Saket Vora

This past Saturday I was at the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival located about an hour southeast from Palo Alto, just outside the Bay. Gilroy, CA is one of the most prominent garlic processing centers in the world, and the three day garlic festival has been held since 1979 as a fundraiser for local charities. Krupali — the Guju radiation oncologist whom I met last summer at Yosemite and again at the Outside Lands music concert, came up to the Bay for the weekend. Krupali and two of her friends – Neha and Ashish – picked me up at the Caltrain station and we hit the road toward Gilroy. Neha is actually a clinical dietitian at Stanford Hospitals, and Ashish is an environmental engineer helping to tackle the water crisis facing California.It was a fun group.

We could smell the garlic almost a mile away, though slightly. The festival was obviously oriented around garlic food — countless food stands with all kinds of food. There was a heavy arts and crafts presence, as well as music stages.  A huge success was the garlic hats — a beret style hat inspired by a garlic bulb. Krupali and Neha were rocking them out and I just had to join in.

We had: garlic fries, garlic bread, stuffed mushroom caps, and even garlic ice cream. The ice cream was the best — you could choose roasted almond, pistachio, or praline pecan. We each got a different flavor, and at first you taste the sweetness then right at the end you get a hint of the savory garlic. It was delicious! We were hoping to try some garlic wine, but they didn’t have any. Oh well. After spending some time at the amphitheater listening to live music, we headed back to the Bay. Garlic festival was a success.

I headed back to Fremont in the evening to pick up Neha and Krupali, and we headed up into the City for dinner. The microclimates were in full force – in Fremont it was pleasant, low 70s with the sun. By the time we were crossing the Bay Bridge, all we saw was a wall of thick fog. Krupali has parking good luck, and sure enough we scored a spot right in front of Osha Thai on the Embarcadero, by the Ferry Building. What a pretty part of town to be at night!  The Ferry building lit up, the towering palm trees glowing with the Bay Bridge as a background.

After dinner, we headed down to The District, a wine lounge in Soho near the ballpark. Now this is a nice place — relaxing atmosphere and conservation focused. We were joined by Karthik – a friend of Krupali’s she met as part of a core group of bloggers some years ago. Just a really great night in the City.

Oh yeah — here’s another look at the sweet garlic hat, which is now my cooking hat. :)

Over the last couple of years I’ve heard remarks on several occasions about the way I use my laptop, usually in a team meeting where they see what I’m doing. This post is different than the usual fare, but I thought I might comment on some of the ways that make my computing experience better in case others are interested.  Note: folks who have made the switch to Mac won’t find much of use here.

CutePDF – a free PDF printer that works from any program

Unlike in OS X, PDF publishing sadly is not baked into Windows or Office products. CutePDF is a no-fuss free PDF printer that works just like a normal printer, only it prompts me to save the PDF file when done. First install Ghostscript, then the CutePDF program and you’re all set.

Foxit Reader – hands down best PDF viewer available

While we’re on PDF documents, Adobe Acrobat reader is well known for being sluggish and bloated. I even disliked how they changed the interface options. Enter Foxit Reader – a free alternative that is blazing fast, supports opening PDFs in tabs, and fully featured with highlighting and note taking tools. A must have.

Launchy – quick access to programs, calculator

This is a flashy one. Launchy is a handy program launcher, file explorer, and calculator. Tap a keystroke (alt+space) to bring up launchy, and start typing the program you want to launch. Launchy indexes your start menu and brings up the program — and it learns so soon you just need to type the first few letters. I add my documents location to its indexer and now I can quickly navigate or search for files to open. More handy though is its quick calculator function. I tap alt+space and start typing some math, and it’ll give me the answer.

Photo from Lifehacker

Live Mesh – sync folders between devices, access through web

Gotta hand it to Microsoft for this. Mesh makes it dead simple for me to synchronize folders across my two laptops — without fussing with network or LAN settings. This works through the magical ‘cloud’ of the internet. In addition to syncing files, it offers 5GB of free “Live Desktop” space, so I can login to a website and access any of my folders from any computer. It also includes support for Mac, so keeping files synced across multiple platforms is simple. Mesh also includes a good implementation of Remote Desktop, so I can connect to any of my devices and control them. Dropbox does the folder sync feature as well, but you have to sync with a separate Dropbox folder. Mesh integrates with Windows, so it’s seamless. Big props to Microsoft for this.

