
<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8314198660_a3a278b9d1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Silly Glitter Face">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8314198660_4a9d10339e_t.jpg" alt="Silly Glitter Face"/>
</a>

We've reached a very rebellious stage lately. There are some days where it feels like every single thing we tell Nora to do, she says, "I don't want to!" Depending on how much time or patience we have available at the moment she needs to, say, wash her hands, I vary from giving a lecture about [germ theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ_theory) to the "sometimes we _have_ to do things that was don't _want_ to do" to the parental cop-out of "it doesn't matter whether you want to or not" to actually physically grabbing her by the arm and dragging her into the bathroom to wash her hands. I really hate doing the last two, but sometimes there's just no time available for negotiations…and sometimes it's the ten thousandth time she's refused a perfectly reasonable request that day.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8314206560_30254c24f8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora Pastora">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8314206560_2f22a316ed_n.jpg" alt="Nora Pastora"/>
</a>

One day this month, we were just in the car, and Nora said, â€œWhen we get home, I want TWO pieces of doughnut, okay, Mommy?â€ Her mother said, â€œOkay, you can have two pieces.â€ Nora immediately said, â€œNO! I want three pieces!â€ There\\'s nothing worse than trying to haggle and the other party accepts your first offer. You know you\\'ve been an idiot. Somehow she knows this intuitively at age three.

And another time in the car, she said, â€œI think that every time we ride in the car, I should drive and you tell me where to go, okay?â€ Um, no. Just after that, someone let her press the button on the key to unlock the car remotely, which she decided was fantastic, so now she demands to be the official car locker and unlocked.

Nora's never been all that into coloring or drawing, but she is quite fascinated by scissors and cutting. She will turn a piece of paper into confetti with the utmost glee. We've done a pretty good job of [sandboxing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox_(computer_security)) her behavior, so she knows which paper is allowed for this play and which is not. She's miraculously never cut herself yet, but we did have one incident.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8283653373_589ba4387c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora Cut Her Shirt">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8283653373_3bd7d6dbcd.jpg" alt="Nora Cut Her Shirt"/>
</a>

Oops.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8284708842_176545044c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora Cut Her Shirt">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8284708842_6e5cd5d7fd.jpg" alt="Nora Cut Her Shirt"/>
</a>

I told the story of the cut shirt to a friend, and she said that she, too, loves idle paper cutting, that it's something to occupy her hands while her mind is active, much like doodling.

She spends a lot of time when she's at home, when she's not being interacted with by us or the television, mimicking what her teachers do at school. She'll announce, "Okay, boys and girls. Everyone sit down please." or "Okay, ready, set, go! Everybody go!" or "Hold on to the child in front of you, everybody!" or "Do you know what \[nonsense word\] means? I'll tell you. It's a thing that does this and that." The whole exercise is pretty cute.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8316820065_e4d690e8a4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Santo Tomás in Mondragón">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8316820065_6b660c98d0.jpg" alt="Santo Tomás in Mondragón"/>
</a>

Nora with her Aunt Belén, who was dressed up for Santo Tomás, an annual pre-Christmas celebration in her town of Mondragón. What beauties!

For Christmas, Nora got an apron, some chewing gum, a photo of her grandparents' dog, and some mittens and a hat. But the biggest present was a shiny new bicycle. We'll have to do a lot of bicycle practicing in the coming months.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8317879214_b133dd311a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Wrapped Bicycle">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8317879214_9636ef2cd3.jpg" alt="Wrapped Bicycle"/>
</a>

Pretty good wrapping job, if you ask me.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8317886050_ede21f7c08_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Princess Pony Girly Plastic Stuff">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8317886050_8ec01be240.jpg" alt="Princess Pony Girly Plastic Stuff"/>
</a>

I have a really visceral reaction in toy stores now where I feel physically ill imagining all the plastic crap cluttering up my house. It takes a lot of effort for me to see toys through the eyes of a child and not a lego-stepping parent. I would never in a million years buy something like this pony and princess set, complete with lots of little interchangeable hats for for the pony and brushes and grooming tools. Luckily, that's what aunts are for. Even though she'd never have asked for it either, Nora really loves this toy and plays brushing the pony's mane for hours. In fact, two separate aunts bought Nora this exact same gift, prompting Nora to bluntly say, "Oh, we already have this."

When we went to Mondragón for Christmas, we accidentally left behind a present we'd bought for Nora's cousin, [Chloe](/2010/11/04/fun-with-cousin-chloe/). Nora told this to her aunt, and her aunt told Chloe, "Oh, did you hear that? The Olentzero (Basque Santa) has another gift for you!" To which Nora replied, "No, Mommy and I bought it in a store in Colindres." The Basque tradition of claiming/insinuating that _all_ Christmas presents come from the mythical breaking-and-entering gift giver will surely make it even easier to suss out the holiday ruse.

