Freud, Einstein, The Universe, Quantum Teleportation & The Future of IT

It turns out that I've been very been much interested in Quantum Mechanics lately. This isn't a new hobby of mine as I remember, when I was in High School, having a hard time deciding which studies I wanted to pursue. The fascinating world of Quantum Mechanics as well as my long interest in Astrophysics seemed as important to me as the exhilarating psychoanalytic theories of Freud.

If I had to name the most significant scientific figures of the 20th century, I would without any hesitation mention Albert Einstein & Sigmund Freud. They have both uncovered new fields of science and had the audacity and courage to question the established knowledge.

I can't help thinking that there are still great discoveries to be made and that our knowledge of the fabric of space and time is still very limited, probably in the same way that our understanding of consciousness is. My recent post about microtubules & consciousness shows that the world of Quantum Physics and the world of Biology are about to collide and maybe lead to a better understanding of who and what we are.

As for Quantum Mechanics & geekier concerns, I recently stumbled accross this news:

Scientists were able to successfully teleport information between 2 entangled photons across a ten-mile distance! This is an absolute great achievement and when you think of it, it might pave the way for unlimited bandwidth over unlimited distances! Imagine an Internet not limited by bandwidth concerns!

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/05/quantum-teleportation-achieved-over-ten-miles-of-free-space.ars

Microtubules & Consicousness

Taking into consideration the possible role of microtubules in the consciousness process in humans relegates the advent of the singularity (i.e. consciousness of computer networks) to a much later date than anticipated since the amount of processed information is much bigger than ever thought !

Stuart Hameroff wrote a fascinating theory of consciousness involving quantum mechanics & microtubules in neurons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Hameroff

Finding Spirit in the Fabric of Space and Time

We Are What We Code

The advent of social media certainly has changed the way we use computers and cell phones and I do believe that our lives also have been changed as a result. Some might argue that many of use have become addicted to the Internet and computers in general. My previous posts on this blog clearly show that I don't subscribe to this point of view.

We humans use tools and are social animals. That is what differentiates us from animals. The Internet & the social media revolutions simply have empowered us with new tools that we are starting to tame.

We, however, should not forget that tools have the power to free but also enslave us. Many corporate IT systems actually have led to enslaving and limiting workers and it has become all the more clear in recent years that many IT systems are so ill-conceived that they make customers and workers lose precious time when they should actually help them save time.

There is a growing need in IT efficiency that needs to be addressed and IT managers should be aware that not every system is efficient per se. They should always be confronted with the reality of everyday use and practical thinking.

The Internet Addiction Urban Legend

This post aims at addressing the concept of Internet addiction. As a psychiatrist, I'm baffled to read articles written by fellow psychiatrists (usually the ones that have never used a computer in their entire life) emphasizing the dangers of Internet addiction.

To me, they just don't get it. The Internet is a medium. There is no such thing as being addicted to it. You can certainly be addicted to some online games or say, online porn. But, to me, talking about Internet addiction is, simply put, the proof that the person talking don't know what they're talking about. Many psychiatrists have applied the DSM-IV ("Psychiatry Bible") addiction criteria to the Internet to give birth to the concept of "Internet addiction". To me, it is as stupid as writing about breathing addiction (aren't we all addicted to breathing air? We can't spend a single day without doing it) or feeding addiction (we all feel the urge to eat whenever we've been deprived of food for a few hours...). The same could apply to "reading addiction".

Once again, the Internet is a medium. You can do thousands of different things online. Spending hours in front of a computer doesn't mean that you're addicted to doing the same thing as you can do so many different things on the Internet. People, specially mental health professionals, need to understand this paradigm shift.

Qantas Of Solace

Yesterday, I thought about this geeky thing that happened to me 6 months ago.

It was a rather cold morning in Sydney, Australia last August. I happened to be riding on a hop-on hop-off, double decker open top city-tour bus when when my iPhone received a push email that was sent in the middle of the night just seconds ago in France. That email came from a patient of mine who was facing a personal crisis. It was long but I was able to read it entirely on my iPhone while riding on the open upper deck of this city tour bus.

