Abigail and I are back from the Galapagos Islands. This was my fifth time there, and certainly the best yet! Like the two last times, I used Ecoventura to organize the trip, and continue to be impressed by their outstanding dedication to service. Ecoventura operates three 16-passenger cruise yachts and one diving catamaran. The three
Pilgrimage to the Holy Dish
This summer we fulfilled a life-long dream (at least for some of us) and visited the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. This is the largest single-dish radiotelescope in the world. The reflector is 305 m (1,000 ft) in diameter – a tad bit larger than our home-brewed radiotelescope. The Arecibo system is a semi-transit telescope
Great Time at US Science & Engineering Festival in Washington DC
We had a fantastic time this weekend at the US Science and Engineering Festival in Washington DC. Among the highlights of our visit, we sat insanely close to the stage for the Q&A with Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. We also had the pleasure to meet fellow diy Science authors Theo Gray (Mad Science, The Elements,
Spring in Shakespeare’s Country
I had some business meetings in England this week, and on my way back to Birmingham Airport I stopped in Stratford-Upon-Avon to see the houses where Shakespeare was born and died. Warwick Castle was also along the way, so I stopped briefly to take a few pictures before sunset.
Maggi “Cook Studio” in Leipzig: Delicious Home-Cooked Meals from Ready-Made Packages – A Culinary Oxymoron?
Growing up in Ecuador, Maggi Sauce was always available at our table, and Maggi bouillon cubes were part of many of our cook’s recipes. On the odd Sunday that we didn’t have lunch out, my mom would prepare a Maggi soup (usually cream of mushroom or asparagus, being my father’s and my favorite), and there
A Lesson in State Paranoia: The Stasi Museum in Leipzig, Germany
2 Weeks ago I visited one of our patients in Germany. The hospital was close to Leipzig, and I had a few hours to stroll through town. I went to the Museum in der Runde Ecke, which documents the power and banality of the former district headquarters of the East German State Security Service or “Stasi” in
