When my alarm went off this morning, I was afraid I had overslept because my room was so bright. I checked my clock: it was indeed only 7 a.m. What's going on? ... Oh! It's not cloudy!
I turned on my computer and opened my Mac dashboard to see what the weather widget had to say about today's temperature. The weather icon for today was a dripping sun. The sun is sweating? The sun is melting? It's too early for such puzzles.
By the time I got out of the shower, things were back to normal. The sky was a dark grey-purple color and the large drops slamming against my window competed with my still dripping shower taps to drown out my online NPR headlines. Maybe I dreamt that blue sky.
I got a better idea of what that weather icon meant as I walked to work. Most of the way, I walked along the border between sunny blue skies and dark, heavy rain clouds. By the time I got to the office, the left side of me was soaked from the rain blowing sideways while my right side remained perfectly dry.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
BREAKING NEWS: Locked In!
This just in... Brenda just tried to leave our office building and wasn't allowed. She came back upstairs and informed us that a policeman outside the door yelled at her to get back in the building and wouldn't let her leave. Huh? James went down to confirm her (rather ludicrous sounding) story and returned with a garbled tale of a cop guarding our door, conceding that he might be allowed to go if he departs in the other direction. Apparently some suspicious package was found nearby. Presumably Time-Warner has hit London or some unfortunate soul is wondering where he left his briefcase this afternoon.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Chinese New Year
My internet connection at home has been unreliable lately, so this post is late. These photos are from the Chinese New Year festivities in London on Sunday. This is in Trafalgar Square, where there were lots of people but there was not much going on. We milled around with the crowd for a while. I bought a paper dragon (see below) and we waited for things to start on the stage you see here. At noon, various nameless dignitaries took turns at the microphone, thanking sponsors and organizers to a crowd that wasn't much interested and couldn't really see or hear them anyway. Eventually a dragon made it out onto the stage, but we were so cold and hungry by then that we just left and headed up to Chinatown.
Severine (on the right) is in my Chinese class and is pictured here with a couple of her friends and my dragon. We met up with her friends (with the aid of mobile phones) in Trafalgar Square.
Here's the back side of Lord Nelson and a lost balloon from the festival.
We fought and squished and squeezed our way through Chinatown, miraculously staying together. My teacher told us tonight that there were 300,000 people there--the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside of China. We gave up any hopes of obtaining food in Chinatown. On the far side, though, we found this dragon (lion? I can never tell the difference). I don't know the significance, but it would dance its way down the street, stopping at all the Chinese restaurants. The owners would hang some Chinese cabbage over the door, which the dragon would then eat before moving on. Here, the dragon is struggling to get the cabbage above the door of this restaurant.
We tried a couple of Korean restaurants near Oxford Street, but they were all closed (many places close on Sundays here). We eventually went to a Chinese restaurant on Oxford Street, where I ordered (at least partially) in Chinese!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Batter-Dipped Tofu and Ginger Sauce
I got Kathi to dig this recipe out of one of her cookbooks for me. I love it. The fresh tofu that I get at Borough Market is so good though; it seems wrong to fry it. So I just eat my tofu fresh, but my Chinese markets have not had the dipping sauce that I like lately, so I made some ginger sauce this weekend instead.
Ginger Sauce
In a small saucepan, place vinegar, sugar, 3/4 cup water, and soy sauce, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water; stir into sauce. Cook mixture, stirring until clear and thickened.
Remove pan from heat; stir in ginger.
Makes 1 cup.
Batter-Dipped Tofu
Prepare Ginger Sauce.
While it is simmering, cut tofu into 1-inch squares about 1/4-inch thick. Set aside.
In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, and seasonings.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg. Add milk and hot pepper sauce.
In a large heavy skillet, heat oil. Piece by piece, dip tofu into flour, then in egg mixture, and again in flour. Saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes on each side.
Serve warm, arranged on a platter with cocktail forks and a bowl of sauce for dipping. Surround platter with curly lettuce leaves or large sprigs of parsley.
4 to 6 servings
Ginger Sauce
- 6 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 6 Tbsp. sugar
- 3/4 c. plus 1 Tbsp. water
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. corn starch ("corn flour" here in the UK)
- 1 Tbsp. finely minced ginger root
In a small saucepan, place vinegar, sugar, 3/4 cup water, and soy sauce, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water; stir into sauce. Cook mixture, stirring until clear and thickened.
Remove pan from heat; stir in ginger.
Makes 1 cup.
Batter-Dipped Tofu
- 1 recipe Ginger Sauce (above)
- 1/2 pound firm tofu
- 1/2 c. unbleached flour
- 2 Tbsp. toasted wheat germ
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 1/4 tsp. each of: dill weed, garlic powder, paprika and black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp. milk
- 3 drops hot pepper sauce
- 2 Tbsp. safflower oil
Prepare Ginger Sauce.
