Musings of a barefoot traveller

Habitat Day 1 & 2

2010-08-19T14:52:00.003-04:00

We finally made it! We were officially saturated as of this morning, and are now full fledged aquanauts. Took a little while to get in yesterday, as the ARB crew were prepping the Habitat, so we hung out on the Research Diver and breathed in as much surface air as we could. Finally got the go-ahead at 12pm, and splashed in. This was my very 1st time inside the Habitat, so it was pretty cool stuff. Otter gave us the grand tour, ate our first packs of freeze-dried Mountain House gourmet entrees (I had the Chicken Polynesian), and set off for our first 5 hour dive to the Deep S4 site. With much efficiency (haha), we hammered in 80 bases, and cable tied on most of the cages, taking care to stay above 95ft. Came back with the fading twilight (no shiny vampires anywhere) to a hot shower and more MH goodness. If you're watching on the creepy mainlock cam, you'll think we are a bunch of pigs. We're always eating.

Not much nightlife here, though the 'live TV' was pretty interesting. The giant groupers came by and were hunting right outside the viewport. Beds are surprisingly comfy with nice warm blankets. Passed out around 10.30pm.

To squeeze the most out of our workday, we need to start diving at 7am. Tried out the MH scrambled eggs and a cup of Tazo mint tea. Did a short gazebo run before we started our dive, the fish were frisky and expectant, but no errant bites. Would be best to be quick and go.

Finished up at the S4 site, then headed over to the ridge at 45ft. Steve thinks the French angels followed us down from the gazebo, probably not fed enough and expecting more...More hammering of bases ensue. Saw a couple of eagle rays and a turtle deep. And lots of cold water upwelling that plunged the temperatures by 10 deg F each time. Brrrrr....

Lunch was MH spaghetti with meat sauce, but now I feel like a gazebo run...Just that the ARB and Freedom Star crew are outside working and it's not too convenient to pop out to the gazebo now. Damn. Gotta time this better.

Almost done with the damn bases, which is good news for my abused fingers, and will be cable tying the next couple of dives. Over and out.

Habitat training- weekend

2010-08-15T20:05:00.002-04:00

160 Vexar cages later....

Far from a relaxing pre-mission weekend. We had to cut and build 160 1x1x1ft cages out of 3 rolls of Vexar. Now with hotspots on hands and sore fingers. Not as bad as Steve though. He cut from 11am to 6pm, and might have strained a tendon in his hand. Also had to cut an additional 80 bases, and make 4 2x2x2ft cages. That's probably enough Vexar for the year. Tomorrow, we stage them all at the 2 sites we'll run the growth experiment, and drop other stuff off at the Habitat. On the plus side, there is (part of) a delicious chocolate cake in the fridge, and Chris made a delicious and authentic Italian dinner for us all.

Habitat training- Day 4/5

2010-08-13T15:22:00.002-04:00

Dives: 90ft 47min, 51ft 55min

We're done with training, and on our way to moving from Candidate status to fully fledged Aquanauts (only when we step through the wetporch and start the mission). The last two days have actually been relatively light, compared to the beginning of the week. Yesterday we were briefed on the living and working space within the Habitat, and did an orientation swim to our work sites. Only one mask off exercise while sharing air with our buddies, and not too long! Probably less than 10min.

Today the ARB crew carried out an emergency evacuation drill from the Habitat. We sat in the gazebo breathing 'oxygen' while the Habitat was on 'fire', and were all safely escorted to the surface and put on more 'oxygen'.

Up next- more mundane stuff. We have 160 Vexar cages to make, laptops to prep, clothing and gear to pack. One more drill on Tuesday, and in we go!

Habitat training- Day 3

2010-08-11T22:20:00.003-04:00

Dive: 42ft 65min

I've always considered myself a pretty calm diver. The one time I got entangled in rope underwater I managed to take off my BC, keep the regulator in my mouth, untangle myself and get on with diving. Which is why it was a strange feeling to find myself fighting the impulse to flail in the water all bug-eyed and bolt to the surface today. What happened? Let me explain.

Part of saturation diving means we don't ever touch the surface as long as we are saturated. In fact, the shallowest we could go is 40ft. Which means, no matter what happens, or how uncomfortable we feel- lost buddy, overenthusiastic BC inflator, headache, mask kicked off by buddy, etc, we DO NOT surface to reorient and regroup before going down. A new concept.

Today we find ourselves facing the one of the worst case scenarios that could happen underwater- my buddy and I have somehow lost both our masks, and also deviated from the excursion line and are lost on the reef. Argh. Instead of surfacing at a safe rate and bitching about our misfortune on the boat, we had to find the line and return to our safe haven- the Aquarius Habitat. I can truthfully say that I was pretty sad to hand over my mask to our trainer when he indicated that we should start our exercise.

Now, I hate the thought of opening my eyes underwater. Probably one of the reasons my Eskimo roll on the kayak sucks. I can count on one hand the number of times I've opened my eyes underwater in my life. There was definitely some internal pep talk before this exercise. This time wasn't just some mask clearance exercise that was over in 10s. As I hovered at 40ft, reel in hand, getting ready to start my search pattern, the sea a stinging blur of whites and blues, the pressure on my face and eyeballs, and the constant threat of seawater pushing up my nose, I was fighting the immense urge bug out completely and thrash around like a fool for my mask.

Relax. Breathe. Just through your mouth, not your nose. Keep breathing. You can do this. Most of all, I don't ever want to repeat this exercise again. First round, and we came up squat. I was asked to extend my reel-line and try again. Fingers fumbling to loosen the bolt for the reel, eyes stinging like mad from the seawater. Bubbles from the regulator stinging even worse. Finning, finning, then in the distance, I thought I saw a bright pink object floating off the reef. Pink of a rather unnatural shade. Should check it out. As I approached, a most blessed line shimmered and took shape, and I grasped it firmly in triumph. Was almost literally crying when the trainer handed us back our masks. That's seawater on your eyeballs for you.

Other tasks: shut-down drills with masks off and eyes closed, buddy breathing, sharing air, deploying safety sausage, and an orientation swim to our work site.

Habitat training- Day 2

2010-08-10T16:47:00.002-04:00

Dive: 40ft, 56min

Was a humbling day today. The combination of 5-7ft seas, diesel fumes from the boat engine, surge underwater and the mild claustrophobia I get from strapping into the doubles rig caused me to hurl violently underwater just as our instructor signalled for me to begin the 'I'm out of air, time to buddy breathe drill'. Which is probably a good thing for my buddy! I figured better to let it out than try to keep it in and hurl through Steve's regulator. To avoid me choking on my own sick, we cut short the dive and ascended, where I promptly threw up some more, and laid down in the boat with my eyes closed until we got back. Not too fond of the feeling of uselessness but didn't want to hurl over anyone or their gear...

Oh, and today we did line drills. How to use the reel without tangling and lost buddy procedures. Lots to catch up on, 2 dives tomorrow! And back on the Gatorade/strawberry diet. Booo.

Habitat training- Day 1

2010-08-09T21:44:00.002-04:00

We rolled in last night not sure what to expect, but humming with expectant energy. Briefing this morning, and then plunged headlong into aquanaut training. So this is what it feels like to be an awkward gangly student again. We got acquainted with our gear- 100's Al doubles, 50lb lift wings, and a steel backplate with Halcyon webbing, hip pouches that wrap around our upper thighs, 2 regulators. Definitely felt very strapped in during the fitting!

The swim test made me realise that I really need my regular swim sessions again. Heard that UNCW is building a new rec center with a pool, and hoping for better hours there. The swim was fine, the treading water was passable, the holding breath and swimming the length of the pool made me want to pass out.

Steeled myself to open my eyes underwater (hate doing that) after looking at the training schedule and seeing all the mask off drills we are doing, i.e. every day every dive. It wasn't too bad today, didn't sting as much as I thought. None of that strapping on gear, walking to the dive deck and jumping off. The crew helped carry our rig to the deck while we sat down and strapped on, then a very unglamourous roll into the water headfirst. Man, the rig was heavy! Had to paddle to stay afloat, and couldn't breathe on the surface without my reg. Just basic drills today- mask off, reg off, buddy breathing. We did barrel rolls, and it was interesting rolling with that much air in the BC. Felt like someone was sitting on my back the whole time, and I never carried so much air underwater before, kinda clunky, and didn't feel as effortless as usual, but certainly hope it would get better with more quality time with my rig!

Spicy butternut squash dumplings

2010-03-31T12:45:00.002-04:00

There was a big box of pre-cut buttersquash at Harris Teeter going for $0.50, and I can't resist cheap veggies and fruit. After making squash stir-fry, and squash and black-bean chili, there was still ~3 pounds of the stuff left. Went out on a limb and decided to make dumplings out of them, seeing as how I had a pack of guotie skin in the fridge as well. And they were good!

Ingredients:
~3 pounds of squash, cubed
half an onion, finely sliced
1/4 head cabbage, finely sliced
~2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp spicy Szechuan sauce
1 tbsp Hainanese chili sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
black pepper
1 pack dumpling/gyoza skin

Heat ~tbsp vegetable oil in saute pan. At medium heat, saute onions till soft, add squash, stir for a couple of minutes. Add about 1/4c water, cook until squash partially soft, add cabbage, stir. Add all seasonings, more water if necessary and cook until everything is soft. Mash the squash in the pan (I used a potato masher). Remove from heat and let cool.

Place ~1 1/2 tsp of filling in center of gyoza skin, brush edges of skin with water and seal the dumplings. Refrigerate or freeze as you wish. To cook the dumplings, heat enough oil to cover base of saute pan. Place the dumplings base down in the oil and fry at medium heat. When the base turns golden brown, put ~1/3c water into the pan and cover immediately. Let the tops steam until translucent and soft. When most of the water has dried out, prepare your dipping sauce and time to eat!!

Eh...no photos as of yet...will see if I can get any leftover tonight for photo-taking.

New(ish) car!

2010-02-28T21:42:00.003-05:00

I guess I got tired of the constant worrying about when it'll all give way, plus the transmission on the old Golf was wearing out. So I went and bought myself a new car!! Wahahahaha....

I'm a terrible blogger

2010-02-28T21:37:00.000-05:00

I never updated my blog about my Seattle trip did I? Hahaha!

Seattle Part Deux, Day 1

2010-01-02T22:11:00.002-05:00

So I find myself back in Seattle again, 10 1/2 years later. This time at least, I've decided that I can afford to take the bus now and then instead of walking all over bum-f***, and eat more than a loaf of sourdough and plain water (life as a sad and poor backpacking undergrad...unfortunately, not much has changed since then. Still staying in a hostel. So much for going back to school! Wails....). Happily though, I found a bakery in Pike's Place that sells day-old bread for $1, and the produce looks affordable, and tasty.

I still like to walk though. I like to see the slow passage of the city as it passes under my feet, and hear the sounds of the hubbub as they pass. Took in some modern art at the Olympic Sculpture Park in the morning, and plunged into the heady mix that is Pike's Place Market. Even got to see some fish slinging. Took the streetcar (it's free) to the International District to check out the Japanese grocery/department store, which is very much like a Daimaru, down to the adjoining Kinokuniya. Tried out a dimsum recommendation from Urbanspoon, and surprisingly, it wasn't too bad! The servings were generous though, and couldn't make it through more than 3 plates (the xiu mai were the size of lemons). Wish I had a eating buddy.

Wandered through Pioneer Square, which is pretty, and ducked into the Klondike museum for some warmth and a bit of gold prospecting history. Given the trials and travails the prospectors went through for that shiny yellow metal, I wonder again what the allure of this inedible, artificially valued substance is. The tiny waterfall garden is worth a visit if in the neighbourhood, and should be great for a quiet read in summer. May try to go for the underground tour later this week, depending on schedule.

The feet were starting to ache a little, so took a little detour to the public library, which really reminds me of the Singapore National Lib, except more avant garde in design. I really enjoyed the spiral section which wound through the middle of the building, completely lined with books. Stayed longer than planned when I came across the graphic novel section. Even had a nice reading corner by the glass walls of the 8th floor overlooking downtown. Superb.

It gets dark at 5pm around here. And light at 8am. Winters are kinda depressing. But, the Christmas lights were still out downtown, which gave it a rather festive air. Walked through the shopping district (I found out today Nordstrom was a Klondike prospector and started the store with the $13000 he earned), and mosied lazily back to the hostel.

No late-night clubbing for me, I'm afraid. Have been notified that I teach next Monday (I return Sunday pm), and I start with plants! Plus I haven't taught this lab yet as I was away last year when it was scheduled. Will be reviewing notes tonight, and maybe designing the lesson powerpoint :(. But, at least I'm warm and will have a hot shower tonight. Simple pleasures.

