California trip: The end

So, we are having heading back to Oklahoma City today. Overall it was a nice trip. Plenty of things to see. California is the place of natural beauty. We have finished it smoothly, no grumpy feeling no complain. We visited several attraction in LA in last day. I would say our tour would not be completed unless we saw Hollywood and Beverly Hills. That's what we did in our last day. In my view it was a successful trip. I loved it.

California trip: Mission Alkatraz

We went to Alcatraz yesterday. It was good. We bought the ticket online from their Alcatraz Cruz's website. We went to the pier 33 about 10 am and our boarding time was at 11am. It was a cloudy morning. The Cruz ship left the dock at 11am. The view was spectacular. They arranged an audio cell house trip. It was super cool. They gave you a piece of machinery and a headphone. A narrator explains everything as you walk by the cells and other places in the cell house. I think the was very entertaining.

Our next destination was pier 39 for lunch. It was total crap. The shrimp I had was either made of plastic or it had been chewed before and nothing left in it. I had real trouble with the food. Jamee had food poisoning after having food there. We did not realize Jamee had that severe condition until yesterday night. Our next destination was Golden Gate Bridge.

But we entered into a super fun neighborhood. It was a roller coaster ride. The roads were very steep and narrow. It looks like a very expensive neighborhood. The houses are on the sides of hills facing San Francisco Bay.

After a quick detour from that neighborhood we reached at vista point for Golden Gate Bridge. We took some pictures and enjoy the sunset. Then we moved toward mountain. We did our grocery and went to Googleplex. Finally we came back to hotel and went to a Chinese restaurant, PF Chang. Usually I don't like Chinese food that much but their food was not Chinese. I would say it was a mix of Thai, Indian and Chinese but the food was good.

Pretty much that's our last day at San Francisco. In my view San Francisco is a golden city. It is the most complete city, it has everything money, beauty, culture. It too perfect to be true. Apart from its recent semiconductor and IT boom, it has lot more to offer. When I came here I had the impression that, maybe it would be couple of tech companies one after another. But discovered life here. It not just tech companies. It is the most complete city I have ever been.

California trip: San Francisco

We went San Francisco today. Although we had a plan to go to Yosemite today, we think it would be too adventurous to go to Yosemite today. So we went to San Francisco today. We wake up late and went the Japanese tea garden. The admission was $7 and I can tell it was a total crap. Bad start for a day.
Our next stop was San Francisco piers and we spend our whole day in piers. San Francisco piers are fun. They are busy and very active. Street shows, crown, scenic and delicious food. It was fun. Pier 39 was the best among all and most of the thing is going on pier 39.

There are plenty of food shops, mostly sea food. We enjoyed our time. Finally we went to a Thai food shop and had our dinner. We pretty much took a break today. Not too many activities. We were relaxed and resolved some of the grumpy feeling we had after yesterday's 12 hours ride.

Some of the streets in San Francisco were really steep and scary. Driving around San Francisco was fun. We have a busy day tomorrow.

I noticed some of my previous posts and pics are not in correct order and time. I'll fix them once I have some time.

California trip: Highway 1

Today we reached San Jose. We took highway 1 from Los Angeles to San Jose. I have heard about highway 1 for long time and all I can say the experience is unique. Some part of highway 1 is superb, in a single word mesmerizing. We stopped in every few hours or so. It took us about 12 hours. We are all tired and exhausted. By the time we reached San Jose we have no energy left. We are staying at Goodnight Inn at Fremont.

At the end we were very tired and I almost hit a car. It was a truck merging from my right and I did not notice it was coming. Unfortunately he decided not to yield me, and I noticed him at the last moment. So I tried to move my car by moving into left lane and there was another car. It was a near miss. Anyway finally we reached San Jose.

