狡兔三窟

Just MM's unique way to say "I love you"

2012-02-03T06:32:00.000-05:00

MM claimed he is ultra shy, and he still has trouble in saying the three magic words. During the six plus years that they are together, Yoyo has learned to convert some of MM's peculiar words and behavior into the magic words automatically. Here is an example.

"How does my hair look these morning?" Yoyo asked.

"Um, interesting...it looks like, er, a thunderstorm..."

Then MM actually googled, found a thunderstorm picture that resembles Yoyo's hair most, and showed it to Yoyo!

Stories About Trader Joe's

2012-01-14T06:47:00.000-05:00

An interesting article tells the story about the mysterious Trader Joe's, my favorite grocery store chain. During our recent trip to the US, we decided to stay in a motel in CA just because it was next door to a Trader Joe's!

Here are the interesting bits from the article:

"Square foot for square foot, that Trader Joe’s outperforms an average Walmart, which would have to do $30 million in business to match it during the same period."

"We don’t know who or what owns Trader Joe’s."

"Albrecht (who owned Trader Joe's and also co-founded Aldi) was held captive for 17 days, during which time he reportedly negotiated down his own ransom of 7 million deutsche marks. Later he wrote off the sum as a business expense on his taxes."

This sentence made me finally realize where my love towards Trader Joe's comes from,

"Stepping into a Trader Joe’s after visiting a supermarket is akin to crossing the state line from New York into Vermont."

2011

2011-12-31T06:56:00.003-05:00

Today is the last day of 2011. It is time to think about what I achieved in the year and make a plan for things I didn't accomplish.

Achievements:

1. Published three journal articles (almost, though the third one is only provisionally accepted).
2. Facilitated my first workshop. It was only a one-day workshop with nine people, but it was a good start.
3. Was invited to two international conferences, though I only had time and energy to go to the one in the States.
4. Was invited to submit a tenure application, which means I might have an indefinite position offer next year.
5. Convinced myself that it might be OK if we do not have any children.
6. Went back to China and found my stepfather a perfect present for his 80s birthday.
7. Visited Korea, a country I had never been to and tasted authentic Korean food.

Plans for 2012.

1. Be more self-disciplined and read, write, exercise everyday.
2. Get social at workplace and cyberspace.
3. Be with my mum on her 66s birthday.
4. Visit at least one new country (we do have a plan to go to New Zealand in March, but that seems too easy).

A typical episode in MM house

2011-12-28T18:54:00.002-05:00

Yoyo was reading a novel where the not-so-strong hero stood in front of his girl-friend when a sinister dog was approaching them. Touched and knowing MM's fear for dogs, Yoyo asked,

"Would you protect me if a dog is attacking us?"
"Er...How big is the dog? Shouldn't we run?!"

Unbearably cute baby polar bear!

2011-12-24T18:17:00.001-05:00

I want one!

Why can’t we get enough of people who don’t give us enough?

2011-11-14T23:45:00.002-05:00

And is it ridiculous that "our most useful allure is resistance and that our natural reaction is to push away someone who shows that he cares?"

From An interesting piece from NYT. I also like his analogy of how internet dating sites are like virtual zoos for humans.

The European bailout: let's hope for the aliens!

2011-11-14T01:51:00.003-05:00

From Peter Martin.

Teaching practices and social captical

2011-11-14T01:20:00.001-05:00

Horizontal teaching promotes social trust, and vertical teaching correlates with low government effectiveness (details).

How to learn any language

2011-11-14T00:25:00.002-05:00

A website I will first check out next time I determine to lean a new language (HT: Freakonomics).

Disadvantaged summer babies

2011-11-13T23:54:00.003-05:00

This is not exactly new, and it looks like children born at the start of the academic year achieve better exam results than children born at the end of the academic year.

Honey without pollen is not honey anymore

2011-11-13T23:11:00.002-05:00

As a bear keeper, I am very into honey. I often drink honey-lemon water myself, with home-grown mints (MM hates it though). But I didn't know how important pollen is until I read this article.

Stop half of an avocado from browning

2011-10-16T01:03:00.001-04:00

Leave it (with stone in) in an airtight container with large chunks of red onion (details).

