need - some - air !!!

A better hard disk

2010-02-13T06:40:00.002-05:00

Speaking of new ideas - here's one for external hard disks.

We have the regular hard disks at about $100 for 250GB, and the super expensive SSD disks.

The ones I like most - like the Western Digital Passport series - come as a nice small package and derive power from the USB cable, no external adapters required.

But these are slow.

Is it possible we can do the following:

- a RAM slot that the user can fill in - say, I put in a 2GB DDR2 piece in there, like my netbook

- a small battery - the iPod runs for hours and hours, surely a battery charged from the USB cable can store enough to run the HDD for some time

- some system software

Now, when I write to the disk, it will fill in the RAM first - just like a memory cache. This should be blazing fast. Then, at a slower pace, it will copy over the data to disk.

Because I have the battery backup, I am free to disconnect as soon as I've transferred data to the RAM, and the disk setup will take care of running on its own - disconnected - to transfer data to the HDD

Is that possible, or just an useless thought? By leaving the memory slot user-filled, costs should not increase much from the basic HDD - but perceived throughput certainly will.

Building a better gym

2010-01-20T10:17:00.004-05:00

Gyms and I don't gel well.

I like the idea of coming out from the gym - feeling lighter, more agile, and fresh from a shower. I just don't like the part of going to the gym, and the part where I need to actually exercise.

So its natural that I come up with ideas on why I don't like the place, and how we can do it better.

Idea 1 : Retrieve heat generated from the machines

The idea to make gym machines "green" by making them generate their own energy and also contribute to the grid has been coming up lately. However, electricity generation is a lossy process - any energy conversion other than heat will invariably be lossy. How about make the machines generate heat, then? Large gyms like the LA Fitness I go to now have hundreds of people taking showers through the day - if the gym can generate all the hot water it consumes, that's a lot of energy saved!

There are lots of places to head from that point - surplus hot water can be used to offer free laundry, at least for towels, making our gym bags a little lighter and giving us a straight motivation (a free hot towel, powered by our sweat, waiting after the workout)

Now, there were a few other ideas I had come across, but I forgot them all by the time I opened this browser window. Will update this post when I remember.

Wish there was a "green" way to revitalize my memory.

Desktop Tower Defense

2009-12-07T15:44:00.001-05:00

I came across Desktop Tower Defense at http://www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/Game3.asp while aimlessly roaming about - and have been stuck since.

Its a flash based game, with crude hand-drawn graphics, and it takes all of 2 minutes to see what is going on - little creeps are trying to cross the desktop, and the player needs to build a maze of towers to prevent them.

That said, its more addictive than the flowerpot throwing Jardinains several years back.

If you need to read more, there's Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Tower_Defense

-kundan

"Take me Away" - website that can suggest vacations

2009-11-05T05:08:00.004-05:00

I have taken days off, and have some money put aside for travel, and need to take a break - somewhere, anywhere, as long as its a nice place. Searching on Expedia and the lot is painful -as 300 million other people also have that weekend off (say, thanksgiving or labor day), and have beaten me to the air tickets. Where do I go?

If that sounds familiar, the best match I've found so far is http://skyscanner.net - key in your home airport and your dates, and it will present prices to many destinations - both domestic and international. That can give you some ideas.

Granted, presenting all possible combinations for a given set of dates, a starting airport and a budget is probably a few billion places, but even a pick of 50-odd options to places I've never been to is great - beats having to punch in random places into the online travel sites!

Also useful: http://us.lastminute.com/ for a list of last minute destinations and prices

Geeky fun with Google Maps

2009-04-13T10:05:00.002-04:00

Came across this website today:

http://www.mapofstrange.com

Allows users to submit strange things seen on google maps. Hit or miss, and a lot of crop circles and old planes, but some are really interesting.

Take, for example, these high resolution aerial photos in Africa that have been contributed to Google Maps from national Geographic:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=10.90385,19.935069&spn=0.000244,0.000429&t=h&z=22

There are a few other high res images - zoom out and scroll around. Look for others in the region from the map of strange website.