Update on the car

2009-07-13T12:00:00.002-04:00

All dried out after 2 days in the garage, constant air blowing through the a/c system and one really really hot afternoon in the sun (I think I scorched my bum for this one). Also found the answer to the problem on the internet! Ain't google something? Apparently, for those sun roof and moon roof owners, there are drainage channels from the slot corners. The front drains into the front doors, the rear drains behind the rear bumper. These channels get clogged on a periodic basis and need to be cleared. After some tweaking and getting goo-ey black stuff on my hands, water ran clear out the drains. Hooray! It poured this morning too and the car was dry. Am much pleased.

One of those days

2009-07-07T15:39:00.002-04:00

I knew the moonroof was leaky but lately it seemed to hold up fine under inclement weather and I thought it must have slotted back snugly into place. Well, I was wrong. Wilmington saw the first of the fierce storms of this year's summer last night, and when I opened the car door to drive to aikido class I saw a steady stream of water flowing down from the moonroof onto the driver's seat. 2 inches of water lay on the floor. Threw a cover over the roof with A and rescued the electronic items from the car. As I was now car-less, was contemplating my options viz. getting to aikido class. It seemed like the commuter was my best bet, and I threw on rain gear and lights and headed out. Only to find much of Wilmington flooded. Cars were stuck in ditches, a fire engine screamed down Racine Dr, thundered roared and lightning flashed overhead. All the while, I was marvelling at the bike's ability to navigate through ankle to shin-deep brown water, and roll over unseen kerbs and potholes. Water ran down my face in rivulets and streamed down through my collar. Never knock a $100 Schwinn. When I got to the dry haven of Gold's Gym, was rounded applauded by the rest of the dojo.

Car was drying today while I contemplated options. Suggestions have ranged from Vaseline to gluing the roof shut with silicone. Or I could ask the mechanic how much it would cost to replace the seal. We'll see.

More Penang recipes

2009-06-09T23:37:00.002-04:00

From the Penang Nyonya A-Ma Secret Recipes cookbook:

Assam Udang

Ingredients:
600g prawns
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, shredded
1 red chili, shredded

Seasoning:
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp plum sauce
1 tsp dark soya sauce
150g tamarind pulp, mixed with 200ml water, squeezed

1. Heat oil, saute onion and chili
2. Add prawns, stir well. Pour in seasoning, bring to boil, until sauce thickened.

Telur Belanda

1. Fry eggs until yolk half cooked
2. Fry onion and chili, add eggs, pour in seasoning (sugar, tomato sauce, plum sauce, tamarind pulp water), bring to boil
3. Cook eggs until firm.

Acar

2009-06-09T23:11:00.002-04:00

Recipe courtesy of mum :)

Ingredients:
-seasonal vegetables, can include cabbage (I think Napa would be sweet in this), cucumbers, carrots, mangkuang (jicama), longbeans, french beans, etc.
-red chili peppers and shallots, finely minced
-salt, sugar, vinegar
-crushed peanuts

Methods:
-blanch veggies (except cucumber) in boiling water with salt and dash of vinegar
-sprinkle salt on cucumber pieces
-fry veggies with chili and shallots (pinch of tumeric optional), season with salt, add sugar to taste, more vinegar to taste
-squeeze fresh limes if available
-sprinkle with crushed peanuts
TUCK IN!!

Road bike

2009-05-07T16:54:00.002-04:00

I realized I never posted a photo of my sweet Synapse! What an oversight! And I've already logged >2000km on it to boot.

Here's what it looked like before it started its journey with me (of course I've swapped the pedals for *ahem* proper ones):

Isn't she gorgeous...

Perspective

2009-05-04T12:06:00.003-04:00

The dark clouds of the reeling economy has reached the ivory towers of academia. Was looking forward to going home, and then informed that I would have to take unpaid leave if that was the case. Given the case that summer is when I get paid double, it's a multiplicative whammy- loss of my double income and an expensive air ticket home. Was agonising over the choice to be made, but mumsy put it in perspective- it boils down to one thing- which is more important to you- money or family? Well, I mean, can you seriously see me calling mum to tell her I'm not coming back this year even though I can afford the time because I might have a chance to earn more money? (She did email later on to say not to come because of the swine flu but that's another story.) So there I was, all self-pitying because I value family more than monetary gains. Turns out that the boss isn't getting paid in summer and all faculty are 'encouraged' to take 10 days unpaid leave too, plus a labmate has declined all summer pay so he has the freedom to attend medical treatment if needed. And after my extended conversation about the value of currency and the true value of things! Sometimes I worry I might turn into a self-absorbed, self-deserving person who believe all things are due to me because it is my fundamental right, but you guys will knock me on the head and keep me in check, won't you?

Pedaling for Peanuts Mountain Bike Race

2009-04-13T13:38:00.002-04:00

Kick off your summer with a mountain bike race! Pedaling for Peanuts takes place on May 31st, 2009, at the Blue Clay Bike Park, from 10am-4pm. Visit the website for a full list of race categories and fees. All proceeds benefit the Full Belly Project. Support from the local Wilmington community has been good, and we should be getting some rad prizes. There's also a Novice category for beginner mtb-ers who want to try racing. This modified 3.2mile course is not as technical as the BC main trails so theoretically, you could race it on a beach cruiser. Online registration should be open in a week or so, and check the race website for updates! It'll be fun!

The hypnotic lure of Singapore cash

2009-02-17T16:09:00.002-05:00

And you think, just because it's happening somewhere else, in someone else's backyard, it doesn't really matter. It's just going to come back and bite you in the butt one day.

Cambodia under the sandmen's spell
Since Singapore was banned from mining sand in Indonesia, the city-state – which surface area covers less than 650 km2 – is struggling to find the sand it needs for its gigantic land reclamation and construction projects. As a result, it turned to a much less discriminating country, where the buying cost of sand remains quite inexpensive, Cambodia. For the last year, the provinces of Koh Kong and Kandal have seen a heavy traffic of boats, which sometimes arrive in dozens to dredge the seabed or dig along the coasts to collect as much sand as possible and export it to Singapore...

Read the full article here.

Biking at Beaver Damn%@#$$%^#

2009-02-16T10:34:00.002-05:00

Stomp was performing within driving distance, so A and I thought it might be a good idea to drive up to Raleigh to catch the show, and get a ride in the surrounding area pre-show. Sorta a belated V-day thingy, if you will. As he has already biked Crabtree and thought it to be okay, but not too great, we decided on Beaver Dam, which has trails of decent length, rated from beginner to intermediate. Plus it's free entry before March ($5/car otherwise).

We were worried that it might rain all week, but Sunday dawned nice and sunny, cold (5-12 degC) but clear. The Outer and Inner Loops we did for a warm-up went rather smoothly, and my knee wasn't protesting too much from the strain I picked up a couple of weeks ago. A hearty lunch later, and we were raring to tackle the South Loop, all 7.3miles of it. Fell while trying to cross a log on an uphill which was off-camber, but just dusted off and rode on. Partway through the South Loop, we came across the entrance to the Drop Zone, which sounded rather intriguing, and so we checked it out. It turned out to be a series of steep downhills and rooty dips. Walked through the first double drop but decided to attempt the next steep downhill for the heck of it. You kinda have to throw yourself and the bike off the top and land somewhere in the middle not to endo. Scary as heck but I survived! heh. Was getting into the whole 'just lean back and everything will roll by fine' routine when I came across a dip with a thick network of roots at the upper lip. As I came up and out of the dip, hit the roots straight on and the bike just stalled. Unfortunately, couldn't unclip in time, and fell sideways, getting a mouthful of leaves and twigs and bashing my knee against a stump as I did so. Yowza. Tears actually sprang out of my eyes. That was the end of all mashing uphill for the rest of the ride. Which turned out to be also unfortunate, as the rest of the trail consists of numerous strenuous, rooty climbs! Argh. To top things off, my seatpost decided to wear out on me this ride and caused my seat to tilt upwards constantly, so every time I had to lean forward to climb over obstacles, the nose of the saddle would hit sensitive nether regions. Took to standing over the saddle whenever we hit rooty, rocky areas (which was often). Just as I thought my back was going to give out and my head was 2 inches from the handlebars, the sound of cars! The end of the trail! Oh joy :).

A hot shower never felt so good that night...Would I do it again? Abso-f***ing-lutely!

Kawaii!!!

2009-02-04T11:57:00.003-05:00

Was searching for mollusc photos for my class powerpoint and came across this website on Etsy. Knitted invertebrates!! They are simply adorable!! The completed versions are really expensive but the patterns are pretty affordable. Anyone out there who knows how to knit??? Check them out!

Cuttlefish
OMG! A nudibranch!! With exposed gills!
This is one of my faves- an angler-fish! Heehee

Aikido and Iaido Open House

2009-01-28T17:25:00.001-05:00

The dojo I train in will be holding an open house on Feb 21st. Finale is live blade cutting of bamboo mats. Should be exciting!

http://gardenspringwind.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/aikido-and-iaido-open-house/

Cool

2009-01-24T15:22:00.000-05:00

Flatworms Penis Fencing

It's snowing!

2009-01-20T11:02:00.002-05:00

View from my lab window at CMS

More snow

2009-01-20T06:21:00.000-05:00

Rather amusing

2008-12-10T20:59:00.001-05:00

Miserable

2008-12-03T23:04:00.003-05:00

What's the point of enduring a 17 hour car ride down to "sunny" Florida to be met with chilly gusts and cold cold nights? Gah! No respite from the colder waters of winter when I'm blasted with frigid winds upon popping my head out of the water. And though I brought my Goretex (thank heavens), I sorely miss my fleece sweater, and maybe even fleece pants and a beanie. No pay-off at the end of two weeks of tolerance too. Back to frosty Wilmington and scraping ice off car windshields in the morning...Pffff...

Well, I don't want to complain too much. Though it's gusty out, and there are white caps at Conch Reef, we have been getting our (cold) dives in, and getting work done. The vis at Conch has been pretty too, and I miss having my camera with me. I think I shan't fuss about the heat and humidity once I get to S'pore. Best to soak up all the warmth I can.

According to Singapore time, I'm...

2008-11-08T23:10:00.003-05:00

Yup ladies and laddies, today I bid goodbye to a tumultuous and eventful decade. and herald a new one. Though as I expected, it kinda feels just like any other ordinary day, like I should wake up, read (scientific) papers, and perhaps pop into the lab to measure coral skeletal linear extension in the afternoon. Something to ponder while I'm 50ft under at the Liberty wreck. Yeah, my little birthday present to myself. Crossing fingers for a shark sighting. Damn, what am I going to do without a camera???

Pumpkin Soup

2008-10-31T16:18:00.004-04:00

Haven't done a food update for some time, probably due to a lack of a camera (away in S'pore, sniff), and the fact that the people I cook for have been inhaling the food faster than I can think about recording images, hehe.

Anyway, I've been making pumpkin soup on and off for a few years now, but have always been strangely dissatisfied with the final outcome, thinking the soups lacking in depth. Today though, I think I got a winner :). Yay for blenders! Erm, it's a beautiful orange colour, but no photos due to no camera. Here's the recipe though:

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, skinned, seeded and cubed
5 small redskinned potatoes, cubed
1 medium white onion, cubed
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
Generous amount of black pepper
Dash of dried thyme
Dash of dried oregano
Salt to taste
2 dashes of heavy cream
1 tbsp margarine
For stock, I used ~1/3 cup leftover chicken stock and 2 chicken breastbones + 1 mug water. If possible, use good stock or make your own!

Method:
1. Place squash, potatoes, onion, stock and chicken bones in large soup pot. Add enough water to just cover vegetables. Bring to boil then simmer at medium-low heat for 40min or until potatoes are tender. While the mixture is simmering, add the herbs and black pepper. Add salt just before taking off the heat.

2. Remove and discard the chicken bones. Puree the cooked vegetables, the chickpeas and cooking liquid in a blender until the mixture is smooth. Return soup to pot.

3. Over medium-low heat, stir in heavy cream and margarine (or butter). Serve hot!

Serves 4. Freezes well!

treading on new ground...

2008-10-29T11:24:00.003-04:00

Being frustrated with the way my unit trusts are going and the rather dismal interest rates available (though still better than the ones in S'pore), decided to take the plunge and buy a tiny tiny minuscule stake in Apple computers! Haha. Why Apple? At least I use the brand and I'm interested in their bloody fortunes, don't really have the time and interest to check out the portfolios of xx unknown companies just to invest my savings in. As of today, my shares would earn me $100 if I sell now. Exciting I know :). Should I hold? Hehehe...Is it considered bad luck to talk about the fortunes of my stock holdings on the internet? Who knows.

