Line Smoothing for Matlab plot() command

The regular Matlab plot() command outputs curvy lines as if they are staircased due to the lack of proper antialiasing. A remedy for this is to use the hidden feature of line properties: LineSmoothing (plot(function,'LineSmoothing','on')). One example is shown below:

clear all; clc;

% Simple example showing the Line Smoothing property

freq=1e6;        % frequency of operation
omega=2*pi*freq; % angular frequency
T=1/freq;        % period

Nt=10;
dt=T/Nt;

c=3e8;           % speed of light
lambda=c/freq;   % wavelength
k=2*pi/lambda;   % wavenumber

Nx=20;
dx=lambda/Nx;

x=(-6*lambda):dx:(6*lambda);

% Evaluate $$ f(x)= sin(\omegat-kx) $$ at t=0
func= sin(omega*0-k*x);

% Plot
figure(1); clf; set(gcf,'Color',[1 1 1]);
subplot(2,1,1);
plot(x,func,'-b'); hold on;
title('No Line Smoothing');
Xlim([x(1) x(end)])

subplot(2,1,2);
plot(x,func,'-r','LineSmoothing','on')
title('With Line Smoothing');
Xlim([x(1) x(end)])

For more information and other tips on Matlab, please refer to the following website: undocumentedmatlab.com

 

Green Point Ridge Hike

We started around 6.30 am to hike aiming to reach North Lake. By 9.30, had our breakfast and kept going. Almost one mile away from North Lake, decided to head back. The trail was full of snow after approximately 1500 ft. Nice view of Columbia Gorge can be seen. On a sunny day, this trail should be a terrific hike. Here is the hike log and some photos:

Green Point Ridge Hike
Snapshots:

Nesmith Point Hike

We started around 6.30 am for the hike. Hiked uphill until 9.30 and stopped to have the breakfast. Then started our descent. Trail was full of snow after 1500 ft.
 

Wahclella Falls - Highway State Trail Hike

Wahclella Falls - Highway State Trail

Snapshots:
Our GPS log overlayed on Google Earth:

Google Nexus 7 screen not rotating

When I get home, I wanted to check my e-mails using the Google Nexus 7. However, when I took it to my hand I noticed that it was stuck in the landscape mode. And even if I try to change position, the screen was locked. Most probably my 1 year old daughter has locked while she was playing with it. However, I didn't know how to unlock it. I check the "settings" but to no avail. Searched online and there was no simple instructions on how to unlock it. So, here I am, posting this post on how to unlock Nexus 7 screen if it is locked:

If you swipe from top around to mid section, you get the drop down menu but still does not help you unlock it. The trick is to swipe from where the battery icon is (see the red arrow below)

Once you swipe from the top-right you get the following drop down menu:From here it is pretty straightforward: Just click the "Auto Rotate" option. I hope this post helps someone out there. Best Regards.

Costa Classica

Another ship photo from the St. John's Castle in Kotor, Montenegro. This time a cruise ship from Italy.

Costa Classica 
Ship Type: Passengers ship
Year Built: 1991
Length x Breadth: 220 m X 29 m
Gross Tonnage: 52926, DeadWeight: 7781 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 13.4 / 12.3 knots
Flag: Italy [IT] 
Call Sign: ICIC
IMO: 8716502, MMSI: 247819000

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/showallphotos.aspx?imo=8716502&photoid=1011588#top_photo

View Larger Map

Arnavutluk Rozafa Kalesinden Ezan

Enver Hocanın altında onca yıl din yasaklanmasına rağmen, o yasaklayıcı zihniyete inat ezan Shkoder semalarında eskiden olduğu gibi yankılanıyor.


An old Ottoman mosque (Lead Mosque- Kurşunlu Camii) in Shkoder as seen from Rozafa Castle. The minaret has been exploded due to lightning struck.

View of Rozafa Castle as seen from airplane right after Podgorica airport

Getting to Skopje city center from the Alexander the Great Airport

The main getaway to Macedonia is Alexander The Great Airport in the outskirts of Skopje. It is relatively small but definitely modern and very clean. It is built by the Turkish TAV (Tepe-Akfen-Vie) company which also built the airports in Istanbul.So, internal architecture-wise this airport is very similar to those in Istanbul. Once you reach the airport, there are several ways to get to the city center. I just want to briefly mention them.

There are many taxis waiting outside the airport.

There is also furgons operated by Vardar Express. The price to city center is 100 MK Dinar which is around 2.1 US$.

