We Bought The Farm

Carnaval Kick-Off

Some local colour from this weekend's Banda de Ipanema, the first big event of the Carnaval season.

And here's a not-safe-for-work homen(?)-agem to Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance:

I'll see your tranny and raise you a, well, handful, Randy!

Ship to shore

I took this picture from our apartment this past Sunday. This morning, the story broke. The ship's captain was buzzing the shoreline far closer than international norms reportedly allow. He may be in a bit of hot water after this stunt.

Capitania investiga rota de transatlântico
Marcelo Dutra
[source: Globo Online]

A Capitania dos Portos está investigando se o transatlântico de bandeira americana Island Escape infringiu as normas de segurança ao se aproximar da orla da cidade no último domingo. O navio, que seguia para Santos (SP) com cerca de 1.500 turistas a bordo, chegou tão perto da Praia de Ipanema a ponto de assustar banhistas e pescadores.

Segundo mergulhadores que estavam na praia, a embarcação teria passado sobre o emissário submarino de Ipanema e sobre a Laje Santo Antônio, uma formação rochosa a apenas cem metros da praia.

— Nunca vi nada igual. O transatlântico veio direto para cima da praia — contou o biólogo marinho Ricardo Gomes, que mergulhava na hora.

O comandante do Island Escape, o irlandês John Macknew, já foi convocado para prestar esclarecimentos à Capitania e informar a rota feita naquele dia. Pelas leis náuticas, o transatlântico de 40 mil toneladas não poderia navegar a menos de 200 metros da linha da praia, sob risco de provocar um acidente ou encalhar na areia.

A rota da embarcação chamou a atenção até mesmo do chefe do Estado-Maior do 1 Distrito Naval, comandante Nelson Garrone, que estava visitando a Fortaleza Santa Cruz, em Niterói.

— Não posso garantir que o barco estivesse irregular, mas tanto eu como o almirante Saraiva Ribeiro, comandante do 1 Distrito Naval, que estava em outro ponto da baía, ficamos surpresos com a movimentação da embarcação e pedimos à Capitania que averiguasse — disse Garrone.

O oficial contou que viu quando o Island Escape passou embaixo do Pão de Açúcar na entrada da baía, tomando a direção de Copacabana pela ponta do Leme, uma rota incomum para uma embarcação daquele tamanho.

— O Queen Mary, que é o maior transatlântico do mundo, tem dez metros de calado. Imagino que o Island Escape tenha cerca de oito. A profundidade ali é inferior a dez metros — explicou.

Caso se confirme a irregularidade, a punição inclui multas ou até a suspensão da habilitação do comandante do transatlântico.

Fla-Flu

While many of my countrymen spent Sunday watching the titillation and poor-taste ad-fest that surrounded this year's Super Bowl, I was out watching Rio's traditional football rivals, Flamengo and Fluminense, play a thriller of a Fla-Flu at the Maracanã. The match was a real back-and-forth, with seven goals scored and the lead changing several times.

I saw no signs of ugliness, and in fact really enjoyed the behaviour of the mixed supporters in my section as their enthusiasm followed the changes in the action. With Flu up 3-1, one guy had just finished his homenagem to the Flusão, including having his tiny son kiss a t-shirt with the team's colours when the comeback began. By match's end, the 'mengo supporters were kissing them both on the head in a lovely mock-sympathetic riposte to the earlier outburst. Smiles all around.

Flamengo's three unanswered final goals and a late red card totally broke the Fluminense stride and left 'mengo up 4-3 at the finish and their supporters the happier among the nearly 60,000 at the stadium following a great evening's entertainment. Flamengo grabbed the bragging rights and the post-match city was abuzz with horns, shouts and fireworks into the wee hours.

Better Living Without Chemistry?

According to an article in today's Education Guardian, Britain's university chemistry departments are under threat. A combination of higher teaching costs, lower "popularity" and the recent imposition of "top-up" fees are leading many universities to pull the plug on their chemistry departments.

One worst-case scenario sees the number of departments plunging more than 80% from today's levels:

There are currently between 35 and 40 departments but the Royal Society of Chemistry is predicting that at best 20 will survive and at worst only six (those at Durham, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, Bristol and Oxford) will remain in 2014.

The Royal Society is planning a campaign to re-emphasise the place of chemistry in today's marketplace:

Neville Reed, director of communications, said: "[The campaign will] try to get people to understand the importance of chemistry to the UK and EU economies. [Chemistry] is a major employer and we need a firm basis to keep companies investing in this part of the world."

As one who has made a career out of chemistry, my own perspective is informed by what I see: the consolidation and closure of many chemical companies mean fewer jobs for engineers and scientists, as does the decreasing investment in R&D and new plant as companies cut to the bone in search of diminishing profit opportunities. Today's regulatory and environmental costs makes production of commodity products cheaper elsewhere, leaving major British companies seeking to exit these businesses (as ICI has done in the past decade), handing them over to leaner operators.

The "popularity" of chemistry as a subject brings a laugh. It's a tough slog, as anyone battling with Organic or P-Chem will tell you. But what will really keep chemistry departments open is a supply of good-quality, well-paying jobs in industry, research and the academy. Companies need incentives to open their doors to new graduates. The academy needs funding to keep doing a purer kind of research than industry alone cares to sponsor.

The downside? "Theme park Britain", where "Britain will become a 21st century theme park, selling antiques and souvenirs, unless more is done to create an enterprise culture."

Sunday on the beach with George

One of my favourite things about Rio is the Sunday passeio on the beach in Ipanema and Leblon. They close the road on the side closer to the water and everyone comes out for a stroll.