kayak fasteners

The indescribable latch system didn't work so well...so I did a prototype of a previous idea, using custom straps and plastic hardware. This one actually worked quite well and looks better than the nylon straps & buckles, I think.

The strap is thin translucent polyethylene (like the skin). The hardware is all flat plastic pieces, can be laser cut. Would like to try white or translucent plastic for these as well.

A little rotating twist lock keeps the strap from coming undone.

It self-aligns much better than the nylon straps, no more weird bulges.

Also tried a new version of the front fairing- just a folded piece of the same strap plastic, velcroed in place. Would be nicer with white velcro, but otherwise works pretty well. Not as good for major impacts but should take care of streamlining & abrasion.

The fairing piece unfolded...

Simplicity

Simplicity is homemade yogurt in a clay ramekin. With a cute sugar packet to sweeten it. And the Herald Tribune, if the New York Times isn't available.

Learning

Ambassador sighting

There are many beautiful grates around town...and also many white Ambassador cars. I am hoping to ride in one soon...

Extended Stay

Hotel food in India is supposed to be really good--ie if you're a resident, you might go of your own accord to a hotel restaurant for a luxury meal. This could mean Indian food, or this could mean a hodgepodge buffet that includes a soccer-ball/spaceship-shaped cheese concoction...

The other day a hotel staffer asked to take my picture. I tried to say no, but they wanted it because I'm here an 'extended stay' guest and they wanted the photo so that the entire staff could know me by face and name. A bit startling. It is a very businessy hotel and reminds me of the hotel we used to stay at in Bangkok, when I was little. Too many patterns in the lobby and lots of overly shiny tropical woods. And marble. And chandeliers. The lobby bar seems to be a hub of business/microfinance/expat activity. Above is my room, overlooking a nice-looking slice of the otherwise fairly putrid lake.

I'm ready for the end of my extended stay.

Traffic in India

That lady in the top photo is riding a motorcycle at high speeds side-saddle! No helmets sighted yet. There are not only a ton of people in the back of that tuk tuk (called a scooty here) in the second photo, there are two people sitting with the driver, more or less on his lap! The bottom photo shows Hyderabad's new system of 'flyovers' (aka overpasses).

These pictures don't show it, but it is truly incredible the tiny tiny margins between travelers on foot, bike, scooter, tuk tuk, car, buses, and then waterbuffalo--all these, sharing the road, albeit with MANY honks. Honking seems to be an entire language in India.

Harvest!

Our vegetables! Delicious with just a dash of lemon & olive oil...best tomatoes of the summer so far!

And to counterract the hyper-local, also got a wedge of jackfruit at BB. According to wikipedia, it's the national fruit of Bangladesh and is also very popular in Southern India- any sightings? It has a strange rubbery texture and tastes somewhat like bubblegum.

Indoor/Outdoor

One of the most interesting aspects of buildings here is the completely different definition of indoors/outdoors, conditioned space/unconditioned space, and perimeters. This photo shows a completely 'outdoor' or unconditioned, unbounded lobby space, with computers, etc., and 'outdoor' stairways and gathering spaces extending off it. Conditioned spaces are smaller and more defined, such as conference rooms, which are sealed by doors. The perimeter of the building is more defined by an exterior gate at the end of a driveway than by an actual front door. There is no front door at all, but rather a sequence of steps, a turn, and a threshhold that alerts you to when you're 'inside' (yet not inside at all in the Western sense). Its pretty great, climactically appropriate, and helps avoid that horrible feeling of spending too long in sealed, air-conditioned spaces.

Places to go together...

Can you guess where this is?

One just about ready- and a few more coming...
Shiny with no wax!

Ganesha(s)

We ran across miles and miles of Ganesha 'factories' on the side of the road on the way to one of the schools outside the city. They're for an upcoming festival in which they are decorated and then put into the lake (I think). They're all plaster and are individually painted, with the hands applied in the right positions at the last minute, it looks like. The whole area was chalky-plastery white.

Designs in Hyderabad

Loads and loads of tiffins in plastic baskets brought from home!

Apparently the 'Thought for the Day' is a common Indian thing...

Colorful maps of India were on a few school's walls. One had Europe too, which included the Russian Federation.

Amazing art! by a student. There's very little display of student work, so this was awesome not just for the aesthetics, but also just being posted on the wall.

Indian book covers--seen at every school

Seen around...

A few shots from our visits yesterday--it rained sporadically, as seen by the sky in one of the photos. Bright colors abound, whether in murals or whole buildings. The interior is an airy split-level office built around rocks, which apparently are part of the Hyderabad context. The last photo is near Charminar, a city landmark.

A few schools

We went to visit far more inspiring, cheery schools yesterday (than the previous day). Out in the 'suburbs' of Hyderabad, mostly...about an hour away. The kids wear adorable uniforms, and there were exuberant murals all over.

Happenings in Hyderabad

The view from my hotel in Banjara Hills; a banyan tree at the Hyderabad Sailing Club where we ate paneer pakoras for lunch; a friendly looking goat outside of the Architecture for Humanity Rumi School we are here to work on. The funny thing about the goat is that one of our team members insisted we put a goat into our competition renderings, claiming goats were 'everywhere' in India. Turns out, there are indeed goats exactly where we placed them in the renderings, right in front of schools.