Blue Balloon Flowers
A Robin
What's this birdie?
A Dragonfly
Frog No. 1
Frog No. n (n>5)
Interesting Flowers
My best butterfly shots
Sunday, July 16, 2006
One Summer Afternoon
It was a hot and humid summer afternoon. I found many interesting subjects in my favorite park. I realized for the nth time that my cheap 75-300 USM III lens is too soft on the telephoto side. And I was not professional enough: I should have set up a tripod and the 100 macro, rather than hand-holding the 75-300 for the insect shots.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
June Blossoms at My Place
Christmas Cactus, Blooming for the THIRD time since last winter. Can it tell the difference between Boston Seasons???
Day Lily
前院的月季
后院的蔷薇
又一个花心
野花Friday, July 14, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
自由
自由的宝贵，在失而复得的时候才更能真切地体会。
愿我的朋友能从那一段困难的经历中汲取力量，继续用他敏锐的眼光，犀利的笔，描绘这一个充满矛盾的社会，架通人们心中理解的桥梁。
我相信，总有一天，自由会成为每个人的权利。
愿我的朋友能从那一段困难的经历中汲取力量，继续用他敏锐的眼光，犀利的笔，描绘这一个充满矛盾的社会，架通人们心中理解的桥梁。
我相信，总有一天，自由会成为每个人的权利。
Thursday, July 06, 2006
July 4th Fireworks
Per request by Jade, here I post my shots of Boston July 4th Fireworks.
I had quite a lot of trouble controlling my camera that night: first I couldn't figure out how to use the M mode (though I tried all the combinations of buttons etc, including the right one), so I had to rely on Tv mode, and a lot of the shots were overexposed. Then the camera lost its ability to autofocus! So I manually focused to what I thought was infinity, and a lots of shots came out out of focus. Third, I was rushing to the shooting location in a hurry and my tripod wasn't set up level for any of my compositions.
However, I did like the remote switch that I had a lot trouble to find the day before, and I think I did a somehow better job than last year.
I did not have time to play with any adjustment to the pictures. What you see now were the saved JPGs. All I did was some cropping. I didn't even do any rotations to make my horizon right.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Number Superstition, Chinese Style
It's said it's no coincidence that the Summer Olympics in Beijing will open on 08/08/08 at 8 p.m.
I didn't know that our government believed in this sort of things, too. I thought it was only limited to auto license plates.
My license plate "586XXX" should be considered a good one (吾发了). How come it hasn't brought me any wealth yet?
Friday, June 30, 2006
"Out Of Africa" and Mozart's Music
I was listening to the second movement of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622 (among many other "romantic moments") one evening when I read Jade's blog entry Characters in Stories". I wasn't sure I understood what she tried to convey, but I recognized the last picture as Meryl Streep in "Out of Africa". What a coincidence! The Clarinet Concerto was featured in the movie. It is very gentle, compassionate, and melancholy. It melts into the movie so perfectly that I could almost believe that Mozart wrote it for a movie that came almost 200 years later.
Of course Mozart wrote it for someone else. This piece was Mozart's last complete instrumental work. It was commissioned by his friend Anton Stadler, the principal clarinetist in the Court orchestra in Vienna. Mozart wrote it in the autumn of 1791, two months before his death at the age of 35, thus this concerto is sometimes described as "autumnal", a "farewell to life". In fact, Mozart himself might not have known that his days were numbered. Only if he had lived longer, how many more masterpieces he would have composed!
The movie features other Mozart pieces including Piano Sonata in A Major, K.331 (Rondo Alla Turca), Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola and orchestra, K364, and three Divertimenti K.136, 137, 138. To hear excerpts of Mozart's music, go to this BBC webpage. To learn more about Mozart, I recommend the Teaching Company's Great Masters: Mozart—His Life and Music by Prof. Robert Greenberg. You can find the audio book in your local public library.
So now the Clarinet Concerto sounds to me forever associated with the movie "Out of Africa". Is this a good thing or a bad thing? What do you think, North Lab? I know you have been reading my blog. Surprise, surprise! The technology that enabled you to find my blog also led me to the discovery of who my readers are. Here in this blog entry dated June 11 I explained how I found it out, and why I didn't announce my embarking on blogging at the beginning. For your convenience, here is the google translation of my original entry in Chinese. Please excuse the imperfect translation by a machine.
I wrote "Thank you, my friends" because I knew you guys are reading it!
The following is just some records of your access to my blog:
xx.xx.1.56 - - [25/May/2006:07:56:05 US/Eastern]
xx.xx.2.69 - - [26/May/2006:16:36:10 US/Eastern]
xx.xx.1.56 - - [02/Jul/2006:13:23:01 US/Eastern]
xx.xx.2.69 - - [02/Jul/2006:15:06:02 US/Eastern]
Haha!
Of course Mozart wrote it for someone else. This piece was Mozart's last complete instrumental work. It was commissioned by his friend Anton Stadler, the principal clarinetist in the Court orchestra in Vienna. Mozart wrote it in the autumn of 1791, two months before his death at the age of 35, thus this concerto is sometimes described as "autumnal", a "farewell to life". In fact, Mozart himself might not have known that his days were numbered. Only if he had lived longer, how many more masterpieces he would have composed!
The movie features other Mozart pieces including Piano Sonata in A Major, K.331 (Rondo Alla Turca), Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola and orchestra, K364, and three Divertimenti K.136, 137, 138. To hear excerpts of Mozart's music, go to this BBC webpage. To learn more about Mozart, I recommend the Teaching Company's Great Masters: Mozart—His Life and Music by Prof. Robert Greenberg. You can find the audio book in your local public library.
So now the Clarinet Concerto sounds to me forever associated with the movie "Out of Africa". Is this a good thing or a bad thing? What do you think, North Lab? I know you have been reading my blog. Surprise, surprise! The technology that enabled you to find my blog also led me to the discovery of who my readers are. Here in this blog entry dated June 11 I explained how I found it out, and why I didn't announce my embarking on blogging at the beginning. For your convenience, here is the google translation of my original entry in Chinese. Please excuse the imperfect translation by a machine.
I wrote "Thank you, my friends" because I knew you guys are reading it!
The following is just some records of your access to my blog:
xx.xx.1.56 - - [25/May/2006:07:56:05 US/Eastern]
xx.xx.2.69 - - [26/May/2006:16:36:10 US/Eastern]
xx.xx.1.56 - - [02/Jul/2006:13:23:01 US/Eastern]
xx.xx.2.69 - - [02/Jul/2006:15:06:02 US/Eastern]
Haha!
