Beautiful: Hudson Waterfront

Came back from the Waterfront an hour ago, had a wonderful time. And thoroughly, enjoyed a beautiful summer afternoon by the Hudson River. The place has some of the most stunning views, with high rise buildings on both sides and in between lies the calm Hudson River. 

                                                              Hudson Waterfront

And of-course some credit goes to the weather too, with the cool breezes on a sunny day and the sound of the waves, it was just perfect.

Though the waterfront remains quite busy, due to its location in the business district; it still has the calming serenity. And another thing I noticed, which was very surprising was, that sitting there one could see all modes of transportation possible; right from the water ferry to helicopter and planes to bicycles, cars and trains, quite amazing and accessible.

It was the time well spent, relaxing and soaking in the beauty of the place.

Summer: is officially on !!!

Yesterday, my day began with a 'Happy Summer Solstice' greeting on one of the pod-casts. Yes, yesterday was June 21st, the first official summer day. And the day was unusually longer as compared to normal days.

Its the Summer solstice, that results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year, the sun sets later than the usual days. The word Summer 'Solstice', derived from Latin words; means 'sun' and 'to stand still'; so the sun seems to stand still that day. The Northern hemisphere has it in June and the Southern part in December.

Though, unofficially summer began long back in may itself, with temperatures in high 70s and glaring sun in the afternoons. But officially it began yesterday.

And with summer ringing in, the to-do list also looks a little different; now it includes going to the beach, enjoying rides in amusement parks, spending more time outdoors, visiting the zoo and many more and of-course, how can I forget applying loads of sunscreen before heading out. So, am all set to enjoy the summer with my to-do list.

Cheers to a Bright Summer !!

Bowling @ Bowlmor Lanes

We went for Bowling last weekend @ Bowlmor Lanes, New York and had a fantastic time. Played three games each and the funny part is that both of us had the same scores at the end of the third game, so it was a tie. And the two hours spent in the famous Bowlmor Lanes were so much fun, especially with food to snack on alongside.

                                                     Bowlmor Lanes, Union Square, NY

Bowling - Knocking down all the ten pins with a ball, is the most simple understanding of the game. Well, the game has a history, according to which it started with the primitive form of nine pins/stones game and a stone ball used to be rolled. According to USBC, it originated in ancient Germany and since then the game has evolved. And 'The first permanent American bowling location probably was for lawn bowling, in New York's Battery area', International Bowling Museum (see link below). New York became the first site for the game in America and today, it is played in more than 90 countries.

The game is played in various formats like 10-pin game- the most common format with 10 pins to be knocked down with a ball, 9-pin no tap- considered a strike if bowler knocks down 9 or 10 pins, 3-6-9 game - bowler gets a strike in 3rd, 6th and 9th frames; best ball and baker system. Quite an interesting game.

Definitely, a fun game to enjoy with friends and have a good time. More-so, in a place like Bowlmor Lanes, which has awesome ambiance and is also frequently visited by celebrities (saw pins signed by many famous names in the gallery like Christina Applegate, Backstreet Boys and more).

We enjoyed bowling after a long time and will definitely try to do it more often from now on.

Links:
http://www.bowlingmuseum.com/Visit/HistoryofBowling.aspx
http://www.springdaleusbc.com/bowling.htm

How much does a lunch with Warren Buffett cost ?

Heard about it this morning, while listening to one of the pod-casts. And I was taken aback to know about the highly priced charity auction which is currently going on for the 'Lunch with Buffett', this month. This 12th annual auction started on June 5th on eBay and will go on till the 10th. The bidding started at 25,000 dollars and the current bid is going over 2 million dollars and last year's winner paid 2.63 million dollars, that's a hell lot of money.

In 2003, David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital hedge fund won the bid for $ 250,000 and since then the bidding price has been rising. As in 2008, the bid went over 2 million dollars by a Hongkong based investor Zhao Danyang and the million dollar trend is continuing right into this year as well.

All the proceeds from this auction go to a social service institution named 'GLIDE', a very noble cause indeed. And the winner gets to have a power lunch with Mr. Buffett, along with seven friends at the Smith & Wollensky, New York. Having lunch with Mr. Warren Buffett, is not that difficult, if you have enough money.

So what are you waiting for guys, pitch in, to help a cause and get some brilliant investing tips from the 'Oracle of Omaha' himself.

June 11th, 2011 - This year's bid went for 2.6 million dollars and the winner chose to remain anonymous.

Link:
www.LunchWithWarrenBuffett.com