The Message from Amazon and Microsoft ... from Seattle: Go Pacific Northwest.

s Amazon and Microsoft released their quarterly results last week, the world has begun to take notice of the importance of cloud computing. Consider this particular headline from Forbes: The author concludes that '... the cloud rules'.

Snapshot of the Fortune article, 24 April 2015.

What is interesting to note here is that both of these are headquartered in the Seattle region.

Add F5 Networks, Starbucks and Zillow that are also headquartered in the region to the mix, and you have a substantial hotbed of high-tech activity in this area. That is, even if you didn't count the other high-tech companies who have set up shop in this region, to name only a few: Facebook, Google, Oracle, ...

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.