
On Friday, we went by the local graphic printing shop to check out their selection of [wedding](/wedding/) invitations. We had gone the week before, but the sample invitations had been loaned out to another couple for the weekend. We reserved them for this weekend. When we walked in, expecting to get a notebook full of sample invitations, they guy said, "I hope you parked close!"

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-31-invitations-and-destinations/539757970_947cf7baa0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3211.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-31-invitations-and-destinations/539757970_c74242916b.jpg" alt="CIMG3211.JPG"/>
</a>

There must be 500 different sample invitations.

We've also gone to several local travel agencies, where they have given us lots _and lots_ of literature on honeymoon destinations.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-31-invitations-and-destinations/539761516_2242ffe77a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3213.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-31-invitations-and-destinations/539761516_d0247137b8.jpg" alt="CIMG3213.JPG"/>
</a>

I think the ideal job might be being a photographer for these glossy travel magazines.


Invitations and Destinations


I just wanted to pass along a good story I found today. Most of you reading my blog enjoy vicarious travel via a good cultural travel story. I've been following the posts of [Wellington Grey](http://wellingtongrey.blogspot.com/) for a few months now. It's [mainly](http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellanea/archive/2007-02-26--bedtime-entropy.html) [humorous](http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellanea/archive/2007-03-18--of-angels-monkeys-and-fat-men.html) [comics](http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellanea/archive/2007-02-18%20--%20what%20would%20george%20w%20bush%20do.html), but today I noticed he had a text post as well.

I encourage you to read:

[Road Trip: Corn](http://www.wellingtongrey.net/journal/archive/2007-03-18--road-trip-corn.html)

His storytelling style and attitude towards travel remind me of myself.

After you're done, watch his video of the "Most Nasal American Accent Ever" and see if you agree: revver(206709)


Corn Road Trip


My first name is quite rare in Spain. However, it is common enough that people don't just say, "Huh?" when I tell them my name. And for some reason, probably the Basques (the source of all native usages of the letter 'K' in this country), most Eriks in Spain spell their name as I do. But it's still very rare!

So, imagine my surprise to find this written on the side of _my building_! <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-28-incriminating-graffiti/539755980_81337a6237_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3210.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-28-incriminating-graffiti/539755980_70c781abf9.jpg" alt="CIMG3210.JPG"/>
</a>

As if the romantic intention of two names scribbled on a wall wasn't obvious, the "artist" thought to emphasize the point:

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-28-incriminating-graffiti/539869275_a35c0f19e5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3209.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-28-incriminating-graffiti/539869275_9111458d35.jpg" alt="CIMG3209.JPG"/>
</a>

Thankfully, there's not even a sliver of jealousy in my relationship with Marga. If there was, it would be pretty easy for her to conclude that this was the work of some [bunny boiler](http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/bunny-boiler.html) lover of mine.

In fact, thinking of the amount of jealousy in our relationship reminds me of my favorite golf joke...

> So this guy goes out golfing with his buddy. On the third hole, they catch up to a twosome of women, and the women ask them to join them for the rest of the round. The women are very attractive, so they happily agree. Throughout the whole round, this guy notices that one of the women is really flirting with him heavily. She's very sexy, and he flirts back. At the end of the round, she invites him back to her place for a drink.
> 
> He says, "No, I'm married, I really shouldn't."
> 
> She says, "C'mon, it's only a drink."
> 
> Back at her place, the drink loosens things up, and they end up having passionate sex. When the man wakes up a few hours later in her bed, he's completely stricken with guilt. He tells the woman that this was a mistake, and he really loves his wife, and he hopes his wife will forgive him.
> 
> On the drive home, he is tormented with guilt and decides that the best thing is going to be to just come right out with it and tell his wife what he's done and that he's very sorry and plead for her forgiveness.
> 
> He gets home, his wife, looking a little upset already, says, "Where have you been?"
> 
> He says, "Look, honey, I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I met this woman at the golf course, and I went home with her and we had sex. I'm so sorry! I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me!"
> 
> His wife is furious! She looks him straight in the eye and says, "You stayed and played 36 holes, didn't you!?!"

I dedicate this post to Sandra, whoever she may be.


Incriminating Graffiti


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539753390_13655411bf_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Cow Tongue Serving">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539753390_db2714160b_t.jpg" alt="Cow Tongue Serving"/>
</a>

Due to [the request from Uncle Steve](/2007/03/24/cow-tongue/#comment-653), I present to you the recipe for cow tongue, as prepared by Marga and her family... 

### Ingredients

- 1 [cow tongue](/2007/03/24/cow-tongue/)
- 1 large or 2 small leeks
- 1/2 an onion
- 3 carrots
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 tomato
- flour
- 2-3 eggs
- salt
- white wine (optional)

### Instructions

1. Coarsely chop up all the veggies and place them in a pot with just enough water to cover them.
2. Place tongue in pot (the cow's, not yours). It's not that important that it be completely covered by the water, because you can turn it a few times while its boiling.
3. Add a few pinches of salt (2-3 teaspoons?)
4. You can optionally add about a glass of white wine, as well
5. Boil for 60-90 minutes, depending on the thickness of the tongue.
6. Allow to cool
7. While it's still warm (it's easier when warm), remove the skin from the tongue.
8. Cut into thin cross-section slices. The thinner the better.
9. Purée the vegetables in the pot. We use a handheld mixer (see photo below).
10. Bread and fry each slice
    1. Heat oil in frying pan (we use sunflower oil)
    2. Pour some flour on a plate
    3. Beat 2 or 3 eggs in a bowl
    4. Cover each slice of tongue in flour
    5. Dip each slice in egg
    6. Place each slice in hot oil until golden brown
11. Place each breaded and fried slice in the pot with the sauce
12. Simmer on low heat for a few minutes to let the flavors mingle
13. Serve with a healthy serving of [silly tongue jokes](/2007/03/24/cow-tongue/).

### Photos

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539843433_7b8d73d094_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3200.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539843433_b270042115.jpg" alt="CIMG3200.JPG"/>
</a>

The tongue slices look pretty similar to sliced roast beef. Well, it _is_ sliced roast beef, if you think about it.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539732882_f265abe9c1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3202.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539732882_161d7509e9.jpg" alt="CIMG3202.JPG"/>
</a>

Marga's mother has one of those circular-saw-like meat slicers like the butchers and deli chefs have. Use one of those if you can.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539850963_b5cddc3b7f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3203.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539850963_ad50d89f95.jpg" alt="CIMG3203.JPG"/>
</a>

The boiled veggies. You can see some of the beef fat on the surface. Mmm!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539857793_288c2e81d4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3205.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539857793_ba22139364.jpg" alt="CIMG3205.JPG"/>
</a>

Puréeing the veggies into a thick orange sauce. No Spanish household is without one of these mixers. Many, many recipes call for turning veggies into sauce like this.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539854927_537e82a59e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3204.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539854927_b3fc0a3183.jpg" alt="CIMG3204.JPG"/>
</a>

The slices moving from plate to flour to egg to frying pan, and eventually....

