Sunday, September 28, 2008

And Now For Some PAGE RANK!

Ah, it took its own sweet time getting here, but four of my blogs now have some Page Rank. 

The older Autos blog is the leader, with Page Rank = 3

The younger Autos blog and my Travel blog have Page Rank = 2 each

And my main, all-purpose blog has a Page Rank = 1

Still waiting for the baby of the group, the Technology/ Startups blog, to get some love from Google.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

New High - Daily Visits for my main Blog!

I'm quite proud of my baby blog - Capoeirista.  Yesterday (Tuesday, September 23, 2008), this blog received 855 visits (per StatCounter). 

Well done!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Restaurant Review - Restaurant Des Alpes, Interlaken

During my trip to Switzerland, we stayed a night at Interlaken.  While there, we ate dinner at Restaurant Des Alpes, which is a half open-air restaurant, with lovely views of the alps surrounding Interlaken on all sides.  It was raining and cloudy, but the views were still spectacular.  We sat under a canopy under the rain - it was amazing.

The restaurant had a company of yodelers with alpine horns, who were quite fun.   They perfectly complemented the huge tankard of beer I was handed!

glass tankard of beer

On to food:  we had a veggie lasagna, which was ok.  And a Prosciutto pizza.... what a pizza!  Very soft, thin crust, very light cheese, some tomato, fresh prosciutto and a sprinkling of oregno.  The first pizza in years on which I didn't put even a drop of tabasco, or a single red pepper!  I wish I could eat it once each week.  Pizza dreams....

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Moving up the Google rankings!

I'm quite happy - I'm crawling up the Google ladder.  eg:  search for "Revolution Health up for sale", and my main blog is the second search result.  Sweet!

Or search for "Revolution Health in trouble" - my blog is the third result. 

Wish I could bottle this formula.  Next step - getting my individual, focused blogs (Tech, Cars, Travel) to move up the rankings too.

Restaurant Review - Mingalaba, Burlingame

In the pursuit of excellent Burmese food, Nikhil found Mingalaba in Burlingame. 

image

Now Mingalaba is supposed to be a hybrid Burmese-Chinese restaurant.  What?  Well, why not?  Ok, point taken.

So is Mingalaba a good local less crowded alternative to driving all the way up to San Francisco or Alameda (yuck) for Burma Super Star?  Short answer - yep! 

Slightly longer answer - well, its not as good.  Everything is very good.  But Burma Super Star is still just that little bit better... for Burmese food.   So if you have time, patience, 30 minutes to find parking, a big group to hang out with while waiting in the cold for 2 hours for your turn at dinner, and only want Burmese food - go to Burma Super Star.  But if you want something pretty good with none of the hassle,  or if someone in your group wants some Chinese food on the side (or even some orange chicken!) then go to Mingalaba!

Plus, a name like Mingalaba also fuels the first 20 minutes of conversation.... each time you go.  Whats a Mingalaba?  What does it feed on?  Do we give restaurants Mingalabas instead of stars from now on?

Anyway, do go there.  And try the tea leaf salad.  Second only to Burma Super Star.  Try the Palatha, which is their version of Roti Paratha - and very very good.  Try their Pan-fried Okra and Shrimp (funnily a wonderful combination) .  Try it all.  And tell them I sent you.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Top 10 Hikes in the World

Rick McCharles at BestHike put together a list of the 10 best hikes in the world, per his opinion.  I think he has good hikes on the list.  However, I would definitely put Macchu Picchu (Peru) and Patagonia (Chile) up there.  But hey, no one said the list was objective.

  1. West Coast Trail, BC, Canada
  2. John Muir Trail, California, USA
  3. Tongariro Northern Circuit, New Zealand
  4. Ausangate Circuit, Peru
  5. Sunshine to Assiniboine, Alberta, Canada
  6. Glacier North Circle, Montana, USA
  7. Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
  8. Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
  9. TMB (Tour de Mont Blanc), Europe
  10. Overland Track, Tasmania

Oh yeah, the list is a little old.  But hikes are hikes.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Glacier Point at Yosemite

I was at Yosemite this weekend.  I spent the first part of Saturday driving up to Glacier Point and roaming around there.  The views are really amazing!  Some of the best panoramic views of the Yosemite sights can be seen from Glacier Point. 

The rest of the group hiked up the Four Mile Trail.  It is 4.6 or so miles straight up!  Quite the hike.

Half Dome at Yosemite from Glacier Point

These are amazing views of Half Dome and the Yosemite valley from Glacier Point

Yosemite, Glacier Point, Half Dome

Yosemite, Glacier Point views, Half Dome

Yosemite Glacier Point views from 4000 ft, including Half Dome

Yosemite Glacier Point views, famous overhang rock

The famous overhanging rock at Glacier Point

Yosemite Glacier Point views, famous overhang rock

Yosemite, Glacier Point views, Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls

Vernal and Nevada Falls in the background