In other news, it seems that I can't keep advocacy out of my life, despite moving to another country, heck, a whole new continent! Attended a public meeting yesterday about improving a major road artery in Wilmington and lobbied for bike lanes along the road. Will talk more once the plans are out!

Post-race reflections

2008-10-20T16:17:00.002-04:00

After many years of coming in dead last, or at the very best, second to last, I finally won a MTB race, hehehe! Too bad there was only 2 persons in my category...oh poo...can't always have everything. Briefly considered the Beginner's Women category, but 2 laps unprepared is a bit of a torture :). Well, the organisers were kind enough to give us both prizes for competing, and picked up a sweet pair of Schwalbe road tires (though edged with pink...but I can deal with that). A came in first in his category, and more impressively for him, he actually beat more than one other person. Probably at least 16 other guys. Also won a pair of downhill goggles in the raffle, which made me briefly consider getting into the whole downhill scene...Nah...Rode my little heart out yesterday, so am rather content, but now I have mountain bikes riding through all the convolutions of my brain!

Recovering

2008-10-01T13:44:00.002-04:00

I think it's the clipless system after all. Fell off a log pile on BC's inner loop today, which should have just resulted in a couple more bruises and contusions, but rather unfortunately landed on a stake, plus broke off a bamboo-ish plant on the way down, resulting in another fixed vertical object with a pointy end. For a small-ish scrape on my left flank, the pain is amazing. Was so blinded by pain I literally lay on the ground for a few minutes, squeezing tears from my eyes. Plus try as I may, I couldn't unclip my right foot and had to reach over my bike to remove my shoe. Just then, a couple of bikers came across me and lifted the bike off me so I could sit up. They made me promise I was going to be ok before they took off again, which was rather sweet. After some patch up work courtesy of A and Greg's 1st aid kit, hit the Juvenile Detention side again, but man, the sting of perspiration running into the scrape was killing me. So rather than bike to work today, writing from home, and trying to lean more to my right side whenever possible. What a difference a week makes...

Quote of the day

2008-09-25T13:28:00.001-04:00

"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community." -Ann Strong, Minneapolis Tribune, 1895

Bicycles are on my mind a lot these days. Can you tell?

Freedom

2008-09-23T22:37:00.003-04:00

It wasn't a very productive day today, work-wise. My favourite season of the year is upon us here, and the slight nip in the air makes me yearn for open spaces, tree canopies and singletracks. So I took A's Trek Fuel (thanks A!) out to Blue Clay today. Felt tremendous to spin hard on the trails, slog up the hills, scoot downhill without skidding for once and barrel my way around the corners and berms. Threw caution to the wind today and tried to maintain an average speed of 8-10mph. Surprisingly enough, I didn't even fall off the bike today, and cleared all the log piles that have been causing me much pain and contusions the last couple of weeks. Maybe it's because I wasn't wearing clipless shoes today, being too lazy to swap out pedals. Maybe I should just relax more, enjoy myself more and give myself more credit on the trails! Sunday seems far away...

I'm a mussel!

2008-09-23T21:54:00.002-04:00

According to the molluskan zodiac anyway. My advice for the week is not to let the bastards grind me down. Or avoid moon snails possibly...

one of those days

2008-09-03T22:40:00.004-04:00

Was caught out in the dark tonight, staying later than I thought I would. Speeding home with a borrowed rearlight for the bicycle and straining to see potholes and rough spots on the ground while clutching my bars tightly everytime a car whizzed by (almost went headlong into another cyclist who was going against traffic on the shoulder with no lights as well), was relieved to finally roll into my driveway. No sooner have I taken off my socks and set my foot down in the garage, did I impale my heel on a piece of wire. Cursing and hopping with pain in the half light, managed to pull something out of my foot, thankfully nothing barbed.

Lesson? Never assume the day will go according to plan, and my lights go into the backpack tomorrow. A head full of roiling thoughts lead to nothing but injuries and trouble. Not much I can do about that though.

Just so you know guys...

2008-08-31T23:49:00.003-04:00

Just returned from a rather..ahem...eventful field trip from Bocas del Toro, Panama. So was rather relieved to be home in familiar and comfortable surroundings. A was starting to tell me a funny story about the evening he spent with friends, who asked about my tshirt size, only to get a response from him that I'm one size up from him...

"Wait, wait, wait...you told them I'm a MEDIUM??? I'm a SMALL! I wear the same size as you!!!"

I don't even need to squeeze into a small! Arrrr.....(chews head off)...

Gah

2008-08-08T11:29:00.002-04:00

My Powerbook screen is on the blink, causing me no small amount of anguish. In the meantime, I've hooked up the laptop to Tim's monitor and am in the process of transferring all my files to the external drive. Currently in a quandary- should I get a new MacBook, given that I have an educational discount and will get a free iPod touch (by Sept 15th) and printer that I can sell off to get a further discount, or 2), buy a $5 monitor and use this laptop as a desktop at home, plus switch to using a WinDoze machine in the lab for the next few years?? There's a laptop in the lab I can use for field trips too, but it's also a dozy machine, sigh.

IYOR National Day celebrations!

2008-08-05T11:25:00.003-04:00

Improve Your Car-ma!

2008-07-21T12:56:00.002-04:00

Okay, I can't take credit for that corny phrase. Came across an ad in the Sierra magazine (yeah yeah, I'm a Sierra Club member, make of that what you will) for another auto membership club offering roadside assistance. And I always thought that AAA ran the whole show. Anyway, checked out the Better World Club, and it's pretty neat, actually offering bicycle roadside assistance (will even change your flat tire! Though I could probably do it faster on my own than wait for the help), and assisting any car their member is in instead of the member's personal vehicle only. It doesn't hurt that 1% of their revenue goes to environmental cleanup and advocacy efforts. Plus the recognition of same-sex domestic partners and an offer of a free membership to all couples (no discrimination against heterosexual marriages) getting married this summer. Cute!

Well, it's starting to sound like I'm running a free advert for them. But came across a nifty link on their website for bicycle-created soap. Was just complaining to A yesterday about how difficult it was to find mainstream cruelty-free toiletries at prices that won't bust a grad student's wallet. Voila! The bicycle comes to the rescue again, showing it can do more than transport people and shell peanuts.

Next MTB race

2008-07-21T10:51:00.001-04:00

New River 17 July 2008

2008-07-18T11:39:00.002-04:00

I've been on the move a lot the last month or so, and was anticipating a return to the daily grind of graduate life, but an offer came up yesterday that was hard to turn down! And so I decided not to run my PCRs yesterday and go for a field trip to the New River instead, to help a student with coring sediment samples from the seagrass beds and sieving them for molluscs. Turned out to be just what I needed, plus Troy decided that it was a good time to start my boat driving instruction! No, I did not hit anyone or any pilings, and I even backed the van with the boat trailer back into the parking lot. With lots of step by step advice of course, hehe. Got myself immersed in muddy water, was terrorized by a frisky scallop, and it almost felt like a vacation. Next week I try docking a boat in strong currents next to a bridge with pillars. Sounds like fun :P. Okay, back to writing...

I'm so absent-minded

2008-06-26T15:43:00.003-04:00

Biked a truncated version of Blue Clay on Sunday (was trying out a Trek Fuel, hehehehehe), and as we started packing up, raindrops descended on our heads. In the hurry to leave before we got too wet, I must have left my less than a year-old helmet and biking gloves on top of Wendy's car. Sighs. Went back to next day but no sign of either, not even crushed silver powder on the roads. Am severely bummed out!!

Seem to be deep in a flurry of bike-related purchases. Starting with....my new baby!! That's right, I decided I wasn't going to bother with cheapo steel tanks or mess around with other people's bikes and just get the shiniest new bike that sets my heart a-flutter. And so...it was with some trembling that I handed my credit card over at the bike shop on Friday and got myself a Cannondale Synapse (alloy, not carbon, I still want to afford to eat...)! Yay!!! Pretty new bike!! Some might think that I've betrayed my first roadie by getting this one, but sweetie, you live on another continent, and...I really miss riding road bikes...I still think that you are the sweetest and bestest road bike ever and I'll always love you for being my first one, so please forgive me...

Ahem...so aside from the replacement helmet and gloves, of course I HAD to buy a cycle computer to keep track of my fitness levels while riding, waiting for my road pedals and shoes to arrive, and got a headlight for those long rides home at night. What can I say? Am pretty happy. :)

And...please don't get on my case about upgrading the MTB!! It's no Trek Fuel but it's still ridable!

I guess I'm in

2008-06-18T10:22:00.003-04:00

So I have unofficial confirmation that I'm accepted into UNCW's PhD program in Marine Biology, and just received an email from the Director of International Student and Scholar Services congratulating me on my acceptance and asking about the change in my I-20. So I suppose...em...Woohoo? Sorry if I seem a little understated right now, I think I'll get more excited once the official letters come in and the news sinks in. :)

Self-doubt

2008-06-16T18:33:00.002-04:00

After the exhilaration of obtaining positive results on the cruise, I'm back to Wilmington and back to reality. 6 months in, and I'm still struggling to optimise a reaction to amplify and sequence a gene of interest from the Mycale genus of sponges. It doesn't help that learning all these protocols and their steps require constant repetition and I'm always away this summer. Was happy to have amplified the ITS gene before Key Largo, but the cloning got stymied by a bum cloning kit. The next two attempts didn't succeed, and today, I couldn't even get the PCR reaction working, although I tried twice. What frustrates me is that unlike in ecological research, I don't really know how to proceed to troubleshoot all these problems. The protocol is like a giant black box, and when there's a negative result, I don't know if it's due to my error, insufficient DNA, annealing temperatures and what have you.

Just got reminded not too gently that I should start purchasing my own reagents, but I'm assailed by self-doubts. Have half a mind to can this project and concentrate on the chemical component of my project instead. On the other hand, it worked before, it probably can work again, and I've collected so many samples from so many people it seems like such a waste. Where to find the motivation to keep striving though?

Bahamas, baby

2008-05-29T23:25:00.002-04:00

So, first day of diving in the Bahamas. We didn't even reach Freeport yet when I realised I had left something pretty important behind. To Mumsy's credit I didn't flip out and have a total meltdown in the galley, not even a slight foaming at the mouth. Huh. Who knew I could be this calm about my f***-ups. Anyway, things to solve the problem are in progress, and I await the resolution to the whole matter in the meantime.

Woke up to good weather, and splashed in around 2pm, back to the old place we got to know so well at 4am last year. Supposed to catch a whole bunch of fish to run tank feeding assays with, but I must say the overall haul of the day was pretty abysmal. As for me, I caught 1 fish in 2 dives. Ah, how I have fallen from the goby catching days of yore. Nothing to do but console ourselves that the fish were satiated by late afternoon and not interested in the food bait. Will try again tomorrow first thing in the morning. This is why I kinda like working on sessile marine inverts. Heh.

Beautiful nudibranchs

2008-05-15T20:06:00.002-04:00

I dearly miss my colourful reef nudists here in the Caribbean. But what a wonderful gallery from National Geographic!

Owwwww....owowowowwwww....

2008-05-08T21:41:00.002-04:00

Back to texting with one hand, dammit! Re-injured my left thumb two weeks ago by jamming it against Sensei Keith's fist twice in aikido class, and my first thought was "Oh %#@%, I gotta dive next week..." Somehow managed to scrape through mountain biking shifting with the fleshy part of my palm and playing volleyball mostly with my right arm, and was just wondering to myself when it would stop hurting when I landed a hammer on my left thumbnail today. Hard. Resulted in 5min of tearing underwater, gripping my left hand between my knees and swearing silently but profusely. And did it again 10min later. Hurts like hell. Going to bed now so I don't hit anymore sensitive body parts with hard and heavy objects...

Critical Mass Ride April 2008

2008-05-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

that fresh feeling

2008-04-29T14:32:00.003-04:00

A good friend set off for his new life yesterday, by driving towards Minneapolis. After the hustle of packing, loading, farewell gatherings, last-minute item finding and him finally leaving, there was an unsettling solitude that blanketed my state of mind.

It's different, sending someone off, who's going overseas to study, or on work placement. There's a sense that they'll be back after their course is done, or least visit home ever so often. But when someone uproots completely and is actually moving away, there's really no future planning. No 'I'll see you when you come back over Christmas then!', and promises to visit are tenuous at best.

