Grad school can sometimes be painful.

I like discussing papers at journal club. I read most of them and try to contribute something to the discussion. I may not have the wisest thing to contribute but I try to take away something from every paper we discuss because I feel that 1 hour is my chance to get an insight into how people think when they read papers and how they might view things differently than I do (which is often the case). I really like the process of learning in that hour of journal club.

Students are required to be at the journal club even though they might have a million other things to do. Sometimes it feels like a bother, but in the end I think everyone learns something and also contributes something to the discussion if they spoke up even ONCE during the club. It is almost the nature of science. You cannot be in the thick of it and stop yourself from being involved. Every discussion at journal club is valuable because it is the collective sharing of thoughts that you might not get to hear when you are reading alone.

Faculty, perhaps, play an even more significant role in such journal clubs. They bring to our table their significant experience and expertise in the field. Their comments are almost ALWAYS worth hearing and their input is deeply appreciated. It's that rare hour where students can get an insight into how professionals in their field view any paper and research process.

However, all faculty are not mandated to be at journal clubs if they don't have the time. Since many of them are extraordinarily pressed for time, and have several competing interests, they don't come. Which is fine because if they feel like they have the time to make it, they do contribute to the discussion and that is always beneficial to all the students.

So, it hurts like hell when faculty you admire do turn up to the journal club (supposedly because they could make time for the club in their busy schedule), don't pay any attention to the discussion at the club because they were working right through it and then abruptly get up and leave midway without a word of explanation.

It hurts too much.

I guess it's part of growing up in grad school with faculty and other students subbing for your missing family. The lesson perhaps, is that your interests will never match up with everyone else's at the table and you cannot expect everyone you academically admire to make a trial at mentoring at the club, however brief that hour or even part of that hour might be. What I am really struggling with is do I prefer brutal honesty where the faculty tells you that the paper you picked is an utter waste of time or a completely silent cold approach where they do come but they just leave midway perhaps because they don't think it's worth their time to even say anything.

I think I pick honesty. Silence hurts more than I can express.

We all know you will clear it smoothly and with flying colours!

A zillion good wishes and more coming your way!!

I am thrilled to bits. I have already made and devoured a full pan of stir-fry vegetables and tofu. I am now planning to put it through the acid test by making bread in the pan.. maybe tomorrow or next weekend.

The pan heats up amazingly fast. Compared to my older pan, the walls heat up to a crazy temperature so stir-frying takes even less time and sauces are thickened quickly. Somehow my watery stir-fry seemed to take on a more intense taste when cooked in the pan. I may be biased by all this anticipation that has preceded the pan. So I will reserve my final judgment for a couple weeks and see how it holds up.

The pan is an absolute JOY to look at. It's exactly like the photograph in the post below. However, it's not as heavy as I'd hoped it would be. It's around 5.5 pounds. That's nearly 2 pounds less than what I thought it might be. But it's gorgeous. I especially like the beautiful handle on the dome lid and the polished surfaces. I have already put a few scratches on the internal surface with my stainless steel spatula but I am not too sad. The pan needs to earn its battle scars to survive in my kitchen.

Day 5: 14x
Reason for stopping: breathlessness.
Status: I think I stop breathing or breathe very less when I do these push-ups. Next time I must remember to breathe as deeply as I can. Maybe it's the hypoxia that is limiting the number of push-ups I can do.

Jul 22, 2011 6:30 PM
Departed FedEx location
SYRACUSE, NY

Jul 22, 2011 5:29 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
SYRACUSE, NY

YIIIIIIIIPPEEEEE! It's in NY State now!!!!

Backstory: (e:tinypliny,54740) (e:tinypliny,54752)

(e:paul,54762) makes me miss the salty/neutral corn they have at home SO MUCH.


What is the deal with the super sweet corn here!? Every corn I have EVER eaten here is sweet. I hate it. I want the savoury "poor man's" corn that they roast over the coals back home.


Doesn't regular non-sweet corn grow here in the US? Did they breed it all out intentionally? I have read that sweetness is a recessive trait in corn. It is disturbing to think that they methodically eliminated the dominant genes and all we have now is an exclusively and commercially farmed sugar-loaded abomination. What's worse is it has now shadily acquired the "state vegetable" status for NY.

First the chocolate and now the corn. I want to take a break from sugar for a year.

Really want to make this ciabatta someday. I am not very good at kneading and give up too easily but with my new muscle power, I just might reach the "sticky but tacky" stage.

whole wheat ciabatta

adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor

2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

2 1/4 c. unbleached bread flour

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. instant yeast

2 c. water, at room temperature

2 T. olive oil

In a large bowl, sift together flours, salt, and yeast. Add two cups water and mix to combine, switching to kneading when it becomes too difficult to stir. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, this is the time to bust it out and put it to work. If you are kneading by hand, keep at it, but try to avoid adding more flour to the dough as you knead - ciabatta is supposed to have a wet dough. Knead for five minutes, or until dough is smooth but still sticky. Let dough rest, then add olive oil and knead for another minute. Add flour only if it is really too wet, ie: more of a batter than a dough. Place dough in bowl and cover in plastic wrap. Store in fridge for at least 12 hours and up to three days. About two hours before planning to serve ciabatta, remove dough from fridge. Being sure not to degas the dough, remove dough from bowl and divide into two or three pieces. (I divided mine into thirds and made four burger buns with the third piece.) Gently form each piece into a rectangle and fold into thirds. Roll each piece in flour gently and then place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, position oven racks in the middle and very top of the oven, place a rimmed baking sheet (a “steam pan”) in the top rack, and preheat oven to 500. After dough has risen, place in oven on middle rack and carefully pour one cup of boiling water in the preheated rimmed steam pan on the top rack. This creates steam, which equals a crisper crust and more delicious bread. Turn oven temperature down to 450 and bake for 20 minutes. My loaves were done at this point, but depending on your oven and other variables you might need a bit more time. Bake until bread sounds hollow when thumped and an instant-read thermometer (a $5 gadget that makes baking so much easier) registers 200 degrees when placed in the center

On the google home page today is quite an extraordinary simulation of a hanging metallic mobile toy that actually follows the laws of gravity, the earth's electromagnetic field and the eccentric orbit as it moves and responds to your mouse gestures.

I didn't know anything about Alexander Calder - the sculptor that the doodle is honouring so I had to look him up. V.interesting.

I just had a piece of this Chocolate:


I am totally ready to puke right now. It is so horribly and cloyingly sweet, all my senses are revolting. Chocolate is not meant to be this disgusting!

Toblerone's website proudly proclaims:

2007 For the first time in 34 years, a completely new TOBLERONE taste experience was launched. TOBLERONE Fruit & Nut is made from the finest Swiss milk chocolate with honey and almond nougat, and juicy Californian raisins.

2008 TOBLERONE celebrates its 100th anniversary.

I cannot believe they had the gall to celebrate anything after releasing such a monstrosity on the public.

Yuck. Yuck. Super-yuckety-yuckezoid-yuck.

The chocolate reminds me of three actresses I find super annoying.
1. Keira Knightly
2. Julia Roberts
3. Scarlett Johannsson

Yucketishly cloying.

I think it might be helpful to document some of the weirdness that I experience with (e:strip)'s search function sometimes.

When I search for the term "wok":

• This post about my wok mania turns up: (e:tinypliny,54663)

• This post about my Amazon disenchantment while buying woks doesn't: (e:tinypliny,54693) (Though, wok is prominently in the title of the post and also mentioned in the body.)

Odd, don't you think?