California trip: Universal Studio

We went to Universal Studio, Los Angeles yesterday. It is definitely a fun place and I never been place like that. But I thing we were expecting too much, at times it seems like little repeatating. Some of the show was spectacular. We have not been in all shows because it was too crowded yesterday. There was literally explosion of people during the afternoon. We missed some of the great attractions like King Kong and Transformer 3D. I think we attended about 6 or 7 shows.

At the gate "House of Horror" welcomed us. It was okay, a scary tunnel with tons ghost loaded inside it. While you are passing by them some will attack you randomly. The ghosts were very realistic and truly scary. But I think there were too many people there and it was hard to get scared, since you know what's going on and there are too many people in there. It would be really interesting if one has to go alone.

The next show we attended was "Terminator." It was an interesting show. They kind of make some part of the terminator movie. Interesting part is some part was taken before and some part was actually portrayed on the stage. It was 3D show and they made transition between stage and movies amazingly. Not only the transition, they kind of blend the movie and the stage.

Our next pick was "Shrek." it was a pure 4D show, whatever it means to you. What is 4D show? Well it is a 3D movies with special seating arrangement, so that you can get the feeling of some of the things you are watching on screen. Like if the character on screen is soaked into they will spray some water and give you that feeling or the chair will move if the character is riding a horse.

Then we went to the ride section and took "Jurrasik Park" and "Mummy." Both of them was kind of roller coaster ride but I like "Jurrasic Park" better. They took us in a boat ride into "Jurrasic Park" and the entrance was spectacular. I don't know why other people in our group did not enjoyed it much but I loved it. It was so cool. "Mummy" was just a ride, no story no show. As a ride it was great. But there was no theme in it. Anyway the ride was good.

We went to into the special effect stage then. It was cool show. They were showing some of the cool techniques of special effect and other cool techniques. It was sort of comedy, I liked it. Finally we went to the "Water World" show; it was spectacular. The show was unlike anything I have seen before. This is in my opinion a must to go place.

And then, Lipa lost her camera and found it at "Lost & Found" and call our day. The city walk next to universal studio is a cool place. It is a happening place. Full of shops, some concerts.

California trip: City of Angeles

Los Angeles is one of the best cities I have ever seen. It is significantly different from other US cities. So far I like it best among all other cities. Our day started with the church our lady of Angeles. Ironically it ends with the church of our Lady of Angeles as well and interestingly they are not same! Actually the parish these churches belong to has couple of churches with same name. So all of them are church of lady of Angeles.
We went to the Griffin observatory then. It is superb. You can see whole Los Angeles downtown from Griffin observatory. It was super cool. It was close for Monday and Tuesday, so we could not see the planets. I hope we will go back there again.

Our next stop was Topanga state park. We had a plan to stay there for some time but it rained before we been there. So the trails were muddy and Lipa didn't bring her shoes so could not walk too far down the trail.

Finally we went to Zuma park beach, Malibu. We also stopped in some other beaches down the line. Malibu offers some extraordinary beaches in California. We went to LAX from Malibu to pick Jamee and went to Los Angeles downtown. We roam around downtown LA until midnight and finally we returned to our hotel and call our day.

California trip: Adventurer All Suit Hotel

We reserved a suit in Adventurer all suit hotel to save some money. It was cheap place and interesting. I would say something I have never seen before. I think its partitions are made off paper, we can literally hear what's going on in next room. And on the top of that, it is very close to LAX. You can actually count the number of aircraft take off or touch down on LAX. I am taking about LAX, one of the busiest airport on earth. And parking was a test of skill.

However the place is interesting and fun. Lots of things are happening here. Plenty of free stuff. But the place is little congested. Their two room suits are very tiny. This place is not too bad from budget perspective unless you don't mind the sound.

California trip: Santa Monica

At last we reached Los Angeles. Our flight was about one and half hours late and then we had to wait for the shuttle for about 30 min and finally we got the car. It was hell of a driving in LA. It is always confusing to drive in big cities. Anyway, we managed today.

