Grand Prix du Canada

The Canadian Grand Prix was this afternoon in Montreal. Here's Jacques Villeneuve, the only Canadian driver in Formula One at the moment. Sadly he hit the wall near the end of the race and didn't finish. He's having a great season. Michael Schumacher, Ant's and my favourite driver, managed to finish second after a series of incidents and accidents.

This is a very strange plant in our back garden. I've been spending more time out there recently. Our little, old fashioned BBQ is on the right.

The contents of the organic veg box this weekend:

1 onion
2 carrots
small potatoes
4 courgettes (zucchini)
cooked beetroot
curly lettuce
2 bananas
3 oranges
1 pear

It's delivered every Friday and it's different each week. My challenge is to figure out how to use it all each week.

Good weather this weekend means I'm drying our laundry outside. It's nice not to have it cluttering up our bedroom.

draw near to God

Today Pastor Hany was talking about prayer. We read Matthew 6:5-8.

5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

I have found prayer to be a difficult topic for years. My dad gave me some good advice about prayer once: when you don't feel in the mood to pray, you need to pray until you are. Hard teaching! Hany said the same thing today. First he said that we are all called to pray. Jesus assumes this by saying, "When you pray...". And we should pray with the right motives. Our desire is not to be seen or to make ourselves feel less guilty or to fulfill a sense of duty. Instead prayer is for coming close to God. In Isaiah God says, "These people come near to me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (Isaiah 29:13) The point of prayer is not to bring a list to him since he already knows what you need. The point is not to heap up empty phrases (NRSV) because we think we will be heard because of our words. The purpose in the asking and the talking is that it brings us close to him.

Part of coming with the right motives is to speak honestly about the state of my heart. It's no good to come to God and say, blandly, "Dear Father, I thank you that... blah, blah." Instead we needs to say honestly how we are. "Dear God," we can say, "I'm having a hard time praying." Or we can say, "Dear Lord, I'm angry and I can't think straight." It's no use saying all the right things if we aren't saying the honest things. In this way, we bring our hearts close to him, avoiding the distance that Isaiah said was between empty prayer and God.

Jesus says that we are to go into a room and close the door. Only one room in most Jewish houses had a door that locked: the storeroom. It was also a room without a window. So Jesus is saying that we need to leave distractions as much as possible. God the Father sees what we do when we pray in secret like this. Notice that it doesn't say that he hears us, since he's really looking into our hearts to see our motives. He sees exactly what is in our heart and he knows the words on our lips. So the purpose of prayer is to open our hearts to him.

The person who prays to be seen, Jesus says, earns their reward. They get seen and gain the glory from people that they sought. But they do not gain the favour of God. If we pray to fulfill our sense of duty, we get the reward we seek and no longer feel guilty. But if we want to honour God and please him, we must approach prayer with a desire to come closer to God and open our hearts honestly.

Wal-Mart and unions

You may already know that I am anti-Wal-Mart. My brother Micah worked there for a while and I got an insider's view into the way they treat their staff. My boycott of Wal-Mart has extended to the budget supermarket Asda since I moved here. They proudly display that they are part of the Wal-Mart family on their signs. (Why would you advertise such a thing? Surely it does not bring in business.)

I was reading today in the Guardian that Asda employees are going on strike soon for five days. They are protesting about wages and the right to a union. They plan to strike over the American holiday as well--because employees "want independence from the anti-trade union tactics of Wal-Mart worldwide."

I have recently become a union member; it's required in my job. My mother has always spoken out about unions. They are essential in some ways. But she complains that although the goal of the union is to take power from bosses and give it to the employees, the union favours those with seniority to the detriment of employees with less experience. A power differential is still there.

Well, there is a power differential between Wal-Mart employees and their company. Wal-Mart is the twentieth largest economy in the world (the first nineteen are large countries). They get what they want with their strong arm tactics. What effect will the Asda strike have?

My new cookbook.

Yay, Bob! I can't help exclaiming this every time I think of him. After some discussion in these pages recently (see June 15), I went searching to see how he has been doing lately. He's the Surreal Gourmet who taught me how to become an A-list caesar salad maker, how to create the delicious pear and Camembert quesadillas, and how to poach salmon in the dishwasher. I ordered his third cookbook online after the previous posting. It arrived today!