TeraCopy – greatly improved copying of files

This is something you wish was baked into every OS. TeraCopy sits quietly behind the scenes, springing to action whenever you start copying files. It speeds up copying, has better overwrite/ignore rules, and has resume features. One of the first things I install when starting from a fresh Windows install.

Vista/XP Virtual Desktop Manager – four virtual desktops done right

Laptop screens can start feeling a bit small when you have a lot of programs open. Virtual desktops create multiple instances of your desktop, but Microsoft’s own tools for this often stumbles when programs run multiple instances. For instance — say you want to keep your mail client maximized on one desktop, and two Firefox windows in two other deskstops. This virtual desktop manager works like a charm, is fast, and does what I need. Just set hotkeys to switch between desktops, and it can really help create some breathing room on a laptop.

TreeSize – hunt down what is filling up your hard drive

TreeSize is a free utility that helps you determine where all your hard drive space went. I guess with 500GB hard drives shipping standard these days, it’s not as big of a deal but still handy for laptop folks.

ImgBurn -free, simple DVD/CD burning with ISO support

ImgBurn makes it easy to burn ISO files to discs, create ISOs from discs, as well as to burn files to CDs like normal. Free, and I haven’t had any problems with it.

PDF Split and Merge — exactly what it sounds like, for free.

Couldn’t help it, one last PDF one. PDF Split and Merge is a free utility that lets you easily combine PDF documents into a single PDF. Handy for compiling class notes or lecture slides.

That’s all I can think of now. Other programs I prefer using are Firefox (web browsing), Postbox (desktop e-mail client), Trillian (instant messenging), Picasa (photos), FileZilla (FTP client), iTunes (music), VLC (video player), WinRAR (file unzip/zipping), Flickr Uploader (photos), and Notepad2 (text editing).

Remember those posters in which a main photo was composed by hundreds of smaller photos that serve as crude pixels? I stumbled across a free tool that allows you to create your very own photo mosaics – Foto-Mosaik-Edda. After taking considerable time creating databases from my photo sets, the tool lets you select a main image, the folders of photos you’d like to use, and some parameters (like ‘pixel density’, and allowable repeats) and voila! — a photo mosaic. Here are some that I’ve made using photos my family and I have taken; click to see a larger version.

Arc de Triomphe, using photos from my family’s European travels.

Swedish flag on boat to Ven, taken using photos from my European travels.

Naman on the beach by Route 1, southern California, using photos from the 2007 roadtrip.

Eiffel Tower panorama with Sapana in front, using photos from my family’s European travels.

Main Cathedral in Lund, using photos from my European travels.

The gardens behind the Schonborn Palace near Vienna, using photos from our European travels.

The Hoover Tower and Green Library at Stanford University, drawing from a database containing every single photo and image on my harddrive (28,700+).

Note that these photos do not necessarily include all photos in the database, although that is an option you can specify. I’m liking the results so far, I’ll continue exploring this tool.

I found myself catching up on This American Life episodes today as I went about my day, and I was struck by a Sarah Vowell segment on General Marquis de Lafayette. The episode was Reunited, where Vowell discusses the triumphant return of Lafayette to America in 1824 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United States. As anyone who’s endured several long, meandering conversations with me knows, I am quite fond of American history, particularly the Founding Fathers and the astounding result of the Revolutionary War.

Lafayette, a wealthy nobleman inspired by the independence movement in the Colonies, left his native France at the age of 19 to enlist in the ragtag army commanded by General George Washington, who would later consider Lafayette the son he never had. Dashing and courageous, Lafayette was adored by his men and was a trusted right hand man to Washington during the war. He was instrumental in bolstering French support for the colonials, and after the war returned to France with hopes of a democratic revolution in France. Instead, he witnessed the Reign of Terror and was imprisoned for five years when he tried to escape to America.

As Vowell describes, 80,000 people came out to greet Lafayette in New York’s harbor when he returned in 1824 (note: the population of New York at the time was 120,000). He was feted everywhere he went, with public parks, squares, roads, and cities named in his honor (Fayetteville, NC). Vowell writes about this visit in the context of the growing political unrest that would ultimately lead the Civil War:  “…Lafayette, belonging to neither North nor South, to no political party or faction, was a walking talking reminder of the sacrifices and bravery of the revolutionary generation and what they wanted this country to be. His return was not just a reunion with his beloved Americans, it was a reunion with Americans with their astonishing singular past.”