At first we stop by a Japanese restaurant, the food was good and not too expensive. It was near to Venice Beach Santa Monica. We went to the Santa Monica pier and went to the beach. Water was too cold to get wet, so we walk down the coast line upto Venice Beach. And then Venice broad walk.

It was a over cast day and little cold, I think the temperature was around 55. Venice broad walk was fun. It is a hippi place of art, everyone was showing their works. It was fun. Tons of beach parties. The view was spectacular. We all enjoyed the beach. The beach was not as crowded as Florida but I guess this is because of weather. California is not as warm as Florida during winter.

We call it day after sunset. We came to the hotel and went to a Thai restaurant for dinner. Overall the the day was good and we like it very much.

California trip: The take off

At last we took off from OKC for LAX on flight AA 3635. It was about half an hour late. There was a good incentive though, I observed the sunrise on the horizon while I was waiting for take off. Sunrise does not fit well into my life style. I have not seen the sunrise since last year at Ft Lauderdale. Sunrise is always a pleasing thing, it gives me the sense of life. It has its own mind. Slow and steady! Seems no matter how much you want it or hate it, it is going to happen. I wish I could observe sunrise from some place close to pole like Finland.

Coming back to LAX, LAX is the first place that gave me the preview of United States. When I first came into United States, I immigrated throw LAX. It was the first glimpse of rest of my life. LAX! after four and half years! I am sure I would have entirely different view now. But still I have not forgotten that police officer! :) everything is big in US. Sometimes we carry small memories for whole life. So far it looks okay, we will probably arrive around 8:30 am. So far the plan is get the vehicle and drive it to the Santa Monica bay. Maybe stop somewhere for breakfast. What are we gonna do in the beach? Not sure yet, this is something yet to be resolved but I just wanna relax for some time.

The captain said we are flying over Grand Canyon. I have a plan to camp there sometime. I am not sure when it is going to materialize. Anyway, let get back to the trip. I wanna make this trip little different than other US trips. This time I wanna 'go slow' little laid back may be. No pressure no rush, just relax. This is probably our last trip with Zafar and Parisa. They are moving to Wichita and we are going to graduate next semester, so nobody knows what's going to happen next. And finally flying sucks!

I hate everything about flying. The security check, waiting, boarding, and finally flying. I wish there is any thing good about it. I would rather drive coast to coast instead of flying. I wish somebody does something with this whole aviation industry. There is no fun in it. It is pure simple dull and boring.
Here are some shots from my Window. Truthfully, I was hoping for dull view but it runs out that some views are spectacular, since we flying over Grand Canyon. I am sorry about the wing, I could not avoid it anyway so I tried to use it best way possible.

California trip: Preparation

We are flying tomorrow morning. I guess I need to do some preparation for the trip. 1) I need to print all reservations and tickets. 2) I need to do little shopping, I don't have any carry on luggage. 3) I need to clean my photography gears. 4) I need to buy couple of car chargers 5) make some play lists for the road trip. 6) Clean our kitchen utensils. 7) Lipa needs some dresses as well. 8) Check-in into the flight 9) Call hertz to confirm my car reservation, I guess that's it. Ohhh! Of course I need to pack my bag.

Thinking different

I was overhearing a conversation while waiting for a meeting. One student was saying that it is important to think differently in order to solve difficult problem. Interesting we have heard this enough. Thinking different is always the hard thing to do. Now let me say something opposite: research is different beast and it requires significant similar thinking as well.

What I meant to say is thinking like what people have been thinking for years is similarly important in research. Why, because it gives us the perspective of other people. Why other people perspective is important? Because it's the inside that helps to grab the problem in the first place. In research you got to know the problem first and you need to put yourself on the other people shoe to understand the problem. Because they are the people who faced the problem.