Wilson's Leather

2009-02-09T13:57:00.003-05:00

Not quite in the tone of the rest of the blog, but wanted a space to "shout out", and what better place than my blog of random useless stuff?

Wilson's Leather had long been one of my favorite stores - great for not-too-expensive leather jackets and stuff, and lots of locations. Soma liked the purses from the store as well - and I liked the fact that we were buying purses from a leather manufacturer, and not a brand name that has little or no connection to leather. Or, for that matter, a very well reputed brand that did come up as a leather goods / upholstery store, right from the stagecoach days, but now sells a lot of their lower end products in nylon and cloth.

Anyway - we walk into the new Wilson's in the new Tanger that has opened close to us (Deer Park), and are shocked - what's 9 West, Kenneth Cole, etc doing as entire sections of the store? the store look more like a Sears in its cluttered interior?

We bought something that looked like a good deal, then noticed bad stitching all over the item, so wanted to return. Where, in today's competitive retail world, does it take 15 minutes and several handwritten / typed forms to perform a single return, for an item that has not even left the store since purchased? I'm not talking of waiting in line - it took us 15 minutes at the counter to complete the return. The salesperson kept pointing out how complicated that was, and she seemed to be the more experienced of the people working at the time.

Came home, a little disappointed and suspicious, and searched. Should have noticed the news earlier - apparently Wilson's sold its name, website and stores to a separate company back in July of last year:

"The Brooklyn Park-based retailer on Tuesday said it sold the Wilsons name, 116 outlet stores and its online retail assets to G-III Apparel Group Ltd. of New York for $22.3 million in cash. The fate of Wilsons' 100 remaining, mall-based stores and 14 airport stores remains unclear as the retailer moves to cut costs amid rapidly declining sales of its leather clothing and accessories."

(ref: http://www.startribune.com/business/24092414.html)

What's with the AC in New York City restaurants?

2008-09-13T21:25:00.003-04:00

Soma and I chanced to land up in NYC over some chores today - we were dropping off our second car in West New York, and was making our way back by public transport. Since it has become rather rare for us to land up in the city, we though a bit on how to best use this opportunity - and decided on a IMAX movie and a non-chain restaurant.

The IMAX was easy - Lincoln Center was running The Dark Knight. All fun and games with no plot. Just the way I love it.

Now, the restaurant. We wanted to check out Tsampa, since it was way too long since we had a taste of Tibetan. We made out way from Lincoln center down to 9th and 2nd avenue.

Here we got the shock - Tsampa's doors were wide open, not a single customer in sight, the AC obviously off.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all in for anti-global warming steps and lowering the carbon footprint. We have wind power in our apartment, just sold off the second car, I have been taking the train to the City since 2000, we have the AC in our car set to 75, CFL lamps all around the house - you get the idea. Whatever I could, I did. But when I pay $40 a head for a dinner in the City, on a day as hot and as humid as today, I do expect the AC to be running.

We skipped Tsampa, and started walking down the East Village area. This was 5pm on a Saturday night. All of the restaurants that we came across had the doors and windows open - and very few people eating in (well, that makes sense, one leads to another).

I stuck to my (seemingly simple) demand - if the restaurant does not have the AC running, I don't want to eat in there. I assume they are not passing the energy savings to the consumer, so I don't see any reason for them to be on the receiving end of my money either.

We walked a long way - Khyber Pass down in St Marks was the same story, so were the few in the northern end of Chinatown. By this time, we were mentally prepared to go into our favorite Chinese restaurant in Chinatown - XO Cafe and Grill. I'm glad to say, XO had their AC running, and it was business as usual.

XO's "Salty Fish Mei Fun" is unparalleled - and their "Chinese sausage and rice wrapped in lotus leaf" and "Udon soup, wonton, extra spicy" were charming accompaniments. It felt like a dinner in the city - tastes right on the mark, fast service, not a chain restaurant, and the AC was running.

There you go. Satisfaction at last. I'm glad XO is not following whatever fancy hot and humid trend the others are catching on. At least I know one place that has great food, and their head in the right place.

Do you need a visa?

