Urban Gadabout: Is Jane's Walk Weekend coming up where you are? Plus some additional NYC-centric gadding notes

No, you can't click on anything here, or type anything in. But you can by going to janeswalk.org.

by Ken

Just some quick updating, mostly occasioned by the upcomingness of a favorite weekend of the year in this space, Jane's Walk Weekend. For us in New York it means, once again, a generous calendar of incredible walks (and also some bicycle rides) -- free events -- overseen by the Municipal Art Society, which knows a thing or two about walking tours, except that this year the calendar includes a pretty full schedule on Friday as well as Saturday and Sunday, May 1-3.

New Yorkers can go directly to the New York City page. In theory there are filters that should enable you to sort the total schedule to fit your particular needs and wishes. I guess it's my contrariness that make those filters really not terribly helpful for my purposes, making it necessary to scan repeatedly through the whole schedule. But then, wouldn't I have wanted to peruse the whole schedule anyway? (New Yorkers may also check out the recent MAS blogpost, "Jane's Walk Weekend Is Back -- and Bigger than Ever.")

I know we're getting close to the actual dates. All the more reason to find the appropriate Web page for your locality and see what whets your exploring appetite. It's a great tribute to that great urbanist Jane Jacobs, one of the foremost champions of cities and one of the most revealing students of the way cities work, or don't.


"WORLD OF THE #7 TRAIN"

One other Urban Gadding note I can pass on is that urban geographer Jack Eichenbaum, the Queens borough historian, has scheduled a new edition of what he calls his "signature" tour, The World of the #7 Train, an all-day extravaganza that consists of six mini-walking tours along with an exploration of the #7 train from Manhattan to its terminus in Flushing, Queens. Here's how Jack describes the outing on the "Public Tours" page of his website:

THE WORLD OF THE #7 TRAIN
Saturday, June 13, 2015, 10am-5:30pm

This series of six walks and connecting rides along North Queens’ transportation corridor is my signature tour. We focus on what the #7 train has done to and for surrounding neighborhoods since it began service in 1914. Walks take place in Long Island City, Sunnyside, Flushing, Corona, Woodside and Jackson Heights and lunch is in Flushing’s Asiatown. Tour fee is $42 and you need to preregister by check to Jack Eichenbaum, 36-20 Bowne St. #6C, Flushing, NY 11354 (include name, phone and email address) The full day’s program and other info is available by email: jaconet@aol.com The tour is limited to 25 people.

MUNICIPAL ART SOCIETY

As it happens, I've just done a couple of MAS tours with Jack: a couple of weeks ago a fascinating walk along Woodside Avenue in Queens, and just yesterday the East Side version of his Manhattan "Conforming to the Grid" tour, which focuses on the disruptions to the Manhattan grid created in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 caused by pre-existing development of the area north of present-day Houston Street between Broadway and the Bowerie. Jack will be doing Part 2, the West Side version, looking at the grid disruptions caused by the pre-existing settlement of then-"suburban" Greenwich Village along the Hudson River, is coming up Sunday, May 31, at 11am. The day before, Saturday, May 30, Jack will be doing Part 2 of his MAS series "What's New (and Old) in Long Island City.

For more information on both, and to check out the rest of the current MAS schedule, go to mas.org and click on "Tours" -- or this link will take you directly to the "Tours" page. Right now MAS is coming up on the final month of the current March-May MAS schedule. Watch for the announcement of the next schedule -- which one might guess will cover June-August -- sometime in mid-May. It's worth checking for the new schedule in a timely fashion, because for some time after it's announced, it's possible to register for any darned tour you want, including the ones that are "never available." Well, they're not available if you wait till they're filled!


NEW YORK TRANSIT MUSEUM

Registration has already begun for non-members as well as members for the Transit Museum's busy summer schedule. For more information go to the "Programs" page of the Transit Museum website, and click through to the link for any date that looks interesting to you to see what the current availability is.

I was going to recommend the two additional outings of a tour that Mike Morgenthal offered for the first time in the last schedule, "Ghosts of the Elevated: A Walking Tour," a walk through the Lower Manhattan risings of the old Second and Third Avenue els, which I enjoyed enormously. But I see that both dates are sold out! On the plus side, this suggests that the tour will continue to be offered!

One thing you know will be available is the Transit Museum's 2015 schedule of ever-popular "Nostalgia Rides," which happen on tenderly cared-for vintage equipment from New York City Transit's collection. Two outings are scheduled for summer: "Beach Bound: Coney Island," on Saturday, July 18, and "Orchard Beach by Rail and Bus," on Saturday, August 8. I can recommend both from personal experience, and may do the Orchard Beach outing again, hoping for better weather than we had the last time we set out there. In addition, we have advance news of another outing I can recommend from personal experience, a fall "Evening Ride to Woodlawn Cemetery," on Saturday, October 24.


