You can't have your slut and it eat, too

(A "slut" is a Dutch chocolate cake)

On Monday, we visited Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the Royal Dutch Library of the Netherlands, to see how they preserved governmental documents. They boasted an impressive collection of ancient artifacts, ranging from illuminated manuscripts to the actual briefcase of Napoleon Bonaparte. The library is known for saving every (or almost every) document/magazine/book printed in the country. This ties up closely with the guest lecture we had the following morning, in which Dr. Maarten Marx elaborated on the political realm of the information sciences. During that lecture, we learned how transcribed minutes from Dutch Parliament meetings could be quantified and analyzed through a political mashup database. Via Xpath, this information could then be used to formulate metrics on aggregate queries; for instance, the data can be compiled to visually graph the frequency of speaker interruptions on the floor.

National documents in lowlight, airtight cases for display.

Later that evening, our class had its third group dinner at the Dizzy Jazzcafé. The service was slow, but the well-prepared food made up for it. I especially liked the rawness of the steaks; some of the girls couldn't handle rare steak and forwarded their meals to me (and like a TANK, I guzzled everything down with voracity). The dessert menu was the most discussed conversational item of the night, as some of its desserts were named with double entendres. The most famous example was the "chocolate slut," a very rich chocolate cake/mousse/ice cream combination that many people ordered (myself included). The night ended with performances from a unique jazz ensemble that adlibbed Caribbean rap into the music.

Waitress: "You can share your slut with friends."

We wrapped up the week with another guest lecture presented by Dr. Andrea Scharnhorst. This time, her topic focused on the visualization of cyber geography and the mapping of scientific frontiers. By driving dynamic mechanisms, she emphasized unity within the sciences and the relationship between multidisciplinary fields of study. She accompanied her lecture with posters of classification systems, the history of Wikipedia, and network visualizations that captivated everyone's interest. The day ended with a tour of the Erasmus University Library, where we could see the Randtriever, a robot that stored and retrieved bins of books in minutes. This system was significantly faster than the librarians back at the University of Washington who would take anywhere from a couple of days to a week to find a book in their stacks. The advanced machinery was just another example of how robots can one day rule the world. But can they make a decent chocolate slut? I don't think so.

The Randtriever at work.

Survival Guide Tips: Dining Etiquette
21. A waiter or waitress is beckoned by making eye contact and raising a hand. Snapping fingers is considered extremely rude.
22. In most cases, the Dutch will make it clear who intends to pay the bill beforehand. If not, assume the arrangement is to "Go Dutch." No one will be embarrassed at splitting the bill, which is the norm.
23. On a romantic date, the man is expected to pay for the woman (although she may offer to pay her share out of politeness or to show her independence).
24. By law, all cafes, bars, sightseeing companies, hotels, and other establishments often visited by tourists must include BTW, which is their counterpart for Value Added Tax. If you feel the service was exceptional, leave an extra tip in addition to the price on the bill.
25. In general, the Dutch can be very direct or outspoken. This openness can sometimes be misunderstood as being rude or nosy. The Dutch see this as a sign of honesty rather than being unmannered.