2007-12-26T09:58:00.000-05:00

If this page is updated as regularly as it should be, then here's a great resource that consolidates visa requirements for a wide array of international travel:

http://www.qantas.com.au/info/flying/beforeYouTravel/visaHealth

Its not legal proof, but is a great starting point to read up on whether you need a visa or not!

Wintuk - a big disappointment!

2007-12-05T14:45:00.000-05:00

Cirque Du Soleil shows have become a fond favorite for Soma and me - ever since we saw the 'O' at the Bellagio, Las Vegas, some 2 years back. The last Cirque show I had seen in New York was Allegria - playing at Randals Island a few years back, and had found it quite captivating. A few months back, on another visit to Vegas, we chanced upon $50 tickets to Ka - at the MGM Grand - and that was just as magical as the O.

If you've seen any of the Cirque shows in Vegas, you know what I'm talking about - huge, really huge stages, one changing into a swimming pool with mermaids leaping up to where the stage was, one going up in the air, turning to a vertical, and spinning freely. These shows are as magical as entertaining, and most people are too tranced-up to speak for a few minutes after.

In fact, after seeing the O, when we went for a Broadway performance of The Phantom of the Opera - which, in my personal opinion, is as good as Broadway shows get - we found it pretty lame, like watching a 70's action movie after having seen a current blockbuster.

So, as a result of all this, our hopes were really high for Wintuk. We had purchased tickets - all of 200 greenbacks for each seat - back in March, for a show in November. With the details coming out at a trickle, we were waiting eagerly for 8 months for the show date to arrive.

Meanwhile, in order to have fun while preserving the best for the last, we went for a performance of the Big Apple circus - at the Lincoln Center - a few weeks back. What's a little circus going to do, when the Broadway shows could not stand up to the O and the Ka?

Well, the date finally arrived, we went in to the Wintuk show - on our 3rd anniversary - with the highest of expectations. And then the show started. And we felt the $440 I spent on the tickets very, very dearly. Marginally better than the Big Apply circus, with practically the same shows - jugglers, hula hoop dancers, clowns. No magic stage. No magic at all, period. Can't say we didn't give them our best shot - we were seated in the second row, while we were some 20 rows deep in the O, and for Ka - the last minute purchase - we were stuck in a corner, with a partial view of the stage, and some 40 rows away from the action. For this, from the second row, the magic was completely missing. I was almost falling asleep at times, and when I was not, was looking at the watch to see how much is still to go.

What a disappointment. On our anniversary, too. Shame on you, Cirque Du Soleil, for ripping us so. For those of you who are thinking of parting with your money for this show - save it, and go for the Big Apple or the Ringling Brothers instead. At least that's $40 or so a ticket, for, say, 85% of the same.

Futurama - 1939

2007-11-27T12:19:00.000-05:00

Wired magazine ran a rather interesting article today, and I thought I should post it here - if nothing else, for my own reference in future.

The Original Futurama

Apparently, this is what the Futurama cartoon is named after. Given that this was done in 1939, it provides remarkable insights into design and development that was projected for 1960. In many ways, this is the anti-1984, all full of hope and positiveness.

Here are the links to a video - in 2 parts - of the 1939 fair on YouTube, courtesy RetroRacer13:
GM Futurama - 1939 World's Fair - Part 1
GM Futurama - 1939 World's Fair - Part 2

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Flight Status

2007-11-06T15:50:00.000-05:00

I came across this really useful flight status website - so here it is for easy recall. Powered by google maps, provides about as much tracking information for US flights as the consoles in the economy cabins do.

Track Flight Status & more at www.flightstats.com

Outstanding health advice!

2006-11-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

Picked this up from an email chain that apparently started from AIIMS, New Delhi. If anyone has claimed authorship, please let me know.

HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil.
In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad
for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A : Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO . Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride"

VisAmex and MasterAmex

2006-10-27T11:17:00.000-04:00

My primary credit card has been from MBNA for many years now - their crisp, efficient website and up-to-the-minute balances were great in helping me keep track of expenses (and verify amounts charged within a minute of the swipe). Now that they merged with Bank of America, the website is a nightmare - they are going through glitches in pulling data across, unable to show transactions for days to weeks, and the super security- boy - forget about crooks, I can't get in myself!

