Tag: English

  • The Egg Game

    I created a command-line egg game in C, where players can discover the optimal cooking time for boiling an egg. I’ve designed a dozen endings depending on how many minutes the egg was cooked.

    Motivation

    I love eggs, so I decided to make my first coding project based on something I really like.

    Research

    I decided to complete a small project so I can see it through from beginning to end as a full cycle. I knew about scope creep and it definitely tried to derail me a few times (e.g. easter eggs, achievements chart, extra levels), however, I cut down the extra features and instead focused on finishing the game first.

    I initially thought a text-based game based on boiling the egg would be quite simple to achieve. However, since I wanted to accurately present the boiled egg state depending on real-life timings, I realised the amount of heuristics that humans use during cooking when I got down to planning.

    Egg, pot, water, stove. Just four things to manipulate – or is it?

    What is the temperature of the pot of water when I put the eggs in – cold or boiling water? What are the states for different eggs for different minutes? Do I put the lid on the eggs when boiling? Should I use medium or high heat when boiling? What about the altitude we are cooking our eggs in?

    To address all these questions, I researched from popular Chinese cooking app XiaChuFang, which had egg charts for different states. One of the english-looking charts recommended taking water to the boil, then boiling the egg for 11 minutes for a firm yolk with a teeeeeeny bit of just-firming-up-yolk in the middle – just perfect.

    I conducted the experiment with five 700g eggs and actually took them out at different intervals to investigate the runniness of the yolk. It turns out 11 minutes did not, in fact, yield the yolk of my dreams. It was still a bit runny in the centre. The egg also cracked a bit – which I usually think is normal and dismiss it. But that day, it struck me – I was using fridge eggs! Which means they are very cold (unlike Chinese eggs which are sometimes not kept in the fridge).

    I then decided to check out a bunch of other guides, mainly because I think having the stove on for 11 minutes is SUCH a waste of gas. And then I struck gold. So here is the definitive way I’ve found to boiling an egg!

    The Perfect Boiled Egg Method

    1. Egg should be normal temperature. If using fridge eggs, wash it a bit under tap water to bring the temperature down. This will also prevent the eggs from cracking in the pot (Mystery of randomly cracking eggs in the pot solved)!
    2. Add tap water to the pot. We don’t need too much but enough so that it will just cover the eggs when they are put in (doesn’t need to be exact)! But don’t put the eggs in to cook just yet!
    3. Bring the water to a boil on high heat. This will raise the temperature to 100 degrees celsius and make it the perfect temperature for boiling eggs. I find that my small pot of water takes about 4 minutes to boil, but yours may be different.
    4. Place eggs into the boiling water gently (to prevent cracking the shell), and cover with a lid.
    5. Boil for 3 minutes on high heat. Then turn off the gas.
    6. Keep eggs in pot with lid on and wait for 5 minutes.
    7. FOR EASY PEELING: Take the egg out and place in a lunch box half with cold water or room-temperature water or ice bath. Close the lid on the lunch box, and shake the eggs inside for a bit. This will create small cracks in the eggs, create a separation between the internal egg and the shell due to the temperature difference and make it easy to peel! (You don’t need a lunch box, you can put it in a bowl and shake it a bit too, or simply just use the ice bath. But I find lunchboxes make it easier for shaking)
    8. Take out the eggs and peel! Check the yolk to see if it is your favourite. If you prefer it more runny, wait for less time next time!

    Now it’s time to code the game!

    Gameplay

    Screenshots of game and gameplay (spoilers!)

  • Project Translyrics

    56 translated lyrics written by Tianyi Angela Lin from 2013 to 2023. 39 of these can also be sung! I created about 16 cover songs for these.

    –> Read more about the translation process here.

    –> Read all of my translated lyrics here.

    –> Youtube here.

    –> Bilibili here.

  • War on Stink Bugs 2

    Choosing the Right Equipment

    After considering various options, I settled on using a high-strength vacuum cleaner based on a friend’s previous success with a Miele model. I initially wanted a bagged vacuum for easy disposal, but most secondhand options were bagless. Handheld vacuums were ruled out due to insufficient suction power.

    I explored several purchasing options:

    • Gumtree had limited bagged vacuum options within my $50-$100 budget
    • Considered checking secondhand stores like Vinnies
    • Finally found success on eBay with an industrial vacuum

    The winning choice was a Ryobi 30L industrial vacuum, which proved perfect for the task. It offered:

    • Wet/dry suction capability with wet filter
    • Multiple extensions + long range hose
    • Stainless steel container
    • Excellent value at $50 on ebay auction
    • Lightweight
    • Low volume for the amount of suction power it generates
    • Four wheels for ease of moving around

    The Bug Removal Operation

    We chose an overcast day for the operation. Our target was a three-meter lemon tree heavily infested with stink bugs – each branch hosting 2-5 bugs. We came prepared with:

    • Safety glasses
    • Raincoat
    • Gloves
    • Extension cord

    Despite my initial plan to use a bag, my friend convinced me to use the stainless steel container directly. The vacuum setup included two extensions, allowing us to maintain a safe distance while working.

    The Technique

    Our approach proved highly effective:

    1. Approach bugs from underneath at an angle (NOT DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH! KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE! Acid fell perpendicular to the ground)
    2. Clear out bugs from the outer perimetre of the tree first, and clear out the ones that are more easily accessed first
    3. Use slow, deliberate movements
    4. When the vacuum stuck to branches or leaves, temporarily disconnect the extension to avoid excessive shaking
    5. Target clusters of bugs efficiently – the vacuum could handle 2-5 bugs simultaneously due to the wide opening and the powerful suction. Each cluster would take no more than 2-3 seconds to deal with.

