Bella Firenze

Lausanne . . . Heidelberg . . . this weekend it was time for me to visit another old European town of a few hundred thousand population: Florence! My favorite Wingman was going to be in Tuscany anyway for a wedding (Not his!) so he came in a few days early, giving us a chance to do things up right.

Cox arrived early Sunday morning and brought perfect weather–the natural precursor to the Perfect Storm–with him. I had originally thought that we would leave immediately for Florence, but flight schedules changed such that we had some time for him to get to know Lausanne. We walked around the old part of the city, nourished ourselves, and listened to Jimmy Buffett throughout the morning.
Then we headed down to Vidy for some beach volley. Cox and I have a long history of playing beach volley together. We’ve done very well at several tournaments in Houston and Galveston and we’ve played together in five different countries. What’s more important is that we’re always Team Having More Fun Than The Other Guys and Sunday was no exception. We played for a full three hours, going 5-1, losing 21-15 to two very strong open players–not bad for two guys who haven’t played together since Marseille last July. After a refreshing dip in the lake and hurried showers, we were off to the airport for a quick flight to Florence.
Arriving in Florence around sunset we went to pick up our rental car. When the woman at Avis advised us that she had no reservation for us, Cox pulled out his mobile phone and triumphantly showed here his email confirmation. She had the last laugh, though, when she informed him that she found his rental car reservation in the system . . . for Florence, ALABAMA!!! Thank goodness this was the only task I had given Cox for trip preparation–sheesh, consultants . . .
Fortunately Avis had plenty of cars so we picked up a Fiat 500 and made our way into town to find our hotel. This was easier said than done as Florence’s narrow alleyways blocked our GPS satellites and Italy’s soccer match meant that many people were partying in the streets, blocking our passage. However, between the GPS, Google Maps on my phone, Cox’s great driving, and some blind luck, we circled in on our hotel, the Bernini Palace, which I had booked on hotels.com.
Once we arrived at the hotel, we were thrilled to find that it was located only a block away from the Piazza della Signoria. Furthermore, the hotel itself was really nice. In Italy I’ve found that hotel ratings rarely correspond with reality but this place was very deserving of its four stelle. Add to that the fact that it’s bar/restaurant was named Brunello and we were off to a good start!
After checking in with the office (Just because it’s a Sunday night and I’m on vacation is no reason not to be working, of course!) Cox and I headed out to destination number one: Salamanca. Salamanca was one of my favorite bars when I lived in Florence and it has the distinction of being the place where I first tried sangria. If only I had known back then what a profound impact that would have on the subsequent several years of my life!
Salamanca was still great. Cox and I shared some tapas and a pitcher of sangria while I regaled him with stories from my time there. A man at the bar was falling asleep–presumably due to sangria consumption–so the bartender shot him with the water gun. The bartender was either a bad shot or was interested in us because the stream of water went right over the sleeping man and hit Cox. Given the heat, though, and lack of A/C in the bar, Cox didn’t seem to mind the cold water. With an early rise the next day and an aggressive wine tasting agenda, we called it a night and were asleep before 2.
Monday we woke up and struck out for Montalcino. After two hours of driving through the beautiful Tuscan countryside, we arrived at our first stop: Valdicava. Valdicava was the quintessential Brunello di Montalcino producer: small, natural, and 100% committed to their wine. The philosophy there is to make do with what nature gives them. No pesticides are used and the soil is not tilled because they believe the herbs and wild plants imbue their flavors to the grapes. Then vinification is very simple. There are two fermentations (separated by a pressing) over seven months but, after that, they basically leave the wine alone in large wooden casks. It seems very Italian to me: simple, natural, and accepting that good things take time–four years of aging for their standard Brunello, five for the riserva. We tasted two vintages of each straight from the barrel. They were still very raw but their potential was clear. Just as clear was the difference a year of aging made between each. Valdicava: I’m a fan.
After a lovely lunch in a villa overlooking the vineyards, we moved on to Casanova di Neri. We received a nice tour of a facility that clearly had a different philosophy. As opposed to Valdicava’s 17,000 bottles/year from a small plot of land, Neri produced 200,000 bottles from several vineyards around Montalcino. They also used much more sophisticated technology for vinification. The result: good wines in a modern Brunello style but I preferred Valdicava.
