Amsterdam Graffiti 2010

Religion Survey

How is religion perceived around the world

WINTER

 

My green school dream ~ TED Video by John Hardy

My green school dream ~ TED Video by John Hardy

Sailing

Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach - Sailing

Sailing @ Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach

Fall in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

Looking outside my kitchen window, at the end of October,
 the sun has set this maple tree ablaze.

Kyburg Castle

Kyburg Castle, about 30 minutes from Zurich is a well preserved, 800 year old Museum. All exhibits are english friendly. It's at the top of a Plateau and at the botom of Kyburg is a very nice wooded forest. Very well posted with trails and ample parking for your car.

Rothaus, in the Black Forest

The Brewery started in AD 1300, deep in the Black Forest. I'm having a wheat beer, nothing can match the fresh, sweetish, spicy taste!

The thought of driving home through the winding forest restricted me to one glass.








 

India, Dynamic Growth

With 23 Million Cell phones added every month , India. with 600 Mobile Phones, is one of the largest markets for cell phones in the world.. Incredible growth and contrasts can bee seen here .. We visited Mumbai ( Bombay.. Pop. 20Mil ) Vadodara ( Baroda. Pop. 3Mil ) and Pune ( Poona. 3Mil. ) cities that are examples of the 20 fast growing cities in India. As road infrastructure is at capacity, Metro Railways are being developed to ease the urban commuter currently stuck in road traffic!. In fact, 23 cities are building metro rail and global Rail companies like Bombardier, Siemens & Alsthom have set up shop in India.

In the Automotive sector, the famous nano cars ( sold for $2000) is finally on the road, with production capacity of 250 000 per year, it's expected to sell half that capacity in 2011. In fact, there are 9 Mil. 2-wheelers ( Scooter, Motor cycles ) sold in India and about 4 Mil Cars/trucks sold per year.. Making this a major destination for all global OEMs ( VW just opened a 140 000/Y car facility in Dec 2009). This segment of is growing at 20 to 25% per Y and is a key sector for composites.

While there is strong growth in purchasing power of the Indian Middle class ( ~200 Mil strong) a super class of global Indian groups has emerged.. These compaies are expanding in India and abroad.. Names like the Tata Group, Reliance, Hinduja and Mittal are house hold names in India but not well known abroad. For example, Mr. Mittal is a major share holder in the largest Steel company - Arcelor Mittal , with 10 Mil Tons capacity .. About 10% of global share.

Stop Drinking Bottled Water

Via: Term Life Insurance

sailing in Oslo Fjord

See Gotherburg, Sweden from the water...

.. Paddan runs this service with English commentary .. trip is about an hour.. get a dose of history and see the key sights of Gothenburg. 

Freddie Mercury in Montreux, Switzerland

 

Nyhaven Oslo, Starbucks Mermaid

 

Spotted this above a cafe in Nyhaven, Oslo... Nyhaven, great place to hang out and watch the Oslo crowd go by..

Funny Ad

Don't Jog if you drive..

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10 discoveries that surprise us, even now!

1. The Earth is not the center of the universe.

2. The microbes are gaining on us.

3. There have been mass extinctions in the past, and we’re probably in one now.

4. Things that taste good are bad for you.

5. E=mc²

6. Your mind is not your own.

7. We’re all apes.

8. Cultures throughout history and around the world have engaged in ritual human sacrifice.

9. We’ve already changed the climate for the rest of this century.

10. The universe is made of stuff we can barely begin to imagine.

from the Smithsonian

Rapper's Ville .. Rapperswil

Zurich is at one end of a "bent finger" Lake ( Zurichsee) and at the other end is Rapperswil.

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I took the S15 ( S Bahn ) Urban train and in an hour was at Rapperswil... bad weather all the way..

Took the 1325 ferry back to Zurich that gets to Burkplatz where the 11Tram ( via Paradeplatz) get me to teh Zurich Haupt Bahnhof.

I used 3 types of public transport and could get one ticket for all.

In the back you can see the Castle and the foreground is the Aldstaad. ( Old City ) .. at the edge of the lake, the view is very nice.

Around the dock, a few bars and restaurants.. including a Mc Donalds! Looking out to the lake, waiting for the Ferry to appear..

