I wrote a post on photography in Pakistan some time back and one of the featured photographers was Ali Khurshid. The big news is that he got featured in the TIME Person of the Year issue. They didnt do a specific person this year. Just highlighted some interesting folks. I’m still a little speechless since I only came across him around a year back but he thoroughly deserves this recognition. Just thought I’d share this info.

Jade: One of our cats

Out of town (SF, Vegas, LA, SD) till the 2nd so doubtful I’ll be updating the blog. All pending links just being thrown on this post:

LibraryThing [Neil Gaiman's Journal]

BMW vs Jaguar [Advertising Design/Goodness]

Circumcision Halves H.I.V. Risk, U.S. Agency Finds [3quarksdaily]: Just found it interesting. Apparently been all over the news.

Incredible Roy Doty Christmas card [boing boing]: Fun.

Satire: JAM Magazine Apologizes [Desicritics]: The un-”apology”

10 Most Dangerous Toys of All Time [Cynical-C]

Finally, a comprehensive map for The Path i.e. the walkway underground from Union Station up to Eatons Centre. [Torontoist]

Flickr’s excellent Xmas easter egg [boing boing]

Top Ten Stories of 2006 From National Geographic News [3quarksdaily]

The 4 Man Show [Chapati Mystery]: Havent had a chance to watch it yet but am betting its funny and possibily in Urdu.

Peep this Project: Lisa Ng’s 10 New Things [BlogTO]: Interesting concept although admitted Im too lazy to actually come up with ten things.

Hungry for a Month: Someone’s project.

Popular Science: Best of Whats New 2006 [3quarksdaily]

Scary Mary Poppins Trailer: The Original [Neil Gaimen]: Havent seen this either yet.

Do You Know Who I am? [Mark L.]: I found it funny.

Immigration [Zeeshan B.]: Amusing strip

Currently Covet:

Enemies of the Ordinary: A Photographic Collection 2007

Wii despite the fact they started recalling the handsets already due to strap snappage.

HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON PEOPLE!

This is going to be a Pre-California trip post. Mainly based on stuff suggested to me and so forth. Probably wont be able to even do half the stuff but somewhere to start. So might be completely useless for anyone else. It’s also going to be updated regularly until I leave T.O. on the 20th. I am eternally grateful to those who contributed to this list and anyone reading this, feel free to add your suggestions in the comments. : ) and I’ll put em up here duly referenced ofcourse:

San Francisco:

Transport: San Francisco to Berkeley
Calistoga Spa Hot Springs [Calistoga North of SF]
Big Sur Information Guide [Big Sur starts somewhere near SF and goes southwards along the coast upto San Simeon around halfway to LA]
Big Sur: The Documentary
Hearst Castle at San Simeon
Monterey Bay [South of SF along coast]
California State Parks

Las Vegas:
List of a 100 things to do in Las Vegas
Cheapo Vegas
Stratosphere Hotel Thrill Rides
Only Vegas [Shows and Events]
I Love Vegas [Shows and Events]
Map of the Las Vegas Strip
alt.vacation.las-vegas
Grand Canyon National Park
BroadwayBox.com [Discount Vegas show coupons]
Luxor

Los Angeles:

The Getty Villa, Malibu [Museum. Reproduction of a Palladian Italian Renaissance villa]
Apparently Disney Land is better than Six Flags - Magic Mountain
Citadel Mall [Outlet mall. City of Commerce
alongside I-5 about midway between downtown LA and Disneyland]
LA Tours

San Diego:

The San Diego Zoo
Balboa Park
Gaslamp Quarter [esp. Horton Plaza]
La Jolla [Shores etc]
Drive up Mt. Soledad in La Jolla
Coronado Island
Sea World [Considering the link for the one in San Diego was the first thing which popped up in Google... am presuming its the biggest?]
Mission Bay is nice to walk or bike around
Torrey Pines beach and park

Restaurants:
Fast food Mexican: Rubio’s, Fins Mexican Eatery (must try fish tacos)
Traditional Mexican: Old Town has lots of restaurants, the one inside the bazaar is quite good
Extraordinary Desserts: Extraordinary Desserts in Hillcrest at 2929 5th Ave or downtown at 1430 Union St
Lots of good sushi around town, as well as Vietnamese and Chinese food

Shopping:
Fashion Valley mall near Mission Valley
Carlsbad Outlets in Carlsbad

Random:

California Driving
rec.travel.usa-canada [One of the sources for the above info.]
Fido Voicemail check: +1 416 822-1123 [So broke ole me can check my messages from a land line]
Things You Should Do In California [Blog]

People who’ve helped contribute to this list as of now: Ali L., Vivek M.

Photographers: David Topping, Steve Wall and Hamza El-Falah

An interesting concept:

The average human being generates about eight watts of energy with each step, most of which is expended as vibration. It may not sound like much, but take the 30,000 or more people who pass through a major-city subway hub at rush hour, and suddenly you’ve got serious power. That’s usually a problem for architects and engineers, who have to design structures to withstand such small but persistent pressure. But the Facility, a London architecture firm, sees it as an opportunity. The company proposes putting small hydraulic generators in floors to capture vibration and convert it into electricity.

– Excerpt from Energy-Harvesting Floors by Clay Risen

And one of the most ridiculous inventions to have spent valuable research money on:

The popularity of the iPod has given new urgency to an old criticism of the portable music player: namely, that it isolates the listener by tuning out the world around him. As one response to this problem, Noah Vawter, a graduate student at the M.I.T. Media Lab, has created a pair of headphones that tunes the listener back in.

– Excerpt from The Ambient Walkman by Jascha Hoffman

I came across these while browsing though The 6th Annual Year in Ideas [via 3quarksdaily]. Registering is annoying but free.

Notes:
– It was beyond freezing
– Stuff costs way too much. Spicy Olive Bar and Grill had a “not bad” alfredo for around 14 bucks which was compared to Falls Avenue prices is “cheap”. Although in Mississauga one could dine in Moxies for $14 and Spicy Olive is no Moxies. But I have to admit if I have to eat at the Falls again I’ll prob. go back there. Other places are beyond expensive.
– The Hersheys Shop sells good hot chocolate. Much better than Starbucks
– The Sky Wheel is heated. Somewhat.
– Hamilton looks like the pollution king at 8 p.m. on a freezing winter eve. They really need to tone down their emissions.