Archive for December, 2007
December 12 2007 William writes:
I am just returning from a delicious dinner of Italian food, but there is a bad taste in my mouth. Over dinner I talked with a Romanian woman about what she wanted to do next as she has spent 2 years in India and is ready to move on. After naming several places including, Eastern Europe, Australia, France and Latin America, my question was, “Why not America?” Her response was, “It didn’t interest her because it was too stagnant.” WTF mate! America is the experiment of modern society, the clash of cultures, and the melting pot of the world. How can that be stagnant? Granted I have been out of the country for 4 months but when I left it was on a full throttle collision course with reality and the foreseeable outcome does not look pretty. Call it hopeless, worrisome, even pathetic, but stagnant it is not. The motion and possible change in America makes it the best place in the world to live.
Compare this to Europe … continue reading »
Categories: America | No Comments »
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 »
December 02 2007 William writes:
I caught the bus from Tiruchuli to Kanyakumari 5 hours later than planned due to an excessive farewell the night before. The bus ride was four hours of Julifora scenery down to the southern tip of India and the confluence of the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea.
There is a large statue of Tiruvalluvar who is a famous poet and part founder of the Tamil language. The statue was built recently as a tourist attraction. Tiruvalluvar’s poems are two liners that attempt to explain the morality of man. My favorite is, “Impartiality is the best rule of conduct provided that friends, foes, and neighbors are all regarded alike.” Couldn’t have said nothing better myself.
He was given a woman to be his wife and to test her qualities before marriage he gave her some sand and told her to cook him some food. She turned the sand into rice when she cooked it This pleased Tiruvalluvar and he took her as his wife. Impressive no?
From KanyaKumari I took the train up to Truvanthrum on the west coast to take the GRE and enjoy the beaches. It was beautiful country but I was ready to get back to Bangalore.
And some more construction photos…
Categories: Construction and India | No Comments »
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