BBC NEWS | Magazine | Do you get less wet if you run in the rain?

Interesting article from the BBC that uses calculus to determine if you get less wet from running in the rain.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4562132.stm

Can You Edge Out Bill Gates? - Motley Fool - MSNBC.com

Interesting article showing how much some of the richest people in the world give to charity. There are some really generous donors out there!!

Article

Costa Rica Day 12

We got up early this morning to take the Early Bird tour, that took us along the road with our guide and allowed us to see lots of beautiful birds. We saw lots of Scarlet Macaws, Parrots, Parakeets, Hawks, and other tropical birds. We also spied an anteater sleeping in a tree, which was pretty cool. In the afternoon we had to say our goodbyes and take a ride down the bumpy road back to Puerto Jimenez and our return flight to San Jose.

The trip was totally awesome, between the wonderful time we had volunteering and the scenic and relaxing stay at Lapa Rios, we couldn't have asked for a better honeymoon. I really hope we're able to come back to Costa Rica someday and explore more of what this wonderful tropical paradise has to offer! Pura Vida!

Costa Rica Day 11

Today we took the Wild Waterfalls hike, which was totally amazing. Much of the time was spent walking in the river across slippery rocks, seeing some gorgeous butterflies and interesting lizards. Our guide, Edwin, was very friendly and helpful. At the first major waterfall we also saw a Boa Constrictor! It was climbing up the rock and is a pretty rare sight. Then as we were leaving it got too close to the water and fell down a few feet closer to us.

The next waterfall fell into a small pond which some of us took a quick dip in. The water was cold, but refreshing. Then we came back to the lodge and relaxed some more. At lunch we talked to a couple from Canada, who were really nice, Margaret and Pete. Then before dinner we watched the local school kids perform a folk dance.

Costa Rica Day 10

We awoke to the sound of howler monkeys which made sound like a lion, at about 5:30 am. We had requested coffee brought to our room, which was really good. After lunch, went on the Osa Trail hike with our guide Ulices which was a 3 hour hike through the rainforest. It was a nice hike, not too difficult, and our guide pointed out some interesting animals, insects, and trees. Then we came back to room, relaxed some more, and had our dinner.

Costa Rica Day 9

We got up and had to get to the airport in Pavas pretty early for our flight down to Puerto Jimenez. The flight was cool, in a small prop plane, and I could see the cockpit the whole time. The views were really great on the plane ride over, and watching the landing from the cockpit window was a bit unnerving.

After landing we were greeted by some very friendly girls from Lapa Rios. They offered us drinks, had people to bring our luggage from the plane to the Land Rover awaiting us. It was warm, and a little humid, just what we expect of Costa Rica. We also met a couple from Seattle who were staying at Lapa Rios as well.

The drive to the resort was really bumpy and through some muddy dirt roads, and couple of rivers that we had to ford. After about 45 minutes, we reached the resort and were greeted by some guys holding fruit drinks and taking our bags. They are very nice and we waited around and had a very good 3 course lunch. The lodge has a thatched roof which was amazing, so we enjoyed the view while we waited for our room to get ready. They also issued us a hand crank flashlight, which was very much necessary for finding your way back to your room at night.

Our bungalow was just what we had imagined. A private little hut, with beds covered in mosquito nets, and an amazing view from our patio. The patio even had a hammock! The view was full of greenery, beyond which lay the Gulfo Dulce and some mountains. We even had a some monkeys climbing around the trees around us.

After taking a rest, we hiked down to the ocean, walked along the beach, and came back for dinner. By then it was dark out, and not much to do, so we went to bed early.

Costa Rica Day 8

We left CCS and took our drive back to San Jose. Most of this day was spent souvenir shopping on the pedestrian boulevard. It was very crowded with people and there was some telethon going on to raise money for kids. We ate at Taco Bell for lunch, and it seemed to taste a lot better than the Taco Bell back home. We also had our first pickpocketing experience, as w walked down a street I felt a slight tug on the backpack. Then Shveta noticed some of the pockets were open, and some bread we bought was gone. At least all they got was a piece of bread, and then when we walked back to the spot we saw the empty bag which it was in. Not much else happened, and we went to bed early to catch an early flight.