As we finish up this year of 2012, I can say with confidence that the state of the offspring is strong!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8314198660_a3a278b9d1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Silly Glitter Face">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-state-of-the-offspring-address-december-2012/8314198660_4a9d10339e.jpg" alt="Silly Glitter Face"/>
</a>

…and sparkly!


State of the Offspring Address - December 2012


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-the-spanish-christmas-bonus-and-the-14-month-payroll-in-spain/162257320_21c8abaf69_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Fourteen Thousand Euros">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-28-the-spanish-christmas-bonus-and-the-14-month-payroll-in-spain/162257320_21c8abaf69_t.jpg" alt="Fourteen Thousand Euros"/>
</a>

One of the unique cultural practices in Spain is the summer and winter double paycheck. Every July or August and December, Spanish employees receive twice their normal salary for the month. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? It's actually negotiated that way, so when you take a salaried job in Spain, you agree to receive your annual salary in 14 payments, one per month, and then an extra one each summer and winter. As far as I know, this is the standard practice across most industries. 

### The Pros

While it's [not a big problem for me](/2008/09/23/i-abhor-debt/), I think the data pretty clearly suggest that people, in general, are really bad at saving money, and are even quite good at getting into as much debt as lenders will allow them to. I'm a big fan of using little psychological tricks on myself, such as setting up a standing transfer from my checking account into my savings account every month to automatically take some of my paycheck into savings, thus making it appear, at a glance, that I have less money available to spend than I really do. Having your Spanish employer do it for you makes for pleasant surprises every six months. It's a bit like getting a tax refund. Even though it was your money to begin with, it still feels like a gift.

This policy has got to be great for the tourism and retail industries in summer and winter respectively. Having the entire population feel like they just won the lottery right when it's time for summer vacation or Christmas shopping must provide a defibrillator paddle shock to the national economy that probably keeps it healthier than if those two extra paychecks were spread out throughout the year.

### The Cons

When your employer knows you can live just fine on 85% of your total annual salary, when your employer is looking for ways to reduce costs, those extra two months of pay are easy targets. There's an enormous brouhaha lately because the Spanish government, an "austerity measure", is refusing to pay public sector workers their extra paycheck this December. The real kick to the kidneys is that the government is making its employees pay taxes on that 14th paycheck even though they're not receiving it. _¡Toma!_ Take that!

### Conclusion

The idea of having your annual salary split up into 14 months is certainly an interesting idea. I'm not sure that I'd want to switch to it myself, since I'd rather have all my money now and not have my employer earning interest off of what belongs to me for six months. Plus, if someone really wanted to, they could implement it themselves with some self control and automated bank transactions.

Just when I think I've exhausted all the little cultural quirks I can write about my adopted home to my largely non-Spanish audience, something like this comes up in the news and reminds me just how [weird](/2011/10/27/foreigners-are-so-rude/) these Spaniards are.


The Spanish Christmas Bonus and the 14 Month Payroll in Spain


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-27-noras-christmas-performance-2012/8313071045_486b581874_t.jpg" alt="Christmas Pagent 2012" class="post-thumb"/>On her last day of school for the calendar year on December 21, as foretold by the Mayan prophecies, Nora was instructed to come to school wearing a white turtle neck and white tights only, because the little hybrid cafeteria-auditorium gets very hot during performances. Her class had little costumes which were made during the [week of workshops](/2012/12/17/christmas-workshops-at-school/), which consisted of a little paper crown and a cloth sack with head and arm holes. We were informed that the Tortugas (the nickname for Nora's 3-year-old class) performance was going to be at 11:00 AM, and we were to get there by 10:50 in order to find a place in the cafeteria-auditorium to watch from.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-27-noras-christmas-performance-2012/8313146559_c1c6eceafe_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora in Christmas Outfit">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-27-noras-christmas-performance-2012/8313146559_dc0d3d16cc_n.jpg" alt="Nora in Christmas Outfit"/>
</a>

As soon as I dropped her off at school that morning, I began hearing horror stories from more seasoned parents about how crowded and hot it gets in the auditorium, and how, although each parent is supposed to come in _only_ for their child's performance, there are always some grandmothers or aunts who go really early and stay through the whole show to avoid (or cause) the pushing and shoving that happens later. Yikes!

I had some errands to run before the pushing and shoving with other parents began, so I walked to the only toy store in town to buy one small item which I'd decided to buy the day before. What did I find, but a swarm of pushing and shoving parents. It took me a whole hour standing in a very disorderly line watching as the store owner and employee (both parents of kids in Nora's class) wrapped presents with the same finger blurring efficiency that had probably made all those plastic toys in a Chinese factory. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-27-noras-christmas-performance-2012/8313146923_f9cc9870f4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Vogue!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-27-noras-christmas-performance-2012/8313146923_d9b1983f59_n.jpg" alt="Vogue!"/>
</a>

With my present purchased, I raced home to grab my tripod, video camera and DSLR camera and walked the now familiar path to my daughter's school.

