G -Talks

The Baby State

2008-02-11T01:59:00.000-05:00

Some interesting facts about Arizona....

1. Capital: Phoenix
2. Highest Point in AZ: Humphrey's Peak
3. Designer of AZ State Flag: Charles W Harris
4. Monument Valley is found on the Colorado Plateau
5. AZ Motto: God enriches
6. Several names of AZ:

The Aztec State
The Grand Canyon State
The Copper State
The Apache State
The Baby State
The Valentine State
Italy of America
The Sunset State

7. State Fish: Apache Trout

8. Arizona name was derived from two words in Pima language -
'Aleh' and 'zon' meaning 'little spring'

9. The National Song:

Arizona March Song
Words by Margaret Rowe Clifford
Music by Maurice Blumenthal

Come to this land of sunshine
To this land where life is young.
Where the wide, wide world is waiting,
The songs that will now be sung.
Where the golden sun is flaming
Into warm, white shining day,
And the sons of men are blazing
Their priceless right of way.

Come stand beside the rivers
Within our valley broad.
Stand here with heads uncovered,
In the presence of our God!
While all around, about us

The brave, unconquered band,
As guardians and landmarks
The giant mountains stand.

Not alone for gold and silver
Is Arizona great.
But with graves of heroes sleeping,
All the land is consecrate!
O, come and live beside us
However far ye roam
Come and help us build up temples
And name those temples "home."

CHORUS:

Sing the song that's in your hearts
Sing of the great Southwest,
Thank God, for Arizona
In splendid sunshine dressed.
For thy beauty and thy grandeur,
For thy regal robes so sheen
We hail thee Arizona
Our Goddess and our queen.

This song, originally titled Arizona, was written in 1915 by Margaret Rowe Clifford and published by the Hatch Music Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This Arizona State Anthem, as it was designated, was adopted by the Fourth Arizona State Legislature and became effective February 28, 1919.

References and Pointers

2008-01-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

Lets get straight to the code.....

(i)

int x = 2;
int *pInt = &x;
std::cout <<"The Value of *pInt is : "<< *pInt;

(O/P)

2

pInt is an integer pointer that points to the address of x
Hence *pInt points to the value contained in that address of x

(ii)
int x = 3
int &rInt = x;
rInt ++;
int *pp = &rInt;
cout<<"Value of rInt is :"<< rInt< cout<<"Value of *pp is :"<< *pp< cout<<"Address of rInt is :"<< &rInt< cout<<"Address of x is :"<< rInt<
(O/P)

rInt , *pp and x contain the same value
The address of rInt and x is also the same
rInt ++ increments the value in x
& to the left of = operator is taken as a reference
rInt is the reference to the integer x .
rInt contains the same value as x as its address is also the same as x
A reference is initialized only once
Hence upon incrementing rInt , the value in x is incremented.
*pp is an integer pointer that points to the value held in the address of rInt or x

(iii)

int a[N]; // The array name is always a pointer to the first element in the array
int *p = a; //*p points to the first element in array a
*p = 3; // Assigns 3 to the first element in a
*(p+1) = 3 // Also a valid statement

(iv)

References have to be intialized
int &r ; // invalid
extern int &r // This tells the compiler that the initialization of ref r is out of the scope

(v)

int &r = 1 ; // Error : lvalue needed
const int & r = 1 // Valid - the Lvalue is like an object whose values a variables unless specified.

This was a small gist on Pointers and References . I found it very useful for a quick glance.....

Ideas on Blogging

2008-01-15T04:34:00.000-05:00

I ve been reading other blogs to develop my blog sphere. Some technical blogs were - on computers , technology, politics, cooking recipes and several were based on the writer's hobbies , interests and passions. They not only gave me an idea on the wide range of topics available but also on the design of a blog. The layout, color, font styles are important in setting the mood of the blog. This blog just talks about some of the other ideas which are out there that I m exploring.