Costa Rica Day 7

This was our last day of volunteering. We finished up painting, and played lots of bingo. We also took lots of pictures with the residents, and got lots of hugs and good wishes. The volunteer experience was very rewarding. It was great getting to sit by, hold hands, and listen to the seniors there. Seeing the smiles on their faces and hearing the affection in their voices was worth every minute. After saying "Adios" we headed back to home base, where we were pleasantly surprised with a gift of baked goods from Lucy. Then we had lunch and added our hand prints to the wall.

Our activity for this day was a trip to Tapati rainforest. The drive was through green hills and coffee plantations again, but as got closer to the forest the vegetation became greener and a roaring river appeared at the side of the road. The first outlook we hiked to led to a breathtaking view of thick forest-covered mountains and to top it off a white waterfall in between them. The next stop was a short hike to the river which had a light green color and large boulders all around it. Towering over the river were once again thick green forests. The fresh, clean air was a wonderful change from the diesel fumes we'd been breathing in the city.

Back at home base again, we said our goodbyes to Santi and Lucy, who were both totally awesome, As beautiful as all the scenery has been, the best part of this whole trip has been working with the wonderful staff at CCS.

Costa Rica Day 6

Our volunteer work today was painting the common room walls brighter colors than the standard hospital cream color. We painted one wall blue and the other paradise green. It was hard work, and took all 4 hours, but in the end the room looked alot brighter and we got lots of compliments.

Later in the afternoon we went to an HIV home for a dance performance by a group of students from a university in San Jose. They did a combination of salsa, meringue, and other stuff we couldn't identify, but they were really good. The HIV home seemed very pleasant, although the occupants looked pretty weak and sick. We then decided to go to a mall called TerraMall where Allan our driver drove us to.

On the way to the mall, we went by the university to drop off the dancers, and got to talk to Allan much more than we had been able to before. He seemed very nice and liked his job. The mall itself was really fancy. We walked in and saw stores like Kenneth Cole, Mont Blanc, and Tommy Hilfiger. Our original plan was to see a Costa Rican movie, called Carribe, but found out they didn't have subtitles, so we ate some pizza (mmmm..) and walked around the mall a bit. To get home we caught a cab, and told the driver to take us "near the Basilica", since they don't have street names or house numbers here.

Costa Rica Day 5

We woke up this morning, and started with our usual routine of trying to find a shower with hot water. They have these strange electric showerheads which heat up the water, and don't always work correctly.

At the nursing home today, we finished the decorations, then Shveta painted a few of the ladies fingernails. It was really cute, and a few of them talked with us for quite a while, even though I didn't understand most of what they were saying. After the nails were done, we started playing bingo, which they really loved. For some reason, bingo seems to be the universal senior citizen pastime. It was a lot of fun, watching and helping them put their markers on their bingo cards, and good spanish practice.

After lunch, Santi and Allan took us on a tour of Orosi valley, which was some of the most lindo scenery we've seen yet. We stopped by some churches, and were constantly surrounded with gorgeous green mountains, and were near a fast moving river. One of the churches was built in the 16th century by spanish colonists, and had a brick floor. The garden and view were really nice. At one point we walked across a small suspension bridge, with the river roaring beneath us. The bridge wobbled with every step, and had a mesh floor, so we could see straight below us.

When we returned to home base, we took a quick walk and ate a really delicious bread from a local bakery. Then after dinner, we had our final spanish class.

Costa Rica Day 4

Today we put up Christmas decorations over the doorways of the nursing home. We also helped the seniors who wished to attend mass into the small chapel onsite. After returning to home base, we took a siesta, and then we had a latin dance class. In class we learned Salsa, Meringue, and Cumbia. The instructors were really friendly, I had a tough time with meringue, getting my hips and legs moving in the right directions. Shveta had a hard time with cumbia, particularly the small step on the "and" beat. It was a lot of fun, and quite a workout.

After dancing, we went with one of the cooks, Idioneta, into the kitchen for our cooking class. She showed us how to make Yucca Pastel. It was a really healthy and delicious dish, and not too hard to make. It consisted of mashed yucca (casaba), cliantro, cheese, and onions. After making the dish, we ate it with Idioneta, and actually had a pretty long conversation with her.