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539861763_8992020b54_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3206.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539861763_5cadf58f9a.jpg" alt="CIMG3206.JPG"/>
</a>

...to pot with sauce.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539753390_13655411bf_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3208.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539753390_db2714160b.jpg" alt="CIMG3208.JPG"/>
</a>

I sprinkled mine with dried parsley to make it look like a photo from a real recipe book.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539864813_734458a620_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3207.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-26-spanish-cow-tongue-recipe/539864813_110325b624.jpg" alt="CIMG3207.JPG"/>
</a>

Serve with good bread and a fine Rioja. The Spanish eat bread with every meal, and the best part of this dish is mopping up all the sauce on the plate with fresh bread.

¡Que aproveche!


Spanish Cow Tongue Recipe


Colindres, like many European towns, I suppose, is full of old, crumbling houses that are just waiting to be torn down and turned into modern apartments. In the nearly two years I've been here, I've seen half a dozen of these historical treasures get the [kiss of the bulldozer](/2007/02/22/nothing-lasts-forever/). In a casual Sunday morning walk around town, I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this one. There's something quite funny about this "balcony". I can only imagine that there once was an external staircase leading up to it.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-25-balcony-of-death/539727286_6a6972ea8a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3199.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-25-balcony-of-death/539727286_086fcd68a0.jpg" alt="CIMG3199.JPG"/>
</a>

"Even though you are my grand nemesis, I have invited you into my home and would like to show you the wonderful view from my balcony. After you..."


Balcony of Death


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539839257_21f7af8921_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="CIMG3198.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539839257_6a7922cb82_t.jpg" alt="CIMG3198.JPG"/>
</a>

Here in Spain, people eat cow tongues. It's actually quite delicious. The texture of the meat is unlike any other. My parents tried some [when they were here last year](/2006/09/06/vacation-in-spain-2006/).  It really is a very normal food here, but no matter how normal it gets, it still strikes me as, "Wow, that's really a tongue!" when I see the product you buy in the grocery store or butcher. I figured it was worth a few photos and some silly poses for a blog entry. A lot of my readers have probably never considered this food. After cooking, it's sliced into thin cross sections and served in a thick puréed sauce of peppers, tomatoes, leeks, and carrots.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539717450_6d58ba77a6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3195.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539717450_fbbd677ff4.jpg" alt="CIMG3195.JPG"/>
</a>

That sensory organ has tasted its last blade of grass.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539719610_790ef8acae_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3196.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539719610_9599924806.jpg" alt="CIMG3196.JPG"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539721700_ceb0e63f13_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3197.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539721700_552b820fd4.jpg" alt="CIMG3197.JPG"/>
</a>

Look, I'm Gene Simmons!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539839257_21f7af8921_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3198.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-24-cow-tongue/539839257_6a7922cb82.jpg" alt="CIMG3198.JPG"/>
</a>

I feel so inadequate...

So let's have some funny tongue jokes in the comments. Here, I'll start...

> 1. In Spain, the food tastes _you_!
> 2. This dish tastes both good _and_ well!


Cow Tongue


This morning I went, as I do every day, to the local grocery store to buy bread and something to make for lunch. It's a family owned shop, called Susinos, and everyone that works there is very polite and I normally get several "Hola Erik"s when I enter. Today, as I was waiting in line to check out, a woman came up to me and...

> Woman: Did I just hear that your name is Erik?
> 
> Me: Yes.
> 
> Woman: Are you the Erik with the blog about Colindres?
> 
> Me: Yes.
> 
> Woman: Oh wow! It's so good to meet you! I have a friend in Australia who is coming to visit, and he's been searching the internet for information about Colindres, and he told me that he'd found this blog by an American, and he's seen pictures of the port, and the market, and.....
> 
> Me: Yep, that's me! I'm pretty sure I'm the only American around here. Glad I could help.
> 
> Woman: Well, it's so good to meet you. Hope to see you around!

This has absolutely got to be the first time that a complete stranger has come up to me and asked if I was "_that_ Erik", knowing me only by reputation. The Susinos employees were pretty impressed.

So if you're Australian and are coming to visit a friend in Colindres, sign up and leave a comment.

That's all for now. I gotta go sign some autographs...


Fame


For some reason, I started playing around with [Google Earth](http://earth.google.com/) this morning. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had upgraded the quality of images of Colindres and the surrounding area. But what really blew my mind was that they had accurate topographical data as well! Here, I've recreated the picture that I took that is at the top of this blog. I did it by:

1. Finding my house in Colindres
2. Zooming all the way down to the ground
3. Turning the perspective so that I was looking at the horizon
4. Spinning around until I identified the familiar pointy shape of the nearby mountain that we climbed
5. Carefully changing my altitude and "flying" to the peak of the mountain
6. Spinning back around to look at Colindres

Check this out:

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-23-virtual-photography/541997352_7869cece04_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Colindres 3D">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-23-virtual-photography/541997352_2a41fe9187.jpg" alt="Colindres 3D"/>
</a>

Compare this to the picture at the top of this blog.

Pretty crazy, huh? For those of you that have Google Earth, you can go to this location by downloading and opening [colindres-3d.kml](/downloads/223/colindres-3d.kml).


Virtual Photography


I just wanted to turn you on to my new favorite video blog: [Alive in Baghdad](http://www.aliveinbaghdad.org/). I don't know about you, but, for a while now, I've been hungry to know exactly what life is like for Iraqi citizens these days. My regular media sources either purposefully ignore the issue or make sweeping generalizations.

[Alive in Baghdad](http://www.aliveinbaghdad.org/) does just what I would like to do, sit down and talk to Iraqis about how they feel about the occupation, the security in their country, etc. This has to be one of the most honest sources for information about what it's like to live in Baghdad. Needless to say, it's pretty depressing.

I hope you will [subscribe to this blog feed](http://aliveinbaghdad.org/subscribe/) and pass it on to as many other voters as you can. And if you can, [donate](http://aliveinbaghdad.org/donate/)...