成长中的现代新女性
朋友的外甥女今年十岁，在国内南方一座发达的中型城市读小学四年级。前不久朋友回国，外甥女和小姨交流：
“现在流行做野蛮女友，温柔女友过时了。”
“小姨，妈妈，你们知道什么是爱情吗？”
－－“恩，这个，比较复杂。。。”
“爱情就是，当我站在一个男生面前，我的脸会红，我的心会跳，这，就是爱情。”
外甥女长得挺漂亮，还自己跑去拉了直发。外甥女会上网聊天，网名“傻恋” 。外甥女的书包里有三本课外书，两本是爱情小说。外甥女成绩好，在班里是很受欢迎的女生，有四个男生追求。其中一个男生成绩不太好，数学只得90分，外甥女说：“等你数学95分了再来找我。”
显然现在小学里早早恋现象很严重。外甥女的同学有当众接吻被老师看见的。问外甥女：“那你有没有接过吻呢？” 答：“我的嘴巴我自己负责。”
“现在流行做野蛮女友，温柔女友过时了。”
“小姨，妈妈，你们知道什么是爱情吗？”
－－“恩，这个，比较复杂。。。”
“爱情就是，当我站在一个男生面前，我的脸会红，我的心会跳，这，就是爱情。”
外甥女长得挺漂亮，还自己跑去拉了直发。外甥女会上网聊天，网名“傻恋” 。外甥女的书包里有三本课外书，两本是爱情小说。外甥女成绩好，在班里是很受欢迎的女生，有四个男生追求。其中一个男生成绩不太好，数学只得90分，外甥女说：“等你数学95分了再来找我。”
显然现在小学里早早恋现象很严重。外甥女的同学有当众接吻被老师看见的。问外甥女：“那你有没有接过吻呢？” 答：“我的嘴巴我自己负责。”
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Today
I learned two things today:
1) Without identity and money, I don't know what to do to survive. So I better not lose both at the same time.
2) I take air-conditioned working environment for granted. I should appreciate it as a privilege.
Here is what happened today:
I received a phone call from boss asking us to walk Radar. So H and I took him out around 1:20pm. On the elevator ride down, I noticed loud noise in the elevator shaft, thinking it was a noisy fan blowing. Outside, we saw a campus cop parked his car on the walkway, and went into our building. Maybe the crazy postdoc came back again, I thought.
Radar's walk was as usual. He didn't really listen to us. He went to help in a volleyball game. He sat beside people eating lunch, begging while looking cute. He smelled grass, rolled on it, and ate some, too.
We came back to find that we were having a fire drill. In fact, the basement and the sub-basement were flooded (that was the noise!). It was impossible to know how long it would take to fix it. No one was allowed to go in. We returned Radar to his mom. Now what could I do? I had no wallet on me. I had no money to buy lunch, no ID to exit the parking garage with. Luckily I had friends to borrow money from, which saved me from starving to death.
After my lunch we were told it would be another half an hour before we had any idea when we can go back. Having nothing to do, I headed to the library and read the latest People magazine, which was full of good gossips. Coming back there was another 10 minutes' wait. Finally two hours after the drill, we were allowed to go back, but the elevators wouldn't work, and the AC was off. The temperature inside was 82F (78F outside), and the air stuffy. It was the first time I preferred to work in the cold room.
So today I realized how much I depend on modern life. I really shouldn't complain. I am very privileged already.
1) Without identity and money, I don't know what to do to survive. So I better not lose both at the same time.
2) I take air-conditioned working environment for granted. I should appreciate it as a privilege.
Here is what happened today:
I received a phone call from boss asking us to walk Radar. So H and I took him out around 1:20pm. On the elevator ride down, I noticed loud noise in the elevator shaft, thinking it was a noisy fan blowing. Outside, we saw a campus cop parked his car on the walkway, and went into our building. Maybe the crazy postdoc came back again, I thought.
Radar's walk was as usual. He didn't really listen to us. He went to help in a volleyball game. He sat beside people eating lunch, begging while looking cute. He smelled grass, rolled on it, and ate some, too.
We came back to find that we were having a fire drill. In fact, the basement and the sub-basement were flooded (that was the noise!). It was impossible to know how long it would take to fix it. No one was allowed to go in. We returned Radar to his mom. Now what could I do? I had no wallet on me. I had no money to buy lunch, no ID to exit the parking garage with. Luckily I had friends to borrow money from, which saved me from starving to death.
After my lunch we were told it would be another half an hour before we had any idea when we can go back. Having nothing to do, I headed to the library and read the latest People magazine, which was full of good gossips. Coming back there was another 10 minutes' wait. Finally two hours after the drill, we were allowed to go back, but the elevators wouldn't work, and the AC was off. The temperature inside was 82F (78F outside), and the air stuffy. It was the first time I preferred to work in the cold room.
So today I realized how much I depend on modern life. I really shouldn't complain. I am very privileged already.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Dialogue between a Soccer Fan and a Soccer Ignorant
My 100th post, I dedicate it to the World Cup!
The following happened earlier today, between A Friend and me. A Friend OKed the publication of her views on my blog.
A: I agree with Milan, that it should not have been a penalty but should have been a yellow card for the Italians.
Sent at 6:55 PM on Tuesday
me: that's too bad. but the referees had to depend on what they saw in real time, not the replays. so maybe we should allow errors in their judgment?
Sent at 7:00 PM on Tuesday
A: well, in this world cup, it is always the shameless who wins, it is no longer about playing football, but about intrigue and cheating. If this is allowed to go on, football will lose its appeal
me: yes, that is true. but isn't this life? haven't you seen the ugly side of this world?
A: well, we chose a field where there is after all a little truth left, right?
at least truth is what we are looking to find out as scientists
it is at least not entirely about winning
me: yes. at least there is a way to test whether it is truth or not, by many other followers. but there is politics in science, too. don't forget that
A: i don't need a complete justice. If water is too clear, there's no fish...
but this world cup is too much...the referees are so dumb and the players are so cunning
me: right. sometimes we need the conflicts to make life more interesting
Sent at 7:06 PM on Tuesday
me: the only game i watched was one women's final between China and USA in LA. We lost.
i still don't know the rules
A: they are shameless, but not even close to any of the teams in this WC
Sent at 7:08 PM on Tuesday
me: this is only soccer. don't be too serious. that was what i learned after following last year's Super Girl. It's only entertainment
A: haha
we learn life from this, and we appreciate our career from this.
me: that's why we choose to remain in the ivory tower
A: but to tell you the truth, it is not that I do not know how to play dirty, I just don't care to do it
me: haha
A: but when it concerns people I like, such as van Basten,Beckham (1998) or the spanish team in 2002 I felt sad for them
me: i can't believe i am chatting with you about soccer, which i know nothing about
A: you don't need to know too much to appreciate the dirtiness of it
me: except maybe Beckham, but for his looks than his skill
A: in 1998 he was given a red card after Argentin player tricked him into it
me: that's shocking!