This website gave me an insight of how much of significant hard work is required in a blog. Till now, I ve been basically having fun with my blogs ,mostly using it like a personal diary or a voicebox. The Wordpress website gives detailed views on web design, layouts, topics for blogs and a database of ideas....

http://lorelle.wordpress.com

I m beginning to think a blog is like a coffee house. I would like my blog to be a casual read, informative, fun and sometimes newsworthy. This blog is what I believe to be a very complete blog. You ll see its very popular and updated regularly. I could see a lot of effort put simply in the layout of the site.

http://creativepooja.blogspot.com

Apart from the actual blog content, Widgets like the Weather monitors, Stikcams and games like sudoko, crosswords and others are real fun and interesting. This however should not side track readers from the actual articles we rack our brains to write. [:)]. A few samples are .......

http://www.stickam.com/profile/dungvvo
http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

The Layout of a blog is should balance the articles we write with the widgets. Content is as important as the fun factors we add in our blog.

http://blogger-templates.blogspot.com

I had a lot of fun trying some of these ideas out. Hopefully they reflect on my blog too.
Adios amigos.

Something fun!

2008-01-11T07:18:00.000-05:00

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Brave Poet.

Where You Lived: Greece.

How You Died: The Plague.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Her Yellowness

2008-01-09T02:00:00.000-05:00

I ve passed my White to Yellow Kung fu test today. I m getting my gee - my dress for the class, and a yellow belt and patch that i have to stitch onto my gee. I m also getting a certificate for the test and my teacher's stamp on my manual. Needless to say, I m really happy I got it.

New Year's Resolution

2008-01-03T03:54:00.000-05:00

With the end of year 2007, I ve promised myself to be more open and communicative with friends, family, colleagues and employers. Over the years I had grown into this bad habit where I thought that if I kept my feelings to myself and swallowed any feelings of hurt that, I had felt it would be ok and not happen again. Well I realized through bitter situations where I could have rectified problems just by being open and talking it over with people. Of course this might not always work too, because no one likes to get their ego hurt as well. So the manner in which i put across my thoughts and ideas also matter.

Something new .....

2008-01-03T03:20:00.000-05:00

After years of learning sitting in a classroom, today I had my first class in Tai Chi. Tai Chi is a form of art that improves concentration and is along the lines of meditation.It emphasizes on breathing techniques and slow movements of the body. I learn't several forms today that I can hopefully practice at home.I have so far attended a class in kung fu and a class in Tai chi and in every class it felt really good.

Jake, our instructor hopes to become a master and then finally a Grand Master in Kung fu. It was a pleasure learning under him. Everyone including Jake was learning something new and were eager to learn. During Tai Chi class, I was able to flush out thoughts about my normal life and just concentrate on breathing at first and then gradually visualizing on an object from nature. I, for obvious reasons could picture a snow clad mountain while I breathing. Even though we had to do some fast exercises, I think i left the class feeling refreshed.

After little or no exercise Tai chi provides a perfect warm up for couch potatoes like me. Like all beginners, I am a white belt now and hopefully i can become a yellow belt before the holidays end.

"What happens in Vegas...."

2008-01-02T05:07:00.000-05:00

Its odd when you experience something totally out of the world and yet when you try to explain it to friends , even the right words just don't give the experience the justice it deserves.

Well my Vegas trip could be one that i can categorize under such moments. Totally out the world, never seen before, an entirely virgin feeling. Jam packed with tourists and regulars at the hotels and casinos. Many of whom who come there in search of their fortunes and several who lose it. Neon lights , live performances , music and more music. Grandpas and grandmas sitting with a bundle of one dollar notes in front of the slot machines. Live Performances from Celine Dion, the Blue Men, Toni Braxton and even Kevin Federline. I've been told that every hotel here has been regularly torn down and remodeled to make the tourists experience something new.