While it is simmering, cut tofu into 1-inch squares about 1/4-inch thick. Set aside.
In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, and seasonings.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg. Add milk and hot pepper sauce.
In a large heavy skillet, heat oil. Piece by piece, dip tofu into flour, then in egg mixture, and again in flour. Saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes on each side.
Serve warm, arranged on a platter with cocktail forks and a bowl of sauce for dipping. Surround platter with curly lettuce leaves or large sprigs of parsley.
4 to 6 servings
Sunday, February 18, 2007
新年快乐!
新年快乐! Happy (Chinese) New Year!
Last night, my Chinese teacher invited us to her house for 饺子 (dumplings) to celebrate the Chinese New Year. She made 素饺子 (meatless dumplings) for us vegetarians (I wasn't the only one). A few of the dumplings had a date secreted inside them--if you got one with a date, it was considered good luck. Since the other vegetarian had left by that point, I didn't have much competition, but I only got one of the four, since the others hadn't been cooked. My teacher got three of the five that were in the meat dumplings, so she has a great year ahead of her. (This is my teacher, Tian Laoshi, on the right).
While there, we got to meet a couple of our teacher's other students (from the class after ours). This is Lee and his girlfriend Liane (who is the reason he is learning Chinese). We also got to meet our teacher's daughter, who is quite an exuberant teenager. She doesn't like 饺子 though, so we didn't see her for a while. When she finally came down, she was scavenging for food. Even though she was really hungry, she couldn't make herself eat the dumplings. We all thought they were delicious (很好吃) and I ate way too many.
Last night, my Chinese teacher invited us to her house for 饺子 (dumplings) to celebrate the Chinese New Year. She made 素饺子 (meatless dumplings) for us vegetarians (I wasn't the only one). A few of the dumplings had a date secreted inside them--if you got one with a date, it was considered good luck. Since the other vegetarian had left by that point, I didn't have much competition, but I only got one of the four, since the others hadn't been cooked. My teacher got three of the five that were in the meat dumplings, so she has a great year ahead of her. (This is my teacher, Tian Laoshi, on the right). 
While there, we got to meet a couple of our teacher's other students (from the class after ours). This is Lee and his girlfriend Liane (who is the reason he is learning Chinese). We also got to meet our teacher's daughter, who is quite an exuberant teenager. She doesn't like 饺子 though, so we didn't see her for a while. When she finally came down, she was scavenging for food. Even though she was really hungry, she couldn't make herself eat the dumplings. We all thought they were delicious (很好吃) and I ate way too many.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Bait-less
In Chinese class this week, our teacher told us how to say all sorts of Valentine's Day vocabulary in Chinese. In addition to "Valentine's Day" itself (literally translated as "Lover's Festival"--and, she warned us, "lover" is not a good thing), we learned how to say "roses", "chocolate", "cards" and "candelit dinner".
Most of the class seemed none too pleased to spend so much time talking about Valentine's Day. When our teacher asked one student what he was going to do, he didn't bother trying to translate (though he could have) that he was going to drink heavily. There was one student, though, who frantically scribbled everything down so that he could later try to say them to his wife.
Someone asked whether Valentine's Day is really celebrated much in China, as it surely must be an imported Western holiday. Our teacher explained that it's very popular among young students, particularly in the universities. But, for old married couples (she gave us the equivalent phrase in Chinese) like her and her husband... pfphh! She told us about a saying in Chinese: if she were to ask her husband what presents he was going to buy her for Valentine's Day, he would use this phrase which means "the bait is gone", i.e., the fish is already on the hook.
Most of the class seemed none too pleased to spend so much time talking about Valentine's Day. When our teacher asked one student what he was going to do, he didn't bother trying to translate (though he could have) that he was going to drink heavily. There was one student, though, who frantically scribbled everything down so that he could later try to say them to his wife.
Someone asked whether Valentine's Day is really celebrated much in China, as it surely must be an imported Western holiday. Our teacher explained that it's very popular among young students, particularly in the universities. But, for old married couples (she gave us the equivalent phrase in Chinese) like her and her husband... pfphh! She told us about a saying in Chinese: if she were to ask her husband what presents he was going to buy her for Valentine's Day, he would use this phrase which means "the bait is gone", i.e., the fish is already on the hook.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
No internet
A flooded electricity substation meant a loss of power all day yesterday in much of the West End, including the main campus of King's College. Classes were cancelled (though that doesn't generally affect us) and some shops were closed (which does affect us). One little newsstand shop stayed open through the evening with a couple of candles.
