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Showing posts with label bananas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bananas. Show all posts
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Monday, June 22, 2009
burning bananas
from the test tube video series comes a very interesting short video about research being conducted on bananas! there's an excess of banana peels available in several african countries that are just going to waste. could these banana peels be used as an efficient energy source when burned?
Sunday, February 1, 2009
25 things
here's a narcissistic indulgence spiraling its way around facebook. thought i'd participate and share it here too.
1. i have 55 (plus or minus 2) *first* cousins. all of them currently live within a few hour drive of cincinnati, ohio, USA.
2. at the start of each year in elementary school, i looked around the class to see who i would have a crush on. who knew i'd be facebook friends with some of my crushes 20 years later?!
3. i first left my country at the age of 15 to visit my aunt in south korea. the experience changed me completely... the world beyond suburban america became an attainable reality. thank you, amy! i hope i can share such an awakening adventure with my niece and nephew when they are old enough.
4. i went thru a strong christian phase when i was a teenager. the judgmental attitudes of some of my christian friends instigated my questioning of religion.
5. during my first year in college, i fell in love, smoked cigarettes, discovered the grateful dead, got a tattoo, tried some drugs, learned how to knit, and changed my major to physics - not necessarily in that order.
6. i was in a rock band called perelandra for a couple years in college. i often asked myself "should i be a rock star or a physicist?" then the band decided for me by breaking up one summer while i was in chicagoland working at fermilab, being an astrophysicist.
7. i once met jeff tweedy (of the band wilco) and told him that his austin city limits festival set was really great, but not quite as rockin' as the pixies.
8. i started school at the age of 4 and finally finished, after taking no breaks, at 28. i began to question my sanity near the end; they gave me a Ph.D.
9. i've spent about 90 nights awake on mountain tops around the world playing with big huge telescopes and admiring the sky!
10. one of my proudest moments was when the chilenos i played with soccer with in chile started calling me "ronaldinha!"
11. i've kept personal journals since i was 8 years old. maybe thats why i took to blogging so naturally.
12. i enjoy writing a blog. i started about ten years ago in order to learn html and update my family while i traveled (see #6). then i decided to use the venue as a way to practice writing about science to a popular audience. i'm constantly entertained by the personal online community astropixie has developed. i'm constantly intrigued, and sometimes creeped out, by the communication existing between people from all over the world, and by the feedback i receive.
13. i finish reading a novel every month or two and give my books to people i think might enjoy them. book recommendations always welcome.
14. i think video conferences are both wonderful and horrible. creating and maintaining worldwide astronomical collaborations is now easier, and i love seeing my family while i live so far away! but the moment i end a conversation with my niece and nephew is the moment i miss them the absolute most, because i cant give them hugs.
15. i'm a big fan of the original star wars movies, bananas, art parties, orgasms, honesty, singing around campfires, family dinners, explorative discussions, skinny dipping, seeing the milky way in the sky, reading to kids, and baking bread. (yes, i'm counting this as one item in the whole list!)
16. i feel like i really experience a culture when i stay long enough to watch how the people change with the seasons. i'm thrilled to have experienced this in ohio, austin, germany, chile, and england... so far.
17. my great-grandmother's name was ida dora doll.
18. i like learning other languages. how else can you haggle when you travel? also, there are beautiful phrases in each language that do not translate properly, yet reveal interesting cultural details about the people that speak the language.
19. the sight of blood makes me queazy, and probably explains why i dont like horror films.
22. i'm a cat lover without a cat to love.... i travel too much to have a pet right now :( when i was very young, i had a kitten named sock. sock died and i was sad, so i named my next kitten two socks.
21. few things please me more than being so absorbed in playing the piano that i lose awareness of everything else.
22. i think we are all ultimately trying to figure out how to deal with our undeniably finite existences. to me, the idea of a god provides no confidence, although i recognize that the possibility consoles many. i derive comfort from contemplating how the universe works, appreciating my unexplainable human consciousness, and knowing that my being will eventually be recycled back into the cycle of star dust that i so much admire.
23. i'm happy for my health, and make an effort to maintain it.
24. i'm looking forward to turning 30. only 4 months left! i wonder what shade of gray my hair will eventually turn.