I couldn't help but experience a rather awkward and disturbing feeling. The contrast between this email sent by someone desperate on the other side of the planet, in the middle of a summer night, and me receiving it, during a happy moment as far as I could be from home, in the morning in winter. This was rather unsettling and reminded me of the new technology-enhanced world we are all living in.

I was hopefully able to answer this email within minutes with a few comforting words that brought solace to this patient who still has no clue where I was at the moment I answered!

This can only lead to one question:

1) What kind of crazy world are we living in?

2) What kind of crazy/geeky shrink am I in this world?

Why The French System Is Doomed!

This blog was never supposed to be about politics but if you'll allow me, I'll make one exception with this post. Well, actually if there's anyone reading these lines besides me, feel free to let me know if this post is inappropriate!

Anyway, I really need to express my feelings about the way things are going in France and in particular, about how workers are being treated. France Telecom recently made the headlines because more than 20 of their employees committed suicide. This is, in my opinion, the tip of the iceberg. As a mental health professional, I see, everyday, people suffering from their working conditions and let me tell you, I've seen more and more of those patients in the last 3 years. It is therefore safe to assume that the increased impact of working conditions in France on mental health isn't related to the global financial crisis but, more likely, inherent to what I'm calling "The French System".

I'm sure that from a remote perspective, the French system seems appealing: 5 weeks of vacations, 4 weeks to compensate for the reduction in working hours, 35 working hour week, public health system of very high quality etc... It all looks good but in practice, it is failing and is doomed to bring my nation to its knees. Here's why:

We have a high level of unemployment here and this has been the case for a long time. So, someone wrongly thought that a good solution would be to make it unlawful to work more than 35 hours per week in order to create more jobs. Unfortunately, the cost of employing someone is so high in this country that this reduction in working hours only had a marginal effect on the unemployment rate. What it actually lead to is to make people do in 35 hours what they used to do in 39 hours and before 40 hours. So, people work less but when they work, they don't have a single second to themselves. They have to fulfill their goals no matter what. So basically, what happens is that they do in 35 hours what they were supposed to do in 40 hours but they are a lot more stressed and a lot more inclined to making errors.

And if this wasn't enough, everything now has to fit within procedures (and that word is probably the most popular in the 21st century... People keep creating procedures for the sake of creating procedures as if the world was suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder...). So, if you could do something in 5 mns, you actually can't anymore because if some stupid jerk created a 2-hour long procedure to complete the task that you have at hand, you don't have any other choice than to comply!

Why were procedures created? My bet is that it originally aimed at ensuring quality of service and standardization. What it lead to is decreased quality and the feeling amongst workers that they are machines, incapable of making simple decisions, at least, in the eyes of their managers. Their basic existence and human qualities are denied in the working place. This leads to a great deal a frustration.

So, the 2 key factors: increased work load due to reduction in working hours and "proceduralization" lead to creating frustrated, stressed and unhappy workers. These workers, scared of losing their jobs, will stand this pressure for as long as they can... Until they can't deal with it anymore and end up being mentally sick (i.e. depressed). Some are on a sick leave for more than six months and many amongst those can't go back to work because the simple thought of it scares them to death. Some, of course, will never say a word until one day, they get to work in the morning, tie a rope around their neck and hang themselves.

I can't imagine that management isn't aware of this problem. And if they're not, how lousy managers they must be! It is my belief that managers are pushed to squeeze workers into being ever more productive because they are threatened in the same way by their hierarchy.

The French are supposed to be very productive but this fact doesn't take into account the amount of sick workers created by the system.

One last thing that I can't avoid to question: how can it be that people suffering from poor working conditions become sick and will in the end be paid by social security when they're on a sick leave or on a disability pension? This can only lead to increase the cost of the working force and create even more sick people which the state will have to look after!

It is my belief that this will lead to the failure of our system if nothing is done to change things. It is, of course, my personal opinion but as a mental health professional, I see sick people everyday and they all tell the same story whether they work in the private or public sector.