And Ant already had a look at the book and when I got home, I saw that he had created Bob's better chopsticks for me. How great are they?

My new chopsticks.

congratulations Sara and John!

My dear friend Sara is now engaged! Her boyfriend John proposed on Thursday on the Charles Bridge in Prague--which would have been very romantic if she hadn't been making fun of him for being sappy at the time. I am eagerly looking forward to the video, which Sara's sister Emily just happened to take of the event!

Many blessings on them as they plan for their wedding and marriage.

living room picnic

Ant and I found ourselves with a night to ourselves and a DVD to watch yesterday. So we went to Waitrose (a more posh grocery store than we usually shop at) and purchased really nice food for a picnic. We decided to spend up to the amount we would spend eating out at a fast food restaurant, for example. That meant we purchased a nice bottle of white wine, poppy rolls, honey roast ham, and double Gloucester cheese with chives. We also got baby spinach and rocket leaves, with marinated artichoke hearts to go into a salad with cherry tomatoes. We set it all out on the carpet in front of the TV and enjoyed it while watching Munich. A lovely date night in!

Ah, Bob, wonderful Bob.

recipes

Chez Bob's Party Caesar

1/2 t salt
1 t coarsely ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchovies or 1 t anchovy paste
1 T Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk, coddled
1 1/2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c safflower oil (or other mild oil)
1 1/2 t red wine vinegar
1 1/2 medium-large heads of romaine lettuce, washed and dried
2 c croutons
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

Coddle the egg by boiling a pan of water and then dunking the egg in it for about 45 seconds. Reserve the yolk and discard the white.
Add the first eight ingredients to a wooden salad bowl, one at a time. Beginning with the garlic, after adding each new ingredient, use the back of a soup spoon to grind it against the wall of the bowl and blend it with the previous ingredients into a smooth paste. It should take about fifteen seconds of muscle power to blend in each new ingredient. Yes, Caesar salad making will soon be an Olympic sport.
Add the oil and vinegar and blend well.
Just before serving, tear or slice the lettuce leaves into bite-sized pieces and add to salad bowl. Toss thoroughly with dressing.
Add the croutons and cheese, toss again, and serve.
Serves six.

The above is copied exactly from Bob's book, The Surreal Gourmet Entertains. This is the recipe that started Sonya eating salad. I used to make it when we house sat at Grammie and Grandad's.

We also made a great meal for her soon-to-be husband and in-laws, which included a cold strawberry soup.

Strawberry Soup

3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c water
4 c fresh strawberries, halved (about 700g)
1 1/2 t grated lemon peel
2 t grated orange peel
1/4 c sherry (or orange juice)
4 T whipping cream

Combine sugar and water in saucepan.
Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for ten minutes. Cool.
Combine next four ingredients in large bowl. Add sugar mixture and stir.
Process in a blender until smooth.
Strain juice into a large bowl. Discard seeds. Chill.
Garnish individual servings with cream and mint sprigs.
Makes 3 1/2 c and serves four.

The soup was delicious. The recipe came from one of Sonya's books; a Company's Coming book about cooking through the seasons. We also served a spinach salad with strawberries and salmon with a cilantro sauce. As we were sitting down we learned that Kevin's mum is allergic to salmon. We hastily changed the plan by dragging something out of the fridge. And her in-laws brought a bottle of lovely wine, but we had no corkscrew! Ah well. Good thing their marriage didn't depend on our dinner.

global warming

While reading online today I saw a Christianity Today poll about global warming. Here is the question.

Should evangelicals lobby on global warming?
1.• No, there is no such thing.
2.• No, our priority should be evangelism.
3.• No, the science is still unclear.
4.• Yes, it is our job to care for creation.
5.• Yes, concern for the climate is neighbor love.
6.• Yes, we need to address all social issues.
7.• I don't know.