So I found myself sitting on the porch late yesterday afternoon, watching long fingers of sunrays stretch over the plants. Those who know me know this is my favourite time and light of the day. Everything's aglow, backlit with this soft-focus light. Cool breezes dull the harshness of the afternoon sun, yet there's enough residual warmth to permeate up from the ground. In between snatches of musics and random phrases from eels songs, I realise that I'm actually quite mournful. There is genuine happiness about the trajectory towards positivity that his life is taking, but I just cannot shake off the feeling that something quite substantial is gone from my life.

2008-04-24T17:43:00.001-04:00

Passport gods, please allow for the safe and speedy return of my passport...

Just when you thought you could breathe a sigh of relief...

2008-04-18T11:50:00.004-04:00

...life throws another curve ball at you, and then sticks a rusty knife in your ribs while you lie winded on the ground. I love being Malaysian and all, but this passport and visa business is making me sooooooo.....frustrated.

Some might remember the big hoo-ha last year, and the hoops I had to jump through to get a visa to enter Panama to take the Smithsonian sponge course. Next year, I vowed to myself then, next year would be different. Fast forward to this year, with me feeling pretty confident, having submitted my visa application in February, giving the consulate 3 months to approve my visa this time. Was overjoyed to see my return envelope sitting in my mailbox yesterday, and gleefully ripped it open, extracted my passport and flipped to the visa page. Was thoroughly deflated to find that my approval dates run from April 9th to July 9th! WTF! It's already April 18th, and besides the point, my fieldtrip is in August. To add insult to injury, my gender is listed as 'M'. Oh gawd...started the whole rigmarole this morning of the incessant emailing and calling of the Panamanian consulate and Smithsonian staff.

It's not that weird what...

2008-04-10T14:39:00.003-04:00

Was trying to work with high-resolution photos in Photoshop on Sunday, and it's very frustrating, because my (kinda old) laptop kept freezing, and it took FOREVER to force quit the programme and try again. Finally got so irritated with the whole process that I went to make steamed tau sar pau instead. And got 20+ paus out of the whole process (yum!). For some reason, people think that it's a very weird reaction to have to a computer problem...

No photos 'cos I ate most of them before my batteries could charge up :P

Nostalgic

2008-04-03T17:05:00.003-04:00

People frequently ask me here if I miss the food at home, and of course I do, but I think it goes deeper than that. Even if we find an authentic restaurant here that serves great laksa, there's still something missing. There's something about going to the corner Malaysian coffeeshop dressed in my faded t-shirt, comfy but crummy shorts and RM3 flip-flops, especially after a whole day of fieldwork, when I have just showered and my hair is slightly damp, and ordering a bowl of piping hot noodles, then sitting down on the plastic chair by the vinyl covered table, taking in the bustling noises of the various hawkers in the coffee shop, the attendant smells, and sounds of life passing by outside. I really miss that...

2008-03-26T00:10:00.002-04:00

It's been eventful, to say the least. Never thought an Easter weekend could be so packed. Went for my second critical mass ride on Good Friday, and met the person who sold me my bike again. He seemed rather surprised that I was still riding it, causing me a small measure of concern for a brief moment...Also the day I got knighted, as my rear tire went completely flat on the return leg to the Mellow Mushroom (thus, Sir Rides-a-Flat). Had to walk the last three blocks back- told Wai to order pizza for me while waiting :P. But at least I had company, in the form of a fellow rider who had detoured into the fairground to get funnel cake. After wolfing down a medium pizza, headed over to the dance studio to learn some swing! After doing all the stately tango, salsa and whatnot, was a little hard to start bouncing around the floor like a battery-operated bunny, but had a pretty good workout.
Since my mega-night ride was foiled by the flat, had to make up for it by riding to campus on Saturday morning. Rolling around the pontoons of a marina looking for fouling invertebrates is definitely my idea of weekend fun :). A little break at home to wash off the mud, before heading to Castle Hayne for contra dance. Somehow, over the past few months, have seemed to gotten totally into this dance... I still like all my latin dances, but contra is so forgiving, especially to people like me who don't take dance seriously enough to go for pro-pah lessons. Unfortunately for the gals, a large group of youths showed up, and gender ratio was kinda skewed. Sat out a few dances and had to dance with women wearing ties a couple of times. Maybe I should be more thick-skinned and just ask girls to dance with me next time, whether I'm a good leader or not.
What did I do on Sunday? Well, not ruminating on my life for sure. Met up with the local newspaper's reporter at the bike park, did a little interview together with WW and W, and planned to 2 full laps of Blue Clay! That is, until I chickened out on a downhill section on the hilly side, slammed my brakes at the bottom, and caused my pedals to run a gash down my right calf. Did 1 more lap after patching up and having a sandwich! My other name would be Sir Bleeds-a-lot, since I seem to collect scars from my pedals every ride.
Was pretty psyched about Sunday evening, first had a sumptuous Easter dinner at Andrea's beautiful house, and then a whole bunch of us did the sacrilegious thing and watched the musical version of 'Debbie Does Dallas'. Totally hilarious :D.
More rolling around the pontoons on windy and chilly Monday (well, most of the time I was huddled trying to reduce surface area exposed to wind), atchoo! And I can recognise Styela plicata pretty well by now. Did a whole lot of baking with TDB for various birthdays and events coming up, and just went for a much better time at contra!
Thursday leaving for a mountain bike camp at Pisgah. Which sounds totally awesome :). Will just have to find some time to catch my breath in between everything!
(and yes, I do actually do work despite all that is going on....)

Scary...

2008-03-23T15:43:00.001-04:00

Not because I feel science and reason is under attack and the foundations are crumbling, but to see such blind faith in spite of reason, logic and evidence.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7090861&ch=4226713&src=news

It's not just male pride

2008-03-13T19:25:00.002-04:00

Kena soundly thrashed two nights ago in pool, and even though I'm not a good player, that really stings. That will teach me to play 'just for fun' with yet another person who claims to be a 'bad player'. But at least I didn't play for cash :P. Still, having all my balls on the table with only the 8 ball left for the other side is terrible!! It stung so much that I briefly considered getting some secret training in, and probably would have today if my oxygen administration course didn't run so long. Not that I hate the thought of losing that much (yes yes, even if I'm very competitive by nature). I can stand to lose, just not in such a lau kui fashion.

weird...

2008-03-02T08:47:00.002-05:00

I guess I literally ran myself into the ground last night. And now I have two small marks under my left eye to show for it. We were at Mike's house watching George Carlin, and thereafter he was showing us around. I remember the dizziness started as I looked out of the guest room window. Mike was telling me that was where he used to put the study table but the words seemed to be flowing through a fog of treacle. Felt really puzzled as all I had was a glass of wine, and I had eaten dinner beforehand. Blood was pounding through my head so hard it was all I could hear, and I could feel the veins in my neck pulsing with every erratic beat. Weird. Was about to find a place to sit down, and the next thing I knew, found myself on the floor, with the distinct impression of carpet imprinted on my left cheek. Apparently the first words out of my mouth were,"Did I just faint?". They said I was out for 2-3seconds, and of course got everyone really worried. Sighs. Felt really cold even though I had my sweater on, so they got me downstairs and bundled me up with blankets while Mike called the medical hotline. Answered all the questions correctly to show that I was still lucid, quashed some suggestions of pre- and existing conditions ("Is there a possibility that you might be pregnant?" (?!?)), and at the end, no-one really knew what happened. The current diagnosis for now was possible exhaustion combined with dehydration.
Managed to get home (Wai drove), take a hot shower and chat with Z on the phone for awhile before going to sleep. Things seem to be in working order this morning, and have been taking my fluids. SFSG. Guess I'll just have to watch myself the next few days and stay away from the alcohol!

Jakarta Green Monster

2008-02-25T14:06:00.002-05:00

It's nice to see initiatives to promote green (and natural) spaces within cities, showing that nature has a part to play even in urban areas. So I was pretty stoked to read about the Jakarta Green Monster program in Jakarta, one of the biggest and most sprawling megacities I've been to. That the program was initiated by a friend, Frank Momberg from Fauna and Flora International, makes these reports all the more sweeter. Well done guys!

http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2008/02/jakarta-green-monster-protects-wetlands.html

Project website: www.jakartagreenmonster.com

Make a stand for being backward

2008-02-19T13:17:00.002-05:00

In between marking assignments and searching for differences between protostomes and deuterostomes, came across this really funny article by Carl Hiaasen in the Miami Herald. I've not read his books before, though I've heard good things about them, but maybe now I'll start!

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/carl_hiaasen/story/421075.htm

Still a blood donor

2008-02-17T01:03:00.002-05:00

Turned out to be a surprisingly packed Saturday. Woke up at 7.15am to judge the SE Regional Science Fair for middle and high-schoolers in the Biology section. Gobbled down lunch back home before heading out to a secret riding location in Wilmington with Wendy and Morgan. Had a pretty beginner level washout on a sandy downhill but managed to brake and hop off before anything untoward happened. Ironically, all my blood-letting today occurred from hitting various soft parts of my right leg with the hard spiky parts of my pedal. Got lost as usual, but managed to find 90%(?) of the entire trail, and even did a creek crossing. Tried out the scary downhill section but didn't even get halfway on the impossible uphill climb following that. How did those guys do it? $%^%$^#%^$#%#@

Of course all that effort has to be replenished, and after washing all the grease, blood and sweat off, popped by Daisy's house for her annual CNY dinner! Yusheng, a whole casserole of char siew, chicken curry, asam prawn with pineapple, and tons of leftovers to bring home. What's not to like? :)

(Mis)adventures in cycling

2008-01-27T17:25:00.000-05:00

Just did a 2 hour lap of UNCW's trails and met my Clear Run ramp nemesis again. Since I got away from our last encounter with (only) a bruised butt, it was time to try again! Especially also since Wendy went off it a couple of times like nobody's business. I must say, the first time I went over the handlebars I did a beeootifooo forward roll and landed on my feet. I can't remember much of the second endo except that I landed in a pile of soft pine straw and got up unscathed. Then Wendy borrowed my bike and cleared the ramp a couple more times, so I have nothing and no-one to blame but myself. Oooh, just noticed a scratch on my left forearm...

Briefly considered jumping off a couple more times, but my bruises from last week (yup, esp the butt) were killing me, so I'll live to bike another day. Then towards the end of the ride we found a small ramp over some rotting logs. Oooh-er! Went over 3-4 times and stayed on my bike each time! Heheh...now for the Clear Run one!

To TDB, it was beautiful out today, dry ground, no dog poo, missed having you around! Hope things pan out alright for you.

Philip Pullman on environmentalism

2008-01-19T11:39:00.000-05:00

I am extremely fond of Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (the movie does the story no justice, though the visuals were pretty darned good), so it's refreshing to read about his take on the environmental state of the world today.

Philip Pullman: new brand of environmentalism

Enjoy!

Wendy takes on the UNCW ramp

2008-01-19T06:19:00.000-05:00

Ride report - UNCW 18 Jan 2008

2008-01-18T14:07:00.000-05:00

We started out at 3.30pm today, shrugging off sweaters and shivering slightly in the chill air. Still, despite the mostly overcast skies, the sun peeked out occasionally and the ground was dry and fast. Wendy took the lead as she rode here most recently, and it is easy to get lost in here. As we approached the 'Clear Run' ramp, Wendy went over like a seasoned fearless pro, and I thought,"What the hell, I don't need to dive till May." So I acclerated and went up the ramp before rational thought could kick in. Felt the exhilarating split second of air-time, and then the front wheel landed hard (I think), and before I knew it, I landed (hard, oh %$#%$@%) on the ground on my butt. Douglas Adams was right about flying being easy. It's the landing that's difficult. It was then a distinct pong assaulted my senses. Did I just run over fresh dog poo??? On both wheels, my fork and my down tube no less!!! ARRGGGHHHH I guess the silver lining is that I didn't LAND on the dog doo-doo. Damn you, inconsiderate dog-owners!!!

We continued after I picked myself and my bruised butt up, and this time, I think we got a pretty good ride in! We picked the right fork of every intersection we came across, and I re-discovered all the sweet switchback sections we encountered on my first ride at UNCW. Even came across the high ramp (I guess about 2 feet off the ground?). Having learnt my lesson, I decided to remain in the audience with the divinebovine while Wendy took it on. And she was AMAZING...I'll have to upload the video soon. ABSOLUTELY fearless.

Found the loopy section near Dobo Hall, and another little switchback track, before heading back to the parking lot as the sun started dipping below the horizon. It was totally sweet to swish through trees and bushes on small windy trails. Looked for an outdoor water hose to spray off most of the dog doo (Wendy had some on her bike too), and thankfully we found one. Can't tell you where it is though :).

All in all, a great little ride. Again!

