Closing In

I have the deplorable habit of talking when I have nothing to say, so I make up for it by not writing when I have nothing to say. That's the theory, anyway.

I must be growing old, because the prospect of Christmas and the end of the year no longer fills me with excitement. It's... just another day. Another year. I've had plenty of those. There will be good times and bad times, just like any other year. This year had too much excitement - the wrong kind of excitement. I think I could use a little peace for a change.

My PhD thesis will be finished soon - really finished soon. All the chapter writing is done, it's just a question of editing out every last mistake and stitching it into a book. It feels like the end of an era. Certainly, the PhD course was a difficult experience, both mentally and physically. I didn't quite handle it the way I would have liked, but wasn't that the point? The difficulty of completing a PhD is not the coursework itself, I don't think, although the work can be intensive and writing a thesis is a novel form of torture. It's the psychological part. Having the discipline to come in to work everyday including weekends, plan out experiments, meet deadlines and milestones. Dealing with office politics. Handling the various crises which inevitably arise from working with dangerous equipment in the company of many other individuals. Supervisors are there for guidance, but only minimally; most of it is self-directed. It's like a primer for the real life working experience. And you do work alongside postdoctoral fellows and research assistances who are there for the money, and you learn from how they handle things. 

In fewer words, doing a PhD is a horrible experience and I strongly recommend it.

Bionicle will be rebooted next year. That's a good move, I think. It's been gone too long to rely on old fans, and the old story is far too convoluted to bring in new fans. Back then, it was pretty obvious that the writers were making a lot of things up as they went along, especially in the early years. A fresh start will be good for the series. And the new sets do look pretty sweet.

I think I might actually be looking forward to the new year after all. There'll be good times, and bad times, but they won't be same good and bad times as before (stunning observation, there). 

In the meantime, enjoy these fifteen minutes of Wheatley's nattering.

Keep Calm and Carry On

I've done it again! I've managed to give myself a moderately serious injury via kitchen implements. (For previous incidents, see the One-Armed Scientist category.) This time, boiling-hot potato soup, a blender and a lid which came right off mid-blend were involved. One could argue that nobody should ever attempt to purée hot soup. One would be right.

Anyway, I have some fun burns on my arms and shoulders. They're actually pretty mild, because I headed straight for the cold shower, but unfortunately extensive. I'm regretting not investing in more strapless tops.

As it happens, my burns are positioned just right that they don't interfere with my thesis writing. Someone up there is probably laughing it up, that jerk.

Lazy Recipe: Sardine Pasta Bake

One might ask, "What's with all these recipes?" Well, you see, this blog is a record of stuff I do, so it's either recipes or my thesis-writing. No one wants to hear me whinge about my thesis-writing.

Anyway, it was an hour from lunch so I raided my kitchen for ingredients and put something together semi-randomly. I do this fairly often, but this particular dish was of a surprisingly legitimate quality.

Sardine Pasta Bake
Loosely adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients

100 g fusilli pasta
1 can Ayam Brand Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Green Peppercorns
1/2 cup plain Greek-style yoghurt
1 tbs tomato sauce
1/2 tbs dried thyme or oregano
Pinch salt
1-2 tbs shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 tsp panko bread crumbs
Dash cayenne pepper
1/2 tbs butter

Preheat oven to 220°C. Alternatively, use a toaster oven (no preheating required).

Cook fusilli pasta in boiling, salted water until it just turns al dente. Drain and set aside.

Empty sardine can into a small bowl (do not drain). Use 1 tbs of the olive oil to grease the bottom and sides of a 750 ml capacity oven-proof dish. Split the sardines lengthwise in half and remove the vertebral bones. Arrange the fish evenly on the base of the oven-proof dish. Scatter the peppercorns over the fish. Place the drained pasta on top.

Mix yoghurt and tomato sauce until combined. Stir in the thyme and salt. Pour the sauce evenly over the pasta. Spread another 1 tbs of the olive oil from the can on top.

Sprinkle shredded mozzarella to cover the surface of the sauce evenly. Top with panko bread crumbs and cayenne pepper. Place butter in a chilled metal spoon. Working quickly, use your fingers to press the butter into flakes. Scatter the butter flakes evenly on top of the dish.

Bake in the preheated oven or toaster oven for 5-10 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Italian Bread

The other day, my mother wanted some Italian-style bread for making garlic bread. The problem was, the bakeries near us either didn't carry the right kind of bread, or had it pre-sliced crosswise (the recipe required the bread to be cut lengthwise). And therefore...