A: he had to carry all the guilt of England's elimination.
that was why I liked Beckham
I felt so sympathetic
me: hmm, now i feel i know him better
A: that is why I like van Basten too, his career was cut short because dirty italian defenders kicked him handicapped
me: what?
A: Well beckham has lost all his innocence nowadays
me: but he is very handsome
A: who?
me: van basten
A: well, when he was young he was not handsome at all.
but he was a fantastic player with very good sport ethics
me: this must be the glamor of a mature man
A: the intensity of a scorpio
me: oh, i don't believe in those horoscopes
A: Ha, but he is such a characteristic scorpio. He, Pele and Maradona are all scorpios. The greatest footballers of all times!
me: i see. btw, i think we are having a great chat on soccer. can i put it in my blog, to be my sole post on the Cup?
are you there?
A: ok
me: great!
On Holland-Portugal match:
me: from all i heard, Dutch did a good job, but lost. Maybe I am biased
A: well, dutch didn't do a good job
they fell into the trick of the Portugese immediately. According to
Alexi it is so funny that they would just fell into the trick
people like Alexi knows about a game even though he is not a dutch fan
the problem is that the dutch were not given an opportunity to play football.
the russian referee is very naive
me: haha
On CCTV sports announcer
A: while I thought Huang was good, he has proven himself to be the biggest fool
me: what a joke!
The following happened earlier today, between A Friend and me. A Friend OKed the publication of her views on my blog.
A: I agree with Milan, that it should not have been a penalty but should have been a yellow card for the Italians.
Sent at 6:55 PM on Tuesday
me: that's too bad. but the referees had to depend on what they saw in real time, not the replays. so maybe we should allow errors in their judgment?
Sent at 7:00 PM on Tuesday
A: well, in this world cup, it is always the shameless who wins, it is no longer about playing football, but about intrigue and cheating. If this is allowed to go on, football will lose its appeal
me: yes, that is true. but isn't this life? haven't you seen the ugly side of this world?
A: well, we chose a field where there is after all a little truth left, right?
at least truth is what we are looking to find out as scientists
it is at least not entirely about winning
me: yes. at least there is a way to test whether it is truth or not, by many other followers. but there is politics in science, too. don't forget that
A: i don't need a complete justice. If water is too clear, there's no fish...
but this world cup is too much...the referees are so dumb and the players are so cunning
me: right. sometimes we need the conflicts to make life more interesting
Sent at 7:06 PM on Tuesday
me: the only game i watched was one women's final between China and USA in LA. We lost.
i still don't know the rules
A: they are shameless, but not even close to any of the teams in this WC
Sent at 7:08 PM on Tuesday
me: this is only soccer. don't be too serious. that was what i learned after following last year's Super Girl. It's only entertainment
A: haha
we learn life from this, and we appreciate our career from this.
me: that's why we choose to remain in the ivory tower
A: but to tell you the truth, it is not that I do not know how to play dirty, I just don't care to do it
me: haha
A: but when it concerns people I like, such as van Basten,Beckham (1998) or the spanish team in 2002 I felt sad for them
me: i can't believe i am chatting with you about soccer, which i know nothing about
A: you don't need to know too much to appreciate the dirtiness of it
me: except maybe Beckham, but for his looks than his skill
A: in 1998 he was given a red card after Argentin player tricked him into it
me: that's shocking!
A: he had to carry all the guilt of England's elimination.
that was why I liked Beckham
I felt so sympathetic
me: hmm, now i feel i know him better
A: that is why I like van Basten too, his career was cut short because dirty italian defenders kicked him handicapped
me: what?
A: Well beckham has lost all his innocence nowadays
me: but he is very handsome
A: who?
me: van basten
A: well, when he was young he was not handsome at all.
but he was a fantastic player with very good sport ethics
me: this must be the glamor of a mature man
A: the intensity of a scorpio
me: oh, i don't believe in those horoscopes
A: Ha, but he is such a characteristic scorpio. He, Pele and Maradona are all scorpios. The greatest footballers of all times!
me: i see. btw, i think we are having a great chat on soccer. can i put it in my blog, to be my sole post on the Cup?
are you there?
A: ok
me: great!
On Holland-Portugal match:
me: from all i heard, Dutch did a good job, but lost. Maybe I am biased
A: well, dutch didn't do a good job
they fell into the trick of the Portugese immediately. According to
Alexi it is so funny that they would just fell into the trick
people like Alexi knows about a game even though he is not a dutch fan
the problem is that the dutch were not given an opportunity to play football.
the russian referee is very naive
me: haha
On CCTV sports announcer
A: while I thought Huang was good, he has proven himself to be the biggest fool
me: what a joke!
