Monday, November 7, 2011
Sydney observatory
my plan for the evening ;)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
a year in oz
we had a few people over this weekend to celebrate the fact that my flatmate and i both moved to sydney one year ago. time flies swiftly, and creeps along, simultaneously.
we had fun creating the spread, and a friend brought incredible flowers!
another friend brought yummy desserts and adorable meringue birds.
inspired by recent travels, i attempted to make a matcha and adzuki bean (green tea and sweet red bean) cake roll! it was my first attempt at the roll thing and i'm amazed it rolled up without any major cracks! overall i was pleased with how it turned out. the cake was a bit dry, but the flavours were nice and the colours were great!
i managed enough nerve to sing a few original songs for the very friendly audience. i should play in front of people more often. i can stand up and talk about science in front of an audience of hundreds without feeling as nervous as i felt playing live music in my own living room.
the sun treated us to a nice end to the lovely day.
it has been a good year here in sydney. took a while to get settled, but i feel at home now. it helps that the city is so ridiculously beautiful, i found a good person to live with, and our (mold-less) flat is a pleasant place to be :)
we had fun creating the spread, and a friend brought incredible flowers!
another friend brought yummy desserts and adorable meringue birds.
inspired by recent travels, i attempted to make a matcha and adzuki bean (green tea and sweet red bean) cake roll! it was my first attempt at the roll thing and i'm amazed it rolled up without any major cracks! overall i was pleased with how it turned out. the cake was a bit dry, but the flavours were nice and the colours were great!
i managed enough nerve to sing a few original songs for the very friendly audience. i should play in front of people more often. i can stand up and talk about science in front of an audience of hundreds without feeling as nervous as i felt playing live music in my own living room.
the sun treated us to a nice end to the lovely day.
it has been a good year here in sydney. took a while to get settled, but i feel at home now. it helps that the city is so ridiculously beautiful, i found a good person to live with, and our (mold-less) flat is a pleasant place to be :)
Friday, November 4, 2011
stealing candy from a baby
the challenge from jimmy kimmel was for parents to tell their kids that they ate all their halloween candy... and record the responses! the experiment sounded cruel and unusual to me so i very reluctantly watched the video, but the resulting footage is surprisingly funny!
at both halloween and easter, i had strategies laid out for how i would consume my candy, mixing the favorites with the okays in a very specific way so that i could trade with my sisters and enjoy the flavours, until all the candy was gone. this process would usually last for a week or so.
i totally would have cried if my parents (or anyone) had taken such sweet satisfaction away from me, but i think i never realized it until i watched these poor kids. there is a lot of anticipation and gratification surrounding the full candy acquisition and consumption experience!
at both halloween and easter, i had strategies laid out for how i would consume my candy, mixing the favorites with the okays in a very specific way so that i could trade with my sisters and enjoy the flavours, until all the candy was gone. this process would usually last for a week or so.
i totally would have cried if my parents (or anyone) had taken such sweet satisfaction away from me, but i think i never realized it until i watched these poor kids. there is a lot of anticipation and gratification surrounding the full candy acquisition and consumption experience!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
statistics
this pleasantly frustrating statistics question was recently seen on a chalkboard somewhere:
post your answer in the comments...
post your answer in the comments...
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
deep sky videos
from the creator of sixty symbols, brady haran, comes a new video project and youtube channel called Deep Sky Videos, which is a collection of videos about objects in the night sky!
you'll see at least one familiar face in this preview ;)
on twitter: @DeepSkyVideos
you'll see at least one familiar face in this preview ;)
on twitter: @DeepSkyVideos
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
volcano shadow
this is one of the best sunrise mountain photographs i've seen in a long while. the image, captured by Nick Lippert, shows Mt. Rainier as the sun rises in the pacific northwest region of the US. gorgeous...
