Happy New Year: Gift for the Internet Age.

Internet Service in a Seattle Area Home

magine our excitement when we recently — sometime last month — read the news that Comcast (is) doubling Internet speeds in Puget Sound region, Spokane.
The excitement did finally arrive into our home a couple of days ago, so that we can usher in the New Year at higher Internet (download) speeds! The accompanying image shows you that we now have a 100+ Mbps service in our home in the Seattle area.

At the Chihuly Glass Garden with Sister & Brother-in-Law.

Badri, Asha & Me (Photo by Vikram)

hihuly Garden & Glass at first didn't impress me. However, as I looked at the photos my son took while we were at the garden, I relished whatever time I had spent there. Sometimes, you see the value of a place or a visit only as you reminisce through the photos that someone else takes, with a different point of view. All of the exhibits in the museum are the work of Dale Chihuly, a glass sculptor and entrepreneur.

Ballard Locks: A Marine Vehicle Transport Mechanism.

Boats in the Lock, in raising water.

arine structures are interesting from a challenge point of view. You not only have to deal with the usual structural needs of any civil engineering construction, but you also have to deal with the force of water.

Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, more commonly known locally as Ballard Locks, are a pair of mechanisms to assist in the transport of boats, small ships, etc., between the salty sea waters of the bay in the West and the fresh waters of the lakes to the East, without the salty water getting mixed up with the fresh water in the lakes.

Vidya in foreground;
boats in Lock, background.

What is particularly interesting is that the entire mechanism runs on the power of gravity! Another property that is made use of is the density differential between sea water and fresh water.

There is a considerable park area surrounding the Locks, with a fairly large number of plant species, exciting to botany enthusiasts.

The tours are about 1-hour long, and free. The entire place is operated through the US Army Corps, and is funded by the US Government.

All in all, an excellent place to visit, when in Seattle. 

At the 'Ina Mina Dika' by the Shruti Group for C.R.Y.

The Ina Mina Dika Concert Flyer.

usic is a great method to assist in socialization. A few days ago, on May 3, we had opportunity to take part in a music concert conducted by Shruti, a local band of the Seattle area, in support of the non-profit organization Child Relief and You (CRY).

Long Distance Music Learning, à la Skype, on HDTV.

The Logitech 960-000921 TV Cam HD for Skype Calls on HDTVs

usic is everyone's favorite. That long-distance music learning is quite effectively feasible these days is the conclusion of my first experience, today, using Skype on a HDTV for this purpose. I used the Logitech TV Cam HD for Skype calls, shown on the right.

The Microsoft Connector -- A Transport Solution for Microsoft Employees.

ashington state enjoys some very environmental friendly vehicles in this Seattle neighborhood. One of the striking things seen on the roads of Redmond, WA, are the green-accented vehicles taking Microsoft employees back and forth among Microsoft buildings as well as, in some cases, between employees' homes and their work sites.

The Welcome Weather.

e had a fairly pleasant, and otherwise event-less, arrival into Seattle on Saturday, Feb 8, as you can see in this picture of a beaming Vidya, after finishing the formalities of renting a car.

However, when we woke up on the morning of Sunday, the next day, we were greeted with abundant snow. All along, we had only heard of rain as the signature component of the weather in the Seattle area. Some friends even described the Seattle weather as similar to that in Coorg, Karnataka, in India.

But snow?

From Silicon Valley to Seattle.

here comes a time in your life when you have to give greater importance to your spouse's career¹. Thus it is that I'm blogging from the Seattle area.

After serving Cisco for a little more than 19 years, and starting today, my wife has joined Microsoft Corporation. She is excited to be part of a cloud infrastructure initiative within Microsoft, in Redmond, WA.

How did we decide to leave Silicon Valley for Redmond Country, after having been in the Valley for several decades? The Microsoft opportunity for my wife's career came first, of course.