White Plaza Watch

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And the Rain Goes On

PENTAX K-7, smc PENTAX-FA 43mm F1.9 Limited, 1/30 sec @ f/1.9, ISO 1600




Well, the pummeling storms have passed but we're still getting intermittent rain storms. El Niño is indeed back with a vengeance. The wet weather has been wreaking havoc on my attempt to find a new tennis racquet: I simply haven't had enough time to demo racquets thoroughly, and my demo period is about to end.

Wish there were indoor courts here like there were at MIT...

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Feb 5 2010 11:38PM | 1 comments

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Homegrown

Pentax K20D, smc PENTAX-DA* 16-50mm F2.8, 1/30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600



This is as close to the "trenches" as you get with research. Scientific American and other popular plublications do a good job of glorifying research and exciting readers about possible applications, but only those who have worked in a lab realize exactly how unsexy research really is. Here's half of one our labs: everything you see here was homegrown by PhD students and post-docs. You'll never see anything remotely as real as this this on TV or in magazines.

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Jan 30 2010 12:39PM | 0 comments

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Here Cometh the Rain




Pentax K-7, DA* 16-50mm F2.8, 50mm 1/30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 3200

A series of storms have hit the area, including some thunderstorms (!), making it quite miserable to bike or even walk to campus. It's days like these that the Marguerite buses are full, and grad students are tempted to work from home...

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Jan 20 2010 10:26AM | 0 comments

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The Fog

As the storms predictions promises a rainy and cold week ahead, the weekend started with the fog in Stanford. It cleared up pretty quickly, giving way to nice warm sun but if you ask me, the morning was more beautiful.




Canon PowerShot SD750, Canon Zoom Lens 12.1 mm , 1/400 sec at f/11, ISO 100

I think, quite a few people agree with me as many of them were out going for their jogs or walks, although, tourists were scanty. Logically, I think, it should have been the other way round as Monday is a holiday, so number of tourists should have been more than the runners and walkers. Also the weather condition should have kept most of the runners at home but for some unknown reasons, the statistics were the other way round. Any ideas, any guesses for the reason?

Anyway, as this is my first post for 2010: Happy New Year to all. Hope you had a great...

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Posted by Ms. .. Richa on Jan 16 2010 12:26PM | 0 comments

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(NSFH) Roadkill

A potentially NSFH (Not-Safe-for-the-Heart) picture:



Palm Pre, unknown exposure settings

Most of the squirrels on campus seem to be living the life: bountiful food and few predators. Oddly enough, the squirrels in the Rains apartment area are still really skittish when it comes to people passing by them on foot or on bike. You'd think they'd be used to it by now.

Maybe they're skittish for good reason. I found this poor fellow as I pulled in to parallel park on the street. I still hope a hawk got it instead of a car, but given that it was still laying there, the latter was likely the culprit. Sadness.

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Jan 12 2010 4:51PM | 0 comments

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Back to Stanford



Palm Pre, unknown exposure settings

A bit overdue, but I'm now back from vacation in Taiwan and Japan. What a great three week trip. I'm tempted to post just a few pictures from the trip, but maybe I won't given how this blog is supposed to be covering campus life. But what is campus life without life off-campus? Hmmm...

A quick shot from the road while driving back from LA. This was along the 101, somewhere just south of Gonzalez, where it just looks like the road is straight in front and behind. But the I-5 is really the straight (and immensely boring) highway around here.

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Jan 6 2010 4:45PM | 0 comments

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Stadium Tennis



Pentax K20D, smc Pentax-FA 50mm F1.4, 1/60 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200

As I mentioned previously, the tennis facilities on campus are nothing short of amazing. I love playing on the stadium courts at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium, where they host the annual Bank of the West Classic that draws top female tennis players from around the world. This particular day I was playing with a friend, and we set up a DSLR with HD video up on the stadium seats to simulate typical TV camera views. It was quite amazing, and I'm hoping to share a clip of the action once I figure out how to post video on this bl...