The reports of chaos had not been exaggerated. When the previous kids finished their song, the auditorium exhaled a breath of parents before inhaling another. Apparently most of the room was full of all the other kids sitting on the floor or on little chairs. I was pressed tight against the back wall. I set up my tripod, but it quickly became apparent that, even extended to full two-meter height, it wasn't going to get above the other tall parents holding their smart phones in the air. I felt sorry for the little mothers around me who could only see the concert digitally reflected through the mobile phones of those around them.

By the end of the performance, my arms were about ready to fall off. If you want to know what that's like, press play and then hold both arms as high above you as possible for the duration of the video.

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I3vLaV1B064" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The kids had clearly been divided into "Those willing to dance" and "Those not willing to dance". Of course I'm delighted that Nora was in the former. She has a _lot_ of fun watching this video. They were instructed to not tell their parents what song they were singing, and she kept that promise.

At the end of the video, the other children chant "_¡Tíº sí­ que vales!_", which means roughly "You _are_ great!"


Nora's Christmas Performance 2012


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-21-grimm-puppet-theater-little-red-riding-hood/8233116148_eb4c6e9f30_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Little Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-21-grimm-puppet-theater-little-red-riding-hood/8233116148_6dbe769227_t.jpg" alt="Little Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets"/>
</a>

When we went to the United States for Thanksgiving, Nora's teacher gave her a present and told her not to open it until she was flying on the airplane. Nora was delighted. Three year olds love surprises. We managed to not get asked the famous "Did anyone give you any items to carry onto this flight?" question on our first flight to Germany, although we did on the later one to the US, the land of police state security theater.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-21-grimm-puppet-theater-little-red-riding-hood/8232049763_21fb55ee06_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Present for Nora on the airplane">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-21-grimm-puppet-theater-little-red-riding-hood/8232049763_b82f64d910.jpg" alt="Present for Nora on the airplane"/>
</a>

Her present. The outside says, "Open this surprise when you're flying in the clouds!!" How exciting!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-21-grimm-puppet-theater-little-red-riding-hood/8232052091_56780a313c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Present for Nora on the airplane">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-21-grimm-puppet-theater-little-red-riding-hood/8232052091_3614623d82.jpg" alt="Present for Nora on the airplane"/>
</a>

Proof that she made it all the way onto the plane before opening it.

I don't know if her teacher knew this about Nora or not, but Nora's favorite story in the entire world is that of Little Red Riding Hood. She never ever gets tired of hearing it, and as soon as you finish telling it to her, she says, "Again!" So the present was really right on target.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-21-grimm-puppet-theater-little-red-riding-hood/8233116148_eb4c6e9f30_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Little Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-21-grimm-puppet-theater-little-red-riding-hood/8233116148_6dbe769227.jpg" alt="Little Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets"/>
</a>

Little Red Riding Hood finger puppets! The bag they fit in doubles as Grandma's house. There's the protagonist herself, Grandma, and the wolf, wearing Grandma's clothes, of course, and the story's _deus ex machina_, the hunter or lumberjack or whatever profession happens to be ascribed to the manly man who saves the helpless female characters.

Nora had a good time playing with the puppets, but never so good as one night playing with her grandmother. The performance before I began recording was really the best, but I captured a lovely taste of the magic that happened that night. Pardon the jiggling; I couldn't keep from laughing.

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/okIvcrVK4H4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Grimm Puppet Theater - Little Red Riding Hood


Nora has an announcement to make. Take it away, Nora…

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YHMf-pugptg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-20-the-son-also-rises/8166312003_45894def09_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Ultrasound - October 22, 2012">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-20-the-son-also-rises/8166312003_3360d12e88_t.jpg" alt="Ultrasound - October 22, 2012"/>
</a>

That's right. We're expecting a son sometime at the beginning of May 2013, a month after Nora's fourth birthday.

Here he is. A handsome lad, don't you think?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-20-the-son-also-rises/8166312003_45894def09_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ultrasound - October 22, 2012">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-20-the-son-also-rises/8166312003_3360d12e88_z.jpg" alt="Ultrasound - October 22, 2012"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-20-the-son-also-rises/8262662660_94a3e7a468_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ultrasound - December 3, 2012">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-20-the-son-also-rises/8262662660_493b6d3f2b.jpg" alt="Ultrasound - December 3, 2012"/>
</a>


The Son Also Rises


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-18-3d-printing-and-legislating-object-ownership/8282956745_376932137b_t.jpg" alt="Solidoodle 3D Printer" class="post-thumb"/>Over the past few years, the technology of 3D printing has shown itself to be a complete game changer. In a few very short years, with the initial investment of a printer, it will be possible to **_download physical objects_**. The plastic molding industry is going to be the first to feel the pain but eventually all manufacturing will be at risk. I expect to be a grandfather before complex electronics can be printed at home, but a wide variety of knickknacks and general household replacement items will be coming sooner, e.g. already you can download and print replacement knobs for a variety of items.  One aspect of this revolution will be that designs of objects are going to go the way of entertainment content. File sharing piracy is going to drive the price down considerably. If you ask too high a price for your design, it will push people over the ethical boundary towards piracy. We will also see the crowd power that has guided the open source software community begin to incrementally improve our daily household objects and drive prices down even further.