Monday, June 26, 2006
《山楂树之恋》和《穆斯林的葬礼》
这两部都是让我哭得一塌糊涂的文学作品。前者是刚刚看完，后者是很多年前的事了。
一个月前Y给我推荐了这部《山楂树之恋》，当时的那个联接很乱，我一看有四十七章，又没有找到头，就略过不看了。没想到Y三番两次问我看了没有，说特别地感人，而且是真人真事。我的好奇心在上周五被勾了起来，从傍晚时分开始断断续续地看。一开始故事并没有什么特别之处，无非是女主角遇见了男主角，可是这男主角的职业引起了我的兴趣。男主角在勘探队工作。我的父母都是地质队员，我很小的时候还跟爸爸上过钻井。然后看到第五六章以后就非常想知道故事会如何发展。头天晚上看了二十章，第二天爬起来饭都不吃接着看，直看得我痛哭两三回，果然是Y所说的感人至深。
不知为什么，这个纯真而悲怆的爱情故事让我想起了我高中毕业那年暑假听的霍达的《穆斯林的葬礼》。这里的小主人公新月刚刚考上北大要去读西语系。同样的年龄，同样的经历，我很容易就被吸引住了。两本书里我都很喜欢看男女主角相恋的情节，自然而然，纯洁美丽。然而悲剧反而更有感染人的力量。不能完整的爱情更加地让人扼腕叹息。当新月陨落的时候，十七岁的我在那个夏天里觉得是如此的寒冷，如到了世界末日。上周六读到老三离去的时候，我也是一样的为静秋悲伤，但我的心中却还存着希望。也许是我成熟了吧。也许是因为老三对静秋说过"我要你为我们好好地活着”。
爱是如此地不容易。折断翅膀的爱是如此的美丽，让人如此地痛心。也许所有的爱都是如此美丽的吧，只是不要让习惯蒙上了你的眼睛。
我的这个博客叫“Liebestraum”，是“爱之梦”的意思。写了这么九十多篇了，总算点一下题了。谁让我不是文学青年呢。
好了，感慨发完了，比我在脑子里想的要短。主要原因是，想得快，忘得更快。
一个月前Y给我推荐了这部《山楂树之恋》，当时的那个联接很乱，我一看有四十七章，又没有找到头，就略过不看了。没想到Y三番两次问我看了没有，说特别地感人，而且是真人真事。我的好奇心在上周五被勾了起来，从傍晚时分开始断断续续地看。一开始故事并没有什么特别之处，无非是女主角遇见了男主角，可是这男主角的职业引起了我的兴趣。男主角在勘探队工作。我的父母都是地质队员，我很小的时候还跟爸爸上过钻井。然后看到第五六章以后就非常想知道故事会如何发展。头天晚上看了二十章，第二天爬起来饭都不吃接着看，直看得我痛哭两三回，果然是Y所说的感人至深。
不知为什么，这个纯真而悲怆的爱情故事让我想起了我高中毕业那年暑假听的霍达的《穆斯林的葬礼》。这里的小主人公新月刚刚考上北大要去读西语系。同样的年龄，同样的经历，我很容易就被吸引住了。两本书里我都很喜欢看男女主角相恋的情节，自然而然，纯洁美丽。然而悲剧反而更有感染人的力量。不能完整的爱情更加地让人扼腕叹息。当新月陨落的时候，十七岁的我在那个夏天里觉得是如此的寒冷，如到了世界末日。上周六读到老三离去的时候，我也是一样的为静秋悲伤，但我的心中却还存着希望。也许是我成熟了吧。也许是因为老三对静秋说过"我要你为我们好好地活着”。
爱是如此地不容易。折断翅膀的爱是如此的美丽，让人如此地痛心。也许所有的爱都是如此美丽的吧，只是不要让习惯蒙上了你的眼睛。
我的这个博客叫“Liebestraum”，是“爱之梦”的意思。写了这么九十多篇了，总算点一下题了。谁让我不是文学青年呢。
好了，感慨发完了，比我在脑子里想的要短。主要原因是，想得快，忘得更快。
Saturday, June 24, 2006
山楂树--苏联歌曲
歌声轻轻荡漾在黄昏的水面上,
暮色中的工厂已发出闪光,
列车飞快地奔驰,
车窗的灯火辉煌.
山楂树下两青年在把我盼望.
当那嘹亮的汽笛声刚刚停息,
我就沿着小路向树下走去.
轻风吹拂不停,
在茂密的山楂树下,
吹乱了青年旋工和铁匠的头发.
白天在车间见面,我们多亲密,
可是晚上相见却沉默不语.
夏天晚上的星星看着我们,
却不明白告诉我,他俩谁可爱.
秋天大雁歌声已消失在远方,
大地已经盖上了一片白霜.
但是在这条崎岖的山间小路上
我们三人到如今还彷徨在树旁.
他们谁更适合于我心中的意愿?
我却没法分辨,我终日不安.
他们勇敢又可爱呀,人都一个样,
亲爱的山楂树呀,我请你帮个忙!
啊,茂密的山楂树呀,
白花满树开放;
啊,山楂树山楂树,
你为何要悲伤
哦,最勇敢,最可爱呀,到底是哪一个?
哦,山楂树山楂树呀,请你告诉我.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Scooper Bowl
June 6, 2006, I contributed $7 to the Jimmy Fund. In return, I ate as much ice cream as I could that day. I had 8 (small) cups. Of course, dinner was no longer necessary that evening.
This might be the third time I went to Scooper Bowl. It felt satisfying to donate money to cancer research. It felt equally satisfying to taste all kinds of ice creams.
To see a gallery of this event on Boston.com, click here. The following pictures are my shots.
According to Boston.com, this guy had 35 cups of ice cream. He is 17-year-old Adam Carlson from Medway.
Haagen-Dazs stand. My favorite here was Pineapple Coconut.
WB56 was here.
看谁拍谁。
Cows next to the Scooper Bowl. This one is Vincent's Cow.
Harvest Cow.
Celestial Cow.
Celestial Cow, Detail.
This might be the third time I went to Scooper Bowl. It felt satisfying to donate money to cancer research. It felt equally satisfying to taste all kinds of ice creams.
To see a gallery of this event on Boston.com, click here. The following pictures are my shots.
People inside the entrance.
According to Boston.com, this guy had 35 cups of ice cream. He is 17-year-old Adam Carlson from Medway.
Haagen-Dazs stand. My favorite here was Pineapple Coconut.
WB56 was here.看谁拍谁。
Cows next to the Scooper Bowl. This one is Vincent's Cow.
Harvest Cow.
Celestial Cow.
Celestial Cow, Detail.Friday, June 16, 2006
Memories of My Crystallographer Days
I have been to two synchrotrons in a total of 3 to 4 times. Brookhaven was closer. One time I was at X12B beamline working late past midnight. I heard my name being called in Chinese. I turned and I found the professor who taught me Protein Crystallography in colleague standing in the hallway. What a small world! He was there collecting data, too.
Another time we left Brookhaven very early in the morning to catch a ferry at Oriental Point after exhausting ourselves in the past few days at the beamline. There was still time so we went to a small family diner around the corner to grab something to eat. It was barely open. A very cute little girl asked us, "would you like some coffee?" She was probably six or seven, a little shy, but very very friendly. That was the best coffee I ever had in my life. I don't usually drink coffee, though.
One time we worked at APS in Chicago for about a week. We worked night and day and forgot to eat or didn't have time to eat. There I learned firsthand what starving-to-death really felt like.
The trip back was not uneventful, at least not for me. Those 1000 miles between Chicago and Boston took us a day and a half to drive back. We spent the night in OH, had dinner, went shopping at an outlet, and went to bed a little too late. We still got up early the next morning to start our journey home at 8am without eating breakfast. I was voted to drive the first two hours. The other labmates were all dozing off in the back. I chatted with Yi for the first half an hour and found her dozing off in the passenger’s seat, too. We were then on I80 in western PA and roadwork had reduced the interstate to one lane in the rolling hills. I felt very sleepy, too. I was driving a Ford Windstar 7-passanger minivan, with 4 other PhD candidates sleeping and liquid nitrogen dewars full of frozen crystals and some crystal trays in the back. I was really tired. I had to fight my eyelids to stay awake. In my whole driving experience I had never, and will never be, that sleepy, and I was so relieved when one of them woke up to take over from me.
Mmm, shouldn't I be reminiscing about more scientific issues?