Alive in Baghdad


Winter came back this week. Quite violently. The newspapers and television are filled with stories like this one:

[![image3](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-21-one-hail-of-a-storm/541989438_50f2431934_o.jpg)](http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_9496.shtml "Winter returns to the north of Spain")

My sources report snow in Mondragon. Down here where my apartment is at more than twice the altitude above sea level as the street below, we just get violent storms. Last night, there was a huge din as all hail broke loose (okay, that's the last one).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-21-one-hail-of-a-storm/539711762_ea793656ff_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3191.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-21-one-hail-of-a-storm/539711762_779da54ccb.jpg" alt="CIMG3191.JPG"/>
</a>

Hail build-up outside our living room window.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-21-one-hail-of-a-storm/539714384_65678bcbe6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3192.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-21-one-hail-of-a-storm/539714384_4c16c76f3b.jpg" alt="CIMG3192.JPG"/>
</a>

To provide the best blog content possible to my dear readers, I risked a severe pelting (pelleting?) and selflessly stuck my hand out the window to snap this blurry masterpiece of photojournalism.

I'm no forensic meteorological detective, but I estimate that about five years ago, there was a huge hail storm in Colindres with hail at least the size of golf balls. How do I know this? Well, about half of all cars that are more than five years old are covered in little golf-ball-sized dents. I'll have to take some pictures next time I'm walking around town. Perhaps José can comment on it.

I also took at minute-long video that was mostly a reflection of every light source in the living room, but about 37.2 seconds into it, I captured the following frame:<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-21-one-hail-of-a-storm/541994698_8a8088a062_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="lightning">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-21-one-hail-of-a-storm/541994698_db3c9ef02e.jpg" alt="lightning"/>
</a>

Shocking, huh?

If this keeps up, we might have to turn the heating on again. It's been off for two months.


One Hail of a Storm


At the in-laws last weekend, we went through some family photo albums to find some pictures for our wedding video. It's fun to see pictures from 20-30 years ago of people that I know so well. Here are the cutest ones of Marga. I guess it's only natural that her sister should be in all of them too. All the ones set in Higuera de la Serena, the town we go to in the summer, were immediately recognizable to me. That town hasn't changed in years and years.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539822459_81d3bcc673_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Untitled-1">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539822459_4c3881407c.jpg" alt="Untitled-1"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539706738_0c271113a8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="hp_scanDS_731912144138">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539706738_06b89247de.jpg" alt="hp_scanDS_731912144138"/>
</a>

Looking all grown up with a purse. Just look at that sororal admiration!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539819781_205ebe0732_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="hp_scanDS_73191216563">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539819781_6eb977b008.jpg" alt="hp_scanDS_73191216563"/>
</a>

This is my favorite. It's so nicely framed in front of the family car.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539822117_62afd56210_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="hp_scanDS_73191254751">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539822117_062162b5fe.jpg" alt="hp_scanDS_73191254751"/>
</a>

Aunt Marga with her neices in front of the town fountain.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/541983240_292ee55eaa_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG0271">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/541983240_e670e180fc.jpg" alt="CIMG0271"/>
</a>

Aunt Marga and Belén in August 2005.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/541984698_e31dc2d9f3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG0272">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/541984698_36cd1bf5a0.jpg" alt="CIMG0272"/>
</a>

It's really a shame that we turned away from the fountain to take this picture a minute later.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539707122_1f55f6b60a.jpg" alt="hp_scanDS_731912102148"/>
</a>

This kid is José Ramón, one of the guys we go out with in the summer. He's a dentist in Valencia.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/533145815_6c193ed29d.jpg" alt="CIMG2220.JPG"/>
</a>

José Ramón with Marga and their friend, Emi, in August 2006.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539706076_57eeb1f14e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="hp_scanDS_731912114745">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539706076_241e2041af.jpg" alt="hp_scanDS_731912114745"/>
</a>

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-20-a-pair-of-cuties/539704752_cbfb0bfc72.jpg" alt="hp_scanDS_731914124942"/>
</a>


A Pair of Cuties


On Saturday night, we went out with some of Belén's friends in Mondragon. Every March 17th to come, I will think about [the weekend we spent in Dublin three years ago](http://www.erik-rasmussen.com/ireland/2004/march/), quite possibly the most enjoyable weekend I've spent with good friends, tourism, and alcohol. I had noticed earlier that day that the token Irish pub in Mondragon was advertising a free leprechaun's hat with the purchase of two half pints (this is Spain, remember) of Guinness. I just so happened to have my Guinness jacket that I bought in Dublin in 2004. So after a night of bar hopping, I insisted that we stop by the Irish pub to get me a hat.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539770885_e780fe180f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3169.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539770885_87bd32424f.jpg" alt="CIMG3169.JPG"/>
</a>

Any seasoned drinker knows the importance of starting the night on a full stomach. This lovely "bocata" (the Spanish word for this long type of sandwich) was scrumptastic!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539772989_ce833a9ef8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3170.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539772989_c8ba7300f3.jpg" alt="CIMG3170.JPG"/>
</a>

Looking good in my Guinness jacket and new hat.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539774687_f66159d144.jpg" alt="CIMG3171.JPG"/>
</a>

It's just by chance that my sweater, t-shirt, and hat form the colors of the [Irish flag](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Ireland).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539777587_dde6e19e51_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3172.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539777587_47f222a6cf.jpg" alt="CIMG3172.JPG"/>
</a>

I will NOT tell you where my pot of gold is!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539666250_5392179281_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3173.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539666250_8ec8c9d58f.jpg" alt="CIMG3173.JPG"/>
</a>

Belén shows off her orthodontist's achievments.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539783467_2fb4715481.jpg" alt="CIMG3174.JPG"/>
</a>

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539786731_9d78aea51c.jpg" alt="CIMG3175.JPG"/>
</a>

Okay, now begins the silliness.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539676370_4913ef33cd_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3176.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539676370_d4a7c8d18c.jpg" alt="CIMG3176.JPG"/>
</a>

Two sisters and a leprechaun. Sounds like a bad sit-com.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539794087_1e2bed9b2d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3177.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539794087_5e67a26415.jpg" alt="CIMG3177.JPG"/>
</a>

After a thorough debate, fought hard by both sides, it was decided that the leprechaun hat will not participate in [the wedding](/wedding/) in any way.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539683080_396c3e24e6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3178.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539683080_a9f945b32d.jpg" alt="CIMG3178.JPG"/>
</a>

I don't remember this picture being taken, but I like it.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539685940_941f611e43_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3181.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539685940_11e7a46d29.jpg" alt="CIMG3181.JPG"/>
</a>

What great advertising. These silly little hats seem like the coolest thing in the world after a few drinks. I wore mine all the way home.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539689322_238dae8774_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3182.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539689322_c4babca789.jpg" alt="CIMG3182.JPG"/>
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The pub was suitably decorated.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539807191_d446988ffe_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3183.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539807191_7ac2faa8b1.jpg" alt="CIMG3183.JPG"/>
</a>

Belén borrowed a hat from a friend in the bar and posed with her boyfriend, Gorka.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539696906_1faaca51f6.jpg" alt="CIMG3185.JPG"/>
</a>

Then she had the idea to pose again, but this time on the step next to him.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539700566_bae2a8e666.jpg" alt="CIMG3186.JPG"/>
</a>

In case you were curious about the contents of my nose...