WOLFE WALKERS with JUSTIN FERATE

Again there's a new schedule in progress, but there are still a lot of terrific-looking programs to come: "Summer Mansions of Astoria" (Saturday, May 9, 10am-12:30pm), "Kleindeutschland in the East Village" (Saturday, May 16, 1-4:30pm), "An Offbeat Day in Staten Island: Tottenville and Conference House" ("by ferry, foot, and overland railway," to the southern tip of Staten Island; Sunday, May 31, 9:15am- 3:30pm, "possibly later"), and two of Justin's famous grand bus outings: "Hyde Park: Val-Kill, Springwood, FDR Library, and Vanderbilt Mansion" (Sunday, June 7, 6:45am-7:30pm) and "New Paltz and Hurley: 17th and 18th Century Stone Houses of the Hudson Valley" (Saturday, July 11, 7:45am-6:30pm).

I'm doing all of the above except the Tottenville excursion, and that's only because of a schedule conflict. The first tour I ever did with Justin was a version of the all-day Tottenville outing he did for MAS some years ago, in admittedly dreadful weather -- looking out over the Arthur Kill, which separates southern Staten Island from New Jersey, we could barely make out the city of Perth Amboy opposite. What's more, we weren't able to go inside Conference House itself, which has now been refurbished and just been reopened to the public.

But my abiding memory of the Tottenville trip is that as soon as Justin got our group safely organized on the Staten Island Ferry he started talking, and about eight hours later, on the return trip, he took a breath. My official policy became that if Justin thinks there's something worth seeing someplace, I'm going, as long as I don't have a schedule conflict. In the case of the above-mentioned "Summer Mansions of Astoria" tour, I'm going even though I had a schedule conflict. As I've mentioned I've been reading Edith Wharton, including the Old New York quartet of novellas, and I'm not going to miss that!

Download the Spring 2015 Wolfe Walkers brochure for more information, including the registration form.

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Trail Blazers:BTech II Semester : DR. Homi Jahangir Bhabha

          Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha was an all time genius whose altruistic efforts actuated a meteoric revolution in the scientific world.He brought the name of India in the list of seven nuclear powers of the world. He was a true Indian who put the welfare of the country above personal aggrandizement. His profound and relentless efforts in nuclear research will always be a source of inspiration. We can imbibemany lessons from his life.

          Dr. Bhabha’s life was an embodiment of noble ideas from which many a lesson can be imbibed. He was a man of integrity. He always puts service before self. He earned his engineering degree in 1930. That was the decade when the world witnessed numerous scientific advancements in the field of physics.

         In 1945 founded the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He was the first chairman of Atomic Energy Commission of India. He led the team of scientists in setting up Asia’s first atomic sector Apsara at Trombay.

          The nuclear plants at Tarapur, Rana Pratap Sagar and Kalapakkam are the fruition of his efforts. He firmly believed that atomic energy should be utilized for constructive purposesalone. As recognition of his  efforts and service to the nation he was offered a place in the Union Cabinet, Bhabha refused it.

          A talented individual Bhabha took keen interest in music and art. A bachelor all his life, Homi Jahangir Bhabhadedicated his time and energy to scientific purposes. He played an important role in scientific temper in the masses. Instead of searching for employees and scientists for his institute, he founded the institute in order to bring out the vast potential in young scientists and budding talents. His work on atomic energy brought him many honorary degrees of D.Sc. and Phd in India and abroad.

           His mantra ‘work is worship’ was so inspiring that when he died the employees of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, worked extra hours to mourn his death. Today when the world is divided on the issue of nuclear energy, with the super powers adopting double standards and other countries pursuing policies with vested interests,Bhabha’s life should be a shining example and a token of peace and development in the present nuclear age.

       In fact, Dr. Bhabha initiated the process of harnessing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Hence, he can be called the architect of Pokhran I and II,which too are meant for maintenance of peace in the subcontinent in view of nuclear threats from our Northern and Western neighbours.

Emerging Technologies : 1.Solar Power 2. Cloud Computing 3. Nanotechnologies

                             1. Solar Power

          Spain is fast becoming a leader in innovation and generating advanced solutions in the industries .The country is determined to deepen and intensify its productive specialization in industries that depend on technology and innovation.

           Researchers are creating novel types of photovoltaic devices that could finally make solar power a broadly practical source of renewable energy in Spain. At the Solucar solar plant outside Seville, the light rays are coming out of a high tower and falling on tilted upturned mirrors. The truth of the situation is that the upturned mirrors are tracking the sun and radiating its power onto a blindingly white square at the top of the tower creating the equivalent of the power of 600 suns. This tower uses concentrating solar technology (CSP). Solar thermal energy is a technology which harnesses solar energy for thermal energy requirement in industries, residential sector and commercial setup. It works by utilizing heat of the sun.

            Spanish companies and research centers are taking the lead in the revival of  CSP. Its installation is quite expensive. Hence, it is effective only in a large scale. At the same time, the photovoltaic systemis growing exponentially huge which converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Spanish companies are investing huge in photovoltaic fields and investigate the next generation of this technology in its large production. In contrast, a solar thermal collector supplies heat by absorbing sunlight, for the purpose of either direct heating or indirect electrical power generation. CSP has until recently cost nearly twice as much as traditional natural gas or coal power plants, and it is efficient only on large scale.