An advantage that I had not foreseen about the Mac App Store is how easy it is to switch computers. My operating system and program settings are backed up to iCloud, my music is in [iTunes Match](/2011/11/16/cloud-music-and-itunes-match/), and the App Store knows all the apps I've bought and allows me to download them whenever I want. So I log into a brand new computer, and within minutes (okay, hours), I've got all my apps installed and configured just how I like them. Back when I was a Windows user, I used to have to format and reinstall the OS and all my apps – from physical media, children! – and then remember how I had it all configured. My daughter will never know what a huge time saver the App Store is.

Now, imagine that App Store magic applies to Stuff. Say I want to move to another spot on the globe. I can just take all my crap down to the local materials recycling place, dump it in, and when I get to my new home, I simply re-download and print it all! Wow!

How will the 3D printing revolution change how our governments can legislate us?

In the very near future, it will be impossible to effectively enforce bans on any type of non-organic object. (I would argue that bans on organic substances are already shown to be ineffective.) We're about to finish up 2012, a year that started with the near-fatal shooting of a US congresswoman in Arizona, and ended with the massacre of twenty innocent kindergarteners in Connecticut, with plenty of similar events in between. Historically, I have tended to side politically with those demanding stricter gun laws, but I fully acknowledge that the issue is [extremely 

<iframe class="right" width="200" height="150" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4DeDx76l9sA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

gray](/2008/10/16/everything-is-gray/). You can probably see where I'm going with this. In the very near future, it's not really going to matter. You can _already_ search the internet for "3d printer gun" or "wikiweapon" and download the file for a 3D printer to print up the pieces to a working semi-automatic rifle. It doesn't work for very many rounds, but that's a technical matter of printing with stronger materials that will be solved very soon.

While gun legislation has worked in the past in other countries to decrease gun violence, by removing guns from the culture, I think it's already too late to change the gun culture in the United States via legislative fiat. In much the same way that the printing press made dispersal of information impossible for governments to contain, 3D printing is poised to change how we, both as citizens and rulers, look at our physical possessions.


3D Printing and Legislating Object Ownership


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280254221_0591f02480_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 162">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280254221_e6bc4b542f_t.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 162"/>
</a>

Last week the three, four and five-year-old classes at my daughter's school got together for an hour in the afternoon to do arts and crafts loosely related to Christmas. They were divided up into seven groups and each sent to a different part of the school with a teacher and some volunteering parents to do a craft of some sort. One room was face painting; another was gluing tongue depressors together into Christmas ornaments; another was constructing bits for a big nativity scene; another was baking marzipan cookies. Somehow, my daughter's teacher's husband found me and has been following me on Flickr for several months. I've yet to determine if his discovery was related to our choice of school and luck of school teacher. [His photostream](http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanpaz/) is much more impressive than [mine](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/). Anyhow, Nora's teacher asked me if I could come and take some photographs of all the workshops. I was happy to volunteer.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280152561_8f7ef84888_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 099">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280152561_427317d990.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 099"/>
</a>

The seven days and workshops. All the parental volunteering had been done while we were away in the US, but I'm glad I was able to float around between the workshops in my photographer role.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281197318_59a912ddc0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 091">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281197318_a24fe64c87.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 091"/>
</a>

The school has some excellent murals and drawings of famous Spanish painters.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280048329_434ceb54c3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 009">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280048329_0148406d33.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 009"/>
</a>

One workshop involved learning about leaves, pine cones, and rocks.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281124066_08a0c7f111_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 027">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281124066_f1bbb36a0c.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 027"/>
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Here's the children are doing that craft we all did of gluing crumpled up colored tissue paper to make a fluffy cloud. Nora was actually assigned to another group, but she was so upset that I could be present and not by her side that the only thing that would console her was being in the workshop group her beloved teacher was running.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281215558_c479d119d9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 104">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281215558_946f14bfa5.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 104"/>
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Fluffy!

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Another was just coloring.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280213125_95dddd99de_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 137">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280213125_369ab87ac6.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 137"/>
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Which the volunteer mothers cut out for nativity characters.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280165465_a0f0cf667e.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 108"/>
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Equilateral ornaments.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281283764_a75c634c8d.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 146"/>
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I went back the following day because it was Nora's turn to do the marzipan cookies.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280242209_ddcbc99f29_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 155">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280242209_8d40b531be.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 155"/>
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Dough!