So that's when I got thinking about credit cards and such, and took a look around to see what's what. And that's when the idea hit me - why not combine the best of both worlds?

Let me explain. On one side of the spectrum is Amex. They are great cards, give excellent cash backs to consumers, and some stores - like Costco - take only Amex, or cash. Given a choice, I would like to use Amex everywhere, and get a fat cashback bonus at the end of the year. The caveat - not many merchants take Amex.

The other side has Visa / Mastercard - they are both nearly the same, in my opinion, it's really rare to find someone who takes one and not the other. Rewards are good for some cards, but not as great as Amex. However, most people do take these, so it's really easy to use one of them as the primary card.

The third side had Discover - but I hardly ever miss them. Won't complicate matters here.

So, the best of both worlds approach - why doesn't a bank come up with a VisAmex or a MasterAmex - a 2-sided card, with one side a Visa or a Mastercard, and the other side an Amex? The new Amex cards have the magnetic strip in white, which looks good enough to appear on the face - so why not? The bank would link both cards to the same account, and allow me to make a single payment and manage them together. Me - I'll try to use Amex and reap rewards from every transaction - failing which, I'll use the Visa or Mastercard on the other side! Electronics purchases - use Mastercard. Car rentals - supplementary insurance. Costco - Amex. You get the idea.

So - why not?

If you see these cards coming up in a bank near you - remember where you read it first!

Funnies

2006-10-03T22:39:00.000-04:00

Everyone and their aunt has a list of funny videos and jokes on their website. Here's a start, going with the flow.

United Safety Video - check out the links on the right for other airline-related videos.
Passport Control - a funny spoof on immigration check
Road Barriers - a formula for disaster
How to Steal a Bike in NYC - funny, but real!
Honda ad - not funny, but a gem!
Boeing crosswind landings: if the link is still up, really fascinating to watch widebody aircrafts land in cross winds!

Today's find - Orbox

2006-09-22T15:43:00.000-04:00

Shamelessly ripped off from the Wired Table of Malcontents, here's Orbox. A charmingly simple way to spend your free time. All you need to do is press one of the cursor keys to set the box shooting in that direction - until it hits a barrier, and stops. The idea is to iteratively approach the red square. If it's too much, there's a walkthrough as well.

Hindi ripoffs

2006-09-14T21:07:00.000-04:00

My first 18 years of life - until before I left home for Kharagpur - were spent watching less than 18 films in all, or at least the ones I can remember. Most of that was because of the complete isolation of Dhanbad from the rest of the VCR-totting, movie-rental-strewn world. I caught up with the times a bit at KGP, with the weekly screenings at the Technology Film Society. The real speed-up happened only in the last few years since I've joined Netflix - about 1200 movies in just short of 4 years.
Now that Soma likes a lot of Hindi movies, it's often that I see a movie halfway through, and realize it's a copy - clone, derived, or influenced - from another movie that I've already seen, most often in English. So here's a chart of all the ones that I have mapped, with some help from the comments to this post, and lots of help from this page on Bollywood.com.

Hindi Movie	Original Movie
Main Aisa Hi Hoon (2005)	I Am Sam (2001)
Koi Mil Gaya (2003)	E.T. (1982)
Bluff Master (2005)	The Game (1997)
Fanaa (2006)	Eye of the Needle (1981)
Kaante (2002)	Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Chocolate (2005)	The Usual Suspects (1995)
Jism (2003)	Body Heat (1981)
Bachke Rehna Re Baba (2005)	Heartbreakers (2001)
Bunti Aur Babli (2005)*	Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Kya Kool Hai Hum (2005)	The Monster ()
Ghulam (1998)	On The Waterfront (1954)
Aitbaar ()	Fear ()
Sholay (1975)*	The Seven Samurai (1954)
Ek Ajnabee (2005)	Man on Fire (2004)
Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna (2006)*	Closer (2004)
Masoom (1983)*	Man, Woman and Child (1983)
Phir Hera Phiri (2006)	Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Pyaar Ka Saaya (1991)	Ghost (1990)
Strangers (2007)	Strangers on a train (1951)

* May not be a frame-by-frame ripoff, but inspired by.