During the visit, Henry Clay toasted him calling him an ‘Apostle of Liberty’, and in response Lafayette said “To the perpetual union of the United States, it has always served us in times of storm — one day, it will save the world.”

He was the first honorary citizen of the United States, and when he died in 1834 President Andrew Jackson ordered the same funeral honors for Lafayette that was accorded to John Adams and George Washington. The people of America were asked to wear black for thirty days. When Americans returned Lafayette’s favor by helping to liberate French soil in World War I, Vowell says “General Pershing marched his troops to [Lafayette's] Paris grave, where the old soldier had been buried under soil from Bunker Hill. They placed an American flag into that American dirt. “Lafayette,” one of them said, “we are here.”

Vowell’s voice breaks as she says those last words, and I feel goosebumps up my arms. So on this Bastille Day, I choose not to celebrate the act that set in motion a period of turmoil for France, but to a Frenchman who was one of the greatest friends this country of ours has ever had.

In a pensive mood right now. I saw The Hurt Locker tonight. This was the very few films released recently (other than Moon) that genuinely had me excited to see it. Like Moon, the Hurt Locker has a laser focus — it is about the three men of the unit and how they do their job. No brooding commanders sitting in the darkened glow of a control center, a homefront sweetheart with unfolding drama, or crisp suit wearing politicians making brash speeches. The first hour of the film in particular is extraordinary.

Why the pensive mood? After the credits stopped rolling and I left the theater, I thought: there are over 140,000 American soldiers in Iraq, but when is the last time there has been a real story on any one of those men and woman over there? Have I been neglecting it? Sure, we read about the change in strategies, the pulling back from the cities, the surge of troops into Afghanistan, but where are the human stories? Yes we have a lot of domestic news to cover, but do we really need yet another segment on Michael Jackson or the Twitterevolution? These men and women will be returning home over the next five years to their families — what are we going to say to them when they return?

The film has a scene where the lead character is asked to pick up cereal at the store and finds himself staring the down the long rows with dozens of brightly colored cereal brands. His eyes are hollow, and you can feel himself silently asking “Why?” As I think about it now, it brings to mind the segment below, where comedian Lewis C.K observes that the world is amazing right now and yet nobody is happy.

How much of the world that we interact with daily is merely a mask on the real world that lies beyond? How many of these masks in front of us — the LCD screens, the brightly colored cardboard boxes, the high fructose corn syrup — are really needed by us to live the lives we wish to lead?

Tried a new dish for lunch today, a pasta dish I thought more fitting for summertime: linguine avgolemono with vegetables. I discovered Avgolemono, I discovered, is a tangy Greek sauce made with egg yolks, lemon, and whipping cream.

The recipe calls for artichoke hearts and green beans, but I didn’t have artichoke hearts so I used some broccoli florets. Fettuccine was substituted for linguine

3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup whipping cream
12 oz frozen artichoke hearts
8 z green beans, cut to 2 inch pieces
12 oz linguine
3/4 freshly grated Parmesan cheese (use fresh!)
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Place yolks in medium bowl and gradually whisk in lemon juice and whipping cream. Boil pot with salted water and cook the vegetables in them for ~5 minutes. Remove vegetables while leaving water in pot, and once back to boil cook pasta. Put the vegetables into  a skillet. Once paste is cooked al dente, strain but retain 1/2 cup of the liquid. Whisk 3/4 cup of the liquid into yolk mixture, then add the yolk mixture + parmesan cheese + parsley to the skillet. Cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens up, about 4 minutes (tongs were easier to fold pasta). Season with salt + pepper and grate some more parmesan after plating.

Many people who visit the Bay Area are often struck how big it is. Coming from the Triangle, this rings true both in physical geographic and population terms.  I know I felt that way, though it was tempered by three visits before starting at Stanford. I was fortunate to know at least a few people closeby like Mary, Nader, Amit, and Brent — all who played tremendous roles in getting me settled in to this brave new area. This last month has been marked by a major transition point: graduating and finally leaving the protective sandbox of school. But the events of the past few weeks perhaps signal another transition.