25. i'm proud of what i've accomplished in my life and have absolutely no idea where i'll be, or what i'll be doing in a few years. for now i am happy anticipating the unknown adventures, but maybe i won't always feel comfortable with such uncertainty.
ps. i'm thru with through.
1. i have 55 (plus or minus 2) *first* cousins. all of them currently live within a few hour drive of cincinnati, ohio, USA.
2. at the start of each year in elementary school, i looked around the class to see who i would have a crush on. who knew i'd be facebook friends with some of my crushes 20 years later?!
3. i first left my country at the age of 15 to visit my aunt in south korea. the experience changed me completely... the world beyond suburban america became an attainable reality. thank you, amy! i hope i can share such an awakening adventure with my niece and nephew when they are old enough.
4. i went thru a strong christian phase when i was a teenager. the judgmental attitudes of some of my christian friends instigated my questioning of religion.
5. during my first year in college, i fell in love, smoked cigarettes, discovered the grateful dead, got a tattoo, tried some drugs, learned how to knit, and changed my major to physics - not necessarily in that order.
6. i was in a rock band called perelandra for a couple years in college. i often asked myself "should i be a rock star or a physicist?" then the band decided for me by breaking up one summer while i was in chicagoland working at fermilab, being an astrophysicist.
7. i once met jeff tweedy (of the band wilco) and told him that his austin city limits festival set was really great, but not quite as rockin' as the pixies.
8. i started school at the age of 4 and finally finished, after taking no breaks, at 28. i began to question my sanity near the end; they gave me a Ph.D.
9. i've spent about 90 nights awake on mountain tops around the world playing with big huge telescopes and admiring the sky!
10. one of my proudest moments was when the chilenos i played with soccer with in chile started calling me "ronaldinha!"
11. i've kept personal journals since i was 8 years old. maybe thats why i took to blogging so naturally.
12. i enjoy writing a blog. i started about ten years ago in order to learn html and update my family while i traveled (see #6). then i decided to use the venue as a way to practice writing about science to a popular audience. i'm constantly entertained by the personal online community astropixie has developed. i'm constantly intrigued, and sometimes creeped out, by the communication existing between people from all over the world, and by the feedback i receive.
13. i finish reading a novel every month or two and give my books to people i think might enjoy them. book recommendations always welcome.
14. i think video conferences are both wonderful and horrible. creating and maintaining worldwide astronomical collaborations is now easier, and i love seeing my family while i live so far away! but the moment i end a conversation with my niece and nephew is the moment i miss them the absolute most, because i cant give them hugs.
15. i'm a big fan of the original star wars movies, bananas, art parties, orgasms, honesty, singing around campfires, family dinners, explorative discussions, skinny dipping, seeing the milky way in the sky, reading to kids, and baking bread. (yes, i'm counting this as one item in the whole list!)
16. i feel like i really experience a culture when i stay long enough to watch how the people change with the seasons. i'm thrilled to have experienced this in ohio, austin, germany, chile, and england... so far.
17. my great-grandmother's name was ida dora doll.
18. i like learning other languages. how else can you haggle when you travel? also, there are beautiful phrases in each language that do not translate properly, yet reveal interesting cultural details about the people that speak the language.
19. the sight of blood makes me queazy, and probably explains why i dont like horror films.
22. i'm a cat lover without a cat to love.... i travel too much to have a pet right now :( when i was very young, i had a kitten named sock. sock died and i was sad, so i named my next kitten two socks.
21. few things please me more than being so absorbed in playing the piano that i lose awareness of everything else.
22. i think we are all ultimately trying to figure out how to deal with our undeniably finite existences. to me, the idea of a god provides no confidence, although i recognize that the possibility consoles many. i derive comfort from contemplating how the universe works, appreciating my unexplainable human consciousness, and knowing that my being will eventually be recycled back into the cycle of star dust that i so much admire.
23. i'm happy for my health, and make an effort to maintain it.
24. i'm looking forward to turning 30. only 4 months left! i wonder what shade of gray my hair will eventually turn.
