I tried to login tumblr today and I was noticing that they have increased their headers font sizes to ~40px, then I started to wonder how does the other social networking sites have their login info and I wanted to do a comparison.

Here are some of the sites I visit everyday.

Personally I like to bump up the font sizes but I think Tumblr has gone little overboard. This is way too big to makes me uncomfortable even and its probably suited for audiences under 8 yrs old.

Ning, uses a simple and straight forward login screen. Two things I would have done it differently, the word “Sign” is repeated for about 6 times in this single page. And the arrow art is used for both a button and as a tab thats not clickable.

Last FM, the site I used to love to return before the redesign. aaah, now its just another music site. Login fields are quietly present in a corner in the homepage, where I think a little more design or a nicer layout could be used. And I wonder why their buttons are so lifeless.

Vimeo, I love everthing the illustrations in this login page. I am sure every designer would too. We dont get to see such rich experiences in a public service site. But I also hope they dont change it out when they become huge and have “business asks”.

Threadless, now this is the kind of login screen I think should be used everywhere. Seamless logins. No getting out of the page, just a rollover on Login and you get the input fields. CLEAN!

JPG, is another service that has seamless login. It has the slick function of input fields appearing in the header when you click Log In. So its a part of the page at all times. WIN!

I think that summarizes my little study on logins today!

Ofcourse I have left out the giants like Yahoo/Google/AOL/Facebook as I wanted to compare only the newer & nicer social networks.

I am not into politics. I dont vote. I am not a US citizen. I am actually a person of no-country. But for the first time I am trying to understand all this., because of OBAMA!

He has won overwhelming response from everyone, especially the creative crowd.

Most recent design campaign by the good folks at X!

Incorporate ‘Obama’ into your gear and get in for $5. All proceeds will go to the DC for Obama campaign, that will utilize the funds to purchase buses to go to Virginia and help get out the vote.

I have been working on this project for a month or so with a very small 4 person team Alan Wilson/Dev, Frank Gruber/Product, and Sara Jacobs/PM.

It quietly launched last week and now with just word-of-mouth, it is getting some momentum, so I thought I will just blog about it. Or just follow it with Frank’s blog post from earlier today.

BuddyUpdates offers a simple way to see all your AIM buddies lifestream updates on the Web. The site is about 3 pages in total. I was responsible for the branding, UI and Visual Design. I went in for a very classic open feel to the project with just a little jazz in the header. And for the header: my inspirations are always from crests, illustrations and grunge, I love firing up illustrator and skectching some vectors of objects/things that I think the project is all about. Most of the time it ends up in my “support” folder where I never use it for anything real.

But this time, I am glad the vectors were actually converted into this header.

It was sweet to find out, people are actually reading my blog and is waiting for the remaining of our trip.

Day 3: We had booked a powerboat to take us to the Exuma Cays, one of the “out islands” of the Bahamas. Exuma is famous for their shark habitants, and they say “..the islands are so pristine and unspoiled that you feel as though you are half a world away”.

Its a full day trip and costs about 200$ per head. They picked us up from our hotel at 8am, reached the harbour and by the time we took off, it was about 9am.

We zooom zoooom for an hour and our first stop was at the Allan’s Cay - we paused to provide a tasty breakfast for the protected Allen’s Cay Rock Iguana, they call this the critically endangered species ‘the Bahamian Dragon’.

Took my 70-300 mm out and shot some more nature pictures.

We then zip through the waters, 40 nautical miles per hour, and arrive our destination - the Ship Channel Cay, a private island in the Exuma.

The beach has no words to describe its pristine waters.

We meet our hosts, who are actually from Germany, settled in the Bahamas after falling in love with it. Minus the heat I can actually understand that! We have an open bar and a lot of munchies. The waters are so clear if you walk along their deck, you can spot rays, colorful fishes, and little sharks.

Next up is sting ray feeding, I decided not to do it. Sun was the brave one! They give you instructions of how you cannot move an inch when its nearby and you have to just hold the fish in your hand, it swerves around and picks it up without any hassle. But if you move, it gets intimidated and god knows what it will do to you.

The thought of a free lunch soon attracts another kind of neighbour, and this time they may not be so friendly! The stingrays disperse at the arrival of the ocean’s main predators, the sharks…

Our guide, Stevie, born and brought up in Georgetown, Exuma, is a shark expert and its his time now to shine. He cuts a big enough bony fish and ties it to a rope and throws it in the water. The shark, happy to have got its prey, gets hold of it with its teeth stuck in the bones, then our Stevie tries to pull the shark to the shore just to make it more mad. Crazyyy.

Check the video to see his gimmicks.

After all this, we were invited by the hosts for the hot hot lunch. Whats on the menu: Fresh Catch of the day grilled, Steak with Mushrooms, Salad, Pasta, Hot Dogs, Fried Potatoes, Veggies, etc. I took two servings of the fish. so yumm.

We relaxed in the water for some time, shot some pictures of the piggies that were roaming around the ocean. Awwww they were so cute.