Now, not every problem requires bizzarely different solutions. For example people are thinking of the creation of universe as an evolution; an idea two hundred years old. Evolution solves some of the modern physics' problems elegantly. Of course new ideas are very important for research. We have heard it enough but what I never heard of is putting yourself on other people's shoe also very important. Thinking different is not the only thing that guarantees success in research. Research requires significant copying as well. We need to learn how to stand on the shoulder of the giants not just denying them. Denying them would definitely take you to the new direction but understanding them is the starting point.

Blogging vs social networking

I have been blogging for quite sometime. So far I was able to separate my blog from my social networks. The question is why do I need to separate my blog from my social network? I think anything in social networks is crying for other people's attention, after all getting other people's attention is the purpose of social networking. But the way I blog is more like a personal journal. My blog does not meant to be social. It is not crying for attention! It is good by itself. But it seems like Google is really pushing toward unified system and that inherently contradicts my purpose of blogging.

Why? So far my blog serve my purpose. It represents my state of mind at different phases of my life. I can clearly see that. Nobody really cares about my blog unless I publish something and ask other people to see it. That's great. But if my posts start crying for attention throw google+, it would be very frustrating. Some of my posts are really some of my random thoughts. Why do other people care about them? Even worse, I think asking for attention for those kind of posts is just waste of their time. I hope Google would understand that blogging and social networking is not same. Maybe some people use them for same purpose but they are fundamentally different by definition.

I hope Google would let me blogging and would not push me real hard toward google+. In that case I have to find an alternative of blogspot.

Multiple email addresses

Most people of our generation who use Gmail originally migrated from yahoo. At the beginning of 2000s yahoo was the definition of Internet. Some of us still use yahoo. People like me who abandoned yahoo, was due to the fact that it is very difficult to maintain multiple accounts. So we grew the habit of checking one address all the time and check few others occasionally.

I think smartphones have solved that problem. The problem we had is email was pull based, meaning you login into the Web and ask for all your email and you get them. Some people (very few) used to use local client for Web mail. But things have changed a lot in this era with he grace of smartphones. Web mail is no longer pull based, it becomes push based, meaning we no longer go to the Web and ask for the mails. Now we do our things and our phones notify us when new mail received. I don't know other people but that's a big time saver for me who used to check email in every hour. Now I don't check email, emails find me.

That made a huge difference. Now having multiple accounts is much easier than before. You don't have to check all your Web mails every hour; they will find you when necessary. I thing it is now way more convenient to have multiple emails. Those of us migrated from yahoo can actually start checking those old addresses again without adding much workload! Technology is nice!

California trip: The Detail

Here is the tentative schedule of our California trip, times are not exact. We may change everything as we go and enjoy some places more than others.

December 23.

08:05 LAX

09:30 Car pickup & Breakfast

11:00 Santa Monica Bay 

12:00 Venice Broad walk and Lunch

15:00 Santa Monica Pier

17:00 Hotel

18:30 Venice Broad walk

December 24.

09:00 Topanga state park

11:00 Point Dume, Malibu

12:30 Zuma Beach, Malibu

14:00 Griffith observatory

16:00 Our lady of Angeles

17:30 Pick Jamee

18:00 LA downtown walking tour

December 25.

09:00 Universal studio

18:00 Hollywood Boulevard

December 26.

08:00 Drive Highway 1

15:00 Big Sur

22:00 San Francisco, Pier 39

December 27.

07:00 Get up early

11:00 Yosemite national park

16:00 Lake Tahoe

21:00 San Francisco downtown

December 28.

09:00 Pier 39

11:00 Alkatraz

15:00 Golden gate bridge

17:00 Cupertino, Mountain view

20:00 Socializing

December 29.

07:00 Start toward LA

17:00 Socializing

December 30.

09:00 Santa Monica Bay

16:00 Car return

11:00 Norman

OR 

09:00 Car return 

11:00 Manhattan beach

16:00 LAX

11:00 Norman

We deeply appreciate any comment and suggestion.

Apps!