Anyone can notice the effects of what's going on: nothing works anymore in this country. Customer service is a joke (because customer service representatives suffer from I've just described. I don't blame them. They're just trying to cope with the system but in the end, they have so much to do that they're bound to make errors or overlook some tasks). "Proceduralization" makes it almost impossible to get anything done in a reasonable amount of time!

Now you might ask me: why did I write this blog entry when it is only related to France? Well, mostly, because I think we have already passed the point of no return where French has become an obsolete language and the failure of our system is inevitable.

What Matters In The End?

I haven't updated my blog in a long time as I have been facebooking and twittering hectically!

Anyway, I'm in the mood for blogging today so let's hope my words will make sense! Today's post isn't going to be about food, technology or travel but rather about the human condition.

I, indeed, can't help but notice how little we think about our human condition on a day-to-day basis. We actually avoid to do so as the anxiety generated by any metaphysical questioning can be overwhelming or at least unwelcome. We all live our lives hiding from reality. We go from one insignificant thing to another, oblivious to the fact that we know nothing about our origins, what we are in the universe or what might become of us after what we call "death".

Of course, religion is an answer which only certainty comes from faith rather than actual proof. Faith is a powerful anxiolytic and in a way those that truly experience it must avoid some terrifying anxieties.

I, for myself, have a hard time believing in God or at least any religion created by humans. If not for something that most might consider insignificant, I wouldn't even consider believing in God... What is making me contemplate such an act of faith happened more than a year ago when my 10 year old dog was diagnosed with a myeloma and was in a lot of pain. At that point and I remember it with great accuracy, I turned to my wife and asked her "'If there is a God, why would he/she make such a harmless little dog suffer like this?" I don't think I had ever asked that question with such defiance and hatred for nothing seemed to make sense to me in this world. My parents having passed away, one might be shocked that I would only ask this question when confronted with the suffering of a dog. I think that there was something unbearable for me in seeing my dog suffer like that as I saw it as pure and pointless suffering.

When it comes to human beings, we all tend to try and make sense of death eventhough, I'm pretty convinced of it, it absolutely doesn't make any. The death of my mother when I was 21 and more recently of my dad, have at least made me realize that our presence on earth is transient and very insignificant. Whatever we hold dear doesn't last and the elusive feeling of happiness or our quest for it is just a mirage.

We all have certitudes. We all think our life is going in one direction eventhough it's going the opposite way. We all tend to think we'll do the important things tomorrow. But in the end, we miss many things and often the most important ones.

When we get to that defining and final moment, at the very time that our eyes are going to close for the final time, what is left? What mattered? What a terrifying and unbearable question, right?

My answer is that everything might seem pointless... This little masquerade that we call life, these moments of happiness that don't last... Our pride in the fact that some of our genes will be living on in the form of our children? Aren't we contributing to more insignificant lives? Or is there really a point? Will humanity ever reach a Nirvana or a state of higher wisdom with complete understanding of our very own existence and the fabric of the Universe?

In the end, we're only left with questions and that terrifying and defining moment when our eyes close for the last time......

To end this rather dark post, I must write about my dog, that one year later and thanks to chemotherapy is still alive and actually well. Should I consider this a miracle? Should I believe in God? Who knows? I just might...

Quantum Psychiatry

I recently became interested in Quantum Psychiatry. I feel this paradigm fills a void created by other theories.

The two articles listed below were written by Dr. Alan Powell, a British psychiatrist, and are worth reading!

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/powell_QP_WSMS.pdf

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/powell_19_11_03.pdf

Das Unheimliche

Two weeks after my last blog post, I had this weird experience that definitely qualifies as "unheimlich".

I woke up around 7 am on a week day and for some strange reason, I started thinking about the novel Moby Dick. I thought I had never read it and that it would be a good idea to read it in the near future.

I got up a few minutes later and went to my computer in order to check my emails... It so happened that I had received a notification from Twitter stating that @herman_melville had just started following my Twitter updates during the night!