Singapore's reefs get a mention in Antarctica

2008-01-13T10:29:00.000-05:00

One of my course mates, M, works on penguins, and was stationed on a cruise ship over our winter break. Aside from chasing penguins by day, he was the resident biologist for the Antarctic tourists, and met a couple from Singapore, who I think, work for one of the big oil companies in Singapore. They got to talking about coral reefs and voiced the common refrain that there are no reefs in Singapore. And M said that they had to check out BWV, that we do a lot of conservation work, bring people out to see reefs and all that. Except that he forgot the full name of Blue Water Volunteers, and could only remember our programme names like ReefFriends and ReefWalk. Still, a guy studying in Wilmington, advocating Singapore's reefs to a Singaporean couple in Antarctica. I think that's pretty neat!

LA Aikikai

2008-01-03T02:29:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love about aikido is that I can visit a dojo in whatever strange new city and practise there with little fuss. Well, I'm sure that works with other martial arts as well (challenging the seniors in a new dojo to a sparring session?), but I've always felt welcome and had a really good time in all of my visits. It's kind of my perk whenever I travel. Some may say that you can't gain much from only one or two visits, but I'm keeping O Sensei's advice in mind, to touch 10000 hands to get a feel of the technique, and besides, it's interesting to me to see how different instructors interpret the various techniques. And it's fun lah, I get antsy after no aikido for sometime anyway.

So I have been kinda grumpy the past 2 days (for various reasons), and was contemplating not going for training and watching Wicked instead. The grumpiness was compounded by me waking up this morning with a head full of green snot, and having to blow copious amounts of viscous mucus into TP. Damn you airplanes with your recirculated air!

I found myself crouching in the front of a LA metro bus looking out for roadsigns in the dark, having resigned myself to just reading the Wicked book, before toddling along a unlit street towards the LA Aikikai dojo. And as usual I was very glad to go for training in the end. We started off with some bokken shomen practice, and it's a good thing I've done snatches of iaido! I was reminded of why Aikikai is Aikikai as I went through a continuous, breath-snatching round of kaiten-nage with one of the senior students. You can always be assured of a good workout. Maybe I shouldn't have said I've trained for X years, because, don't give chance one! Was flung around like some rag doll, but I think all the ukemi loosened the snotty mass in my sinuses. Was glad for a change of pace when another student joined in after half an hour (yeah yeah, you don't do aikido to get fit...).

Everyone was amazingly friendly and picked up some interesting pointers. Found out that I tend to twist my upper body while doing the throw in irimi-nage, and was advised to think of the throw as a bokken cut (straight shomen). It's hard to change years of habit! Also a new lock for nikkyo, and a new blending throw for katate dori. The instructor had really solid wrists too! How long must you train to get such wrists? And another nice thing about aikido in the US, is that people are usually amazed to know that I took the bus/MRT/walked long distance to get to the dojo, and would always offer to send me back :), and invite me for beer/supper.

If only this fellowship extends to the upper management. Was asked if I trained with Singapore Aikikai, and found out that the story wasn't anything new or unsurprising. It's kinda sad though, seeing the emphasis on 'Aiki' in the dojo and all.

Definitely will be back if I'm ever in LA again!

Coming soon to the Travel Channel

2007-12-10T23:25:00.000-05:00

When you switch on the TV next, and see the screenshot of the famous LA hotdog stand Pink's in the background, don't be surprised to hear Wai exclaiming,"This chili tastes BEANY!!" That's what you get for eating at a famous institution in Hollywood Land.

Just landed this morning, and changed the initial plan of going to Joshua Tree National Park immediately cos 1) I'm still recovering from this damned cold that Steve passed to me (it has noe progressed to the coughing stage), and 2) we were damn exhausted from the fieldwork, illness, 12 hour car ride, trying to finish homework madly and pack the night before, plus the flight was a little delayed due to fog in Wilmington. By the time we picked up the rental car (another story there, and it's a PT Cruiser!! That's so funny...), it was close to noon.

Slumming it out at the cheapest hostel in LA which provides all sorts of free food. For one night, I'm willing to overlook the fact that I have to flush the shared toilet by plunging my hand into the cistern and pulling the snapped cable of the lever. But I think on my return trip I shall stay at the beach...

Actually didn't do very many touristy things today. Ate at Pink's, drove crazily around looking for a way up to the Griffith Observatory, drove some more looking for a grocery store and a place to buy a battery charger, and yep, exhausted again. Even feel too lazy to go out and get dinner...But I guess we better get well fed, JTNP looks pretty darn cold from the weather forecasts and I want some calories to burn!!

Cold in Key Largo

2007-12-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

I was enjoying the Key Largo weather last week, it was sunny and the water was a manageable 26degC. Suddenly this week evening temperatures dipped such that people around here started wearing their fleeces, and the water temp is now a frikking 24degC. Have resorted to wearing 2 wetsuits to keep warm underwater, but the wind on the surface is...brrrr..... The whole dive rack area smells strongly of pee and I've started bringing a towel on board as a wrap between dives. Hopefully would be able to keep my immune system up and stave off an impending chill as we finish up our last 2 days here!

Notes from Key Largo

2007-12-02T22:24:00.000-05:00

Today we had our first break day for this mission, after 5 straight days of diving. For a putative (my new word of the week...) break day, we sure did a lot. Woke up at 5.30am to accompany Wai as she sent Joe to the Miami airport, then went around Miami Beach a little. Came back feeling a little hammered, since I spent 3 hours the night before plugging away for my Stats final, and had a beer at Sharkey's to unwind afterwards. The rest wanted to go to Key West so grabbed my camera and headed out again, except for Tim who wanted to stay back and write. Felt a smidgen of guilt thinking about my climate change paper...but hey, it's Key West. So it's 10.35pm, and I feel like going to bed already. So much for a productive Sunday.

It's going to be a big day tomorrow! Pulling in my Mycale fragments to see if any of them have been eaten. Fed a persistent Grey Angelfish some cut Mycale during the last dive so feeling vaguely optimistic about things. Rather miraculously, with the exception of Monday, we have had good weather so far, and 3-4 dives each day. This leaves me with one more survey, a couple of collections, a mapping dive, and maybe an Alizarin staining day left for the mission. Super duper. Haven't really been taking photos, mostly just concentrating on work. Well, and my housing leaked during the last dive too! Am upset, but camera still appears to work. Shall try again tomorrow. Now, to sleep!

2007-11-14T15:05:00.000-05:00

My candle burns at both ends

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -

It gives a lovely light.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, "A Few Figs from Thistles", 1920US poet (1892 - 1950)

Have been speed-reading a couple of books by James Lovelock on the Gaia hypothesis the past 2 weeks to prepare for a book review presentation in Oceanography class, and the second book ended with this lovely poem. Lots of thoughts bounce around in my head right now, which I'll try to write down after my review session on Monday. Suffice to say that despite a slow start in which I thought I would flounder through the whole semester drowning in modelling jargon and shiploads of data, it has been a really interesting exploration through climate change and planetary systems and I found myself gradually looking forward to class each week. In the meantime, keep your candles burning bright!!

Upcoming developments on the UNCW campus

2007-11-06T10:40:00.000-05:00

Just received this info sheet in the email today:

5 November 2007

MORE UNCW CAMPUS WILDLIFE HABITAT SLATED FOR
DEVELOPMENT IN APRIL 2008

This information sheet is being provided for all those who are concerned about UNCW’s plans to develop most of the remaining natural habitats on campus and want to help. UNCW is about to begin the Phase III student housing project in forested habitat across the road from the Watson School of Education. However, this area has been a recognized conservation zone since the early 1990s and developing it will impact numerous species of birds, reptiles, and plants, many of which that have been designated as ‘Species of Concern’ by the state Wildlife Resources Commission and, in some cases, also by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Phase III housing also will remove approximately 30 acres of habitat currently being used by ecology and ornithology students at UNCW for labs and classes. This ‘natural laboratory’ is a valuable asset at UNCW that helps make this campus so unique. In addition, Phase III housing (Phase I and II have already resulted in the loss of ~60 acres of habitat) will be followed by the construction of a Millennial Campus (~60 acres) and new recreation fields (~60 acres) in adjoining areas, resulting in considerable loss of wildlife habitat. All this land is state-owned, public lands. It is used extensively for recreation (hiking, biking, jogging) by students as well as citizens of Wilmington, so everyone has a right to say what should be done with it.

The following points indicate why none of this land should be developed.

• The Phase III housing location is in an officially designated conservation area created in the early 1990s as part of the ‘Campus as an Arboretum’ concept. The designation was approved by the Board of Trustees and protects this land from development. All the lands on the back of campus also have been designated as State Natural Areas. This site is also too close to academic buildings for student housing and would result in considerable traffic congestion and noise pollution. For these and other reasons, this site was ranked last of seven potential sites for this housing complex by the UNCW Faculty Building & Grounds Committee, but their recommendation was ignored.

• The Millennial Campus will benefit primarily local and state businesses, with minimal benefit to UNCW students. It has been tried elsewhere (e.g., NC State) but resulted in buildings left vacant when businesses failed or closed, leaving the school with a structure unsuitable for academic uses. If this concept is developed at UNCW, it should be done so off campus.

• More recreation fields are simply not needed on campus. The current fields by Trask sit idle most days and are only full on certain weekends when off-campus groups are visiting. We do not need so much new recreation space. The proposed 60 acre development is equivalent to 11 football fields in size. It would create vast lawns needing fertilizers and pesticides. The compacted soils would cause more runoff into the already polluted Bradley Creek watershed and cause more flooding in surrounding neighborhoods after torrential rains. It is an environmentally unsound idea.

• Campus habitats are largely comprised of longleaf pine and wiregrass communities, an endemic southeastern community that has undergone a 95% decline historically and can be considered threatened on its own. This habitat is also quite diverse and is considered one of the top ten most diverse habitats in North America and the most diverse in the eastern U.S. The conservation zone across from Watson also includes valuable sandhills habitat consisting of ancient sand dunes and associated vegetation that deserves particular attention for preservation as very little of this habitat remains in New Hanover County. Species that have been recorded in this habitat and other forested areas on campus include at least four birds (Cooper’s Hawk, Loggerhead Shrike, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown Creeper) and two reptiles (pygmy rattlesnake and southern hognose snake) that are listed by the state as ‘Species of Concern’; the sapsucker and hognose snake are also listed as ‘Federal Species of Concern’ by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Other species using the campus forests include many Neotropical migratory birds, nesting birds (Brown-headed Nuthatch, Pileated Woodpecker, Summer Tanager), and mammals (Fox Squirrels). Historically, the Federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker has occurred on campus and could be reintroduced with proper management. The forest also has many native plants (Venus Flytrap, pitcher plants) that deserve protection before they too become threatened or endangered.

Solutions. UNCW could easily meet all its growth needs AND keep all its existing natural habitats and forests intact by following these suggestions:

• Create a UNCW Nature Reserve with the entire remaining undeveloped habitat in the back of campus, with miscellaneous patches of habitat now found throughout campus, that would be used for teaching and research by numerous departments. Educational opportunities in wildlife studies, conservation biology, environmental studies, film studies, recreation, and even the arts are possible here. Such uses would draw attention to our campus in a very positive way for its environmental concerns and green development. The reserve also would be large enough (~200 acres) to introduce a population of the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker as part of the state Wildlife Resource Commission’s Safe Harbors Program for this species. This conservation use of the habitat would benefit the new Bachelor’s Program in Conservation Biology being developed jointly between the Environmental Studies and Biology and Marine Biology Departments on campus. It would help promote establishing a Master’s program in conservation biology between these departments as well. Finally, a conservation easement of this land would provide a means to raise thousands of dollars to promote wildlife studies and conservation.

• Phase III housing could be sited adjacent to campus, but not within it. There are many suitable sites for this, including the old 84 Lumbar location, or the cinemas on College (across from campus) or on Oleander Drive. The cinema site on College is ideal as it is adjacent to off-campus parking and already has a frequent and very successful shuttle bus service. We already have plenty of housing available on campus (in addition to Phase I and II) and siting more close or adjacent to campus is quite reasonable.

• The Millennial Campus also is better suited off campus and can be placed at one of the alternative sites mentioned above. In addition, it will have more applications to researchers at the Center for Marine Science and should be located closer to that facility as well.

