sbyrne

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:02:43 GMT

My absentee ballot arrived today. (Actually, they may have made a mistake in sending me the full absentee ballot; I thought overseas voters could only vote in national elections. I'm mailing it in anyway.) I remember a Daily Show interview with Ralph Nader, where he mentioned that NJ was one of the easiest states to get on the ballot. Well, I wouldn't want the rest of you to miss out on the All Day Breakfast political party. There are no fewer than ten presidential candidates on the NJ ballot (three from Socialist-themed parties).

Most notable is Jeffrey Boss, who is running both for president under the "Vote Here" party and for Senate under the "Boss for Senate" party. ("Boss for Senate" just reminds me that I wish Bruce Springsteen was running. Seriously. The NJ Democrats had to pull Lautenberg out of retirement because they couldn't find anyone better. They're all corrupt.) Boss's website is an entertaining read (especially "Attempts on my Life"), yet some of his positions are more reasonable than others I've heard from mainstream political candidates.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:50:40 GMT

Yesterday, I realized that my consumer confidence is inversely correlated to how well McCain is doing in the polls.

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:56:10 GMT

As I was leaving my apartment this morning, my neighbors stepped out and asked me to turn on their TV for them. Explaining their request took awhile, especially as English isn't their native language, but they said since they're Jewish and it's Saturday, they're not allowed to "touch electricity".

"So you're allowed to watch TV, just not turn it on?" "Yes."

As politely as I could, I picked up their remote, turned on the TV, changed to the desired channel, and turned up the volume for them. "So every Saturday you have to get someone?" "Yeah." They were sheepishly embarrassed about needing to ask.

I completely understand abstaining from electricity for a day, but this seems ridiculously beside the point. And I feel slightly miffed that if it's so terrible for them to use the remote, why is it okay to implore me to sin instead? Then again, I'm glad I could help. (I'm also jealous, since their TV is nicer than mine.) I wonder if they'll have to wait until sundown before they can change the channel or turn it off.

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:47:54 GMT

What do Led Zeppelin, an X Factor winner*, David Beckham, a bus, umbrellas, and a hedgerow have in common?
*analogous to American Idol

(I wanted to link to the answer, but I'll have to blame NBC instead. Their preposterous delay wouldn't be so bad if they hadn't also blocked all internet video content.)

Edit: So far, I can only find the opening animation to the London Olympic handover performance.

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:22:32 GMT

http://www.photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:32:17 GMT

Physicists spooked by faster-than-light information transfer.
Quantum weirdness even stranger than previously thought.

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:55:18 GMT

From our department's manager: Following the thefts of 5 or 6 liquid nitrogen pressure vessels from Hammersmith Campus I have bought a chain and lock so the vessel can be secured to the railing on the ramp outside.

For our liquid nitrogen deliveries, we need to bring the dewars outside to be refilled. Apparently, several of these have been stolen, presumably for their scrap metal value. These are the big, man-size dewar tanks! What the hell! The BBC has two recent reports of other liquid nitrogen dewar thefts, from Somerset and Edinburgh

Googling for "liquid nitrogen uk" produces the following dubious advice:
The first thing to know about this is that you can't buy convenient small containers of liquid nitrogen off the shelf in shops and store them at home. It doesn't work like that.

So, to get some liquid nitrogen, it's best to get some flasks and to look for places that already have huge quantities of liquid nitrogen being stored. The sorts of places that have liquid nitrogen are: hospitals, physics labs, mortuaries, strawberry freezing factories, cryonics facilities, and anywhere that's using superconducting magnets.
When you arrive at the place and ask nicely if they might spare some liquid nitrogen, your chances of being granted your request tend to be improved by:
1. Your reasons for requiring some liquid nitrogen.
2. The size of your flasks (bigger = better).
3. Your demonstrated safety-conscious knowledge.
4. Charm.