Which of these options would you choose? I think the best fit for me is number 6. But really I think that if there was an "other" line I would choose that. It seems to me that evangelical groups that lobby are not seen in a very good light and they are ineffective because they alienate people. Campaigning for environmental (and other) issues is something that lots of normal people do, and I think we should join them. In general, thinking about global warming has nothing to if you are a Christian or not, but whether you have a caretaking outlook. Most of my colleagues and I, for example, would agree on this issue. What do you think?

new gizmo

I am happy to say that since Mother has been here we have bought a memory card reader. That means that not only can Mum access her photos while she's here, I can access my photos on my own laptop, without having to have Ant here and his computer plugged in. The good news for you, dear blog readers, is that I will be able to put up more photos, hopefully. Yay! I have decided I will start carrying my camera around in my handbag and that will allow me to shot when the mood strikes.

travelling by train

Mum and Dad on the train. We want down to Colin and Ruth's church for Dad to preach. (Colin was the officiating pastor at our wedding.)

pick-up line

I was walking home from the railway station today. It's been so hot lately and it was blazing sun on the pavement. I was sweating profusely.... I almost didn't make it home. Something very strange happened that has never happened to me before.* Two young men were walking towards me and as I approached one said, "Excuse me, babe. I find you very attractive. Can I have your number?" I was so shocked I didn't know what to do and so I mumbled, "Sorry," put my head down and turned the nearest corner. In retrospect, a possible better reaction would have been to say, "Thanks, but I'm married!"

*The only other similar event in my life was when a guy kept lining up to get help at the maths and stats help desk at Dal. He wasn't even really trying the questions and I kept sending him away to try them first before coming to ask me about them. I was a bit annoyed, but after a while he said that he actually wanted to ask me for coffee and wasn't interesting in the questions. I was so surprised that I don't think I really said anything... but asked him to at least wait until my shift was over so that I could help the other students with their work. :P

My cookbook collection.

food blogs and cookbooks

I've been having quite a fascinating time today following links in a Guardian article listing interesting food blogs. Chocolate and Zucchini is one I will be going back to again. On the 101 Cookbooks site, the author has a list of all the (many) cookbooks she owns. My own collection looks modest by comparison! We only have one cookbook in common: the Joy.

Here's a list of my cookbooks (or at least the ones here in the UK; left to right in the above photo).

1. The Vegetable Bible (Teubner)
2. Company's Coming Appetizers (Pare)
3. The Joy of Cooking (Rombauer; two copies: 1931 facsimile edition and 1964)
4. Flip Cook Chicken (Wilson)
5. Family Favourites: Voth 2000 Cookbook (a family compilation)
6. The Essential Wok Cookbook
7. Pass Out: 80 Cocktails to Paint the Town Red
8. The Surreal Gourmet Entertains (Blumer)
9. Company's Coming The Beef Book (Pare)
10. By My Side (Eustace/Weinstein)
11. 'Tis the Season: A Vegetarian Christmas Cookbook (Blanchard)
12. The New Canadian Basics Cookbook (Ferguson)
13. More With Less: Suggestions from the World's Mennonites on How to Eat Better and Consume Less of the World's Limited Food Resources (Janzen Longacre)
14. Purity Cookbook
15. Chocolate and Baking

addicted?

I have been thinking about addiction. I am addicted to eating. I'm addicted to my computer and to shopping. But for the most part they're not true addictions; I can go without if necessary. I don't quite need rehab when I'm away from my laptop. But I was reading a Guardian report that there's now a clinic for those addicted to video games. I can think of two people in my flat who may need that!

This shelf is destined for the space behind behind our kitchen door. First we have to build it.

One of six new additions to my kitchen, courtesy of Ikea.

trip to Liverpool

I've just got back from a three day trip to Liverpool with Ant, Mum, and Dad. We rented a car which my dad drove. He has a British license, but he was still a bit scary on the roads, driving on the unfamiliar left. We passed through Milton Keynes, of geek week fame, for Ant to go to a job interview. This one was for Gillette, as an imaging scientist. The only problem is that even after the interview he didn't know what the job really was. Maybe if they call him back for an assessment day he can ask more questions!

While Ant was at his interview, Mum and Dad and I went to Ikea! Yay. We got a shelf for our kitchen (sorely needed) and new bowls. Mum got a few things, like a new mouse mat.