After a long drive to the opposite end of the commune of Montalcino, Castelgiocondo was a huge disappointment. Their PR director had screwed up our reservation so she was able to provide a quick tour but no tasting. She claimed that their grapes were picked by hand but we called her out on the mechanized grape-harvesting equipment we had seen during our drive through the estate. At 1,000,000 bottles per year of production and as part of a large Italian label (Marchesi di Fresobaldi) they were an order of magnitude larger than most Brunello estates. I can’t speak to the quality of their wine but, given what we experienced, I’m not a fan of the organization.
The bright side of a short appointment at Castelgiocondo is that it gave us enough time to swing by nearby Castello Banfi, the iconic producer that is responsible for something like 20% of all Brunello production by volume. Banfi is as close to a Napa estate as you will find in Montalcino; it is set up for a high volume of tourists to its beautiful castle estate. They have a large cantina with tasting flights and wines by the glass; we skipped the tour and made our way immediately there.
First off, the 2007 Rosso di Montalcino (sangiovese table wine) was excellent. This could make for an excellent Hassin house wine. Next we tasted the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino against the 2004 single vineyard Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mure. Both were way too young, of course, but they tasted like quintessential Brunello to me. We ended by tasting the 1999 Brunello di Montalcino against the 1999 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio all’Oro Riserva. The basic 1999 Brunello was excellent and was drinking well. I had had this once before at Gargoyles in Boston and I remain a huge fan. The riserva, though, was positively sublime: rich, complex, and with a texture that made me want to carry it around in my mouth for the rest of the day. This was my favorite wine of the trip.
It’s amazing that Banfi keeps the quality so high given the millions of bottles they produce each year. Clearly quality and quantity are not mutually exclusive. Although I prefer the philosophy and style of the old boutique vineyards, it is great to know that modern, smart vineyards can produce a great product as well.
Back in Florence we found a restaurant with local fare that set us right for the evening. We then found another old haunt of mine: Art Bar down by the Arno. We bar hopped a little, eventually settling in a pub with very personable bartenders. As is our tradition, much Guinness was consumed. As is our tradition, many shots were taken. When the bartender asked what we wanted for our first shot, I told her “qualcosa interesante,” something interesting. She seemed to take that as a challenge and prepared for each of us a “scaldino.”
It was a base layer of cointreau with a top layer of sambuca. The sambuca was lit on fire then the drinker was to cover the glass with his hand, snuffing out the flame and creating a crazy suction effect on his palm. Then the shot was taken and the glass was immediately recovered by the drinker’s hand. Finally, with a straw poking through his fingers, the drinker breathed in the air trapped in the glass. I still don’t quite understand it all but hey, it was weird and cool. After watching the US go ahead of Italy 1-0 in soccer and then lose 3-1, we closed down the bar and called it a night.
Tuesday was nice; we just walked around Florence all day. We began with breakfast at Vivoli, the world famous gelateria. Cox had raspberry; I had dark chocolate and hazelnut. We visted the leather school at Santa Croce, the Duomo, and then walked all the way up to Villa La Pietra, where I used to live. Unfortunately after the hour-long hike uphill we were disappointed to learn that the grounds are now closed without appointment. After 9/11, apparently they tightened security significantly. Oh well, next time! At least the little sandwich shop across the street as still open (and air conditioned!) so we had a nice respite before our trek back down into the city.
We walked through the market and refreshed ourselves with sparkling white wine (that came out of a tap!!!) before heading into the Accademia di Belle Arti to stand before the awe-inspiring David by Michelangelo Buonarotti. He completed it before he was 30–what the heck have I done with my life?? After that we cafe-hopped a bit and just people watched while sipping on local wines before departing for our respective desinations–Cox to the wedding and I back to Lausanne.
It was only a short trip but it was great to spend some time with my good friend in such a wonderful location. Mi manchi, firenze!