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281294076_bff1a9a398.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 153"/>
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Egg whites go in the dough and the yolks are saved for brushing onto the cookies for glazing.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280254221_0591f02480_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 162">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280254221_e6bc4b542f.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 162"/>
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They had these adorable little child-sized rolling pins.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280281219_dc7038fd76_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 178">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280281219_ee234238a6.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 178"/>
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Cookie cutters. Nora specifically requested the hippo and the heart.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8281261316_ca8b6e151e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 133">
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Then into the cafeteria oven for 15-20 minutes.

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Cooling.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-17-christmas-workshops-at-school/8280125315_0087423ce9.jpg" alt="Talleres de Navidad 2012 - 078"/>
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The finished cookies, four for each child, to take home to Mommy and Daddy.

It seemed like all the kids had a lot of fun, and the participating parents (about 20 mothers and 1 other father) seemed to enjoy their time too.


Christmas Workshops At School


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259889559_919b7ed2d9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Restaurante Solana">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259889559_61150f3b43_t.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana"/>
</a>

Back in October, for my birthday, I [enjoyed the treat](/2012/10/18/birthday-dinner-at-comme-chez-soi/) of dining with my favorite gastronomy blogger at a Michelin 2-star restaurant in Brussels. It was an exciting and memorable experience. The worst part of it was not getting to share the experience with my lovely wife. Our neighboring Basque Country has a firmament of Michelin stars, but most of them are an hour or two away, which is not too far to drive to a restaurant, but it's too far to drive back in a stupor of digestive bliss. So imagine my delight to discover last week that [Restaurante Solana](http://www.restaurantesolana.com/), a restaurant in our neighboring town of Ampuero, was awarded a Michelin star last year!  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259875911_e79d6697cc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="My Date">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259875911_b46f827364_m.jpg" alt="My Date"/>
</a>

My wife and I already had a date night planned for last Friday while our daughter was spending the [long "bridge" weekend](/2011/12/05/suspension-bridge-week/) with her grandparents, and it seemed too ideal a coincidence to pass up.

I consider myself to be a fairly frugal tight-fisted penny pincher, but when my wife lets go of a penny, you can actually see her fingerprint left in the molten copper. Needless to say, she was highly skeptical of spending twice as much as the next best local restaurant we've been to. Surely such restaurants are for rich snobs who don't know what else to do with all their money. "Let's just try it once," I said, "And try not to think about the money." She agreed, and we drove the fifteen minutes up the windy mountain roads to the restaurant, which sits adjacent to a church, shrine and convent to commemorate a seventeenth century vision of the Virgin Mary.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259974957_0ede0efe0d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mini Bien Aparecida">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259974957_3735d3c10a.jpg" alt="Mini Bien Aparecida"/>
</a>

The church, convent and the yellow restaurant. The picturesque mountain views, church, and fine restaurant make this a popular place to hold weddings.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259889559_919b7ed2d9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259889559_61150f3b43.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana"/>
</a>

On a rainy Friday night, there were only three tables of customers, another couple about our age, and a couple a little older celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary with their two daughters, the youngest of which was named Nora.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260958048_a998f4592f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260958048_da5e0e94fe.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana"/>
</a>

The decor was superb, a very nice balance between rustic and clean modernity. The first thing we noticed was the wide spacing between the tables. We could hear neighboring conversations, but weren't forced to speak over them, as can sometimes happen in Spanish restaurants.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260944124_19dae76933_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Pan Ríºstico, pan de uvas pasas y nueces, y pan de cebolla">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260944124_2c58948c9b.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Pan Ríºstico, pan de uvas pasas y nueces, y pan de cebolla"/>
</a>

**Pan ríºstico, pan de uvas pasas y nueces, y pan de cebolla.**

The Spanish never, ever, ever eat a meal without bread. We were given three, a rustic hard-crusted bread, one with walnuts and raisins, and another one made with onions. They were all very good, but I love a good onion bread, so that was definitely my favorite.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260944858_c13588438e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Bonbon de foie caramelizado sobre una crema de avellanas.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260944858_60b90fcdf2.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Bonbon de foie caramelizado sobre una crema de avellanas."/>
</a>

**Bonbon de foie caramelizado sobre una crema de avellanas.**

A caramelized foie gras ball on a fluffy (foamy?) sweet hazelnut cream. This little mouthful was _amazing_. It was our first dish, but we both agreed that it was probably our favorite of the night. I think we both said "Oh my god!" in our native languages upon consuming this bite. With her very first spoonful of the evening, my wife immediately understood the point of going to a place like this. No more convincing was needed.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260945868_e5cf37c053_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Helado de pimiento de piquillo con anchoa del cantábrico con aceite picual.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260945868_bf781d729f.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Helado de pimiento de piquillo con anchoa del cantábrico con aceite picual."/>
</a>

**Helado de pimiento de piquillo con anchoa del cantábrico con aceite picual.**

Piquillo pepper ice cream with a Cantabrian sea anchovy and Picual olive oil. One of the tricks master chefs like to do is to take flavors you know and put them in a substance or texture that is completely foreign to the original flavor. I like to think of it as playing new neuronal brain chords, lighting up two neurons, such as the ones for ice cream and piquillo pepper, that have never before been lit at the same time.

