Where to begin! I don't know. One of the more memorable trips to an land down under. I loved every single minute of it, from the views from the top of Sydney Bridge to the cold beach in Melbourne's Great Ocean Drive, from the 10 am wake ups to wander a wonderful city to 4 am wake ups to catch flights, from exhausting walking around, to simply hanging out, from dry days to thirty odd wine tasting marathons, and so many from-to pairs, I loved it all.

The book will be printed in september, is the lofty goal for this month. But I am determined to get the 1500+ pictures and my 15 chapter document of the trip all put together and printed. Printing may depend on the financial comptroller, but there may be wiggle room (lol).

As I sort out all the pictures, I will post them up here for all. But, till then Australia the land down under is a completely different from what I expected, completely different in reality from the books and the advertisments bombarded on US televisions. It is land of plenty of diversity in every possible way. Jostling around in Sydney with peoples from China, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Philipines, and every other country in the far east along with Australians one learns a lot. From the earliest penal colonies to the sizzling cities it has come a long long way. There are strains of integration and separation of ethic backgrounds. Together and within their own communities maketh Australia. One great advantage of all this mixed ethicities, is that one gets to eat all sorts of authentic foods. I landed up having to really think about what food type of eat to try and taste all of them. No, I did not eat Kangaroo's.... because I simply did not get around to it! Food is incredibly good quality and fresh. Even the simplest and smallest dig had great tasting and freshly made food and I am not saying freshly defrosted and heated! Fast food is well made.

Most of the time I spent in Sydney. Lived with my sisters family in Surrey Hills. I highly recommend doing that, as we could roll out of bed and get to all possible different ethic foods, from Thai to Lebanese. We wandered around together and also me on my own all around the Sydney water front, bridge, Opera House, The Rocks, Macquarie Street, City Center, Manly beach, Harbour, Botanical Gardens and so much more. For couple of days I visited a family friend (lovely couple) in Melbourne. Two days visit does not do Melbourne justice, there is so much to do see and yet we packed a lot in the two days. Melbourne deserves a lot more time. While in Melbourne, it was great to walk through Victoria Market, the Melbourne University and take trams/trains around the city, seeing the Parliament house and a demonstration by Labor unions, Flinders station (gosh - reminds me of VT, Mumbai) and so much more.

The trip there and back on Qantas was quite decent. I had not expected it to be that comfortable. But the 13+ hours from LA to Sydney and then 12ish hours on return was not too terrible. It was just okay.

This trip was firsts for many things:
1. First time to Southern Hemisphere, that is crossing the Equator
2. First time to crossing International Dateline.
3. First time to Australia (duh!)
4. First time to travel in flight for more that 10 hours.
5. First time to trip that I had not really planned out in excruitiating details, because my sister was there and I was happy to go with the flow.
6. First time to leave kitties for 15+ days
7. First time to use a tiny notebook for a computer with no development tools on it! Hmmm.... I am liking this little computer thingy
8. First time to cross 1000 pictures in one trip
9. First time to travel light to the point of silliness. Roughly 24 lbs in check in for outbound trip and 40 lbs on return.
10. First time..... to have so many first times... ;)

So much more about the trip coming here mostly now reflections in tranquility.

A while back I posted A trip furthest from here. I had an plan then and the plan is being blessed by several powers that be (thank you!).

I am going to Sydney, Australia! No jokes, I am going for two-and-half weeks.  More on this shortly

I am back home. It was indeed a short visit out to Atlanta, Georgia. It was mostly work during the day and evenings it was fun to step out and enjoy Atlanta evening/night life. Of everything, I totally over-indulged in the peach cobblers with peach gelato and peach sauce! Well! I am in Peach state!

Almost exactly two years to the date, I am in Atlanta, Georgia again! Last time around I stayed downtown a stone throw away from the Olympic park and the Aquarium. This time around I am still around in the downtown area, but a little further away.

This time around I have not planned to stay over. I would have liked to stay and visit the Botanical gardens and the orchids gardens, but it isn't going to happen. I am saving my really ample vacation time for family visits in July and then my own travel plans later on in the year. This is a working trip and will be short and sweet. Fly in on Monday morning (today) and fly out Wednesday night (in two days).