Heidelberg

Last week was pretty spectacular. Katie was in town for the week so it didn’t need much to make it great to begin with. Still, the week “overperformed.”

Katie arrived on Sunday and we spent the afternoon walking around the lake in the gorgeous weather. Lausanne in the summer really is paradise: highs in the 70s (F), lows in the 60s, and clear, sunny days. I had to ignore this fact purposefully last year while I was stuck in the IMD dungeons but this year I can take advantage.
Monday was a holiday so we played some beach volleyball and it was fun to play with my favorite coed 2s partner again! After a refreshing, cleansing dip in the lake, we and one of my coworkers went to a lakeside restaurant for nourishment and sangria–what a way to pass the afternoon!
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I worked but Friday too was a holiday so Katie and I left Thursday evening for Heidelberg, Germany, where her aunt lives. Heidelberg was great; although we only spent about 36 hours there, I found it to be really charming and certainly worth a return trip.
Heidelberg’s most prominent attraction is its castle. As many of you know, I love castles, so I was very excited to check it out. We spent much of the day Friday just walking around the castle grounds, enjoying the lovely day, and scheming about ways to have a castle of our own!
In the evening we met up with Katie’s aunt for dinner. We went to a local brewpub where I was delighted to discover that we were right in the middle of Germany’s white asparagus season! Naturally we took advantage of this fact in each course and accompanied it with dark, dark German beer.
After dinner we paid a visit to Schwetzingen Castle, a much more modern palace than Heidelberger Schloss, but no less impressive. We arrived too late to walk the expansive grounds so we will just have to return some day.
Saturday we returned to Lausanne and attended an IMD MBA mini-reunion. Well technically it was supposed to be a networking event for the class of 2009. However, so many of my classmates were there that it was difficult to do much more than excitedly catch up with them. I’m not complaining!
Katie took off early on Sunday–far too soon–but it was a great week.

Chance Encounter

Yesterday was wonderful. I went to IMD to have lunch (OH how I miss those lunches!) and talk with the MBAs about careers in technology. On my way out, I debated whether or not to stick around and play a little ping pong–oh why not?! As I was playing a my first game, who should walk by but Martin, my Czechoslovakian classmate, bbb7 member, MBAT volleyball partner, and ping pong opponent. An immediate timeout was called for a big hug and overjoyed surprise.
I invited Martin to join me in ping pong so we played against two executives in doubles. Our first game wasn’t pretty but Martin had just enough time for a second before he had to rush off to the train station. We barely won the second game so he HAD to stick around–whether he had time or not–for a tie-breaker. Fortunately we won the third game handily and he made his train on time.
What a fortuitous meeting. IMD truly is the global meeting place for executive ping pong!
On a more somber note, I wish all my family–both immediate and extended–a good May 28. Wow, 19 years . . .

It Finally Happened

This weekend has been remarkable for several reasons. Chronologically:

1. On Friday it was announced that Jimmy Buffett will be performing not one but two shows in Europe this year, both in small venues. July 5th he will be in London in a theater that seats ~2,000 and September 26th he will be in Paris in a jazz lounge that seats ~900. Last year’s show in a jazz lounge in Paris was UNBEATABLE. If you really consider yourself a parrothead, come join me one of these shows!
2. On Friday I finished J.R.R. Tolkien’s Book of Lost Tales. It was very long and slow going but it provided amazing insight into how Tolkien arrived at the stories that were ultimately published in The Silmarillion and laid the foundation for The Lord of the Rings. It’s not for the faint of heart but I recommend it for any die-hard Tolkien fans.
3. Many of you know that I have never been shat upon by a bird before in my entire life. Walking to and from IMD every day last year, I always had this fear that my streak would be broken as the paths through the woods around campus were coated with bird poop. Miraculously, however, I made it through unscathed and reached my 30th birthday still unsoiled.
Saturday morning, one of my coworkers, Bogdan, and I went to IMD to play ping pong. Bogdan is a good athlete; he was a soccer star in Romania and he has picked up beach volleyball very quickly, providing me with a much-needed partner who is consistently available. It turns out that he is pretty good at ping pong too; he beat me 5 games to 3, but most of our games were settled by 2-3 points and a few of them went to deuce.
During one game, as I was winding up for a forehand smash, I felt something on my shoulder. After putting the smash away for a winner, I looked back and was surprised to see what was obviously bird poop. On May 23rd, 2009, at approximately 11:30 AM, 30 years and 2 months to the day after I entered this world, my great streak was finally broken! It’s actually kind of a relief. Bogdan and I already share a special bond because we went into the cold, cold lake together after beach volleyball earlier this year. Now we shall truly be united forever–thebrotherhood of Poken sports and bird poop!
4. After ping pong we went to play some beach volleyball and then met up with another coworker, Dave, for a late lunch. Dave and his family had arrived in their boat so they took us out for a quick tour of the lake. I’m embarrassed to say it but, after almost 18 months in Lausanne, this was my first time actually out on Lake Geneva. Crazy! Better late than never, though. It was fun looking at Lausanne from the outside in. We traced all the paths I usually run along and it felt like I was looking at them from the other side of a mirror.
5. I beat Military Madness and am now starting over, playing as the bad guys. I really don’t have any time to play video games, but it really is therapeutic to devote brain cycles to strategy in a context other than Poken.
6. Rice baseball is undefeated in the C-USA tournament and will play in the championship game tonight. Go Owls!
Bogdan and I are off for some more ping pong and volleyball then this evening I’ll work on a presentation for a talk I am giving on Tuesday. If anyone will be in Geneva on Tuesday, come by for the panel on new media and the future of social networking.