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Dec 10 2009 1:29PM | 0 comments

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SNAPS: Not your Average Frat Party



Nikon d40x, Nikkor 18-135mm 1;3-5.6GED, 1/15 sec at f/4.5, ISO 1600




Sigma Nu's Arts and Poetry Slam (SNAPS) is one of my favorite events on campus. Each quarter the fraternity hosts a cappella groups, dance groups, rock bands, poets, and stand-up comedians in this popular arts event. They even provide the audience with warm drinks and snacks like apple cider and ...

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Posted by Ms. Nadia Nadine Mufti on Nov 26 2009 10:40AM | 0 comments

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Gaieties 2009: Apocalypse Cal

Nikon d40x, Nikkor 18-135mm 1;3-5.6GED, 1/100 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1600




Gaieties is one of Stanford's longest-standing traditions! It is a student-written musical put on every year before Big Game by Ram's Head, a student run theatrical organization. I went on Friday, the traditional freshman night, and MedAud (Memorial Auditorium) was completely packed with students waving their freshman dorm flags and screaming "BEAT CAL!" This year's show was "Apocalypse Cal" and as always, was raunchy, politically incorrect and full of nudity.







 Nikon d40x, Nikkor 18-135mm 1;3-5.6GED, 1/100 sec at f/3.5, ISO 1600

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Posted by Ms. Nadia Nadine Mufti on Nov 25 2009 9:39AM | 1 comments

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Big Game Countdown



Nikon d40x, Nikkor 18-135mm 1:3-5.6GED, 1/20 sec at f/3.8, ISO 1600




Members of the Stanford Axe Committee camped out in White Plaza last week for the "Big Game Countdown." These dedicated students blew the Stanford train whistle every hour for 112 hours leading up the 112th Big Game! Check out axecomm.stanford.edu to learn more about Big Game history and traditions.

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Posted by Ms. Nadia Nadine Mufti on Nov 25 2009 8:07AM | 0 comments

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Bulletin Boards




Pentax K20D, smc PENTAX-FA 50mm F1.4, 1/25 sec @ f/1.4, ISO 1600



There seems to have been an upgrade to the bulletin board kiosks around campus lately (native English speakers, please let me know if "kiosk" is not the appropriate term). They've been stripped down, and I believe that the extra lights are new. However, I really wonder just how effective these kiosks are. I've never seen a student stop to look at any of the flyers posted on them. I would imagine that flyers are more effective in places like dining halls and dorms, though they are understandably more difficult to distribute to. Today, it's likely that email is an even more effective way of reaching people, though there likely remains the difficulty of getting people to actually re...

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Nov 18 2009 4:13PM | 0 comments

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Big Game




Pentax K20D, smc PENTAX-FA 50mm F1.4, 1/8 sec @ f/1.4, ISO 1600



Even a person like me who doesn't really care about football knows that the Big Game is coming this weekend. I've never really understood sports rivalries to be honest, or even why people can be so fanatical about a particular team. Just seems odd to be so passionate about a group players you don't even know personally. But I digress...

Despite my football apathy, I am still happy to hear that the football team seems to be doing very, very well this year. For the last four years I have always heard people complain about how our team "sucks", but this year seems to be quite the opposite.

Let's hope Berkeley gets thoroughly trounced this weekend!

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Nov 17 2009 1:47AM | 2 comments

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Biking @ Lagunita


Canon 40D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS,  50.0mm 1/640 sec at f/16.0, ISO 400

As promised, here is another shot from Lake Lagunita.

Bay area is a biking friendly community, Stanford even more so. The mild climate conditions in the area makes it easier for students to choose biking as their mode of commute. In order to further help bike commuting, Stanford offers clean air cash awards of upto $282/year.

I live off-campus and prefer riding a bus instead of biking (its 10 miles bike ride!). With oil prices above $3.00, I don't think I can afford driving to office anymore! Add the on-campus parking prices and I would rather walk to the office! An award of $282/year is yet anoth...

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Posted by Ms. .. Richa on Nov 16 2009 10:14PM | 0 comments

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Lunch Time


Canon 40D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS,  65.0mm 1/2 sec at f/5.0, ISO 800

This shot was taken during the lunch hour. Most probably all these students are going for their lunch. The serious expression and their total engrossment in their discussions, caught my eyes and hence the shot. Among all the things I will always remember about Stanford, I think friends and the in-depth discussions with them are most important. I don't think I would have been able to survive my Ph.D., had it not been for my friends.