We arrived at Ant's Nan and Grandad's on Wednesday evening. It was lovely to see them and to relax with a plate of salad and a comfy couch. :) On Thursday we had a "lie-in" and then took Jack and Etta to a beautiful garden in Southport. Mum took lots of pictures that I will hopefully poach tomorrow. Yesterday evening we went out to supper with Jack and Etta, Tony, and Stephanie at an Italian place in the city.

Driving home today was a chore... London traffic is unpredictable. Or maybe it is predictable--it's always busy. The last section (inside the M25) took almost two hours! Blech.

welcome parents!

Mum and Dad arrived on Friday! Mum has been busy taking pictures, unsurprisingly. Here is a shot of the front of our flat, which is on the ground floor of the house you see in the main part of the picture. Dad is about to go into our little door. The green door goes up to our two upstairs neighbours. The large window on the right is our bedroom window.

Mum has been spending a lot of time in our back garden since it has been lovely weather this weekend. You can see the bathroom window on the right and Matt and April's patio doors and windows on the left.

The back half of the garden is a jungle. Dad said he saw some raspberry bushes back there.

We went to the British Museum. Now incorporated into it is the old British Library reading room. This is a shot of the dome, now completely inside the great court of the museum.

My dad and I in the reading room. When we lived in Scotland he came here to research for about a week every year.

A beautiful floor mosaic. The tiles are only about half a centimeter on each side.

A set of 7m high cedar and bronze doors from Balawat.

A gold laurel from Crete. The gold was so delicate that I could see it moving inside the case when people walked past.

A priestess's necklace from Crete.

Micah's news

My baby brother, Micah, is newly graduated. He won the math medal! Here he is with a group of profs from the math department. I think he looks like the Young Pretender here.

Micah and Anna, taken by Paul.

Micah and Anna on the day of their "small wedding" with four tulips privileged to be picked for the occasion.

comments

Sonya asked for a new post today so that she could comment on it! Heehee. Why does no one else comment? It could be like a nice little conversation. I know my parents read this blog, so why do they never comment? You don't have to be a member of anything, just click on the comments link at the bottom and type in the box. You can be anonymous or other--which is probably what you will choose so that I know who you are. Try it out!

In particular, I need some ideas about a Christian news website to read. Any suggestions?

Here comes the comment link. Look, it's right there, below this and on the right. :)

home alone

Ant is in Brussels for an assessment day and job interview. I am alone for a couple of nights.

Pros: not having to put all my stuff in the kitchen before I go to bed and sneak around in the morning getting ready, eating vegetarian with April (Matt is also in Belgium on an unrelated trip), more flexibility with my evening (although what have I done differently, really?).

Cons: No one to warm the bed up before I get in, no one to set up the audio-visual entertainment at supper time, no one to laugh at me tripping or dropping things, talking in person instead of on the phone, no one to chat to about my day when I get home.

Conclusion: two are better than one.

The book everyone is reading on the train.

reading

A public holiday has seen me relaxing on the couch, not doing the marking I brought home nor cleaning the bathroom. Ha! I have been just finished reading Kate Mosse's Labyrinth. A number one bestseller, I found it hard to get into. The last hundred pages (of 694) were riveting, but the time it took me to get there was quite daunting.

One difficulty for me was that I was not sympathetic to the religious theme underlying the novel. Perhaps you could call it an anti-religious theme, actually. The three sacred books that are the focus of deception, intrigue, and secrets, are writings entrusted to guardians of different faith backgrounds. The books contain the key to the holy grail, which is actually more of a concept than a chalice: that the Truth transcends religions, that "the real Grail lies in the love handed down from generation to generation, the words spoken by father to son, mother to daughter. The truth lies all about us. In the stones, in the rocks, in the changing pattern of the mountain seasons." This seems to me a sad dilution of the truth a God who loves and woos us. And a God who creates a beautiful world, including rocks, seasons, and mountains that praise him. Our love handed down is a reflection of his gracious love that seeks to be known. May I know that love and make it known!

information request

I'm looking for a Christian news website that I can read regularly. Any ideas? Maybe to have one UK site would be good, but I'd also like to try a North American one. I don't really have any ideas so far.... Please leave me a comment. Thanks!

9mm Pistol: £177.25. TeleShop: Guns and weaponry for the life we live today.

