We spent a wonderful weekend at the National Aquarium, Baltimore. The National Aquarium was packed but we truly enjoyed ourselves! The aquarium was very well presented and the variety of species held our interest. We enjoyed the jelly fish exhibit but too bad that we missed the highlight, dolphin show It’s a joy to see how much our 18 months old daughter enjoyed looking at the fish. She almost sticked her face on the glass and she wouldn’t blink!
Six hours car ride (with a fussy toddler on board!) is paid off when I see the Niagara Falls flows. Pictures are great, but seeing it with my own eyes and experiencing the powerful force is simply awesome!
Roaring American Falls
Thundering Horseshoe Falls
Maid of the Mist boat in front of American Falls (left) and Bridal Veil Falls (right, small waterfalls)
Observation Tower, where Maid of the Mist boat ride begins
American Falls and the Observation Tower
Cave of the Wind tour which takes us into the stormy mist zone at Bridal Veil falls
Hurricane deck, where you can experience the tropical storm-like conditions
This year, the winter has been a little but longer than expected. However, since we will not be enjoying this much longer, we are also enjoying every minutes of it. Here are some of the pictures .
The scientist and his companions puttered down winding waterways by boat, and bounced along dirt roads in a Ford Explorer. The longest of more than a dozen such trips into the Malaysian jungle took 10 hours.
Only then could the researcher from Penn State College of Medicine ask tribal leaders for the information he sought:
Surat warisan manusia. The letter of human inheritance.
That was Khai C. Ang's way of explaining the concept of DNA, and it was effective. Hundreds of villagers agreed to give blood samples, and now back in the Hershey, Pa., lab of Ang's supervisor, Keith Cheng, their DNA has begun to yield insight into a weighty trio of subjects: cancer, human migration, and race.
White people are prone to developing melanoma, as their pale skin is vulnerable to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Yet Asians, plenty of whom also have light skin, are relatively immune to the disease.
Cheng, director of experimental pathology at Penn State, thinks he can find out why. He chose to study DNA from the Malaysian jungle because its inhabitants have not intermingled with Europeans, for the most part, and because they have a range of skin colors - like a living mosaic of evolution.
The story begins more than 50,000 years ago with Vitamin D. The body needs sunlight to make it, so when humans migrated out of Africa, they likely became vitamin-deficient. Blame the weaker northern sunlight, and the fact that in the colder climate, they had to cover more of their skin with clothing.As a physician, Cheng fights cancer. But with genetic material like that at his disposal, he seems equally enthusiastic about anthropology, about the chance to describe a chapter of human history. "You'd have to be made of stone to not be curious how we got all these colors in humanity," Cheng said.
But people with lighter skin can more readily make Vitamin D. So those with that trait would have been healthier, likely explaining why they came to dominate the northern latitudes. One light-skinned group spread across Europe, the other across Asia.
Yet the mutations that gave rise to European skin were accompanied by about a 20-fold rise in melanoma. The skin of Asians, on the other hand, is somehow nearly as good as dark African skin at absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation, keeping it away from the nucleus of skin cells.
On the advice of Oxford University scholar Stephen Oppenheimer, whose book The Real Eve describes human migration from Africa, Cheng sought answers in peninsular Malaysia. The region is home to three tribal groups that have been largely insulated from European influence: the Senoi, the Proto-Malay, and the Negrito.
At the national university near Kuala Lumpur, Cheng met Ang and quickly sold him on his idea to gather DNA in the jungle.
He explained how, once they had the genetic samples back at Penn State, they would test various genes by tamping them down in zebrafish, a popular creature in pet stores but also increasingly a valued lab tool. If a gene contributed to lighter skin color in humans, fish with that gene should follow suit.
But first, the team needed to get permission: from various Malaysian agencies, from the national university, from Penn State, and above all from the villagers. Among the concerns was that the tribe members grasp the goal of the research so they could give informed consent.
By June 2009, Ang was on his way, joined by health workers who handed out material on malaria, dengue, and other ills.
He spoke to the various tribes in his native Malay, which for them was a second language, carefully explaining the goals of the work. Besides collecting DNA, Ang also measured their skin color with a small device like a flash camera, which gauges the light reflected off a person's skin.
Sometimes, Ang had to wait a few days for a messenger to go out and summon hunters back to the village, so he showed movies to others in the meantime. It was also a way to alert the men that something was up in the village, as some were near enough to hear his sound system.
One movie was 1980's The Gods Must Be Crazy, about an African bushman's contact with modern society - an apt choice. Others includedLegally Blonde and one about the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore.