Since I was dining with an anchovy expert, I inquired about the quality of our little fishy fillet. She said, "It's small, but impeccably cleaned."

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259879517_8d0c227341_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Tartar de salmón de Alaska y aguacate con helado de hinojo y pepino.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259879517_5a79fb93fc.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Tartar de salmón de Alaska y aguacate con helado de hinojo y pepino."/>
</a>

**Tartar de salmón de Alaska y aguacate con helado de hinojo y pepino.**

Alaskan salmon tartar with fennel and cucumber ice cream. It was served with liquid nitrogen underneath upon which warm aromatized water was poured, producing a cloud. It was supposed to represent the climate of Alaska where the salmon are caught which never gets above 7Â°C. That all sounds very exotic, but in the part of Alaska where most of the people live, and where I believe most of the salmon is caught, it gets up to 20Â°C in the summers. Even in the very northern coast of Alaska, at the Ugnu-Kaparuk airport, the average temperature in the summer is between 11 and 13Â°C.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259880161_c23df6d3ba_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Tartar de salmón de Alaska y aguacate con helado de hinojo y pepino.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259880161_d0a0c31b04.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Tartar de salmón de Alaska y aguacate con helado de hinojo y pepino."/>
</a>

I won't lie, the water vapor billowing around the table was really damn cool. It's a gimmick, but it was awesome. And the salmon was amazing as well.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260948246_cef5446414_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Carpacho de presa ibérica con vieiras dulces y verduritas.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260948246_84dbd7debd.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Carpacho de presa ibérica con vieiras dulces y verduritas."/>
</a>

**Carpaccio de presa ibérica con vieiras dulces y verduritas.**

Carpaccio of Iberian prey with sweet scallops and veggies. Just like in Brussels, I was amazed to find a fried onion ring on my plate. The Spanish ham was exquisite drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. The vegetables were cooked perfectly, which is hardly at all.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259881911_9b48f97c9e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Base de foie con un canelon de módena y el interior de espuma de queso pasiego, y fuera crema de col de La Bien Aparecida.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259881911_505226b9e3.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Base de foie con un canelon de módena y el interior de espuma de queso pasiego, y fuera crema de col de La Bien Aparecida."/>
</a>

**Base de foie con un canelón de Módena y el interior de espuma de queso pasiego, y fuera crema de col de La Bien Aparecida.**

A base of foie gras with a Modena cannelloni, inside a Cantabrian cheese foam, and outside a cabbage cream from La Bien Aparecida, the neighboring convent. This was served to us with the foie gras base dotted beautifully with Modena vinegar, but before I could take the photo, the waiter poured the cabbage cream all over it. The cannelloni was quite good, and the cheese inside was fabulous, but the foie gras base was a bit too rich and filling. The cabbage purée was about the only thing we had that I thought was pretty similar to something we can make at home.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259883001_e38d79ab95_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Lomo de lubina con mantequilla aromatizada con berberechos.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259883001_8398fd6d12.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Lomo de lubina con mantequilla aromatizada con berberechos."/>
</a>

**Lomo de lubina con mantequilla aromatizada con berberechos.**

Bass fillet with aromatized butter and cockles. I'm generally not a big fish fan, but this may have been the best fish fillet I've ever eaten. Wow! The texture and flavor was exactly how fish should be. I didn't care all that much for the butter, which had a very strong buttery flavor. The cockles were pretty typical mollusk morsels. The little cylinders were potatoes.

My wife, who had entered the restaurant with the preconception that we'd eat a few small servings and leave hungry, was too full to finish her bass. And we still had the fifth main course and two desserts left!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259884503_6731be247b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Carrillera de ternera lechal. Estofado con vino tinto con puré de patata y yucal.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259884503_4f00409c83.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Carrillera de ternera lechal. Estofado con vino tinto con puré de patata y yucal."/>
</a>

