Last night, at 2am: “sweetie, I think I just peed on the cat, but it’s okay, it was just a little bit.”
Month: September 2013
Bean comes out with the best sayings
Last night, I was putting Bean to bed when I told him “you know I love you, right?”, to which he answered: “yes, but I drive you nuts” :D
This morning, he was playing on the springy horse in the playground and zigged when he should have zagged and ended up nutting himself in the teeth on the horse’s head. He was ok, no blood and no wobbly or chipped teeth, but you could see he hurt himself a bit (the whole bottom lip quiver and everything). We talked through it, and he said that if mummy made a cake with him this afternoon, that would help his teeth feel better. When I said I’d let his teacher he got hurt this morning, he said: “nooo! Don’t tell her. I’ll pretend to be happy!”
I love my Bean.
Current Mood:
Amused
Not a bad day
Had pancakes for breakfast, managed to build all of the bookshelves and emptied out a few more boxes. At this rate, we should be ready for Katy’s parents’ visit in two weeks.
Random shit on my desk
Ballet dancers in everyday situations
Rules of the lab
Nothing is as easy as it looks.
If an experiment works, something has gone wrong.
All scientific discoveries are first recorded on napkins or tablecloths. Engineering advances are drawn inside matchbook covers. Keep supplies of them handy at all times.
Everything takes longer than you think.
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
When you don’t know what you’re doing, do it neatly.
Remember that your supervisor is a busy person – if he/she isn’t, change your supervisor
Experiments must be reproducible, they should fail the same way each time.
Never replicate a successful experiment
First draw your curves, then plot your data.
An experiment may be considered successful if no more than half the data must be discarded to agree with the theory.
Experience is directly proportional to equipment ruined.
Always keep a record of your data. It indicates that you have been working.
To do a lab really well, have your report done well in advance.
If you can’t get the answer in the usual manner, start at the answer and derive the question.
In case of doubt, make it sound convincing.
Do not believe in miracles – rely on them.
Team work is essential, it allows you to blame someone else.
All unmarked beakers contain fast-acting, extremely toxic poisons.
No experiment is a complete failure. At least it can serve as a negative example.
Any delicate and expensive piece of equipment will break before any use can be made of it.
If nobody uses it, there’s a reason.
Always proofread carefully to see if you any words out. No one you ask for help will see the mistakes either.
If you know what you’re doing, how long it will take, or what it will cost, it isn’t research.
For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
When all else fails, read the instructions.
If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
Every solution breeds new problems.
More meeting goodness
This is what my day devolved into today
[recipe] Vietnamese summer rolls
(Makes 8)
150g cooked, shredded ginger pork (or chicken)
16 large raw, peeled prawns
1 block of rice vermicelli
4 sprigs of coriander
2 chives, cut into 10cm lengths
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1/4 cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks
1/2 red pepper, cut into thin slices
1 soft lettuce, ½ shredded (or rocket)
8 rice paper wrappers
For the dipping sauce:
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 bird’s eye chilli, finely sliced
Bring a small pan of water with 1 tbsp salt added, to the boil. Add the prawns, turn down the heat and poach for two minutes until pink. Drain and cut in half.
Put the noodles in a large bowl and pour over boiling water. Add ½ tsp salt, leave for about four minutes until al dente, then rinse well in cold water and drain thoroughly.
Set out all the ingredients within easy reach of a clean, dry chopping board. Half fill a bowl big enough to fit the wrappers in with cold water, and then dunk one in and keep patting until it’s pliable, but not completely soft. Lay flat on the chopping board.
Arrange two crossed chives, if using, horizontally towards the bottom edge of the wrapper. Top with four prawn halves in a horizontal line, and top these with a line of herb leaves. Add a pinch of carrot and a few cucumber and red pepper sticks, some of the sliced pork, then a small clump of rice vermicelli. Finish with some shredded lettuce.
Bring the bottom edge of the wrapper tightly up over the filling, and then fold the sides in over it. Continue to roll up tightly and place on a plate, join-side down. Cover rolls with lettuce leaves to keep them fresh.
Once all the rolls are made, make the sauce. Whisk the sugar into the lime juice to dissolve, then add the remaining ingredients. Adjust to taste if necessary.
[recipe] Chocolate espresso mug cake
Ingredients
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp instant coffee powder
2 tbsp drinking chocolate powder or sweetened cocoa powder
2.5 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
1 egg
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
In a mixing bowl combine all purpose flour, coffee powder, sugar and baking powder. Mix well.
Add milk, egg, oil and vanilla extract. Stir with a fork just until combined.
Pour into a greased mug and microwave on high for 90 seconds (or a few seconds more) until cooked through.(DO NOT OVER COOK)
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or simply dust with powdered sugar.
ENJOY!!!!!
NOTE: you can use cocoa powder instead of drinking chocolate mix. In that case, add 1 or 2 tsp more sugar according to your taste.