Book review: Over the Edge of the World - Laurence Bergreen
28, September 2007
I recently finished reading this book " Over the Edge of the World" by author Laurence Bergreen. This book has detail account of the first daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century by Magellan. It is a interesting read for all those who like to get a insight of early Spanish explorers who dared to go the unknown to discover the indes and the spice islands.
The journey starts in Spain and they sail along the western coast of Africa and make the Atlantic crossing to Brazil and down to Argentina where they discover the famous Magellen straits. The straits takes them over to the pacific ocean. The armada spends 3 months crossing the Pacific aided by the strong trade winds. They totally miss all the Polynesian islands and land in Guam. They move on to Philippines where the armada lands in Cebu. This is where the great explorer Magellen is killed during a fight with the locals. The rest of the crew move on to discover the islands of Moloccas (Spice islands). Only one ship in the armada makes the journey back passing the cape of good hope in Africa and on to Spain after 3 years. It's indeed a fascinating read.
 

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
16, September 2007
I was always wondering which were the best spots to photograph Golden gate bridge in San Francisco. On the weekend I had a change to check out some of the locations. Photo tips: Look for a clear day, San Francisco can get foggy. Shoot when the light is not too harsh. The best time of the day would be late afternoon (around 4.00 to 5.00pm). If you do shoot early in the morning you can see a different perspective of the bridge when its covered by fog. That could also make a good shot.
The best spots to photograph the bridge:
1) Marine Headlands
    To get there: Go across Golden gate bridge, take Alexander ave exit. Turn left under the freeway, then drive west up the hill.
2) Crissy Fields
    To get there: North of Mason st. Parking could be difficult.
3) Fort Point
    To get there: End of Long ave.


           

Restaurant review : Queen of Sheba, San Jose, CA
12, September 2007
This week I had lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant - Queen of Sheba near San Jose airport.  Their staff were Friendly. The service was pretty fast. They have all the typical Ethiopian food like Yebeg tibs (lamb dish), Doro tibs (Chicken) and Vegetable platter (Split red lentils, Chopped collard, Sliced cabbage, Yellow split peas). The food was good. It is also reasonably priced. This place was not crowded during lunch time. I would highly recommend this place. Here is the link to their website

  

         
        
Apple Aperture
08, September 2007
I have been using this product for almost 2 years. Its the first all in one post processing tool for serious photographers. If you are shooting RAW images this software supports RAW formats of all the leading camera models. I was impressed on how quickly you can load images and process them. It allows for nondestructive editing. Its easy to use. You will be up and running in a few minutes. One downside for some PC users is that Aperture is not available for windows. This can be a good reason to make that move to mac.
It retails at $299. Not a bad deal for a powerful tool. Check it out at : http://www.apple.com/aperture/
 

                               

iPhone
05, September 2007
Finally this week I was feeling good that I returned by iPhone after getting it on the first week of its release. Apple has finally decided to cut the price down by $200 for the 8GB version and get the 4GB version out of the shelf. Looks like this is a good time to buy. My initial comments are, its great device to have but the cost of the phone and AT&T rate plans are high. This recent price reduction might get more people onboard but we should see more steep cuts in the future (like Motorola Razr).

iPhone


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