Soak dried beans: longer is not necessarily better

2011-10-13T03:19:00.001-04:00

I soaked read beans over night this time but they didn't turn out as good (and easily cooked) as before, when I just soaked them for a couple of hours. It says here that "The best way is to put them in cold water; bring them gently to a boil and then with saucepan off the heat, allow them to remain in the water for 1 to 2 hours only. "

Simplest roast chicken recipe

2011-10-07T20:22:00.002-04:00

MM complained my roast chickens had too much flavors (orange/lemon, onion, and rosemary), so I tried this recipe last night and used only salt and pepper. I didn't even truss the chicken (could not find a proper string) but MM liked it. So I am going to stick to this recipe for a while, until he complains there is not enough flavor ;)

10 years living overseas

2011-08-14T07:41:00.003-04:00

On August 14th 2001, I arrived in the States to do my PhD, starting a new chapter in life. Up to that point I had not left family and friends for more than 2 weeks and I had not even taken an airplane...

10 years later, today, I live in a foreign country that feels more like a home to me than China does. I have a fairly good job (even though it is not a permenent one). I also have a loving MM to travel to all over the world with...

What my life will be like in another 10 years?

遗产

2011-08-03T09:04:00.000-04:00

“当我死去，

把我留下的给孩子们，

如果你必须哭，

为走在你身旁的弟兄哭泣，

把你的手臂环住任何人，

像环住我一样。

我想留给你一些东西，

比文字和声音更好的东西，

在我认识和我所爱的人身上看见我的存在。

如果没有我你活不下去，

那么让我

活在你的眼里、心里和善行里。

心手相连让孩子们得到自由；

爱不会死，

人会。”

愿望

2011-08-01T21:40:00.000-04:00

一愿人月两全，岁月静好。

二愿不离不弃，白首偕老。

三愿人丁兴旺……儿女绕膝。

Pita-oid flatbread?

2011-06-26T22:38:00.004-04:00

I have been searching for a perfect pita recipe. The recipes I tried before were OK, but the major issue is that my pitas don't split evenly when puffing up (the upper part is significantly thinner than the lower part, so it is not a very safe carrying bag for felafels and salad).

I tried this recipe today, though not perfect, at least my "pita" split fairly even this time. Here is MM's comment: "It doesn't taste like traditional pita, but it is good whatever it is..."

Um, shall I take it as a compliment?

The lessons learned from using this recipe:

1) Start the dough early (up to 3 days ahead!),
2) Keep the dough moist!
3) High oven temperature (250C+).

p.s. I didn't cook the pita one by one though. Instead, I fit four on a baking sheet and cooking them at once. There were only two batches (of four) in total.

How to self-publish a book

2011-06-18T02:30:00.003-04:00

I have no intention to do it; but it is interesting to know somebody actually did it (without much pain) and can sell it on Amazon. There is even a Kindle version of it.

The 100 greatest non-fiction books

2011-06-18T00:20:00.000-04:00

I haven't read most of them :(

The 2011 Dirty Dozen

2011-06-17T08:39:00.000-04:00

In terms of pesticide (details). Cilantro is pretty bad too.

Apples

Celery

Strawberries

Peaches

Spinach

Nectarines (imported)

Grapes (imported)

Bell Peppers

Potatoes

Blueberries (domestic)

Lettuce

Kale/Collard Greens

The ultimate hot chocolate?

2011-05-28T04:21:00.003-04:00

A recipe by Bill Granger.

I don't know what so ultimate about it. But for me it is certainly the easiest, as we don't always hot chocolate at home but good chocolate is essential to the pantry of MM house.

I made the recipe even easier. Instead of using boiling water to warm the cup and then draining the water (and drying the cup), I just put a cup in the microwave for a minute. It worked out pretty well!

Older parents are happier

2011-05-08T00:47:00.002-04:00

once parents hit 40, people with children are cheerier than those without. The same NYT article also mentioned after 50, each child brings more joy.

Kindle: the secret to read more after being a parent?

2011-05-08T00:39:00.002-04:00

An interesting piece from a researcher who just became a father a week ago.

PC vs. MAC people

2011-05-07T21:14:00.003-04:00

Their differences from personality to the wines they like (link). After reading it, I found myself more of a Mac person in PC skin, which is not surprising. I have always want to have a Mac, but unfortunately some of the programs I use (e.g. Access) doesn't have a Mac version.

