Blog.amhill

Pants optional.

Archive for October, 2008

Grad School and Beyond

Oct 30

Posted by Aaron in Academia | No Comments

I had a meeting today with two Profs from the School of Natural Science & Mathematics; Dale & Errol. Dale is “that Biotech guy” (a gross understatement ;) ), and Errol is a prof in Chemistry (incidentally, he is also my prof in Chem this semester).

Our meeting was the result of a casual chat I had with Errol regarding Grad school, my future career, and what I need to do to make it happen. Quite honestly, I have the desire but am completely blind with respect to what I need to do. Errol suggested I meet with he and Dale to discuss this in more detail.

I suppose I should back up a little bit. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tags: , ,

Live-by-wire

Oct 24

Posted by Aaron in Musings, Sustainable Living | 2 Comments

A while back, there was a show on the Speed channel about Formula-1 (F-1) racing. Formula-1 racing is that kind where they use the crazy looking uber-efficient cars, with the huge spoilers, extra intakes, big tires, etc. It’s what the movie “Days of Thunder” was about.

In this particular show, the show’s host, a stock-car racer (think NASCAR), was chatting with an F-1 racer. The host was allowed to take an F-1 car out on the track and do a few laps. They did a video analysis of the run afterwards, and the F-1 racer noted that the host could have saved a few tenths of a second if he had taken a few of the turns a bit tighter.

Now if you have ever taken a sharp turn a little too tightly, you’ve no doubt felt your inertia mix with centripetal force to give you the sensation that you’re being pushed to the outside of the curve (sort of like riding the Teacups in Disney World). We’re programmed to interpret that feedback as “careful there! You’re taking it a little fast!”

Apparently, in F-1 racing, the cars have internal computers that handle transferring the power to the wheels in such a way that you can take sharp curves VERY tightly, in order to maintain as much speed as possible as you round the bends. (That’s partly what the spoilers are for, as well — keep the rear tires pressed to the ground for maximum traction on curves). The host was instructed that he needs to “trust the car” and let it handle the curves.

Trusting the technology instead of our instincts. This just all feels so unnatural to me, and I can just feel my instincts throwing up all kinds of yellow flags about it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: , ,

Biking: Getting a bike lock, and grocery shopping

Oct 12

Posted by Aaron in Sustainable Living | 1 Comment

I got a flat last week. Rear-tire. I think it was actually a relapse of a previous pinch-flat — the patch may have just not been enough. 

So I swung by Ike’s Bikes (who are AWESOME), and they replaced my tube, repaired the kickstand (it was loose), and equalize the pressure on my tires to 85 psi (comfort? who needs it!).

While I was there, I had remembered that I had been meaning to pick up a bike lock. I frequently have to run errands around town to pick something up here or there, and everytime I go out I always wish that I had a lock so I could take my bike. Not that Richmond is terribly crime-ridden — but I’m just looking to protect my $450 investment from a grab-n-dash hoodlum. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tags: ,

Getting wired, the old fashioned way

Oct 9

Posted by admin in Musings | 2 Comments

So I’ve started drinking coffee.

This may seem a completely mundane statement — akin to saying something like “I am wearing underwear” or “I drove my car to work today” — so perhaps I should provide a little background:

I generally avoid caffeine and other mind-altering substances (always have, and likely always will be, drug-free — provided you don’t count alcohol :P ), and I just could never get into the flavor of coffee. I always felt that if I wanted to drink something that tasted like the inside of a sweaty shoe, I’d just go straight to the source and save myself the $1.95.

That said, I have, in the past, occasionally partaken in various novelty coffee drinks — Lattes, Cappucinos, Mochas, etc. When Charlie’s Coffee Bar & Gallery was open (long ago, in the before-time), I would now and then treat myself to a sweet drink. But as a general rule, I would tell them to “hold the espresso.” Not for any moral or sociological reasons or anything — but just because my body is so damned sensitive to caffeine!

See — this is how I figure it — I drink so little caffeine my brain is uber-intolerant to its effects and so the tiniest amount has a really potent effect on me. Seriously. If I even so much as smell espresso, I’m hyper for 20 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: , ,

The Ginger Bug

Oct 4

Posted by Aaron in Foodities | 8 Comments

I brew my own Ginger Ale.

I started doing this, I think, in February 2008. Melissa had bought a book called Wild Fermentation, which was about using bacterial/yeast cultures to brew drinks and make food through fermentation. I’ve made over a dozen batches, and although I’m still improving on my recipe, it tastes pretty good!

My Ginger Ale recipe is essentially three food ingredients + the micro-organism culture.

  • Ginger Root (grated)
  • Lemon (sometimes lime also, and I’m experimenting with other flavor additives)
  • Sugar (white)

That’s it.

The carbonation comes from the fermentation of sugar, via the Wild Yeast. This is the same kind of fermentation process that brewers use to make ethanol (drinking alcohol) although this particular process / yeast culture does not produce a substantial amount of alcohol. (If there is any, it is barely noticeable, and largely depends on how long you let it ferment). The main by-product is carbonation (CO2) and awesome. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 11% [?]

Tags: , , ,