Drying Pasta

I made some pasta a while ago and hung it on a plant stand to dry. I wanted to try making pasta and then cooking it later to see if you can get closer to the taste of store bought pasta rather than softer fresh made pasta.

I went to a talk last night at Harvard by Jason Ur entitled “Fresh Evidence on the Origin of Cities in Ancient Mesopotamia”. It was quite good, Jason Ur is always a good speaker and keeps lectures engaging and interesting throughout. I had seen some of his evidence before, namely the work he did with the pottery scatter around Tell Brak but I hadn’t seen the most recent results of the excavations off the main mound.

Wicker Box

A while ago I found this nice wicker box on the street in providence. Its handle had frayed and broken so someone chucked it out. When I get around to it I’ll braid a new handle and turn it into a nice little picnic basket.

I really want to start contributing more to ubuntu and other open source projects that I use. I’ve been using linux exclusively on my laptop for nearly eight years now (see this early plea for help) and I feel it’s time to start giving back. Ubuntu just had a big Global Bug Jam I would’ve like to have participated. I did the 5-a-day for a bit that was fun and a good way to keep track of how much you’re getting done. But triaging alone doesn’t really seem like enough.

The most time I have and the time best spent working on open source projects is on the train. I usually have my little eeepc with me which would be great for reviewing patches and bug hunting. However the wireless is very spotty if existent at all on the commuter rail. Maybe when the next itteration of the t-mobile G-phone comes out I’ll taking the plunge then I can just tether it with my eeepc and work from wherever.

Oh I’m also trying this thing where just before I goto bed I set a timer for five minutes and tidy up my room while the timer counts down. So far it’s proven very effective. It’s just enough time to get some things in order, but not to long to feel like a chore.

More Snow/Bread

The threat of snow and freezing rain kept me home from work today. I wasn’t worried so much about getting up to Boston more that coming home this evening would be a nightmare of canceled and packed trains.

I started some bread this morning a mix of half whole wheat and white flour. I listened to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me while I kneaded the dough and stuck in the a warmed oven to let it rise. Then I got my skis and went for a quick trip down to the river and back. It wasn’t as beautiful as previous times with snow in the trees and silence, but it was still quite enjoyable. Plus since the plows hadn’t been through I managed to ski all the way from my house down to the river and back without taking my skis off to cross the roads. By the time I got back the snow had really turned to rain.

Matchbox Pinhole Camera

Following some instructions I found on the web I made a matchbox pinhole camera on Thursday night and then took photos on Friday dropped it off for developing and picked it up today. Walgreens didn’t quite know how to handle the weird format, they asked me if I wanted to see the photos before I paid for them. I was thrilled they even came out which again sort of suprised the photo person. They didn’t crop them quite right but I assume they just ran the film through the machine as if it were out of a normal 35mm camera. I told them when I dropped it off that it was going to be a bit weird. Oh well next time I’ll take it to a photo shop and have them do it.

I uploaded all the photos and you can see them here.

Fireplace

I arrived in Providence at 7:10am only ten minutes late all the way from D.C. which isn’t too bad. The ride was ok, there was a screaming baby for the first two hours in front of me who fell asleep much to everyone’s relief. It was odd stopping at Kingston, RI and having commuters get on the train. I guess they do it every day but it seemed weird after all of us on the train were in the mind set of not having been to sleep and they were ready for work. The train was nice though going through all the snow. The vestibules between the carriages filled up with snow so the conductors had to keep going by with shovels to empty them out.

Haven’t done much today besides rest, had a nice nap this morning. The rest of the day has been spent in front of the fire which I lit just after lunch. Once the sun set I decided I wasn’t going to turn on any lights. So I lit a candle and have been carrying it around with me. Did the dishes by candlelight (the old fashion way, in the sink, not the dishwasher). Going to see if I can convince my dad and sister when they get home to keep the lights off. Oh I also turned the heat way down, hopefully we can keep the fire going.

EDIT: well that failed, lights were turned on right away…

Capital City II

Woke up bright and early this morning and had a brief worship with three other people in the William Penn House. Then I walked over to the Library of Congress and had a peak at their two exhibitions and the main reading room. I have to say it has a classical elegance to it but lacks the sense of knowledge that you get when entering the British Library.

By the time I left the Library of Congress the museums on the mall were open so I popped back into the National Gallery and saw their special exhibition on Pompeii and then saw the Sackler gallery and the African Art museum; oh and had a quick walk around the National Botanical Garden. By then it was time to head to AU for the college fair.

Now I’m sitting in Penn Station free loading off some free wifi somewhere nearby. The entrance gate for this overnight train is slowly filling up with people heading up north. I’m hoping it’s not too busy so I (and everyone else) can get two seats to ourselves.

Capital City

I was recently encouraged to start using this again. So here goes.

I’m currently in Washington D.C. not here unfortunately for Obama’s inauguration but the more mundane matter of working at a college fair for SOAS. Still it’s nice to get a free trip to D.C. even if it is a bit short.

I’m staying at the William Penn House which is quite cheap and in a perfect location. Walking around this area of D.C. (capital hill) really is quite nice. All the streets are wide and the houses beautiful. I went out for dinner at a wonderful (albeit a bit pricey to my student eyes) Belgian restaurant nearby.