But, for now, I am in Atlanta! Home of the peaches and the hot temperatures (soaring in late 90's)

 

I want one of these! Nah! I need one of these!

There are several reasons for my needing a bicycle! and in no particular order they are:

1. My doctor says, "It is better for your broken... er... fixed foot to be biking rather than walking or running on aspalt!". Yes, yes, I broke my ankle a decade or more ago and I should be grateful that I can walk, but overtime, I have brought it up to be able to walk 3-4 miles without issues and even go running when it takes my fancy! But I think what my doctor is saying very very diplomatically, is that I am getting old! Right! and I should take care of the old Bones (or cartileges or tendons etc etc)! He suggested that at some point in exceedingly far future I may need a cane! Hmmm! Me thinks...... should I get one with a silver head or gold plated. Que Sera Sera! 

2. The gas prices are atrocious! Now, I really don't use my car to commute to work, so, I really not that shamed that I don't over indulge in using in the worlds resources! Blimey! I just annoyed some folks who legitimately need to drive to their work. I am not beating you guys up at all. Actually, I really don't care how the rest of the world commutes to work, whether they are concious of or abusive of the natural resources. That is their lookout. But, my concern is my 'recreational and other commuting' that takes up roughly 40-50 miles a week! argh! That is actually the amount some folks drive to their first job. Something has got to be done for this!

3. I live  a sneeze and cough away from the Bike Path in Arlington, MA.

4. I have this vague recollections that after initial hic-cups with learning to ride a bicycle, I actually enjoyed it! The initial hic-cups include, falling down bursting knees, ramming into stationary trucks, ramming into hedges, and loads of other very exciting and side-splitting stuff that my sister can narrate endlessly in family gatherings.

Now, I have just to find one a good one that I love, so I will use it more often than not. Unfortunately, living in New England, means, I can use it about 4 months, may be 5 months in the year. But, it is just turning summer, so, I have few solid months ahead that I can use to ride.

Step 1: The bikes thus far! I have not ridden a bicycle in about 12-13 years! Actually after my ankle breaking episode, I don't believe I have ridden a bicycle! This will be so interesting to 'test' ride bikes. Where do I start? There is a bike shop less than three-fourth mile away called Quad-cycles. I may as well start there. They appear to know what they are doing. So, I test rode some bikes.... they were:

1. Fuji Absolute 1.0 17 inch
2. Fuji Absolute 2.0 17 inch
3. Breezer Town Bikes (U Frame) 17 inch
4. Schwinn Ultra Comfort Voyageur 19 inch

Of all the above bikes, the Absolute are just absurdly expensive. If my bike is going to be a thousand dollars, then I need it gold plated, and if it is then I will keep it in the glass package, which defeats the purpose of owning a bike in the first place! The Schwinn was absurdly clunky! Sorry, I thought that because I got spoilt with the ultra smooth ride that fuji bicycles provide. Hmmm! Lest you read me wrong! I loved the Absolute 2.0, and if I could justify paying $700 for it, then I would. But I cannot... not at this stage. Perhaps in a few years time.

Today I continued with my bike testing.... LLbean! 
I wanted to test ride Acadia Cruiser (by Schwinn!)... but they are completely sold out.... and I have to wait a week! But I test rode the K2 T:Nine Crosswind Womens and gosh! felt and reacted exactly as the Absolute... but a little more heavier and little more reliable on brakes and at half the price (more or less)! Go figure!

So, conclusions thus far!
I would love to have the Absolute 2.0, but I may get the K2: T:Nine or the Acadia Cruiser as my first bike! This week will tell the story.... and I cannot wait.

The entire conference was fantastic! I learned a lot, ate a lot, drank in moderation (er...most nights), and gambled nothing!

I thought I would be able to blog each night about the experiences that day at the conference and also the city, but it did not land up happening. Not that I was not inspired to write but the internet connection the hotel was incredibly slow and nothing like a slow connection to destroy creative blogging.

