I give my talk to the engineers today. I speak for about five hours. I make it through 35 of my 37 slides and my voice gives out completely. One of the dev leads completes the last two slides for me. After work we go out to an english style pub. I try a hookah pipe they bring to the table, and (surprisingly) that does not restore my voice. I end up writing on a paper placemate to communicate with people. Which is quite entertaining after drinking lots of beer.