    Interestingly, the bugs showed no fear of the vacuum. They remained stationary until captured, and nearby bugs didn’t react to their neighbors being removed. As my friend noted, it felt like we were hunters in “The Three-Body Problem” series, where the lemon tree was our “dark forest.” A portal of suction suddenly appeared beneath them, transforming the space into a void where they were pulled inevitably into the darkness, and they could not even begin to comprehend before they met their demise. Only about 10 – 15 bugs flew off successfully in alarm but the rest were all captured.

    Results and Aftermath

    After 2-3 hours of methodical work, we successfully removed hundreds of bugs. The process required some strategy:

    • Working systematically around the tree
    • Returning to previous spots to catch newly exposed bugs
    • Managing the expelled air direction to avoid odors

    For disposal, we used hot water:

    • Poured two rounds of 1.5L hot water through the vacuum chamber
    • NOTE: At 20 min the smell was still emenating, so we left the container overnight to ensure complete elimination
    • By next day, the vacuum had no remaining odor

    Follow-up Check

    The next day revealed:

    • Only 5 remaining bugs (4 young, 1 black)
    • Tree appeared healthier
    • Current year’s lemons likely bitter from bug damage, but tree’s recovery looked promising

    On the third day:

    • We dug a hole in the garden for the bugs
    • Opened the lid and poured bug and water into the hole, buried the bugs
    • Cleaned the vacuum and its wet filter with a hose
    Image of hole in the background and Ryobi container

    Picture of hundreds of bugs dead in hole!

    Conclusion

    The industrial vacuum cleaner method proved superior to traditional bug removal techniques, since it was efficient, safe and doesn’t disturb the tree that much! At the end of the day, we saved the lemon tree!

  • War on Stink Bugs 1

    “Know thy enemy, and you shall prevail.” – Sun Tzu.

    If you’ve had the pleasure of owning a lemon tree or a citrus tree of some variety in Australia, you may also have had the displeasure of encountering the stink bug – or the bronze orange bug. (Click here for bug pics.)

    These pesky stink bugs suck on the saps of young leaves, drain the life out of the tree, and turn fruits bitter. This video by Trish Restante is very informative, she recommends to deal with the eggs in winter using horticultural oil and hand-pick or vacuum in summer.

    My tree had hundreds of stink bugs because I had regrettably neglected it this year, and when I looked just the other day I was alarmed at the amount of bugs on the trees and its condition. I was fueled by an immediate desire to get rid of them, so I pulled out my laptop.

    Part 1: About Bronze Orange Bug – Stink Bugs in Australia

    As with any war, one starts by understanding the enemy. I learnt that bugs start out as eggs of 2mm in a cluster. When they hatch they are small green bugs with thin shell, they cluster around the eggs until their shells are a bit more resistant then they start venturing out (Ref 0).

    When startled, touched or squashed, the stink bug ejects an acidic liquid about 61cm or 2 feet from its body. Younger bugs eject liquid from the rear, while adult bugs spray from both sides (Ref 2). The liquid is:

    • Bad for vertebrates and birds do not like to eat them;
    • Liquid can cause blindness when it gets into the eyes;
    • Liquid will stain skin and is hard to wash off.

    As the bronze orange bug grows, its shell changes to orange and eventually to black hardened exoskeleton when they are adults. Adult shells are “armoured” and “pestisides are useless against them” (Ref 3). A full-fledged stink bug also gains the ability to fly. This makes me think of Pokemon for some reason.

    On a hot day, you can find the bugs on underside of the leaves or at the base of the tree to escape from the heat.

    I found countless suggestions across reddit and Chinese forums, wikis, videos and even Taiwan government pest-control brochures. I’ll review the methods here, but for my successful strategy on clearing hundreds of bugs on my grown tree, see: War on Stink Bugs (2).

    PART 2: Finding what works for Controlling Stink Bugs

    1. Pest Oil – effective on younglings but not on adults

    A gardener sprayed Yates pest oil on my tree, but one application wasn’t enough. The pesticide works by smothering young bugs (asphyxiation and coating), but does not work well against adults.

    The same applies to neem oil, homemade dish soap + olive oil and alcohol spray, and vinegar and salt spray. These only kill young bugs. Videos on youtube show that it takes 1-5 minutes to kill a bug and requires 3-5 sprays. It is likely they died through suffocation. Definitely remember to wear masks and goggles, and don’t stand under the trees since the bugs will spray acid when startled!

    With sprays, it is important to be mindful of the ingredients you are using when you are spraying and their strength, otherwise you may affect the tree or soil. With pesticides, check ingredients carefully if you are harvesting the fruits.

    One interesting thing is home-made spray is most likely not good enough for destroying eggs (Leokim did an egg effect comparison). Further study could be made about pest oil effectiveness on eggs.

    2. Shake the branch or knock the bugs off into a bucket of soapy water – low effectiveness due to capture method

    This was one of the most widely circulated methods and it is easy to see the appeal, knocking the bug into water which contains soapy water and they die quite quickly. Also, because we dispose of it on our own turf, we don’t offload the bugs to somewhere else and stink up my bin.