Costa Rica Day 3

Our first day of volunteering, we woke up and drove to the nursing home. We were introduced to many of the residents and workers. We spent all morning there, talking with residents, participating in a birthday party, and helping feed some of them. It was a little hard to communicate due to the language barrier, but it seemed like our smiles and nods were enough to cheer them up. It was in very nice, breezy, sunny location surrounded by mountains. The staff was very friendly and seemed to care alot about the patients. This particular nursing home is for elderly who have been abandoned, but the government pays for their care. Since Costa Rica has no army, they spend the extra money on education and healthcare.

That afternoon we went to the Irazu volcano, which was full of beautiful hills, farmlands, and a crater with a lake which changes colors depending on the core of the volcano. Today it was a sunny day, and the water was greenish. After spending some time looking around the volcano, we came back to Cartago and walked around a bit, grabbing some sweet pastries at a bakery. Then we relaxed the rest of the evening.

Costa Rica Day 2

We woke up, grabbed breakfast in the hotel, and then caught our ride to our Home Base in Cartago. After a 1 hour ride, we arrived and met Santiago, who was to be our host for our volunteering. After being shown around, we ate lunch, and took a tour of Cartago. We saw a few churches, one of which had a special statue of the Virgin Mary which was said to reappear at this location each time it was moved. The church's interior was made up almost entirely of wood, and had lovely stained glass. People were crawling on their knees down the aisle to approach the altar.

Cartago is not a very big city, and it seemed like all the attractions were within a few blocks of each other. It is a city surrounded by green mountains. There are no street names or numbers, places are identified by direction and landmarks. Such as 20 meters north of the grocery store.

We returned to home base, had dinner, an orientation, and headed to bed.

Costa Rica Day 1

We arrived late in the night at the airport in San Jose. After clearing customs, we walked out to a huge crowd of people holding signs with names. We couldn't find ours, and had many offers for rides, but eventually someone told us to look at the counter with the blue TAXI sign. There, stuck to the window was Shveta's name.

From there we rode a cab through downtown San Jose, which looked pretty sketchy, and then arrived at our hotel Don Carlos. It was a nice small hotel, old spanish style, with a friendly English-speaking staff.

:::CARLTON UNITED BIG AD:::

Well I just got back from Sydney, it was really great.. among other things I just had to post this ad from Carlton United..
Big Ad

divineMAGgees : female rock duo

I just got back from Nashville, TN a few days ago, and while I was there I went to go see some music acts at Third and Lindsley. The first band, Divine MAGgees was a female folk duo who were really great. Their vocal harmonies and guitar/violin combo sounded great. Plus they seemed very nice, one of them smiling and thanking the 10 person auidence after every song. They have recently moved to Asheville, NC and are playing gigs around the southeast. I hope they make their way out west sometime!
divineMAGgees : female rock duo

Shop to Fight Poverty

My favorite grocery store, Whole Foods, just gave me even more reason to shop there this Tuesday. 5% of sales on Tuesday will be going to help fight poverty through micro-lending! I'm just going to have to do without milk this weekend until I get a chance go buy some there.
Shop to Fight Poverty

Eco-Luxury car service in NYC

Check out this car service in NYC that allows you to cruise around in a Hybrid instead of a normal taxi! Its "Luxury" since each car is decked out with an i-Book and satellite radio, and a little on the pricey side.
OZOcar

Whole foods to use biodiesel in the midwest

One of my favorite grocery stores is doing some great stuff in the midwest.. they're going to use biodiesel to power 1/5 of their trucks!! Here's the full article:
http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/business/z1/10-07-05_z1_busi_1.html

The World Is Not Flat (TwinF) | Our Travels, Your Experiences

Here's a cool blog of a couple who is planning to take the year of 2006 off and travel the world. They're starting in New Zealand and hope to follow summertime around the world. Sounds like an awesome idea to me!

The World Is Not Flat (TwinF) | Our Travels, Your Experiences

Wired News: Biodiesel School Bus Power

I think this is a fantastic idea.. schools using Biodiesel lto power their buses instead of diesel. What is also amazing is that its being done in West Virginia!!

