tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286652522024-03-05T17:40:51.351-05:00brain glucoseCommentary on daily life - for my family and friends! - and random musings; with luck and more time, also some neuroscience and brain metabolism.Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-19569748534366285552011-12-15T20:32:00.002-05:002011-12-15T20:35:03.092-05:00Emerging briefly, in horror......at the demolition of a key plank of the Bill of Rights; a thing I truly believed could not come to pass, the assaults on liberty of the past few years notwithstanding.Well, I was wrong; and Obama's failure to veto and at least make good on that threat mean, I think, that I am done with one of the very few politicians to whom I ever gave actual cash. I'm sad in a small way for that, and in a Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-54790189116949566482010-03-24T00:23:00.002-04:002010-03-24T00:26:42.268-04:00A year behind; and the achievement of the yearYes, OK, mea culpa.It's been a year since this was updated anything like sensibly; not dead, just busy, gee surprise.Still: in an attempt to be timely, one of my favourite political commentators gives the best summary yet of the recent healthcare (apparently synonymous with health insurance in US political life, at least thus far; credit the insurance companies' PR folks) legislation:http://Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-16637265869052998562009-07-08T23:49:00.003-04:002009-07-08T23:52:50.862-04:00Way behind, but proud of Aidan...Yes, yes, I know: I have a large backlog of posts and every intention of attacking it Real Soon Now.This evening, though, Aidan was sitting at dinner and made me proud enough that I wanted to post right away :-).A: "Dad, why are brothers and sisters not allowed to marry one another?"me: explanation; he gets genes and DNA at least a basic level, so the concept of recessive etc. was no big deal.A: Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-9159776386545278402009-04-01T16:42:00.005-04:002009-04-01T16:55:24.383-04:00UK trip - mass photo postWe had a week in the UK, with a couple of days in Paris inserted in the middle (primarily for Aidan to see the Eiffel tower - see next post); not much tourist stuff this trip, almost entirely visiting family. Those of you - are there any? - not related to me will wish to skip the following photo barrage...Incidentally, the rather large young man with a naked Keiran on his lap is only 5 (I think!Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-33715394144499748672009-04-01T16:15:00.003-04:002009-04-01T16:32:30.832-04:00Food porn: Salmon WellingtonWe have a local food/restaurant blogger and reporter, Steve Barnes, whose writing I like and whose taste has generally proven good. In a recent post, he gave a recipe for Salmon Wellington. I'd been meaning to make Beef Wellington - mmm, steak AND pastry! - for a long time, and this was a version that also appealed to Jenny, so I made it for a fancy-guest-dinner. I thought it came out really Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-17310651191851220312009-04-01T15:59:00.002-04:002009-04-01T16:15:15.682-04:00Yono's - another good Albany restaurantWe are slowly finding good places to eat here. Yono's is one of the oddest, in an entirely good way!The location put Jenny off initially: it's in the downtown Hampton Inn. The front bar area has a casual brasserie, and the chef - Yono - was out there socialising and enjoying his wine list :). But the formal dining room is through a further door, and leads to a cozy, very elegant room that Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-81782048204086785702009-04-01T15:46:00.001-04:002009-04-01T15:57:48.376-04:00Snowshoeing!The local YMCA has - among many virtues - an extremely enthusiastic hike/bushwhack/outdoors leader, who recently acquired Y accreditation to be allowed to lead groups. The first of these was a gentle snowshoe trip, and seemed like an excellent opportunity to get Aidan and Jenny some new snowshoes and play in the snow. Oh, and Keiran came, too :-).We all had a blast; special thanks to Alan (the Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-35081587553079741762009-04-01T15:37:00.002-04:002009-04-01T15:46:43.821-04:00Back in the groove. OK, more like jolting over a rut....and no, nothing here is an April Fool's post. I seem to have skipped March entirely, and am hence once again catching up.This will swiftly end as I try to hit the various grant opportunities available from the stimulus funds in the next, um, 2-3 weeks or so... but for now, let's throw up some more pics and so on.First up: me being somewhat silly and attemptedly arty in self-portrait mode. Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-65656476179192571272009-02-23T15:41:00.001-05:002009-02-23T15:52:26.520-05:00BBC book list memeBBC Book List: Apparently (and as currently infecting the blog world) the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. I fgured this would be a good first step into blog memes!Instructions:1) Look at the list and put an ‘x’ after those you have read.2) Add a ‘+’ to the ones you LOVE.3) Star (*) those you plan on reading. I think frankly I can assume that anything on hereEwanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-65767881930326598172009-02-10T16:00:00.002-05:002009-02-10T16:58:36.958-05:00An actual work post?!No, really :).I have been pondering teaching. Class this semester is (as least to me!) going really well: I have a critical mass of students who are unafraid to speak up and who are willing to suggest tangents to which material may be related. The material is largely prepared and those parts which are not, I have the pile of sources assembled (read: have not been up until a.m. the night beforeEwanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-39944050946573272962009-02-01T22:46:00.005-05:002009-02-01T22:53:19.624-05:00Keiran photo postPretty up-to-date: here's Keiran as he looks (well, as of a day or so ago) perched up on my shoulders. Both photo and video, no less :-).Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-12776332312918616232009-01-29T15:15:00.001-05:002009-01-29T15:16:47.377-05:00Photo qualityBrief note: Blogger seems to apply a dusty haze to all pics uploaded. They start out much clearer: if you want a better copy of one for some reason, drop me a line!Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-23723991837839516662009-01-29T15:08:00.003-05:002009-01-29T15:15:19.262-05:00Aidan, fashion plateAm I *sure* this is my kid?Aidan has recently developed very strong interest both in 'looking spiffy' and in what exactly constitutes same. Here's his most recent 'getting dressed up for school hat day' ensemble:Not as obvious, but equally considered, is the outfit he wore to have a couple of my lab members come take care of him and Keiran last weekend while J and I went to her company's annual Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-27949979035483026212009-01-29T15:02:00.004-05:002009-01-29T15:08:37.418-05:00Moon over VTWe spent a fun couple of days up in VT with friends recently. Getting there, no problem, although the Golf had one refusal at their steep, twisty, dirt road.Then it snowed.Getting *down* said road in the absence of traction control, snow tyres, chains, >2-wheel drive, or other accoutrements was a tad tricky. I left Jenny and the boys at base camp (with the snow-tyred Subaru!) while I tried to Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-80916746385043342092009-01-29T10:20:00.003-05:002009-01-29T15:02:06.247-05:00Two boysA random Saturday morning with matching yellow-clad boys.You can have 'sweet' version:or Aidan-preferred 'lunatic' version::-). I think Keiran is still getting used to his elder brother's antics..Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-32554894087659201532009-01-27T22:00:00.005-05:002009-04-01T15:58:42.739-04:00Aidan, photographerThis past Sat, Jenny and I went down to CT for her company's annual bash. That meant that we had to get sitters - plural - for the boys. Luckily, I have a lab full of folks willing to help out (yes, we paid them, despite protests. I'm really not that evil. Mostly).[Thanks, Melanie, Vickie, Scott!]Apparently Aidan was again enjoying digital self-portraits:That kid is far too cute for his own Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-32816594725363719402009-01-27T15:55:00.002-05:002009-01-27T16:13:52.647-05:00Tosca: a superb restaurant in TroyFollowing the recent panning of SweetWood Grill here, I thought I should rapidly post a review of our favourite local(ish) restaurant up here in Albany. One of the concerns on moving here 6 months ago was that we'd be missing out on good restaurants, and there's *some* truth to that. However, there's a very strong local foodie scene - I should note in particular the restaurant review column of Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-42821499246031967232009-01-27T15:53:00.003-05:002009-01-27T15:55:28.141-05:00Halting State- as in the recent book by Charlie Stross, possibly my favourite current author. I was about to launch a post in praise of this, which I read over the weekend, when one came out. So I put the guts of my intended post into a comment there; the discussion will undoubtedly be more energetic over there, anyway, so go read.Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-27450310284524403612009-01-21T10:22:00.003-05:002009-04-01T15:59:11.680-04:00Obama as Reaganite?I somehow (OK, I bit a Bushie lure, mea culpa) got embroiled in a small Facebook tiff (to which it is I think impossible to link directly): a commentator suggested that Obama would be likely to govern a la Ronald Reagan. As I noted there:***From the Guardian today:"Obama's conservative style – the fact that he invented a new tradition this year, by speaking at inauguration eve dinners in honour Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-38409945292592867872009-01-21T09:50:00.003-05:002009-01-21T10:17:52.346-05:00SweetWood Grill - a poor experienceI used to have a bunch of restaurant reviews on my old UVa web page, now long since defunct; with the move to Albany, I thought that it would be useful to start that up again.The proximal spur for this, though, was a really poor meal and bizarre experience up in Vermont last week. We'd gone to visit friends, I'd just finished a big grant, so we wanted a nice meal. Our hosts chose the SweetWood Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-956590842986091092009-01-20T12:20:00.002-05:002009-01-20T12:26:19.994-05:00And...it's done.Welcome, President Obama. May you not only do better than your predecessor - now *that's* a low standard! - but also maintain the hope, optimism, and calm with which you start.If you could do something about our 401k and the national debt, too......thanks :).Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-5562225389715396112009-01-19T23:51:00.003-05:002009-01-20T00:02:22.086-05:00ChristmasSnow delayed the travel for Christmas, but the eventual trip was just fine - the only downside was that I knew I had to come back up on Boxing Day to begin my grant purdah!From which there are few photos, other than one in passing from Jenny, on the trip back, of the VP-in-waiting's home... and so ended 2008. At least the grants got in on time!Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-82481096071523490842009-01-19T23:47:00.002-05:002009-01-19T23:51:01.584-05:00OK, back to the catching up. Did I mention that I had been shovelling snow? I actually quite like this picture - I think it would make a good icon some place :).Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-25743672147692862992009-01-19T22:34:00.003-05:002009-01-19T23:47:25.149-05:00A real post! Inauguration and folk musicWe're rapidly approaching the final day on my '385 days until the moron is GONE!' calendar, and every commentator known to man has pointed out the delightful apposition of MLK Jr.'s day of remembrance, today, and tomorrow's inauguration. [OK, it *is* pretty cool.]I just hope that we don't have the same buyer's remorse that hit the left of the UK Labour party with Blair. There are parallels - Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28665252.post-55035086252278228472009-01-19T22:28:00.003-05:002009-01-19T22:34:44.324-05:00Keiran and house, mid Dec '08Yes, more photo fodder. We got the first snow of the season - I calculated a week or so ago that I have shovelled about 5 tonnes thus far this winter, and we have a short driveway! - and Keiran was being cute. That's all ;-).Ewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com0