Another time we left Brookhaven very early in the morning to catch a ferry at Oriental Point after exhausting ourselves in the past few days at the beamline. There was still time so we went to a small family diner around the corner to grab something to eat. It was barely open. A very cute little girl asked us, "would you like some coffee?" She was probably six or seven, a little shy, but very very friendly. That was the best coffee I ever had in my life. I don't usually drink coffee, though.
One time we worked at APS in Chicago for about a week. We worked night and day and forgot to eat or didn't have time to eat. There I learned firsthand what starving-to-death really felt like.
The trip back was not uneventful, at least not for me. Those 1000 miles between Chicago and Boston took us a day and a half to drive back. We spent the night in OH, had dinner, went shopping at an outlet, and went to bed a little too late. We still got up early the next morning to start our journey home at 8am without eating breakfast. I was voted to drive the first two hours. The other labmates were all dozing off in the back. I chatted with Yi for the first half an hour and found her dozing off in the passenger’s seat, too. We were then on I80 in western PA and roadwork had reduced the interstate to one lane in the rolling hills. I felt very sleepy, too. I was driving a Ford Windstar 7-passanger minivan, with 4 other PhD candidates sleeping and liquid nitrogen dewars full of frozen crystals and some crystal trays in the back. I was really tired. I had to fight my eyelids to stay awake. In my whole driving experience I had never, and will never be, that sleepy, and I was so relieved when one of them woke up to take over from me.
Mmm, shouldn't I be reminiscing about more scientific issues?
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Crystals, Crystals
I used to be an X-ray crystallographer. So when I saw pictures of crystals in New York Times, I paid attention. It was an article about table salt (sodium chloride), which usually forms the most boring crystals (in my opinion): cubic crystals. What was usually about this substance was that now people can make table salt crystallize in a rhombic dodecahedron form. To your left is a picture of such crystals.My interest in crystals went way back when I was in junior high. I read my father's college textbook on rocks and crystals in my spare time and learned there are seven crystal forms. I played with our own rock crystal: beautiful, perfectly hexagonal quartz. I was so impressed that nature could produce things so beautiful and symmetrical. Who would have known then I was going to grow crystals out of proteins and nucleic acids years later!
Even though table salt crystals are very boring, I still learned about some of its properties today. I always thought that the reason salt grains sticking to each other (caking) in humid weather was because there was impurity such as calcium salt. In fact, caking is believed to occur as a result of formation of solid intercrystalline bridges. A cubic crystal provides large intercrystalline surface area of contacts, thus the stickier it will be when caking happens. So the way to solve the caking problem is to produce a non-cubic table salt crystal.
To achieve that goal, scientists in India have used glycine as a crystal habit modifier in saturated sodium chloride solution. The result, "round" crystals!
Crystallization seems to be an art rather than science. There are so many tricks that you can try to coerce your favorite molecules to form crystals, but there are way more conditions that will lead you to nowhere. It is amazing that an amino acid can dramatically change the behavior of NaCl in crystals. God knows how many different compounds people have tried to altogether. At least here, they've found a use for NaCl in this new crystal form: easily dispensed salt from a saltshaker.