Time to go snorkeling now. We both were all geared up and followed our friend who said he’s a certified scuba diver. We snorkel around, saw some pretty fishies, colorful reef, often drank salt water and gasped for breath, and then bamm.. there was a shark underneath us. Right below. Like less than 10ft or so it seemed. Fakkk.. I turn around to tell Sun as I know he will be super thrilled, he was right by my side clicking pictures (with his $25 underwater camera). clik clik clik.. we both were so excited. Also no one who came with us saw it.. made us more special.

Two snorkel trips and some sea water drinking, I was done. Sun went for a third one to see more lemon sharks. My husband just loves the wild :)

I was chilling in the water, drinking more rum and taking in the scenery.

It was about 4pm and we were getting ready to say good-bye to the Exumas, Sun comes all burnt and red like a roasted chicken. We were sleepy as hell and the entire ride back we were falling on each other.

Like I said in the previous post, we went to Arawak Cay again, they had their Junkanoo summer festival. It was interesting to see the performances, food from different islands. We ofcourse could not resist the conchs and fish fries, and already felt sad to leave them behind.

BTW, Kalik is their Bahamian beer and its their slogan that I lifted - “Its a bahamian ting” . Sun liked it (everyone knows I dont drink beer), he thought it was like the Indian beer Kingfisher.

We then went to Shogun Revolver for our real dinner. Its an Asian-fusion lounge/restaurant, in the downtown with a view of the Atlantis. I couldn’t eat much and also they screwed up my dish, so I just had a Geisha’s Kiss martini. Sun had an amazing Chicken Noodle, which I shared quite a bit and was very satisfied.

Day 4: Since its our last day of the trip, we decided to be in our resort, enjoy the views and the quiet and ROOM SERVICE. Sat in our breezy balcony, ordered breakfast and just chatted.

Relaxed, slept, woke up to order more food and mojitos.

Ok time to go to the airport. end of our bahama episode.

Check out all the photos here.

now we are home, waiting to go on our next travel….

“Valli is not waking up to the sounds of the ocean anymore” - facebook

Thats one thing you suffer from when you get back from a beautiful country such as the Bahamas. Right from their logo, designed by Duffy and partners, which won an award from the AIGA in 2005, to the people, to the food, everything is very vibrant and full of spirit.

Sun and me decided to go for a 4 day vacation to the Bahamas. We both had gone through their website http://www.bahamas.com, a plenty number of times and knew what places interest us. We chose to stay at Compass Point, properties of the Island Outpost, a small boutique resort which has 12 colorful huts on the ocean. Perfectly suits our idea of vacation: private, luxury, peaceful and not to feel like a tourist.

Compass Point did not disappoint us one bit. Junkanoo colors on the outside and very chic on the inside with white linens and wicker furniture, flat screen TV, surround sound, balcony being the best part is right on the ocean. And the waters are so clear, we spotted a sting ray right from our balcony.

Day 1: We strolled around their downtown trying to get a feel of the city, lunched in the famous Italian restaurant Cafe Matisse. I had the Mahi Mahi paired with a Rum Punch (ofcourse) and Sun had Lamb Shank with Gumbe Smash. It was delish!

The place was right by a courthouse, where we saw a cop walking with a handcuffed-man like they were best of friends. Amusing. But thats exactly what we saw every where. People are very very laid back, friendly, they have a drink in their hand all day (even while driving) and everything was just fun. I like that!

Went to the straw market, bargained a bit, as I am very bad at it I ended up buying for the asking price anyway. Saw some good wood carvings and met some local craftsmen. All this is in a quick 30 minutes, because, Guys, its 98 degrees outside!! Went inside Senor Frogs, the popular Mexican chain of crazy drinking and tall margaritas. I was asked to join a drinking contest and standing on the table along with 2 other victims. Well, end of it he gave me a free drink of Rum and Tequila, which actually gave me a head ache. but hey we all know I ain’t gonna give up though.

3 drinks in, we both were tired from the heat and the walking, we decided to take a nap at our resort. Oh before that we have to rent our car from Budget. Car rental cost us $50/a day which isnt bad but the gas prices were $5.80 a gallon( July 2008).

Our resort is about 20 minutes from downtown, the ride is along the beaches so its a good drive. Its along the Cable beach, Sandyport and Caves Point. Remember to drive on the leftside though.

Its dinner time now, and we have made reservations at Mesa Grill, one of Bobby Flay’s restaurants. Cove, oh my god, is so beautiful. Everybody was taking photographs of everything. I felt it was like Vegas with tourists looking up and down and the rich dim yellow lighting is gleaming that made it tough for some hand held focusing.

We started with Margaritas ( they have a huge menu for that), I had the cactus pear margarita, which was good but not for all the twenty dollars. I got the Filet Mignon and Sun got Roasted Salmon and an appetizer of Bahamian Chicken Skewers, which was so spicy, it could barely touch the tongue. Steak and Salmon was perfect. I licked till the last bit of sauce in my dish.

Day 2: Had a lazy morning breakfast at the resort’s colorful restaurant. I had the grilled crusty French toast with bananas and strawberries. yumm.