. .... and here she is :

.. a lazy sail down the Zurichsee in cosy 2KL ( 2nd Class) ... full bar service and food.. for Swiss Standards, not very expensive .. sipped a glass of White wine from the lcoal area ( I could see the vineyards as we sailed by)

The Helvitia, stopped at about a dozen little cities ( all Zurich Suburbia ) and got us to Zurich at 1515.. an hour and a half later.

.. While I looked around for Rappers, none could be seen!

Click here for Rapperswil's flag

Hiking in Appenzelland, Switzerland

Appenzell is in Eastern Switzerland, about 100km and an hour from Zurich.

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I parked my car at the P3 Parking ( Ziel) and walked a Km to the Bahnhof.

Bought a day ticket ( Tageskard) to Gais and hopped off at Sammelplatz and hiked in the meadows in and around Hoch Hirchberg.

Couple of hours later, hiked down to Gais and rode the Appenzeller Bahn ( AB) to Appenzell. Unique painted buildings are worth watching.

Like their buildings, the food, cheese, wine and beer is very good, unique and famous.

The Canton of Appenzell also has a Bear Flag. Very Cool. See it fluttering with the familiar white cross.

Worth the day !

Mini Big Bang

Housing will recover when inventory shrinks by 100k/Month --> April 2011 - 365 days away

US Housing is far off ... hold on for a year !!

Bis Phenol A (BPA) and the EPA .. risks!

The EPA has started investigating Bis Phenol A (BPA), a raw material for making Polycorbonate, a plastic that is used to make CDs and Baby bottles..

BPA also has wide application in the Chemical Sector in the manufacture of Epoxy Resins used for Coatings and Adhesives.

The issue with BPA is that the molecule interferes with the endocrine system. for example, estrogen. Such interferences have been known to cause female symptons .. growing breasts in males or early puberty in females. Cancer is another disease being investigated. Studies in fish & rats have shown this link and the EPA will investigate the effects on humans.

While the EPA will not say that EPA is harmful to humans, by putting it on a watch list, it will soon become a target for liability- large MNC chemical companies are involved!

Key producers of BPA are:

Dow

Hexion

Huntsman

So there is a lot left in this fight.

Sensex rides high after budget, gains 3.44 per cent- Hindustan Times

Sensex rides high after budget, gains 3.44 per cent- Hindustan Times

The Budget gave the markets a much-needed boost.

The Nifty has crossed the 5000 mark and ended the week with a gain of 167 points (3.3%).

Switzerland - Snowing on March 6th - Spring?

In Zurich, cafes started laying out their chairs, umbrellas and benches.. only to get slammed by snow..

The sun is out , but it's snowing!

.. last week was great and we all thought that spring is here ..
But today, morning it's pelting snow ...

The forest outside my Window is filling up with snow and the morning joggers are walking back home.

The swing and slide outside the office window is gathering snow, like the 1" you can see on the ledge in the middle picture.

forecast is that by noon it will turn to cold rain ... and the town will be wet and slippery again ..

In and Around Zurich hbf

As you exit the Zurich main rail station ( also known as hbf) you will see the Limmat ( river ) on the left.

The Old City ( Altstadt) is about a mile away and full of shops, bars and generally a good place to hang out.

The picture on the left is from one of many bridges that criss cross the Limmat. I took it, riding the #11 Tram.The 2 clock towers in the background are also within walking distance from the hbf.

I'm told, in the summer you can swim in the Limmat, to be reviewed... right now it's snowing outside..even for March 6th .. that's a surprize!

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Travel In Zurich & Switzerland

When in Switzerland - choose Public Transport !
It's cheaper and faster to travel to Zurich from Schaffhausen, where I live, than it is to drive!

The parking for a 4 hours is about 15 CHF ( Swiss Franc) and a day ticket that allows you to travel on the bus, train and tram system is about the same. This is a 24 hour ticket so you can make as many trips as you want. You don't even need to stamp it!
The picture above is from inside a Tram , just outside the Zurich hbf ( Main Rail Station ) it is very clean ( Both the tram and the station ) and the electronic TV you see in the Tram, signals the stops as they arrive.
The last tram I took was in Calcutta.. another stroy altogether !!