This lead me to experience what Freud called "Das Unheimliche" which could be translated in English by uncanny or un-home-ly! This feeling was particularly exacerbated in light of my previous blog post on the topic of neoconsciousness!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Uncanny

Neoconsciousness Through Technological Advances

Cellular devices have evolved at an incredible speed in the past fifteen years. We have come from a world in which owning a cellular phone was a distinctive social achievement proof to a place where cellular phones are ubiquitous and as common as key chains.

The mass availability of these devices has changed the way we see and use them.

At the dawn of the cell phone era, the lucky owners of such coveted devices would justify their purchase by the need to be reachable at all times for they would be or see themselves as very important people. In this regard, cell phones would nourish their owner's narcissistic needs and stand for some sort of phallic prosthesis. Laying a cell phone on a restaurant table would act as a beacon of power and wealth.

As cell phones became more affordable, their mass adoption lead to the decline of their phallic prosthesis function. They, however, contributed to the creation of a new sense: the sense of connectivity that every new user would experience after carrying such a device in their pocket on a day-to-day basis. At that time, cellular devices became counter phobic objects, relieving their owner's fear of not being able to call for help in case of an emergency and enabling them to feel freer in their social interactions at the same time.

The Web 2.0 revolution introduced a much greater but less apparent paradigm shift. Social media are evolving at an ever increasing pace and they are consistently creating new connections, mimicking in that respect the constant rearrangement of neuronal connections present in our brains. When the internet became widespread, many visionaries described the web as a neuronal network and fantasized about the possible advent of its own potential consciousness.

Are we ever to witness the creation of such an event, whether you call it an anomaly or as Bergson would put it “the essential function of the universe, which is a machine for the making of gods” in the sense that we could consider ourselves the creators of this “artificial”’ consciousness? If so, it is more likely to be thanks to the increasing speed at which social media users create new links between one another as these connections share so many common characteristics with our own brain synapses.

Let’s have a look at “Twitter”. Its success might be related to its appeal on many different levels: narcissistic, voyeuristic, introspective, fashionistic etc… It is more importantly the vessel to a wealth of social interactions whether they be passive or active. When you pull up Twitter’s home page, you experience a feeling that Freud once called “Das Unheimliche” (a disturbing strangeness) as you are beholding the world, yet it is not the same world as the one you have been used to see before your eyes.

What is most striking when attempting to extract the quintessential aspect of Twitter is the way it allows users to connect to one another. You can indeed choose to “follow” people which will enable you to read whatever they are posting and people can in return choose to follow you back. You have in this concept the exact neuronal paradigm representation.

Basic neurobiology describes what happens in a synapse between two neurons: the terminal (axonic) end of a neuron transmits a signal through a gap (synapse) to the postsynaptic dendritic end of a second neuron. This is very similar to the way one can follow another Twitter user and become the recipient of their messages. The similarity doesn’t stop here. As we are indeed capable of replying to one user’s Twitter updates, this is absolutely similar to what neurobiologists call retrograde neurotransmission where the dendritic end of a neuron transmits a signal back to the axonic end of the original neuron, thus replying to its message.

One less known neurotransmission mechanism is called “volume neurotransmission” where a neuron can release a specific neurotransmitter outside of a synapse. This neurochemical will be able reach the dendritic end of many neighboring neurons, thus allowing for message transduction on a larger scale. This last example is very close to the way one Twitter user can “spread” their updates to a number of followers without necessarily following them back in return.

Humans are seen as social animals as most of us share the inherent will to create new connections to one another. Those unable to do so usually suffer great anxieties and are seen as sick by the majority. Now that we have come to a time when so many of us carry social interaction devices 24/7, we keep creating new connections at the literal speed of light. It is, therefore, inevitable that these connections change the very fabric of our world. The main question that still needs to be addressed is: will this change lead to the advent of an artificial consciousness that will co-exist with us Humans or will it change our own individual consciousness and perception of the world on an idiosyncratic scale?