Top 10 Korean food you have to try

2011-05-07T21:01:00.002-04:00

I loves Korean food and cannot wait to try some authentic dishes when we are visiting Korea later this year (no dog meat, please!). MM seems to equate Korean food with "loads of chilly peppers, " which is true to some extent.

The top 10 list suggested here though, only including 3 chilly dishes, at least at the first sight. I am sure Koreans will add chilly peppers to some of the rest (e.g. bibimbap for sure) :)

What does IQ really measure?

2011-05-07T20:54:00.001-04:00

A recent study confirmed motivation matters.

Economics, Genetics and Hippies

2011-05-07T20:15:00.002-04:00

A NYT post, arguing "Parents spend too much effort trying to mold their kids for the future, and not enough just enjoying life together." Because "Nature overpowers nurture," Parents need to love, encourage, and accept their kids. Stop trying to change them. Their future will take care of itself."

MM Papa's 95 years birthday

2011-05-05T08:04:00.003-04:00

Today would have been the 95th birthday of MM Papa, if he were still with us. It is a shame that I have never got to meet him...

Lincolnshire plum bread

2011-04-23T20:16:00.003-04:00

We watched the BBC show and MM claimed he had not have plum bread for almost 20 years. So I made it for him and it turned out "the tastiest bear food ever!"

It is rather dense and doughy in the middle. The 200g+ prunes seems to evaporate during the cooking process but I guess that is why the bread is purple.

Places we want to go

2011-02-23T10:55:00.000-05:00

MM's top five: Spain, Mexico, Japan, Turkey and Bali.
YY's top five: Greece, Tibet, An African country to see Safari animals; Italy, and Mexico.

We went to a Greek restaurant to celebrate our three years' wedding anniversary. We wrote our top five while waiting for our food.

Dream MM house

2011-02-20T03:25:00.003-05:00

It would be great to live in one of these someday. They are a bit pricey now, especially if you have to buy buy than one. I think it makes more sense for each family member to have their own egg house and be neighbors.

For communication purpose, at nighttime candle could be used for "sign language." One candle means "leave me alone," and two would be "welcome!"

:)

不会回头

2011-01-27T07:27:00.000-05:00

“千万人之中，只要他的眼睛始终望向我，那么即使天涯相隔，我也矢志不移；可是即使近在咫尺，他先放开了我的手，我就再不会回头。”

梦醒了

2011-01-22T07:36:00.001-05:00

我停了一会儿，尽量把我的想法说清楚：“丽娘，我和你不一样。我喜欢上了一个我想象中的人，他纯净坚强，善良大方，像一盏黑暗中的灯光，那么深沉的夜，都没有熄灭它的明亮……我当时愿意把我的生命献给他，好好和他走一程……可后来才发现，我们不是一种人，想的不一样，方向不同，不能走在一起。我喜欢的人只活在我心中。回头看，这是个误会，在我身边，其实，没有这个人。”夜色深沉，月色如霜。四外静静的，我的话语和着我们的脚步声，很清晰。丽娘走得很慢。

　　我们走了半天，丽娘又说道：“你怎能就这样放了手？就是他做了让你伤心的事，你也该容人改过。”

　　我摇头说道：“我不需要别人的改过。丽娘，我明白了，我不能改变任何人。人们都有自己爱好，他们该有快乐。我不勉强别人按我的见解生活。说来，这是我的错，我存了幻想，不能接受现实中真正的人，所以我梦醒了，宁可从此没有任何关系。”

习惯

2011-01-21T19:44:00.002-05:00

"我做生意的习惯是，第一次信你，若质量好，我们保持长期合作，若不行，我们再不往来."

顾城心无故的一拎，明知道他是在说茶叶，可却被瞬间击中了般，楞住了，半晌才涩涩的点头，“行，我答应。”

......