Go Green!

2006-07-18T15:59:00.000-04:00

Ever since "An Inconvenient Truth", I"ve been trying to find out what I can do that is easy, affordable, and will contribute just a little bit towards making the planet less worse day by day.

I'm already on compact fluorescent lamps all over the house, and we use about a third of the average household electricity consumption, so there's little I can do in those angles.

First major breakthrough: switching to green power. You can start right here. If you find something is available, call your utility company. Chances are, they are already offering it - I found out Long Island Power Authority already offers several options, and my colleague
was pleasantly surprised to see PSE&G of New Jersey had green power (they call it clean power) options listed right on the front page.

If anyone from Long Island is reading this - I switched to New Wind Energy, and called up their customer service at 866-WIND-123 to make sure there are no hidden charges. The brochure from LIPA is a little outdated, but you can sign up right from the provider's homepage, and they quote a more updated 1.3 cents per kWh for 60% wind, 40% hydroelectric. The cost, you ask? See for yourself right here - for the average consumer, consuming all of 768 kWh per month (we consume about 250 in summer, 120 in winter), that means about $10 a month for 100% renewable (based on 1.3 cents per kWh). That's as much as a movie ticket. And lasts month long, saving a thousand pounds of CO2 a month!

An Inconvenient Truth

2006-06-29T11:45:00.000-04:00

Red Camper

2006-05-04T16:55:00.000-04:00

I met Maura when my dad and I were touring the Grand Canyon. She had this really cool looking bag, with 35mm slides all around it. I was shooting Velvia slides myself, and the idea struck me as really cool and innovative - much more subtle, yet chic, than stuffing printed 4x6-s into cheap plastic slots on the side of "photo bags" available.

Turned out it was her own design.

It's been a while since then, and it looks like the Red Camper has really taken off - it has its own website, has been seen around in several fashion stores around the US, and is soon going to be available for purchase online. It also has a few siblings added around the base model.

It's not cheap - but then it's not made in a certain Far East country, and they are not available in a certain Fortune 1 Store either. But it's guaranteed to be cool - this I can say first-hand.

Ze Mini Haz Arrived.

2005-10-30T20:00:00.000-05:00

After what seemed like forever, our Mini Cooper S has finally arrived. We thought it would be a good idea to get some pictures rolling before the first dings and dents made their way, so here you go. Soma get her new K.C. jacket out to go with it, too!

The car arrived on October the 18th, with it's maiden trip being to Stony Brook to pick Soma up after her classes. The following weekend, it hauled a dining table and 4 chairs from Pier 1. These snaps are from the weekend after, the first time it was really sunny out. We are on our way to the Festival of China feature puppet show in New Victory Theater, 42nd/B'Way. It was a pleasure to drive into the city after such a long time of being without a car.

Pujo 2005 : Kallol

2005-10-08T22:00:00.000-04:00

Durga Puja is here (at least for Kallol), and our car is not. To make matters worse, Kallol is 90 miles from our new home in Long Island, and the weatherman predicts rain - which is confirmed by a look out of the window. On the other side, this would be Soma's first Durga Puja in the US, so staying put at home is out of the question.

Bring Enterprise Rent-a-Car to the rescue. Car picked up, Soma decked up in her new sari (still running from her wedding loot) and shiny jewelry, and I fished out a sorta-new kurta set from my box of "Traditional Clothes" - a box that comes out maybe twice a year - we sure were ready for the pujas. Definitely more than the folks back home, since it was only "sashti" in India, and "Shaptami" + "Maha Ashtami" as per the Kallol schedule.

In the course of the next 10 hours or so, we drove more than 220 miles in all, attended the anjali, had some biryani and fake fish fries from the food court, jumped over to Oak Tree Road for some quick grocery shopping, came back to Kallol right on time for the dinner (mangshor jhol, khichhudi, chutney, sweets - how can anyone who paid $50 per head go without it?), saw the first half of the cultural festival, jumped back to Oak Tree Road to buy an entire goat leg for future use (Iselin Halal), and bought a lot of norom pak mishti from Quality Sweets.

