hear the locals welcome you and ask to enjoy Dusseldorf or enjoy Baden Wuttemberg while only few might say 'have a good time in Germany'.  Ironically the only time in history Germany was really united was under Hitler's rule but otherwise in the past ages and again today a sense of regional identity is strong. It is evident in their language, culture and their beers.  Every one has their local identity - north different from the south - even when it is not that big a country. Here then are some vistas of the land that stretches from the North Sea to the Swiss Alps in the south. Deutsche Bahn Express leaving Frankfurt Along the Rhine heading north Floor art inside Cologne Cathedral   Our journey took us north west from Frankfurt -  Doorway to C