Archive for the 'Bangalore' Category
December 03 2007 William writes:
It is great to be back in Bangalore.
Traffic in my front driveway.
I was loosing my bargaining skills in Tiruchuli where people tell you the true price the first time you ask. Here it is a struggle to get a rickshaw without feeling cheated. Its much more satisfying to argue the price down and tip than pay a high initial rate. I’ve learned it is much easier to get a fair price before sitting in the rickshaw, and much easier than when you’re driving to the destination.
Before I forget to document the traffic in Bangalore, these pictures are at the end of my driveway (4km from the city center) and were taken at 11:30 am. As a friend summed it up, Bangalore is known for two things: first traffic and second IT. The photo at right is the road heading away from Bangalore toward the ring road.
Traffic on the bridge.
Had some drinks with my neighbor and then went to his friends house for some home cooking and a small party. There were 10 people there and all were software engineers. Welcome to Bangalore.
Poornima dancing for joy at my return.
In the past two days I used Joomla to make a simple website for EnergyRef.com which will be the home of an energy modeling program.
Before the it is complete I hope to add interesting energy models as content. Joomla is amazing at times but occasionally difficult to customize.
Categories: Bangalore | No Comments »
September 23 2007 William writes:
I had dinner down in Frazer town at Savories and met a group of Muslims. The place was crowded because the sun had just gone down and it is the fasting holiday of Ramadan. They shared everything and one even paid for my meal.
The maid, Punabi?, stopped by with her mom to show her my place. We took some pictures and I tried unsuccessfully to pantomime the idea of email to her so I could send her the pictures. She is a sweet girl with no education. The language barrier does not stop her from just talking nonstop to me. I just nod and say what’s on my mind. More often than not is about how good a juicy elk steak would taste.
- In my rides around the city I am fascinated by construction techniques utilized by the labor rich country.
- The bamboo scaffolding looks stronger than some of the metal ones I have seen.
- This method of installing some bridge pillars has been going on since I arrived.
- The sewer system is in constant repair.
Categories: Bangalore and Construction | No Comments »
September 13 2007 William writes:
I went to dinner at the normal veg place, had Jeera Noodles (noodles with peppers), bought some bread, and tried to cross the street. The traffic on the main street between the veg restaurant and my street is busy at all times of the day. It is a strange type of traffic, not the deadlock type you see in the states, but more of a hallway of ants going both ways. The median is hardly discernible and is dictated by the quantity of traffic going in either direction. The side with more traffic gets more of the road. To cross the street, you may think that once you make an initial move the cars would stop, let you cross, and then continue in the same order as before. This is not what happens, once you enter the road, you become a car and are expected to follow the rules of the road. That is, move forward or get out of the way.
In my apartment there are lots of ants. The two things that amaze me about ants are; how do they go such long distances with such little energy, and how do they navigate such complicated paths with such small brains. Chaos theory comes to mind when I try to explain their navigation but I can only guess at their extreme energy efficiency.
I love ants. 
I did finally get home and a thundercloud invisible in the darkness lit up the night sky with lightning.
Categories: Bangalore and India | No Comments »
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