What you can do:

• Write letters, emails, or make phone calls to key administrative personnel at UNCW to let them know you are not happy with the planned development. The more of these they receive, especially from citizens and environmental groups, the better. Those to contact include:

Rosemary DePaolo, Chancellor, UNCW: (910) 962-3030; depaolo@uncw.edu
Ron Core, Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs, UNCW: (910) 962-3067; corer@uncw.edu

• Write or email members of the UNCW Board of Trustees about your concerns. They are the ones who vote and decide what happens to this land. A list of all members of the Board and their addresses can be found at: http://www.uncw.edu/botx/member.htm

• Help us get local conservation groups involved in this issue such as Audubon North Carolina, Nature Conservancy, and Coastal Land Trust if you know people to contact within these agencies. Let them know of your concerns as the UNCW property is public state land and you do have a say in what happens to it!

• Construction on Phase III housing is scheduled to begin in April 2008. Further actions will be needed during a public comment period prior to that date. Stay tuned for developments on this issue.

• For further information, contact Dr. Steve Emslie, UNCW Dept. of Biology and Marine Biology: (910) 962-3357; emslies@uncw.edu

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE!!

Mooncup now available in Singapore!

2007-11-01T19:27:00.001-04:00

Also known under other brand names as the Divacup or the Keeper, it's a way to free yourself from the tyranny of disposable, non-biodegradable sanitary napkins and tampons that add to the landfill every month! Takes a while to get used to, but once you're comfortable with it, you'd wish you had it since Day 1! Check out Applemilky.org for more details!

Review of an article on climate change

2007-10-23T22:41:00.001-04:00

I remember being introduced to the term 'global warming' way back when, probably sometime in the Eighties. Back then, it wasn't kosher to say that anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide were exacerbating the 'greenhouse effect', just as cigarette smoking may not definitely cause lung cancer. It was with some degree of interest that I started going through the various chapters of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report in class, aided by my lecturer and classmates in sifting through the dense scientific language and physical concepts of climate research.

The class assignment seemed interesting enough: review a paper by a team of climate change skeptics. On first impression, the paper seemed decent enough- it survived a peer-review process after all, even if it was published in some medical journal. I set aside my doubts about what physicians and surgeons know regarding climate change and delved deeper. Red flags started popping out when I found out that the journal wasn't even listed on MedLine, and is apparently a propaganda rag for the right-wing with dubious peer-review practices.

Then I read the paper. Initially I was disappointed that the authors weren't putting up much of a (intellectual) fight against anthropogenic causes of climate change, but when the errors started becoming more blatant and egregious, I started getting angry. How can this even be considered a scientific work? Even with my limited knowledge in climate issues, some things were just plain wrong. In any case, I've decided to post my review here for you to judge, and hopefully to provide some measure of reason in this madness. A small voice perhaps, but surely it's better to light a small candle than to curse the dark?

Here's the paper I'm reviewing, which you should read before proceeding:
Robinson AB, Robinson NE, Soon W (2007) Environmental effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons 12: 79-90

And my review:
Be warned! It's pretty long!

In science, it is always good to question the prevailing dogma, as this leads to progress. However, refutations should be accompanied by clear and compelling data. The former are certainly abundant throughout the paper, but unfortunately, the latter appear to be lacking.

The scope of the article is a general statement about the effects of carbon dioxide on global climate, but instead of producing globally averaged data, the authors tended to showcase only regional data. While the Sargasso Sea is a large body of water, it cannot solely represent the entire Earth’s temperature changes, which do not occur uniformly over the world’s oceans and continents (Christensen et al 2007). No references were given for the statement on page 1, paragraph 3, that “The average temperature of the Earth has varied within a range of about 3oC during the past 3000 years”, as well as two statements on the Sargasso Sea, that “Figure 1 (temperatures in the Sargasso Sea) is illustrative of most geographical locations…” on page 2, paragraph 2, and “The 3000-year range of temperatures in the Sargasso Sea is typical of most places” on page 4, paragraph 6. Confusingly, the last two unverified statements are immediately followed by the contradictory assertions that “…there is great variability of temperature records with location and regional climate” and “Temperature records vary widely with geographical location…”. The author of the original paper from which the Sargasso Sea data arose also concluded based on his data that the changes described for the “surface waters over the Bermuda Rise…most likely reflect climate change on the basin or hemispheric scale” (Keigwin 1996).

The use of regional data to approximate global trends continues in Figure 3, where Arctic air temperatures are compared with solar activity, looking at surface temperatures in the United States, and comparing Antarctic ice core temperatures to global emissions of carbon dioxide. According to the unreferenced data in Figure 6, variations in global temperatures can be extreme (more than 100oC), and thus it seems contradictory and unrealistic to extrapolate regional information to the global scale. In light of this, as the geographic range of the localities used in the query in Table 1 are unreported, one is unable to place the results presented in the table in the global perspective.

Underreporting of data is not restricted to spatial scale, and extends to other figures as well. Graphs attempting to show trends between hurricane phenomena and time only reported the occurrence of hurricanes that made landfall (Figure 9), or ‘violent’ hurricanes (Figure 10). Similarly, only category F3 to F5 tornados are included in Figure 8. These strong to violent tornados are relatively rare in the United States (about 2% according to http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/severeweather/tornadoes.html), no waterspouts were included in the figure, and it is not immediately apparent why other types of hurricanes and tornados were excluded from analysis. In another example, no species data available for the plant experiment in Figure 23, which was used to extrapolate the global plant response to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.

A significant number of figures in the paper attempt to demonstrate trends in climate variables over time. It is disappointing to observe that no statistics are presented for most of them (e.g. Figures 2-5, 7-15). While it is possible to fit a straight line through any scatterplot and measure its gradient, knowing the standard errors, sample size, and regression and/or correlation statistics would allow the reader to judge the statistical significance of the trend. Additionally, sampling artifacts were not accounted for. For example, the variable of average rainfall over the contiguous United States (Figure 7) subsumes many geographically distinct areas within this region, and it is unknown if sampling effort was even across space and time, which would impact the variance within the data.

Aside from the examples brought up earlier, there are other statements in the article that do not have references. The authors assert on page 3, paragraph 4 that carbon dioxide acts as a fertilizer for plants, improving plant growth, and leading to positive cascading effects down the food chain. Most astounding is the statement that “The extent and diversity of plant and animal life have both increased substantially during the past half-century”, which is clearly at odds with the realities of widespread habitat destruction, decline in fisheries, and catastrophic extinctions in recent times (e.g. Brook et al 2003, Sala and Knowlton 2006). Also unverified is the argument on page 9, paragraph 1 that “Trees respond to CO2 fertilization more strongly than do most other plants, but all plants respond to some extent”, which is used to show the benefits of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.

The significance of the trendlines asides, while it is true that correlation does not prove causation, non correlation does not prove non-causation, as the authors imply for the relationship between sea level rise and hydrocarbon use. The relationship may not be directly linear to begin with, and cannot be summarily dismissed. The authors’ stand would be clearer if they had provided a viable alternative hypothesis as to how ‘solar irradiance’ generates the largest radiative forcing effect on global climate. The consideration of only two factors in the control of global temperature (methane was brought up, and dismissed as being unimportant) is overly simplistic. The IPCC’s 4th Assessment Report on Radiative Forcing (Forster et al 2007) lists 16 factors that may impact climate on local and global scales. As a result of the multitude of factors that could lead to temperature changes, the comparison in Figure 16 is misleading. Any effect that carbon dioxide has on forcing global climate would be in concert with the other factors, which were unlikely to remain constant throughout the long duration of the comparison.

The authors reject predictions from computer-based climate models as incorrect, and lacking no empirical support. However, they offer no details on the kinds of errors arising from models, whether it is the assumptions made or overly simplistic cycles and feedback loops, or even which models they are specifically referring to. The computer model uncertainties listed in Figure 19 came from a paper written by one of the co-authors of this article and a personal communication from 1995, which probably were not original sources of the models’ data, and the latter reference is highly outdated. The statement that computer models have been “invalidated by numerous observations” was not accompanied by any specific references. No mention was made of the improvement in modeling expertise over time- current climate models are verified using hindcasts on data collected previously, before being used for future predictions (Christensen et al 2007).

The incomplete picture painted by the authors extends to the choice of data, which could bias the analyses reported in the article. The selection of gas, oil and coal use as a proxy for atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration in the correlation figures, and disregarding other inputs from biomass burning, cement production and deforestation, was not explained in the text. In Figures 3, 5 and 13, it is not clear how the various metrics of solar activity (5 listed by the authors), were summed into the single variable ‘solar irradiance’. It is also not apparent how glacier length is a good representation of global warming, seeing as how the authors themselves note that precipitation is a factor in glacier length. Furthermore, the response variable is described as ‘normalized glacier length’, without explaining what it was normalized to. A closer examination of the scale in Figure 2 shows that glacier length was measured at the precision of centimeters. Considering the massive sizes of glaciers, the magnitude of their seasonal variation in length, and the precision of the methods used to measure them, without any indication of the standard errors, we cannot ascertain if the differences in length shown in the figure are significant at all.

While standard error terms were missing from many of the figures, it is puzzling why the authors chose to use standard deviation of tree ring width as the metric to represent tree growth in Figure 21. The mean would give a much clearer picture of differences in growth, whereas standard deviation can change due to sampling artifacts. No units are given for the standard deviations as well. Other analyses are plagued by confounding variables. Although the graph purports to show trends in United States forests, the metric used is volume of timber, presumably with commercial value. One does not know if the increase in timber volume is due to an increase in timber plantations, a reduction in logging, or a response to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide as suggested by the authors (no references). The comparison of warming trends on other planets to Earth’s (page 5, paragraph 11) is unrealistic, given the vastly different atmosphere present on each planet. The attribution of some warming effect to the ‘urban heat island’ effect in Figure 15 is also confounded, as population changes over time, and the effects were not separated in the analysis.

Lastly, subjective terms that are not clearly defined crop up in the article, such as the “Qualitative Greenhouse Effect” presented in Figure 18. With no qualification of the term, or any measurement units, it remains unknown how the authors are able to come up with a scale and compare among the four categories presented. Carbon dioxide and methane are labeled as “minor greenhouse gases” without qualification as to whether the term refers to the gases’ relative atmospheric volume or radiative forcing effects. Statements like “The climate of the Earth is now benign” do not add to the scientific argument in the paper and show a tendency of the authors to editorialize.

Due to numerous omissions, inappropriate generalizations, a lack of clarity in the analyses and a dearth of statistical analyses of data, it is hard to conclude anything about the hypothesis that the authors have put forth. I find that the authors are unable to support their argument that increasing carbon dioxide has no deleterious effects on global climate.

References:

Brook BW, Sodhi NS, Ng PKL (2003) Catastrophic extinctions follow deforestation in Singapore. Nature 424: 420-426

Christensen, J.H., B. Hewitson, A. Busuioc, A. Chen, X. Gao, I. Held, R. Jones, R.K. Kolli, W.-T. Kwon, R. Laprise, V. Magana Rueda, L. Mearns, C.G. Menendez, J. Raisanen, A. Rinke, A. Sarr and P. Whetton, 2007: Regional Climate Projections. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

Forster, P., V. Ramaswamy, P. Artaxo, T. Berntsen, R. Betts, D.W. Fahey, J. Haywood, J. Lean, D.C. Lowe, G. Myhre, J. Nganga, R. Prinn, G. Raga, M. Schulz and R. Van Dorland, 2007: Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

Keigwin LD (1996) The Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period in the Sargasso Sea. Science 274: 1504-1508

Sala E & N Knowlton. 2006. Global Marine Biodiversity Trends. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 31:93-122

Where does the time go?

2007-10-22T01:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my really big Saturday. For some reason, I had it jam-packed with activities, and could barely snatch a breather in between. It started on Friday night, with a visit to Club Vida after an absence of a few weeks. I had planned to leave at midnight, but we only started getting into the whole dance-y vibe around 11.30pm, and met Silvestre, Gilberto and Evan too, so it seemed a little premature to leave so early. And so yes, we finally left when the lights came on at 2.30am. Argh. I had Iaido practice on Wrightsville Beach at sunrise... With supreme effort, I crawled out of bed 3 hours later to drive down and did 1.5h of intense sword practice while trying not to fall down in the soft sand.

Got persuaded to go have breakfast at Saltworks II, before heading home to take a 30min power nap. The alarm went off after what felt like 2min, and I was up and heading out with my bike to meet Wendy for kayaking. Sure, I had a total of 3.5h of sleep, but it was awesome- the sun was out in full force, the water felt great, the scenery around Masonboro Island was really pretty and it was a fine day to sit on white sand and gaze across the Atlantic Ocean. 3 hours later, we biked home, and I frantically attempted to bake a pineapple-upsidedown cake, while eating a late lunch and taking a shower at the same time. Unfortunately, I forgot to buy baking powder!! %#$@%#$% Gave up on bringing the cake (which turned out to be a good thing), and rushed to Harris Teeter to get a 6-pack of beer for Ana and Nick's post Beerfest party. Everyone there looked kinda sloshed, but the burgers were good ;).