    As a matter of fact, soapy water is very effective at killing the bugs, especially if they are dumped in an ocean of it. So that’s a 100% kill rate. However, how effective is shaking the branch and knocking the bugs into the bucket? I decided to find out.

    It was a fine morning, and I placed a medium-sized open container with water under the lemon tree. The bugs were relaxing and not disturbed. Knowing the bugs were not good swimmers, I used plain water instead of soapy water. If I didn’t need to use detergent, I could just bury the bugs and use the water in the garden.

    My friend had fashioned a thin, long bamboo stick for me, and I stood about a metre away in my rain coat, glasses and gloves. I shook the branches gently and no bugs fell out of the tree. They simply adjusted their positioning around the branches.

    I then attempted to knock some down, and that was a disaster. No bugs fell, and they were startled. I could smell the putrid gas. I smacked the bugs and shook the branches more insistently, and at last a few started to fall. About five bugs fell, two into the bucket and three onto the ground, two flew off the branch and one circled behind me. The smell was too strong so I retreated strategically. It was very clear from my preliminary experiment that this method was not what it was touted to be! This was just one small branch, and I had a hundred branches I needed to clear.

    This debunks a lot of myths surrounding this method, and proves that the success rate really depends on the capture method. Essentially:

    1. Shake branch gently: 0% effectiveness
    2. Knock it off the branch: 20% effectiveness
    3. Net with long handles wrapped with plastic bags: probably also 20% effective rate
    4. Tongs with plastic bags & hand-pick with gloves: 100% effective but annoying
    5. Vacuum: 100% effective, set-up is annoying

    Thus, this is why I decided to go with vacuum for my ultimate method (click on the link to go directly to the ultimate method).

    The next day, when the bugs were enjoying their day, I went to check on the container. Surprisingly, two were dead inside. This meant that a plain ocean of water is enough to drown the bugs! However, I am unsure how long it took for them to die. Any scientists reading this blog, I would be very appreciative if further research was done on this!

    3. Spray strong pesticides

    This can only work with pesticides that target saps where the bugs feed from, and may impact the fruit! However, it is a very effective method if you use the right pesticides!

    4. Propane Torch method – don’t do this even if it seems satisfying

    Satisfaction level is very high for this method as it is an instantaneous kill and the bugs just drop. I have seen this method in a video used directly on the branch, or used in combination with the fact that bugs will congregate at the base of the tree on a hot day then directly torching them at the base.

    After talking with my gardening friend and doing more research, I abandoned this idea. Lethal heat for bugs is 60 °C or prolonged exposure to 50 °C, which is basically the same temperature for the trees. At 60 °C, the cells take damage and die. A propane torch is 1100 °C. The tree would suffer irreversable damage. Of course, the damaged leaves might be able to renew next year, and any fruit yield is gone, but if the tree bark is damaged the tree could die.

    5. Wasp Spray – Interesting Idea

    This is an interesting comment left on reddit by an Australian user, apparently it kills the bugs quickly. I checked Bunnings and they sell long range wasp sprays which can shoot up to 6m, way beyond the range of the bug’s acidic spray.

    I did not try this, but if I did my considerations would be:

    • Toxicity of the spray
    • Effect on fruit
    • The stink bug is much bigger than the wasps, so it might not be as effective
    • Spraying technique
    • Cost. Apparently 400g goes out very quickly, so to spray a whole tree would be very, very expensive and you also need to hit multiple targets, unlike a wasp nest. However, this could be a very good option when there are few bugs.

    6. Bug-trap and Peppermint Methods for American Stink Bugs

    Subject: This is mainly for the home-invading Brown marmorated stink bugs which gets inside of home over winter in the US.

    1. Stink bug traps with a light underneath
      • How it works: These stink bugs are attracted to light, will land on or fall into the traps and can’t get out, or walk along surface with pesticides
      • Links:
        • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZxkmmImRIc&ab_channel=DannerCronise
        • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8l8r-O14Aw&t=57s&ab_channel=FOX47News
      • My thoughts: not sure if the Australian bronze orange bugs are as attracted to light at night, hope a scientist can test this out. However, since it is outdoors, light will attract a bunch of other insects as well, i.e. mosquitos, moths, etc.
    2. Stink bug deterrent spray with peppermint oil + sealing house
      • Subject: mainly US stink bug again
      • How it works: preventing from getting inside the house
      • Links:
        • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1baiMyqMXrA&t=361s&ab_channel=StoneyRidgeFarmer
      • My thoughts: not useful for Australian bronze orange bugs as it is in open air, unsure if bug has olfactory receptor. There are various reddit forums and videos from US that use pepermint, detergent and alcohol spray. Some have written that this is very effective at deterring or killing them, however, further studies or actual video footage would further strengthen the case. Since these bugs are in houses and not on fruit trees, it can be a good method (note pepper mint oil might irritate pets!).

    7. Diatomaceous earth for stink bugs

    This one I know for a fact can work. Diatomaceous earth food grade is ultra fine and can be used to line the entry point of the house to physically destroy the bug. The particles stick to the exoskeletons of bugs and dehydrate them.

    It is deep sea fossiles that is naturally occuring so is considered echo-friendly. Note, however, it doesn’t break down unless over a VERY long time. The only other risk with this one is if crystalline silica contained in diatomaceous earth is breathed in is NOT GOOD for the human, and can cause silicosis or other respiratory issues. The food-grade diatomaceous earth is low in crystalline silica and considered safe for humans – but still, be careful!