I tried my hand at Black Jack, Roulette and the Slot machines. I liked Roulette where i felt i had a fair chance of winning. Black Jack, however didn't seem like a game that was even fair. But then I wasn't there for the gambling, I was there for the site-seeing. You see, most of the hotels carried their uniqueness through various themes they adopted and this was a site to see.

We visited the MGM Grand first. Here we saw a glass enclosure with lions inside, free to roam and play and it so happened that while we were standing under a glass passage, one of the lions just picked up a ball and brought it above us. While the lion lay above us, stretching and roaring another lion joined it and started playing with him. This got all of us totally excited thinking that the only thing that separated those lions from falling on top of us was the glass roof.

The Luxor had the Egyptian theme. Its building constructed to form a black pyramid torches a white beam of light from its tip at night. Added to this theme was the Museum of Tutankhamen, which was an audio tour of the boy king's tomb and how Carter the famous explorer discovered the tomb and its spectacular treasures. We also had a ridiculously funny ride on what was called the Magic Carpet.

New York - New York was more of feeling the New York City buzz. The Hotel showcased the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State building along with the city's thematic sky scrapers. We took the infamous roller coaster ride which rattled my head. I think it was the most scariest ride i have ever taken yet.

I think the hotel that I really liked is the Venetia. Very classy very contemporary. The famous gondola ride , the living statues, singing bands and the dinning experience was so memorable. And of course if i leave out Madame Tussaud's i would definitely not be forgiven.

Paris.... Oh la la . The music , the ambiance , the Eiffel Tower. I felt as though I left the US a long time ago. The Arc de Triomphe and the replica of the Louvre were as good as the real one itself.

Apart from these were the Bellagio whose dancing fountains seen in Ocean's Eleven, the live performance at Treasure Island , the Mirage , Mandalay Bay , Caesar' s Palace have totally added to my fun filled vacation.

We spent new years in Vegas. So on the strip of Vegas with millions of strangers in the middle of a road we wished everyone a happy new year.

Hoover Dam

2008-01-02T03:29:00.000-05:00

While I m on my writing spree, I d like to add a few more blogs about my trip to Las Vegas. Few snaps I had taken have also been posted here. We were essentially on a road trip from phoenix to vegas and on our way we stopped at the Hoover Dam.

I ve added a snap of the Hoover Dam ( 1931 - 1935). This dam is essential to the growth of the South West.

Situated between the State of Arizona and Nevada, the Dam collects water from Colorado River and creates a reservoir called Lake Mead.

As the Dam was earlier referred to as Boulder Dam, the city created here attained the same name called Boulder City. The Dam created many new job prospects which was timely during the Depression. Boulder city even now is the only city in Nevada which prohibits gambling completely.A friend pointed out that since Arizona and Nevada follow different time zones, two towers stood on either sides of the dam.

One showed the Mountain Standard Time followed in Arizona and the other followed Pacific Time Zone found in Nevada, which is one hour behind MST.

It was pretty chilly while walking along the dam. The view though, of the Colorado River was simply spectacular.

The Dam was constructed by several of those people who were never able too see it after it was constructed. Lake Mead itself destroyed several artifacts associated with the Pueblo Grande de Nevada, the Lost City of Native Americans.

From here we continued our way to Vegas 'Sin City'.

New Year's @ Vegas

2008-01-02T02:49:00.000-05:00

Las Vegas is probably the only city that continues to reinvent itself year after year. Also known as the Sin City, it easily adds itself to the list of cities that must be visited at least once in my lifetime.
On our visit, my friends and I visited almost all of the popular Hotel and Casinos there. My favorites are the Venetia, the MGM Grand, Luxor, New York - New York, Bellagio and Treasure Island. Amongst these are also Caesar's Palace, Harrah's, Wynn, Stratosphere, Mirage and many others.

My friends and I went on a road trip to Vegas which also gave us the opportunity to visit the Hoover Dam on our way.