Keep it clean, Mr. President

President Obama visited Albany today.  For the third time in three years. Wha-hey!  He gave a good speech (I thought) to students and educators at the university Nanotech Center.  In the course of it he happened to mention the Center's clean room, a $3.5 billion facility.  As he noted, it is kept "10,000 times cleaner than an operating theater".  And then he threw in a quip about how surprising that is, since students aren't usually known for being all that clean.

Well, ha, maybe the clean room used to be 10,000 times cleaner than an operating theatre.  Maybe not now, since the President and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made a tour of it - dressed for a day at the office (Oval or otherwise).  Normally a visitor to the clean room has to dress to the eyeballs in a full-body disposable coverall, known as a "bunny suit".  I wonder what made them decide that was not the desired image of the day?

The rain was torrential and the President had come and gone within a couple of hours.  But I don't think the trip was a wash-out.  Let's hope his speech today helped him clean up a few more votes in this election year.

United artists

I've had an errandy day - taking various things (and people) to various places. 

One delivery was to Bethlehem Middle School - artwork for the annual International Children's Art Auction to be held next week in support of a school for refugee children in Uganda.  Some of the paintings had come from schools in Albany with large numbers of students who speak English as their second language - many are refugees themselves.  And there was a whole package of acrylic paintings contributed by the school I'm involved with in the Dominican Republic.  The director of that school was excited to give his students the opportunity to be donors for a change (they live in great poverty: if they weren't funded by charity to go to the school they wouldn't get to eat every day).

I know there's also going to be artwork on sale from Italy, Russia, Costa Rica and Uganda, among other countries, and it's sure to be a fun and inspiring event.  For local readers here are the details: 

International Children's Art Auction
Bethlehem Central Middle School, Delmar NY
Thursday May 20
Viewing from 6:30pm, auction 7:00-9:00pm

Open to the public - $2 entry. 

Weekend away

We're safely home after a very happy stay in Rhode Island.  Among the highlights:  a trip to the Natural History Museum, and swan boats on the lake in Roger Williams Park;  shell-seeking on the beach;  great food, meal after meal; and most of all seeing our friends again, and meeting their adopted three year-old son (a complete charmer) for the first time.

Early post

I'm posting early and briefly today.  We're off on a trip in an hour or so, to see our friends in Rhode Island.  It's been quite a while since we last visited them, and they've changed jobs, moved house and got themselves another child since then, so I daresay there'll be plenty to keep us up talking late into the night.

I must go and pack.  I may or may not blog tomorrow.  If not, see you soon...

Talking points

There's a lot that I like about American English.  Mostly I like its casual, dress-down style.  It's very liberating.  British English still tends to be rather buttoned up, sometimes even bow-tied.

But it turns out there are things that Americans like about British English, too.  I was in a brief exchange with an American today who expressed delight that we were discussing a "nettle patch" (and she'd never heard of a dock leaf).  A friend the other day was very pleased when I described a talkative person we'd just encountered as "a bit nineteen-to-the-dozen."

American readers (if you're out there) - do you have any favourite (or favorite) Britishisms?  British readers (if there are any of you left), what are your favourite Americanisms?  No, I don't want to know what you don't like - let's be nice please.

All great

I really haven't got the hang of writing blogger restaurant reviews.  I think you're meant to take a camera with you, for a start.  And I'm sure you're also supposed to remember exactly what you ordered...  Ah well, here goes anyway:

A friend has been urging me to eat at All Good Bakers on Delaware Ave., so today we met up there for lunch and - what can I say - it was all good.  Tasty, right-sized sandwiches (not monsters that won't fit in your mouth) made with quality, fresh ingredients, and a yummy baked something-or-other to follow.
I'm short on detail here, but suffice it to say the food was delicious, and I will go there again.  I gather they are doing good business already, and they haven't even had their official opening yet (it's this Friday, if you happen to be local and free that evening).  Long may they bake and prosper.

Best place for kids

We've been at the Capital District's very best place for kids today - what right-minded baby goat wouldn't want to live at Indian Ladder Farms?

Thanks to the Girl's friendship with the farm manager (based in large part on a shared affection for goats) we were invited to come and meet the newly-arrived five-day old kids.  Awww.  They're so cute!  My own (human) kids were allowed in the pen with them, and even got to bottle feed them.  They also fed the slightly older goats from the neighbouring pen, and met some day-old chicks.

Indian Ladder Farms opens to the public from tomorrow (May 2), and will be holding its popular baby animal days (featuring a lamb and a calf, ducklings and goslings as well as the kids and chicks) May 5-20. We felt very privileged today to have had a sneak preview.  We love the farm - truly a fine place for kids, and for children (and adults) too.