    The application problem with this one is that particles need to be brushed in a tree unlike in the US where you can line the household surfaces with it. There will be a lot of wind/rain which can easily displace it. What I think would be worth doing is lining the base of the tree before a very hot day, so when they crawl around it will dehydrate the bugs completely.

    8. Electricity – futuristic

    I was thinking long and hard about how to get rid of the bugs without hurting the trees, and I moved onto fantasizing about a bug zapper stick. However, I was again faced with the same problem as the bamboo stick. First I needed to make good contact with the bug. Due to the bug’s hard shell, the best place to make contact with the bug would be its legs, making it more difficult. Secondly, a high enough voltage and amps is required to kill or maim the bug instantly. This was going to be a lot higher than a regular bug swatter and needs to be purpose-built.

    Key Conclusions

    • Capture and removal is still the most non-invasive method, but depends on capture method
    • Pest oil is good for late autumn – winter prevention on eggs and hatchlings. However, pest oil, soapy spray, vinegar and salt spray only work on young bugs, not adults.
    • Pesticides need to work on sap or be very strong to kill adult bugs.
    • Bucket of plain water can drown young bugs and adults (not sure how long). Soapy water kills much faster.
    • Non-traditional methods like diatomaceous earth, bug trap, wasp spray have limited information in Australia but can be further tested.

    PART 3: Disposing After Capturing Bronze Orange Bugs (trigger warning: yuck!)

    The question about disposing is an unpleasant matter which I will quickly cover.

    A lot of methods that was shared online doesn’t really explain how the bugs are disposed of afterwards, but here are a few shared by forum users:

    1. Handheld vacuum
      • put vacuum in freezer (??), empty the vacuum, bug in bag, bin the bag.
      • pros: simple
      • cons: questionable freezer usage, bug incapacitated but may still survive, when crushed it will just release horrid gas, bug may populate landfill area
    2. Bagged/bagless vacuum
      • empty the vacuum, bug in bag, freeze bug, bin the bag or burn the bag.
      • pros: disposal on own turf
      • cons: bug could escape/release smell when put into bag, burning creates acrid-smelling smoke
    3. Soapy water bucket
      • flush down the toilet
      • pros: bug already dead before disposal, simple
      • cons: small risk of clogging the toilet if in large numbers

    Combining the research above, I came up with:

    1. My first idea
      • capture in vacuum bag, place bag in larger plastic bag to prevent smell escaping, leave in the Aussie sun for 4 hours and use heat to kill, bin it
      • As a precaution, I could also add some vinegar and alcohol swaps in the bag prior to bagging the bugs. Theoretically, they would be in a really bad environment and would die off.
      • pros: relatively easy, bug dead before disposal
      • cons: not sure if the fumes/heat is enought to kill bugs
    2. My modified idea
      • Capture in vacuum chamber, hot water to kill bugs, bury bugs in soil as fertilizer.

    Further research suggestions:

    1. Does alcohol fumes or vinegar fumes kill stink bugs? What is the concentration required?
    2. The bug’s acidic spray also creates fumes, in confined spaces, could this be lethal to the bug too? What if a lot of them are setting it off?

    Now, I’m ready to take on the stink bugs! For the equipment and process, continue to read War on Stink Bugs 2!

    References:

    Ref 0:

    leokimvideo, 2023. Stink Bugs 18 Day Egg Study Flamethrower Vs Detergent What’s The Best Pest Control. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2rS7s5eSiI [Accessed 4 January 2025].

    Ref 1:
    Wu, C.Y. (2021). 【昆蟲擾西上課了！】荔枝椿象真的有這麼可怕嗎？一起來認識牠！Tessaratoma papillosa. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ydoTzYSk-Y [Accessed 4 Jan. 2025].

    Ref 2:
    Bug Spray (2021). How to Control Citrus Tree Pests: How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Wf_fkVh1c [Accessed 4 Jan. 2025].

    Ref 3:
    Restante, T. (2022). Informative prevention: Bronze Orange Bug. Best and Easiest Method to Control These Bugs on Citrus Trees. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-zSR3tLSXo [Accessed 4 Jan. 2025].

    #how to control stink bugs

    #how to prevent stink bugs

    #australian stink bugs

    #controlling stink bugs

    #citrus tree black bugs

    #citrus tree pest

    #lemon tree stink bug

    #get rid of stink bugs in Australia

    #A full research & method review on getting rid of stink bugs or bronze orange bugs for Australian home gardeners, especially for lemon trees!

  • Heavenly Gnocchi

    Recipe Name: Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina

    Recipe by: UNSW Chef Jaye

    Edited/adjusted to taste by: Angela

    Ingredients:

    White potato/desiree potato125g (or 1 big potato) (or 2 smaller potatoes, between chicken egg & goose egg size)
    Sea saltPlenty
    Egg Yolk1
    Flour70g + some
    Garlic2 cloves
    Eschallot1 pcs
    Black pepper1 tsp
    Passata (and optional cherry tomatoes x 5)200g
    MozzarellaAt discretion (50g-100g)
    Note: This recipe is for 1 -1.5 person. Can double sauce/potatoe/mozzarella for more people.