So I am dedicating this post to all my friends in Stanford and their endurance for my long list of complains! :)

Till next time...


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Posted by Ms. .. Richa on Nov 12 2009 9:42PM | 0 comments

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Roundabouts





Pentax K20D, smc PENTAX-FA 35mm f/2 AL, 1/640 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400



Even those of you who left campus just a few years ago may be surprised to see a new addition to the heavily-traveled bike paths: well-manicured roundabouts.

I forget who told me this, but the idea to use bike roundabouts supposedly came from a student who had recently traveled to another country (Canada?) that was full of roundabouts. This student, who was a band member, then set up a roundabout at the southwest corner of the Quad, otherwise known as the Intersection of Death, as part of a band activity. The temporary structure was left in place, and somehow the administration became convinced that the roundabout was a good idea, and put permanent roundabouts in,...

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Nov 10 2009 2:12PM | 2 comments

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Fall Colors Revisited



Canon 40D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS,  135.0mm 1/200 sec at f/7.1, ISO 400

I couldn't resist this one! Well fall colors are irresitable and the perfect position of squirrel made it even more so. So here it is for your entertainment, yet another shot of fall colors.

I took this shot while I was having lunch. The squirrel jumped to the tree branches few second after I clicked this shot. I am glad I could catch him before he did so! :)

Till next time...

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Posted by Ms. .. Richa on Nov 9 2009 9:27PM | 0 comments

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Flora and Fauna


Canon 40D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS,  135.0mm 1/400 sec at f/10.0, ISO 400


The Stanford Campus is world renowned for its beautifully architect buildings as well as it's natural beauty. The tourists visiting the campus are usually awed by the man-made structures and never get to experience the calm natural beauty of the campus. One needs to be in campus for longer than few days to admire that beauty:  the beauty that one observes when one simply sit in one of those benches and watch the birds and butterflies flying around. It took me around 2 hour of sitting idly before this humming bird trusted me enough to return to its daily activity. And after some time I could catch this second shot (below) of butterfly.


Canon 4...

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Posted by Ms. .. Richa on Nov 6 2009 9:16PM | 2 comments

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Nexus at the Clark Center



Konica Auto S2, Kodak BW400CN, ISO 400




Developed my first roll of film (except from my non-photographer days as a kid) at Costco, from the rangefinder I recently bought off of eBay and restored. It was pretty exciting to see how the shots turned out, and I'm pleased to have a few keepers. I think you'll likely be seeing both digital and film shots on this blog as I explore this new (to me) medium.




I took this shot while waiting for a groupmate to buy some lunch at Nexus, which is the big cafeteria located in the Clark Center, near the medical sch...

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Nov 5 2009 11:59PM | 2 comments

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Running @ Lagunita


Canon 40D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS,  135.0m 1/125 sec at f/5.6, ISO 500

My office is in the basement of Mitchell Earth Science Building. So in order to get some fresh air, I like going for a run at Lake Lagunita. Lake is dry during most part of the year but there is never a dearth of runner and walker around the lake. Sunny or rainy we are there getting our daily exercise. You can spot the beginners who can barely finish the whole round, the regular joggers and the dog walkers that you meet every day, and the athletic runners who run pass you and are not even panting (and giving you a big complex)!



Anyway, Lake Lagunita is one of my favorite places in Stanford. I have taken quite a few pictures of the lake and around it over the years I have been in Stanford. I will post few of them here in time to come. For now...

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Posted by Ms. .. Richa on Nov 3 2009 7:51AM | 0 comments

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Graduate Halloween




Pentax smc PENTAX-DA* 16-50mm F2.8 ED AL IF, 1/30 sec at f/2.8, ISO 3200



Some snaps over the weekend at the Rains Halloween party. Unfortunately, I didn't make it out to the Mausoleum party so all I've got are graduate students in costume.

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Posted by Mr. Andy Yun-Cheng Lin on Nov 1 2009 3:34PM | 0 comments

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