Anyways a short recap of the sessions. All the sessions are available online (you will need to get Silverlight.. few seconds to install), and they are all (well... most anyways) awesome.

Day 1: Keynote, Silverlight, and Champagne at Tao!

Day 2: IE8, Silverlight (cont.), Steve Ballmer & Guy Kawasaki, More Silverlight, Non-code Information Architecture, humble and usable User Interfaces, Buffet at Bellagio!  Want more?

Day 3: Microsoft Surface, Silverlight, some dopey presentation, some Silverlight coding at last, Bellagio Fountains.....(yawn!) need some sleep!~ 

Day 3: What will you bring me today!

• At breakfast table, I debated on what session I wanted to go to and found absolutely nothing for the first set, and found three for the second time slot. Argh! So, rather than beat myself up in a session, where I would hate it. I spent time one on one with Microsoft Surface. I have only three words for this..... I WANT IT! hmmm... No! Maybe four words... I WANT IT NOW!. Take a gander folks! and be jazzed with what is coming down the Pike! Literally! (I mean, I-90 does start (or end) in Seattle). There were two sets shown and while I was playing with one set, on the other was Donna, the Documentation Manager of Silverlight 2.0.
  
• I didn't want the playtime to end, but it did. Donna and I chatted about MSDN Online documentation and what is coming new for support et. al. Albeit documentation is important, and all techies agree to it, it really does not happen unless there is a dedicated team for it. It is the techies way of saying... 'don't make me document!' very nicely and 'correctly' request the need a specialized team to do it.... :) So, it is a win-win situation from Donna's and my perspective. Donna wants to document, and I ..... well.... have skills better suited for technology architect. (hee hee! read as: I don't have time to do document.... I am too busy developing stuff)
  
• The last session.... I thought we would go out with a bang! Alas no! We thought it was going to be a bit more on WPF... but it wasn't. This is where I realized I am a techie... really, give me code..... and code speak..... and I am a happy code junkie! Don't just show me a jazzy presentation.....show me how to build it. Tell me why a particular design worked for you and what didn't.
  
• We needed to code as we never needed before! Such code-junkies! We huddled in one of the colleagues room (swanky room at the Venetian) and for the next couple of hours tried different animations and fun stuff with Silverlight and Expression Blend. So utterly cool! Couple of times we had to turn away the room-cleaning woman, because we were working, and finally just gave up and let her in to make the bed and clean the space.
  
• My friends needed some time with the casinos.... So, after coding, take a short break we all met up for the last evening in Las Vegas (for this year at least). Dinner was grilled Salmon, Gaucomole and Chips with Riesling at a Mexican place right on the stripe. After dinner, I spent some time looking over my friends shoulders on craps table, but I found it boring quite quickly. It just does not hold my interest, which is interesting to most people. Afterawhile, I was watching the dealers and pit boss. It was incredible to see how much they have an eye on continously. Much later.... I was ready to get out.... I said my goodbyes and walked down......Along the way! Bellagio Lake held my attention for 10 mins with all the sound and water show! Loved it. I rather be out here in front of the spectacular show, than in a casino. Awesome pictures coming soon.

Day 2: Too many great sessions! No clones! WAH!

• Post breakfast headed to learn about IE8 - Webslices & Activities (how to build them and how to subscribe to them). Now, I am used to having an action-packed (spoiled by Day 1 sessions) tech-heavy presentations, and this one did not deliver. I learned about Webslices and Activities, but just felt that the presentation needed more. But perhaps, it was the first (early) morning session from the night before partying, so people were not really awake!
  
• My blood-stream needed more techy stuff! So, headed into Creating Rich Dynamic User Interfaces with Silverlight 2 Controls. Another awesome speaker Karen Corby. She is a Program Manager and was present at both the Day 1 sessions and helping out the presenters when they needed. I remember remarking then (Day 1), I got to go to her sessions.
  
• Post Lunch, the Keynote with Steven Ballmer and Guy Kawasaki was not what I expected it to be. It was Guy Kawasaki interviewing Steve Ballmer. It was awesome to see both of them, and no blog will really do it any justice! So, go see it for yourself on the mix08 site.
  