Sticker Shock

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:18:57 GMT

A new gourmet specialty foods store recently opened in the local mall. In addition to selling artisanal cheeses, meats, jams, and chocolates, they were also selling Oreos (chocolate flavoured sandwich biscuits) -- only Oreos, no other Nabisco or similar products. Furthermore, they were selling a regular 14 oz pack of Oreos for £5.25 (~$10.50). Double Stuf were £5.75 (~11.50). It's not as if the British revere Oreos as a delicacy, but they have been in short supply lately. I never expected to see a store scalping Oreos though.

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:33:44 GMT

PhDComics pointed me towards JK Rowling's awesome Harvard Commencement Address. (I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, but I've seen all the movies.) The graduates didn't seem to like it, but I never had any love for Harvard undergrads anyway.

"So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale."

Mon, 26 May 2008 11:38:21 GMT

For a break from lamenting our declining currency, I submit the Eurovision Song Contest Basically, each European country does a song performance, and people from other countries call in to vote for their favorite. I haven't watched any of the performances, but from the clips I've seen, they are all laughably lame. (Ireland's entry involved a puppet turkey.) So at least America's coolness supremacy remains secure.

The quality of the performances is irrelevant anyway, since the countries always vote for the ones closest to them (i.e. Scandinavia votes for the other Scandinavian countries, the Baltic states stick together, etc.) It sort of irked me that Croatia and Serbia voted for Bosnia as their favorite, because the whole reason why they are separate countries is that they couldn't get along. We (the US) went to a lot of trouble to split them up! Russia won the contest, because all of the former Soviet countries (that wanted independence from Russia) voted for it. Ugh, whatever, I don't understand Europe.

Edit: It turns out that the Irish turkey puppet was submitted as a cynical joke, which therefore makes it cool.

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:31:06 GMT

Oh how I hate April Fool's Day. I totally fell for this this morning. In my defense, I only had a quick glance of the more believable perspectives in the corner of my mirror as I was rushing to get ready for work.

Weirder discoveries happen all the time. Yesterday, I read a paper that blood stem cells respond to a circadian rhythm. (Here's the news summary.) What's a poor scientist to do?

Also, here are some cute videos of a rat using tools (Supporting Information movies).

Edit: Replaced crap BBC link with a YouTube one.

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:13:38 GMT

As part of the nerve-wracking process of applying to extend my visa, I went to the passport photo place of the stars. Although, I can't imagine Angelina Jolie, Mick Jagger, or the Beatles climbing the two narrow urine-smelling flights of stairs to the small plain office with what must be the original signs from the 50's. The celebrities all look mussed, imperfect, and real -- like you see in those "Before they were famous" shows. For some reason, my eyebrows photographed really dark; I look like Groucho.

Also, while my original student visa cost $162, to apply for an extension requires a non-refundable £295 ($600) fee. And that's by mail. To do it in person costs £500.

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:11:24 GMT

Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
Post them here for everyone to guess.
Italicize it when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.

1. "I feel like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewie, and she's Ben Kenobi, and we're in that fucked-up bar!" Dogma - handofluke
2. "The man-poet who banged France's dark lady of philosophy. The parking lot crusader of truth... who turned his back on his other like a cold-blooded gangsta." I Heart Huckabee's
3. "'Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center.' Sounds charming."
"That's only a part of the island. There's a very, very nice beach. Terns nest there. There's beautiful... " Silence of the Lambs - arolfe
4. "Teddy, I think it's time for you to go to bed."
"I beg your pardon. Who are you?"
"I'm Woodrow Wilson. Go to bed!" Arsenic and Old Lace - wystel
5. "It's all right, that's in every contract. That's what they call a sanity clause." "You can't fool me! There ain't no Sanity Claus!" A Night at the Opera - kcr
6. "Bonjour, mesdames et monsiuers. Yesterday we have learned the correct way how to boil water. Today we will learn the correct way how to crack an egg. Voila! An egg. Now, an egg is not a stone; it is not made of wood, it is a living thing. It has a heart. So when we crack it, we must not torment it. We must be merciful and execute it quickly, like with the guillotine." Sabrina - deeb1384
7. "There once was a young woman from Ealing, / Who had a particular feeling. / She lay on her back, / And opened her crack, / And pissed all over the ceiling." Bridget Jones's Diary - wystel
8. "I might never have liked you. Point of fact, I despise you. But that doesn't suggest I don't respect you. Dying in our sleep is a luxury our kind is rarely afforded. My gift to you." Kill Bill Vol. 1 - ashwolf
9. "That's right, sir, you are the only person authorized to do so. And although I, uh, hate to judge before all the facts are in, it's beginning to look like, uh, General Ripper exceeded his authority." Dr. Strangelove - topologist
10. [In California] "It's so clean out here."
"That's because they don't throw their garbage away, they turn it into television shows." Annie Hall