      The tower technology works on the same principle as  the troughs – the sun’s heat –but uses curved mirrors called heliostats.It directs the sun’s light to a central receiver at the top of the tower. The tower in the Solucar plant is also provided by a small amount of natural gas in a rainy or cloudy weather prevents the plant’s full operation.              

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                             2. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a computing term or metaphor that evolved in the late 2000s, based on utility and consumption of computer resources. It involves deploying groups of remote servers and software networks that allow different kinds of data sources be uploaded for real time processing to generate computing results without the need to store processed data on the cloud. Clouds can be classified as public, private or hybrid.

Deployment models:

·         Private cloud

Private cloud is cloud infrastructure operated solely for a single organization, whether managed internally or by a third-party, and hosted either internally or externally.

·         Public cloud

A cloud is called a "public cloud" when the services are rendered over a network that is open for public use. Public cloud services may be free. Technically there may be little or no difference between public and private cloud architecture, however, security consideration may be substantially different for services (applications, storage, and other resources) that are made available by a service provider for a public audience and when communication is effected over a non-trusted network.

·         Hybrid cloud

Hybrid cloud is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community or public) that remain distinct entities but are bound together, offering the benefits of multiple deployment models. Hybrid cloud can also mean the ability to connect collocation, managed and dedicated services with cloud resources.

  Cloud Computing Service Architecture :

* Infrastructure as a Service   (IaaS)

* Platform as a Service ( PaaS)

* Software as a Service ( SaaS)

Security and privacy

Cloud computing poses privacy concerns because the service provider can access the datathat is on the cloud at any time. It could accidentally or deliberately alter or even delete information. Many cloud providers can share information with third parties if necessary for purposes of law and order even without a warrant. That is permitted in their privacy policies which users have to agree to before they start using cloud services. Solutions to privacy include policy and legislation as well as end users' choices for how data is stored. Users can encrypt data that is processed or stored within the cloud to prevent unauthorized access.

  

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                                          3.Nanotechnology

         Nanotechnology is qualified as basic research and development that is happening in laboratories all over the world. Nanotechnology products that are on the market today gradually improved ones.

         Much of Nano science and many nanotechnologies are producing new and enhanced materials. The two technologies that can be used in producing these are top down and bottom up. In top down technique, very small structures are produced from larger structures. The same can be done in bottom up technique.

         Long term and short term are the two main ways, which are used in non-materials. Sunscreen and cosmetics, composites clay and tougher and harder cutting tools are the short-term ways. Carbon Nanotube composites, medical implants, machine ceramics water purification etc are the examples of long-term ways.

         Carbon Nano Tubes have exceptional mechanical properties mainly high tensile strength and light weight.Magnetic material such as computer hard disk which has the ability to magnetize small areas of a spinning disk to record the information. In future the computer chips could use the magnetic properties of these electrons called spin which has numerous advantages.

          CNT based water filtration devices have already developed by many researchers. These filters cannot only block the smallest particles but also kill most bacteria. Enhance nonmaterial’s from the basis of a state of the art “battle suit” is being developed by the institute for soldier Nano technologies at the MIT. There is a guess that developments could include materials which monitor physiology while a soldier still on the battlefield and uniforms with potential medical applications such as splints for broken bones.

Water The Elixir of Life BTech II Semester

In this essay “Water-The Elixir Of Life”, Sir C.V.Raman brings out how water is indispensable to plant and human life and how it also causes evils like soil-erosion. He also tells excess of water can be preserved for good purposes.                                          

 In the first part of the essay, he talks poetically of the beauty of water. Water trickling down the rocks or water collected in small ponds that satisfy the thirstof passing cattle is beautiful sights. Big tanks play a vital role in South Indian agriculture. Much of the rice is grown under them. It is a beautiful sight to watch the sun reservoir set over them.

One of the most remarkable facts about water is that it carries silt to far-off placeswhere it is finally deposited .The land where silt is deposited is usually very fertile. The silt that mixes with the salt water of the sea precipitates rapidly. The color of the water changes successively from the muddy red or brown to yellow and green and finally to the blue of the deep sea. These varying shades are also fascinating.

The flow of water has undoubtedly played a great part in geological processes. Rapidly flowing water carries away the rich top layer of the soil. This phenomenon is called soil erosion. The problem of soil erosion is of major significance in various countries especially in India. Soil erosion in the initial stage is unnoticed. Later, it results in the formation of deep gullies, ravines and ruts. These things affect agriculture. The terracing of the land, the construction of bunds to check the flow of water, the practice of contour cultivation and the planting of some types of vegetation are the measures that can be used to check soil erosion.                                                                                                                                             

Water is the basic of all life. Every animal and plant contains water in its body, water is essential for its body. Moisture in the soil is equally important for the life and growth of plant trees.

The conservation and proper utilization of water is fundamental for human welfare. At present streams and rivers wastefully empty themselves into the sea. It is clear that the adoption of techniques preventing soil erosion would help to conserve and keep the water where it is wanted.