Here is the ticket for Vardar Express. There are several stops along the route. It also passes through the international bus station. Getting off around Hotel Holiday Inn is enough for walking to the historical old city, Stari Grad.

Just out of the airport, the roads looked good. Evidently, the Macedonian government is trying to beautify the country.

Right between the airport and city center, there is the municipality called Gazi Baba.

Halkbank was a big hit over there. All the billboards were full with their advertisements. Also Acibadem hospital was exhibiting itself everywhere.

Corner Reflector (FDTD Animation)

Two corner reflectors with two different tilt angles have been simulated for demonstrating their reflection properties. The simulations are rendered using the total-field/scattered-field finite-difference time-domain algorithm. An identical incoming plane wave in the negative vertical direction hits the corner reflectors. Although having different tilt angles, they reflect the incoming way in the same positive vertical direction. Corner reflectors are known to be retro-reflectors and consists of 2 or more mutually perpendicular and intersecting flat surfaces. They automatically reflect the waves back towards to the source. In practice, they are used for calibration purposes (e.g. meteorological radars) and range detection. Also in maritime and air navigation, they are used to mark the desired objects on the radar screen (e.g. buoys, ships, runways etc). Corner reflectors are also used to as safety reflectors for cars, bikes, traffic signs and similar devices. Here, the reflectors are in the passive mode, but can also be used in semi-active mode to enhance the directivity of dipole antennas. Basically, by placing the dipole antenna in front of a corner reflector, the combined corner-reflector dipole antenna has a better directivity.

Gas Price Comparison between Albania, Montenegro, Turkey and US in September 2012

With a price tag of 4.92 TL per liter (roughly 2.16 euro) , Turkey became the most expensive country in the world in terms of gas prices. As I was traveling at the time, I had the chance to compare the prices in other countries such as Montenegro, Albania and the US. As you can see in the below snapshots, one liter of gas was 1.54 euros in Budva, Montenegro and it was 199 Lekes (~1.42 euros) in Albania. Meanwhile it was just 3.90 US$ per gallon (~1.03 $/liter which is around 0.78 euros per liter) in Portland, Oregon, USA.Deinitely, Americans enjoy the best price on gas and Turks getting hit the most. It will be good if we can have a chance to compare these prices in the future.

From Budva, Montenegro in Euros	Somewhere close to Tirana in Albanian Lekes
From Istanbul, Turkey

Daily Internet Package by Telenor in Montenegro

Most cell phone companies in US force potential customers to buy a monthly plan for talk, text (SMS) and web services with certain amount of minutes or text or data. But in most cases, customers end up paying more than they actually use. A substantial amount of the minutes, texts and data remain unclaimed and this counts as a net profit to the provider. The prepaid plans are way more expensive (per minute) and lack satisfactory services for data. I have always thought why we cannot have simply plans where we just pay for what we use (as can easily be found in Europe). This is still a big dream in US. Anyways, I want to comment on a very customer-friendly plan I used and liked during my recent trip to Montenegro. There, I have used a plan which is geared mainly towards the tourists that stay for a short term in the country. Instead of paying for the huge roaming charges, for 5 euros, you can buy this plan and have 1GB of internet in a very satisfactory performance for a week. There is no talk on the plan but as you can use the Skype services you can virtually call anywhere in the world for a very cheap data plan fee. The plan is by Telenor and I definitely recommend everyone to have it once in Montenegro. I also wish that our service providers can also think such similar services for those who just want to pay for what they use.

Also in the neighboring country Albania, a voice and data plan of 400 leke (approximately 4 US dolllars) from Vodafone allows you to talk and use the internet with pretty good performance. Actually this is a better deal than the above, but considering the wealth of both countries, the price in Montenegro is understandable. Bor both plans, you should ask for the specific VPN data. Also for the Vodafone in Albania, have the shop you buy from call the calling center to open the line for data transfer in case English speaking personnel is not available in the calling center.

Podgorica Airport / Aerodom Podgorica

A small airport 8 km away from the city center. From the Hotel Bojatours in city center to airport, it took ~6 euros and 10 minutes. 

Podgorica-Istanbul Flight

Podgorica-Istanbul Flight

This is recorded during the Turkish Airlines flight (TK1086) from Podgorica, Montenegro to Istanbul, Turkey using my Sony GPS-CS3KA gps tool. With relatively clear skies, I was able to capture snapshots during this short Balkan flight. Right after take off, the plane headed towards Albanian border and flown over the Lake Shkoder. Those sitting on the right side of the plane were lucky enough to clearly see the city of Shkoder and its landmark Rozafa Castle. 