Race and skin pigment are sensitive issues across the world, Malaysia included. The fact that Ang was a native, coupled with his respectful demeanor, was a big help. "The idea that we were going to research people's skin color could've been a real no-no if handled in the wrong way," Oppenheimer said.
Ang brought back the precious vials of blood, keeping them cool by stopping at restaurants along the way to replenish his supply of ice.
Now at Penn State, he and Cheng seek to learn which genes make a difference, by testing them in the zebrafish.
In the lab, hundreds of the small, striped fish are zipping back and forth in tanks, some darker, some lighter, some in-between.
Scientists have used many animal "models" to study genetics - mice, worms, fruit flies. Cheng is partial to the fish because like humans, they are vertebrates, yet they are quick to reproduce and their skin color is evident within two days of hatching.
Once they identify the mutation or mutations that are the key to Asian skin, it can be traced back to see when it originated, and how it matches archaeological evidence of human migration.
And then there is the question of skin cancer, and why Asians are not prone to it. The answer likely has to do with melanin, the pigment that protects the nucleus of skin cells. It comes in different forms, and its granules are distributed differently in people depending on skin color, said Murray Brilliant, director of the Center for Human Genetics at the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin, who has been following Cheng's work.
"It's a fantastic and important study," Brilliant said.
Cheng, a rare scientist who is equally at home in the lab and in explaining his work to the public, has drawn notice for his work on skin color before.
In 2005, he and colleagues discovered a single mutation that was responsible for a large part of the difference in skin color between black and white people. He found that a physical trait responsible for no small amount of historical prejudice and misunderstanding, in other words, was caused largely by the merest of genetic quirks - a change in one DNA base pair out of three billion.
Brilliant invited Cheng to discuss the work in a public lecture at the University of Arizona. And Cheng, an accomplished pianist, chose to supplement his talk by performing selections from Bach's Goldberg Variations.
Drawing inspiration from his idol, famed pianist Glenn Gould, Cheng spoke of how the music was like science, with many threads merging into a melodious whole.
"It's trained me to parallel-process a lot more," Cheng says of his music. "You actually have to keep track of different voices at once."
And if the DNA from Malaysia reveal their secret, Cheng will shed light on the different voices, and colors, of humanity too.
I love my coffee since young. I remembered that when I was growing up with my grandparents, my grandma will brew a pot of coffee every morning and I love the smell of it. Coffee brewing on stove top! And for those who brew their coffee over stove top, you know, you will get a strong brew!
However, I can't drink my coffee just black. I need, at least, sugar in my coffee. Growing up in Malaysia, that also mean I love my coffee serve cold. I also love my coffee with milk. As such, I love a good cup of coffee with milk from the typical Malaysian coffee shop. I always prefer that over the typical chain-store coffee.
Nevertheless, it's hard to get good coffee bean over in Malaysia. Coffee in Malaysia are always roasted in a traditional roasting house, which sometimes also mixed caramel in it. I love that too, but for some reasons I never tried brewing my own cup at home. I always opted for the instant coffee.
Now that I am in US, getting a cuppa means you head over to Starbucks or other coffee place. However, most shop here serve to-go. It is also very expensive. Since then, I have learn to brew my own coffee. In these two years, I have tried many ways of brewing my coffee, from coffee machine to dumping my ground coffee into hot water then filtering it! Now, I have my coffee prepared using a dripper. This way, I don't have my coffee ground in my drink.
Recently, I learned how to cold brew my coffee. It is so simple and effective. Cold brew coffee produce a very smooth coffee without the bitter taste and is suitable for iced coffee too. There are also a few advantages for cold brew coffee.
1. It's simple and easy to prepare
2. Less caffeine (which is debatable to be good or bad) per cup. But I drink about 2 cups a day, this is good.
3. Less acidic
4. Less bitter, which promote smooth flavor.
5. Promote the flavor profile to be expressed. If you are into flavored coffee, cold brew coffee will help to get the flavor out better.
6. You wont burn your coffee. Brewing a good cup of Joe also means that you need to have your water temperature right. If it's too hot, you will burn your coffee ground.
7. I can store this stock for a week in refrigerator. This also mean I can bring the 'stock' to office and dilute it with water and milk when I want a good cup at my office without having to settle for mediocre coffee from coffee machine or pay exorbitant price for a cup at the shop.
Here is how I make my cold brew coffee:
1. I put 1/3 cup of coffee to 4 cup of filtered water. Stir to mix the coffee ground well. I put my coffee ground into my pot before I add water.
2. I leave it overnight (minimum 8 hours; can be up to 24 hours) on a pot in room temperature.
3. Filtered the coffee using filter paper to remove any ground coffee. This is my coffee stock.
4. Dilute 1:1 coffee stock with water and milk. Depending how strong you like, adjust to the ratio you prefer. Remember I love my coffee strong.
