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July 31, 2006
Harish
This week's theme will reflect a few of my friends that have come a visiting.
This particular one was taken during one of those sleep overs. I think this
is what 2 beers does to my friend...
I do enjoy this chap coming around though. He's very easy going, and we usually
do fun stuff together.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)
July 30, 2006
Windswept
This is actually why I like Utah. The mountains. Each one of them have a story to tell.
Of millions of years of change, and stories of the wind.
I left the sign in the picture because I thought it made for a nice contrast. A man
made element in a snapshot of frozen time.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)
July 29, 2006
What the...
I have seen a lot of things stuck on a car, but this is the first time I saw half a baseball
stuck on the windshield. I mean, it is wierd...
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)
July 28, 2006
This one time...
This one time, when we went hitckhiking in China... No actually, this is also on the way
to Vegas. Its' funny coz you think of Vegas as in the middle of the desert and all that,
but it's not as bad as people make it out to be. There's atleast 1% that looks like this.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2006
Ghost Town Road
No. We didn't take the diversion. I totally believe them about the ghost town. It's in
the middle of no where. No one in their right mind will go there/settle there.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:47 PM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2006
Mordor
Ok, I lied. It's Utah, or maybe Arizona, or maybe Nevada. Well, it's
somewhere north of Vegas. Happy?
The desert was hot as mordor though. I took a rather nice passing shot
of a mountain. No, the sky wasn't as pretty as you see it. I did some
saturation/lighting fine tuning.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2006
Miles or Km ?
About 20 years back, Pritham and I had this 'fun' arguement during a road trip. I
said that the mile was longer than the km, and he said that the km was shorter
than the mile. After about a hour of fighting, we decided that the other was a
moron. I still say I am right... :)
This sign is one of only two signs that I have noticed in the US that have miles
and km's on them.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2006
I-15
The I-15 is supposed to be the freeway with the heaviest traffic in the world. That's
one 'in the world' fact about the US that I believe. I-15 goes through Vegas. Actually
it's the only freeway through Vegas, so if you are driving there, you got to take it.
On the trip to Utah, we had to pass Vegas. This is what the traffic looked like...
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
July 23, 2006
Traffic Light
This hydrant looked a lot like a traffic light. This chap is right next to my office building.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2006
Peeping Tom
This chap was hiding behind a bush. I like it's toothy smile too :)
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2006
Twin Peaks of Kilimanjaro
Back in school, this was the code word for breasts... 'Kili', roughly translated, in
Malayalam, means 'chic'.
I don't know why this picture reminds me of that. Maybe you can figure it out...
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)
July 20, 2006
Two Headed Snake
Yet another funny looking hydrant. I think all these hydrants were make in some design
shop, where the designers were told to be as creative as possible.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2006
ET
Hello Earthling. Do all earthlings look as funny as you?
I found this one walking around campus. And check it out, it's not red
or yellow !!!
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2006
Yellow ?
One rather interesting thing I noticed is that the traditional fire hydrants are all
yellow in Los Angeles. I thought they were supposed to be red. It's strange...
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:25 PM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2006
Camel
I was walking around campus when I came across this odd shaped fire hydrant. I
snapped the picture, and then I realised that on campus, every hydrant has a
different shape. This one is the camel...
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:34 PM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2006
Royal
Rarely used entrance, this gate is right in front of the Shrine, which is what you see in the
background. The Shrine is where most award ceremonies are held in LA. The Grammy's
used to be here, but has moved to the LA Convention Center in recent times. The Oscars
were held here till it moved to it's permanent home at the Kodak Theatre.
This is the place where MJ's hair caught fire in a video shoot, after which he went in for
his plastic surgery.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2006
Tennis
This entrance is also off Vermont. It's a well used entrance, especially by people who
pay per day for parking. USC charges some 7 bucks a day for parking, so it's a
cash cow. The picture is horrible, but I can't make it look better than it is. The
green wall behind covers the tennis courts. That's where Prakash Amritraj
played when he used to represent USC. He now plays for India, which I think is
really cool.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2006
Snobs
This entrance is only for the trams. Thing is that it's a very convenient entrance, and I'd have
loved to be able to have access to it. Ofcourse, the University have to play snobs...
The building that's being constructed in the backdrop is the new Galen Sports arena. It
is being built on the single largest grant given to the University in it's history. A check of
nearly 40 million $$. Once it's complete, it will probably house quite a few events on
the international calender as it's supposed to be world class.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2006
Vermont
This entrance is off Vermont. That's probably the worst street surrounding USC.