Why do I need an app for Walmart? Same for bestbuy? Sams club? Even PayPal? In all cases apps offer cut down functionality of the Web? You can do very limited things in PayPal app compared to PayPal Web interface. Web was developed to achieve platform independence, Web does its job pretty well. But then now there is growing trend for apps? I don't understand why? There are certain things apps do better, but not all things. The things these apps do is no better than their Web counterpart. All they need to do is design their website for smaller screen size. But instead of doing that they are making apps for different platforms. That sounds very stupid.

Doing something for the sake of doing is not innovation, it is confusion. I think these people are confused, they see the post pc revolution and they think they got to do something. These confused apps are the result of their confusion. They are confused about how they can participate in the post pc revolution. And they think developing apps is the only way. In last decade there was a growing need of Web based application, because Web brought platform independence to the modern computer. Now we are in the same shit again but this time with mobile. What would rescue us this time?

I am sure nobody likes to develop the same app once for iOS and once for android, maybe also for Windows now. Would it not be nice if they can make them once. Well Web was design exactly to so so? But then? The trend seems really backward to me. This trend is really unhealthy for the technology. We need to know what apps are meant for? We don't want to remember post pc revolution as a confused era for technology. I don't think we need an Walmart app, what we need it is an Walmart website for smaller screen size.

Android update!

I updated lipa's S3 yesterday and then first thing I wanted to try is Google Now. I clicked Google Now and it told me that there is a new version available from Google play. I went to Google play and tried to update and I was told I don't have the latest version. What a pity! Didn't I just update?

Well, I follow android development so I know what happened. The latest Google now is for jelly bean 4.2. And S3 just got jelly bean 4.1. I don't mind having 4.1 but the way whole thing came along was very stupid. From lipa's perspective, she just updated to a new version which is already old. Even worse, she cannot get latest software due to her older version. That's the problem.

What if Google now recognized that my version is 4.1 and the newest Google now is not for 4.1, and it never told me about the update? I am sure Lipa would surely be much happier than now. Yes Google kind of marketing against themselves. I am sure people like Lipa would never bother to update unless Google keeps saying that, you know what there is an update and that is not for you.

Throat infection

Some how my throat infection is becoming chronic. I thought it was gone but it came back again last Friday. It really hurts badly. It could be because I tried a smoke last Friday after quite a while.

I had hard time sleeping yesterday. This throat infection thing is really bad. It is causing me sleeping disorder. I was coughing entire night. My dad used to have chronic coughing problem. Am I going in the same direction. He barely could sleep at night. I think I need to a doctor pretty soon. I just finished a high dose of antibiotics.

It could be because our carpet. We have not vacuumed it for last few months. I am really allergic to dust. I really need to get well soon.

California Trip: The Glitch

I made an expensive mistake. I booked a hotel at San Francisco for wrong date. I made the reservation for November 26 through 29. Man! This morning priceline asked me rate my recent stay at San Francisco and then I realized I booked the hotel for wrong date. I called them immediately, but since the dates have passed they are not obligated to refund my money. It's $300! My entire budget for California trip. I called price line and days Inn, apparently both are happy to ripp off my money.
There is nothing called customer service in lodging industry. Everyone is trying get your money. Priceline says since the days have passed, they are not obligated to refund, so they would not refund (they only do what they are obligated to do, nothing called customer service exists in their dictionary). Days Inn says, since it is booked through priceline they cannot do anything (although they got money without selling anything, probably sold the rooms to other guys as well) . Well, I guess it was just an expensive mishap. This is the first time such stupid mistake happen to me. Well I understand these things happen once or twice. But whatever happened was very expensive and cost me $300. Btw, I think from now on I am not gonna use priceline anymore. I think I don't want to do business with a company that doesn't have any customer service. Priceline sucks!
Edit: Lipa gave the biggest argument to avoid priceline: the amount I save in total in my entire life through priceline is just ripped off by one single glitch.