25. i'm proud of what i've accomplished in my life and have absolutely no idea where i'll be, or what i'll be doing in a few years. for now i am happy anticipating the unknown adventures, but maybe i won't always feel comfortable with such uncertainty.
ps. i'm thru with through.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
flying bananas!
never thought bananas could be scary, but daniela edburg certainly achieved the effect in this photo!
thanks to bernd missal for the link!
thanks to bernd missal for the link!
Friday, January 9, 2009
for anyone who eats
if i'm completely honest, creating a tasty new dish can be more satisfying than finding an unfathomably distant galaxy.
my success rate for cooking yummy food drastically increases with the freshness of the ingredients used. i think its true that the only culinary knowledge one really needs when preparing fresh ingredients is... dont over cook them - they taste good on their own! overcooking tends to make vegetables bland, unappetizingly mushy, and less nutritious!
the last year i lived in austin, i had fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables delivered to my front door once a week (as i've mentioned before). i enjoyed cooking regularly for myself and friends in order to eat all the produce in prime condition. i often froze dishes for surprise meals during busy and/or financially challenging weeks down the road.
when i moved to nottingham, i immediately missed my greenling deliveries, but realized that finding farmers markets and seeking similar home-delivery-of-local-produce services were potentially just a few internet searches away!
searching for recipes online provides an easy way to get ideas for how to store, cook, and combine any surprise items i receive. i still have to go to the store once in a while for yogurt, garlic, ginger, (alcohol,) bananas and/or any special ingredients required for a particular dish, but the convenience, health benefits, and cheap price of home delivery are unbeatable.
these are my personal reasons and methods for gathering food the way i do, but i find that my practices are included within the so-called slow food movement. to learn more about the slow food movement, specifically within the austin, texas community, i recommend this 10 minute video...
essential viewing for austinites, useful for anyone who eats:
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -- J. R. R. Tolkien
my success rate for cooking yummy food drastically increases with the freshness of the ingredients used. i think its true that the only culinary knowledge one really needs when preparing fresh ingredients is... dont over cook them - they taste good on their own! overcooking tends to make vegetables bland, unappetizingly mushy, and less nutritious!
the last year i lived in austin, i had fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables delivered to my front door once a week (as i've mentioned before). i enjoyed cooking regularly for myself and friends in order to eat all the produce in prime condition. i often froze dishes for surprise meals during busy and/or financially challenging weeks down the road.
when i moved to nottingham, i immediately missed my greenling deliveries, but realized that finding farmers markets and seeking similar home-delivery-of-local-produce services were potentially just a few internet searches away! searching for recipes online provides an easy way to get ideas for how to store, cook, and combine any surprise items i receive. i still have to go to the store once in a while for yogurt, garlic, ginger, (alcohol,) bananas and/or any special ingredients required for a particular dish, but the convenience, health benefits, and cheap price of home delivery are unbeatable.
these are my personal reasons and methods for gathering food the way i do, but i find that my practices are included within the so-called slow food movement. to learn more about the slow food movement, specifically within the austin, texas community, i recommend this 10 minute video...
essential viewing for austinites, useful for anyone who eats:
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Thursday, October 23, 2008
perched peel
a few weeks ago as i was walking thru campus, i witnessed an odd occurence. a guy riding a bike toward me casually tossed something into the trees and rode on. the object caught one of the small branches, pulled the branch down, slung-shot it back up, but finally stuck to its perch. i wasnt sure what it was, but i quickly approached, and sure enough....
a banana!
it's not a london banana so i cant contribute to that project, but i was still amused.
a banana!
it's not a london banana so i cant contribute to that project, but i was still amused.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
london bananas
have you noticed as many banana peels in london as the founder of london bananas has? if so, send pictures so we can all enjoy this strange phenomenon!
i hope to soon contribute to this unusual project ;)
i hope to soon contribute to this unusual project ;)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
but "b" is for banana!
today i learned the sad news that my beloved bananas... are possibly doomed to extinction within my lifetime!!?!?
you may have noticed that bananas have no seeds, which begs the question: how do bananas reproduce? the original breeds of bananas found in india (several thousand years ago) apparently had seeds, but the mutated seedless varieties were more pleasing to the palate. so ancient plant breeders propagated the tasty seedless kind by "grafting sterile mutants onto wild stems." after thousands of years of repeating this process, remaining bananas are sterile and defenseless against disease.... thus DOOMED!!