就在李承锦以为苏小禾放不开，打算放弃的时候，苏小禾说话了，声音小小的，带着软弱与稍显诡异的自信，“我敢确信，小城哥哥……他爱的是我……”

李承锦楞住了，不仅为小禾的一声“小城哥哥”，更是为了他在对待与顾城的感情问题上，难得的自信，近乎盲目的自信。他依稀记得那次在倾盆大雨中，苏小禾扶着药店的门，仰着脸失声痛哭的模样，那么孱弱而渺小，仿佛要用尽一生的感情，尽情宣泄着，让他心痛到无以复加。

他甘愿冒着大雨为他遮挡，却不确信苏小禾是不是需要这份温情。

李承锦与他那双黑水晶般的大眼睛对视着，仔细的看着这个双眸清澈，身子骨意外瘦削的孩子，微笑，“怎么这么肯定？”

苏小禾脸色苍白，并没有说这种话时该的羞赧，他的表情更像是在划着一块原本已经复合的刀痕，稍稍眯起眼，黑水晶般的眼上立刻就蒙上了一层迷蒙的水雾，失色的嘴唇，回忆的口吻，“我和他在一起十五年，扣去不懂事的时候不算，少说也有十年，十年的感情不是可以伪造的，我分辨得出。”

“那你为什么要离开他？”这是李承锦一直好奇的问题，如今顺着他的口吻自然而然的问出。

苏小禾呼吸一滞，眨了眨眼睛，水雾消失不见，睫毛上立刻就沾上了点点水珠，看起来无比的清俏，单纯而朦胧。他咬着唇，似在犹豫该不该说，再悄悄的看了李承锦一眼，似乎是想找出他神色里的不满，却被他眼里满满的心疼冲得一楞，因此下定决心再无保留。

“就是因为太爱他了，所以无法忍受一点点的轻视，一丝一毫的花心。”

......

下一代，这真是个令人惊恐的词汇，让人不得不放弃幻想的词汇。

When coconut milk meets soy sauce

2011-01-18T07:06:00.003-05:00

I always think myself being rather adventurous in cooking, but I have never put these two things together. Probably because MM reported it was awful when he did it.

I just found this recipe of chicken adobo, a national dish of the Philippines, which in fact uses both coconut milk and soy sauce. Cannot imagine how it tastes like, especially with heaps of rice vinegar as well.

I only had once in my life a vinaigrette-flavored chicken, cooked by a Filipino friend of course. From what I remembered it was horrible; it almost felt that the meet went bad ;).

Game thoery and child-rearing

2011-01-18T05:20:00.000-05:00

Some interesting techniques here. Of course, they are only useful when you have multiple kids.

选择离开

2011-01-14T08:34:00.000-05:00

专注地凝视着茶杯，好像能从水中看出一朵花来一般，楚玉静静地道：“就算是这样，可我为什么要留下来？难道说他对我示好，我便该感激涕零地扑上去报答他的恩赐？”

她选择离开，并不是为了逃避而胡乱做下的决定，正是冷静思考的结果。观沧海对她说这些，没有任何意义。

抬起眼帘，楚玉望向观沧海。虽然也许观沧海看不到她的模样，但她还是想对着此人说话：“这是我的意志，与容止待我如何，并无干系。三年前我是这么想地，三年后的今天，我也是这么想的。”

“道不同不相为谋，我跟他不是一条道上的，虽然过去三年能相安无事，但那是因为正好我们的道路交错了一段。能共同走一阵子，可是现在总是要分开，他有他的皇图霸业，可是我呢，我留下来做什么？”楚玉面无表情，冷静地道，“我不知道他将来会如何。成王或者败寇，可是这都与我无关，就算他能一统天下当了皇帝又如何？难道我要做他后宫里的妃子？别说笑话了。”

楚玉微微一笑，目光却有些难过：“我喜欢容止，没错。但我也同样不能接受他的一些想法和作为，倘若一直留在他身边，我无可避免地会目睹他伤人害人。我不会因为他不喜欢我而怨恨，因为我喜欢他是自愿的，但相对地，我也不会因为他改变态度转而忽视他一切的作为。”

她的语调自始至终都十分平静，平静得令人心寒，“容止是什么样的人你应该比我更明白，我不奢望他改变。也不打算为了他改变。”

有那么一句话，叫做相爱容易相处难，也许相爱未必就是容易，但相处是比前者更艰难的事。光只是一个喜欢不能粉饰一切。至少对楚玉来说是这样的。

容止有容止的心性，她有她的骄傲……归根结底，也只有分开这么一途。

凋零

2011-01-14T08:13:00.000-05:00

爱一个人，那是一种非常勇敢无畏，又非常容易凋零的东西，喜欢的时候极喜欢，一旦爱意消逝，又会变得极冷漠。

“我不后悔曾经喜欢，但是现在，我要保护我自己，我要忘记你。”楚玉目光毫不退避地与他对视，吐字清楚地道：“就如同佳肴，是有保质期限的，过期的爱意如同久置的菜肴，没人会稀罕多看一眼。”