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Feynman Series - Beauty
the words of richard feynman narrate this insightful and beautiful video created by the sagan series.
i like listening to him because of the interesting flow of his thoughts: one observation creates a question which leads to another penetrating consideration, and so on.
also, i enjoy the nostalgia i feel from his voice because the way he speaks is similar to older generations of my family.
enjoy!
i like listening to him because of the interesting flow of his thoughts: one observation creates a question which leads to another penetrating consideration, and so on.
also, i enjoy the nostalgia i feel from his voice because the way he speaks is similar to older generations of my family.
enjoy!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
miyajima: from one island to another
a true highlight of this epic trip around asia was a 26 hour stop on the japanese island of miyajima. when you take the ferry from hiroshima to the island, you are welcomed by an intriguing view of the itsukushima shrine.
part of the genius of this shrine is the beauty of how the design complements the tides completely. i arrived near low tide and could walk right out to this huge gate...
a few hours later, the bottom of the structure is covered up with the rising water!
this is the major part of the itsukushima shrine and the high tide water rises right up to the platforms you walk along.
by sunset, the orange torii sits deeply in the water.
i love how the mountains in the background weave through the structure. this is ancient dynamic design, even though the structures dont actually move at all! gorgeous concept.
after this six week epic trip around asia, i'm now heading home to australia. one island to another.
 |
| a peak of the itsukushima shrine from the surrounding hills |
part of the genius of this shrine is the beauty of how the design complements the tides completely. i arrived near low tide and could walk right out to this huge gate...
 |
| low tide at the gate, or torii, of the itsukushima shrine |
a few hours later, the bottom of the structure is covered up with the rising water!
this is the major part of the itsukushima shrine and the high tide water rises right up to the platforms you walk along.
by sunset, the orange torii sits deeply in the water.
 |
| the torii at high tide |
i love how the mountains in the background weave through the structure. this is ancient dynamic design, even though the structures dont actually move at all! gorgeous concept.
after this six week epic trip around asia, i'm now heading home to australia. one island to another.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
ready for "halloween" in tokyo
in southeast and east asia, there are an amazing number of 7 elevens and KFCs. the 7 elevens in taiwan were the place to be as you could pay your bills, use free wi-fi, get stamps, have a snack, etc...
in tokyo, they have dressed up this colonel sanders in preparation for one of my favorite holidays of the year...
"halloween" ;) (it is always an annoying word to remember how to spell, isnt it?)
in tokyo, they have dressed up this colonel sanders in preparation for one of my favorite holidays of the year...
"halloween" ;) (it is always an annoying word to remember how to spell, isnt it?)
Friday, October 21, 2011
occupy wall street
it took a while to get large-scale media attention, but the "occupy wall street" movement has certainly made a recent impact in the minds of many people. While on a long bus ride in korea last week they had news playing on a tv. i couldnt understand the words, but they showed scenes of people in seoul and several other cities in many other countries showing support for the USA-based movement.
Here are four key points (and 4 accompanying charts here):
1. Unemployment is at the highest level since the Great Depression,
2. At the same time, corporate profits are at an all-time high (The top earners are capturing a higher share of the national income than they have anytime since the 1920s.),
3. Wages as a percent of the economy are at an all-time low (After adjusting for inflation, average earnings haven't increased in 50 years),
4. Income and wealth inequality in the US economy is near an all-time high (CEO pay and corporate profits have skyrocketed in the past 20 years, "production worker" pay has risen 4%).
the thing that jumps out to me in the charts here, is just how rapidly the corporate profits rebounded after the economic crisis hit.
for a poignant cartoon summary written almost 20 years ago by the endlessly relevant artist bill watterson, click this image...
i dont like to write too much about politics here, but i wanted to share the calvin and hobbes cartoon and thought i'd set the scene. in my opinion, it's about damn time people got angry about these issues and organized to say so! now it's time for representative politicians to step up and start suggesting policies to help eradicate these gross inequalities.
Here are four key points (and 4 accompanying charts here):
1. Unemployment is at the highest level since the Great Depression,
2. At the same time, corporate profits are at an all-time high (The top earners are capturing a higher share of the national income than they have anytime since the 1920s.),
3. Wages as a percent of the economy are at an all-time low (After adjusting for inflation, average earnings haven't increased in 50 years),
4. Income and wealth inequality in the US economy is near an all-time high (CEO pay and corporate profits have skyrocketed in the past 20 years, "production worker" pay has risen 4%).
the thing that jumps out to me in the charts here, is just how rapidly the corporate profits rebounded after the economic crisis hit.
for a poignant cartoon summary written almost 20 years ago by the endlessly relevant artist bill watterson, click this image...