• The keynote really energized me (or it was the endless cups of coffee) to get to the afternoon sessions. To mix it up, I wanted to go to non-coding session. I did go to Creating Better User Experiences: Information Architecture. In this session we got to 'architect' as a group, the attributes for small boutique hotels in california. It was interesting exercise to do. There were other related sessions with the Creation of better User Experiences, and I definitely will read them... ah... post conference.
  
• Gaming sounds fun, and online gaming sounds fun too... so, how can Silverlight help as a gaming platform? I could not resist this one. So, while my friends dashed to hear Scott Hanselman, I headed to check this out. It was interesting to see what gaming design concepts to keep in mind, what works, what doesn't etc.
  
• Like I said at the start of the day, too many sessions happening at the same time, and not enough clones of me going all these places. Fortunately, the organizers realized that, and they repeated sessions after the day was done. Yeah! I really wanted to get to Crossing the Usability Chasm - Advanced and Adaptive User Interfaces. Anything that says "Advanced and Adaptive" kind of catches my eye. I was tired at the end of the day, yet, the presenter Dr. Gil Hupert-Graff held my attention with the simplest of the concepts of what is usable and what is not. Before this session, I was all ready to develop a really snazzy-blog application with flyouts, and flyins, expand and collapse and loads of Silverlight's Light up the web concepts. But, after this sessions, the realization hit home (yet again!) we shouldn't be doing something, just because we can. I am pretty sure (my friends agree), after this conference, there are going to be a host of really ugly, non-user friendly and downright hideous applications. I vow, that mine will be at the edge of cool. :)
  
• By 7:30 PM..... we were ready for .... er.... fresh air. We wandered around.... to different casinos. Finally the Bellagio Buffet looked great! Because it catered to one of my colleague's and my need for Japanese and the other who wouldn't touch fish with a ten-foot pole, had italian, american, chinese, salads, fruits, and a whole dessert section. I was happy with Salmon and Tuna Poke for dinner and dessert!

Okay, this should stay in Las Vegas....but Lent is out the window! After the first minute of feeling guilty..... I was over it and done.

Notes of Day 1:

• Las Vegas is in Pacific time, I live in East Coast time. So, I am wake at my normal 5AM (EST) and by 6AM (EST) clamoring for coffee! I know that Treasure Island has a Starbucks (the reason that this hotel gets 4 stars!). So, I grab some money and head down to the hotel-lobby. Of course, I don't know where it is located, so catch hold of a security fella and ask. He gives me directions to get to Starbucks and proceeds to tell me that they don't open till 6 in the morning. With a perfectly honest horrified look, I mention that is way past 6 AM. It is few minutes.... for me to register the fact that it is really just around 3 AM! Too damn early for coffee! What a perfect start.
  
• Breakfast was served with Eggs.... hmm.... I was hungry! and the Eggs looked so yummy! Lent was out the window!
  
• Kick off and Keynote by Ray Ozzie, Scott Guthrie and Dean Hachamovitch, talking about the latest, greatest and whats new in the web-technologies.
  • It was fantastic to see Silverlight apps in some incredible applications such as Hard Rock Cafe - Memorabilia (the Deep Zoom technology).
  • The keynote also declared the release of Silverlight 2.0 Beta 1, IE 8.0, and Expression Studio with Blend 2.5. Whee! Woohoo! Right, Right!
  • At this point, I am simply happy to be here to listen to all these release proclamations! Also, these bits were readily available for downloads!
    
• After pigging out on a good lunch, I couldn't wait to get my paws on learning Silverlight 2.0. So, rest of the afternoon was spent, listening to Eugene Osovetsky (Working with Data and Web Services in Microsoft Silverlight 2), then Joe Stegman and Mike Harsh (Building Rich Internet Applications Using Microsoft Silverlight 2). These two gave a really good kick start into the development of Silverlight applications. Of them all, Joe Stegman is an awesome speaker!
  