Italian Bread (makes 1 loaf)
Adapted from this recipe at The Fresh Loaf

Ingredients
Starter

1/4 cup skim milk, scalded
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup bread flour
1/3 tsp active dry yeast, or 1/4 tsp instant yeast

Dough
Pre-prepared starter
2 1/2 cups (scooped) bread flour, plus extra
1/2 cup skim milk, scalded
1/3 cup water
1/2 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tbs salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast, or 1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tbs olive oil

To prepare the starter, scald the milk in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and allow it to cool to body temperature (about 37°C - test by dropping a little onto the back of your hand). Stir in yeast and allow to reactivate for 5 minutes. Mix in water and bread flour. Cover with cling wrap and incubate in at room temperature (25-28°C) for 4-16 hours.

Prepare the dough. Scald milk and allow to cool, as before. Dissolve the brown sugar in the milk. Stir in yeast and leave for 5 minutes to reactivate. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, all the starter, water, olive oil, salt and 1 cup of the flour. Mix thoroughly using a wooden spoon or your hands.

Knead in more flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is only slightly sticky, and comes off the bowl when lifted up. Grease a bowl well with olive oil; shape the dough into a ball and place it in the greased bowl. Lightly grease a piece of cling-wrap with olive oil and place it, greased side down, over the dough and the bowl. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature until doubled in size (1-2 hours). Punch down the dough and knead for 1 minute. Allow to rise at room temperature for another 30-60 minutes.

Punch down the dough again and shape into a ball. Return the dough to the greased bowl, cover with greased cling-wrap and allow to relax for 10-20 minutes.

Shape dough into a boule or bâtard shape. Cover loosely with greased cling-wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size (30-60 minutes). Do not over-rise.

Place baking stone in oven, and preheat to 240°C. Right before placing the bread in the oven, brush or spray  the dough lightly with water. Use a sharp knife or razor to slash the bread. Lightly sprinkle some flour onto the baking stone before placing the bread on top.

Bake bread at 240°C for 1 minute. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 220°C and bake for another 20 minutes. Rotate the loaf around and bake for a further 20-30 minutes, until the loaf is evenly browned and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Remove and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

To scald milk, place milk in a microwave-safe bowl or mug. Place a wooden chopstick such that it breaks the surface of the milk; this is to prevent the milk from over-boiling. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes until the milk starts to boil. Stop the microwave immediately and allow the milk to cool.

For instructions on shaping loaves, this is a great site with pictures, and this video demonstrates how to shape and slash a bâtard.

If you haven't got a baking stone, use an upside-down cast-iron skillet or heavy baking pan.

I actually use a microwave oven with a convection setting for baking bread. Since it has a rotating turntable and uses hot air to maintain the internal temperature, the bread comes out evenly browned and perfectly baked.

Recipe: Gâteau au Yaourt (French Yoghurt Cake)

This cake is simple to make, so ridiculously simple. With only one and a half hours of preparation and baking time, it's almost faster to make this cake at home than to go out to the bakery. It's also very light, with an airy texture akin to a chiffon cake.

Gâteau au Yaourt
Adapted from this recipe and various other sources

Ingredients

1 cup Greek-style yoghurt
2 large eggs
160 g caster sugar
80 ml canola or other flavourless vegetable oil
3/4 tbs dark brown sugar
1 tbs pineapple juice, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/8 tsp almond or rum essence
250 g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/16 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180°C. If using a metal cake pan, line it with parchment paper; for a silicone cake pan, dust the pan lightly with flour.

In a large mixing bowl, gradually mix the caster sugar into the yoghurt until homogeneous. Gently stir in the eggs and oil.

In a small bowl, dissolve the dark brown sugar in pineapple juice. Stir in vanilla and almond essences. Incorporate into the yoghurt mixture.

Separately, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the wet mixture; fold gently until just combined. Do not over-mix.

Carefully pour the batter into the cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Allow the cake to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

49!

Happy birthday Singapore! Only one more to the big 50!

This year's National Day Parade was great, fantastic performances all around. Last year I was stuck in a hotel room in Canberra without an Internet connection and missed the parade. I'd forgotten how stirring it is, watching the sheer energy of both the spectators and performers. For a short period of time, you truly feel connected with the rest of the country.