Cheeseburger in Paradise

Last night I went to a coworker’s apartment for . . . cheeseburgers! I can’t remember when was the last time I indulged in meaty, gooey goodness–maybe not since 2008–but I was very excited to revisit it. When I arrived at her apartment I met several of her friends (from Switzerland, Russia, and the Czech Republic) who also had large appetites. We spent a while milling about while the burgers were prepared. Naturally I took the opportunity to teach the eastern Europeans the lyrics to Jimmy Buffett’s classic Cheeseburger In Paradise, which I consider a real success of cultural exchange.

When finally it was time to eat, I realized that these were not exactly your typical burgers–they were a very Swiss version! There were apples and rosemary in the patties and the cheese was . . . raclette! After a weekend of perfect weather and, hence, beach volleyball–with the Poken team–I was ravenous and they were oh so good. I told myself I would quit after just one. Then I had just one more half. And then another half. Then, after dessert, one more half. So, 2.5 burgers and a couple glasses of nicely paired zinfandel later, I walked home very, very well fed!

Many thanks go out to my coworker for cooking–now it’s back to salads and light pasta for a while!

Team Poken

Yesterday some coworkers from Poken and I played beach volleyball after work until it was completely dark out–around 9:30 these days. It had rained during the day so there weren’t many other people there and we had no trouble taking the court we wanted. It wasn’t exactly the highest level of play, but it was a good time. I like my coworkers; we have a good team full of smart, competent, fun people–it’s a great basis on which to grow.

I’ve been blogging less frequently recently, partly because I’ve started microblogging on twitter. This helps me post those small, ad hoc musings that otherwise would need to wait for a more concerted blog entry.
The other reason I haven’t been blogging much is that life has been pretty routine recently–hectic, but routine. In June my two favorite beach volley partners of all time (who also happen to be my two favorite wine consumption partners of all time) will come visit, though, so I expect plenty of bloggable stories to be generated then!

Long Time, No Blog

Sorry I’ve been off the scene for a while. Coming back from Italy there was a lot to do at work before gallavanting off to the US for the Nolte-Rakowitz wedding. Then, once over there, there was a lot to do trying to keep things moving forward remotely.

My time in the US was very nice. The wedding was lovely and neither the bride nor groom seemed too stressed. Always adventurers, they tried their hand at making jalapeno wine, which was very interesting. A little bit of it goes a long way and I wouldn’t want to have it all the time, but its mix of spicy and sweet was very good.
After the wedding it was just nice living a “routine” in Houston for a few days: work, beach volleyball, running, seeing friends, cooking dinner, etc. My last night I was taken out for an exquisite dinner at the Petroleum Club, where it was nice to sit back and enjoy the finer things for the first time in a while.
Now I’m back in Lausanne and relatively well adjusted to the time zone. I got some beach volley in today and will again tomorrow. The annual Carnaval de Lausanne is going on right outside my apartment. This means that the streets are packed, live bands are playing, and vendors are set up all over the place. Thank goodness for ear plugs at night!
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had the chance to enjoy some leisure entertainment. Via the Wii Virtual Console, I reconnected with Military Madness, one of my favorite games for the Turbo Grafx-16 back in the day. It was ahead of its time in terms of strategy game sophistication but I love how timeless it has turned out to be. I have as much enjoyment out of it now as I did in 6th grade.
All the flights have also given me the chance to watch a few movies: Valkyrie (ok), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (not bad), Taken (ok–Liam Neeson was an interesting casting choice), and The Wrestler (good). I think there were a couple more in there but clearly they weren’t all that memorable. All this, of course, is just a distraction while I’m waiting for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to open in July!