• By the end of the day, my fingers were itching to start twittering about Silverlight and developing something. Instead we head to Tao for a fantastic party. Now there is a party! Open bar with Champagne (Yeah! Lent is so out the window! Thank God I am not Christian, so breaking Lent was not too bad! I might still go to hell, but I hope I am forgiven! :))
  

This year the MIX08 at Las Vegas is a treat with the latest and coolest stuff from Microsoft .NET 3.5 and Silverlight. Everyone is talking about it and I find myself happily attending the conference to learn more. More about this in next few blogs.

This is my first visit to Sin City, and so far the descriptors (at various times) I have used are: Unreal, Gaudy, Loud, Nutty, Annoyingly-bright, Eye-sore, Technologically impressive, Slick, and Excessive. The airport is right next to the stripe, however, to get to the stripe the cab ride takes a roundabout way to get there. That alone sets the stage for me for unnecessary excessiveness. A cab ride which should be not more than $10 is more than $30!

I am staying at the Treasure Island my room overlooks The Stripe. From the 29th floor the view of the Pirate ship, the Palazzo, the Venetian and quite a bit of the Stripe does not fail to impress. There are lights and then there are lights and then there is Las Vegas (a sensory assault!). The city is a like a gaudy-Christmas tree with all hotels as little ornaments, each trying to outdo each other, with more lights, with more glitter and with more excess. The room itself is moderately comfortable, and I missing some amenities that I have gotten used to such as the coffee machine! You thought, I was going to say mini-bar, but nah, I don't care too much about the crap they usually have in minibars. I rather be lounging at a decent restaurant with a decent wine in hand, than open a bottle or two from the mini-bar of some non-descript wine. As far as munchies go, they are readily available at a drop of a hat pin. Besides, why would I eat something that has been sitting in a mini-bar or vending machine, when I am right in the middle of some of the best possible restaurants? I don't think the intention of these hotels is to have people in their rooms. If the guest is holed up in the room then there is no way they can play on the zillion slot machines or poker tables and send their 'contribution' to the house vaults! So, bare minimum in the room and get the guest going on the casino floor seems to be the motto.

At 10pm at night the Treasure Island lives up to its promise and has a pirate ship (actually two) showing all abound with cannon fire, gold bullion and pirates!

The first evening after registration gods were appeased and badge procured, my colleagues and me participated in a Treasure Hunt. Alright! Scavenger Hunt! I just like to call it Treasure Hunt..... for me X did mark the spot.... or multiple spots where we took photos! We were part of the group of five called Blanchefleur (apparantly a pirate ship). So, the team of three from Massachusetts and two  from Jersey, were off wandering a city of Nevada (Las Vegas) with the a rule list, clue list, a sign that read "Silver", and one of the worst digital camera I have ever seen. The idea was to get 14 pictures around the neighborhood and we had two hours to do this. For me the allure was to be walking around, exploring the new city (or at least some sections of it). The Treasure Hunt took up wandering in The Venetian, The Fashion Mall next to it, The Mirage, and back to Treasure Island. The sense of the space being expansive really took root as we crossed over The Stripe on bridges and the walk ways. At some point I had imagined the Stripe to be... well.. not that expansive. Along the route of the hunting we found, talked and photographed Scott Hanselman. All he wanted to do was to get registered, poor man, and we got him to pose for us. Thanks Scott! At the end of the Treasure Hunt the idea was to load it up into a Silverlight application, but try as much as did we failed.... hmm..... no! the application failed.... ah! no! we did not have all the bits needed for the application in the first places. So, there, after couple of hours fighting with it.... I gave up. I still do have the application and at some point I will try to get to work..... I think! Or just write my own thing.

The flight, travel, new (overwhelming glittery) city, new friends, treasure hunt, and application that didn't have all the bits was enough excitment for the day. I couldn't wait for the conference to begin and hear what Steven Ballmer, Guy Kawasaki, Scott Guthrie had to say...... but for now, my head and a pillow needed to make contact!