那种东西，吃了会食物中毒地。

技不如人，只能任由摆布。

2011-01-14T07:20:00.000-05:00

同样是站着，他地身体笔直如剑，什么都不必做，便仿佛有剑气自然散发，这一点，便是观沧海现在正在挑剔的。花错面上含怒，好几次都要发作出来，可偏偏观沧海地鱼竿好像长了眼睛一般，他稍有异动，便飞快点在他最弱的关节处，让他清醒地认识到两人的巨大差距，纵然观沧海没给他造成什么伤害，但是他知道，那是对方刻意留手的结果。

你若我心我便休

2011-01-14T06:48:00.002-05:00

"
楚玉望着他，目光莹然字字清晰俐落：“喜欢上你，是我自愿，放弃回家的机会救你，也是我自愿，今天离开你，还是我自愿。”她眸光似水，却仿佛具有一种锋利强硬的力量，“我不乞求你什么，也绝不想用这些来交换什么，喜欢你是我一个人的事，离开你也是我一个人的事。”

“你不喜欢我，那么我便也不喜欢你好了，就这么简单。”

她的声音原本偏向低柔，可是此时听起来，却仿佛坚硬的玉石清脆敲击，每一个声调都那么的决绝美丽。

好像被巨大的波浪冲击，容止只觉得微微晕眩。

是太阳太刺眼了吗？

不，是眼前这个女子，太耀眼了。

他可以看透很多人，可是直到现在他才发现，他竟然从来没有真正看透过楚玉。

他从来不知道，她竟然是这样的人。

坦然的说喜欢，坦然的说伤心，坦然的说承担，坦然的说着爱和放弃，那么的自由洒脱

与山阴公主截然不同，与，他从前遇见的所有人都截然不同。

舍弃宝贵的东西，却并没有想过要换取什么，她有时候会做一些旁人看来很傻的事，但是谁都不晓得，她只是诚实而坚定地面对自己的心。"

真

2010-12-18T02:04:00.000-05:00

不以真相示人，唯以真人示人

仁者无忧，智者无惑，勇者无惧

2010-12-13T20:20:00.001-05:00

"雪花如席卷下，片片吹落在长安街道上。

　　我匍匐在没膝的大雪中，一步一步，一点一点接近我的目标——门楼下一处人家的屋檐。冰凉的手掌像小小的爪子在无暇银玉中留下一个个痕迹，又很快地湮没在飞扬大雪中。

　　“等一下！”快要失去知觉的我听到了一个温暖的声音，就好比是我家门前的那池溪水，春暖融融。雪地里响起了踏碎琼玉的脚步声，一个小小的身子跑过来，将带着他如阳体温的斗篷覆盖在我身上。

　　我无力拒绝，只是继续爬行。

　　我听见他爽朗的笑声回荡在我头顶：“这么个怪小孩。”

　　我根本不予理会，甚至连抬头看看都不曾，因为在达到我的目的地之前，我要节约每一丝力气。"

Coconut rice made with rick cooker: the easiest recipe ever

2010-11-13T21:57:00.003-05:00

I somehow felt like making coconut rice to go with grilled salmon and stir-fried cabbage. After checking several recipes online, it seems rather troublesome to make. The existing recipes either requires mixing water and coconut milk or using a saucepan (instead of rice cooker). Here is a recipe I created and it is easiest ever!

1.25 cups of Jasmine rice
1 can of lite coconut milk (therefore, no need to mix water and coconut milk)
1 pinch of salt
1~2 tablespoon of dry coconut pieces

Rinse the rice three times and get rid of as much as water as possible for the last time. Pour in the lite milk, then add the salt and coconut pieces. Stir. Push the "cook" button. Sit back and relax!

It turned out pretty well and a perfect companion for the hot-and-sour cabbage!

A couple of new kniting techniques I just learned

2010-11-09T20:21:00.001-05:00

Wrap and Turn + Bind off.

Bitterness in life

2010-11-05T07:22:00.005-04:00

Once upon a time, the master had a student who often complains about how harsh his life is. One day, the master asked the student to get a bag of salt. Then the master put a handful of the salt into a cup. "Now, taste the water," he said.