To learn more about crystals, click here and here.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
网络这个江湖
自从安装了计数器以后，我对朋友们浏览我的博客的习性有了一定了解。可这个计数器并不能纪录所有的IP，所以我每天就对着几个寥寥可数的IP，感叹着知我 者谁谁谁了。我那个whois命令也不能告诉我具体的谁是谁，尤其是和我一个楼的，我这个机盲就更不知从何下手了。当我发现有四个同楼的苹果机的IP时， 我迷惑了，难道不成是二楼的一位朋友用四台机器看？不可思议！
那天装了Google的个性化主页，放了个IP浏览器，敲进去同楼的苹 果机的IP，我的神哎，居然是同试验室的机器！具体的说，是米兰的机器！我晕！当初 刚开博客的时候是想告诉同事们的，可是一时发懒，时间就越拖越久，到现在就不知道该怎么告诉了。可米兰是怎么发现我的博客的呢？这简直是不可能的！哪儿都 没有任何有关我的个人信息啊！
脑子里有了迷惑是一件伤神的事情。我百般不得其解，Jade也说不是她告诉的。我又不好直接去问米兰，万一要不是他呢，我不就自己告诉他 了吗？昨天我忽然开了窍，就我那个网上弄的免费 的计数器都可以告诉我每个IP是通过什么途径到达我的博客的，那米兰的博客的服务器就是我们自己的计算机，这些信息对他来说岂不是易如反掌了吗？而另一个不可缺 少的重要环节就是，我在我的博客上提供了他的连接！我的读者从我的主页进入他的博客就这样被我们的服务器忠实的纪录了下来。查看这些信息对米兰，大卫这些电脑迷们来说简直是想都不用想的事情，就我这一点雕虫小技还是他们言传身教的呢。
所以说，人在网络这个江湖，必然留下踪迹。结论就是，千万别干坏事！
那天装了Google的个性化主页，放了个IP浏览器，敲进去同楼的苹 果机的IP，我的神哎，居然是同试验室的机器！具体的说，是米兰的机器！我晕！当初 刚开博客的时候是想告诉同事们的，可是一时发懒，时间就越拖越久，到现在就不知道该怎么告诉了。可米兰是怎么发现我的博客的呢？这简直是不可能的！哪儿都 没有任何有关我的个人信息啊！
脑子里有了迷惑是一件伤神的事情。我百般不得其解，Jade也说不是她告诉的。我又不好直接去问米兰，万一要不是他呢，我不就自己告诉他 了吗？昨天我忽然开了窍，就我那个网上弄的免费 的计数器都可以告诉我每个IP是通过什么途径到达我的博客的，那米兰的博客的服务器就是我们自己的计算机，这些信息对他来说岂不是易如反掌了吗？而另一个不可缺 少的重要环节就是，我在我的博客上提供了他的连接！我的读者从我的主页进入他的博客就这样被我们的服务器忠实的纪录了下来。查看这些信息对米兰，大卫这些电脑迷们来说简直是想都不用想的事情，就我这一点雕虫小技还是他们言传身教的呢。
所以说，人在网络这个江湖，必然留下踪迹。结论就是，千万别干坏事！
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
愿景
如果我不幸今年在天津参加高考的话，语文作文肯定得零分。
知道这词是什么意思吗？
———————————————————————————————————————————
天津作文题目：以《愿景》为题
《今晚报》提供：新华字典里有一个新词叫做“愿景”，请以《愿景》为题写一篇800字的议论文。
———————————————————————————————————————————
刚才在网上找了一下，发现“愿景”的意思是“对未来的愿望；发展前景；希望、愿意看到的景象”，与“愿望”是近义词。原来在港台地区使用较多，现在大陆也 用得多了。我估摸着是因为连战和宋楚瑜的访问把这个词介绍了进来，然后，外来的东西吗总是会时髦的。所以现在有“公司愿景”、“企业愿景”、“学校愿景” 等，强调公司、企业、学校发展的战略方向和前景。
这才几年的功夫啊，我还算是紧跟网络潮流的呢，居然连这个词都不懂。只学会了沙发，板凳，玉米，凉粉之类的东东。都是因为我平常不看政治新闻，所以这个高尚的词还是在高考题里才看到。我想我现在的水平都不如中学生了。
下面是从网上抄来的高考作文题。我没一个能得及格分。羞愧！
———————————————————————————————————————————
1．北京作文题目：《北京的符号》
许多城市都与能代表其文化特征并具有传承价值的事物，这些事物可以称为该城市的符号。故宫、四合院式北京的符号；天桥的杂耍、胡同的小贩吆喝是北京的符 号；琉璃厂的书画、老舍的作品是北京的符号；王府井商业街、中关村科技园是北京的符号......随着时代的发展，今后还会不断涌现出新的北京符号。保留 以往的符号，创造新的符号，是北京人的心愿。
对此，请以“北京的符号”为题，写一篇文章，谈谈你的感受或看法。除诗歌外，文体不限，不少于800字
2．浙江作文题目：生有所息 生无所息
《列子》：子贡倦于学，告仲尼曰："愿有所息。"仲尼曰："生无所息！"
《现代汉语词典》中，"生"解释为："生存、活"，"生命"，"具有生命力的"；"息"解释为："休息、停止"。
生无所息，即是指只要生存于这个物质世界上、还具有生命力的物质或是有生命的物质都不会停止活动（运动）。
3．江苏作文题目
鲁迅说，世界上本没有路，走的人多了，就成了路。也有人说，世界上本来有路， 走的人多了，反而没路了……请以“人与路”为题写一篇800字的作文。
4．湖南作文题目
以"谈意气"为题,写一篇议论文
5．安徽作文题目：《读》
社会是一本书，人是一本书，自然是一本书，父母同学都是一本书。“读”是了解，是探索，是超越，从读书中能够思索、感悟和品味，以“读”字为题写篇作文，文体不限，800字以上
6．上海《我想握住你的手》
7．天津作文题目：以《愿景》为题
《今晚报》提供：新华字典里有一个新词叫做“愿景”，请以《愿景》为题写一篇800字的议论文。
8．湖北作文题目
《楚天都市报》提供：成语：三思而后行，三人行必有我师焉、举一反三……，从以上带“三”字的成语中，能给你什么启示？
9.全国卷Ⅰ作文题目
一只鹰抓了一只羊，被一只乌鸦看到了，乌鸦想学鹰抓羊，由于能力不够，结果被牧羊人抓到了。
根据对材料的理解，写一篇作文
10.全国卷Ⅱ作文题目
目前中国读书的人越来越少：99年为60%，01年为52%。造成这个原因是多方面的。现在的人为什么不读书？中年人说没时间，青年人说不习惯。还有的人 说买不起书。相反网上阅读的人越来越多：99年是3.7%，03年是18.3%。请你根据材料选择一个侧面和一个角度，自己确定题目和问题，字数800 字。
11.山东作文题目
有一首诗，诗的大意如下：“当人们在地球上仰望星空的时候，把星星当做宝石，认为它光洁无瑕，当踏上星星却发现它布满了尘埃、土渣，和地球一样的复杂”，请以此为题，写一篇除诗歌之外的作文。
12.广东卷：雕刻心中的天使。
一个雕刻家，正在一刀一刀地雕刻一块尚未成形的大理石，渐渐地，脑袋、肩膀都露出来了，雕出了一个美丽的天使。一个小女孩看到了，问：你怎么知道天使藏在石头里？雕刻家说：石头里本没有天使，但我是用心在雕刻。请以雕刻心中的天使的为题，写800字
13.江西作文题目
“雨燕减肥”－“小雨燕长大快要离开窝的时候，必须努力减肥，这样才能平稳的飞起来。”请以此为素材，写一篇作文。
14.福建作文题目
创新思维课堂上，同学们各抒己见，先挑出3个比较有意思的话题：
①诸葛亮借箭未满十万支
②戈多来了
③留下一点空白
请同学们任意选择一个作为话题，题目自拟，体裁自选，不少于800字。
15.重庆卷
小作文：车站一瞥，请写一篇描述性的文章，200字。
大作文：走与停是生活中常见的现象，会引发我们对自然、社会、历史、人生的思考和联想，请以“走与停”为题，写一篇600字的作文，文体不限，诗歌除外
16.四川卷
生活中，有许多疑问，有人好问，有人不好问，以问为话题，写一篇不少于800字的文章
17.辽宁卷
作文题目为：肩膀
知道这词是什么意思吗？
———————————————————————————————————————————
天津作文题目：以《愿景》为题
《今晚报》提供：新华字典里有一个新词叫做“愿景”，请以《愿景》为题写一篇800字的议论文。
———————————————————————————————————————————
刚才在网上找了一下，发现“愿景”的意思是“对未来的愿望；发展前景；希望、愿意看到的景象”，与“愿望”是近义词。原来在港台地区使用较多，现在大陆也 用得多了。我估摸着是因为连战和宋楚瑜的访问把这个词介绍了进来，然后，外来的东西吗总是会时髦的。所以现在有“公司愿景”、“企业愿景”、“学校愿景” 等，强调公司、企业、学校发展的战略方向和前景。
这才几年的功夫啊，我还算是紧跟网络潮流的呢，居然连这个词都不懂。只学会了沙发，板凳，玉米，凉粉之类的东东。都是因为我平常不看政治新闻，所以这个高尚的词还是在高考题里才看到。我想我现在的水平都不如中学生了。
下面是从网上抄来的高考作文题。我没一个能得及格分。羞愧！
———————————————————————————————————————————
1．北京作文题目：《北京的符号》
许多城市都与能代表其文化特征并具有传承价值的事物，这些事物可以称为该城市的符号。故宫、四合院式北京的符号；天桥的杂耍、胡同的小贩吆喝是北京的符 号；琉璃厂的书画、老舍的作品是北京的符号；王府井商业街、中关村科技园是北京的符号......随着时代的发展，今后还会不断涌现出新的北京符号。保留 以往的符号，创造新的符号，是北京人的心愿。