We decided today was going to be all about good food, good drinks and good places. Started with Graycliff Inn, “…built in the 1700s by the privateer John Howard Graysmith, and established in 1844 as Nassau’s first inn, Graycliff brought the rich, the famous and the royal to Nassau and the Bahamas.”

Folks over there talk to us about their place, their history, cigar factory, etc amidst all that we also learnt that all of them were Obama supporters and the one guy was for McCain (not sure why!). We had couple of drinks here and off we go to the next place.

ooh.. I forgot to mention that we stopped at a ruin site to click some photos.

Next on line was the One & Only Ocean Club, where only the Rich & Famous go. Its also on the cabbage beach, one of 10 world’s best beaches. Place was very beautiful with lush trees and scenic driveways that take you in. Loved the interiors of O&O. I have a thing for ‘all white’ decor. Great for people watching!

Such beautiful waters every where. I am falling in love with Bahamas! For some reason I went with no expectation and I am being blown away at each stop of our trip…

ok now we are done with all the pretentious crowd, fendi swim wear and chanel beach towels. lets get down to business and eat some local food with local people.

Heading down to Arawak Cay. Two streets lined with authentic restaurants, menu ranging from $3 to $8. Stopped at Twin Brothers, where all the crowds seemed to go. Bartenders attending the Daiquiri machines were so busy, that we had to wait for a long time. The daiquiris were so strong but since its their thing we had to have it. Then came the Conch Fritters and Fish Fry. I almost cried, it was thaaaaat good.

It was so good we went again the next day to Twin Brothers and had the same thing.

This is getting too long a post now. How about a sequel to this one, as Day 3 is the highlight of our trip!

Wait up!

I was talking to my friend Cara about my long weekend travel to Tennessee and she was telling me that I should start writing travel journals and it might help others to know the area better.

So here we go:

Its an 8 hour drive from Wash DC to the Smoky Mountains and we were staying in The Preserve, a resort cabin in Sevierville. We started early in the morning and reached Johnson City, TN by 1pm, and thus our lunch spot, quickly searched what’s best in there, and landed in Firehouse Restaurant, for 25 years it has been famous for serving the region’s best authentic hickory smoked bar-b-que specialties, homemade side items and desserts. I had the pulled pork sandwich which was recommended by the waiter, and Sundar has Baby Back ribs. Both of us were very satisfied.

We reached the cabin around 3pm, checked in, was happy to see the resort and our cabin was exactly like how it was in their site. We would have liked little more privacy, but the wonderful views all around made up for it.

Decided to go for a short drive to the mountains, on the way we saw Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, was very surprised to see how commercial the cities have become with all the Ripleys, speed tracks, mini golf, etc and the wedding chapels like 4 in one mile stretch. Lots and lots of pancake houses, made us figure it must be famous for it. But out of the three cities I think I was ok with Gatlinburg’s stretch of entertainment..

And once you enter the Mountains, you get what you came for. The peace and the quiet.

We stopped to hike the Laurel Falls, it was a 2.6 mile roundtrip hike. Falls was just ok, not too big. But the biggest highlight of this hike ? We saw a bear and a cub. Boy.. were we thrilled. Infact me and sundar were planning our wiidlife viewing hike early next day and I said “If we are determined to see one, we will” and right the next second, we spot one. HAHAHA. One sad thing was I couldn’t get a clear enough picture as it was little far from us and it was covered by so many small plants, made it tuff. Nevertheless our experience was just wonderful.

Next day, we went for an early morning drive to the Cades Cove Loop, spotted Elks, many many White Tailed Deer, Wild Turkey.

Had our lunch in Alamo Steakhouse, I had the Filet Mignon with side serving of their famous Alamo Potatoes. It was incredibly delicious. Sundar had the Filet Mignon sandwich and he didnt like it so much.

Drove to Cherokee, NC to visit the Oconaluftee Indian Village. Learnt a lot about the Cherokee Indians and how they lived in the 1700s, their customs, rituals and interestingly how the number 7 had a great meaning to them and their counsels were head by the women. Was also fun to see how the artisans perform their unique inherited talents such as, basket-weaving, bead-making, canoe making, blowgun, masks etc.

Day 3 of our trip, we decided to go Zorbing, its a sport of rolling down a hill inside a giant inflatable ball and it was invented in New Zealand. We did the Zydro - means they filled the ball with some water so its like you are getting a nice wash while you are rolling down the hill. My pants had zipper in them, so I was asked to buy the appropriate wear from their store. I looked like a Zorb product, and we were chatting with all the adrenaline fun seekers, I have to say TN is one of the most friendliest state I have ever been to.

Then we went to Knoxville to meet up with some of my friends. Chatted the night away in a place called SideStreet Tavern: outdoor benches, some Vodkas and Minty shots, railway track right beside the place, so occasional blow horning, it was just amazing.

Day 4, had our breakfast in LogCabin Pancake House, I had the butterscotch pancake and it was so delicious.

We left around 9am fanatically checking the Wimbledon Mens Final scores on our iphones, I was supporting Rafa and Sundar was my foe then. Finally Rafa won, we reached and I was happy! :)