AK-47: £474.99. TeleShop: Guns and weaponry for the life we live today.

Welcome to TeleShop, where trading in arms is as easy as saying, 'load, aim, and fire'.
Weather you're a small time crook, a military dictator, a guerilla fighter or a drug baron, Teleshop has the weapon for you. Of course there are laws to stop this sort of thing. But frankly they're so riddled with loopholes that any arms broker worth their salt can find a way through them.

Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launcher: £999.99

Guns are designed to kill and maim. So you'd think there'd be some pretty stringent laws to control the buying and selling of arms around the world. But you'd be wrong.
The fact is the arms trade is out of control.... 2006 will see two crucial UN meetings where the future of the arms trade will be debated. Amnesty [International] will be at both meetings doing everything we can to make the world's leaders address this desperately important issue. We know we can make a difference.

Join Amnesty International's campaign against arms sales.

controversy in qualifying

Monaco: the grand prix with the most thrills and spills. The race track winds through the tiny city streets, flanked by imposing metal barriers. There's little chance of overtaking and quite a few accidents occur when one car fails to turn in time and crashes on the side, blocking the track for everyone else. There's a tunnel involved as well, with terrible visibility coming out. Anyone could be crashed in the first turn outside the tunnel and you wouldn't know until you were on top of them.

With only a few minutes to go until the end of qualifying, Michael Schumacher had set the fastest lap time so far. Alonso was on a hot lap, trying to beat the time. Schumi was in one of the last corners of his in lap and (allegedly) experienced some difficulty turning. He slowed the car down and managed to keep from crashing, but ended up stalling the car next to the barrier. Alonso was forced to avoid his car as he finished his hot lap, thus Alonso was slowed every so slightly on what could have been the fastest lap yet. Flavio Briatore, Alonso's team manager was livid and said that Michael did it on purpose to ensure his pole position for the race tomorrow. As qualifying finished, other teams were also going to talk to the race stewards and there's talk of having Michael's race time deleted. But how could they prove that Michael ruined the other drivers' laps on purpose? Stay tuned, or visit Formula One for updates.

roast chicken for beginners

When I found this recipe, I thought it was perfect for people like me, who just are not sure how to tell when poultry is thoroughly cooked, but not dried out. Give this a try!

6-7 lb. chicken
1 cup melted butter
1 cup stuffing
1 cup uncooked popcorn
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brush chicken well with melted butter, salt, and pepper.
Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven. Listen for popping sounds. When the chicken's backside blows the oven door open and the chicken flies across the room... it's done!

places to take my parents when they visit

1. Kew Gardens, of course. The all-important London visit as far as my mum is concerned.
2. Richmond Park. The largest open space in London. My colleague says it's nice to walk or hire bikes there.
3. A West End show, says Jayme. She is starting to convince me that I don't go to enough shows. What a great English teacher she is!
4. To visit Ant's family in Liverpool. His Nan and Granddad have been looking forward to meeting Mum and Dad for some time now.
5. Any ideas? We are still composing this list.

The Esca deli: fresh and tasty!

new favourite deli

I took a friend to a deli/cafe in Clapham today. We met so that I could tutor him a bit for an up coming test. The deli is called Esca and serves huge portions of delicious fresh food. It's connected to the famous Italian restaurant next door. I have also managed to drag Ant there recently. He thought there were a few too many vegetarian dishes and not enough meat. I think it's perfect!

Ah, the joys of eating well. I love it. Tonight I had grilled chicken with roast vegetables, a rocket and tomato salad and an Innocent smoothie.

This week at church.

fruit of the Spirit

Two young brothers were punished by being sent to their room. Every time their parents did this, they would open the window and climb down the big tree to get out to play. After a time, they heard their parents talking about the tree. "It hasn't borne fruit in years." "Let's cut it down." They ran out to the shops and bought three kilos of apples, then tied them on to the branches. The next day the boys' parents saw it and were amazed. "But it's a pear tree!" they said.

The fruit of the Spirit are not meant to be grown by us, but by the Spirit in us. We are the wrong type of tree, like a pear tree that suddenly produces apples. The Spirit in us produces the fruit because God is the tree that produces the divine character.