"It is awfully bitter!" The student screamed.

Then the master throw the same amount of water into a lake. "How does the lake water taste then?"

"Pretty good." The student didn't complain for a change.

"The difficult times in your life is just like this salt," said the master with a smile, "the degree of its bitterness depends on the size of the container that holds the water, not the amount of the salt."

"And your heart is the container."

Ben & Jerry for sale in Sydney airport!!!

2010-11-04T07:05:00.002-04:00

I was in tears yesterday when seeing, for the 1st time in Australia, that B&J was on sale. I am a big fan of the ice cream, and there often were three flavors of it in my freezer when I was a PhD student in the US. But unfortunately, it wasn't for sale in Australia until now. In the past three years, I am very B&J-deprived and only had it a couple of times when traveling aboard (Hong Kong and Israel).

It looks like though I will continue to be deprived. The B&J for sale was very pricey and I figure it was shipped all the way from the USA--not an environment-friendly product to buy anymore.

Things I just learned about South Korea

2010-11-02T07:35:00.003-04:00

I always love Korean food but knew very little about the country. Just read an intro book as I might visit it next year.

1. The trigger of the Korea was N. Korea's invasion of S. Korea.
2. Only until very recently (early 1990s) did S. Korea become a democratic country.
3. Before getting married, the groom will give a wooden goose or duck or both to the bride's family. Because geese/duck mate for life.
4. It is impolite to use chopstick to eat rice. Spoon is recommended for this purpose.
5. The traditional snack food during movie-watching is dried squid.

The cultural/religious roots of different attitude towards robots

2010-10-16T20:27:00.002-04:00

Different religions explain why Japanese loves robots and Americans hate them (details). Very interesting.

HT: Rafi.

有一种爱叫做放手

2010-09-16T10:20:00.004-04:00

...
有一种爱叫做放手
为爱放弃天长地久
我们相守若让你付出所有
让真爱带我走
有一种爱叫做放手
为爱结束天长地久
我的离去若让你拥有所有
让真爱带我走说分手
为了你失去你
狠心扮演伤害你
为了你离开你
永远不分的离...

---阿木

p.s. obviously I wasn't the only who bit the bullet ;)

好难

2010-09-15T14:26:00.001-04:00

"要做一只鸟，可以飞的慢，飞的低，但不能轻易的，为谁停下来，因为一旦落下，想再飞起来，就好难，好难...."

--《久违了，前妻!》

It is a relativity issue, honey!

2010-09-07T15:01:00.002-04:00

MM just said, "There are too many small chairs in this world!"

What is the most interesting things I've seen in Swedish supermarket

2010-09-07T14:22:00.002-04:00

1. Napkins, paper plates, and balloons that feature crayfish (for their crayfish party),
2. Yarn and needles,
3. Bike tires,
4. Sugar with pectin (I made some lingonberry jam with it).

How to choose cantaloupes

2010-08-09T09:43:00.002-04:00

Key words: fragrant, innie, dry & corky, yellow or creamy (no green for a change!) (details)

HT: MM bear.

Feel very accomplished!

2010-08-09T06:20:00.003-04:00

Generally MM is easy to feed, but there are several things he would not be anywhere close, including beetroot.

Yoyo happens to be an adventurous chef, who likes to try new things out. Tonight she made this Turkish beetroot dip. Guess what?! MM just could not have enough of it!

Cooking tips:

!. I used fresh beetroots and they take forever to boil. So plan ahead and start early next time.
2. We don't have Greek Yogurt at home, so I used honey-flavored yogurt and lime juices. MM loves lime so perhaps that is why he was raving ;)

Four Manual Settings You Need to Know for Shooting Food

2010-08-03T03:40:00.002-04:00

Just for future reference: I really need to improve my food pictures!

Five years ago, today

2010-07-24T06:13:00.004-04:00

MM and Yoyo bumped into each other and they fell in love at first sight and they have been deeply in love ever since...

No, not that dramatic. Here is the real story:

They bumped into each other at a party, when MM was 75% drunk and Yoyo was 120% frizzled in middle of her "Oh-my-God-I-am-30-years-old!" crisis. Neither of them was in their best.