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-19-st-pattys-in-mondragon/539818137_b236788f2e.jpg" alt="CIMG3187.JPG"/>
</a>

I hope you all had a happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Irish, like the Spanish, know how to take a solemn Catholic holiday and turn it into an explosion of alcoholic hedonism. For that, I salute them. Cheers!


St. Patty's in Mondragon


A couple months ago, Marga's [Aunt Manoli and Uncle Antonio came to visit](/2007/01/07/epiphany-in-colindres/) for the first time. While they were here, I showed them some of my photos on my computer, especially of when [my parents visited last August](/2006/09/06/vacation-in-spain-2006/). Antonio recently told me that he remembered one picture, in particular, from my collection... <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-17-toy-boats/422993045_e87bb676ee_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Toy Boat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-17-toy-boats/422993045_9f06b65c96.jpg" alt="Toy Boat"/>
</a>

**Toy Boat** - Paul plays with his toy boat at the beach in Laredo, Spain.

Posting this, just now, I was reminded of a picture on [sgazzetti's blog](http://www.isoglossia.com/) (I mean, [website](http://isoglossia.com/?page_id=19)) that I saw recently. For those of you that haven't noticed his superb comments, sgazzetti is my newest blog fan. Anyway, a friend of mine saw the following picture the other day and told me that it looked like the kind of picture I would take. So, without further ado, let's take the toy boat perspective tricks in the opposite direction...

[![](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-17-toy-boats/377212400_e8dfae79c7_d.jpg)](http://flickr.com/photos/33263555@N00/377212400 "Photo Sharing")

He's got [a whole Flickr photoset](http://flickr.com/photos/isogloss/sets/72157594513656089/) of attempts to make his tiny Venetian souvenir pay for itself. I think it did.

Also, check out his [blog website entry](http://isoglossia.com/?p=494) about it.


Toy Boats


It's time for Round 2 in our [comparison of how Spain and the US differ in small, trivial ways](/category/spain-v-usa/). Today's topic: Elevators and floor numbering.

### The Difference

In the United States, when you walk into a building from the street, you are on the "first floor" of the building. If you go up the stairs to the floor above, you will be on the second floor.

In Spain (and the rest of Europe), when you walk into a building from the street, you are on the "ground floor" of the building. If you go upstairs to the floor above, you will be on the first floor.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-16-elevators-and-floor-numbering/539649731_c8512e7816_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3074.JPG">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-16-elevators-and-floor-numbering/539649731_129015522d.jpg" alt="CIMG3074.JPG"/>
</a>

The buttons in the elevator in my building.

### Argument By Arrays

In computer programming, all lists and arrays are zero-indexed, meaning that they start counting at zero. To explain why, we're going to have to jump into the first week of Computer Science 101...

Let's say that one integer takes up 4 bytes of memory. So an array of 5 integers requires 20 bytes of memory. Let's say our array is stored at memory address 3456, and the values are the some numbers in the [Fibonacci sequence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number). So, in memory, our array looks like: table.memtable { font-size:90%; border: none; margin-left: 150px; } table.memtable th { text-align:center; vertical-align: middle; } table.memtable td { text-align:center; border: 1px solid #E5ECF7; vertical-align: middle; }

Memory Address

Value

3456

8

3457

3458

3459

3460

13

3461

3462

3463

3464

21

3465

3466

3467

3468

34

3469

3470

3471

3472

55

3473

3474

3475

The way we access the individual elements of our array is to specify what is called an "offset" from the original array address. If we say, fibonacci\[1\] the offset is 1, fibonacci\[3\] the offset is 3, etc.. The computer is going to multiply our offset by the size of our data type (remember we said an integer was 4 bytes), and add that to the memory address of our array. It will then read a four-byte integer from that memory location. So,

memory location of fibonacci\[0\] = (0 x 4) + 3456 = 3456 memory location of fibonacci\[1\] = (1 x 4) + 3456 = 3460 memory location of fibonacci\[2\] = (2 x 4) + 3456 = 3464 memory location of fibonacci\[3\] = (3 x 4) + 3456 = 3468 memory location of fibonacci\[4\] = (4 x 4) + 3456 = 3472

You can see that asking for fibonacci\[0\] gives us the first integer in the array, fibonacci\[1\] gives us the second integer, and so on. This is why arrays are zero-indexed in computers.

Floors in buildings should work exactly the same way. The building is the array, and the floor is the offset. If I tell you to meet me at 3456 Main St., I expect you to go to that location and enter the building, and not go up or down any stairs. If the building has five stories, and I want to meet you at the top story, I should tell you the number of stories to go up in the building to find me. So, just like the fifth, and final, element in our array was fibonacci\[4\], I should tell you "3456 Main St., 4th floor".

### Argument By Cartesian Coordinates

If you prefer geometry to computer science, this explanation is for you. For the purposes of daily human life, we live in a world of three spacial dimensions. We'll call the axes east-west (ew), north-south (ns), and up-down (ud). Our examples will assume a universally-known origin at some point on the ground. Let's start off with simple and work our way up.

Assume we're in a 1-dimensional world. If I want to meet you at a certain point, I need to tell you how far east or west of the origin to meet me. For example, if I said, "Meet me at 4 east," you'd know where to go.

Now assume we're in a 2-dimensional world. If I want you to meet me at a certain point, I need to tell you how far east or west to go _and_ how far north or south to go from the origin to meet me. I might ask you to meet me at (4 ew, 3 ns) or (-5 ew, 7 ns). Or, and this is crucial, I might ask you to meet me at (5 ew, 0 ns). Note that (5,0) is a perfectly valid Cartesian coordinate, and clearly denotes a point on the plane.