 |
| courtesy of gocomics.com |
i dont like to write too much about politics here, but i wanted to share the calvin and hobbes cartoon and thought i'd set the scene. in my opinion, it's about damn time people got angry about these issues and organized to say so! now it's time for representative politicians to step up and start suggesting policies to help eradicate these gross inequalities.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
tokyo nightscape
today i gave the final lecture of this rather epic tour of east asia. tonight is my last night in tokyo. i like this scene of tokyo at night and can say i've seen at least three of those massive sea creatures, with limbs moving up and down, attached to buildings above restaurants.
tumblr tells me (for once!) that this image comes from a video game called "power slave."
i'm off for the weekend to visit hiroshima and then kyoto, before heading back to australia, next week.
tumblr tells me (for once!) that this image comes from a video game called "power slave."
i'm off for the weekend to visit hiroshima and then kyoto, before heading back to australia, next week.
exploration of the origin of the universe
the Center for the Exploration of the Origin of the Universe at seoul national university in south korea not only has a fantastic title, but also a good url: http://bigbang.snu.ac.kr/. i love that i get to visit and work at places with titles like this!
there are also nicely coloured temples around the city.
there are also nicely coloured temples around the city.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
lady by tokyo
i arrived in japan today and during my first few hours of exploration, i wandered into an electronics and gaming market.
the amount of stuff one can store on teeny tiny little USB sticks now is remarkable!
then i found an entire floor of an arcade completely dedicated to photo booths! (i found several others later...)
no question, i had to try.
the booth i chose was called "Lady by Tokyo." being as the instructions were all in japanese, i had to guess at what was happening and therefore look a little funny in some of these shots.
things to notice:
- i am clearly taller than the average japanese person using these booths, as i was standing all the way at the back and my head was still cut off!
- you can use a machine to write things on the photos afterwards. i did lots of guessing as to what i was doing, and then the time ran out! no more adjusting.
- they *automatically* enlarge your eyes!?! i guess this is to be closer to the anime/manga image of women, but i find it a bit freaky.
ridiculous. charming. just wow.
i wish i had some friends here - this could be really fun!
the amount of stuff one can store on teeny tiny little USB sticks now is remarkable!
then i found an entire floor of an arcade completely dedicated to photo booths! (i found several others later...)
no question, i had to try.
the booth i chose was called "Lady by Tokyo." being as the instructions were all in japanese, i had to guess at what was happening and therefore look a little funny in some of these shots.
things to notice:
- i am clearly taller than the average japanese person using these booths, as i was standing all the way at the back and my head was still cut off!
- you can use a machine to write things on the photos afterwards. i did lots of guessing as to what i was doing, and then the time ran out! no more adjusting.
- they *automatically* enlarge your eyes!?! i guess this is to be closer to the anime/manga image of women, but i find it a bit freaky.
ridiculous. charming. just wow.
i wish i had some friends here - this could be really fun!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
bean sprouts
in jeonju, south korea, they really like their bean sprouts. two english-speaking, (drunk) old men i met at dinner laughed at this observation of mine, saying its actually "something in the special water" here that makes them delicious.
i have possibly eaten my weight in bean sprouts over the last few days.
exhibit A, breakfast: several types of kimchi, tiny salty shrimps, barley tea, and two varieties of spicy bean sprout soup! (they like to eat big breakfasts here...)
the flavours might not have had huge depth, but the spiciness more than made up for it!
actually, that dish on the right was my favorite! it was two eggs with dried seaweed mixed together (and cooked) with the hot broth from the center dish of bean sprout soup. the women who served the food prepared that dish for me, as it must have been pretty obvious that i had no idea what to do with the two raw eggs sitting silently in the bowl in front of me!
i have possibly eaten my weight in bean sprouts over the last few days.
exhibit A, breakfast: several types of kimchi, tiny salty shrimps, barley tea, and two varieties of spicy bean sprout soup! (they like to eat big breakfasts here...)
 |
| Kongnamul gukbap (콩나물êµë°¥) |
the flavours might not have had huge depth, but the spiciness more than made up for it!
actually, that dish on the right was my favorite! it was two eggs with dried seaweed mixed together (and cooked) with the hot broth from the center dish of bean sprout soup. the women who served the food prepared that dish for me, as it must have been pretty obvious that i had no idea what to do with the two raw eggs sitting silently in the bowl in front of me!
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