[FYI: Kallol's website is http://www.kallol.com/, with venue directions here.]

Bengali food, Calcutta

2005-05-12T09:33:00.000-04:00

Soma sent me this list from a circulating email, and I thought, this needs to be documented. It's not everyday that someone comes up with this list. And after spending $1500 on a ticket for a trip home ($3000, considering I'm married now), every minute counts - and without this list, minutes are potentially lost.

So, let's get organized.

Kabiraji Cutlet, Regent, S N Banerjee Road
Moghlai Parota, Anadi Cabin, S N Banerjee Road
Kosha Mangsho, Golbari (Shyambazar)
Phulkopir Singara, Mrityunjoy (Lansdowne)
Double Egg Chicken Roll, Kusum (Park Steet) (Nizam is a close contender!)
Chicken Rezala, Sabir (off C R Avenue)
Steak at Oly pub (with beer!!)
Ujjala's Chanachur ( no comparison anywhere)
Telebhaja, Putiram (College Street)
Daab Chigri, Kewpies (Elgin Lane)
Chicken Cutlet, Baked & Fried/Mukherjee Sweets (Ballygunge Place)
Bijoli Grill's Fish Roll Mochar Chop Dhoka from Apanjan (SadanandaRoad)
Boudir's Lebu Cha (Deshapriya Park)
Kochuri & Tarkari, Tasty Corner (Mandeville Gardens)
Phuchka/Churmur/ Dahi Phuchka, Bilas or Boudi (Southern Avenue)
Chicken Cutlet near Samur (Bhowanipur)
Mishti Doi & Rosogolla, Mithai (Beckbagan)
Naram pak & Ice cream sandesh, Balaram (Bhowanipur) ()
Pantua, Bancharam
Indrani, Ganguram
Rabri, Chittaranhan
Darbesh, Sen Mahasay
Amritti, Bhim Nag/Ganguram, Maniktala (Jalebis are no match)
Alu Roll, academy cantene
dim-er meal, daker's lane
bhuna ghost, rajabajar

Update: This list was originally the work of Sandeep Sengupta (see comments), and featured in the Orkut Calcutta group. Many thanks to Sandeep for pointing that out!

DicePool - quiz for the geeks!

2005-04-06T17:07:00.000-04:00

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

That's surprisingly accurate, I would say - at least the dark and cynical part. All from what kind of dice I like (and then some)!

Largest New York!

2005-03-16T14:26:00.000-05:00

Here I was, casually browsing, when I had an idea - why not check out the Guinness Book of World Records for everything that's New York City? I did, and got thrilled by the results, so here they are, summarized for your convenience, with links to the original article. Note, these are world records, not "largest in the tristate" ones.