    Method:

    A. Gnocchi Bake (1 hour 55 min):

    1. Preheat oven to 180 °C
    2. Make a sea salt bed in the centre of a large baking tray.
    3. Poke holes in potato and place them on salt bed.
    4. Bake for 1.5 hours or until tender.
    5. Set aside for 10 min to cool.

    //dice and slice the eschalot, garlic, cherry tomatoes

    //open the passata can

    //pick and wash the basil

    B. Gnocchi Dough (35 min):

    1. Remove and discard skin from potatoes
    2. Use potato masher to mash the potatoes until it forms a smooth paste
    3. Set aside to cool for a further 10 min
    4. Add a pinch of salt, egg yolk and flour to potatoes, and combine using a scraper.
    5. GENTLY, knead this dough on a well-floured surface until smooth

    C. Gnocchi Make (8 min):

    1. Divide into four portions. Roll each portion into a 30cm long log and cut into 2 cm pieces with a knife.
    2. Press lightly with a fork and place on floured tray.

    —–> Gnocchi can be freezed at this checkpoint (but that means the dice eschalot comes later)

    D. Heavenly sauce (12 min):

    1. Medium heat , pan fry garlic and eschalot until golden brown.
    2. Add passata (and cherry tomatoes), tear and add half mozzarella and simmer for 10 minutes.

    //start boiling water after simmer has started

    //wash knife

    E. Gnocchi Cook (14 minutes):

    1. Large saucepan of salted boiling water (2 teaspoon salt) and cook until gnocchi rises to surface.
    2. Add cooked gnocchi to pan sauce, then pour these into baking tray.
    3. Finish baking tray with leftover mozzarella and basil.
    4. Grill for 5 minutes.

    //wash baking tray

    //wash saucepan

    Total time: 3h 4 min.

    To be worth it, recommend making 6+ meals.

    NOTE: sauce/gnocchi can be frozen and reheated.

    NOTE: Baking can be replaced with airfryer at 180 C/200C for 40-50 min. So the total time would be 2h 24 min. To be worth it, recommend making 5+meals.

    Potatoes Variety

    Best potato for this: royal blue, king edward, coliban, sebago. I used white washed potatoes.

    References: https://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen/stories/s2914278.htm

    Recipes for 4, 5, 6+ people

    6+ meal recipe

    White potato/desiree potato750g (or 12 small potatoes)
    Sea saltPlenty
    Egg Yolk6
    Flour420g + some
    Garlic12 cloves
    Eschallot6 pcs
    Black pepper6 tsp
    Passata (and optional cherry tomatoes x 5)1200g
    MozzarellaAt discretion (300g-600g)
    Note: This recipe is for 6 people.

    5+ meal (big airfryer)

    NOTE: my airfryer can’t do 10 small potatoes, only 9 max.

    NOTE: Baking can be replaced with airfryer at 200C for 35-40 min. So the total time would be 2h.

    White potato/desiree potato625g (or 10 small potatoes)
    Sea salt (Airfryer no need for salt bed)Pinch
    Egg Yolk5
    Flour350g + some
    Garlic10 cloves
    Eschallot5 pcs
    Black pepper5 tsp
    Passata (and optional cherry tomatoes x 25)1000g
    MozzarellaAt discretion (250g-500g)
    Note: This recipe is for 5 people.

    4+ meal (small airfryer)

    NOTE: my airfryer can’t do 10 small potatoes, only 9 max.

    NOTE: Baking can be replaced with airfryer at 200C for 35-40 min. So the total time would be 2h.

    White potato/desiree potato500 g (or 8 small potatoes)
    Sea salt (Airfryer no need for salt bed)Pinch
    Egg Yolk4
    Flour280 g + some
    Garlic8 cloves
    Eschallot4 pcs
    Black pepper4 tsp
    Passata (and optional cherry tomatoes x 25)800g
    MozzarellaAt discretion (200g-450g)
    Note: This recipe is for 4 people.

  • Cooking Experiments

    I started reading Salt, Fat, Acid, Head written by Samin Nosrat, a book about mastering the elements of good cooking.

    The first chapter is on salt, including the types of salt and properly salting. Including how time, heat and water affect the activity of salt (osmosis and diffusion). The book further talks about how salt not only changes flavour, but also can change the texture of protein. Besides directly salting the food, it is also possible to create a salted environment for the food to cook in.

    After reading, I decided to set up some experiements to see if what the book says is true.

    The Hypothesis:

    Cooking the as the book says will yield a properly salted pasta that is tastier than what I do normally.

    The Salt:

    First thing was buying the salt. The book recommends a particular sea salt brand that is not sold in Australia and is probably going into liquidation. In Australia, the salt I picked up is SAX cooking salt.

    The Experiment – First Run:

    The book suggested a starting point of 2% salinity for blanching and cooking pasta, and I decided to put that into practise.

    Normally I cook pasta this way:Using the book technique:
    Ingredients:Big pot
    3cm deep water and about 180g of pasta
    + a tiny tiny pinch of salt or no salt at all    		Small pot
    A litre of water (or 4 cups)
    100g of pasta
    + 13g of sea salt (unfortunately, I think I put in 15g)
    Cooking:After water is boiling, cook for 12 minutes with lid on. Take pasta out, and use cold water to stop cooking process.After water is boiling, cook for 10 minutes lid off. Take pasta out then cold water to stop the cooking process.
    Result & observation:Very soft pasta, no salt taste.
    Lots of big bubbles and overflowing over the pot, had to take the lid off for half the cooking process. By the end, water was only 1 cm left.     		Extremely salty pasta, not completely cooked through. Water boiled much slower than big pot (probably due to heat escaping through the side of the pot). Small light foaming so I cannot keep the lid on.
    Remedy:N/AThrew the pasta into boiling, unsalted water and cooked for 1 minute.
    Result:N/AGreat texture and not too salty

    Results:

    Cooking with 16g of salt yielded a pasta with better texture but much saltier than mine, and is inedible as a result.

