United States Observations 2017

Parking Rates at New York Midtown



Luggage lock that was plied open by TSA

What I like about United States?
(1) Automobile is probably one of the cheapest in the world.
(2) Freedom of Speech as guaranteed by the Constitution.
(3) Certain things are cheaper - Example Polo Ralph Lauren.
(4) Cool weather if is not too cold.
(5) Great online shopping - Amazon, Ebay etc. Offering free delivery to any part of main land United States. With the size of population, commercial companies target Americans with convenient solutions. Not so for international buyers. Example: Black Friday deals.
(6) Less dusty as compared to Singapore
(7) Respect for the dead for them to RIP.

What I am concern?
(1) Availability of guns. TV News have reports of murder and gun shots.
(2) Legalistic Society. Advertisement offering legal help against companies.
(3) Cost of Living. A meal at fast food costs about US$10 per person. More expensive if it is in proper restaurant with tips. Public transportation is also expensive considering Washington DC bus is about US$1.75 per trip. However, there are means for man on the street to survive, eg Walmart, K-mart (all offering reasonable priced items especially when purchased in bulk), self cook, use of private transport, coupons etc. For office workers, there are street food vendors offering reasonable priced variety food. Local produce is also value for money, eg 1 box of strawberries in New York Chinatown cost US$1 and they are fresh.
For ways to see how Americans survived in New York, please refer to this -> http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/24/i-saved-100k-on-30k-salary-here-are-my-money-saving-tips.html
(4) Tax - Income Tax, Sales Tax etc. All adds up to reducing the disposal Income.

Observations:-
(1) Society respect for military and unformed personnel, giving them priority in public facilities.
(2) Not so handicapped free access at subway.
(3) Slums where the whole community moved out leaving houses which are ransacked. Saw them when travelling along the Northeast Regional Amtrak.
(4) Multi cultural society - Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, Caucasians.
(5) Presence of emergency siren 24 hours each day. It can be from ambulances, fire engine, police.
(6) At the Airport, there are only 3 processes (a) check in by airlines counter staff (b) verification of tickets purchased against passport holders name and (c) security checks. The security checks are the most prominent ones having to remove laptops/tablets, shoes etc...  It appears that there is no immigration for exits. Passport has no exit stamp chop. Don't US authorities check on undocumented immigrant exit?
(7) A lady in New York actually gave way for me to step out. The lady was a modern and young person. I was pleasantly surprised.

According to report, in 2016, there are 10.8 million of Americans who are millionaires (not including primary residences).

Smithsonian National Gallery of Art - Interesting Painting

 

 

A continuation of paintings in Gallery / Museum which I could not understand. This time there are 3 of them in display at the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art.

Interesting Article on Chinese Immigrants to US

 

Source: Ellis Island, New York Immigration Museum

Source: Museum of Chinese in America, New York

Washington DC - White House

The White House, where the most powerful person in the world resides. Visitor can only see it from afar. It used to be a place where Americans could hold a demonstration to voice their displeasure. But now, it is fully secured with Police scanning activities of visitors and there are barricades everywhere.

It always amuse me to see commercial jets flying close to the National Mall which in turn is close to the White House. During my visit, I saw many commercial airliners landing their aircraft on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. What will happen if a pilot has evil intention? There is a Hollywood movie depicting missiles which belong to Security Agency from White House firing at hostile aircraft. I wonder is there such missiles system within the White House. In Independence Day, the Alien had destroyed the White House.

The White House doesn't seem to be as white as I had expected. The colour is pale white. It is great to see this historical building where so many American Presidents have resided since 1800.

Rembrandt's Self Portrait

Rembrandt's (Dutch painter, 1606 to 1669) self portrait is an interesting piece of art. I was stuck looking at the artist nose for a long time. It was so well done to create the 3 dimensional looking nose on a 2 dimension piece of canvas. There was effort made in making the nose stand out relative to the eyes socket and the face. The skill and technique of Rembrandt was truly amazing. I am honor to have seen this portrait in real life from the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art.

Space Shuttle Discovery in Steven F Udvar Hazy Center

Discovery Space Shuttle is big. It is through a real life visit to the Center to see the interesting proportion of the space shuttle. The rear engines of the Space Shuttle consist of 3 big rockets and a few other smaller ones. Something not easily noticeable unless it is through an actual visit. The diameter of the rear engines is bigger than the height of a human being. It is also equally interesting to see the various vectoring boosters surrounding the Space Shuttle to control direction in space and the hinges that hold the Space Shuttle door with the fastening bolts.