Does God Have Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for a few weeks now but I can't seem to understand why in so many religions, God is seen as someone who must be worhsipped and feared.

How is it possible that such an almighty being as God would need the narcissistic reassurance of being worshipped?

If God created us, wouldn't it be to give us freedom rather than have us spend our short lives in fear and with the necessity of worshipping our creator?

How could God be so weak as to need our reassurance ?

Disneyland Paris - New York Hotel

My wife, daughter and I went to Disneyland Paris last week-end. We did enjoy our stay and had great time there!

We got there at 1 am for our first, and obviously very short, night at the Holiday Inn Hotel at Disneyland Paris. We had booked a regular room, and probably thanks to my Priority Club Platinum status, were upgraded to a kids' suite which was rather big with a small separate room for our daughter. The buffet breakfast included in the rate was good and we must say that for less than 200 euros for the night, this was a pretty good deal.

After that breakfast, we checked out and drove 2 mins to reach the New York Hotel. We were stopped at the gate and asked if we had a reservation. As we said yes, the employee that had stopped us checked on a list and said "Oh, you have a suite. Put this card on your dashboard so that they will know when you get to the main entrance". We did but didn't feel anybody had noticed this rather huge card showing the hotel logo.

As it was 8 am, there was no wait to check in. We went to the main check-in area. They couldn't find our reservation but soon realized that this was due to the fact that we were staying in a suite and actually had to check in at the "Empire State Club". So we went there and were welcome by 2 gentlemen who proceeded with our personal check-in. Our room was not ready yet (we had to wait until 3 pm to check-in and check-out was at 11 am on our departure day).

We recevied our park tickets and VIP Fast Passes which allowed us to use the Fastpass lanes on a bunch of rides. The fastpass lane allows people to get to the ride in advance, register and get a time slow at which they can return in order to use the Fastpass lane. The great thing about the VIP Fastpasses (that only people staying in suites or at the Castle Club at the Disneyland Hotel receive) is that you don't have to register in advance and thus can use any fastpass lane whenever you want (from 11 am until 2 hours before the parks close) and as many times as you want. We really thought this was a great perk as it saved us a lot of time.

As for our room, I wouldn't say it was magnificent but it was quite decent and spacious. When we got there, we found a note from the general manager welcoming us, a picture frame, a gift for our daughter as well as half a bottle of champagne on ice.

This was nice! Breakfast for suite guests is served in the Empire State Club lounge and Disney characters come and go during breakfast hours which makes for a great and personal encounter with them for children!

We had also booked a lunch at the "Auberge de Cendrillon". It was great fun as our daughter had the opportunity to talk to Cinderella, Snow White & Sleeping Beauty. She even danced with them and was thrilled by the experience!

All in all a wonderful week-end and we can't wait to go back!

Restaurant R - Strasbourg (France)

This restraurant has been opened for more than 4 years but we hadn't eaten there for at least 2 years. We used to very much like it but did not feel we were treated right on our last visit there 2 years ago.

We, however, decided to give it another try yesterday evening!

This 2 floor restaurant used to seat guests dining there on the upper level but apparently they don't anymore as there are, now, dining tables on the ground level. We started our evening with a drink at the bar and I was disappointed with the bartender that, obviously, was clueless when I ordered a "Grey Goose Dry Martini without Vermouth, shaken, with olives". He started pouring Grey Goose Vodka in a shaker than proceeded to add Vermouth (I managed to stop him right before he was about to pour it in the shaker). He then asked me: "you don't want any Vermouth ?" I replied that was what I meant when I said "without Vermouth" when I ordered. I went on, talking to my wife, and realized too late he was pouring Gin in the shaker that already contained Grey Goose Vodka. I mentioned the fact that I did not want any Gin. He then, reluctantly, started over. He poured Grey Goose Vodka in a shaker, shook the mix, and poured everything in a regular (non-Martini) glass with the ice cubes. It took a lot of energy on my part to explain AGAIN what I was expecting. I, hopefully, managed to have my drink in the end!