    Discussion:

    There was definitely some inaccuracies with how the experiment was handled, so I tried again in the second run.

    Improvements to make in second run:

    • Salt makes sure the pasta is properly cooked at the temperature (curtesy of friend’s research)
    • Need enough water. I researched and found that the reason for the big bubbles in the first pot was due to too much starch the pasta was releasing into the water – i.e. I need to have more water vs pasta ratio to prevent that.
    • Checking pot and stove size

    The Experiment – Second Run:

    After my first run, I was curious if I was just cooking for too long with 12 minutes. Maybe if I shortened it I would get a similar texture? I also saw on the Barilla package that they suggested 7g of salt with 1 L water and 100g pasta.

    I reran the experiment:

    No SaltUsing the packaging technique:
    Ingredients:Big pot
    No salt
    130g of pasta    		Small pot
    A litre of water (or 4 cups)
    100g of pasta
    + 7g of sea salt
    Cooking:After water is boiling, cook for 10 minutes with lid off. Take pasta out, and use cold water to stop cooking process.After water is boiling, cook for 10 minutes lid off. Take pasta out then cold water to stop the cooking process.
    Result & observation:Still soft pasta, no salt taste.
    Texture is better but not as good as book technique pasta.     		Still quite salty pasta, good texture.
    Remedy:N/AAdded olive oil (per suggestion of friend)
    Result:N/ALess salty but still somewhat salty, great texture.

    Results:

    Cooking as the packaging said yielded a pasta with better texture but still saltier than mine, and is too salty to eat.

    Discussion:

    Both my friend and I agree that 7g pasta is still too salty. She then suggested olive oil, which did temper the salt, so the tricky thing is the pasta may depend on the sauce. For example, I am making carbonara, which is quite a salty sauce, so the salty pasta + salty sauce is not great. The pasta may be considered properly seasoned if I made bolognese.

    However, considering in the past I never needed salted pasta, I suspect I don’t prefer too salty noodles. (Consistent with how Chinese noodles are cooked, we add the sauce later.)

    Thus, the experiment confirms I should put in less than 7g of salt. It is also possible that the 10min fully immerses a lot of salt into the pasta, unlike blanching, so I should put probably 5g or less.

    Conclusion:

    A. It is found that salt improves the texture of pasta over non-salted water.

    B. 1L water + 100g pasta should not have more than 7g of sea salt when cooked for 10 minutes.

    C. To further confirm results for a perfect pasta, the experiment can be rerun as follows:

    1. Try 5g salted pasta with bolognese to see if it is not salty enough
    2. Test the 5g salted pasta texture

    D. What is read from the books needs to interact with actual experiments. Books frequently provide a starting point for exploring what works for ourselves. It is not wise to only blindly trust the books. I shall leave you with a Chinese saying: “人要有格物致知精神!” or “People should have the spirit of investigating things to attain knowledge!”

    2024.09.02

  • The Bee Story

    A man meets a woman.

    “I have a car, a house and a stable job,” says the man.

    “I’m ready to marry and have a kid.” says the woman.

    They marry quickly and have a kid.

    Then they start fighting.

    They keep fighting and bickering day and night.

    The kid grows up but the situation at home never improves.

    The kid becomes troublesome and eventually drops out of high school. At eighteen, he joins underground fighting rings, to earn money.

    He’s young and has some talent. He wins a lot of matches, earns money and gets cocky.

    The ringmaster and others who lost money in those matches decide to teach him a lesson.

    The kid fights against someone who is very skilled, and the opponent beats him up badly.

    The kid wakes up in a hospital. A kindly nurse looks after him.

    Everyday, the nurse says good morning sweetly, and he watches as she tends to his wounds carefully. He knows that she is married and much older than him, but he doesn’t care.

    He finally heals, so he goes to her and says, “I love you. “

    “I’m married, and cannot return your feelings.” She replies.

    He continues to visit her at work.

    Fed up, she says one day, “Why don’t you go get a job? And I’ll consider it.”

    He goes to get a job delivering food around the neighbourhood, and saves up enough money for a large bouquet of flowers.

    Flower in hand, he goes to her work place and waits outside the hospital for her shift to end.

    Finally, he sees her exiting the hospital. As he starts to walk towards her, he sees a young boy running into her arms. Her husband and child has come to pick her up, and the family walk away happily.

    He stands in the corner and watches them slowly walk away. His eyes are blurry. He throws the flowers away and walks back home.

    Home, where there aren’t many happy memories.

    He gets back and finds his parents still fighting.

    Anger courses through him, and he shouts at them, “Why don’t you two stop fighting and just leave each other be?!”

    Upon hearing this, the man and the woman both turn into bees and leave through the windows.

  • On Purpose and Goals

    I recently saw a snippet on Youtube about a neurologist talking about how the adult human brain becomes fully developed after the age of twenty-five and will then focus on tasks that are essential to survival. When attempting to learn something new (e.g. new language) is considered irrelevant to survival, the tasks will “become” more unpleasant and difficult and there will be more friction to learn. The neurologist draws on the concept of brain plasticity, and how there are two things that could make it better: intense focus and urgency.