EVER BLOSSOM in Bosphorus

Bosphorus Strait gives wonderful opportunities for ship spotting as it is the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Since it is the gateway for the oil and chemical exports of Russia and other Eastern European nations, there is a huge vessel traffic on the strait. On a regular day, one can just sit and watch many tankers pass by in both directions. Here, I have caught Ever Blossom northbound around Üsküdar district. The famous Dolmabahçe Palace can be seen at the background. 

Ever Blossom
Ship Type: Bulk carrier
Year Built: 1997
Length x Breadth: 225 m X 32 m
Gross Tonnage: 37815, DeadWeight: 69999 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 14.1 / 12 knots
Flag: Panama [PA]
Call Sign: 3FPT7
IMO: 9159529, MMSI: 351491000
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/showallphotos.aspx?imo=9159529

The current location of the vessel can be tracked via the following link:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?mmsi=351491000&centerx=29.80961&centery=31.13632&zoom=10&type_color=7


Also another snapshot of the Bosphorus from the "Fethi Pasa Korusu" below shows how busy the strait can be. Here, 3 vessels are seen progressing northbound towards the Black Sea.

Ever Blossom

 

How to get from Ohrid to Tirana by public transportation?

When I decided to have a short Balkan trip, I decided to start from Skopje and move onwards to Tetovo and Ohrid. Once Ohrid is completed, I planned to go to Tirana, Albania and keep going to Montenegro over Shkoder. As I was searching the internet for various possibilities to travel between Ohrid to Tirana, I could not find satisfactory information. Apparently, there was no direct bus connection between these two cities and suggestions were mainly on taking taxis to the border and then catch a bus or another taxi to Elbasan. So, once I reached Ohrid, I didn't know how to get to Tirana the next day. Thus, I decided to prepare this post to help people searching for this information as well as increase content on Albania in the internet domain. (Note that all these info is based on data from October 2012 and check for updates where necessary.)

Well, for the best information, I asked locals once I get to Ohrid. The main suggestion is to take the mini-buses to Struga on the north shores of Ohrid lake and then catch a inter-city bus coming from Skopje outbound to Tirana in the main bus station in Struga. I was told that if I may miss the mid-noon buses then I might have to wait for 5-6 pm buses leading to late arrival to Tirana.Note that there is no direct bus line originating from Struga going to Albania. All the buses I have seen were coming from elsewhere, such as Skopje, Kumanovo and even Istanbul.

This is an "insider's" view from the mini-bus between Ohrid to Struga. It takes approximately 15 minutes to get to Struga from the main boulevard of Ohrid. It is very easy to spot the minibus if you just wait near the road. Even private cars stop and ask whether you need a ride or not.

 

Once in Struga, you should get off the minibus around the following tiny church St.Petka (yellow marker in the below map). Actually, in the below photo, you can see a similar minibus coming to the bus station and people waiting for the minibus. If you keep in the minibus, its route gets farther from the main intercity bus station. Once out, keep walking toward the city and turn right and keep going. Check the map below for further details:

The front side of the bus station looks like as shown below. It is very small bus station and mainly the buses comes, picks up passengers and leaves. Note that the bus station is squeezed between industrial shops. So, while getting there, it feels like there cannot be a bus station but believe me there is one.

Inside the bus station, I have seen this bus going to Istanbul over Bulgaria. I believe if there wasn't a need for a transit visa from Bulgaria to get to Macedonia, many people from Turkey would take this bus trip. It is very cheap compared to flight tickets and you get to see different cities along the way. 

 

This is the bus stop for Istanbul. Note the way they write Istanbul: Istambul. I cannot say this is a typo as some countries including Spain write Istanbul the same way as below.

The other perons of the bus station

Finally our bus arrived from Skopje. It stopped for a very short duration. After picking up the passengers it hit the road. The next destination is the Albanian border.

We are at the Albanian border. It took approximately half an hour to clear from both countries. First the Macedonian side collects the passports and they stamp out. Then, Albanian border police gets the passport and stamp in. As passengers, we did not interact with the border police at all. The bus driver took care of everything. Unfortunately, stamps were barely visible due to almost no ink on the stamps.

This is the inside view from our bus to Tirana. There was this nice old man who kept the cigarette in his mouth until he get off while waiting for the customs for the passport or IDs. He was calm and definitely cool.