June 28, 2010

Thesis Syneresis

Syneresis : is a common term used by food scientists to explain the synersis of gels i.e the expulsion of liquid from gels. For example, when you press the " Jell-O" or when it stays in the fridge too long, water drains out.
This is "syneresis". Another example is the whey ( liquid) draining out from yogurt .
I should have been working on my thesis now, but i could not focus on reading around over 50 boring , mind- drenching,   scientific research articles!!! And  meanwhile i am  swifting , sea-saw like motion,  between two topics !!!

Hopefully, my thesis will be " syneres-ing" gradually  during this summer !! :)

"Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research." - Wilson Mizner 

 “Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought” 

 “Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.” Werner von Braun 



Oh, Btw this is V8, my cat , ( two years ago). She used to study with me. 
Or might i say sleep while i am studying!!! 
A Valid proof that research is really boring !! :P
( miss u V8)

June 24, 2010

I'M MAD AS HELL



BLOW THE WHISTLE ON HUNGER

1 000 000 000 PEOPLE live in chronic hunger and I'M MAD AS HELL

Put pressure on politicians to end hunger. 

Sign the petition and push for change wherever you are:


**In the time it takes to watch this video, two children will die of hunger



June 22, 2010

An Angel's Kiss, the Sea, Sponge Bob and Milky Way!


" Strawberries, Cherries , and an angel's Kiss in spring .. my summer  is made of all these things ".. This was the summer for the Corrs & U2 ;) hehhe

Well, my summer wont be that different :, but it surely has other delicious  ingredients :)  yummmmy. I can start smelling it :)
Perhaps from : 



summer Solstice was yesterday. Ya, I announce that Summer officially started today.
But how will my summer  be like ?

June 21, 2010

Boyce Avenue :)

Boyce Avenue. An uprising band of three talented brothers ( yes they beat Jonas brothers :P) .
They merely started playing the songs of their favorite artists in their home acoustically, and posting it on youtube to share them with the world. Famous songs for Rihanna ( I hate that i love you & Umbrella ), Goo Goo Dolls , Coldplay (Viva La Vida), Taylor Swift ( Breathe),Oasis, Linkin Park,Usher , Ne Yo,Leona Lewis , and many other artists...

They deserve a post on my blog because i have been listening to their songs repeatedly  on youtube in the past 3 months :)
Finally ,  they launched their first album last week ( June 15).
I simply love them. No need to elaborate.


June 20, 2010

Trick or Treat Time?



In one of my previous posts , I talked  about time in just a  few lines, as it is something that can never be denied.True.
But I never elaborated , thinking that it is such a truism issue  that is discussed by billions of people. It is really not a special topic anymore, neither a very interesting one. 
Despite that fact, I still want to talk about time. It is indeed something that I can never deny.

I learned how time takes time.
But time can never give us time.
Time is a miser , piling and stashing. But never bestowing us.

And the paradox is that you realize that if there is no time in our lives, things will happen altogether at once.
Or even worse, things will change just haphazardly, with no control.
If there is no time, a rose can shut and be a bud again. So we can no longer enjoy a rose.
If there is no time, we can be kids anytime we want, we can be old anytime we want. Philosophizing a bit? maybe.

But there are tricks you learn in life to deal with time. I have a friend who  once taught me a fantastic thing to do with time. 

June 14, 2010

Turtle Happiness








Starting from now, i will be  posting some humor related posts. ( Some are my own property, some are  from the world wide web i.e not mine).

June 5, 2010

Private Number 0

She wakes up on the  resonating sound of the construction of a new building in front of her.
She is irritated as usual. She only wanted half an hour more of sleep!
She felt the urge to open the window and shout at this noisy street she lives in. Just shout out loud.
No one will hear her in any case.


The phone rings. Ahh not her annoying ringtone too. She remembered she should change it. It has been a month.
The phone is still ringing. With no number. Just two words.
“Private Number”.
She is not surprised . Just curious.
She wonders : "Is it a call from a stalker? and he wants to veil those digital numbers? So I cant have save his number."


Or is it a call from secret agents? With a plan for a political game?
Did they see her in that protest?


Is it a call from heaven? An angel in disguise? To warn her about a danger? "
Or is he just a normal human like her? And this “private number” thing is just a technical issue .


She finally answers . A charming voice replies back to her.
They talk. They hang up the phone.
Her private caller keeps calling her afterwards.
And She keeps answering.
The private caller's voice lingers in her head.
But she cant call back and it is agonizing her.


Every day, she waits for those two words to show up on that Nokia scratched screen.
& Every time, she answers, the private caller takes her away,


Takes her away to a far off land, of daring swordfights, magic spells! Perhaps he will be her prince!!
 Or perhaps not. Maybe to a land with fire and hate, where the prince is just another  devil in disguise .....


She would sometimes convince herself that he is all four in one: the angel, the stalker, the secret agent , or just any normal person . But she is sure that he has superpower; he is a “teleporter”, perhaps not in space or place, and neither in time but rather in thoughts and memories.






Beirut : January 2010-April 2011

June 1, 2010

Grapefruit, Ugly Duckling , & Gibran

Fruits versus their tastes and their ease of eating them : very self-explanatory .
The most peculiar thing was the grape fruit , observe how it is the most difficult and most untasty.
I guess it is the same story as the " Ugly Duckling". How ?
Well, It is the most bitter fruit , considering fruits should have some sort sweetness or  some sourness atleast.
On the graph, it really looks like the "odd" black duckling, abandoned by its fellow fruits.
But like the ugly duckling which flies eventually and proves that  it is not different than the others, the grapefruit  also proved to be one of the  most precious fruits.


Indeed, grapefruit is the most nutritious fruit. It is an excellent source of many nutrients and phytochemicals that contribute to a healthy diet.As well it is a good source of vitamin C, contains the fiber pectin, and the pink and red hues contain the beneficial antioxidant Lycopene. Studies have shown grapefruit helps lower cholesterol,and there is evidence that the seeds have antioxidant properties. Grapefruit forms a core part of the "grapefruit diet", the theory being that the fruit's low Glycemic index is able to help the body's metabolism burn fat.
Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) has been claimed to have strong antimicrobial properties.
Grapefruit also contains large quantities of a simple Polyamine called Spermidine, which may be related to aging. It is known to be necessary for cell growth and maturation, and as cells age their level of Spermidine is known to fall. Scientists have shown that feeding Spermidine to worms, fruit flies and yeast significantly prolongs their lifespan. In addition, adding Spermidine to the diet of mice decreased molecular markers of aging, and when human immune cells were cultured in a medium containing Spermidine, they also lived longer.

But all of us will fall  afterall, for the most tasty and easy , no matter how much we know about the nutritional aspects  benefits !!


Moral :  Beauty is not everything. And neither taste. It is the things that the eye doesn't see or the mouth doesn't taste that has this magical effect on us.


Or Maybe we will recognize what Gibran Khalil Gibran recognized before us:

"Beauty is not in the face;
                                                           beauty is a light in the heart" :)