As our last bad experience there 2 years ago involved dry Martinis, I can only come to the conclusion that nothing has changed! I, however, was not expecting them to have a proper trained bartended there so I decided to erase this unfortunate start from my memory!

So let's talk about dinner!

We ordered their 9-course Kaiseki dinner with a bottle of red wine that we really like (2004 "The Footbolt" Shiraz). The Maitre D' right away mentioned that he thought this wine would not go well with the food we had ordered. I insisted because my wife and I knew that wine and had no problem combining it to our order. We were, then, informed that they actually did not have any left! The Maitre D', however, brought us a bottle of Australian Shiraz that we liked.

Food was good. I would say that some dishes are not subtle enough but overall, we ate well.

The setting was beautiful. So we can say that we spent a nice evening.

We were disappointed to learn that they don't accept American Express cards though!

All in all, we might go back there but I doubt it will be very soon!

Code Bar - Strasbourg (France)

I've just realized that I hadn't mentioned this great bar on my blog!

This is a real cocktail bar with a very professional trained bartended!

A great place to have dry Martinis, Champagne, or perfect Mojitos!


http://www.code-bar.fr/

GoH Restaurant - Sofitel Hotel - Strasbourg

This restaurant has been opened for a year. Its opening followed the end of the very much needed renovation that this Hotel has undergone.

I must say we were absolutely stunned with the setting.

The Sofitel Hotel in Strasbourg is really a great place. The contemporary design made us feel we were on vacation!

As we started our evening with drinks at their "Le Link" bar, we were, also, happily surprised to find there a trained bartender that fixed me a great Grey Groose Martini! A perfect start for a nice evening!

The food at the restaurant was very good! I had "Foie Gras" followed by a piece of lamb that was perfectly cooked!

They have a great selection of wines and carry foreign wines along with French wines.

Our friends and I shared a bottle of Monbazillac with our starters and we, then, ordered a bottle of 2004 "The FootBolt" Shiraz from Australia. Both wines were great and we were very pleased with our experience there!

We will go back!

http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/fichehotel/gb/sof/0568/fiche_restaurant.shtml

Grand Hotel Gerardmer (France)

My wife, daughter and I, recently, spent a night at this property and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food, the bar (and the presence of a trained bartender that knew how to make good Martinis)!

There is a "gastronomic" fine restaurant located in the hotel but didn't get a chance to eat there as we were attending a costumed party!

We, however, visited one of their suites and really liked its design!

If I had to mention one drawback, I would point out to the fact that they make it very hard for customers to pay with an American Express card.

http://www.grandhotel-gerardmer.com/

Umami Restaurant - Strasbourg (France)

My wife and I went to this relatively new restaurant in Strasbourg a few weeks ago and we were absolutely delighted with our dinner. We chose the tasting menu that comes with 4 glasses of wines. The combination of the wines and the inventive food was a must-go experience!

We'll definitely go back!


http://www.restaurant-umami.com/

Dinner At White Room - Maison Blanche in Paris (France)

I recently went to White Room - Maison Blanche in Paris to have dinner.

I must say I was impressed with the place and the magnificent view of Paris it offers! The settings was definitely in accordance with my taste and the food excellent.

The only thing that they could improve is the olives they use for their dry Martinis!

After dinner on week-ends, the main restaurant is transformed into a night-club and I must say I had a blast there!

This place is a must-go if you're in Paris!

http://www.maison-blanche.fr/

Au Crocodile Restaurant - Strasbourg (France)

My wife and I recently had the pleasure of having dinner at the 2-star Michelin Restaurant "Au Crocodile" in Strasbourg. This restaurant had formerly 3 stars but has had only 2 for a few years.

I called to book a table 2 days in advance for a friday evening and was happily suprised to learn that they still had an available table. I mentioned over the phone that we had a gift certificate for a dinner for 2 (drinks included).

When we got there, we were disappointed to see that our table was not in the main (& beautiful) room but rather in a more simple and small room.