Tomorrow night I’m headed back up to Providence on the over night regional service. It leaves D.C. at ten in the evening and gets into Providence at seven in the morning. It should be an interesting train ride.

After I checked in here in the afternoon I took a walk over to the capital to see the preparations for the inauguration, which mostly consisted of blanketing the mall with porta loos. I also had a brief hour in the National Gallery. It’s a beautiful building. In some ways it makes the MFA seem quaint. The National Gallery is full of large columns and fountains and courtyards and the pieces of art have miles of space in which to hang on their walls. Shame that it shuts at five pm though.

Feed your head.

My parents arrived last Saturday and stayed till Tuesday when they left to see my sister in Thailand. They had a nice time here in London and they’ll be back next in a week as well for a bit. We went to the Tate Modern to see their Duchamp, Manray and Picabia exhibition which was actually very good. I had never seen work by Picabia and I was quite impressed. However I was disappointed by their antagonistic anti-photography policy. I took this one on the sly but my dad got caught and berated by a guard. I understand galleries not wanting people to take photos of the work and then publish them. However to do that you would need to bring a tripod to take quality photos. Your average visitor taking hand-held snaps is not a threat to the gallery or the owner of the works. Some galleries have a no tripod policy which I think is much more sensible. I get quite irate when being told not to photograph art that I paid to see and would like to remember.

I had a Hittite exam last Wednesday. It went pretty well I knew the texts and tried my hardest on the unseen passages. I have an Akkadian exam this Wednesday as well as an Archaeology essay due on Friiday. None of this is helped by the fact that our downstairs neighbors decided to invite ten of the friends over last night to have an argument/fight outside or flat at 4am and leave the dogs barking crazily in their flat under my bed. Chris called the police; I called the councils noise complaint line.

A bit of graffiti and an election

Today was the first proper day of summer; the sun was shinning and it was very warm. I got a flat on the way in and upon taking the tube off couldn’t find the puncture. Sick and tired of getting flate (I’ve had three in the past two weeks) I walked down to the bike shop and bought two new tires and two new tubes. My bike tires were looking pretty horrible with the rubber mostly falling apart. It’s a good investment as they were Armadillo tires, meant to prevent flats. I Finally got to SOAS and did some studying.

I went with Chris and his friend Janice and others to a graffiti show featuring Banksi and other graffiti artists in a disused tunnel near Waterloo. We had to wait an hour an a half to get in but it was well worth it. Every space was covered in some sort of stenciled or graffitied art.

Boris Johnson won the London Mayoral election. It’s hard to believe that the city voted for him. His policies were pipe-dreams and he was just chosen by the conservative party to oust Ken which is a shame because Ken cared about London and worked his way up to the job. Hopefully everyone (Boris included) realizes that he has huge shoes to fill and will take him to task for not filling them.

Recent Events

We have baby foxes in our garden. I was watering my plants and the water ran down the wall into the garden below when these two cubs came out to lick the water. The next day I saw three cubs playing in the garden. I think this explains the persistent fox sounds I’ve been hearing at night.

Last Thursday I did some work for SOAS at a university fair at a private boarding school north of London. It wasn’t quite the right crowd for SOAS. I think I talked to a total of four people over the whole event. But I was particularly amazed at this school and I loved their slogan “Successful careers start at the top”.

Last weeks Pub Quiz was a hoot. Chris the barman bought balloons and made little baggies for all the teams with enclosed instructions. Everyone had a blast these were the two winners, we had them explain the pieces on the spot. Everyone shared in the Treasure Chest afterwards. This week is the last Pub Quiz of the year and my last at SOAS. I’m going to miss it, this past year has been particularly fun.

On Saturday Anna, Holly, Esther, Maria and I went to the Barbican to hear the LSO’s woodwinds chamber orchestra. It was very nice. I’d never been to the Barbican before; it’s an amazing building very well designed and quite pretty. Plus the tickets were five pounds thanks to Anna so it was more than worth it. I’d love to go there more often.

In other news I’ve applied for the Residency Manager position at the Beacon Hill Friends House. It would really be the perfect situation for next year. Hopefully I’ll be interning at the MFA two days a week and living and working at the Friends House the rest of the week.

In terms of right now I’m in the midst of exam revision of dissertation research. I have two exams in two and three weeks. My parents are coming in one and a half weeks. I’m going to Paris at the end of May. My dissertation has to be finished before mid-July when I head off to Turkey to start digging again.

I seem to post in flurries

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of drawing on my window before.

Excellent Spam

I just received and excellent piece of spam. Someone remarked a while ago on how spamming companies were starting to incorporate literature and other texts into their messages just to try and fool spam filters into thinking it was a legitimate e-mail:

It in my wallet. Sir george looked up at me with in the senate,
and perhaps in the house of representatives feelest the
influence of sexual desire. I am a when finished would be
on a level with an adjacent and narada and parvata and sudhanwa
and ekata priest to pray for them in a dead language which
biojibjiboos to heaven he lives in the company of soma’s daughters.
there being no jantleman resident in it, nor near and daughters
he possessed, with inevitable questioning purity and exquisite
delicacy. Finding in me no hari, the lord of the universe,
brahma said these apologies, and the sketch from thimble
island, areaaabkhjml cutting down a forest with an axe. If the
king sabha is unquestionably the foremost in the world subjects
to bear. Wherefore the five periods set.

I especially like the first two and last two sentences.