A bunch of us from work decided to attend this years MIX08. Finally a conference where I was not working as a staff but attending as an attendee. Awesome! MIX08, is a great conference where developers and designers can learn cutting edge technology, mingle with others, and engage in conversations some of the Program Managers from Microsoft, displaying the new tools, and what is upcoming in the technology, creative and business world. See More

Why I am going?
Because I want to.... and of course, Siliverlight has captured my imagination.

This conference is in Las Vegas... yes.... where else you can convince developers and designers to mix and mingle, learn and..... for the gambling sort.... try their hand at whatever glittering place they chose to hand over their money.  They say whatever happens in Las Vegas stays there....... or perhaps not...... more to come in this space.

NOTE: I am actually writing these on the last day of the conference, just because, I am having way too much of a good time with Silverlight downloads, play and reading up.....yes, that is true! You see.....as a matter of fact..... casinos hold absolutely no attraction for me, unless we are talking food and wine. The concept of 'feeding money to the house' is not my cup of tea, unless it is a good cause of fine dining and wine...... anyways more in next few posts which will come over the next few hours as sit back and absorb all the experience of the conference and city.

Northwest-KLM was my preferred airline... until they decided this morning to marry me off!

This morning, I received an email update from Northwest-KLM airlines. The email was addressed to Mrs. <my name>. I thought about NWA email server or processing on the blink, so I decided to check out my profile on NWA. On the site, the profile said Miss, but all other account displays should Mrs. How weird? How odd? How pathetic? How annoying? I am furious!

So, I call Northwest-KLM airline desk. After jumping through several hoops and on hold and transfers and going through the dopey automated voice line for the 'n' time, I got through to a human on the other end. Here is our conversation:

Barbara: "Hi I am Barbara..... blah blah..... <general crap of thank you for calling and how can I help>."
Me:
(At this point, I am really annoyed and getting furious by the minute. I stopped short of yelling on the phone. I paused and thought;
a) Barbara has done nothing wrong, it was the system than needs to be updated in all relevant places and I did not know all the relevant places.
b) I think, I was a tad miffed that the email and site did not recognize my 'Miss' status, but I really annoyed with the system that could not update my status and more over the automated voice help is just dopey.)

Me (with that brief pause): "Hi, I received an email from you regards my flights and awards and it all looks great, but, Northwest has decided to marry me off. I am a Miss, yet, the email and site profile says Mrs. And I am tad offended!"
Barbara: "Oh, ok, that wouldn't do let me make changes."
Me (thinking): This seems to be a nice person.
Me (aloud while Barbara is updating my profile): "I really don't mind the status change if you can let me know a) Who is the guy I am married off to and b) Do I get a free world vacations package for the celebration?"
Barbara: "What.... haa ha haa haa hee hee hee hee ho ho ho!"
Me: "Ha ha ha"

At this point both us are laughing our heads off.

Barbara (after she has caught her breath): "Thank you for having such a good sense of humor about it all, and thank you because I needed the early morning laugh too."
Barbara (continues): "Now, it has been updated back to Miss, the divorce is final!"

Again, the two of us cannot stop laughing.

Me: "Awesome, if I am ever going to need a divorce, I am calling you. It is so quick to get one."
Barbara: "Absolutely, do you get to keep it all?"

Me: "I am on Northwest-KLM, of course, I get to keep it all and then some."

Laugh.... laugh... laugh

Finally, we say our goodbyes and best of lucks for the next go around!

So, until next time, I was briefly married and now back to square one. :)

Yep, The travel plans for the next few months are getting confirmed!

MARCH: 5 days in Nashville, TN (confirmed and tickets bought)

APRIL: 11 days split in Barcelona and Haro (La Rioja), Spain (confirmed and tickets and blessed by the Consulate of Spain)

MAY: 4 days in Montréal, Canada (unconfirmed.... but getting there very rapidly, needs more planning and blessing from Consulate of Canada)

JUNE: 6 days (back) in Nashville, TN (confirmed, nothing booked.... as there is no budget after having booked the March and April trips.... hee hee)

Whew! Looks likes a year of trips! Most of the trips are work related trips. But after work, I am planning to stay on at the new place and wander around in that neck of the woods, exploring, eating (hopefully exercising) and enjoying!