    —

    I did some research.

    DEFINITION:

    Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is a process that involves adaptive structural and functional changes to the brain (definition via reference 1). Neuroplasticity explains how we learn by absorbing and analyzing information as we go through life and allows us to adapt to new environments and new situations (reference 2).

    It is popularly believed by neurologist that the prefrontal coretex stops developing at 25 years old (reference 3) which corroborates what the Youtube snippet says. While buzzwords like “rewiring your brain” flies around the internet, it all really is about understanding the science behind our brains, and how it is an organism that is primed for survival, organisation, recognition, and maximal efficiency.

    —

    This thought was very interesting, so I shared this with a friend.

    My friend raised a good point influencing the brain in a different manner: the lack of motivation may be the brain’s way of tricking you into thinking the task at hand is harder than supposed, because it is keeping count and has decided the task at hand has no purpose behind it.Your brain may be naturally deterring you from what it deems as the “furthest path to success and comfort” based on past experiences.

    He thinks if we set our goals with a timeline, and choose all our learning experiences that serve our goals, it will naturally tie into our survival instinct and urgency. In fact, all the learning and tasks will be “useful” and what may seem like an inconvenient task naturally becomes part of “what I do” or “what I need to do to get where I want”. He observes how certain actions seem natural to some but is absolute hell for others, and compares it to the difference of having a goal and not.

    —

    I would go a step further to say that in fact, our actions are reflective of our goals. We may not even know what concrete goal it is, but our actions are a reflection of what we truly think and value. It shows us (or betrays!) our deepest desires.

    —

    For younger readers, I suppose the advice is to: hurry and learn more and learn good habits before 25!

    But for those who love learning or still want to learn more – they say it’s never too late to learn, and it is true. Now we understand the brain more, we have more tools than ever – setting goals, applying intence focus and urgency to it – and we can get where we want to be!

    References:

    1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557811/
    2. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/neuroplasticity
    3. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051
    4. https://www.growthengineering.co.uk/brain-plasticity/ –>note, this is a growth-mindset learning site, as such it may be over-optimistic about adult learning capabilities.

  • The Silver Snail

    A silver snail sauntered up to a werewolf sleeping under a tree, and started making fun of him.

    The werewolf woke up from his nap.

    Annoyed, he reached out a claw crush the snail. Seeing this, the snail quickly retreated back into its shell.

    As soon as the werewolf touched the silver shell of the snail, he roared back in pain. Silver was deadly to him.

    The snail popped its head back out of the shell and laughed.

    “You can’t touch me!” Said the snail gleefully, and started making fun of the werewolf again.

    The werewolf, in all his rage and frustration, punched a nearby tree, which fell down and promptly squashed the snail.

    – Originally written around 2012.

  • The Importance of the Past

    Today I’d like to discuss the importance of the past.
    When I was a teenager, and I read the blurbs on the books that talk about digging into the mysterious past of the protagonist, I wasn’t exactly interested. What’s so interesting about the past?

    Last year, older and supposedly wiser, I went back to the city where I grew up. Walking through the old house that was partially crumbling I felt part of myself that I had shut away when I was in Australia instantly come back to me. I had spent half my life there afterall, and just by walking through the house I was regaining part of me that was forgotten. There was a calmness in knowing what I did here, knowledge of the city and how things work, a strength that comes from the support system from friendly and familial relations. Invisible source of wealth that is buzzing and humming and so close now. Accessible.

    That was when I realised the importance of the past.

    In particular, the importance is in three points:

    1. It gives us awareness and perspective about ourselves, and guides us for the future

    It informs us about the environment and stimuli we grew and how we came to be. It can show us how we used to make decisions, why we carry out our decisions in certain ways. It helps to explain who we are, and in some rare cases shows us who we were meant to be through self-fulfilling prophecy (the danger is, of course, being misguided into inaction and simply waiting for the wealth to fall on us). By recording and being aware of this, it helps us steer away from things that affect us negatively and generally make better decisions in the future.

    2. It tells us of possibilities and shows us pathways to success

    Thinking broadly of the past in terms of history, we can watch and draw on the strength, wisdom, wittiness, cleverness, wickedness and opportunism of those we wish to emulate. We can mimic and learn about pathways to certain successes, or apply similar thought process in our new and changed environment.

    3. It is a fountain of wealth and strength in aspects of: knowledge, family and relations, personal wealth, ideas and inspirations

    There is generational wealth and culture that is invisibly built up and can only, at the time, achieved by passing down knowledge and ways to do things through human example. E.g. Why is a family line of doctors in that small village so good? Because they’ve always been servicing that area, and are familiar with every type of ailment that has happened in that particular area due to the unique geography and weather of the place. This long line of knowledge and samples cannot be accrued in one single lifetime, but our long line of past will affect a lot of our small habits.

    We’re making history here for the future, dear readers!

  • Yuify – A New Approach to Artistic Licensing and Copyright

    Recently, I read about Wacom’s new initiative – Yuify.

    I’ve long been a fan of the Wacom company – they produce quality and premium drawing pads and their patented pen technology is extremely impressive. This new initiative however, has more to do with digital artistic licensing than with physical drawing pads.