According to the presenter of the tour, the Center wishes to maintain the original condition of the Space Shuttle, hence visitors would be able to see the stain, burn mark of the Shuttle during entry. Discovery is one of the longest serving Space Shuttle of the programme. It flew its last space mission in Feb of 2011.

To me, I enjoy looking at the proportion and details of the Space Shuttle. To American, it is probably a national achievement icon. Something to be proud of.  Fantastic piece of equipment.

New York Dow Jones Chart

Dow Jones Chart from 1900 to 2010

At the Museum of American Finance, there is a chart showing the Dow Jones Index growth from 1900 to 2010. There are events linked to the Dow Jones Index, most notably is the great depression of late 1920s. In 2017, the Dow Jones Index had exceeded 21,000 points. The Museum focused on 3 investment tools, namely equity, bonds and commodities futures.

The Museum had also other interesting facts of finance shown below:-

US National Debt as at 2 May 17

 

 

 

Smithsonian Messerschmitt ME 163 Komet



ME 163 Komet

Again this was my second time seeing the ME163. This aircraft is located at the Steven F Udvar Hazy Center. I realized that the wing of the ME 163 was made from wood to make it light weight. This is not a full jet engine and propulsion is derived from rocket which burnt a highly flammable fuel mixture. Hence weight is an important consideration.

Smithsonian Messerschmitt ME262

Messerschmitt ME262 in Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

 

Cockpit of ME 262

This was the second time I had the pleasure to see a ME262. The first time was in Munich Deutsche Museum. The link to the first blog on ME 262 is --> http://e21s.blogspot.sg/2015/08/germany-part-18-messerschmitt-me-262.html

I found that the Smithsonian museums were generally poorly lit, probably due to protection of artifacts.  The photo for this ME262 was not so good, given that flash photography is generally prohibited in a museum.

The unique feature of this ME262 is the presence of Nazi sign at the rear vertical stabilizer. Unlike the Munich version which had the sign removed, this version in Smithsonian kept the original sign.

Secondly, the cockpit is clearly presented to visitors of the museum as a platform was erected next to the aircraft.

A beauty of its time.

Washington DC Food

Chipotle - A nice blend of rice, cheese, cream, beef steak grilled and seasoned in Mexican way. Not bad for a different taste. Chipotle is located throughout United States.

Fuddruckers - Claimed to be the world's greatest burger. Hmmm..... The one I ate has a Kobe Beef name on it and cost me US$11. It was no doubt tasty, but the taste came from salt and MSG. In fact, I found many American restaurants, except those high ends, have MSG.

McDonald Big Mac - This is located at Steven F Udvar Hazy Center. It tasted like any other Big Mac but again I felt thirsty after consuming it(usually due to presence of MSG). Could be due to the sauce (barbecue and sweet & sour which are available in Singapore). Cost me about US$9 for the meal. Reminds me of Big Mac Index.

The Bakery Pie - This is the most value for money food I had. In fact for 3 breakfasts, I had this. I purchased this from Walmart in Washington DC. Guess how much? .......... US$0.50 per box. It tasted good with its pie filling deliciously made. There were a few flavors.  I tried the lemon and peach pies. Highly recommended.

Vietnamese Pork with Rice - Restaurant is located near Chinatown, I had the intention to eat Vietnames pho but I was too hungry and decided to eat rice. Again it is tasty. My taste bud told me that it has MSG. Cost me US$18 including tips.

This is a proper Restaurant within Smithsonian National Gallery of Art - Salmon with salad. The butter that came with the meal was very nice. I didn't taste MSG in this meal. Cost me US$30 including tips.

New York - Subway

Notice the trash box within the station

It is not easy to navigate New York subway even for experienced travelers. Its complex network of train is one of the most challenging ones I have seen. More difficult than Guangzhou, German, Singapore, Malaysia train network. Just look at the Subway map and one will understand why.

