Disneyland for Nerds - Caltech

With a little over 2000 students(undergrad and grad), Caltech took the number one spot in The World's Top Universities 2011 put out by Times Higher Education, a London magazine that tracks the higher ed market. 

CalTech’s focus on science and engineering attracts some top students and professors. Its faculty has won 32 Nobel prizes. 
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) owned by NASA and operated as a division of Caltech through a contract between NASA and Caltech. In 2008, JPL spent over $1.6 billion on research and development and employed over 5,000 project-related and support employees.The JPL Director also serves as a Caltech Vice President and is responsible to the President of the Institute for the management of the Laboratory. via Wikipedia
Here are a few pics from Caltech campus, located in Pasadena. 

East side of the campus as seen from Hill Ave 

Sssht , someone at Caltech  is performing an experiment! :) 

The Bent, symbol of Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Honor Society, California Beta Chapter)

Beckman Auditorium

Beckman Institute 

Remember Moore's Law? In case you don't, here is a reminder: simplified version of this law states that processor speeds, or overall processing power for computers will double every two years. The term "Moore's law" was coined around 1970 by the Caltech professor, VLSI pioneer and entrepreneur Carver Mead , in reference to a statement by Gordon E. Moore, the billionaire co-founder of Intel Corp. and a longtime supporter of Caltecha( he received a PhD in Chemistry and minor in Physics from Caltech in 1954)who gave the school two gifts totaling $600 million. 

Welcome home, Endeavour!

This morning, Shuttle Endeavour started Final Tour over California! This is just minutes ago above JPL in Pasadena(La Canada Flintridge).

Windows 8 - my first incomplete feedback

A few weeks ago I bought a new desktop PC, a powerful one: CyberPowerPC. For a new computer I decided to install a new operating system. This is where DreamSpark for Academic Institutions (formerly MSDN Academic Alliance (MSDNAA) comes in handy.

I partitioned my hard drive, 'cause my PC came loaded with Windows 7 Home Edition. Downloaded and installed. Well, my first impression was that I have A Nokia Lumia on steroids!!! And I'm definitely not a Lumia fan. Everything is soooo integrated and synced. Your address book, SkyDrive data, photos, and even data within third-party applications can sync up to the cloud, and you can access them on any Windows 8 device. The address book also syncs with other services like Facebook and Twitter as well.  Too much, I would say.  But this new Windows  looks completely different from what Microsoft users are used to. It runs pretty smooth, I have to admit it! I just installed the new OS from Microsoft yesterday night and it was very late, so I didn't get a chance to play with it. 

But I will do it, and maybe I'll come back with some feedback. Here is a screenshot from snapfiles.com(like I told you, too much integration for my taste, so a screenshot of my screen it's a lil' bit too personal)

Hangover 101

Amongst many circles, the Vietnamese noodle soup Phở (pronounced Fuh), is heralded as the best hangover cure known to mankind. Seriously, put down that Bloody Mary and have some Pho!
After we had our Pho as a hangover helper breakfast, we went for the next cure: Kirin Ichiban! This is one of the best beer ever had! I know, never had a beer in the morning before! But what the heck, this is Hawaii and I'm vacationing!

Why a dash camera comes in handy

This scam artists in the BMW backed-up and caused the accident, but anyone would assume that the front car was rear-ended! Owned!:)

Paradise on Earth-Kailua Beach

Just half an hour drive from Waikiki, on the windward side of Hawaii, you can find the smell of sweet paradise! Fine-grained sugary white sand, less crowded and warm-pristine-aqua-clear blue warm water. Picturesque scene! You can do kitesurfing, surfing, paddle boarding, kayaking, snorkeling( you have to go far out), parasailing, boogie-boarding, swimming, sunbathing and even "island hop".
Kailua Beach It's just mind blowing.

The Man from Atlantis

I found him on a Waikiki Beach! :)

Live from Honolulu

24th floor view!