对此，请以“北京的符号”为题，写一篇文章，谈谈你的感受或看法。除诗歌外，文体不限，不少于800字
2．浙江作文题目：生有所息 生无所息
《列子》：子贡倦于学，告仲尼曰："愿有所息。"仲尼曰："生无所息！"
《现代汉语词典》中，"生"解释为："生存、活"，"生命"，"具有生命力的"；"息"解释为："休息、停止"。
生无所息，即是指只要生存于这个物质世界上、还具有生命力的物质或是有生命的物质都不会停止活动（运动）。
3．江苏作文题目
鲁迅说，世界上本没有路，走的人多了，就成了路。也有人说，世界上本来有路， 走的人多了，反而没路了……请以“人与路”为题写一篇800字的作文。
4．湖南作文题目
以"谈意气"为题,写一篇议论文
5．安徽作文题目：《读》
社会是一本书，人是一本书，自然是一本书，父母同学都是一本书。“读”是了解，是探索，是超越，从读书中能够思索、感悟和品味，以“读”字为题写篇作文，文体不限，800字以上
6．上海《我想握住你的手》
7．天津作文题目：以《愿景》为题
《今晚报》提供：新华字典里有一个新词叫做“愿景”，请以《愿景》为题写一篇800字的议论文。
8．湖北作文题目
《楚天都市报》提供：成语：三思而后行，三人行必有我师焉、举一反三……，从以上带“三”字的成语中，能给你什么启示？
9.全国卷Ⅰ作文题目
一只鹰抓了一只羊，被一只乌鸦看到了，乌鸦想学鹰抓羊，由于能力不够，结果被牧羊人抓到了。
根据对材料的理解，写一篇作文
10.全国卷Ⅱ作文题目
目前中国读书的人越来越少：99年为60%，01年为52%。造成这个原因是多方面的。现在的人为什么不读书？中年人说没时间，青年人说不习惯。还有的人 说买不起书。相反网上阅读的人越来越多：99年是3.7%，03年是18.3%。请你根据材料选择一个侧面和一个角度，自己确定题目和问题，字数800 字。
11.山东作文题目
有一首诗，诗的大意如下：“当人们在地球上仰望星空的时候，把星星当做宝石，认为它光洁无瑕，当踏上星星却发现它布满了尘埃、土渣，和地球一样的复杂”，请以此为题，写一篇除诗歌之外的作文。
12.广东卷：雕刻心中的天使。
一个雕刻家，正在一刀一刀地雕刻一块尚未成形的大理石，渐渐地，脑袋、肩膀都露出来了，雕出了一个美丽的天使。一个小女孩看到了，问：你怎么知道天使藏在石头里？雕刻家说：石头里本没有天使，但我是用心在雕刻。请以雕刻心中的天使的为题，写800字
13.江西作文题目
“雨燕减肥”－“小雨燕长大快要离开窝的时候，必须努力减肥，这样才能平稳的飞起来。”请以此为素材，写一篇作文。
14.福建作文题目
创新思维课堂上，同学们各抒己见，先挑出3个比较有意思的话题：
①诸葛亮借箭未满十万支
②戈多来了
③留下一点空白
请同学们任意选择一个作为话题，题目自拟，体裁自选，不少于800字。
15.重庆卷
小作文：车站一瞥，请写一篇描述性的文章，200字。
大作文：走与停是生活中常见的现象，会引发我们对自然、社会、历史、人生的思考和联想，请以“走与停”为题，写一篇600字的作文，文体不限，诗歌除外
16.四川卷
生活中，有许多疑问，有人好问，有人不好问，以问为话题，写一篇不少于800字的文章
17.辽宁卷
作文题目为：肩膀
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Ruby And Radar
Friday, June 02, 2006
DNA Repair Blues
Written and Performed by Prof. Walker
June 1, 2006
Cape Codder Resort
Oops, you'll hear our voices in the track. Forgot I was recording!
My voice sounds weird.
June 1, 2006
Cape Codder Resort
Oops, you'll hear our voices in the track. Forgot I was recording!
My voice sounds weird.
看Google把我翻成了什么
今天发现有人从搜索“油画，+2008-北京” (http://www.google.com/search?q=%E6%B2%B9%E7%94%BB%EF%BC%8C+2008-%E5%8C%97%E4%BA%AC&hl=en&lr=&start=20&sa=N)进入了我的博客，我也好奇自己试了一把，然后就用Google translate this page.没把我给笑翻了。尤其喜欢这个 “闺 honey ”！还有“Good 吧”，“hair 泽 东”。感觉非常Chinglish.
可以原谅，只是beta版。
———————————————————————————————————————
Oil picture <<>>
First next 见 过 这 width picture and 觉 profitable picture profit before the 几 个 month 很 good. 调 侃 说 这 right “闺 honey “most good mark solution on this 时 certain Hiroshi customer 释, everyone 说 呢?
Now genius intellectual road 这 picture name 为 <<>>, writer right 刘 溢. 这 right possession 关 此 picture point mediating/helping 绍.
May 29th 补: Good 吧, 给 你 们 这 些 懒 profitable 按 连 connection same study 们 work 些 mediating/helping 绍:
2008 Beijing 举 办 inner part 运 meeting. 咱 The chinese possession 咱 self Games--麻 military officer. Picture village small mother-in-law daughter 们 possession 为 摸 Ryo one secondary good 牌 而 high 兴, possession resident in underside 做 one 些 small 动 work, possession possession 些 annoyance and possession engaging in 彻 bottom 晕 greens. On 墙 还 挂 arrival one 标 associate phase: 孙 Nakayama, Jiang Jieshi, hair 泽 东 mark neutralization. 这 picture 其 实 right Chinese 现 condition copying illumination: Possession one secondary good 牌, 经 济 main point 腾 飞. Yes 旁 边 mark 佣 human model/imitation 样 the mark small woman 孩, 她 做 Ryo 很 eventfulness, you attach and come out Ryo 很 multi efforts, 却 merely the talent 做 佣 person, the double suicide possession non- 满, hand village possession bundle water fruit sword, the right non- 稳 fixed mark social cause element. Picture village room house destruction old, river village capital right stone 头. 咱 们 Mark reformation 还 right “摸 arrival stone 头 过 river “.
可以原谅，只是beta版。
———————————————————————————————————————
Oil picture <<>>
First next 见 过 这 width picture and 觉 profitable picture profit before the 几 个 month 很 good. 调 侃 说 这 right “闺 honey “most good mark solution on this 时 certain Hiroshi customer 释, everyone 说 呢?
Now genius intellectual road 这 picture name 为 <<>>, writer right 刘 溢. 这 right possession 关 此 picture point mediating/helping 绍.
