Trip to Chicago

Few days back I visited one of my friend in Chicago and got a chance to enjoy the architectural city Chicago. From Ohaire Airport I took a Metro heading towards downtown which was our destination. To get on to the train, one can get CTA ( Chicago Transit Authority) Cards which are easily available at vending machines at most of the transit centre. CTA Card can be recharged for different amounts upto 20$ which can be used over a period of time. This CTA Card can be used in the CTA Trains as well as buses and the fare for reach ride is 2.25$ which is independent of source and target destination. Good for those who want to enjoy a long ride but for those looking for a short ride it might be a bit costly.
Chicago Down Town is really a marvel in architecture field and that is realised by looking at its high rise and differently shaped buildings. No tower is identical in shape to other tower in downtown where it looks like that there is a fight going on between these towers to look taller than each other.

Chicago river flows through the middle of area dividing down town work area than the residential buildings. Boats and steamers filled with tourists for architectural tours can be seen floating in the river alongwith few people doing kayaking. People can also enjoy a walk along side the river watching the beautiful high rise buildings around.
Michigan street is very popular for the shopping freaks who can shop here till late night.

Lake Michigan , one of the largest fresh water lakes is a major tourist attraction in Chicago.

Going to chicago and missing a visit to Willis Tower would be a life time mistake. So how could I do that .! Among all the sky scrappers in Chicago down town there is a tower that goes even taller in the sky and make every other tower in the town to feel dwarf. Willis Tower , formerly known as Sears Tower is the tallest man made structure in america and 5th tallest building in the world. This building has 103 floors and has major corporate head offices besides restaurants, gyms and other recreational clubs. Tourists visits to 103rd floor of Willis tower is managed by Skydeck which operates lifts that directly take you to 103rd floor in flat 60 seconds. It is one of the fastest escalator in world.

Panormic view from the top floor is superb. One can have a look over the Chicago and can see adjoining places of Indiana and Wisconsin. Down town buildings looks like small chips kept standing on the ground and fun increases when one get to see helicopters flying at the same height or sometimes below the level you are standing.


Thrill to this fun is added by the glass boxes that are hanging outside the building. One can go in these boxes and look down to find the ground 103rd floors below. This is one of the breathtaking moment and is really enjoying too.
If you think you are having a real adventure then let me tell you that there was a french guy who climbed this building till top floor from outside bare handed. Yes you read it right.! My advice to you all is do not even think of trying this.

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Sun Dog

A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, "beside the sun"; also called a mock sun) is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.




Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of the sun, 22° distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun, and in ice halos. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but they are not always obvious or bright. Sundogs are best seen and are most conspicuous when the sun is low.

Read more at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog
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InformIT: Creating an SSL Keystore Using the Java Keytool Chaining and Establishing Identities

InformIT: Creating an SSL Keystore Using the Java Keytool Chaining and Establishing Identities Tweet

Invictus movie

Recently I watched "Invictus", movie based on South African President Nelson Mandela's effort to unite South Africa after its control came in his hands. This story shows how president has effectively used the Rugby as a medium to decrease the divide between the African people. South Africa was facing a Black White divide for a very long time and black were deprived of many basic fundamental rights like voting,etc. It was the effort of leaders like Mandela and others which led to the overthrow of the then government and Mandela taking the charge of the country in his hands. Mandela himself spend 27 years in jail fighting for this cause.
Invictus shows that Mandela after getting the power could have made life very difficult for the whites but instead he forgave all those people who were responsible for his jail. Majority of Black community after gaining the political power wanted to change most of the organizational structures and other things which were either established by the Whites or followed by the whites. One of such things was a "Rugby" game. White South Africans like this game very much and Springbooks was the favorite team but the team was not performing well from a very long time. Blacks are ready to support any other team but Springbooks. Black community also decided to change the logo, anthem of the Springbooks team. It is then when President Mandela used his leadership skills to unite the country by forcing the black community to stop changing the logo and other things which were like by White Africans.
Mandela wanted African team to win Rugby world cup and to show world the unity of S.Africans over this game. He motivated and guided the Rugby team to perform well and outshining other good teams in world cup. His efforts resulted in SA winning Rugby World Cup in the end.

This movie is very inspirational and most of the dialogues and instances presented by Mandela are very motivational. Matt Damon has also played a very good role of Rugby Team Captain. Tweet

India Canada Civil Nuclear Deal

Today 28th June 2010, India has signed a civil nuclear deal with Canada. While signing this deal Canadian PM Stephen Harper said that we have to forget the past and can't live in the past of 1970s. During 1970s , India successfully did its first nuclear testing by using the Circus Nuclear Reactor that was provided to India by Canada. After that test, many bans were imposed on India by the international community. Since that ban has been lifted in 2008, many countries have joined hands with India for Civil Nuclear Deals. Recognizing India as a good future growth market developed countries like US, France and Russia were the first ones to sign nuclear pact with India.

This nuclear pact with Canada has again confirmed the firm position that India is marking in International community. Both the countries have to gain a lot from this pact. India will benefit from the uranium that is required for nuclear reactor and in the turn Canada will have a large nuclear market to invest. India's civil nuclear reactors will use the uranium fuels to meet the increasing demands of India Energy sector. These reactors will also be used by Research Organization like DRDO , BARC to develop latest technologies that were not possible till now without the avalability of fuels like uranium. Nuclear submarines, high speed supercomputers , lasers and many other similar advancements in field of science are now possible with India's accessibility to uranium.
Energy generated by these nuclear reactors will be able to meet the electricity demands of country. This would also lead to good industrial growth and in turn good civil life for the citizens.
These developments will push the development of India and will help it achieve a deciding role in the Global community. Tweet

Good Site for finding slide shows

www. slideshare.net Tweet

Music Composer of Jana Gana Mana

Author of Indian National Anthem - RabrindraNath Tagore
Music Composer - Ram Singh Thakur
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