I keep this coffee stock in my office for about 5 days.
I love iced coffee too. I use my coffee stock to make ice cubes. This way, when I put my ice into my coffee, I don't dilute my coffee.
Try it and let me know if you like it.
Disclaimer: All shot done using Canon 650D/ Rebel T4i
Summary: It's a very light weight camera with very fast CMOS sensor, DIGIC5. Its a good camera for beginner introduction to DSLR. A good bridge between the pro line or even as a back up. It also allow you to take HD stereo movie
Pros: light weight, cheap, 9 point AF focus, capacitive vari angle touch screen, HD video recording
Cons: short battery live span, slow video focus and live view, poor high ISO performance.
Before everything, a disclosure. I have been using Canon camera for a long time. I upgraded from my first digital, A80 Powershot to S5 IS. Since then, I also use a Sony TX5 and a Canon 5D Mark II.
I dont call myself a photographer but I love photography and I used the Mark II for my scientific work. However, the Mark II is so heavy and sometimes its near impossible to carry that for my field work. Imagine carrying a 10kg backpack (with all the accessories and lenses) while hiking into remote places.
Here is where I think the Canon Rebel 650D/ T4i comes in. It doesn't have the full frame like the Mark II; its only 3/4 frame sensor but its much faster. So, what you see in your frame, is not what you will capture. I have been using the Mark II for sometimes, and this is something which I have to re-get use to now.
The 650D is snappier too with moving object. I can capture moving object very fast, and this is definitely a plus point for me since I work with human subject in my studies. Children won't sit still for you to work or capture their iris pictures, so you need to work fast and have faster more responsive machine. This is where I think the 650D outperform the Mark II.
Did I mentioned the weight again? Though its only about 500g different (1039g including kit lens and battery for 650D vs 1588g for Mark II), but its so significant different that I can immediately feel on my neck. It's also smaller camera compared to the Mark II and I can hold better using just one hand.
Canon 650D is a great camera with 18 megapixels and 9 cross type AF multi focus. Combine that with capacitative touch screen, it allows you to chose your focus point very fast. I love how I can just touch on my screen and it focused to the place I want it to be.
I don't have a STM lens on my kit but read that the STM allows you to seeks focus continuously more quietly to avoid introducing noise in capture video. However, I tried using video mode on my standard basic kit lens, the video are often times out of focus from the object of shot. It take a while to focus. Does this cause by the lens I use, I doubt that.
The vari angle screen helps when you have to do self portrait on tripod. I don't think you can self capture using the 650D like how you do with the compact camera. It's too heavy and the button is on the wrong side to feel comfortable. However, the vari angle screen helps a lot of you want to shot something on low ground without lying down or from high up if you are blocked, like when you are in a concert! I always love the vari angle lens with live view, that allows me the possibility to shoot at different angels that otherwise will be odd or hard to do.
The Canon T4i/ 650D turn on very quickly too. It start up in about 0.7 second and record or store your image in a SD card. I know a lot of pro photographers still prefer the more stable CF card, but SD card is more readily available and it's great the 650D is using this. This help if you are upgrading from other compact camera and you can use your old SD card too.
I find the camera lithium ion battery is weak. I only manage to capture about 400 shots without flash when I have to recharge again. If I use live view or flash, that will bring me to about 150 shots only. So, if I am out in the field, I have to get ready more battery and that will cost me extra money and weight too.
The ISO performance is weak too. At higher ISO, you will see that the pictures become grainy.
You can go here for a full review from the Canon website. You will also read more about this camera review in the future when I test it more in the field.
I was looking for Christmas carols on YouTube and I came across this.
I can't help but to draw a parellel to Christmas in Malaysia. It's scorching sun and without snow, of course! However, in our little world, shaped by Hollywood, Christmas = snow, reindeers pulling sledge carrying big fat man with white beard and overgrown belly which can be shrunk to climb down the chimney!
Living in the States since 2010, I have never celebrated the so called "White Christmas"! Cold Christmas, yes! Snow during Christmas, no. But another thing which wasn't told is that, people here don't great each other with Merry Christmas, but happy holiday! They want to be politically correct! Bah Hambug!
On another experience celebrating Christmas here, we went Christmas caroling last Saturday!
We went knocking door to door at the neighborhood, singing Christmas carols and giving out cookies to people who open their door. It was cold, rainy but FUN! Some great us with joy but there are also a few who shut their door on us and few try to hide too! Maybe, pictures soon!
Anyway, I miss the old jolly Christmas celebration back home, where, the malls are decorated and people are out celebrating and countdown!