Walking home in the evening, one could see the line between the area that had power and that which didn't. It might not have been so obvious, because most places close after work hours in this area, except that London has incredible light pollution. Even shops that are closed usually have quite a few lights on. When I find myself walking home late at night, I'm often struck by the lack of darkness and the multi-colored clouds.
My office didn't lose power yesterday, but we had no internet connection all day. This we found tragic. It meant that we essentially had nothing to do but, well, work. They should probably cut off our internet on a regular basis.
Walking home in the evening, one could see the line between the area that had power and that which didn't. It might not have been so obvious, because most places close after work hours in this area, except that London has incredible light pollution. Even shops that are closed usually have quite a few lights on. When I find myself walking home late at night, I'm often struck by the lack of darkness and the multi-colored clouds.
My office didn't lose power yesterday, but we had no internet connection all day. This we found tragic. It meant that we essentially had nothing to do but, well, work. They should probably cut off our internet on a regular basis.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
Selective Congressional Powers
JC of The Brooklyn Go Club sent this blog entry by Glenn Greenwald out with his regular Go club mailings. I had simply assumed that Congress really could only control funding for the war, and not deployment of troops. Apparently the same Republicans who are advertising this understanding now had quite a different interpretation of their own powers when a Democrat was in the White House.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Rank Test
Karen had a link on her blog to Alexander Dinerchtein's test to determine your rank. So of course I went to check it out. Maybe I shouldn't ruin the ending, but my favourite part is the disclaimer when they give you your rank:
The whole time I was taking it, I was thinking "Huh. This is kinda hard. He's going to say I'm 10k. Oh, well." and "I should be working, not doing Go problems right now". In the end, he said I was European 3-dan, but I think my "ability to make decisions under time pressure" (or lack thereof) tends to bring my rank down 3 or 4 stones.
Please don't be disappointed if this mark is lower than your real grade.
We were mainly trying to test your understanding of the game.
Your actual rank depends on your reading skill, your ability to make decisions under time pressure, your state of health and many other factors.
The whole time I was taking it, I was thinking "Huh. This is kinda hard. He's going to say I'm 10k. Oh, well." and "I should be working, not doing Go problems right now". In the end, he said I was European 3-dan, but I think my "ability to make decisions under time pressure" (or lack thereof) tends to bring my rank down 3 or 4 stones.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Exploring
I finally got up to Camden this weekend. Camden has a slew of markets; it's probably comparable to shopping in the Village. If you want to get your Goth on, Camden is the place to go. The historic lock and the inevitable Starbucks provide a strange juxtaposition with the club-like stalls. The monstrous signs for the more permanent shops were the best part but, unfortunately, I failed to take any pictures. Maybe next time.
I was amused by the "Imported from America" items: mostly Salvation Army old little league t-shirts (and some which looked to me to be fake old kids' team shirts). It made me feel like I was back at home to run across a navy blue beat up old t-shirt with "Montauk, New York" circling the white outline of a sailboat. I was so tempted to buy it, but nostalgia was not strong enough to get me to fork over £18 for a mishapen t-shirt worn out enough to already sport a couple of holes.
I was amused by the "Imported from America" items: mostly Salvation Army old little league t-shirts (and some which looked to me to be fake old kids' team shirts). It made me feel like I was back at home to run across a navy blue beat up old t-shirt with "Montauk, New York" circling the white outline of a sailboat. I was so tempted to buy it, but nostalgia was not strong enough to get me to fork over £18 for a mishapen t-shirt worn out enough to already sport a couple of holes.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Room with a View
I gave my talk yesterday, and it actually went pretty well--I even received compliments! I was pretty nervous about it, because there are some intimidatingly big names of number theory who attend the study group. It seems a bit absurd for me to talk to them about this stuff, but it means that I actually learn at least some of it.
Being the speaker meant standing at the front of the room, with a view out the window, instead of sitting at a cramped desk, staring at the board. On the fourth floor in the centre of the city, it's a really nice view. It's always better to look from the math building than at it.
So now, after two weeks of preparation for and stress over this talk, it's back to my work.
On a completely different note, my brother informs me that the Tour de France starts in London this year! My friend Severine (who is French--I know her from my Chinese class) said that there's a town near hers in France that is advertising itself as the departure city for the Tour. I guess London doesn't count.
Being the speaker meant standing at the front of the room, with a view out the window, instead of sitting at a cramped desk, staring at the board. On the fourth floor in the centre of the city, it's a really nice view. It's always better to look from the math building than at it.
So now, after two weeks of preparation for and stress over this talk, it's back to my work.
On a completely different note, my brother informs me that the Tour de France starts in London this year! My friend Severine (who is French--I know her from my Chinese class) said that there's a town near hers in France that is advertising itself as the departure city for the Tour. I guess London doesn't count.
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