Most Underground Stations
The MTA New York City Transit, with 468 stations in a network covering 370 km (230 miles). The railway first opened on October 27, 1904, and serves an estimated 5.1 million passengers per day, or 1.86 billion per year. In addition to the 277 stations situated underground, 153 rest on elevated structures, 29 are built on embankments and nine lie in "open cuts" (trench-like depressions below street level).
Most Extensive Underground Railway
The New York City subway. Apparently, most of the existing network had been completed by 1940 - maybe the 2nd avenue line can change that?
Largest Train Station By Number Of Platforms
The Grand Central Terminal, built from 1903?-13, has 44 platforms on two underground levels with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower. The station covers 19 ha (48 acres), and on average some 550 trains and 200,000 commuters use it every day.
Most Advertising By A Newspaper
The New York Times of New York City, USA, has an average advertising volume of 4.5 million column inches per annum.
Longest Trading Suspension On The NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange, New York City, USA, closed its doors on July 31, 1914. It did not fully reopen for 4 months and two weeks - the longest shutdown in exchange history. The suspension in trading was due to the outbreak of war in Europe.
Largest Department Store
The 11-story one-blockful of Macy's at Herald Square, covering an area of 198,500 sq. m. (2.15 million sq ft)
Longest Water-Supply Tunnel
The longest tunnel of any kind is the New York City-West Delaware water-supply tunnel. It has a diameter of 4.1 m (13 ft 6 in) and runs for 169 km (105 miles), from the Rondout reservoir into the Hillview reservoir, in Yonkers.
Tallest Scaffolding
The world's tallest scaffolding was 198-m (650-ft) tall. It was erected around the New York City Municipal Building by Regional Scaffolding & Hoisting Co. of New York City, USA. The scaffolding was in place from 1988 to 1992. It was comprised of 12,000 scaffold frames and 20,000 aluminium planks.
Largest Refuse Tip
Fresh Kills landfill, on Staten Island, New York City, USA,with an estimated 100 million tons (98 million tons) of garbage covering 1,200 ha (3,000 acres).
Largest Bookshop
Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 105 Fifth Avenue at 18th Street. It covers 14,330 sq m (154,250 sq ft) and has 20.7 km (12.87 miles) of shelving.
Largest Cinema By Seat Capacity
The Radio City Music Hall, with 5,910 seats. Originally known as "The Showplace of the Nation," the cinema opened on December 27, 1932.
Most Expensive Shopping Street
Fifth Avenue, New York City, USA, is the most expensive street in the world in which to rent shop space. Retail space costs US$580 per sq. ft.($6,240 per sq. m.).
Largest Gift
The Statue of Liberty, officially known as 'Liberty Enlightening the World', was a gift from the people of France to the United States of America. Transported to the USA in 1885, it was reassembled and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue stands 46.50 m (151 ft 1 in) tall, and weighs 252 tons (225 tons).
Oldest Jazz Club
The Village Vanguard cellar jazz club opened in 1935, and has hosted mainstream jazz concerts ever since. Artists who have appeared there include John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Wynton Marsalis, and Thelonious Monk.
Most Spent Per Vote in an Election
Michael R. Bloomberg, the Republican candidate for the November 6, 2001, New York City mayoral election, spent $92.60 for each of the 744,757 votes he won against Democrat Mark Green. Ross Perot, in contrast, spent about $3.59 per vote in the 1992 Presidential race. According to campaign documents filed with the NYC Board of Elections, billionaire Bloomberg spent a total of $68,968,185 on his mayoral campaignmore than the $48.6 million Steve Forbes spent on his 2000 presidential campaign!
Most Expensive Burger
The most expensive burger commercially available is the DB Burger Royale, created by French chef Daniel Boulud and available on the menu of DB Bistro Moderne, New York, USA, for $50 (£30.31). The burger was added to the menu in January 2003 and is served exclusively during the black truffle season.
"The burger patty consists of ground sirloin steak with a filling of boned short ribs braised in red wine, foie gras, preserved black truffles and a mirepoix [aromatic flavoring or seasoning] of root vegetables," Daniel explains. "The bun is made to a special recipe which includes Parmesan and poppy seeds and is spread with fresh horseradish, tomato confit, fresh tomato, red onion and lettuce.
"But the extra special ingredients are the addition of fresh black Perigord truffles and truffle dressing." (read more at the website)

Sauna: the sweat bath

2005-02-25T10:48:00.000-05:00

My new gym, at the basement of my current office building, has a sauna. It's nice and calm to sit there for a few minutes after a brief workout, so I thought I should read up on it's benefits, and feel even better about myself. What if the sauna is more beneficial than the dreaded treadmill? That's an easy way out right there!

Given my short attention span, I didn't read too much - just enough to know a little bit about it. If you want, you can start from the article right here. Follow the links to Sweat, a wonderful site with way too much detail about saunas than I ever saw or cared about. Most of the information here is quoted from Sweat.

In brief, a short 15 minute sauna time will cleanse your body of toxins that takes the kidney 24 hours (duh!), lower your blood pressure by dialating the blood vessels and letting it flow easily, open up all the pores that get clogged by anti-perspirants and pollution, cleanse the skin and keep it soft, and generally keep all your internal organs ship-shape.

If you trust the Finnish way, douse yourself in cold water right after the sauna.

Last note: as mentioned here, the correct pronunciation is sow-na, not saw-na.