Brown Motion

No this is not a politically motivated speech.  Nor a lecture on economic outlook.  Rather my recent experience at a supposedly highbrow restaurant in San Francisco.  Part of the Michael Mina group - for someone not familiar with the name - a migrant to America who made it big cooking up meals with spices of the east and soon partnered with the business savvy of a famous tennis star to crank out a chain of high end eateries in the USA. This establishment is named RN74.  Starting with its name it tries to alienate someone trying to first figure out that they serve food.  Isn't that the main idea?  Apparently not.  In summary I found this place to be an expensive bar with some food on the side.  Literally and figuratively (as in when the check arrives). So I did some digging before visiting.  Let me back up.  For someone who has known me to have a pre-conceived wariness of anything highbrow why did I go?  It was a business dinner...

America is in the midst of a variety of ball fevers.  As in Football and Powerball. 1.  The '50th' Super Bowl (American Football's crowning match) coming to town early FEB and 2.  The Powerball lottery (now estimated to payout $1.5 Billion before taxes and relatives) with the winner announcement imminent or so it seems Both events are top of mind for the nation even as the POTUS aka Obama was waxing on his annual report card in front of the nation last night.  More so the California crowd who at best seems suspicious of whoever is going to lead our highest office come 2017 is planning a mental escape dreaming of either or both of the above mentioned ball events.  What with the 50th event happening right in the heart of Silicon Valley (typically not known for its Hollywood like extravaganzas) at the newly minted Levis Football stadium (named in honor of the sponsors - the late SF, California resident and businessman Levi Strauss who gave the world blue deni...

This is not a travelogue.  Not in the true sense.  Neither is it about a geography lesson involving Japanese people.  It is about finding the upside on a fall day.  As in taking the family or rather the family taking the initiative to go wandering out to the coast and making it a day - a good day as fall makes its way in Northern CA. So this Saturday we took a train into San Francisco.  The weather did not disappoint.  Clouds parted and it soaked the coast line and surrounds with a cozy 75 F.  We started by heading west from the eastern side of town (where our Rapid Transit dropped us) on Geary Boulevard using a local transit bus called the MUNI (pronounced Myuni).   Nothing spiritual about it ('Muni' means 'sage' in India) but at least they have started using new coaches that alleviates the rider from smelling what was carried on board last night from China Town. Geary Boulevard, so named after California state's first (and youngest) mayor r...

It was 3.14.15 yesterday. The ratio (Pi) of a circle's circumference to its diameter gives 3.1415 and an infinite string of decimals - Internationally known to Math geeks as a celebratory event (once in a lifetime considering you live to be less than a 100 years old),  March 14 also is Einstein's birthday and thusly even more fun to remember and get out on your Pay (feet in Marathi). We did just that and went out to celebrate amongst the equally Pi-xated folks in San Francisco last night at the Exploratorium, whose mission is to change the way the world learns.  It was a fabulous day to be near the water where the present Science Museum is located on Pier 15. Originally started in San Francisco in 1969 at the facilities belonging to the Palace of Fine Arts (more on it later) the Exploratorium was relocated a couple years ago to its newer and more expansive digs on the piers that stretch along the city's Embarcadero. The museum provides a significant source of insp...

Tis the day when the roses find premium pricing - these days a dozen of the finest fetch a cool $40...only to wilt in a day. But the family felt like being outdoor - it was 75 Degrees Fahrenheit at the beach - literally a heat wave in the middle of a California winter.  Thusly we decided to commune with John Muir - a 19th century naturalist and lover of wilderness as well a legacy in the Northern California region.  A national park is named after him called Muir Woods - up along the coast where the redwoods stand tall - few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. While the park itself proved to be a challenge what with many like minded citizens finding the soothing shade of the giant redwoods inviting, and parking situation to rival a Maroon 5 concert we drove a few more miles to hit the beach and the surf.  Along the Pacific coast we found another spot honoring John Muir - this one a rehabilitated stretch of sand called Muir Beach. Waves crashing yet with ...

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 wa...

Every year the Silicon Valley hosts a number of galas to rival the Oscars.  These are for geeks.  They are hosted by large successful corporations in America that mint money hand over fist each year and then like a strange historic ritual throw big parties to appease their imported slaves. These corporations by virtue of being based in the Silicon Valley of California tend to be in the software development business.  Some of this software runs back and front office functions for other larger companies while some build portals or websites where millions of people gather to read, be entertained or gather information.  By and large they either build the hardware that makes the guts for microprocessing or the software that runs on these machines.  The machines have varying form factors from large screens that can replace an entire wall to miniature versions like mobile phones or watches that users can wear and be distracted every waking second. After using ...

Today I met some new faces. As in it was an alumni meet sponsored by a former employer. And the alums that came were all new to me. Now as far as this employer is concerned I think its a smart use of their discretionary funds since it allows the business to interact with their former human capital (that is depreciating somewhere else) and perhaps make new introductions for a possible sale (think new revenue stream). Besides some are existing clients allowing for reinforcing their engagement in a hair down setting. Where my narration is headed is that I too ran into a number of X's i.e. X-employer alum who could shared the highs and lows of a life that was and for whatever reason it now was not. Most seemed happier in their current status. Some people were job hunting, gate crashing and some were there to enjoy the food and beverages. I admit to doing a lot of the latter (and it was good too, not the Zagatish pretentious kind of morsels but actually quality you could taste...