There are a few considerations for travelling in New York subway (from my limited 4 days experience in New York). It needs a lot of logical thinking and common sense:-

(1) Direction - Uptown v. Downtown. Sometimes the signage will just show Brooklyn or Queens and traveler must know the map of New York well to know the position of the end point against the train station one is heading.
(2) Express v. Local stops - Certain train station will have local and express train service and hopping on a local train may extend the travelling time. For example A, C, E lines may indicate different express or local line even though they may be heading to the same direction. How to differentiate? It is through the subway map, the train station signage and announcement made by train operator. This is the most challenging aspect of travelling on the subway.
(3) Exit location - Train stations may have many exits and getting on to the right exit needs experience. For example, 23rd Street/ Court Square has exit on 23rd Street and 21st street. Distance between exit can be 1 km apart. I ended at the wrong exit on the first day to the hotel and had to walk. Fortunately I have iPhone Map to guide.
(4) Different subway line within the same station - Going to the right one requires examination of signage. Especially important if traveler wants to change subway line. It may involve finding the right platform (which can be the same one or a different one).
(5) Train may be taken off the line as and when announcement is made by the operator. Traveler has to listen to the announcement which is typically in American slang. The other indication is when everyone gets off the train.

Apart from that, train can get delayed because of technical issues. I had the experience of slow train on the E line. 

In addition, there are strange people asking for money in the train.

New York - An Interesting Poster

An interesting poster being displayed at Ellis Island. It shows 4 gentlemen trying to stop an immigrant from coming on board (to USA). The gentlemen were all very well dressed showing that they were wealthy. Behind them were silhouette shadows of the gentlemen respectively. The shadows indicated that they were once poor who had come to America to look for wealth and opportunity. They succeeded and became wealthy. Their actions seems to show that they had forgotten their humble beginning of immigrants to the United States.

It is a reflection that shows the current situation the United States is facing: trying to stop immigrants from coming to United States. To make America great. But the proposition has forgotten the roots of their humble forefathers who had come to America to seek a better future and brighter prospects.  To live an American dream.

New York Porsche 911

I saw this 2 Porsche in dusty and being repaired condition in Brooklyn. My guess is the garage wanted to sell the Porsche and might include repair cost to the final bill. From the side mirror, it looks like it is a 912 Coupe model.  Being a classic Porsche, I don't think the price will be cheap.

Coincidently, Porsche has announced its 1 millionth production 911. To mark the event, Porsche has designed a modern rendition of the original 911 of 1964 (with its chrome rear mirror and its green body).



Copyright of AFPRelaxNews

Other than Porsche, I saw this beautiful Mercedes C43 with nice rims in New York:-

Also, I saw Tesla being sold in Washington DC. The advertisement behind shows that monthly installment is about US$1000/month. This model comes with autopilot.

New York Wall Street Charging Bulls

The number of visitors at Bowling Green for Charging Bull is enormous (see photo above). It is simply impossible to take a proper photo of it unless it is at weird timing. It becomes a symbol of New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street.

Fortunately, unknown to tourists, the original bulls and bear statue is located at the Museum of American Finance. There are few visitors and they can touch the bulls and bear as long as they like. The history of the bull and bear figures is also narrated below it. Of course, I rub it for luck.

Original Charging Bull and Bear



And Story behind the Charging Bull and Bear

Washington DC Aircraft

One of my objective of visiting Washington DC is to see the beautiful planes at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as well as the Steven F Udvar Hazy Centre. These planes are my favourite.

F14 Tomcat - One of the most beautiful fighter aircraft in the work. Retired but still flying in Iran Air Force. Sweep wings and fantastic looking body. The F14 is the base for Macross Valkyrie cartoon / toys. War proven aircraft.

SR71 Blackbird - Nicely designed with sleek bodyline. Aerodynamic as it needs to travel more than 3 times the speed of sound. Black colour for better heat dissipation during high speed travel. Leaking fuel during takeoff and need to refuel for mission.

Mitsubishi A6M zero fighter - Big Engine head. High maneuverability. World War 2 Japanese military dogfighter.

United Kingdom Spitfire - Unique wing design. World War 2 Royal Air Force high performance interceptor.

USA Vought F4U Corsair  - Unique wing design. Pilots in the Corsair have achieved a kill ratio of 11:1 against enemy aircraft.

New York Food

Awesome food - NY Pizza Suprema. Great tasting Suprema Special. US$5 for a slice. Located near Penn Station. Founded for over 50 years (according to the information board). They sell only pizza. Must try.

New York Fish & Chip - Personally, I prefer Singapore Fish & Chip as the batter is thicker and fuller taste.

Street Food - NYC Hotdog. Cheap and good. US$3. Quick and simple tasty meal for a rush to the next destination. Love it with mustard and tomato sauce. Note: At Times Square, it costs US$10 for the same hotdog by a street food vendor. I walked away. Buyer beware.

My breakfast from LIC Hotel - Typical American breakfast. Bacon, sausage, egg, cereal and apple juice. I like it.