Biodesel Buses

Getty Museum

Getty Sunset
Originally uploaded by Fred Hsu.

Right after we were done with our walk, we headed over to the Getty Museum. Its situated up on a hill near Bel-Air, and is an amazing building. First of all were were just amazed at the fact that its basically free to the public after paying for parking. Its filled with some really great works of art, and a fantastic photo gallery. The architecture of the building itself was a very impressive work of art. Here's a few pictures from that. Getty Pics

Walk for Hope

Sign
Originally uploaded by Fred Hsu.

This Saturday, a few of us from the Bay Area drove down to Long Beach for the annual Walk For Hope, put on by CharityFocus's sister organization BeTheCause.

It was a really inspiring event, and I was amazed at how well organized it was. There must've been a few hundred walkers, and we had everything from water and food, to the Laker Girls walking us through the warm-up.

Along the 5k walk there were inspiring quotes posted, and various thought provoking activities. My favorite activity was the first one where they had two lines drawn in the grass. Everyone stood on one side, and they would ask people to cross to the other line if you had experienced various feelings of judgement in your life. It really made you think about how you treat others, and how much we all have in common. You can take a look at the pictures here.

Sweden trying to end dependency on fossil fules

Why can't we be more like the Swedes? Their prime minister just announced plans to end their dependency on fossil fuels in 15 years, citing all the recent weather patterns and climate changes as moitvation. Here's the link from WorldChanging:
Article

Eco-Friendly in the Kitchen

This couple in Washington, D.C. recently renovated their small kitchen and went through some definite pains to make sure it was as green as they could make it within their budget. If I own a home one day, I hope my renovations will be somewhat environmentally conscious as well.

eco-kitchen

California Wants to Serve a Warning With Fries - New York Times

Here's a NY Times article on a possible cacinogen in French Fries, and how CA wants to put warning labels on them. I knew french fries are bad for you, but I didn't know they were this bad! That really sucks.
French Fry Warning

Carfree Days - Gadling - www.gadling.com _

Here's a short post from Gadling about going car free. I'm not quite there yet, but I'd love to be able to get around w/o a car someday. At the very least I'm hoping that we can cut down to just having one car between Shveta and I when we get married.
http://www.gadling.com/entry/1234000880059338/

Biking to work a gas for some

Palm Beach Day School in FLA is paying school teachers a little extra to take public transportation, or now bike to work!
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2005/09/08/s1b_bikes_0908.html

dirtSimple.org: The Multiple Self

Interesting post by someone relating the brain, the difference between "you" and "yourself", by comparing these ideas to a computer operating system :)

http://dirtsimple.org/2005/08/multiple-self.html

The Thought Project

Interesting post from Gadling, this guy started a project called the Thought Project. What he did was went around and asked people at random what they were thinking about and recorded the results.

Reader2

Cool site which helps you to find interesting books to read by looking at what other people are reading.

Sport Utility Bikes

From worldchaging, check out these bikes which have been modified to support huge weights and still act like a bike! Definitely a great way to enable bike communiting. Maybe I'll have to mod one of my bikes to be able to do a better job with grocery shopping.
Here's the original article: Worldchanging
Here's where you can order a bike or kit: Xtracycle

Tiny Houses

From Treehugger, here's a different take on housing. This guy designs and builds really small houses, either as secondary housing, or even as a primary residence. His original motivation was to lessen his impact on the environment and live simply:
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/information.htm

Theft proof signs in Austrain town

This is funny, apparently there is a town in Austria called F*cking that is having a really hard time with getting its signs stolen. (e.g. "Welcome To ..."). So they've had to go and install theft-proof road signs.
Readersheds.co.uk - share your shed - pictures of sheds, plans, companys and shed bulding, garden shed

Traveling Guys

These two guys from Seattle are planning to travel the globe doing random acts of kindness!!! How awesome! You can check out their adventures on their blog:
http://www.travelingguys.com/

Polymer Vision

Here's a pretty cool new device from Philips.. its a 'Rollable Display' that can show images/text/etc.. then roll up to a small form factor.
Polymer Vision home

Best Buy's Selling Tactics

Here's a nice little post explaining how a Best Buy Sales associate is supposed to sell you their extended warranty on a computer. This is worse than a telemarketer!