Now let's go up to a 3-dimensional world. Let's assume there's a building at (3 ew, 4 ns). If I tell you to go to (3 ew, 4 ns, 0 ud), "Meet me at the corner of Third St. and Fourth Ave.," I expect you to go to the building and wait for me in the lobby on the ground floor. If I want you on the next floor up, I'd send you to (3 ew, 4 ns, 1 ud). I'd say, "Meet me at the corner of Third St. and Fourth Ave, _first_ floor."

Obviously, if I really wanted to meet you there, I'd have to specify a fourth coordinate in the temporal dimension as well, but that's irrelevant to this discussion.

### Conclusion

I've presented two very logical, somewhat geeky, reasons for why Spain's zero-indexed floor numbering system is superior to the American one-indexed system. It may seem arbitrary, but I contend that, while it may be trivial, it is not arbitrary.

This point goes to Spain.

Score: USA: 1, Spain: 1


Elevators and Floor Numbering


A friend sent this to me in a chain mail. I've got nothing better to talk about today, so I'll share it here. Not to brag, but I'm having to translate it from Spanish to English. See if you can figure out what's at the link before you click it.

> If you ever find yourself sitting next to a bothersome person in a train or plane.... ol.sep-list li { margin-bottom: 10px; }
> 
> 1. Very calmly take out your laptop case.
> 2. Take out the laptop.
> 3. Turn it on.
> 4. Make sure that the annoying guy is paying attention to your screen.
> 5. Open this email.
> 6. Close your eyes and turn your face to the sky.
> 7. Then click on [this link](http://www.thecleverest.com/countdown.swf).

Of course doing this in a freedom-loving nation like the US or UK, even as a joke, might get you locked up with no trial. But, like most of those "Things to annoy people in a classroom/elevator/mall/etc." emails, it's the scenario simulation that makes us laugh, even though we'd never actually act on them. Not to mention that most of the people that receive this email wouldn't be tech-savvy enough to make sure to save a local copy of the flash file...at least until we get standard in-flight wifi.

If you thought this joke was in bad taste, you need to lighten up. People are way too tense about this whole terrorism thing. Your government, the media, and, to a lesser extent, the terrorists, _want_ you to be tense about it. Relax. It's okay to laugh at Yossarian.


Laptop Prank


For a couple years now, I've been keeping up to date with American television via a technology called [BitTorrent](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent). I can usually have an episode of an hour-long program like 24, House, or Prison Break (my three favs at the moment) downloaded by lunch time the day after they air in the US. But the annoying thing about BitTorrent is that you have to go searching for the torrent files. You can subscribe to RSS feeds of searches on sites like [mininova.org](http://www.mininova.org/) or [thepiratebay.org](http://thepiratebay.org/), but you still have to keep an eye on them and notice when new torrents are available.

Podcasts, on the other hand, are nice because they get downloaded automatically. You wake up in the morning, open your iTunes, and you have a number of podcasts already downloaded and ready to be played (or copied to your iPod, hence the name). What sucks about podcasts, compared to BitTorrents, is that the content is pretty lame.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could combine the great content of BitTorrent with the automatic downloading of podcasts? Now you can!

I found this page solely because he's linking to me in his deli.cio.us links on his sidebar. Check this out: [how-to-subscribe-to-tv-shows-using-the-democracy-player-bittorrent-rss](http://soylentfoo.jnewland.com/articles/2006/02/22/how-to-subscribe-to-tv-shows-using-the-democracy-player-bittorrent-rss)

> ### How to Subscribe to TV Shows Using The Democracy Player & Bittorrent & RSS
> 
> 1. Download [The Democracy Player](http://www.getdemocracy.com/)
> 2. [Search](http://tvrss.net/search/) for a show of your choice at [TVRss](http://tvrss.net)
> 3. Right click on the RSS/XML icon link and select _Copy Link URL_
> 
> 5. Go to [Feedburner](http://www.feedburner.com), and paste the URL into the text field on the home page, check the “I am a Podcaster!” box, and click next.
>     1. If you don’t already have a [Feedburner](http://www.feedburner.com) account, you’ll be prompted to create one
>     
> 6. Click “Next” to activate the feed
> 7. Copy the URL of the feed provided by [Feedburner](http://www.feedburner.com) (it should start with _http://feeds.feedburner.com/_)
> 
> 9. Open [The Democracy Player](http://www.getdemocracy.com/), click “Add Channel”, and paste the URL of the feed into the field that appears
> 10. Sleep. In the morning, you should have an episode of _The Daily Show_ to watch!
> 11. New episodes will automatically be downloaded as soon as they’re available on Bittorrent – I’ve found this to usually be a day after the show airs
> 
> 13. Enjoy!

It really works! I've got my Democracy Player downloading from his recommended The Daily Show feed right now.

I completely agree that this is the future of television. Already DVR devices, like TiVo, allow you to watch shows on your own time. Ever increasing bandwidth will draw more and more people to the internet for their television content. Apple has it right, trying to jump into the paid subscriber market with their Apple TV. They've jumped the major hurdle from the office to the living room sofa.

I'm very happy about this ability to auto-download torrents directly into a video player.

Any illegal activity mentioned in this blog post was strictly hypothetical.


Podcasting and Bittorrent Unite


What a wonderful mix of Mac geekery and critcism of the current White House administration. How could I _not_ love this?


iRack


This past weekend we attended an intensive two-day dance workshop in Suances, a town about an hour west along the coast. On Friday night, there was a dance exhibition and disco in a neighboring hotel. On Saturday morning there were 2 hours of classes in the morning, 2.5 hours of classes in the afternoon, and then a larger dance exhibition (they actually sold tickets to the public) and disco in the big gym where we were taking our classes. On Sunday there were 2 hours of class in the morning again, and 2.5 in the afternoon.

Because we signed up and paid early, the whole thing, 9 hours of classes, two salsa discos, two dance exhibitions, 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, and 2 nights of lodging cost us what just the lessons or just the hotel would have cost if we hadn't done it in an organized group. There were at least 100 people there, skills ranging from jaw-dropping professional dancer to considerably worse than us.

We got to the hotel at about 19:30 on Friday and had time for an 90 minute nap before dinner. After dinner we all went two blocks away to another hotel for the disco thing. First there was a dance exhibition of some weird modern ballet sort of thing. Young men lifting apparently weightless young women in graceful, flowing motions. It was entertaining to watch.