I recently spent a wonderful Saturday in the City — coffee in the morning with Rebeca to talk about the California cleantech open, then lunch with my high school friend Dale (who is finally out of the military; he became a Navy corpsman), then the rest of the day with my friends Melih and Micky. I was describing to Micky (who works at Tokbox with Melih) about the various greentech related things I had been up to, and mentioned meeting Gary with Lunera Lighting. I was introduced to Gary through my friend Ben (they are colleagues at The Westly Group, a cleantech VC firm), and I met Ben through friends Naman and Andrew (by the way, turns out that Ben knew of Donny through the Fulbright application process). I mentioned Gary to Micky because I knew he had led sustainability efforts while at eBay, and she had worked at eBay too. It was a longshot connection with eBay being such a large company, but sure enough Micky’s eyes lit up at the mention. She indeed had worked with Gary on a project and spoke very highly of him. Small world!

As I look for opportunities in greentech, Johnson Controls pops up as a major player in building energy management systems. I decided to search Facebook and LinkedIn to see if anyone I could reach worked with them before. I came across Bryan, a graduate student at Stanford, who worked in Johnson Control’s automotive department for some years. We traded Facebook messages a few days ago, and he had mentioned that he was leaving for Africa soon. This afternoon, I heard from my friend Evan that student teams in the Design for Extreme Affordability class were giving pitches for summer extension projects. On a whim, I attended the pitch event and spotted a presenter named Bryan — who is working on a solar concentrator + pv solution for charging cell phone batteries and is traveling to Africa for market research and need finding. Same person, what a nice coincidence! We met in person and I shared some VPO (village phone operator) resources that I’ve found via the FrontlineSMS:Medic project. Another project I saw was the Pepper Eater – a device which processes dried chili peppers thus making the creation of a value-add project easier. This of course reminded me of the Universal Nut Sheller project, which my close friend Joel worked on at UNC to great success in the Carolina Challenge, and I hope to put them in touch. Small world!

Also tonight, my good friend Brent invited me to drinks with Jason, a recent Triangle area transplant (NC State master’s student in engineering and business) who along with colleagues at Duke has started Quantios, a venture that brings predictive modeling and analytics to the college application process. They competed in the Triangle area business plan competitions and got enough traction to find incubator space on Sand Hill Rd. I love how he and his team is bringing some innovation to a sector desperately in need of new ideas. We had a great discussion at Rosewood, an upscale resort club just a stone’s throw from the incubator office’s with a sunset view of the Foothills.  Jason checked me out on the internets beforehand and spotted the EEP polo I wearing, and when I mentioned the Apple internship he asked: “Do you know Jordan Price?” Startled, I replied “Absolutely!” Turned out that he and Jordan worked together at Sony Ericsson, where both had done co-ops. Commented that Jordan had a real witty sense of humor, which I can wholeheartedly attest to. An advisor to Quantios is Jason Massey, a fellow North Carolinian, Wolfpacker, and recent Bay Area VC  who is a good friend of Brent who I believe connected him to the Quantios folks. I met Jason through the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program and got to know him more as he helped out with the Social E-Challenge. Small world!

And to complete the circle, remember Rebeca whom I had coffee with at the beginning of this long and winding post? She was the former leader of the BASES Social E-Challenge and is a good friend of Jason Massey, whom she met through Gary Palin, then a professor at NC State who was a judge for the Social E-Challenge. Small world!

While there is still so much more out here to explore and learn, part of me feels this place becoming a bit smaller –but in a good way. But it drives home lessons that I only truly started to learn in grad school — build your network. Be open minded. Explore your interests. Share ideas. Help others if you can. Think outside yourself. It takes some thought and some work, but be mindful of opportunities when they arise. As is true in life, you never know where a path might lead.

Homemade artisan bread, part deux. Used a little less flour with the hope that the bread would end up more light and airy.

Great success!

This just came out of the oven:

It’s a no knead bread from this recipe here: Five Minutes a Day for Fresh Baked Bread. Mine actually has some hints of sourdough, which could either mean something is weird with my water or the insides aren’t cooking through. Nonetheless, I’m quite pleased with the results and look forward to experimenting more with it. Very simple to make — just flour, salt, yeast, water, and time.