Bogey Dope: Best Buy's Perfect Secret to Screw You!

Angelina Jolie Funds Cambodian Wildlife Sanctuary

Interesting article from Treehugger, not only is she hot, but Angelina does some really awesome stuff.
Treehugger: Angelina Jolie Funds Cambodian Wildlife Sanctuary

Backpacking the Emigrant Wilderness

This past weekend Shveta, Meesha, Pritesh, and I took a short overnight backpack trip into the Emigrant Wilderness. It was an easy 2.8 mile hike from Crabtree Camp to Camp Lake, where we stayed. After setting up camp, we all took a quick dip in the lake before heading up to our campsite for dinner.

Dinner consisted of Santa Fe Pasta, which was good, and Bavarian chocolate mousse, which was a big letdown. Afterwards we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset, beautiful stars (we could even see the Milky Way!), and a nice warm campfire. The next morning we chowed down some oatmeal and headed back to San Jose. A really nice trip, and only about 3-4 hour drive from here, we'll definitely have to go back! Hopefully Meesha will post pictures soon as I didn't remember to bring my camera.

Project Gutenberg

Here's a great site where you can download tons of books for free. Great if you're looking for some reading material while bored at work :) They have lots of classics worth looking into. Welcome to Project Gutenberg - Project Gutenberg

Elevator Hack?

Check out this hack that apparently lets you skip anyone waiting for the elevator :)
link

Picture of the Day at Gadling

Sweet! One of my pictures made it to PotD at Gadling. Check it out:
http://www.gadling.com/entry/1234000633055988/

Google Talk!

Looks like Google is at it again, now they've just released a IM/Phone client called Google Talk. You access it at:
http://talk.google.com
you will require a gmail account to use it.

Switzerland

After leaving Burgandy we headed for Luzern in Switzerland. It was a nice city situated on a clear blue lake. We were immediately hit with the really high cost of living when we tried to withdraw from the ATM and the smallest amount we could take out was 200 Swiss Francs. After walking around a bit, we headed into Bern to our hotel for the next few days.

The next day we headed up to Interlaken, gateway to the Alps. This was the highlight of the trip, taking trains up the mountains, hiking, and exploring small towns up in the Alps. Shveta and I loved it so much we came back the next day for some more hiking. The sharp, snow covered peaks were just breathtaking, with rolling green hills below them. We also ran into a number of cows with their windchime-like bells attached. After coming back from the 2nd day of hiking, we found out that British Airways had gone on strike, so that caused us lots of stress and confusion as we headed to Geneva.

After arriving in Geneva we stopped by the airport, got new tickets issued by BA, and then headed to our hotel. We ended up having to stay over an extra night in Geneva, but made the most of it by going to a street fair and walking around the city. Although it was pretty nice, it was nothing compared to hiking the Alps. If someone were headed to Switzerland, I'd just say skip the big cities and head straight to Interlaken. All in all, it was a fun trip! Wonder where we should go to next? :)

Treehugger: Solar-Powered Toyota Prius Project

I was wondering when someone would try to make a solar powered Prius.. and it looks like someone is giving it a shot:
Treehugger: Solar-Powered Toyota Prius Project

Burgandy

Our next stop was in Vezelay, a small town on a hill with a nice church. It was a welcome change for all the large cities, and had gorgeous views of burgandy. We spent a few hours wandering the streets and church, then headed to Beaune.

The next couple days we spent in the town of Beaune. On one of the days Shveta and I rented bikes and went biking through the vineyards. It was a really great ride, through the wine country, and by the sunflower fields. We stopped at a few wineries and had some great tastes of wine, then headed back into Beaune. After our time in Beaune was up we headed on towards Switzerland. Click here for more pictures of Burgandy.