There were mostly young people seating in this room with a menu on each table which cover stated the menu they had chosen. I thought it was not a very nice & discreet idea since we could read that the people sitting in the table next to ours were having the promotional menu for young people. Who needs to know what people sitting at a different table have ordered or what their budget is ?

Anyway, service was not really up to par with the place. At the end of dinner, as we were the only ones remaining on our side of the room, there was no one to wait on our table and we basically had to wait 5 minutes to order another bottle of water.

The staff was, however, very nice when available.

As for the food, I must say that I had heard many people complaining about this place in the past months. We, on the other hand, were absolutely amazed with what we ate and must say the food was excellent.

I would still say without a doubt that "L'Arnsbourg" (Baerenthal) restaurant is better than "Au Crocodile". But the latter is without a doubt the best restaurant in Strasbourg.

Note: For an updated review of this restaurant, click here.

New Year On The Beach In Guaruja (SP), Brazil

That is how 2008 started for me!

Happy New Year to everyone and best wishes!

Atlantico Signature Restaurant At Casa Grande Hotel in Guaruja (SP), Brazil

My wife and I had a lovely dinner last week at the Atlantico Signature Restaurant in Guaruja.

I particularly liked my "Tournedo" with a "Ganache" of Foie Gras which was a nice variation of the classic Tournedo Rossini!
We also got to taste the Chandon sparkling wine produced in Brazil by Moet & Chandon. It, actually, is very good and close, in my opinion, to the Moet & Chandon Champagne produced in France.

I also had a Belvedere Martini at the Lobby bar of the hotel. I must say I was surprised to find this coveted Vodka in Guaruja!

The hotel staff was very nice and helpful.

Thumbs up to the Casa Grande Hotel!

http://www.casagrande.com.br/

Behold The Holy Grail!

The Centurion Club in GRU (Sao Paulo airport):

My Trip To Sao Paulo

Here I am posting on my blog from Brazil! This has been a very tiring trip!

Our first flight of the day was a domestic one to Paris-CDG where we were supposed to have a little more than an hour to enjoy the AF Business Class lounge before boarding our second flight to Sao Paulo (GRU).

It unfortunately didn't work out that way as our first flight was delayed and took off 1 hr 1/2 later than scheduled. This meant that, eventhough we were met by a car at the exit of our first flight, we still had to rush through terminals in order to make it on time!

We hopefully made it and eventhough our journey did not start off where it should have (AF Business Class Lounge), we did enjoy our flight.

Let me emphasize the fact that I have always been amazed by the quality of the food in business class aboard AF! My "foie gras" was very good. I then had some lamb which was almost perfectly prepared and followed by a nice selection of cheese! I also had good wines and champagne, as well as a pear "eau-de-vie" with my coffee!

A very nice meal which, in my experience, exceeds by far what I have eaten in Business Class aboard other carriers.

Our second meal was only ok though so not worth writing about!

After more than 11 hours in the air, we finally landed in GRU, only to find out that one of our bags hadn't arrived! This is the third time for me this year and a bit too much in my opinion, particularly considering it was on business class flights and that I am a Flying Blue Platinum member... The one bag that arrived hadn't been tagged with a priority label meant for business class passengers. This happens very often with Air France and is very annoying to say the least. How can they advertise benefits that they don't actually enforce?

2007 Highlights

In the grand scheme of life, we all try to deal with our most archaic anxieties one way or another. The majority of us humans go from one small and insignificant pleasure to another. In that spirit, let me list here my 2007 highlights:

- Watching "Lost in Translation" in February
- Trip to Tokyo in March where we stayed at both the Mandarin Oriental Hotel & The Park Hyatt
- Eating at the Tapas Molecular Bar (Mandarin Oriental Hotel) in Tokyo
- Eating Ramen in Tokyo
- Attending a pool party at the Mondrian Hotel in L.A. in May
- Family vacation in Miami in August
- Eating at The Restaurant at the Setai in Miami
- Eating at Nobu in Miami
- Laying my hands on an iPhone for the first time in August
- Buying an iPhone
- Celebrating my birthday with my friends in November
- Eating at "L'Arnsbourg" in Baerenthal
- Trying to improve my knowledge in Champagnes by tasting La Grande Dame 1996, Dom Perignon 1998 & 1999, Cristal Roederer, Krug Grande Cuvee, Bollinger R.D. 1988, Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle, Dom Ruinart 1993
- Eating at JY's in Colmar
- Eating at "Casserole" in Strasbourg
- Finding and buying oversized Martini Glasses
- Entering the Web 2.0 world

Tapas Molecular Bar At The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo

My recent post about "L'Arnsbourg" brought back memories from my dining experience in Tokyo last March at the Tapas Molecular Bar which is located at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo.
It was a wonderful molecular dining experience with an impressive selection of small dishes. The Foie Gras cappuccino was wonderful. We also had carrot caviar and spaghettis made of Parmesan cheese.

We had the opportunity to taste the "miracle fruit" for dessert and it was a very intriguing experience!

A must-eat if you're in Tokyo!

L'Arnsbourg - Baerenthal (France)

My wife and I went to "L'Arnsbourg" yesterday evening to have dinner with our friends Bob & Franny.
We had a wonderful time and probably one of the best food experiences in our lives.

I will never forget the mustard ice-cream wrapped in crispy red cabbage as well as the potatoes & truffles cappuccino. The "solette" was absolutely delightful and so was the duck Foie Gras.
We had about 20 different dishes from their tasting menu and would recommend this place to anyone looking for creative food!

L'Arnsbourg does deserve its 3 Michelin stars!

http://www.arnsbourg.com/

La Grande Dame vs. Dom Perignon

We popped open a bottle of 1996 "La Grande Dame" yesterday evening and must say we still strongly feel we like it better than Dom Perignon.

Feel free to comment on that!

Orange France & iPhone

I am so frustrated by the rumors about what Orange France is going to offer for the iPhone in terms of data plans! They apparently want to release a 100 Mb plan for most of their iPhone plans and only a 1 Go DATA plan for the most expensive of their offer!

If this offer sees the light of day, I will have no other option but to believe that the people working in Marketing at Orange have no clue about what they're selling! Maybe they should try using a cell phone with a DATA plan in the first place before thinking about selling ridiculous offers!
Haven't they realized that people crave for unlimited plans? That's how the Internet revolution started in the first place! Just look back 10 years in the past! The answer is right there!

Uber-Communication

The rise of new technologies has lead to the advent of a new way of communicating.

Whenever someone sends me an email or leaves a message on my voicemail, I don't feel bound to answer them using the same means of communication they used to contact me. Answering a long voicemail can sometimes take a 10 second text message. Using Twitter to organize a dinner with friends can sometimes be much more convenient than email (that is when it comes to a dinner with tech-savvy friends of course).

Maybe new technologies have given us the opportunity to become lazy communicators in the sense that we now have a tendency to use the easiest way of communicating (not necessarily the most politically correct one) in a particular situation. However, the decrease in form has also given us the ability to interact a lot more and with many more people than before.

I can't even begin to think of what's going to come next in terms of communication as there are more and more options available... To name of few: Landline phone, cellular phone, email, text messaging, instant messaging (text, audio, video), Skype, VoIP, Web 2.0 social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Seesmic, Jaiku, Lindedin, MySpace, Orkut etc...).

Who could ever deny that what differentiates us from animals is language?

Low-Tech Metatag

The world may not have realized it but we're in urgent need of a metatag solution in order to be able to classify all of our information published on the Web 2.0.

As a matter of fact, wouldn't it be great to be able to search all the online photos of a particular individual ? (I'm sure privacy advocates will freak at this thought).

So, here's my low-tech proposal: to carry a small tag with oneself and display it whenever a picture is taken so that pictures/videos search engine might be able to easily index it...

That metatag might even be stored in one's iPhone photo album for convenience.

(I never said my blog would be stupid thought free!)