Showing posts with label Business Trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Trip. Show all posts

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Great time at Islands of Adventure

Allie, I and other friends had a great time at the SolidWorks World 2013 Special Event at Universal's Islands of Adventure at night. Even though time was short, we did a full circuit of the park, enjoying the Harry Potter ride, Jurassic Park ride, Spider-man ride, Mind Eraser ride and The Hulk rollercoaster. The food was great too!
IMG_0274 IMG_0273 Album Cover?  No, Queue for Dr. Doom Mind Eraser IMG_0251 IMG_0270

Saturday, December 08, 2012

Live Oaks Homes of Rivermark

On a recent and brief (mostly business) trip back to California, I was able to stop by my old community and take a photo of the Live Oaks homes within Rivermark.  I think these homes are iconic, representing a well  planned group of neighborhoods at the heart of Silicon Valley.


Many more great photos may be found on Flickr in the Rivermark group.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I've only been gone 18 months! #49ers Stadium

OK, so I've only been gone like 18 months!  The house that we owned is in the Rivermark area, practically in the shadow of the future home of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, CA.  When we sold the home, there was nothing more than a proud sign and a parking lot at the site of the planned stadium.



Eighteen months later?

Future home of the 49ers (wide)

Untitled

49ers new home under construction II

49ers new home under construction I 
I don't think I've ever seen this much progress on a project in California in such a short time! Supposedly, the stadium is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2014 season, followed by opportunities for Super Bowls and other events.

Parking is a big weakness for this stadium.  There is almost no parking on the stadium property.  But let's not bother with details right now.

The jury is still out as to whether this will improve home values near the stadium.  Some say it will bolster values, and other say it will drag them down.  If this project is handled like AT&T Ballpark by the San Francisco Giants, values will soar due to ongoing redevelopment efforts nearby.  If the project is handled like the Oakland Colosseum, eh, watchout!  I already know the 49ers wanted to avoid the AT&T Ballpark model, so a bit of concern is appropriate.  It all depends on how Santa Clara City itself handles things.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Walking around Philidelphia

On a recent trip to Pennsylvania, I had a chance to briefly explore Philidelphia.  The day I was there, it happened to be some celebration as taking place in front of the First Bank of the United States



Merchants' Exchange Building was kinda strange.  It is a bit boring on the front ,but the back is round.  Or is that the other way round? :)


Independence Hall from the backside (again, really, is this the back?).


Manhole cover in front of the Independence Hall...wait, I mean, to the building's rear...oh never mind.  I thought this would make for an interesting angle of a shot.


Maybe I'll get more time to explore this city and its long history at some later date.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Recent trip to Lancaster, PA

Well, of all the things not on my bucket list that I got to experience anyway, I woulda never have guessed that I'd passing an Amish horse-and-buggy on state and city roads.  Yet, there I was in Lancaster, PA, the heart of Amish Country. 

At Hersey Restaurant and Inn (no where near Hersey, PA)

I was in Lancaster, PA for a SolidWorks 2013 rollout event to show off the newest version of SolidWorks to our customers.  I don't normally talk about SolidWorks on this blog too much because it's a bit specific to my career, but this story would be incomplete without mentioning it.




SolidWorks 2013 rollout event

Fun in our downtime

On some roads in Amish Country, there are special lanes where trails of horse "exhaust" mark the way, showing clearly which lanes are for cars, and which are for carriages.  There was a lively conversation on a my Facebook posting about driving through Intercourse, PA.

Amish horse and buggy

A funny thing about the Lancaster area are the references to Dutch culture.  This is a bit odd since Dutch influence on Pennsylvania is a bit light.  There is a substantial German population in the Lancaster region who are sometimes referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch, but this is a misnomer that comes from the archaic term that refers to people from Germany.  They aren't Dutch we know from the Netherlands.  Even still, images of old fashion windmills are invoked.  Maybe I'm missing something here.

Another thing that impressed me about this region as its beauty.  I took no pictures to demonstrate this beauty, unfortunately.  Rolling hills of farms and trees and rustic buildings meld together like a series of landscape paintings I've only seen in books.  Words (and even simple photographs) could not due it justice.

Would I go back to this region?  Prolly not going out of my way to visit it again.  I am glad I got a chance to see it, though.