10 mph: it’s like On the Road, ‘cept with… Segways. - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Interesting post on Engadget about a documentary of a couple of guys who went across the US on a segway. Might be a weird, but interesting film to see.
10 mph: it’s like On the Road, ‘cept with… Segways. - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Paris Trip

After a quick 2 hour ride from London we arrived in Paris. So far Paris has been my favorite large european city. I thought the people there were very friendly and the city itself was beautiful! We visited the Arc de Triumphe, Orsay Museum, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, St. Chapell and toured around the city. I think I actually liked the Orsay more than the Louvre, probably because I like impressionist paintings. The Eiffel Tower was really huge, and we called Meesha to wish her happy birthday from the 2nd deck. St. Chapell has the most impressive stained glass you could ever imagine, you walk up the the 2nd floor of the church and its just awe inpsiring. The pictures do not even come close to doing it justice. We also took a short day trip to Versailles, which was a far more impressive palace than Buckingham.


One evening we stopped by a famous ice cream shop called Berthillon, which had the best chocolate ice cream I've ever eaten. Overall the food in Paris was pretty good, even though we couldn't enjoy many of the dishes since they had meat. After a few days in Paris, we rented a car and headed down to Burgandy. For more pics click here.

Back From Europe!

Big Ben
Originally uploaded by Fred Hsu.

Hi everyone, we just got back from our two week trip to Europe. It was really great, we got to see London, Paris, parts of Burgandy, and parts of Switzerland.

So far I've uploaded the pictures from London to my flickr site, so I'll blog on those first.

London was great, but pretty expensive for us. The weak dollar definitely killed us this trip. Our initial cab ride from the airport cost us over $100 USD, and basically everything we bought/ate there was double price for us. We decided to brave the tubes though we were situated right at Kings Cross station. Lots of cops and security everywhere, but we didn't hit any problems. London's subway system is brilliant, cleanest and most organized subway I've seen.


Over the next few days we visited the sites, Big Ben, Parliment, Westminister Abbey, took a ride up the London Eye Ferris Wheel, Shakespeare's Globe, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Buckingham palace.

The people were really nice, probably one of the highlights of London to me were its people. Also we were pleasantly surprised with the abundance of good, healthy restaurants. In particular I liked a small chain called Giraffe, which served great food, and had a global theme. We also had some great pizza at Pizza Express. I ordered a pizza with egg on it for the first time, and it was delicious (don't knock it till you've tried it!).


After 3 days of touring London we hopped on the high-speed Eurostar to Paris. You can see our pictures from London here.

New Planet discovered?

Check out the possible 10th planet of our solar system!

Seattle trying to be come garbage free

Check out this article about Seattle's goal to become a zero garbage economy. It would be so wonderful if we could all do our best not to generate so much waste. You can read more here.

The Inner-net - Latest Communication Technology

Awesome speech given by Viral at the Jain convention earlier this month. Its just amazing how much inspiration comes from those two brothers!

The Inner-net - Latest Communication Technology

Awesome commencement speech by Steve Jobs

I was just sent the Stanford Commencement specch by Steve Jobs today. Pretty inspiring, you can read it on Stanford's website here.

TRANSFORMERS COMMUNICATION

Steven Spielberg is going to make a new Transformers Movie!!!

TRANSFORMERS COMMUNICATION

Two Seas, Two Feet: My Hike Across the Continent

Check out this guy, he did the first Sea to Sea hike, all the way across North America!

Two Seas, Two Feet: My Hike Across the Continent

Random acts of kindness week

Just saw an article today about Moorestown, NJ which was chosen as "Best Place to Live" by Money Magazine, one cool thing about the town is that they have a random acts of kindess week! Link

A Livable Shade of Green - New York Times

Here's a really interesting article from the NYT about how Portland has drastically reduced its carbon emissions on their own. I'm pretty disgusted at how Bush and the US Gov't are ignoring things like they Kyoto accord, and the environment in general. Its great to see how people are taking action into their own hands and finding solutions to these environmental issues.

A Livable Shade of Green - New York Times

Trip to Nice, France

Lights on beach in Cannes
Originally uploaded by Fred Hsu.

I just got back from my business trip to Nice, and t was really gorgeous over there. The first night after the
meeting we went along the coast to Monaco, a really rich provence that
was full of yachts, ferraris and such. On the way we stopped at the
medival village of Eze. Then on the 2nd night we went down to Cannes,
where they have the film festival each year. A really pretty town
with sandy beaches, high class stores, and great nightlife. Finally
on the 3rd day I rented a car and we drove down to St. Tropez, another
really nice coastal town, smaller than the others, and then headed
into Old Nice, which is made up of a large marketplace called the
flower market, and lots of cobblestone walkways (too narrow for cars). You can find more photos by clicking on this entry's title or here

Stream next to mile trail

Stream next to mile trail
Originally uploaded by Fred Hsu.