Afterwards, the DJ turned on the salsa music and people took the floor. We stood back to watch. The salsa dancing we witnessed was _amazing_! Hips undulating, girls doing dozens of spins only to pull out of it right in rhythm with the music. We knew they were way out of our league after about 15 seconds. Too self-conscious to clumsily spatter finger-paints next to these Da Vincis, we kept to the side of the dance floor and watched the mesmerizing spectacle. Salsa dancing, like most things I suppose, is absolutely beautiful when well executed. Among the dozen couples zipping around the dance floor, there were 3 or 4 couples that really drew our eyes. We just couldn't look away. Eventually we got tired of feeling so inferior and left for our hotel, glad that the thumping dance music that would continue for another 5 hours was in a hotel two blocks away and not ours.

On Saturday, we were up before most of the attendees, who'd had had a late night, and got an early breakfast (9:30. This is Spain, remember.), and headed into the small town center of Suances to run some errands. Marga bought some boots that she's been threatening to buy for six months now, and I bought a pair of sneakers. They were on sale. Both pairs of footwear were less than a third of what they would have cost us elsewhere. Not a bad start to the morning!<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-12-dance-workshop-in-suances/539560298_6870dc6faf_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3122.JPG">
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This old terrier and labrador pup in the yard next to the hotel made a pretty funny pair.

By noon we made our way to the town recreation center, where the classes would be held on the municipal basketball court.

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Luismi, our regular salsa teacher and organizer of the entire Suances event, tests the wireless mic on stage.

There were two levels of classes, advanced and basic. Luismi had told us that we would get more out of the advanced class and that we were good enough to follow along. The 2 hours of morning classes were divided into two separate classes with different instructors. We immediately recognized the instructors as one of the couples that had wowed us the previous night. Of _course_ they danced well! They were the bloody professional instructors!

After the first class, they said, "Okay, we'll do it one more time so you can record it," and everyone ran to where they had left their stuff in the bleachers and pulled out camcorders. What a great idea! I had left my camera in the hotel room, but I vowed to bring it to each subsequent class.

Back in the hotel room before lunch, we practiced the routine we'd just learned in the second hour of class. We could still do it. But when we tried to remember the routine from the first hour of class, our minds were blank. We just couldn't remember it at all! And sure enough, by the time we'd finished lunch, the routine that we'd practiced in the hotel room before lunch was gone as well. _That's_ why you have to record them!

It's not that the classes we took on Saturday morning were useless because we forgot what we learned. It's like learning a song on the piano or guitar. Even after your forget the song, you're still a better piano or guitar player for having learned the song.

The first class in the afternoon was Cha-cha-cha, a close cousin of salsa. Here's the routine we learned. The first part that they do apart was the warm-up. By the end of the lesson, we could do all this pretty well. Not with as much grace and smooth hip movement as you see here, but we had the steps and the spins as shown.

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The second instructors of the afternoon were the most impressive. They were from an Italian dance company in Milan called [Tropical Gem](http://www.tropicalgem.it/). The guy speaking here had a body that Leonardo would have wanted to sculpt. This first video is the warm-up they taught us. It is more of a choreographed dance routine that you'd see dancers on stage doing while an artist is singing their song. He thought it was really important that we do certain parts of it while certain lyrics were being sung. It's a song by [Marc Anthony](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Anthony), J-Lo's hubby.

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Here's the same thing, but with music:

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This next video has the two routines he taught us. We could do both of these pretty well by the end of the class. We'll have to relearn them with this video. The hand-play thing at the start of the second one was particularly hard for me to get for some reason.

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The Italians hocking DVDs.

After dinner on Saturday night, we headed back to the municipal gym for the exhibition. The people giving the exhibition were all the instructors we'd had, plus a few dance companies that had been hired especially for the exhibition. Afterwards, we danced a little during the disco, drank our one package-included free drink, and went back to the hotel. We were some of the first to leave at 3:00. There's just so much dancing you feel like doing after spending all day in dance classes.

I put a couple videos I took of the Saturday night performances on YouTube: [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFk2W92YzsM) and [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP1tZv-ADHg). The first is zouk (see below), and the second is just mind-blowing rhythmic acrobatics.

On Sunday morning, we visited a local landmark. In her office at work, Marga has a calendar of famous landmarks around Cantabria. By complete chance, the landmark for March 2007 is the Lighthouse of Suances. Marga explained that it was built in the 19th century and then renovated and converted to electricity in the 20th century.<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-12-dance-workshop-in-suances/539681117_be428977ed_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3138.JPG">
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There she is, in all her glory. We could see the beam sweep across the sky at night from our hotel.

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The lighthouse from further down the coast.

This was about the time when we were admiring the beautiful sea view, and I turned around and said, "Oh my god, look at that!" Behind us was a range of snowy mountains and more water between us and them!

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What a gorgeous view!

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With zoom.

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The people that built this house knew what the value of their location was. I hope they know [not to throw stones](http://www.goenglish.com/PeopleWhoLiveInGlassHousesShouldNotThrowStones.asp).

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Squinty wanted his picture taken too.

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The waves made such a nice white noise.

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There were a lot of these flowers around. It was clear from the vegetation that this area got a lot of strong wind.

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Looking back towards the beach and town of Suances. (pronounced "SWAN theys", by the way)

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Waves reflecting the sun.

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There were two perfectly drawn soccer fields and two lively games.

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Looking back towards the peninsula we'd been on taking the pictures of the mountains.

On Sunday morning, we went to a zouk class. [Zouk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zouk), pronounced "ZOO key" for some reason, is a three-beat dance style from the Caribbean. It's even more sexy and sensual than salsa or cha-cha-cha. Our class was definitely rated R, with the teacher continually asking if we were horny yet and talking about stimulation, foreplay, and even penetration. We thought his behavior was a little inappropriate, but he was Brazilian, so... Even his dance partner on stage was pretty embarrassed.

I thought we did pretty well starting from zero zouk knowledge. The back bending stuff was pretty fun. Here's the demo they did for us after the class:

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The second class of the morning was in [bachata](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachata), another caribbean cousin of salsa. We know bachata from our weekly lessons, and we didn't learn much in this class. But the teacher was so energetic and charismatic that the whole class was smiling for the entire hour. This is the guy that teaches all the teachers in this area. Luismi, our regular teacher, learned most of what he knows about bachata from this guy. It was nice having at least one class that we didn't completely suck at.

The afternoon classes were by the Italian Tropical Gem folks again. It was complex salsa that challenged us, but in a good way. The instructor has a style about him that can might have made me guess he's from Milan even if I didn't know he was. Check out how he's wearing his sweatshirt in this demonstration:

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The second afternoon class was by the other couple from Milan. They struggled a bit more with their Spanish, and did a lot of counting in English. They give classes in English in Italy.

