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abarna
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Posts by abarna
On My Own and Cooking Food
04 months ago
I’ve been back in Hawaii for about a month now, school has been going for most of that time. I’ve given myself quite a challenge this semester with a full 15 unit load (that is semester units… which are different somehow from the quarter system). A full four of my classes are undergrad/graduate combined courses and it is looking like that will be the norm from here on until I graduate. Another thing going on, half my classes are at the Oceanic Institute, which is awesome (more on that later). So just to let you know what classes I am taking, here is the list:
- Chemical Oceanography (3)
- Chemical Oceanography Lab (2)
- Geological Oceanography (3)
- Hawaiian Natural History (3)
- Physics 3: Modern Physics (3)
There is however, one major difference between this year and the previous 3, I am living off campus. This means, more than anything, that I need to deal with feeding myself. I suspect I’m unlike the typical college student in that I do not have any ramen around. And also unlike many people that I know who are my age, I know how to use a kitchen. For me, this largely means baking, so I’ll stop stalling and show some pictures!
The above is my first attempt at cinnamon swirl bread, it was delicious and quickly consumed by me and my flatmates. I have also been making bagels on the weekends to have throughout the week.
As you can see, I love garlic and onion, I tried putting the toppings in the bread itself, but it didn’t turn out the way I hopped. This weekend I’m planning on making more bagels but also some rolls for lunches or dinners.
I also am working with a professor on campus on a geoneutrino project, also more on that later, but here is a small teaser made using matplotlib with basemap (python).
Trip to the Bay Area
06 months ago
by abarna
in HPU Blog Mirror
This past weekend was spent in the bay area. Starting early Thursday morning, I picked up some frieds from Sweden (they were in San Diego, I didn’t go to Sweden) and headed up Interstate 5. Along the way I stopped off at Galco’s Soda Pop Shop. If you don’t know or haven’t heard about Galco’s. It is a shop specializing in rare, unique, and unusual sodas. I, being a big fan of something called Spruce Beer, bought and entire case of the stuff, possibly their last one.
Continuing north on the 5, my Swedish friends were impressed by how straight and long the road was. How flat and vast the central valley of California is can hardly be described, perhaps the only thing that rivals it is the ocean, it is something that just needs to be seen.
We made it to San Jose after about 8 hours of driving. For dinner we went to a buffalo chicken place called Smoke Eaters, which some of you may know from the television show Man vs. Food. When I ordered my food I asked for “spiciest sauce you have on the menu.” A mistake you might think, a challenge accepted says I. It was quite spicy, not sure how to describe the flavor, but the hotness had me in a sweat and unable to speak.
Friday Was spent at an Six Flags Discovery Kingdom… it is an amusement park.
Saturday we went into San Francisco. Utilizing BART we went from Daily City to the Embarcadero (Pier 1). From there we walked to Pier 39, aka Fisherman’s Warf. Contrary to what the pier numbers indicate, it was not actually 39 piers. At Pier 39 we ate at Boudin, famous for their clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls. Not being a huge fan of the clam chowder, I had chili in a bread bowl instead. When through with the chili, I ate my bowl, delicious! From Pier 39 we walked to Coit Tower which is on top of Telegraph Hill. Quite a bit up (some 300+ stairs to the top of the hill). A nice view of the city and bay were the reward for the climb. From there it was a short walk to Chinatown and an excellent boba (bubble tea) place. We enjoyed our beverages in a park in Chinatown. After a good walk back to the BART station, we were on our way back to San Jose.
Sunday was spent driving back to San Diego from San Jose. Rather than taking Interstate 5 back, I chose to travel the 101. While the road takes longer, it is much more scenic and enjoyable (for the driver).
Some Summer Shenanigans
06 months ago
Scripps
So what have I been up to this summer? Working at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They have me doing some coding tasks and other things. Perhaps the best personal development is my new usage of VIM. I was always scared of VIM as I never could figure out how to reliably exit the program (C-c doesn’t work). I’ve spent maybe two weeks using it and I’m hooked. Goodbye textmate.
Cute Infestation
Scripps has a problem, an adorable problem. For a while the bathrooms in the building I was in were inaccessible (they still are, I just moved buildings). So to go to the bathroom, I would need to walk across the “historic park” of Scripps. This is a large grassy area with some old cottages. While walking, bunnies and squirrels and chipmunks would all be scurrying away from me. So many that I would check to see that I wasn’t in a Disney movie.
The Beach Crowds
Being so close to the ocean, I sometimes go to the beach durring breaks as work. And well, the crowds… just look at them!
And that isn’t even the CROWDED part of the beach! I mean, I’ve never seen it this crowded in Hawaii, well maybe one, at Waimea, durring the Eddie… My working posit is that because we had such a lousy summer last year in San Diego, people are flocking to the beach due to awesomeness…ness.
Office Move
My group recently moved offices due to construction. Look what showed up on the whiteboard…
It has gotten more elaborate since I took this photo, and more nerdy…
That’s all for now!
-Barna
Scripps Day 2011
07 months ago
Last friday was Scripps Day, which is a day (heh) to celebrate all things Scripps. Among other things, this meant that the SIO pier was open for to the public. I along with the rest of the group I work with (well, those present) went to check it out. The weather could not have been more perfect!
The above photo shows most of SIO, the building I work in is underneath (visually in the image) the large crane.
This next view is looking south (ish) toward the rest of La Jolla (my hometown).
The aquarium was also open for viewing.
Here are some more pictures if you aren’t already convinced that La Jolla and Scripps is awesome.
If you are interested in what I’m actually doing at SIO (on not Scripps Day), it involves collecting all the data I can find from a German icebreaker, RV Polarstern. Hopefully it will go online soon.
That is all for now I guess.
-Barna
Honolulu Airport
07 months ago
by abarna
in Periodic Photo
Looks more like a mall to me…
They also have a sweet garden!
SPAM Jam ’11
09 months ago
Sometime last month (the 30th I think) was the world famous SPAM Jam! I had been looking forward to this event for weeks before it was to occur. If you don’t know, Hawaii loves SPAM, and as such, there is an entire festival devoted just to SPAM. Many of the local restaurants set up booths to serve their unique spam centered dishes!
As you can see the place is just packed. The festival takes place on Kalakaua Ave in Waikiki, it is amazing to see such a major road contain only pedestrians.
Some spam chili nachos.
Spam Katsu
Spam fried rice
It wasn’t all SPAM, I had some pretty awesome garlic fries, I even asked for some extra garlic they obliged and the above is the result.
I am now over half way through my finals. Only one to go. I go to San Diego on monday and am looking forward to my first burrito. Some changes are coming for next semester, for one, I will not be living on campus so expect more awesome posts about eating on a budget and how living in the dorms compares to living off campus.
That’s all for now.
-Barna
Crazy Hawaii Weather
09 months ago
Last night was pretty crazy. Here is a short list of the awesome weather we had (and the consequences): rain (strong), wind (light), lightning (bright), thunder (loud), waterspouts (spouting), electrical power (none). Despite the distractions and the lack of power for a good while, I was able to get my assignments completed without issue. I also managed to record some of the thunder. This is not a real time recording, rather a compilation of the thunder I did manage to record.