Back In Lausanne

I am back in Lausanne and I have finally made it through the 400+ emails and several crises that were waiting for me upon my return. Toward the end of the week I started coming down with a cold but, through rest, fresh fruits/vegetables, and lots and lots of garlic, I seem to be beating it.

The rest of my Amalfi trip was wonderful. On Monday we went into Sorrento and walked around. The weather was nice and it was very pleasant just people watching. In the evening I made dinner for the whole clan: caprese with tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella from just down the road; roasted peppers, eggplant, and zucchini from a small fruit/vegetable stand in town; bolognese sauce with fresh, local pasta; and an assortment of desserts prepared by the bakery in town. Actually it would have taken an inordinate amount of time if I had been the only one cooking, so I enlisted the help of some willing volunteers. Many thanks go out to our team of sous-chefs, who proved that “too many cooks in the kitchen” can actually be a good thing!

Tuesday we spent on the isle of Capri. “Isle of Capri” was the title of one my dad’s pinball machines. I also grew up with a painting of Capri’s Faraglioni just outside my bedroom (My mom brought it back from a space industry conference that was held there.). I had been to Capri once before but the weather was cold and rainy so I turned back after just one day. This time we couldn’t have asked for better weather.

We split up and each subgroup wandered off in its own direction. Mom and took the funiculare up to Capri (the town) and spent the day wandering along the cliffside paths in search of lunch. We finally found the right place, an open-air restaurant built into the side of a cave and overlooking the sea. We sat back and enjoyed local seafood, wine, pasta, and–of course–insalata caprese. We returned to the mainland as the sun was setting but it was a glorious day of quality time, just my mom and I.

The evening featured what was–for me–one of the highlights of the trip. Naturally it involved food. The caretaker of the villa, Anna Maria, and her daughter (who both live just down the road) spent all day cooking for us. We gave them a broad mandate (The only criterion was to stay away from hearty red sauces since we had had that the night before.) and we were not disappointed with what they turned out.

For antipasti we had roasted, sauteed, and fried vegetables, spinach pie, artichoke pie, olives, fried balls of prosciutto, and provolone. As a primo piatto we had pasta with a light tomato-basil sauce. As a secondo we had two kinds of fish, both marinated and baked to perfection. And finally, for dessert, we had traditional Napolitana pastiera. Oh what a meal!

Wednesday morning I arose before the rest of the group and hopped on the bus to the Naples airport. I was excited to have arrived on time until I learned that my flight to Rome had been canceled. Alitalia: strike 2.

As one may imagine, this caused a great deal of consternation with all the passengers and I stood witness to classic examples of Italian “non-queueing.” Italians seem to believe that lines are made to be broken. Anyone who has ever set a toe in Italy will understand what I am talking about. At the airport, with rope-defined lines up to the ticket counter, I thought perhaps I would find an exception to this rule.

Oh how mistaken I was. The passengers in line seemed to think that roped line boundaries were meant to be deconstructed and that the louder they yelled at the poor customer rep who was trying to help the one person at the front of the line at a time, the better/faster service they would receive. Oy. This spectacle was repeated when it came time to load our baggage into the bus, almost crushing the poor driver in the process. Oy.

The bus ride was nice, though, and I met a nice Napolitana girl who was on her way to London. She asured me that Alitalia wasn’t all bad and that they had recently acquired Air One, which was actually quite good. It turned out that my flight from Rome to Geneva was operated by Air One and, sure enough, it was great. So I suppose the lesson learned is that, if flying Alitalia, make sure to choose Air One-operated flights. Good to know!

Although this trip to the Amalfi Coast was short, it was great. It was a little surreal hanging out with the friends of my parents/parents of my friends from back when I was in preschool/kindergarten but it was a lot of fun. Many thanks to them for organizing the trip and for welcoming me along.