That doesn't mean the other streets are classy. Just that this is the worst
of them. Behind where I stood to take the picture is a Taco Bell, which is
the only decent eatery near this part of campus, which sorta sucks.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2006
My Entrance
Remember the grand entrance that USC built thinking that everyone will
use? It still didn't beat the most popular entrance - this one. My office
is the one that's making a shadow at the bottom right. The building seen
is also my department. That particular building was probably some
barracks during the second world war. My building was a department
store for the longest time, after which USC converted it into the
computing facilities. (I'm talking some 40 years ago).
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2006
Figueroa Entrance
I don't know too many people that would want to use this entrance. Except those who
work really close by and are lazy to walk. The turn from the street is awkward,
and is usually rather busy. The ugly building behind is the registration building,
where every student has to go at some point to get the courses they want.
Figueroa street has been around as long as LA. It was once a part of the Route 66,
but that's prehistory now. It runs about 30 miles in a north-south direction,
and Rash's office is on it, as well as Staples center, and the LA Convention
center.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2006
The Main Entrance
This is supposed to be the main entrance fo USC. They spend a ton of money to
create it, but no one ever uses it. Which is a pity coz it looks really nice. The
building to the left of the camera (out of view) is the Marshall school of Business
and the white building in the middle is the Alumni house. That's the oldest
building on campus and was the original building that was USC way back in
1889.
H.
Posted by hriday at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2006
Last of the Hoodoos
I thought I'd end the theme with an aerial view of the hoodoos. The problem
is that this is the best point at the canyon that I can get a view like that. And
since the view is from a tunnel, there's no way I can get the whole plane
in one go as the walls of the tunnel interefere. Anyway, this shot gives a
good idea on how Bryce canyon is...
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)
July 08, 2006
The Two Bridges
Bryce canyon has a lot of paths, and it's easy to get lost. In fact, Ebenezer Bryce once
described it as "... a hell of a place to lose a cow...". These two bridges are on the
Navajo loop trail. Problem is that there's constant erosion and landslides as a result.
So, this part of the trail is now sort of permanently closed. So, it's not really a loop... :)
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2006
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The movie title is probably my all time favourite title. It's so oomph.
Anyway, apparently Utah was a favourite among outlaws, and especially
to Butch Cassidy, who roamed around these parts. It's at this spot that
he challenged the local sheriff to come out and fight with him, risking
all the women and children that were in the convoy. The story goes that
the sheriff shouted back that he wasnt' a coward, but he was smart and
didn't want to spill innocent blood.
The Cassidy draw is just outside what's the official demarkation of Bryce
Canyon, but it's in the area.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)
July 06, 2006
Hi there !
While hiking, we had someone popping his head out and saying hello. The wildlife
at Bryce Canyon is interesting. Mostly small rodents, and a few snakes (which we
never came across). There are a few birds too.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2006
Bald Eagle
Right in the middle of the photo, there's a small, small thingy that's probably a bald eagle.
The bald eagle is the national bird of America, and is featured prominantly in most formal
articles like the flagpost and coinage.
H.
Posted by hriday at 09:29 PM | Comments (2)
July 04, 2006
A Hoodoo
A hoodoo is a pillar of rock, usually of a fantastic shape, left by erosion. The theory of how
it gets created is rather interesting. Water created grooves in the rocks. These grooves
deepen over time, and softer rock are displaced at a higher rate than hard rock, creating
fins. Fins become exposed further and cracks form, which widen when ice forms in winter.
This cracking of the rocks creates hoodoos.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:43 PM | Comments (0)
July 03, 2006
Sunrise Point
Tucked in the Southern hideaway of Utah is the Bryce Canyon. We were there for
a few days, so we thought we'd use some of the pictures to feed a theme.
The canyon is unbelievably pretty and has an unusual shape. It's named after
a carpenter called Ebenezer Bryce, who moved here from Scotland on the request
of the Mormons who inhabited Utah. People noticed an odd canyon near Ebenezer's
house, which they called Bryce's canyon, and the name stuck.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
July 02, 2006
Stone Canyon Inn
Right on the edge of Bryce Canyon in South Utah is the Stone Canyon Inn. I am posting
this entry from this inn, where we have been staying for 2 days. The joint has awesome
rooms, and is very cozy. The inn keeper's wife also makes the best breakfast !
H.
Posted by hriday at 07:09 PM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2006
Luxor
Driving past Vegas, on the way to Utah, we snapped this shot of the shhinx right outside
hotel Luxor. Luxor is one of the largest hotels in the world, and is in the shape of a
pyramid. It has a powerful beam mounted on the top, and that was once reputed to be
amongst the most powerful man made beams in the world. Luxor also has a large
3D IMAX theatre.
H.
Posted by hriday at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)