Bill Richardson quits

Bill Richardson seems to have given up his presidential bid.

The New York Times reports that Bill Richardson is ending his presidential bid. I think he did a good job of bringing New Mexico to the forefront in all the debates. People now know him and he was a charmer who always made audience laugh in the debates.

More Interesting Links

Lighter Side of Bill Richardson

Area code 575

I received a message from T-Mobile about the new area code for my telephone number. Here is more information.

Beginning on Oct. 7, 2007, Socorro’s area code moves from 505 to 575. (Actually, the 575 code works already, but Oct. 7 is the official starting date.)

From Oct. 7 until Oct. 5, 2008 (almost a year later) BOTH area codes will work. After Oct. 5, 2008, ONLY 575 will work.

That gives you a year to

• re-program all your phones
• let all your friends, relatives, business contacts, and other important people know;
• use up all your business cards, letterhead, brochures, and other printed things,
• print new business cards, letterhead, brochures, etc, with the 575 area code.

At first, it really looked simple and there was no reason to panic. I already am getting complaints that I am not reachable from some parts of the world. I hope the hitches are rectified soon.

Chocolate Spill

A semi carrying chocolate boxes crashed in New Mexico:

Around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, a truck hauling nearly four tons of chocolate bars overturned near Grants, spilling boxes of the sweet stuff all over the road.

Hmm! I wish I was in mile marker 76 eating all the chocolates. This reminds me of the land of chocolates in Simpson's episode.

NMT License Plate

Finally NMT License plates are available. The NMT logo on the backdrop of the M-mountain makes it the most colorful and alluring license plate than any other collegiate name plate in New Mexico.

Bill Richardson for President

Will an able Governor get a chance to become an able President?

Many Americans tend to brush aside this simple, articulate, humble, passionate and witty Governor from New Mexico. I am talking about Bill Richardson, a person who exudes confidence with a lot of achievements by his stride. He is a popular political persona and commands respect from everyone. Residents of New Mexico love him, his opponents regard him, and the international community adores him.

Bill Richardson is not only a household name in New Mexico, but also has his presence felt in cyberspace. He is in myspace, facebook, youtube, flickr, zanby, and partybuilder. These aforementioned links convey volumes of his achievements.

Mr. Richardson is a natural leader. Recently, he was listed in the Top 25 doers, dreamers, & drivers for the year 2006. Chad Vander Veen names the governor among top space voyagers.

Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. Voyager, Apollo and the Space Shuttle....Bill Richardson may soon find his name listed alongside the pioneers of human space travel.

He recognizes his position as an underdog. Elections are an expensive affair in terms of the money. He is looking for funds. With candidates like Hillary Rodham Clinton raising record funds ($26 million) during the first 3 months Bill Richardson seems really underfunded.

... he had raised $6 million in primary campaign money and had more than $5 million cash in hand at the end of the three-month period...

I have been living in New Mexico for the past 5 years and everyone regards "Bill Richardson" as their own family member. He has an immaculate record and is passionate in his job. He was voted into the governor’s office again with ease.

I firmly believe that Bill Richardson has everything, except the affluent wealth (read funds), that takes to become the president of USA. Give him a chance to enter the white house and you will never regret it!

Refer to America for Richardson, a comprehensive portal/blog, for more information.

Water Canyon at Socorro, New Mexico

Recent news about climbers and cnet news editor getting stranded in snowy conditions should not be taken lightly. Nature can be furious as well as loving. I agree that visiting scenic places is tempting. But care should be taken that we do not get affected by the fury of nature.

We made an exciting trip to Water Canyon with in icy road conditions. There was a slope near the parking area of the camp ground. While going to the water canyon, the slope was downward. So, the car easily slid and I was able to park it.

The place was awesome with fresh undisturbed snow. The snow was powdery and the place was beautiful. It was chilly. So, after spending about 10 minutes, we headed back home. That is when we realized that we have to climb an upward slope. The car slid in the ice and would not go forward. After a lot of thought, we had to reverse to car so that if places itself in a muddy spot and then we drove it.

I listed a few things that could be useful during wintry (snowy) weather.

1. Chains for tires
2. Salt crystals
3. Snow shovel
4. Full tank gas

Snow Snow Come Again

The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, but you still have to mow it.
— Author unknown

It snowed all around Albuquerque. The residents of Albuquerque watched the dark clouds and snow covered mountains far off. They experienced wind, but not snow. Brace yourself guys! You have a snowy afternoon waiting for you.

Winter Storm in New Mexico

Finally, the day temperatures are going to drop significantly. Thanks to the winter storm from Pacific Northwest.

Socorro Balloon Rally

Today is the first day of the Socorro Balloon Rally. Since I woke up late I was not able to take many pictures. But, here is a collection of pictures that I took 2 years ago from the same event.

It was a beautiful day

Apple Store

I have been yearning for this news.

As an avid user of many Apple products, I am glad to see an Apple Store opening up in Albuquerque. I am curious to see it open in the new ABQ Uptown mall.

Don vs. Jann-e-Mann

These two Hindi movies are the subject of comparison as they were released at the same time for Diwali. I heard that they are going to play these movies in Albuquerque. I look forward to watching them and provide first-hand reviews.

Stalin

Date: October 22nd
Time: Evening show (6:15 pm)
Venue: At SUB THEATER (Student Union Building, University of New Mexico, 87106)

Little Hail

The probability of hail for Socorro seems to be more in the month October. In 2004, the great hail storm took place on October 5th. Today there was little hail, and it was good and did not cause much damage.

An evening

Some random pictures near Ramya's apartment.

Bommarillu

This movie is playing in Albuquerque at the SUB Theater (Student Union Building), University of New Mexico campus on September 9th. There are two shows: 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

Ganpati

There is a “Grand Lunch” organized by the Indian Student Association at Socorro.
The venue is the Student Activity Center @ NMT.

Cops

With the school reopening for fall semester tomorrow, the presence of cops has increased. If the intention of the cops is to hide, they have to do a better job; I can spot them easily.

Wednesday
A car was pulled over on Leroy Place at about 10:00 pm. It looked like the driver was a teenager and all occupants were minors. The driver turned off the engine and the lights. The cop waited for his backup to arrive before enquiring. Nobody is safe on the street.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday
I have seen a pattern on these three days. A cop waits in the parking lot of Loma Vista Apartments on El Camino Real St at 8:00 am. A police car hides besides Epiphany Episcopal Church on Leroy Place at 10:00 pm.

Let us hope that this (conspicuous) presence reduces the crime rate in Socorro.

Smoke joining the dark rain clouds

Hole in the Cloud

Floods in Socorro

There were severe thunderstorms in Socorro yesterday, which was followed by a heavy downpour. Roads were flooded, especially Frontage and Florida. Here is a picture of rain water dripping in my office.

Today, Mayor Ravi Bhasker of Socorro gave us listeners an update of the flood situation and other arrangements done by the City to help the residents. Apparently, Red Cross is here in town with 40 beds. The Finley gym was made ready for night stay for people whose houses were flooded. He also mentioned that he had never seen so much rain in the last 15 years or so. The ground is saturated with water. I don’t hear that very often nowadays. Everybody knows that Socorro is a desert. Obviously, this monsoon season renders the following Arabian proverb false. “All sunshine makes the desert.”