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:39:27 GMT

In Sicko, when Michael Moore wants to see what a British hospital is like, he goes to the Hammersmith Hospital (around 53 min. in). I wonder why he chose this one. It's always weird to see a familiar place on TV; they look so much better with professional lighting.

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:21:03 GMT

What's scary is that this wasn't some discount third-world airline, it was BA.
I take an average of one trans-Atlantic flight every two months.

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:43:12 GMT

The Daily Show Supplement

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:23:24 GMT

A Giuliani commercial aired among today's Sunday morning political shows. It's so exciting that New Jersey is no longer having its presidential primary last! And the commercial was off a Philadelphia TV channel too, so it's not just NYC spillover. I am thoroughly sick of Iowa. New Hampshire is still okay.

Also new this year, Abroad is getting delegates in the Democratic National Primary. Abroad has 11 votes compared to NJ's 127. (Guam gets 8 votes!?! What the hell?! 6 million Americans overseas and <200,000 in Guam.) Abroad voting is the same week as Super-Duper Tuesday. Democrats Abroad United Kingdom will hold a 'voting centre' in:
London Town Hall Meeting: Feb. 5 (Tues), 7-10pm Hmm, which would be better?

Happy New Year!

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:13:39 GMT

Unique orca hunting technique documented

"Some Antarctic orcas use the cunning tactic of regularly hunting in packs and making waves to wash seals off floating ice, researchers have confirmed.

The behaviour was first seen in 1979, but at the time it was considered a one-time moment of orca ingenuity. Now, Ingrid Visser of the Orca Research Trust in New Zealand and her colleagues report on six further observations of the animals using group hunting behaviour to divide ice floes, push them into open water, and create waves to wash animals off them into their waiting jaws. The behaviour has been seen only along the Antarctic Peninsula and nowhere else in the world, they note, including other icy orca habitats in the Arctic and Antarctic. The report is published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, and a recent video of the behaviour is available on YouTube (with the key moment happening 2 minutes 40 seconds into the tape)."

And in case you haven't yet seen Underwater Bipedal Locomotion by Octopuses in Disguise, it's here.

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:13:11 GMT

DH told me that the author of her favorite food blog, Chocolate and Zucchini, was coming to London as part of a book tour. The Books for Cooks bookstore that hosted the event has a kitchen where they often test recipes, and at this event they served several recipes from the book.

The author is my age, French, and was a software engineer in Silicon Valley during the dot com era. She had the impeccable poise, hair, skin, and fashion that French women seem to innately possess. I wish I were like that. About 15 other people attended the event, almost entirely middle-aged women somehow linked to the food reporting business. I sat between an author of a cake cookbook for children and an aspiring food blogger. A lot of them seemed to know one another and were taking notes on the author's biographical details. One of the author's tips was to keep a journal of what you cook, how you cooked it, and who you served it to (like a lab notebook!). She's working on a second book, an insider's travel guide of all her favorite food places in Paris.