Wai picked me up 1 hour later for we were going to watch Sicko at the UNCW theater. It was pretty good stuff- sure, some things were probably overly sensationalised, but it has some valid points and can certainly generate good discussion. Spent another hour in the parking lot thereafter discussing healthcare, social issues and the political decline in the US with Mike before finally heading home! To bed!

I finally understand RCBD!

2007-10-16T14:42:00.001-04:00

But sadly, it's 2.42pm here, which is 2.42am in Singapore, and the BlueTempeh is offline, so there's no-one I can share my nerdy joy with...

So some reason, the textbook and various explanations on the web all assume that you can automatically see what the big advantage of blocking is (RCBD is randomised complete block design for you non-stats heads out there), and it was so frustrating to do the analyses without seeing the big picture. Had to revisit the model equation, the SS equations and the math again and again before I finally worked it out...pooooh!

So okay, I can see why one might want to block treatments, but the assumption of no interactions is a little niggling. Hm. Will have to ponder some more.

Would you drive 4 hours to watch the Police?

2007-10-10T15:06:00.000-04:00

After what seems like a few months of living in the musical and cultural wastelands, we are now besieged by a surfeit of acts and performances. Probably will go up to Durham for the They Might be Giants concert, over a flamenco performance at UNCW...and for that, they had better perform 'Why does the sun shine?'!

Wondering about the Police reunion tour concert in Charlotte on Nov 15. Yeah, I've been listening to them for what seems like 20 years (oops...just gave my age away), but man, Charlotte is a 4 hour drive away! And TDB flatly refuses to drive that distance or pay that money to watch a bunch of old fogeys in action. Imagine coming home at 3-4am. But then...there's 'Every Breath You Take'... Hmmmm...Is it worth it??

Oyster reef monitoring with the NCCF

2007-10-06T11:26:00.000-04:00

Finally, after being on the mailing list for months and not attending a single event, went out with the North Carolina Coastal Federation today to monitor the fauna of artificially created oyster reefs at Dick's Bay, Masonboro Island.

The volunteers met at the NC Wildlife Resource Commission's boat ramp at the intersection of Snow's Cut and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) at the perky hour of 9am, where we were met by Tracy Skrabal and Ted Wilgis, staff members with NCCF. We started with the obligatory doughnuts and introduction session, before Tracy and Ted gave a brief spiel of the oyster reef ecosystem in the area and what we'll be doing this morning.

Ted expounding on the oyster's life cycle

Oysters used to be the main protein source for communities along US East Coast! (Quite sure I would be vegetarian if I lived during those times...) And trawlers used to haul millions of bushels annually for the oyster fisheries. Note the term 'used to', for the oyster has fallen prey to the all too familiar and much lamented 'tragedy of the commons' syndrome. Oyster populations have crashed pretty much along much of the East Coast due to overharvesting. The problem with oyster recruitment though, is that oyster larvae like to settle almost exclusively on oyster shells. Since trawling removes the whole animal, shell and all, removing fishing pressure alone won't do much to bring oyster populations back.

NCCF has been creating oyster reefs using oyster shells along the coast of NC to try and rebuild some of the population. Something I really appreciate about this effort, is that the restoration efforts are carried out in conjunction with research conducted at UNCW. So rather than blindly dumping shells into the ICW and hoping for the best, elements of reef design are taken into account, such as reef shape, depth, and rugosity. Today's monitoring followed-up the establishment and seeding of the oyster reefs in April/May this year. Ted is interested to find out if nekton establish on and inhabit the artificially created reefs, compared between different reef shapes and with a natural reef.

Views from the ICW

Masonboro Island

Dark clouds loomed threateningly when we approached the oyster reefs, but people's moods remained sunny, even through the brief spot of cold rain that washed over us as we stepped onto the first reef. The bay was exceedingly shallow and we had to wade through waist-deep water at times to reach the monitoring sites. Brrrr! I applaud winter volunteers! It was exhilarating to slip and slide through mud and inhale that glorious hydrogen sulphide again...ah...how I miss inter-tidal work!

Each team quickly set-up on a reef and excavated shells from a quadrat (made rather ingeniously from a pail with the bottom cut out), till we reached the anoxic layer. Then we counted and measured oyster spat and counted all other animals that we could find. Since I was the least wary of the vernier calipers, ended up in charge of measuring the spat, ha. Worked till the tide started coming in, and broke for drinks and snacks, kindly provided by NCCF.

Some of the oyster spats were huge! Our largest measured more than 4cm in length. And that was from recruitment in April/May. Also tallied mud crabs, barnacles, polychaetes and bryozoans (though I suspect we might be the only group that recorded bryozoans...). With the water coming up, we floated the equipment back to the boats before clambering back on, muddy and probably stinky, but extremely gratified. Looking forward to another round of fieldwork!

Pass me a light, for I'm going over to the dark side

2007-10-04T15:07:00.000-04:00

After years of ribbing Zee about how she needs to squint in sunlight, I finally got approval from my advisor to start a population genetics analysis of my research sponge. Egads, does this mean next semester I'll be confined in windowless dark labs and never see the sun again? I just did (and enjoyed greatly), a course on sponge taxonomy as well... All my old nemeses... I wonder what's coming up next? Biochemical synthesis pathways of sponge metabolites?? Eeeks!

I won my court case

2007-10-02T13:25:00.000-04:00

So another chapter in the cursed car saga unfolds...My small claims court date was scheduled for this morning. Went half an hour early as advised, and sat nervously outside the courtroom wondering if the defendants would show up and argue with me. Well, worries went unfounded as the defendants just didn't show up! My trial was over in ... I dunno... 3min?

Went in, swore to tell the truth on the Bible (I'm not sure if I should respond,"Yup", instead of a more solemn "yes" though, keke), told the judge what happened, he asked,"She backed into your car?", I said,"Yes", and he decided the case in my favour! So, yay, I guess!

Not over though. She has 10 days to pay me, and if she doesn't, I'll still have to file a claim(?) with the Sheriff's office to hound her for payment. Oh gosh...I really hope she just pays up...

Banana Bread part II

2007-09-29T17:31:00.000-04:00

Had some leftover bananas from the BBQ last Sunday, and didn't think we'll get to eat all of them before they spoiled, so made banana bread again! Changed the recipe a little though, as I thought the last time I made it, it wasn't banana-y enough, so used 4 bananas in total. Still turned out fully cooked all the way through, heng ah! Isn't the colour bee-ooo-tee-fooo?

International Coastal Clean-up - Carolina Beach

2007-09-29T17:24:00.000-04:00

After much internal wrestling with my sleep deprived self, decided to forgo salsa last night and wake up at 7.40am this (Saturday) morning to attend a clean-up at Carolina Beach! I haven't volunteered for such a long time that I was starting to feel a little weird and out of sorts. Was looking forward to getting down and dirty again for the sake of nature!

We were a little worried when we first arrived at Carolina Beach, as it was awfully quiet and lacking in people. But we finally chanced upon the registration booth further along the boardwalk, yay!

Signed up on the spot and free breakfast (pretty good donuts) provided too! Instructions were pretty sparse- just pick up our supplies, fill in the datacard and come back when we're done.

Pre-clean-up beach- doesn't it look absolutely polluted? :)

This event is quite well-supported, and more than 100 people showed up. Look at the advancing horde!

Frankly though, this is the cleanest clean-up I've ever been to. That's Wai and her aunt with our 'bulging' bag of trash after 2 hours of traversing the beach. The weather was sunny, breezy and cool, and I didn't even break into sweat. Where's the mud? The half-buried washing machine? The nets trapping multitudes of crabs? It all felt rather surreal...

Our tally ended with a total of 929 cigarette butts, plenty of plastic odds and ends, 1 piece of glass, 2 fishing lines, a few pieces of styrofoam and a used condom covered with ants which I had to pick up as Wai didn't want to touch it...

Since we had some energy left, we decided to take the car ferry to Southport and drive back to Wilmington from there.

Only $5 for 3 persons and one car! What do you think the breakdown of costs is?

View of the Cape Fear River from the ferry. Pretty!

The Southport-Fort Fisher ferry

Lunch was hotdogs from Trolley Stop. I love my chili dogs :P

We did walk around Southport and stuff, but unfortunately, no more pictures as my camera batteries died out. It's a really quaint and sweet little ole town though, with two major perpendicular streets, old houses, and a rather historical flavour. We contemplated visiting the Boiling Springs Lake on the way back, but couldn't find the entrance to the lake area. Oh well, we'll just have to come back another day.

Went to downtown Wilmington instead and got my Kilwins ice-cream fix (mmm...fudgy goodness....). Thought I'll go home, have a swim, and that'll be the end of the day, but got a call about a Chinese BBQ at Halyburton Park to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival! It's turning out to be a rather full day! But hey, graduate students seldom turn down free food opportunities, hehehe...

How to fritter away a weekend...

2007-09-21T22:48:00.000-04:00

It's turning out to be a rather unproductive weekend...Queued up at the university Surplus Sale yesterday morning, and scored a nice dining table for $6! Wahahaha...We can now eat like civilised people, instead of off a cardboard Singpost parcel box. Decided to work from home in the afternoon, and made a split pea soup for dinner, which took 2 hours of simmering on the stove! For something that look like it yielded 3.5 servings...hmmm...would be a while before I do that again...

thedivinebovine decided that she didn't want to go to the ChocQuibTown concert after all, and since it was too late to ask someone else to go, dragged my sorry single loser ass to Kenan Auditorium to attend a hip-hop concert on my own. Um. After dashing to the counter just in time, saw posters stating that the concert was sold out plastered everywhere! Augh, did I just make a wasted trip? Fortunately, some people had released their tickets, and I could go in after all! It was a pretty good concert, since I always like music with a Latin inflection, and percussive rhythms, just hard to get into the grooving mood on my own...I always feel like the lone woman Karen and I usually see swaying to the music by herself when we attend Latin concerts in Singapore, she just stood out so much...The sound mix was a little weird though, the vocals weren't very clear, and the music sounded like it was just coming from the front, as if someone was playing a CD on a stereo. But it was still pretty enjoyable overall.

TDB has been complaining recently about a dearth of wardrobe fillers, and since today was the last day of summer sales at all major department stores around here, thought I would accompany her while she looked for decent t-shirts. Alas the law of shopping states that the 'accompanier' shall inexorably be drawn into a few purchases on her own as well...Bought a couple of cute tees for the boyos, a brown t-shirt (like, what do I need another t-shirt for right?), and a rather cute short skirt, which was a steal at $6, heheh! Unfortunately, we spent the whole day shopping!! Only ate 'lunch' at 4pm, and now, we're supposed to go for contra dance. This is terrible! Tomorrow we're hosting a BBQ, and the prep would take up most of the day. Pffftt....hope to get some reading in tonight then!

Fall season...

2007-09-19T22:27:00.000-04:00

It's my favourite time of the year...when there's a slight nip in the air, it's breezy but not chilly, and the grass is warm and dry. I can sit and read outdoors without getting a sunburn on the back of my neck, or feeling rivulets of sweat running down the side of my face.

It's seems to be shopping season too! Bought myself a secondhand Schwinn Mesa yesterday! I was so excited about finally finding a decent MTB in my size that I didn't even take it for a test ride! Well...it did have new front disc brakes, new tires, and looked reasonably well taken care of. Al frame too, and I've been scanning ads on craigslist and other sites for months, finding only cromoly or steel frames for my price range. I can't wait to adjust the bike to my specs and ride it to work! Yay bike!

Dazed after a morning of struggling to understand the IPCC Chapter 2 on Radiative Forcing (all 88 pages), and the derivation of Fisher's Least Significant Difference multiple comparisons test, wasn't at my perkiest and keenest at the end of the day. But accompanied Wai to the music workshop by the Afro-Colombian band ChocQuibTown anyway. Had to concentrate quite a bit on the explanations behind the various rhythms, but they play some funky music! Hip hop and rap overlaid over percussive Latin rhythms. Am looking forward to their concert this Friday evening...

After such a full day, we really couldn't bring ourselves to cook. So we had a 'convenience foods' night! Tried the Michelina's frozen pasta dish, which is strongly reminiscent of the stuff that appeared on my tray on the flight back to Wilmington from Panama...The Pictsweet steamed veggies went down much better, with the exception of salt laden bits hidden between innocuous looking veggie morsels. What to do but fall back on my lazy favourite tater tots! Can't go much wrong with crispy bits of potatoes, mm mm....