This weekend we took a trip to Henry Coe State park and hiked about 11 mi round trip. We started from the park HQ, and met a very helpful park ranger who helped us plan our trip to China Hole and back.

We took the Corral Trail out of HQ, down Springs Trail, to Manzanita Point Rd. After passing the campgrounds near Bass Lake, we headed down Madrone Soda Spring Trail to the poison oak infested Mile Trail. The Mile Trail was actually lots of fun because we had to keep crossing the stream we were walking by (very happy to have waterproof boots!), and then we made it to China Hole.

We stopped for lunch, then were suddenly surrounded by a huge group of kids from Inner City Outings who were returning from a backpacking trip. They definitely seem to be having a great time in the outdoors. After taking a little wade through the water and skipping some rocks, we headed back along China Hole Trail, then finally to the Forest Trail back to the car. All in all a really great hike that we'd like to do again (maybe mixed with some backpacking).
More Pics can be seen HERE

American Lung Association: State Ozone Page

Here's a study done by the American Lung Association listing various cities and their ozone ratings, which directly relates to smog and air pollution. You can type in a zip code to switch to a state other than California. Looks like we've got some pretty bad air unless you live on the coast.
American Lung Association:�SOTA05 State Ozone Page

After the Tsunami, Rebuilding Paradise

Article in the NY Times travel section about the drops in tourism and the rebuilding going on in Thailand.

The New York Times > Travel > After the Tsunami, Rebuilding Paradise

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park

The national park service has just added a new National Park, the "Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks". Looks like another place to add to my visit list.
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park

Helping Others in the Bay Area

Nice article from Metroblogging describing some ways to serve in the bay area.
Metroblogging San Francisco: Helping Others in the Bay Area

Mindful Clock

I ran across this nifty freeware program called "Mindful Clock". Its basically a timer that will ring a bell every hour, or 15 mins to remind you to be mindful. It also has a nice little meditation timer. The program was written by some devotees of Thich Nhat Hanh:

For those of us who practice in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, when the temple bell or grandfather clock sounds, we stop what we are doing and come back to our breath, for at least three full breaths. Sometimes, to remind ourselves of our intent, we say the gatha:

Listen, listen,
this wonderful sound
brings me back
to my true self

In a Mindfulness at Work workshop in 1996, Mitchell Ratner mentioned that it would be wonderful to have a computer program that would simulate the bells of mindfulness and grandfather clocks at Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh's retreat center in France. David Steigerwald, a software and sound engineer, said it should not be difficult to design one. Several months later, he had a working model.

Mindful Clock

First solar city

From worldchanging, a city in Gujarat, India is planning to become the first city powered entirely by solar energy!Economy & Policy

Wrapping texts

Neerav wrapping texts
Originally uploaded by Fred Hsu.

Once again we headed up to Berkeley to bind buddhist texts to be distributed in India. This group is totally volunteer/donation driven and provides thousands of books for free at the World Peace ceremony. More pictures from the event can be found here.

Surprise!

Surprise!
Originally uploaded by Fred Hsu.

Well we finally did it! This past Sunday we took a trip up to Yosemite, and at Mirror Lake I proposed (and she accepted :) ). I had the ring in my pocket, and asked her to take out a spare "camera battery" for me. When she finally wrestled it out of my pocket she opened it and found the ring. Shveta's Mom was right there as well, since she requested to be present, one extra benefit of that is that we have pictures! You can find the pictures below:

Engagement Photos"

Flying Cars Ready To Take Off

Maybe living like the Jetsons isn't so far off! How cool would it be to fly to work or for short trips?