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Ditto, but with music:

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Between demonstrations, I turned around and snapped this picture of my dance partner. We had to wear these "you gotta cut 'em to get 'em off" bracelets all weekend to prove that we hadn't just wandered in off the streets.

Back home on Sunday evening, we barely had energy to fix some dinner before collapsing into bed several hours earlier than normal. My feet and ankles are pretty sore today.

Overall we enjoyed it a great deal and will try to go to similar future events.


Dance Workshop in Suances


I was pedaling away on an exercise bike at the local gym the other day when I realized that the RPM I was doing directly corresponded to the BPM (beats per minute) of the song I was listening to on my iPod. This is very natural. Any aerobics instructor knows this when choosing music for her class.

### The Idea

Make an exercise bicycle with an MP3 player built in and a selection of songs at various BPM rates. You can then select the BPM of the song by the RPM that you want to achieve on the bike. Maybe 80 RPM to start out your workout, and work your way up to 100 RPM for the peak, and then come back down to 70 RPM for the cool down.

We already have technology to slow down and speed up music without distorting the pitch. This technology could possibly be applied in my hypothetical bike to fill in gaps for bit rates where you don't have music.

The bikes should come with built in music, but when you buy the bike, you should have the option of subscribing to a program where the company will send you updates of newly released pop songs that can be uploaded into the bikes.

An of course the bicycle should have an iPod dock to allow the use of your own music. The MP3 files should either have the BPM meta information encoded already, or perhaps the bicycle could do some quick analysis. Obviously the effect will be worse with your own music because there's no guarantee that the songs you bring will have a steady tempo.

### What they've got already

There's a program called [Tangerine!](http://www.potionfactory.com/tangerine/) that will analyze your iTunes library and attach BPM metadata to all your songs, which you can then use to make smart playlists. I've tried it, and it doesn't work very well. It will place a mellow Norah Jones song with a jazzy snare beat with a heavy Metallica song with a crunching, distorted electric guitar strumming to the same approximate BPM. Perhaps this simply indicates that a machine alone is not capable of choosing good workout music. I don't know.

There seem to be a few exercise bikes that allow you to plug in MP3 players, like [this one](http://www.nordictrack.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_12401_10301_28251_-1_19551), but they don't seem to do anything besides play the music through speakers.

### Conclusion

This certainly seems to me like a winning idea. It could be adapted to rowing machines or treadmills as well. If the concept of a subscription service works, it could mean a lot more money that just the bike sales.


MP3 Exercise Bike


This is an idea that I've seen implemented in Spain and no where else. You dig a dumpster-sized hole, put a hinged lid on it, and then put a mailbox-like interface to it on top. The shiny cylinder on top is about the size of one kitchen trash bag. Like a mailbox, when you open it, the cylinder rotates to close off the hole below. You place your bag inside the cylinder, close it, and it plummets into the dark depths below. It's easier and cleaner than most dumpsters, and it doesn't take away any sidewalk space. You can walk right over them.

Obviously, you need regular dumpsters too, for those items that won't fit in that little cylinder, but the stinky kitchen stuff should always go into the underground dumpster. Although I've never actually seen it, the mechanism for opening them must be automatically handled by the truck, like it is for other dumpsters.

I took some pictures of the one right outside my building. It malfunctioned and was left open, which is somewhat dangerous. But it did let me illustrate how they work.

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Compare the footprint and aesthetics to its green neighbor.

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Don't let your kids run around when they get stuck open like this.


Underground Dumpsters


Dear female wedding guests,

Marga said something to me the other day that hadn't occurred to my simpleton male brain. She said, "We need to find out which of our guests want to go to the hairdresser the morning of [the wedding](/wedding/)." In Spain, the bride and groom normally go to the hairdresser the morning of the wedding, to look their best. But many of the female guests do too. Marga's sister, mother, and aunts will for sure. Now that I think about it, Marga's gotten her hair done the week before all the weddings we've attended together. Spanish women use weddings to fulfill some deep feminine red carpet fantasy, I think. They use it as an excuse to pamper themselves and look their very best.

Marga's going to go to one that costs more than 100Â€ (sure, why not! what's another c-note on the wedding bill?), but there will be others that are cheaper. I'm sure we can get one of our Spanish-but-living-in-England attendees to go to the hairdresser with any Americans that want to go to help translate (Marga probably won't have time).

Chances are that there will be more than one wedding in Mondragon that day, so the early morning hairdresser appointments will need to be made a few months in advance. That gives you a few months to think about it.

I want to stress that we're not trying to pressure you. We're just making you aware of the culture in which the wedding will occur to avoid any surprises.

But still, you have to admit that going to an overpriced hairdresser in a foreign country would definitely be an unforgettable experience.

\[UPDATE 2007-03-07\] Apparently I know very little about hairdressers. Marga corrected my assumption that 100Â€ was just "what the hairdresser cost". No, that's what it's going to cost _her_ for everything she's going to have done. What it would cost the rest of you for a little washing, brushing, trimming, curling, \[insert more hair gerunds here\], etc. will definitely not exceed 50Â€, and will probably be much less. Just so you know...


Wedding Hairdresser


[Wedding](/wedding/) update! We've checked four things off the wedding todo list.

### The Dress

Marga spent three separate days, in three separate cities, with her mother, sister, and Aunt Marga trying on wedding dresses. She tried at least 50 of them. The final winner is from a shop in Santander. The final product costs about a month of Marga's salary. Of course, I was perfectly content to let societal norms prohibit me from attending such shopping sessions.

Marga described the process to me beautifully. She said,

> There are a lot of beautiful wedding dresses out there, just like there are a lot of beautiful boys out there. Some of them, though beautiful by themselves, don't work well at all when you try them on. But many of them _do_ look good on you. What's important is finding the one that makes you feel beautiful and has that extra magic that lets you know that this is the one.

I like the idea of dress selection as a microcosm of husband selection.

### The Suit

I have two suits. It didn't make much sense to me to buy another one, but Marga's family said, "Yes, you have to buy a new suit for your wedding!" It was Marga, the brains of this whole operation, that came up with the best argument about my wedding day attire. She said, "How different is the suit you would buy from the suits you already have?" The answer is that it would be identical.

When the wedding dress judges (Marce, Aunt Marga, and Belén) came over to visit on Saturday, they said, "Okay, let's see what your suits look like." I pulled out the cheaper one first. They all agreed that it was very elegant and would do just fine for the wedding. Then I pulled out the nicer one, and they oohed and ahhed and gave the thumbs up. They still insist that shirt and vest shopping must commence soon, and that I'll need to bring my better suit along for matching. Yay.