May 29th 补: Good 吧, 给 你 们 这 些 懒 profitable 按 连 connection same study 们 work 些 mediating/helping 绍:
2008 Beijing 举 办 inner part 运 meeting. 咱 The chinese possession 咱 self Games--麻 military officer. Picture village small mother-in-law daughter 们 possession 为 摸 Ryo one secondary good 牌 而 high 兴, possession resident in underside 做 one 些 small 动 work, possession possession 些 annoyance and possession engaging in 彻 bottom 晕 greens. On 墙 还 挂 arrival one 标 associate phase: 孙 Nakayama, Jiang Jieshi, hair 泽 东 mark neutralization. 这 picture 其 实 right Chinese 现 condition copying illumination: Possession one secondary good 牌, 经 济 main point 腾 飞. Yes 旁 边 mark 佣 human model/imitation 样 the mark small woman 孩, 她 做 Ryo 很 eventfulness, you attach and come out Ryo 很 multi efforts, 却 merely the talent 做 佣 person, the double suicide possession non- 满, hand village possession bundle water fruit sword, the right non- 稳 fixed mark social cause element. Picture village room house destruction old, river village capital right stone 头. 咱 们 Mark reformation 还 right “摸 arrival stone 头 过 river “.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
From Hyannis, My Dinner
I'm still in a shock from uptaking too much protein...
六月二日补：突然写不了英文了。只好用中文：我的晚餐包括：（Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ ｗｏｒｋｓ ａｇａｉｎ！）
ａ ｃｕｐ ｏｆ ｃｌａｍ ｃｈｏｗｄｅｒ ＋ｃｒａｃｋｅｒｓ
ｓｏｍｅ ｇｒｅｅｎ ｓａｌａｄ
ｓｏｍｅ ｈｏｍｅ ｆｒｉｅｓ
ｓｗｅｅｔ ｃｏｒｎ ｏｎ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｂ
ａ ｓｍａｌｌ ｃｏｒｎ ｂｒｅａｄ
４ ｃｌａｍｓ
ａ ｌｏｂｓｔｅｒ
ｉｎ ｔｈａｔ ｏｒｄｅｒ．
Ｊａｄｅ＇ｓ ｄｉｎｎｅｒ：ｐｒｅｔｔｙ ｍｕｃｈ ｔｈｅ ｓａｍｅ ａｓ ｍｉｎｅ． Ｓｈｅ ａｌｓｏ ｈａｄ ｓｏｍｅ ｒｏａｓｔｅｄ ｂａｂｙ ｓｐａｒｅ ｒｉｂｓ．
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
How Yogurt Is Made
I like yogurt, but I never asked myself how it was made. I saw the label “with live cultures” on the yogurt container all the time. Until last Saturday when I sat down to consume a 6-oz 8% fat yogurt did I notice “with active acidophilus and bifidus cultures” on the outside. The biologist side got of me and I read the ingredients carefully and learned that it contained S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and bifidus.
In the Food Section of today’s New York Times there is an article about the sequencing of the Lactobacillus bulgaricus genome and how the bacterium had evolved to adapt to living in milk to make yogurt. This organism now only digests lactose, the main sugar in milk, and has lost its ability to metabolize other sugars. That is amazing, giving that people only discovered how to make yogurt about 5000 years ago in the Balkans and the Middle East. Yogurt is made when the above-mentioned stains of bacteria break down lactose to lactic acid that acidifies the milk and makes it to clot. This acidified environment also prevents other strains of bacteria from growing. The yogurt culture further breaks down lactic acid to glucose and galactose, giving yogurt its sweet taste.
So if you want to try to make yogurt at home, here is a recipe (borrowed from here):
1. Heat 1 liter of milk to 85 ºC and maintain at that temperature for 2 minutes. This step kills undesirable contaminant microorganisms. It also denaturizes inhibitory enzymes that retard the subsequent yogurt fermentation.
2. Cool milk in a cold water bath to 42-44 ºC. The cooling process should take about 15 minutes.
3. Add a few teaspoonfuls of the store-bought yogurt as the starter culture. Mix.
4. Cover the container to minimize the possibility of contamination. Incubate at 42ºC (in an oven) for 3 to 6 hours undisturbed until the desired custard consistency is reached. Yogurt is set when the mixture stops flowing as the container is tipped slowly.
5. Chill it and enjoy your fresh yogurt!
Guess how the 8% fat yogurt bought from Whole Foods tastes?
Sunday, May 28, 2006
油画《2008-北京》
几个月前第一次见过这幅画，觉得画得很好。当时某博客上调侃说这是“闺蜜“最好的解释，各位说呢？
今天才知道这画名为《2008-北京》，作者是刘溢。这是有关此画的一点介绍。
五月二十九日补：好吧，给你们这些懒得按连接的同学们作些介绍：
2008年北京举办奥运会。咱中国有咱自己的Games－－麻将。画里的小姑娘们有的为摸了一副好牌而高兴，有的在下面做一些小动作，有的有些迷惑，有的就彻底晕菜。墙上还挂着一标准相：孙中山，蒋介石，毛泽东的中和。这画其实是中国现状的写照：有一副好牌，经济要腾飞。可旁边的佣人模样的小女孩，她做了很多事，付出了很多努力，却只能做佣人，心中有不满，手里有把水果刀，是不稳定的社会因素。画里的房屋破旧，河里都是石头。咱们的改革还是“摸着石头过河“。
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Make Way for Ducklings
My Black & White Print from 2002Make Way for Ducklings is an award-winning children’s picture book by Robert McCloskey about a pair of mallard ducks that decide to raise their family in Boston Public Garden. It is a very well known book. Everybody in Boston knows about it. The story also features a policeman who stops traffic on the busy Beacon Street to let Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and their eight ducklings named Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack cross the street. Last year I read the book myself. The pictures were drawn extremely lovely, and the story is forever cute.
People love this story so much that in 1987 a sculpture by Nancy Schön of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings was installed in Boston Public Garden. Since then children come to hug and kiss and climb the ducks all the time that the ducks’ heads are all shining and smooth.
One Young Rider (2003)This story also happens in real life in Boston. The hotspot is BU Bridge at Memorial Drive in Cambridge. This week I stopped on green in two days to let some duck families to cross the road. All the other drivers involved in this were as patient as me, and we didn't need a policeman to direct the traffic. I felt lucky to see the ducks crossing again.
These pictures were taken in February 2004. Hands were shaking. Focus was soft. It was an old camera.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
幼稚的错误
估计昨晚博客写到太晚，觉没睡够，导致今天脑袋有点大，以至于没意识到用了错误的剂量。看到结果郁闷了两小时，本以为只会越做越好，没想到会这样。重新测量一遍，然后明白了多用了十倍。是这样子喔！虽然还得重做，可知道了为什么错。
让我想起了菠菜含铁量的故事。
让我想起了菠菜含铁量的故事。
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
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