Magically, with 25% soberness, MM managed to remember Yoyo as "attractive" after the party (make you wonder: what would be the adjective if he was 100% sober) and started a three-month-long fishing campaign by email when they went back to their own cities. At the end of the three months, they kissed for the first time and to these days, they both feel very lucky that they went to that party!

何名禅定?

2010-07-21T08:11:00.005-04:00

"外离相为禅, 内不乱为定.
外若着相, 内心既乱.
本性自净自定.
只为见境思境即乱.
若见诸境心不乱者, 是真定也.
善知识! 外离相即禅, 内不乱即定.
外禅内定, 是为禅定."

A hybrid of MM bear and Yoyo?

2010-07-19T21:49:00.001-04:00

Gummy bear. So silly and cute!

What do yo do with bay leaves?

2010-07-03T05:03:00.001-04:00

Heaps of suggestions, including using it as insect repellent--something I have never thought about.

Tell the doneness of red meat

2010-06-28T05:04:00.003-04:00

We don't eat any red meat at MM house but I found this is fascinating.

""Put the tips of your first finger and thumb together lightly, then use your opposite hand to squeeze the fleshy bit of the palm just below the base of the thumb. That is the consistency of rare meat. If you switch to thumb and second finger, the pad of your hand actually feels more solid, and that's the texture of medium-rare. Thumb and third finger is medium; thumb and pinky is well done. Clearly this is what they are talking about when they say opposable thumbs are a sign of our evolution (Link).""

Infrared pictures

2010-06-21T02:44:00.002-04:00

Pretty cool (More).

"If there is one overriding principle of German food,

2010-06-15T01:54:00.003-04:00

it is to avoid anything in a sauce.

Sometimes you can't tell which national cuisine the Asian restaurants are serving and I don't mean that as a compliment. Sri Lankan food is one of the best respites from the oppression of food preparation in Deutschland..."

This is Tyler Cowen's note from Berlin.

I am a bit worried--we are going to be in Munich for at least four days in Sept. Back in the university I studied German for a year and had a couple of language-partners, who cooked several "authentic" German meals for me. Based on my limited experience, I really cannot say I am that much into German food.

Well, at least they made great cake there :)

Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognise as food.

2010-06-15T01:04:00.001-04:00

and nine other food rules by Michael Pollan.

10 Catchy Food Rules
2. Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognise as food.
6. Avoid foods that contain more than five ingredients
13. Eat only foods that eventually will rot.
15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can.
20. It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
21. It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language (Think Big Mac).
27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
32. Don't overlook the oily little fishes.
36. Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
39. Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does

Eat up and save

2010-06-14T22:28:00.002-04:00

Chef Yukako Ichikawa has introduced a 30 percent discount for diners who eat all the food they have ordered at Wafu, her 30-seat restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, that describes itself as "guilty free Japanese cuisine (more)."

I guess her food is tasty enough for somebody to finish. Normally I love Japanese food, but recently I really struggled in finishing my sushi, even though there were only two pieces--because they put mayo on top!

Lesson: read their menu carefully before sitting down at a restaurant that claims to serve "Fusion" food. This "Japanese Fusion" in downtown Brisbane serves pizza as well.

What I learned after knitting half of a sock...

2010-05-24T07:47:00.002-04:00

1. MM's feet are even bigger then I thought.
2. Life was tough when people had to knit their socks.
3. The person who invented sock-knitting was a genius.

I started the sock on Friday and didn't do much during the weekend other then sleeping, eating, feeding the bear and knitting. Now I am only half way there.

The rest should be easier though. I had never knitted socks before and I decided to challenge myself when MM asked for a new pair (and refused to go shopping with me). Thanks to Kelly's youtube video, I am doing fine so far.

Let the dough rise overnight

2010-05-21T23:53:00.000-04:00

The slow route of home-made pizza.

Live well vs. Do well

2010-05-13T02:31:00.004-04:00

Not I never thought about the difference before, but I just learned how to express the difference in English after reading this post.

Another new word for me is vagabonding, which probably make people live less well (if they are rich enough) but do better...

Chickpea wars

2010-05-09T22:24:00.002-04:00

Lebanese chefs set Guinness World Records with 10-tonne hummus and 5173 kilos of falafel.

HT: MM bear.