### Photographer

We visited several wedding photographers around Mondragon. They are all very nice. All pretty much the same. All incredibly expensive. It's all digital these days, of course. They will give us a nice hard-cover book of pictures. They offer two smaller versions of the book for each set of parents. They give you a PDF version of the book as well. And even a CD containing all the hi-res pictures that they took. This, of course, pleases a photo hound like myself a lot. The photo montages they do look nice, too. On the whole, I'm very happy with our choice of photographer.

They give us a discount if we let them try to sell photos to the wedding guests. After the ceremony, they run back to their shop and print up what they have so far. Then, at the restaurant, they display the photos on a table, and the guests can choose which ones they want. The photographers later print up the photos and mail them to the guests' homes. It seems like a service I would even pay for. It works particularly well in this case, because the American guests sure can't "just stop by the shop" the following week to pick up their prints. I love ideas like that that benefit all parties involved.

### Videographer

It never occurred to us to hire a videographer. But Marga's Uncle Antonio insisted that it was a good idea, and that he knew a guy that did it. We said, "Naw, we don't need that," but he insisted that we did. He even offered to pay for it as our wedding gift. So we took the information from him and went to visit the videographer on Saturday evening. We had to go to [Zarautz](http://www.zarautz.com/), a beautiful little beach town near San Sebastian. We were still pretty skeptical going in, but the videographer sat us down with one other couple (some 21-year-old kids, also from Mondragon) and showed us some examples of his work. An hour later, he finished his spiel and we were convinced.

Sometime this summer, whenever we decide to, we'll call him and he'll come to Colindres (Zarautz is 90 minutes away) and he'll shoot some footage of us walking around town, walking on the beach, doing silly lover things with ice cream cones, etc. He's really good at making couples laugh and look happy together. Then, he'll come to the wedding, tape the pre-ceremony photo shoot, the ceremony, rice throwing, dancing, etc. and professionally edit the video. His studio was very impressive. He said that if we wanted to put in the effort to help (and we do!), we could put subtitles in English for when Spanish is spoken and vice versa. Then we get eight DVDs.

We have to bring him some pictures of ourselves together, as well as some childhood pictures. I will have to get my folks to bring a dozen or so when they come. We also have to pick background music. He said, "Yeah, we'll have to be extra careful with the music, because the audience will be able to understand the lyrics." A great example was that one of the videos he showed us used an upbeat French dance song that was popular in Spain a few years ago called [Désenchantée](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9senchant%C3%A9e). If you don't know the lyrics, it sounds like a really cool, happy song, but even I understand the title of the song enough to know that it's not a good choice, lyric-wise, for a wedding video.

He told us that there's another special deal that he offers. If we let him and his cameras into the hotel room on our wedding night, he'll do the whole video for free. This got some nervous "he can't be serious" laughs from the four of us. Before things got too awkward, he said, "I've been doing this for more than 20 years, and not one couple has taken me up on that offer. Oh well...". No doubt he does the same joke every time.

This videographer guy was really something. He didn't smile that much, but he had a ton of charisma. We liked him a lot. He even invited us out for a local specialty tapa of grilled [foie gras](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras). I think it was probably the most beautifully presented tapa I've ever seen. The texture was kind of strange, but then again, it _is_ the fat around a duck liver.

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Three different colors of sauce, each neatly contained in a balsamic vinegar outline of flower petals. Lovely!


Dress, Suit, Photographer, Videographer


Today's date is the only date that makes a complete sentence when spoken ("March forth!"). It got up to [27°C](http://www.google.com/search?q=27+c+in+f) today. So naturally, we went to the beach. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-04-march-fourth/539552162_1a9f7c7ce6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3109.JPG">
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This pair on horseback looked like they were having fun.

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The sail boats were out in force too.

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I love this old fort on the cliff here.

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It's a good place for some cannons.

Just like [on November 5th, 2006](/2006/11/05/november-beach/), I felt it was necessary to brave the waters for the good of the blog...

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Take the picture, already!

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Woohoo! In the ocean in March!

revver(193281)


March Fourth


This is the first in a [series of blog entries](/category/spain-v-usa/) about little differences that I notice between the US and Spain. For each difference, I'll decide which country does it better, and award points.

The first topic: Book Spines. Here are a few pictures of our bookshelf, and some books I've removed from the shelf. Examine them carefully. It may help to click on them to see them better.

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Notice that the Spanish titles are written in the opposite direction from the English titles. Now, which way is correct? A simple thought experiment will tell us.

Imagine that you are sitting at a table, and I hand you a book and tell you to place it, closed, on the table. You are naturally going to turn it around so that the front cover is facing up, and you will probably orient it so that you can read whatever is on the front cover, with the spine of the book facing to your left. Now imagine that there is a person sitting to your left, who wants to know what book you have, so she reads the spine. On an American (or British) book, she will have no trouble reading the spine. But on a Spanish book, the text on the spine will be upside down. USA wins!

I have explained this to a few Spaniards, and they all agree that the Spanish way is wrong, and they have no idea why the standard is how it is.

I would like to postulate that it might have something to do with the Arab influence left on Spanish culture from a thousand years ago. As I understand it, Arabic is read from right to left on the page. Does anyone know if they read books from back to front as well? It would make sense if you were reading from right to left to turn pages from left to right. When you are looking at the front of an Arabic book, is the spine on the right? I really don't know. Anyone?

Did you notice that [the book that my great-great-grandfather wrote in Old Norwegian](http://www.erik-rasmussen.com/rasmus/) also has the spinal text going the wrong way too? I wonder why that would be...

First round result: USA: 1, Spain: 0


Spinal Discord


I had to take some books back to the library the other day. The library in Colindres is the worst I've ever seen. There's no order in the books, and there are only about 200 books in a cramped little room. It's pretty sad. I took my camera along and snapped some pictures of the town hall and a little gazebo thing. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-03-02-town-gazebo/539652295_4f2136d4a2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG3099.JPG">
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I think it's cool how they can grow trees together like this. That's the Colindres Town Hall ("Ayuntamiento" in Spanish).

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Structures like this in the middle of town squares are pretty common in Spain. They can be used as stages for gatherings. The most common use is for a band to play up there.

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This door really intrigued me. What could possibly be under there?

I noticed that the tiles are painted representing scenes from a story. You don't have to live in Spain too long to know that there's [only one Spanish folk story](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote). Sure enough, I walked around to the other side and saw the windmill scene, the only scene anyone really knows about the story.


25 posts from March, 2007