The fruit come as a cluster; nine grapes hanging in the same bunch. It's no use to say, "I am a patient person, but I'm greedy by nature and I can't get self-control." Take them all or leave them all.

Love, joy, peace: these define our inner life
Patience, kindness, goodness (NIV)/generosity (NRSV): these define our relationships
Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control: these define our integrity

And next week at church: The gifts of the Spirit
Last week at church: Who is the Spirit?

things to do online

1. Shop for groceries
2. Read other people's blogs
3. Find workouts
4. Try to learn about tax
5. Use Google Talk
6. Transfer money
7. Use Journey Planner to navigate the tube, bus, train, and tram system

music on my ipod

1. The Cat Empire: Australian and fantastically happy ska
2. Audio Adrenaline: pumps up my walk to work
3. Jamie Cullum: relaxing jazz for the bus
4. Third Day: helps me worship
5. Fiona Apple: gravelly and satisfying

top five reasons to cuddle on the couch

1. The Grand Prix qualifying and race on Saturday and Sunday
2. We both have a weekend off together for the first time in ages
3. Two laptops with wireless internet
4. Any silly film is a good excuse, like The In-Laws
5. A nice meal or a quick pizza

fresh air

I try not to write about work much on the blog. One concern is that one day a student or parent could find this site and I don't want there to be anything "juicy" to read here. But I also avoid it so that I can turn off from work and have a separate life which this blog can celebrate. But really I know that work fills the vast proportion of my time. I spend about 12 hours per weekday on things connected with work: either in my room planning, cleaning, doing paperwork, travelling to work, or doing prep at home. Oh, and teaching and talking to students.

Yesterday I got to visit another school. It was a breath of fresh air to be elsewhere. I still had a lot of prep, travelling, and teaching. But it was nice to be away from the usual. Teachers at that school said that they still had a big workload, but that the school's organisation made it easy to teach there. Sounds wonderful.

So I insert this small post about my work to say that I have been more happy lately. It's still hard work at my school, but things are improving slowly and I have a more optimistic outlook. My days (rated on a scale of -2 to +2) are just as often neutral as negative now. And keeping track has helped me enjoy the positive days more fully.

new recipe

I'm trying out a new recipe today. I got it from Sonya's preferred site: epicurious. One problem with the recipe is that I can't pronouce one of the words in the title! The other problem is that skinning chicken pieces is definitely not one of my favourite things to do. Blech. But it smells great and looks good.

Organic veg box.

organic food

For the last few weeks the issue of organic food keeps coming up around me. When visiting Jayme a few weekends ago I saw her organic veg box, delivered to her door each week. I was reading a Guardian article that same weekend about organic food. It seems to me that the most compelling reason to eat organic food is that it lessens the environmental effect. There are no laws in the UK at the moment which govern things like how close pesticide-sprayed fields can be to houses or other areas. The article said that one group is recommending a five meter buffer zone around fields, and that some US states have a 2.5 mile buffer between fields and schools.

Organic food may or may not be better for your health. The article I was reading cited lots of studies on both sides of the debate. The main problem with defining pesticides' harm to the body is that there are no human trials (understandably--who would sign up?). Several scientists interviewed said they eat organic out of a "rather safe than sorry" attitude.

Organic food is more expensive at our supermarket. It reminds me of the leaded/unleaded fuel debate of the past. My dad said that for years he bought unleaded fuel when it was much more costly than leaded out of a conviction to cause less harm. Now I am starting to feel that I may have to approach organic food with the same attitude. Organic and local, if I really want to get on the environmental bandwagon.

A present from Sonya: a chocolate carrot! She knows me too well.

Ant's news

Today Ant had his last exam. Ever. Again. He hopes. All that remains of his masters course is a few pieces of coursework and a five month project. The project is the part of the course that he has been looking forward to most of all. He hopes that it will be more interesting than the courses he has been doing, and that the professor involved will be able to teach him in a more hands-on way. He is sick of having to teach himself the things he should be taught in class.