Brief digression here. I'd always felt something of an outsider. I'm not from one of the four main races of Singapore. My parents were both immigrants. Yet I don't belong to my supposed motherland either - I wasn't born there, I can barely construct a sentence my mother tongue, I don't identify with the typical attitudes of that nation. Perhaps that I why I cling so fiercely to the idea of being Singaporean. It is what I know, better than anything else. I speak fluent Singlish. I know most of the community songs. I can explain in excruciating detail what Total Defence is - I have the gold badge to prove it. I've spent most of my life here, and during the short periods of time I was elsewhere, I wasn't convinced that those were better places to live. Sure, perhaps I didn't quite fit as Singaporean in the beginning, but I am one now. And my hypothetical future children won't have problems fitting in. They'll be citizens of this country, through and through.

So, here's to Singapore. For a bit of nostalgia, the video below shows some images which would be familiar to my five year old self, and to anyone else who grew up here during the nineties.

Concerning Science

[...] This mistake is why many people think they can argue about science the same way they argue about relationships, politics, and all the other imaginary human entertainments. They think that a single verbal counterpoint can undo what went before. But science is based on reams of data. Saying "That's just what they say" doesn't discount reams of empirical proof; it just announces who shouldn't be allowed in the room when the grown-ups are talking.

 - Luke McKinney, Cracked.com, from 5 Mind-Blowing Scientific Mysteries Solved Without Computers

Quoted for extreme truth.

Recipe: Ice Cubes

Ice cubes are essential, especially since the local weather has been so hot lately. This ice cube recipe is pretty much perfect. The only drawback is the 7.5 mg of sodium per serving, so I suggest distilling the tap water first.

(The ratings and reviews are the best part of this "recipe", but the photos come a close second.)

Nostalgia and Embarrassment

I think the reason I don't use Facebook for anything useful (have I even updated it to reflect that I'm not in Melbourne anymore?) is its wider audience. I have written many cringeworthy things both here and in other corners of the Internet, under at least superficial anonymity. A Facebook account is the exact opposite of anonymous.

Sometimes I surprise myself, reading over old missives. My "voice" changes over time, and sometimes it's hard to believe, looking back, that I wrote those words, be they insightful or perfectly moronic. The early ones are the most interesting, back when I was new to blogging, and when I was fairly sure I had no audience, seeing as I hadn't confessed to my friends that I owned a blog.

I notice I had a few traditions, like doing a "New Year" spiel. I seem to have forgotten it this time. Honestly, I have no idea what I was doing on January 1st this year. Probably writing my thesis (it's a safe bet). Frankly, I didn't really have much to reflect on, because by that point it had been a few months of endless THESIS THESIS THESIS.

(Sung to the tune of Badger Badger, probably.)

Anyway, I don't have much to add. Mostly because this is an old post which I forgot to release from my drafts section. Fly away, post. You're free now!

The Other Side

I received two emails and one snail-mail letter from friends in Australia. What a contrast from six years ago! Now I'm in the wrong country, again. Will the grass on the other side never stop being greener?

I'm here now. Such a strange feeling! The end already arrived, days ago, and it landed as a dull thud.

Another Quick Post

It has been too long, yes!

I've been writing my PhD thesis. It seems that there is a critical limit to the amount of writing I can endure in a single day. So, a high thesis output means a low blog output. Even though blogging is significantly less boring.

So! What have I been doing recently? Well... writing I suppose. Where do the days go?

I did spend some time the other day watching the following video multiple times. It's an excellent parody of the video game, the style of music, and the style of music video. Also, it contains the second-most deftly-executed "Your Mom" joke I have seen (the first, of course, is from Meet the Spy).

Canonically, Ratonhnhaké:ton is supposed to be a serious, driven, unquestioned badass. Much of the humour of this video derives from a weedier version of the character engaging in slapstick antics, casual psychopathy, and constant, overwrought, failed attempts at being cool. (George Washington is the opposite - he still appears as a tough, admirable character, just not quite in the way one might expect).

As an aside, I am consistently impressed with level of effort fans expend when making tribute to their favourite media. Regarding the above video, if you take into account the costumes, the actors and actresses, the sets, the props, the stunts, green-screen effects, script writing, lyric writing, sound recording, editing... that's a lot of work for less than four minutes of payoff. Hats off to the Smosh team, and to others like them.

As a further aside, how proud would you be, if you were a creator and someone spent so much time and effort to celebrate your work? Creators who attempt to shut down fansites and delete fanworks on grounds of copyright infringement only confuse me. Copying others' work and trying to take credit for it is unethical, make no mistake, but creating what amounts to a love letter has an entirely different intent behind it.