The top ten fruit/veggie loaded with pesticides

2010-04-27T06:38:00.001-04:00

peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce and imported grapes (more).

Things MM & I are jointly not good at...

2010-04-23T20:12:00.002-04:00

1. Getting out of bed. A common scene for weekend mornings is that we sit in bed, reading from our laptops while drinking coffee and snacking.

2. Singing. But MM claims he sings better than I am.

3. Swimming. "I swim about as good as I sing, you too," MM said. Yes, he swims better...

4. Parachuting. Neither of us has tried it--but MM thinks it is too dangerous and I hate heights.

5. Skiing. Again, neither of us has tried it, because we don't like cold weather.

6. Killing a fish, a chicken or any creature other than a fly or a mosquito.

7...

"American" Food I miss

2010-04-23T19:33:00.002-04:00

Last night MM & I chatted about American food that are not easy to find here in Australia. Something like clam chowder, of course, I don't miss at all. But surprisingly enough, the "I miss" list is quite long...

1. Ben & Jerry
2. Cranberry
3. Maple syrup
4. Tortilla made of corn flour
5. Bagel
6. Live lobster
7. Granola
8. Organic produce (organic stuff here are much more expensive)

How to take food pictures!

2010-04-11T07:58:00.001-04:00

Q & A round 1 and round 2.

At least my poem was not copy-edited

2010-04-11T07:20:00.002-04:00

4.5 years together, I am still getting used to and learning to appreciate the difference between MM and myself. This process is endless, always interesting and sometimes frustrating... At least he didn't copy-edited love poems in red pencil.

Cultural differences in sock-organizing?

2010-03-29T23:10:00.002-04:00

I usually do mine the inside-out way. But MM offers the fourth way: treasure-hunting. He has a huge bag (that can fit me in) of socks and every morning he sticks his head into the bag, looking for a matching pair. I cannot help laughing the first time I saw that scene; I still cannot help it now, 2 years and 7 months after living together.

Bubbly and itchy

2010-03-19T18:57:00.002-04:00

New research result: mosquitoes were more attracted to the beer drinkers than the water drinkers.

When MM and I are together, I am always the one who got bitten by mosquitoes. But the other night he got his share when drinking bear with his colleagues (and I wasn't around). It would be interesting to see who will attract mosquitoes next time when we are together and only MM drinks.

Aussie Underwear Has Gone Bananas

2010-03-18T01:33:00.003-04:00

Literally. I'll make sure to order MM a dozen because he loves bananas.

Australian property bubble

2010-03-07T04:05:00.002-05:00

A Wiki entry.

Classical music as a punishment for school children!

2010-03-07T03:24:00.001-05:00

This is not from the Onions!

From my inbox today.

2010-02-22T19:54:00.004-05:00

"There is a brown snake snooping about the north side of building...so I suggest you..."

I love Australia but this is not the first time I got such a warning email from my colleague. I am not a big fan of any reptile and snake is my least favorite of all. Over time MM has developed a habit of holding my eyes when snakes are shown on TV.

Is there any place in the world that is not too cold and snake-free?

P.S. How can I not love my MM bear?! Minutes within I wrote the post he sent me a link to a New Zealand immigration website which says,

"New Zealand doesn’t have any snakes, scorpions, bears, wild cats (of the ferocious variety) or alligators/crocodiles. We do have spiders but only one of them is capable of causing a nasty bite – and it’s never fatal."

The nuclear energy debate

2010-02-19T23:07:00.000-05:00

Metalinks.

Why Mr Koala bellows

2010-02-14T21:52:00.004-05:00

They are are mating calls (to invite Ms Koala over) and not territorial calls as had been thought (from the latest Science magazine).

I didn't know koalas make any noise, as they are so quite when sleeping. Whenever I see them, they are either in sound sleep or in transition to the next position to sleep.

Avoid buying glass-jarred food with more than 4% fat

2010-02-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

Especially if it is runny.

To the econometrician bear

2010-02-14T21:10:00.003-05:00

Yoyo wondered if there was anything special she could say/do to MM on this Valentine's Day, and she found this poem,

"

You're the apple of my pi
You're the square to my chi
You're the source of my love, shining and nu
And that is why I love mu

-+-

They say that Y equals m-x plus b
(well, when you remove the uncertainty).
So let me reveal a secret confession:
You're the solution to my least squares obsession."