I have fond memories of living in Huntsville. It was a good time in my life; I had a mother who took great care of me, I had great friends, and my father was still alive. So I suppose what made Huntsville so great was its people. 40 years ago this year Huntsville’s people put a man on the moon. I’m glad to see that, even now, the city’s greatest assets are its people.

Auburn Engineering In Italy

It’s fun being around the Huntsville crowd. It’s my first time in a while being around southern accents. Some words have extra syllables added (“Now” becomes “Nay-ow.”) while some have syllables taken away (“Bry-an” becomes “Brine”). They’re good people and the people, places, and activities they talk about remind of good memories growing up in HSV.

This morning Mom and I went into the town center for some provisions. We bought up necessary staples (wine) and nice-to-haves (water and food) and brought them back to the villa. Despite our noontime return, everyone was only just getting up—don’t they know that the siesta is supposed to be in the afternoon??

Auburn engineering won major street cred today. Except for one Hokie and this Rice Owl, all of the men on our trip are Auburn engineers. After much levering, bracing, pushing, and discussing, our fearless Tigers got the sliding door to one of our grandevans back on track. While walking back to our villa, the engineers detected another cry for help. A group of French tourists could not start their car—Auburn engineers to the rescue! After a few minutes they had isolated the problem to a fault in the car’s CPU but were able to bypass it with some “creative” modifications to the battery cabling system. War Eagle!

After a leisurely afternoon, the evening was something really special. We went to dinner at Don Alfonso, the best restaurant in Italy south of Rome or one of the top three restaurants in all of Italy, depending on which guide book you consulted. Either way it has two Michelin stars and it earned them both!

Most of our group ordered the prix fixe’ tasting menu but I just stuck with a few appetizers (asparagus, deep fried lobster, and roast duck in cacao/orange/sweet wine reduction). Even still I found myself incredibly full after all the breads, cheeses, and other inter-course palette cleansers that were brought out. One of our group captured it aptly when he said, “I’m so full I can’t even swallow.”

Fortunately we had 5+ hours of dinner so plenty of time to digest. The service was excellent, including choreographed presentation of entrees and coordinated removal of their silver covers. Despite their 25,000-bottle wine list of the best of the best of Italian and French wines, we kept it simple. We began with a rose’ champagne, moved on to a Rhone mix from Liguria, and wrapped up with Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove 2000 (the second wine of this Super Tuscan), which was superb. I will have to try the Ornellaia 2000!

Some of us also had the opportunity to visit the restaurant’s cantina, which is an underground system of caves and tunnels dating back to the 1500s. Disguised as a well, these passages were used for nobles escaping Sorrento (I was never clear on what exactly they were fleeing.) but now house Don Alfonso’s wines and aging cheeses at naturally perfect temperature and humidity.

What a great day! Hopefully the weather will clear up tomorrow so that we can explore the coast.

Bell’Italia

Today I hopped on an Alitalia flight to Rome and met up with Mom and many of our old friends from Huntsville, AL. Long ago I decided that, although Alitalia typically provided attractive flight attendants and good food, I didn’t trust its maintenance and engineering. This flight validated my mistrust! My armrest literally fell off and pieces of plastic were hanging down from the ceiling—I hope at least the wings were in better shape! We arrived late of course but I finally met up with our travel group.

We rented two HUGE vans, the likes of which are not commonly seen in Europe, for the 12 of us and made our way down to the Amalfi Coast. We stopped in Latina for lunch but just about everything was closed for pre-Easter Saturday. We did find a little bread/cheese/other shop, though, where they sold freshly made ricotta and mozzarella. They got a big kick out of the random Americans dropping in and they loaded us up with lots of extra food for free despite our attempts to compensate them. They insisted that we needed nourishment for our drive and I think it all would have gone bad anyway over the holiday weekend. Grazie!

It’s a good thing we had extra food too, because we didn’t arrive at our villa in Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi until nearly midnight. On our way we missed several turns due to poor signage and were stuck in an hour of traffic due to an overturned potato truck. Driving these huge vans (nicknamed by the locals “grandevans” insead of “minivans!”) through windy coastal and mountain roads turned out to be no small feat either! Finally, though, we made it, dined on wine, bread, and cheese, then collapsed around 2 AM.

Benritornato in Italia!