KL environment ministry loses appetite for shark's fin soup

2007-09-16T11:05:00.000-04:00

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Asia/STIStory_158210.html
text at http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070910/070915-5.htm

Wow. I'm astounded by this article. This is great news! Given how shark's fins are such a status symbol, it's incredible that a government agency would take this step, especially since we're taught in class that political groups tend to favour short-term policies over long-term gains. I'm glad to see that some messages have gone through in some way, and really, kudos to the ministry for taking such a bold step.

I wonder when we'll see this happen in S'pore too? ;)

The wonders of Google Earth

2007-09-12T20:16:00.000-04:00

I can even see the individual buildings at STRI Bocas! The long one is the laboratory complex, where I spent many 'happy' hours extracting sponge metabolites with ether, and many actual happy hours studying about sponge taxonomy and ecology. A little cayman lives in the pond in front of the lab, and I know it's not a fake because it scooted into the pond from the bank before I could creep up to it at night and take a photo. The mangroves to the left across from the dock were an amazing place to snorkel, both in the day and night...though the first time I went at night, I bumped my head numerous times on the mangrove roots, and struggled to stay above the fire corals in 50cm of water...

Grabbed a bunch of GPS readings from Google Earth itself. That's just fantastic! Can even download satellite images of my study sites and mark them out if I want...hmmm

Bocas recap

2007-09-11T18:40:00.000-04:00

Looks like blogging about my entire experience in Bocas would be some massive effort...and from experience it means that it's probably not going to happen! (Look at my non-existent Kilimanjaro blog entry...). In the meantime, I've uploaded photos here, and decided to spare you the albums of sponge ID shots!

Maybe sometime this year I would have uploaded the Kili album too ;)

Going home

2007-09-06T07:47:00.000-04:00

Sitting at the Tocumen airport in Panama waiting for my flight to take off. Woke up at 5am this morning, bleary-eyed, with a slight sangria headache, probably because I forgot to buy water (or local beer as a souvenir, damn!) to drink last night, meaning, earlier this morning. Uff...after the lazy sun dappled last few days at Bocas, Panama City in one night was a frenzied affair involving angry taxi drivers swerving crazily through the streets, and a whirlwind tour of the old city, Casco Viejo. The buildings were muy nice, but the sun had set more than an hour ago and my teeny flash wasn't going to cut it. So we just walked and talked, and looked out for muggers hiding in the small dark alleys.

Since I was in Latin America, really wanted to check out the local nightlife. After all, have been listening to lots of salsa, bachata, etc over the radio, in taxicabs, spilling out of cafes...how hard could it be to find a place with live salsa band and great dancing to watch huh? As it turned out, it was pretty hard. The one name I got off the web was closed for the past year, and the security guard on the street recommended another place which Gideon refused to enter, as he had gone in last night, and found it filled with deafening music, unfriendly bouncers, and worst of all, scantily-clad women with appreciably enhanced assets. Wandered the side streets for a while, which were filled with Chinese restaurants, before admitting defeat. We did find a nice restaurant that had live guitar music which was really good, and excellent sangria, so the night wasn't a total loss, heh. But I still don't believe that isn't a single nice salsa place in the city!

Time flies when...

2007-09-01T17:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the last day of the sponge course here at Bocas, and half the course participants went off today, leaving the station strangely empty and quiet. The days were packed with projects and things to do, but the learning was inspiring and the company was nothing short of great. Spongers are really cool people :). We're already making plans to meet up at a conference somewhere in the near future.

Will blog about the course soon, haven't had many free nights since I landed here, and diving again tomorrow!

Pulau Hantu 6 March 2006

2007-08-18T12:26:00.000-04:00

In case you think I might have converted to the 'other side (of the world's oceans)' and gone completely Caribbean, I still rather miss diving in good ole Singapore! So I haven't ever seen a hammerhead or 30m vis, but there're sea slugs! allied cowries! sea whip shrimps! and so much more...such as the little critters below!

And yes, the photos were taken a year ago...yes, I know I'm very slow when it comes to editing and posting photos. I'm working on it, 'kay?

See how clear the water was!

I miss seeing corals...

...and branching Acropora too...

Allied cowries were everywhere on the seabed!

In pretty colours matching their sea whip hosts

Except, erm, for this one. We surmised that it could be colour-blind...

Colourful flatworms were commonly seen too

Flatworm and sea squirt

This was a large one!

And smaller sea whip shrimps too

Really love sea slugs...they are so cute!

Zee got very excited about this phyllid. That's her finger there showing you how big it was.

Could it be? Cephalopod eggs?

Nervous crab...

The iconic Icon Star of Pulau Hantu

Sea pen

And yes, I photograph vertebrates too...

Black hole...

2007-08-17T13:16:00.000-04:00

Looks like I'm spending the weekend in Wilmington after all! Short of a miracle happening in the next two hours...but...nah, I don't think so...I have a better chance of striking 4-D with the licence plate number of the driver who struck my car and then refused to pay for the damages.

So much for my visa being approved this week...I found out yesterday that visas have to be approved by the Security Council in Panama, and they only meet once a week. If my application wasn't considered this week, it's shifted to the next. Why only tell me now? Why can't they just tell me when the meeting date was? I was expecting my visa to maybe come in today, and paid %#$%#$@^ $280 to change my flight to tomorrow. And I have to change it again? How much more must I pour down this black hole? Plus I don't even know if and when my ^$#^$%^#@$%^$ visa will be approved. Felt like smashing a multitude of breakable crockery last night, I'm so frustrated!

Looks like I'm just not fated to learn about sponge taxonomy. Sigh.

Bo pian...

2007-08-13T14:12:00.000-04:00

After a morning of extreme confusion (and trauma...for I was thoroughly roasted for my oral exam), finally worked out a possible avenue for the whole Panama visa issue. Called the consulate in Washington, and it turns out that I'm not supposed to be able to enter Panama without a visa. So much for the 'leave the visa at the Panama airport' idea. The moderately better news is, that my visa is supposed to be approved by the end of this week, latest latest. So say I get the approval on Friday, if I can persuade the consulate to return my passport through express delivery, I'll get it on Saturday, be able to fly on Sunday, and catch the early morning internal flight to Bocas on Monday, thus only effectively missing 2 days of the course. Phew. Now if only things were a little more confirmed...for e.g., at least tell me what date you can give the approval! Each ticket change with Delta would cost me at least $200, sigh....

I feel like beating my head against the wall...

2007-08-11T22:25:00.000-04:00

So I've been emailing the Smithsonian External Affairs i/c in an effort to see if my visa could get approved and my passport returned before I'm due to leave on Thursday. Now it seems like I have to request for an overnight delivery of my passport from D.C., without the visa in it, and for my visa to be sent to the airport in Panama (if it gets approved by then...else, I guess I might be deported...). The story doesn't end there. Even though the visa is approved, I can't get it attached at the airport immigration. They have to confiscate my passport, and I have to go to the Immigration office to pick it up after 2 working days. My connecting flight is supposed to be on Friday, 3pm, and the course starts on Saturday morning. Apparently I can't fly without my passport too. If I wait till Monday, I'll miss 3 days of lessons. And it's the intro to sponge taxonomy and morphology too! Sighs... All these madness, while I'm trying to study for the oral exam on Monday and keeping the 'big picture' of marine biology in mind...

A rather cheena dinner

2007-08-09T16:15:00.000-04:00

昨晚终于煮了三菜一汤的晚餐. It was something that always seemed a little overly sumptuous for one person, so that's one of the advantages of having a roommate! There was chai-poh omelette, stir-fried mustard greens (tasted like old chye sim) with garlic and mushrooms, steamed tofu with radish pickled in chili oil, and some egg drop soup leftover from 2 days ago. Really a lot of 'cheena' taste in there :). No photos, cos we were both too famished!

Blood pressure rising again

2007-08-06T11:44:00.000-04:00

Had a very tiring weekend shifting bulky and heavy items to my new domicile, trying to hook up the washer and dryer, and just crashed last night surrounded by boxes and piles of my stuff. Just when I thought the stressful part is more or less over and I can start studying for my oral exam, I called the Panamanian consulate this morning to ask when I can get my passport back. Horrors of horrors- the lady on the line said that it's in Panama now and not to expect it for 1 1/2 months! The course would be over by then!! ARRGAHAGHHGHGHG.... GAAAAHHHHH.... My only recourse is to ask the Smithsonian to call the immigration department in Panama and see if they could speed things up, plus somehow pass my passport back to me by next Wednesday...gaaaaaakkkkk.......

Sailing to Byzantium

2007-08-01T08:27:00.000-04:00

Poetry is my solace, and my refuge...

(WB Yeats)
THAT is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations - at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.

Relief...

2007-07-26T15:26:00.000-04:00

I've just submitted my ISRS/TOC fellowship application, mailed off the prospectus to the department, and it's just a relief to know that I'm done with paperwork, at least for the moment. It's hard to believe that in a little more than 2 weeks, I'll be off to Panama for my sponge field course, apparently also fully prepared to carry out all the experiments I'm supposed to do there. It's crazy how unprepared I feel for the whole thing- never been to Central or South America, can't speak Spanish to save my life, no clue as to the layout of where things and places are. And reams of papers on sponges to read in preparation for the course. It's definitely a new experience for someone who's so anal about doing exhaustive research on whatever locale she visits. But I suppose things will fall into place as the time approaches. I hope.

What's next? My oral qualifying exam looms! August 13th, 9am, is the date and time. I've done the rounds, got my study materials from my thesis committee, and looks like I'll be spending plenty of time indoors the next two weeks trying to figure out flow regimes on coral reefs. Crossing my fingers that nothing too obscure comes out in the questioning!

A delay in the process

2007-07-19T15:10:00.000-04:00

Had a meeting with the boss today, and since I didn't have that much of success this field season (i.e. can't publish anything with the data I've obtained), my application for PhD has been pushed to the next semester, with the hope that I enter the programme in Fall 2008. Was a little down the last few weeks thinking about the delay in my plans, and how I can't finish up my degree as fast as I wanted, or how I still have to go through my Masters oral examination, but... actually, after confirming it with Boss, it's not so bad after all. Sure, it'll be nice to have a higher salary (no TKK scholarship this year, sniffs), but after all, I chose a field project, and these are the risks associated with a field intensive project. So it's really my 'fault' after all, and I can't complain too much. I'm just glad Boss didn't can my project or ask me to work on something more realistic. Time to work harder this semester and get more grant applications in!

Cars and me...

2007-07-17T16:20:00.000-04:00

...just don't go together... I'm cursed, cursed! I tell you. Got involved in a minor collision while scoping out an apartment complex near Monkey Junction. Some dunderhead reversed out of the lot without looking and smacked right into my car's passenger door. Eric tried to sound the horn but hit the center of the steering wheel was which just plastic not linked to any sound making device. My poor car. What did it do to deserve such abuse? So I got this huge dent, and when we got out of the car, the other driver asked whether I wanted to call in the cops, and I said 'yes', and he apparently made the call on his cell. Half an hour of impatiently waiting for the cops to arrive later, he asked if he could go and pick up his wife, who was waiting at work, and that he'll be right back. Seeing his young boy in the car, I relented. After all, I got his particulars and the cops coming right?

....One and a half hours later...no cops or errant driver in sight!!! ARGRHGHRGHGHHH.... Called in the cops myself in the end, after 4 missed calls to the guy. And the police car came after 10min! Finally the wife showed up (it's her car), and we made the police report. Claimed not to know anything, as usual. Got my car repair estimate and phoned her insurance company, only to find out that her insurance lapsed since June due to non payment!! Double ARGRHGHGHGH.... Might have to go through the small claims court now.... AHRGHRGAHGRHGHG

To top it off, my car battery died the day after. Had to continually get it jumpstarted whenever I stopped the engine. Even pumped petrol into a plastic can so I can add it at home. And of course, had to shell out the $$ to replace the damn battery.

Oh my, what a week...

No TKK for me too...

2007-07-11T18:26:00.000-04:00

Didn't get the TKK Scholarship this year...boo... Oh wells, I'm just glad that I was even selected last year, given how unbillingual I am. Win some, lose some I guess!

Hammerhead!!

2007-07-05T11:27:00.000-04:00

Isn't it cool? The hammerhead that Wai and I saw on our first dive at San Salvador. It actually wheeled around and swam right by us again! Couldn't resist getting a little closer, it's so hard to get a good shot of a shark! Tim thought I breached the 100ft limit for dives, but I was exactly at 100ft, haha! I'm good, huh?

Anyway, I do have photos of other stuff from the Bahamas. The first 20 up online make up my portfolio for the little photo competition we had on the cruise (Wai came in 2nd!). And here it is...more photos to come later!