johann hari believes that the most damage has been done in the last 50 years due to profit-obsessed companies ignoring warnings. my feeling is that a combination of active manipulation of plants over time and apathetic human groups interested in money money money have contributed to the problem, even though the time frames of these two contributers are dramatically different.
what worries me is that this has happened so rapidly to a popular fruit loved by so many around the world.... so how many other fruits and vegetables will suffer the same fate before we humans fully grasp the issues at hand?
for more info on the above image of the banana floating in orbit, see the geostationary banana over texas project.
you may have noticed that bananas have no seeds, which begs the question: how do bananas reproduce? the original breeds of bananas found in india (several thousand years ago) apparently had seeds, but the mutated seedless varieties were more pleasing to the palate. so ancient plant breeders propagated the tasty seedless kind by "grafting sterile mutants onto wild stems." after thousands of years of repeating this process, remaining bananas are sterile and defenseless against disease.... thus DOOMED!!
johann hari believes that the most damage has been done in the last 50 years due to profit-obsessed companies ignoring warnings. my feeling is that a combination of active manipulation of plants over time and apathetic human groups interested in money money money have contributed to the problem, even though the time frames of these two contributers are dramatically different.
what worries me is that this has happened so rapidly to a popular fruit loved by so many around the world.... so how many other fruits and vegetables will suffer the same fate before we humans fully grasp the issues at hand?
for more info on the above image of the banana floating in orbit, see the geostationary banana over texas project.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
mandalorian
i just wanted to point out a couple things:
1) today someone arrived at this blog after searching google for "muslim origami fortune teller."
2) some of my nicknames include manda banana, astropixie (obviously), mandi mizchief, and now... mandalorian (discovered via the wookipedia). thank chris!
3) this is my 321st post.
4) tonight i went to see toni price sing her heart out at the continental club in austin and the stamp on my hand says "fuck cancer."
Monday, November 12, 2007
breakfast of champions
i'm in heaven... coffee, papayas, and bananas for breakfast (i ate all the yellow bananas before i took the picture, but the yellow ones are definitely the best!).
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
mmm... bananas
those of you who know me (or my email address) know how much a like a good banana. i want one of these awesome fruit vessels by helena schepens...
Friday, September 28, 2007
for and against
i am for seeking happiness.
i am against excuses.
i am for skinny dipping.
i am against cigarette smoking.
i am for universal health care.
i am against walmart.
i am for public transportation.
i am against fast "food".
i am for bananas!
i am against chewing gum.
i am for wearing costumes at any occasion.
i am against self doubt.
i am for self exploration.
i am for democracy.
i am against manipulation.
i am for reason.
i am against the band wagon.
i am for reading to kids.
i am against crappy beer.
i am for breast feeding.
i am for accessorizing.
i am against fake finger nails.
i am for discussions.
i am for campfires.
i am against litter.
i am against paying interest.
i am for empathy.
i am against gossip.
i am for honesty.
i am against lies on any level.
i am for participation.
i am against apathy.
i am for hard work.
i am for art parties.
i am for passion.
i am for family dinners.
i am for making music.
i am for orgasms.
i am for looking at the stars at night.
i am for saying hello to strangers.
i am for more than i am against it seems.
i am for erin o'brien who gave me this idea.
i am against excuses.
i am for skinny dipping.
i am against cigarette smoking.
i am for universal health care.
i am against walmart.
i am for public transportation.
i am against fast "food".i am for bananas!
i am against chewing gum.
i am for wearing costumes at any occasion.
i am against self doubt.
i am for self exploration.
i am for democracy.
i am against manipulation.
i am for reason.
i am against the band wagon.
i am for reading to kids.
i am against crappy beer.
i am for breast feeding.
i am for accessorizing.
i am against fake finger nails.
i am for discussions.
i am for campfires.
i am against litter.
i am against paying interest.
i am for empathy.
i am against gossip.
i am for honesty.
i am against lies on any level.
i am for participation.
i am against apathy.
i am for hard work.i am for art parties.
i am for passion.
i am for family dinners.
i am for making music.
i am for orgasms.
i am for looking at the stars at night.
i am for saying hello to strangers.
i am for more than i am against it seems.
i am for erin o'brien who gave me this idea.
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