CBS News | Flying Cars Ready To Take Off | April 17, 2005�23:34:36

Starbucks Makes Commitment to Renewable Energy

Great news from Worldchanging, Starbucks is planning to power 5% of their electricity needs from renewable energy sources, the equivalent of removing 3,200 cars from the road! Makes me feel better about buying that White Chocolate Mocha! I hope more companies will follow suit, and that they can increase that percentage!
Science News Article | Reuters.com

Google.org

From /., we all know google.com for searching.. but here comes google.org for philanthropy! I hope its as successful as their search engine!
Google.org

Quote-a-day

I really liked today's quote, from one of my favorite authors:

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness. --Henry David Thoreau

Cecilia's Amazing Travel Tips

From Gadling, a simple website with a bunch of good international travel tips:

Cecilia's Amazing Travel Tips, last updated 14 February 2005

Sesame Street: 25 Of My Favorite Memories - Progressive Boink

This was was a really great trip down memory lane.. I actually liked the higher numbered entries better than the lower numbered ones.
Sesame Street: 25 Of My Favorite Memories - Progressive Boink

Trading in Kodak moments for some real-life memories

Interesting article from the SF Chronicle about taking too many travel photos :) Something I know I can be guilty of!
Trading in Kodak moments for some real-life memories

Gandhi Prayer

Shveta sent me this very cool prayer which was a favorite of Gandhi's, I thought I'd post it here:

Speak only as godlike of the man who feels another's pain
Who shares another's sorrow and pride does disdain
Who regards himself lowliest of the low
Speaks not a word of evil against anyone
Blessed is the mother who gave birth to such a son
Who looks upon everyone as his equal,
Lust he has renounced
Who honours women like he honours his mother
Whose tongue knows not the taste of falsehood
Nor covets another's worldly goods
Who longs not for worldly wealth (or fame)
For he treads the path of renunciation
Ever on his lips is Ram's holy name
All places of pilgrimage are within him
He has conquered greed, is free of deceit, lust and anger
Through him Narsinh has godly vision
And his generation to come will attain salvation.

Naturalist quote

A quote I found in Sierra magazine regarding deforestation:

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but he cannot save them from fools."
-John Muir

Greetings from Vancouver

Well I'm here in Vancouver for the Cisco Partner Summit, and what a beautiful city it is. I've been here once before, but didn't get to spend that much time in the city. I'm amazed at how clean everything is, and the view of the harbor and mountains is gorgeous. If only it weren't so cold and rainy here. I'm also surprised by the number of homeless around here. It must be really hard to be homeless in such cold and wet weather. But at least they all have free health insurance! I wish I had more time to go exploring and hit those mountains in North Vancouver!

One night we ate at Cin Cin, which is a very nice Italian restaurant on Robeson St. I had the Mushroom Risotto, which was pretty good, but probably not what they're best known for. They did have some really good wine though.

Last night we ate at Glowbal Grill which was a satay/grill type restaurant. I had their Halibut, stuffed with crab. That was okay. They actually had mushroom risotto here too, wonder if its the 'standard' veggie dish in Vancouver. :)

What has been a real treat are the "staff lunches" at the convention center. Usually all we get are some decent sandwiches, but here we've had some really great meals. Indian food complete with Chai and Lassi's to drink one day, Dim Sum another, and today mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, and soup. Even more amazing is that the staff lunches have been so veggie friendly! Yup I definitely like this town, its like the Canadian San Francisco. I'll have to come back again sometime when I have more time to be a tourist.

Great Pilgrimage Stories

Check out some great stories from Nipun & Guri's pilgramage on Nipun's blog

Silent Retreats

Interesting article from the NY Times travel section about silent retreats as an alternate vacation.
The New York Times > Travel > Shhhh! Don't You Know You're on Vacation?

Weekend in review

Rusty Fence
Originally uploaded by Fred Hsu.

We had a busy weekend, Saturday we had a CF event where we volunteered at a Senior Center and colored Easter Eggs. It was a fun event, and we got to hear some really interesting stories from these wonderful folks. Then in the evening we had dinner to celebrate Shveta's birthday and went bowling.

Today (Sunday) we went hiking in Sunol Regional Wilderness again, this time with Meesha and Pritesh on the Indian Joe Nature Trail. It was a beautiful hike with tons of wildflowers, streams, and greenery. Towards the end it got really windy up on the ridge, and then started to rain. Pritesh was without a raincoat, so he wrapped a tarp that I had with me around him for protection :) Here are pictures from both the event and the hike/birthday party.