Party time!

I've always liked throwing parties. I love hosting and I don't mind that I have to be sober for most of the night and that I have to work my ass off to make sure everything is running smoothly. Over the years I learned a thing or two about throwing a good party - and about cleaning dry beer stains.

I never ask for any money for any of the parties I throw. Since I'm not rich enough to buy too much alcohol, I kinda have to guess the amount that will be consumed that night. Because there is nothing worse than an alcohol shortage at a party. Actually, there is nothing worse than an alcohol shortage - full stop.

The happy story of my father and his iPad

Last October we gave my father an iPad, for his birthday. Now my father is a somewhat older than the fathers I know: he's 70. And while I remember (when I was a little boy) that he was still aboard the tech train in the 80's, (ZX spectrum) and even the early 90s (interactive CDs, dialup internet) the rapid acceleration and miniaturization of technology in the late 90s (second and third mouse button, broadband speeds, usb sticks) tossed him overboard and that's when he lost the train. Lately he was, like John McCain, "aware of the internet".

10 things we all hope don't change in Portugal

Alexander Ellis, the English Ambassador in Portugal who writes a column (brilliantly named Um bife mal passado) in a Portuguese newspaper recently wrote a piece called "Things that should never change in Portugal". I took the liberty of translating it.

People of Portugal: 2010 has been a difficult year for many, a year of uncertainty, change and anxiety about the future. The spirit of the moment is one of pessimism, not happiness. But the right mood to enter the holiday season should be different. So allow me, on the eve of my departure, for the second time, from this little garden, to pick ten things that I hope never change in Portugal:

Christmas, Death and Last Requests

Like every living person, I think about death on occasion. And on Christmas, I think about death more often. I don't know, why, I guess maybe all these family gathering make me think about life, and that of course makes me think about death. For whatever reason, I've been thinking lately about my death. Specifically, what I want people to do with me, or whatever is left of me, after I'm gone.

Erasmus strategies for buying cheap alcohol

One of the problems of being an Erasmus student is that you are drunk every night. This of course is a problem because it means you have to buy alcohol every day - it's a fixed item of your daily To Do List.

And since alcohol is not free, you come up with the craziest ideas to spare some money on it. Erasmus students, when it comes to sparing some cash on the booze can be very creative.

Why I think you shouldn't buy a BlackBerry phone

Blackberry's enjoy an interesting reputation in the smartphone world. Like the iPhone, they are instantly recognized as soon as you whip them out of your pocket. At first they were an expensive, executive class phone and although this is not true anymore, having a BB still says: I'm all business, all the time. My job is so important that I must have this phone with me, even on a Friday night when I fully expect to be wasted. That's how important I am.

The right time to buy a smartphone: Now

Technology moves fast. Nothing is worse for a geek than buying the latest gadget and then 3 weeks later seeing a new, better one on the market, or worse, in the hands of a friend. With this rapid evolution, when should you buy a product, if you never know if or when a new, better one is coming along? The answer is: buy then the evolution is stabilized.