Brain full. Tummy full. Life is good.

I was on the phone with my sisters this morning  when my cell rang. It was Andy - crap, I know too many Andys. Anyway, I tooled down to SJ, met kproche  and bovil  at their place and did brunch at the pancake house in their neighborhood. This is the first time I'd actually had pancakes there (I think I did an omelette the last time) and I can report that they know how to do pancakes.

Then we met up with a bunch of folks and hit the Tech Museum for the Leonardo exhibition. Fascinating, built around his scientific method - even going into such details as the influence of optics on his art, and well worth the trip, particularly as it opens with an introduction into the technological and architectural work of Brunelleschi and others, demonstrating that Leonardo did not spring fully formed from the head of Zeus. The Renaissance did not occur in a vacuum and it's good to see what the intellectual and technological atmosphere was.  And happy dance! I found the Italian manuscript De Machinis by Paolo Santini online. Several facsimile images were featured in the exhibit - the double page spread of a medieval encampment was what made me hope I could remember enough of the MS information to find it online, though judging from the many other images on the Bibliotheque Nationale site, I should post it to the SCA lists I'm on:  Ingenious machines, yes, but details of clothing and other objects too.

EDIT: http://images.bnf.fr/jsp/index.jsp?destination=afficherListeCliches.jsp&origine=rechercherListeCliches.jsp&contexte=resultatRechercheSimple

If the above link does not work, go to:
http://images.bnf.fr/jsp/index.jsp?contexte=accueil&destination=accueil.jsp
Enter "santini de machinis" and click on "Rechercher."

Needing a sitdown and a chance to mentally digest, I spotted several computer stations just outside the exhibition. For reasons unknown, the British Library link at the one I plunked down in front of was not to their Leonardo manuscript but to THIS. A History of England written by a fifteen year old Jane Austen. Absofricking brilliantly hysterical.

We went downstairs to check out the two paintings on loan from the Uffizi - not by Leonardo himself, but by two students of his. The boys played around with an interactive exhibit where you could design your own water wheels using differently shaped paddles and try to come up with the most energy efficient design. "No fair," Chris complained to Kevin, "you're a scientist." (Note to self, this looks like a fun science museum that would be well worth coming back to visit just to see what else is there. Kid friendly too.)

We had dinner at a place in the neighborhood called the Tandoori Oven. My saag (curried spinach) chicken was tasty, and accompanied by plenty of naan, rice and veggies. The mango lassi was yummy. 

Thanks guys, this was fun.