A night with a Baroness

Tonight I went to a talk by renowned scientist Susan Greenfield entitled "Banana Skins, Bottlenecks, and Elephant Traps: The journey of women in technology". Yes, the talk was put on by Women In Technology, and there was a definite minority of dudes in the audience, but you see Susan Greenfield is worth checking out. In addition to a famous neuroscientist, Susan is also an author... and I've actually read one of her books. Back in 2001 when I was in Oxford I picked up a copy of her book, The Private Life of the Brain. It was about consciousness, sense of self, and how things such as drugs and alcohol effect brain activity.

Anyhow, she's a fantastic speaker and touched on some of the things in her book I was familiar with. But ultimately she was talking about the challenges females face in science and technology and how dominated these fields are by men.

The talk was held at Barclays world headquarters.. an impressive building where we were able to enjoy the views from the 30th floor over wine and capaes afterwards. The view of Canary Wharf at night from that height is awesome... and a perfect way to top off the talk.

Syd.

Urban Dance Theatre - Into the Hoods

Tonight I went to the coolest show - it was like 'so you think you can dance' but without all the lame voting stuff. It was called 'Into the Hoods' put on by a dance company called Zoonation and was basically urban street dance theatre performing fairy tales of cinderella, rapunzel and little red riding hood through movie clips, dj spun music, and wicked dance fusion moves (hip hop, breakdancing flips and freezes, some contemporary, disco and even swing!). For instance, one minute the dancers were lindyhopping, the next they were crumping, then clowning, then popping, then body-locking, then doing acrobatic flips across the stage, then some physical theatre. It was a show that has played at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (aka Tattoo) for two years running before it came to London. It was a buzzy, vibrant and mostly hilarious show that kept Astrid and I thoroughly entertained all throughout and has most likely widened the appeal of hip hop by bringing the style of dance to the stage. At the end everyone was standing and dancing to praise the dancers.

Observation: We were sitting next to a crusty elderly couple who said they expected live music like 'steel bands' instead of canned music, and that it wasn't professional enough for a commercial production. I told him he came to the wrong show, because this was all about the dj spinning and the dancing! He also decided that he would leave his haagen daz rubbish in the middle of the floor in front of us, in the front row! Astrid pointed out to him that its very rude as the dancers may trip on it, but he didn't seem to care. Inconsiderate dirty old loser...nuff said!

Porto, Portugal - a town full of caves

Stepping into Porto, Portugal was like stepping back into old Mediterranean Europe. One of Portugal's most internationally famous products, fortified port wine, was named after the city because it was originally shipped from the area. Old Porto is the hub for sightseeing, port wine and river tours. Amidst the narrow streets that wind their way through town lie several stretches of pedestrian-only cobblestone streets (though they are hard on the feet when you aren't wearing thick soled shoes!).
Unfortunately it rained almost the entire time we were there! Apparently they only get rain one month of the year, and April is it! durrr. In any case, we made the most of it and visited some grand old churches covered in decorative blue and white tiles, catacombs beneath a church, did some shopping and visited some 'port caves' to try authentic port wine. One of the best places to walk and see Old Porto is down by the Douro River - called 'La Ribera'. The walkways meander past side streets and are tucked in alcoves that open up to hidden bistros and restaurants that seat guests on quaint balconies overlooking the river or small courtyard gardens. The Dom Luis I bridge below was engineered by a disciple of Eiffel - can't you tell? The bridge links Porto wiht Vila Nova de Gaia (where the port caves are located). The pier on the lower right is a remnant of a suspended bridge that was dismantled in 1887.
Porto felt like a town of caves because even the restaurants and shops along the Douro river were shaped in alcoves that felt like caves or cellars. Of course the port wine cellars on the other side of the river bridge (in Gaia) were called 'port caves' and we visited a few so that we could get a taste. I must admit that before I came I wasn't a port fan, as I didn't enjoy the taste of brandy in my 'late harvest wine'. But these tours changed my mind, especially in relation to white port - which is harvested from white grapes and is really quite nice (and tasted the least like brandy). I bought a bottle from Sandeman (one of the best advertised/branding of ports) for us to enjoy.

The first night we were there we went to a sushi place called Akodai for late dinner. It was a very unique experience, where we sat at the sushi bar and had personal service from the chef who has been making sushi for 34 years! There was no menu, and he served us many tasty appetizers such as gyozas (dumplings), marinated ahi tuna pieces, and some veggies. Our main sushi boat was amazing. We tried sardines for the first time and really enjoyed them, and the unagi (eel) was the best we've ever had. He also gave us a salmon maki sushi topped with strawberry, and it was heaven. To top it off, it was a really affordable dinner, including wine and (free) sake, so if you enjoy sushi - GO there!

Observation: the food in Portugal is very simple. Lots of salt, limited spices, and simple preparation. What this meant is that there wasn't much care put into removing bones (or even skin) from any of the fish or meat dishes. So, when Syd and I ordered a chicken soup at a fancy restaurant we were soon turned off by the fact that we had to 'pick' at our soup before enjoying it. We then soon realized that our wild boar stew had the same fate (and highly salted to boot) that we swore off of Portugese cuisine for the rest of the weekend!

NyQuil and ColdFX: The Killer Combo?

Everyone around me seems to be coming down with the same thing: a sore throat and congestion that is usually a precursor to a full blown cold/flu (and sick days from work). Whenever these 'early signs' set in, I immediately put myself on the following regimen:

* lots of oj and vitamins
* strictly no alcohol
* 3 ColdFX pills in the morning, another 3 before bed
* 1.5 shots of NyQuil 30 minutes before bed
* lots of sleep (I often fail at this one)

So early signs happened on Tues -- Wed I felt worse and felt a sick day coming on. This morning I woke up feely much much better. I'll stay on the regimen another day or two, but things are looking up!

Both ColdFX and NyQuil have to be imported for me to the UK -- I've got 2 more big bottle of cherry quill, but am desparately low on ColdFX (though the next shipment arrives with my Mom on May 14).

The bottom line is these things work -- could it be the ingredients? I suspect its the strategic capitalization :)

Syd.