The project is about, wait for it,... "using observer theory to optimise PIV and PTV methods with the aim to understand turbulence." I don't really understand what this means...! But our main hope is that after all of this he will be able to get a job in his desired field of vehicle aerodynamic design.

the first and second twigs of motion

While visiting Isaac Newton's birthplace two weeks ago, I saw the apple tree under which he is said to have sat when postulating about gravity. Matt, Julian, Nadia, and I really wanted our own scientifically famous tree, so we swiped a cutting from a branch. And this past weekend Matt picked up some rooting hormone and Miracle Gro. After reading the accompanying literature we cut our portion into two twigs and planted them both. They have a makeshift greenhouse (a clear plastic bag) to help keep them warm and moist on the kitchen ledge.

Since the weekend we have been debating about what to name these new cuttings. I vetoed New and Ton as being too ridiculous. The First and Second Twigs of Motion wasn't quite catchy enough. I think we have decided on Gravitree for one and Twig Newton for the other.

Photos of our darlings coming soon!

thai massage

I went yesterday for a Thai massage--oh, the pain! The masseuse balanced on the back of my thighs for the first section and pulled and twisted my arms, legs, and back at the end. But it feels good to be pushed and pummled by an expert. Next time I will bring a pair of sandals and stay for the steam room--I didn't realise this was included. What wonderful pampering just before I go back to work on Monday.

training

Here's an idea I found a while ago. I still think it's a brilliant market niche. iTrain is a company that provides mp3 files for download that combine music and a personal trainer. They have all types of different workouts with instructions given: a treadmill playlist, and ones for kickboxing, cycling, body sculpting, strength training, stretching, and hip hop. They're coming out soon with an outdoor program and a new core workout. Now all I need is an armband for my iPod nano and I'll be set. Oh, and they've extended their market to non-US customers, so I won't have to make up a fake address in Alabama.

Geek Week 2006

Matt, Nadia, Julian, and I took a magical road trip around England tracing the life of Sir Isaac Newton and doing other geeky things. On Wednesday, we visited Westminster Abbey and saw the memorial plaques to Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, James Joule, and Lord Kelvin.

On Thursday we visited Oxford.

This is the Museum of Natural History in Oxford.

At the Natural History Museum, I learned that insects are the most successful of all animals in their profusion.

We found a statue of Newton at the museum of Natural History.

Here is a statue of Euclid at the Museum of Natural History.

Next we visited the adjacent Pitt Rivers Museum. General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founded the museum in 1884 with a bequest of 20000 items. He specified they must be displayed in the thematic arrangement that he preferred, not chronologially or by region. So for example, there is a case about weaving that holds European bobbin lace, woven baskets from tribes around the world, and many other kinds of weaving from all parts of the world.

We saw this set of eleven carved spheres at the Pitt Rivers Museum. The set was carved from a single piece of ivory. You may be able to see the handwritten labels that are attached to every object at the museum.

Here are some calculation methods on display at the Pitt Rivers Museum.

We wanted to visit the Bodleian Library, but we were obviously not scholarly enough. Instead of entering the reading rooms we visited the gift shop!

Here is the doorway to one of Oxford's colleges.

At the Museum of the History of Science, we saw all sorts of mathematical instruments. Here is a rectangular protractor.

Here is a standard mathematical drawing set from 1847. It contains a pen and dividers, and compasses with extensions and extra drawing points. There is a scale rule, a parallel ruler, and a sector, all in ivory.

On Friday, we visited Bletchley Park, where the Enigma machine was cracked in WW2. The Enigma machine had three (and later five) dials that were readjusted every twenty-four hours by the Germans to generate enciphered messages.

This is a machine called the Bombe that helped crack the code. On the left is the front of the machine. It has thirty-six sets of three alphabetic dials. The machine can process the cipher text and use frequency analysis to see if any of the settings of the three dials is a possible key for the enciphering. On the right is a part of the back of the machine showing the workings and wires.

The first semi-programmable computer was made and used at Bletchley Park; it was called the Colossus. It was used to break codes from the Lorenz encipher machine, used by the top officials in the German army and government.

Next we went to see Isaac Newton's birthplace in Lincolnshire. Here I am in front of the apple tree in his front garden. The plaque states that the tree has been designated one of Britain's fifty great trees by Queen Elizabeth II! I am holding an apple that we were using to make an educational film.