The recipes were just what I've been looking for: a few ingredients combined in an unexpected but clever way. They struck the perfect balance of interesting, easy, and healthy. (I love the Joy of Cooking, but so many of its recipes are full-fat.) The cookbook includes personal anecdotes describing how modern French people really eat at home. She also got a wine writer to recommend wines for each dish. By the end, I absolutely had to buy the book, and I've been attempting some of the combinations that don't require an oven or food processor.

Here's what was served:
1. Mushroom and Cantal Cheese Tartine (p. 46)
The one at the bookstore, where they followed all the directions, was fantastic. At home, I basically just sauteed mushrooms and put them on cheese on toast. It tasted all right, but not nearly the same. I should have put in more effort (i.e. not omitting all the herbs and seasonings) and a stronger cheese.

2. Celeriac Remoulade with Trout Roe (p. 119)
Books for Cooks topped this with smoked salmon instead of caviar. I'd never had celeriac before; it's all the celery taste without all of the incessant stringy chewing. I need to find a supermarket that sells celeriac -- the cookbook says it's coming in season now. I also want to try making mashed celeriac.

3. Tuna and Green Apple Mousse (p. 98)
Served like a dip with crackers. It was just incredible; I never expected canned tuna could be this good. I should attempt a coarser version sans food processor -- making a casserole instead of a mousse. Especially since tuna and apples are staple cheap grad student foods.

4. Lamb and Prune Meatballs (p. 134)
Served with perfectly fluffy couscous and Greek-style yogurt. Now, only my dad likes prunes, but this combination works really well. The meatballs get this hearty sweetness. I'm not sure where I could get ground lamb though; this might require an actual butcher. I suppose I could try making it with ground beef, but I don't think it would be as good as the lamb and prune combination. Maybe turkey, but that's crazy expensive here.

5. Chocolate and Zucchini Cake (p. 205)
The bookstore served a very generous slice. You would never know the cake contained zucchini; you can't taste it at all. But the vegetable makes the cake really moist, and substitutes for more calorie-dense ingredients.

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:39:04 GMT

This year's Nobel prize in Medicine was awarded for developing knockout mouse technology.

The figure at the bottom is an excellent general description of what I've basically been doing since January 2004.

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:38:17 GMT

"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area."

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:27:11 GMT

I received a voter registration card in the post. Naturally, I'm not eligible to vote, but apparently half of the rest of the world is. Those Antarcticans can only have been listed for spite.
Q: Who can register to vote in Westminster?

I wonder what kind of implications this has for election results. Although, compared to the US, the political advertising and publicity here is non-existent.

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 08:50:19 GMT

Running and caffeine guard against skin cancer in mice
"Both mice on caffeine and unstimulated animals given exercise wheels ran about 3.5 kilometres per day." Holy shit, that's a lot of distance for a little mouse to cover. I double-checked the paper's methods, and that's not a typo. The mice walked/ran ~2 miles each day.

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:38:15 GMT

Queen guitarist completes PhD at Imperial

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 16:10:14 GMT

The new owners of my apartment building have decided to kick everyone out, renovate the building, and turn it into luxury short-stay apartments. (Which makes financial sense, but sucks for me.) I have to move out by mid-July, but I'm trying to leave as soon as possible. My lease actually expired in March, and the incredibly incompetent previous building manager never produced a new one, despite my repeated nagging. And the new owners have already turned off the internet, so I am simply fed up with this place.

Flat hunting in London is an absolute pain. You have to check the new listings posted in the early morning, then ditch work and view the places that afternoon and evening and decide immediately. It has also reminded me of how much I can't afford. All I really want is my own bathroom and kitchen, with laundry machines somewhere in the building, a landline or cable with which to set up internet access, in a neighborhood where I won't get spit on or have garbage thrown at me. If I'm lucky, I'll find one for less than $1600 per month.

Moving, however, should be simple. This will be my fourth move in the past 13 months, and I only have about 7 boxes of stuff. (And people wonder why I'm reluctant to give out my address.)

Back in the lab, I've seen some small differences under a few conditions, and need to figure out what to do next.