**Carrillera de ternera lechal estofado con vino tinto con puré de patata y yucal.**

Cheek of a milk calf stewed in red wine with puréed potatoes and fried cassava. One of the most prized parts of the cow in Spain are the cheeks. I don't think Americans eat that, and I know for a fact that the slaughterhouses in England discard them. It's a shame, because it's such a tender, succulent bovine part. If my mother-in-law hadn't made a whole pot full of these the week before, I'd've been more impressed with this dish. But it was delicious and I can't imagine any way it could be improved upon.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260952828_d48e1637fe_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Buscando violetas. Cacao y Oreoâ„¢ con crema de yogur pimienta szechuan, un pimiento japonés.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260952828_9107d15a94.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Buscando violetas. Cacao y Oreoâ„¢ con crema de yogur pimienta szechuan, un pimiento japonés."/>
</a>

A big helping of dirt for dessert.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260953830_0289b25abb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Buscando violetas. Cacao y Oreoâ„¢ con crema de yogur pimienta szechuan, un pimiento japonés.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260953830_09c3b3c96a.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Buscando violetas. Cacao y Oreoâ„¢ con crema de yogur pimienta szechuan, un pimiento japonés."/>
</a>

**Buscando violetas. Cacao y Oreoâ„¢ con crema de yogur pimienta szechuan.**

Searching for violets. Cocoa and Oreoâ„¢ powder with a szechuan pepper yogurt cream. We were told that szechuan pepper is Japanese, but the internet seems to think szechuan only refers to Chinese cuisine. The pile of chocolate dirt was pretty good, especially when mixed with the yogurt cream. I loved the cold stone serving plate, which was quite heavy. The "searching for violets" bit became clear when we discovered a purple dob of ice cream (violet flavored?) hiding under the dirt pile.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259886847_a62e02be6c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solana - Tarta de queso con quesos de Cantabria de picón. Galleta en polvo.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259886847_664a4fbfb6.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solana - Tarta de queso con quesos de Cantabria de picón. Galleta en polvo."/>
</a>

**Tarta de queso con quesos de Cantabria de Picón. Galleta en polvo.**

Cheesecake with Cantabrian [Picón Bejes-Tresviso](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pic%C3%B3n_Bejes-Tresviso) cheeses. It was an interesting combination of the typical sweet dessert course and the strong cheese course. For my wife, and almost for me, it was just too rich after such a gastronomical marathon. I love me some strong cheese in smooth cream form, but we were at our limits.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259888967_292161a1df_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Resaurante Solana - Gominola de gin & tonic y brownie de chocolate">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8259888967_f50857d999.jpg" alt="Resaurante Solana - Gominola de gin & tonic y brownie de chocolate"/>
</a>

**Gominola de gin & tonic y brownie de chocolate.**

Gummy gin & tonic candy with a chocolate brownie. The gummy cube was good, but I'm not sure I tasted any gin or tonic. The brownie was, well, a brownie, not too exotic to my American tongue, but on par with the best I've ever had.

<iframe width="505" height="513" src="http://pictures.lytro.com/erik/pictures/475560/embed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen scrolling="no"></iframe>

If you are interested in more light field shots, they can be found on [my Lytro page](https://pictures.lytro.com/erik/stories/90752).

### Conclusion

Going to a Michelin starred restaurant is not only about what hits your tongue. It's about the ambience of the place, the professionalism of the staff, the presentation of each and every plate, never having to pour your own wine, having fresh silverware with each course, having each plate served over your right shoulder (apparently that's a thing?), and having gastronomic experiences that you cannot come close to replicating in your own kitchen. The entire experience is amazing. The worst thing a non-yacht-owner could do is to become accustomed to such niceties. The tasting menu that we had was a little too big with two starters, five courses, and two desserts. We'd have left happy with only three main courses.

Much to my surprise and delight, my wife totally ignored the bill and continues to speak of just how much pleasure and enjoyment she experienced at _Restaurante Solana_. I'm not sure this will become A Thing with us, but talking her into the next gastronomy adventure will be a lot easier. She "gets it" now.

_Muchí­simas gracias a Ignacio Solana. La comida y el ambiente nos encantó._

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260951254_912e6c962d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Restaurante Solona - Diner Reflection">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-10-restaurante-solana-michelin-star-dining-in-cantabria/8260951254_5bff5157ec.jpg" alt="Restaurante Solona - Diner Reflection"/>
</a>


Restaurante Solana - Michelin Star Dining in Cantabria


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-06-binary-clock/8250158509_59a6449e02_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Binary Clock">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-06-binary-clock/8250158509_08d5a7164c_t.jpg" alt="Binary Clock"/>
</a>

Last Christmas, after seeing me express some coveting interest in a geeky product on the internet, my parents gave me a binary clock. Part of what I love about it is that it reminds me of the very first circuit (with a chip) that I made in my high school electronics class. We had a breadboard – that's a [board with lots of holes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadboard) to push wires into to connect them, not something to serve a cheese platter on – and a timer chip, a counter chip, a battery, some LEDs, and some wires to connect them. Sure enough, they started blinking and counting in binary! It's sort of the [Hello World](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_world_program) of computer engineering.  Of course when I plugged in my binary clock like a child starting to play with his toy on Christmas morning, the lights didn't come on. And then I started to smell burning electronics. Uh oh! I immediately unplugged it and examined the power adaptor. It said it needed 120 V, 60 Hz AC, in other words, United States power. It seemed very odd to me that it would not accept the 230 V, 50 Hz of Spain, since almost all electronics now can handle both.

