Good research week

The last few weeks were not so good in terms if research but the last three days compensated for the lost time. We finally converged on the transactions paper and decided on possibly three projects one of which I'm really excited about. I'll work on getting some results next week in Florida. Unfortunately I can't mention it here but if it works it will be amazing. :)

Home tomorrow!!!

I'm very happy I'll be going home tomorrow. I miss Sarah and kids. It will be nice to see Kalil play some soccer, Adele try to be cute, and Sarah... ;). Sunday we have a party for Aurélia so I'll have a chance to see our friends. I miss them all and miss being close by.

Very happy. Fortaleza!!!

My soccer team (Fortaleza) managed to get a draw against Flamengo (from Rio de Janeiro) in their field. This is a nice result because we now decide the game in our field next Wednesday. It was nice to watch it over the internet. Kalil also watched and we kept talking about it throughout the match. Now they have to concentrate on the decision this Sunday against our rivals. We only need a draw to win our third championship in a row.

More Berklee

I went to Berklee to watch a guitar fusion recital but as I got there I noticed that almost everyone was going to this cello recital. I then went with the crowd. I was not disappointed. It was a recital by a senior student called Halley Feaster. It started a bit slow and not quite creative. She started in a trio formation (cello, violin and electric guitar) in a free jam. It was not very impressive but nice. I also did not like when she sang, her voice is okay but you can definitely see that she is a better musician than singer. The best was at the end when they played a more "heavy metal" set ending with the Flash of the Blade by Iron Maiden, what was also surprising was the voice of the invited singer, she was called Leanne Greenman. She impressed me. She resembled a bit Amy Winehouse both visually and her voice. I'll definitely look for something from her after she graduates. I'm sure she will have a successful career. As for Halley Feaster, my opinion is that the band is good but they need to work on more tunes that fit their style, tunes more like the Flash of the Blade. I'm going there tomorrow again. Concerts are always free and you get a nice feeling that you're watching the people that will make the music will hear in the near future.

94F here

94!! That is hot for Florida let alone Boston. Tomorrow it will get better meaning colder. :)

At the Berklee College of Music

I just got back from a jazz composition recital at the Berklee College of Music. For those who don't know. Berklee is for non-classical music what the Julliard School in NY is for classical. The number of jazz musicians that graduated from there is stunning: John Scofield, Mike Stern, Al Di Meola, Abe Laboriel, and many many others. The jazz composition recital is part of the requirements for graduating in jazz composition. The group today was led by pianist Sergio Marte from the Dominican Republic. It was very good. I was very impressed. It also made me happy to see that the Brazilian Music is used a lot. Sergio played 5 pieces, two originals and 3 from Brazilian musicians: Milton Nascimento, Tom Jobim and Cesar Camargo Mariano. I was so happy with the performance that I'll go tomorrow or Wednesday to listen to another student. I may be seeing the future of jazz!! :)

Today it was ever warmer

I thought yesterday was a warm day but I didn't know about today. Today it was around 90F. The problem is that the city is not prepared for this kind of heat. I came to the lab to do some work and even here the air conditioning was not on. I hope they actually have one. I asked a lab mate today and he said las summer it was hot in the lab all summer. If this is true it won't be fun!

I knew it!!! Stinky

One of the first things I thought when I got out today and felt the heat was: there will be a lot of stinky people in this city. You know. Shower is optional to then during winter but they don't realize that with heat it's a different thing. Well it took the whole day but it happened. I'm at a pub and the guy that sat next to he smells very bad. Seriously I don't know how he doesn't smell it himself. Sh$&!! I thought e as moving but he moved to another chair and came back. Stinky is back. I'm leaving soon of this guy stays here. :)

Asgard Pub and Restaurant

I've tried to locate a pub supposedely at the basement of MIT but it is closed. They are re-structuring it. So I was left with few choices since there isn't much around MIT in terms of pub. I walked down Mass ave. and got into this Asgard Irish pub. I'm having a guiness. By I think I'll walk to the Tavern. It's a better bar and it's just 2 blocks from here. It's too fancy here and people are just watchingbthe Red Socks. Honestly I couldn't care less for baseball. I don't get it!!

Pour House

I stopped to have a beer at the pour house. The place seems okay but nothing special. I'm on the Back Bay area here in Boston. I'm going to use a GPS tag from this blogger to see if it works. Click here to see where I am.

The weather is great today. I little warmer than I wished but it is fine. Tomorrow it will be ideal. There are a LOT of people on the streets. Bostonians are enjoying the sun as much as they can.

Johnny A. Wow!!!!!

I just got out of this guy's concert. I'll talk more about it tomorrow but I'm in total shock!!! I not afraid to say that this was one of the best guitar players I have ever seen in my life. This guy is slimply amazing. I'm speechless!!!! Wow!!! :)

Johnny A.

I'm again at the regatta bar to watch this guitar player I have never heard in my life: Johnny A. I had to exchange a ticket I had for another concert and this as the only option. I hope it is good. It's guitar so it is a good start :)

Bartley's Burgers

I'm at Bartley's burgers waiting to eat what is apparently one of the best burgers in the USA. Let's see. Or better, let's eat!! ;)
UPDATE: the burger is really good but quite expensive. It was $14 for a burger that is not that large with a soda. I'll come back only to bring Kalil to try it when he comes in July. But for the money we can eat a lot better in other places.

It's hot here!!

Wow. It's 65F today and it will be 89F tomorrow. Now this is an unexpected change!!

Echoes

Echoes from Pink Floyd must be one of the most builtiful songs ever recorded! The emotion, peace that it passes to the listener is beyond anything you can possibly experience in any other song. If you never sat through the 23 minutes or so of this one you're missing out. :)

Scullers Jazz Club

In at scullers to watch Nicholas Payton. I'm hoping for a good concert. Last time I saw him was in Italy in 1997.

Fortaleza won again!!!

Yesterday I watched my soccer team on the web :) There is this website that broadcast every single possible soccer game you can think of. It's very nice because I can follow my team a bit better. Yesterday we tied with Paraná in their home. Since we won in our house we advance to the last 16 to meet Flamengo. We have a good history against Flamengo so we may do well even though they are in a very good phase. But it doesn't matter, what matters now is that we advanced. The next game is in about 1 week.

New England feels like England

The day today here in Boston feels exactly how I remember the weather being in York, England. I guess I now know why this region is called New England; it may be "new" but it feels like the old. The weather here today is gold, wet, gray, foggy, that is, everything England is known for.

Sleeping burrito

My default meal here in Boston is burrito at Qdoba. Last night not only I had one for dinner but I actually felt like one! The heating in my house was not working so I spent the entire night wrapped like a burrito. LOL. First I've put on some socks, the wrapped myself on a sheet and finally wrapped myself on the duvet cover. It really felt like if I was inside this giant burrito. At least I managed to sleep the entire night. Worse is that I may have to do this again tonight.

Out of Coffee

Today is a holiday here in MA: Patriots Day. The result is that we are working in the lab but because we had no deliveries we run out of coffee. I had to go this afternoon to the coffee place to buy beans to place on the espresso machine. Tomorrow the lab will refund me (so I hope). At least the beans are great not like the secretary normally buys.