I did some research and I discovered that the makers of the clock had decided to save some effort and did not include an actual clock chip, but rather used the alternating current from the 60 Hz power supply to tell time. So even if the power adaptor wasn't fried and I could adapt the voltage, the clock would run slow in Spain.

It turns out the clock does have a 50 Hz mode, but I was pretty sure that I'd fried my power adaptor. Luckily, the manufacturer of my clock, [Anelace Inc.](http://www.anelace.com/), sells European adaptors for their clocks. I tried to order one originally from [getDigital](http://www.getdigital.de/index/start/lng/en), the European version of ThinkGeek (_ThinkGeek won't ship to Spain! ARGH!!!_), but they were very unhelpful. Then I contacted Anelace Inc. directly and they were more than happy to ship one to me. As the next Christmas approaches, I finally have my binary clock working.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-06-binary-clock/8250158509_59a6449e02_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Binary Clock">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-06-binary-clock/8250158509_08d5a7164c.jpg" alt="Binary Clock"/>
</a>

It fits right between my two shelves, so I didn't even have to mount it to the wall! This photo was taken at 23:09:51, obviously.

### So what good is a binary clock and how do you read one?

If I'm totally honest, there are really two primary reasons to own one.

1. It looks cool and important with its blinking lights.
2. Feeling nerdy superior to other people who don't know what it is or can't read it.

One of my favorite one-liner t-shirts they have at ThinkGeek reads:

**There 10 kinds of people in the world: those who can read binary, and those who can't.**

I wanted to show you, my readers, how neat it looked and also teach you how to read one, so I whipped up some simple – really, binary is the simplest thing you can do in computer programming – javascript magic to show you. Here's my clock, displaying your local time:

#binaryClock { width: 505px; height: 370px; background: #222; border-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 10px; -webkit-border-radius: 10px; border: 1px solid #000000; position:relative; } #binaryClock .led { position:absolute; width: 26px; height: 12px; background: #333; color: #333; padding:9px 2px; text-align:center; } #binaryClock .led.on { background: #c33; color: #c33; } #binaryClock:hover .led { color: #000; } #binaryClock:hover .led.on { color: #000; } #binaryClock .led.row2 { top: 100px; } #binaryClock .led.row1 { top: 175px; } #binaryClock .led.row0 { top: 250px; } #binaryClock .led.col5 { left: 50px; } #binaryClock .led.col4 { left: 125px; } #binaryClock .led.col3 { left: 200px; } #binaryClock .led.col2 { left: 275px; } #binaryClock .led.col1 { left: 350px; } #binaryClock .led.col0 { left: 425px; } 
<script type="text/javascript">jQuery(document).ready( function ($) { var leds = [ [$('#led00'), $('#led01'), $('#led02'), $('#led03'), $('#led04'), $('#led05')], [$('#led10'), $('#led11'), $('#led12'), $('#led13'), $('#led14'), $('#led15')], [$('#led20'), $('#led21'), $('#led22'), $('#led23'), $('#led24')] ]; function show() { function lightRow(value, row) { for(var i = 0;i<row.length;i++) row[i][(((value >> i) | 0xfe) == 0xff)?'addClass':'removeClass']('on'); } var date = new Date(); lightRow(date.getSeconds(), leds[0]); lightRow(date.getMinutes(), leds[1]); lightRow(date.getHours(), leds[2]); } window.setInterval(show, 1000); });</script>

16

8

4

2

1

32

16

8

4

2

1

32

16

8

4

2

1

The top row is the hour and the middle row is the minutes. Obviously the bottom row is the seconds, but they mainly serve to make the clock look cool and blinky. Just like each column in a base-ten number represents a power of ten (one, ten, hundred, etc.), each column in a binary number represents a power of two (one, two, four, eight, etc.). So for each column, if the light is on, you add that power of two, and the sum is the value represented by that row. To make it easier for you, I've specified the powers of two in each "light" if you move your mouse over the clock. Since being Europeanized (though not enough to use an "s" in that word), I much prefer the Centigrade temperature scale and the 24-hour clock, so I've got my binary clock in 24-hour mode. At midnight, all the lights are off. Can you read the time?

In the end it's mainly a cool office decoration, but I like it very much. If you want one, there's a list of retailers [here](http://www.anelace.com/WhereToBuy.html).

[![SMBC - 2012 Nov 27](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-12-06-binary-clock/8244982908_207c33ecb4_z.jpg)](http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2807)


9 posts from December, 2012