    Yuify is made up of four components:

    1. a technology that utilises blockchain to generate a unique ID and a secret micromarking technique that embedds the ID into the image (possibly steganography)
    2. a public-facing website where people can upload an artwork or part of an artwork and check out which artist has done it and its licensing details
    3. an artists’ website where artists can log in and manage their yuify-ed artworks, generate license agreements, accept and manage license requests, even paid requests.
    4. an integrated application into major drawing programs which enables yuify after the work is completed (currently available on Photoshop via a separate free app, Rebelle and Clip Studio Paint), and which verifies whether your artwork is yuify-able (i.e. you actually worked on it)

    Public beta is free and is here: https://yuify.com

    The technology of blockchain and steganography is not new but not nearly accessible enough for the average artists, who opt for watermarks that are very easy to crop out or remove these days.

    What is perhaps more impressive and long overdue is a platform that standardizes and helps artists create licensed agreements and manage them. There are a lot of thoughtful options that are presented for customising your licenses – simply check the few boxes for creating a creative commons license, check whether attribution is required, or check that the work cannot be used for drugs and political use.

    In a world that is filled with ai art and blatant art theft, it’s become harder and harder to protect one’s artwork. This is the type of thought leadership that we need from companies – contributing value to the artistic community by protecting their customers.

    The public beta is free now, but I would like to see it eventually growing into a subscription or paid service in the future, or potentially have some tiers for payments. I am excited to see where this could go – this could be very powerful as a digital database that could potentially standardise artistic licensing in multitudes of countries and help artists in court disputes.

  • On Improving Life

    The best way to improve your life right now, is to take care of yourself.

    Sometimes, we take care of others more than ourselves. But we ourselves are the source of all happiness and goodness – it must be the excess from our happiness that overflows into other’s cups. We are our priority. With our happiness, we can bring love and light into our lives as well as other’s lives. It will inevitably cause burnout when we try to fill or serve others without caring for ourselves.

    I’ve discovered there seems to be a disconnect – almost an illogical way that I’m living my life. I seem to ignore signals from my body, also, recently a few of my perceptions have been challenged, so I would like to share these discoveries with you.

    On learning

    “I want to do this because it’ll make me a better person.” I say.

    My friend disagrees. “Do things that will help you live the life you want.”

    I’m still chewing on this concept, since I’m not sure what life it is I want yet. All I know is I wish to improve myself and be a better person, but “better” is always subjective and you can keep improving yourself forever. But “living our best life” will guide us to choose what we improve upon, and focus our energy – our time is rather limited, afterall. In the next few weeks I will endeavour to practise tying that energy to specific life goals.

    On being productive

    “…I’ll make fancier food, when I have more mental capacity/time”

    My friend goes: “But you can put that towards other things?”

    “What other things?”

    “Extra time can go to having fun or chilling out…”

    That completely stunned me. No wonder I was having trouble being productive – because after being productive, there was no reward, there was always more to do and more things to be productive about.

    After that, I tried to change my approach and give myself rewards and rest time for completing tasks on time, in addition to savouring the success of completing each item and staying on top of things.

    On taking care of myself

    I still marvel at the day I discovered that having chocolate can cheer me up.

    Then realising going for a walk can really help clear my head.

    Then there was the day where I discovered not drinking enough water during the day was the reason I woke up parched in the night.

    And running makes me warm and toasty, and releases all my frustrations, sadness, and anger. I become happier afterwards.

    Discovering that a nice smelling candle is pleasant.

    Curling up on the sofa with a blanket is amazing.

    Eating well can help me concentrate more.

    Sneezing is my body telling me I’m not wearing enough, ditto with the blue fingernails.

    Window shopping nice things makes me happy.

    Marvelling at how nature is great for the peace of mind.

    With a car you can go anywhere, you’re free.

    Reject taxing relationships. There are too many good people in this world to discover and hang around.

    Taking regular breaks in between study helps with both my posture, back, eyes and actually increases my productivity.

    Going out with friends is fun!

    Who knew that self-care actually works?

  • On Choices and Habits

    – Inspired by the book Atomic Habits.


    1. The Power of Habits and the Choices We Make

    The power of habits is not a new concept. We observe it every day e.g. Jane always checks Aldi, Coles and Woolworths before making a purchase; Josh has a coffee every morning. However, we think less about how these will add up and impact us in the long term. Sure, everyone knows reducing screen time will mean better sleep and lead to better long-term health effects (and we still don’t effectively curb it), but habits can be insidious or advantageous in many other areas of our lives as well.
    Consider this made-up situation: Jake is risk-averse. So even though he likes art, when he picks his university course he picks the safe law degree and sticks to it while his friends change around. He gets a stable job and does not venture into startups. Every year, he keeps his head down and because he is risk-averse, he works hard to upgrade himself to be more relevant career-wise. He does a bit of art on the side but never thinks about spending too much time in visual arts or changing careers because it is too risky for his liking. He probably invests in bonds and a smaller amount in shares, most of it he keeps in the bank. He never invests in his friend’s winery or gold mines. Jake still lives a happy life though once in a blue moon he wonders about the other path he may have taken.
    The risk averse person, unless they are aware of their tendencies and change their risk averse behaviour when making decisions, will keep choosing the path that is slightly less risky. This will veer their life in a certain direction. A confident and risk-taking person’s life choices – and even smaller choices would be radically different. Similarly, a person that does not recognise that they are unprepared will keep being unprepared. These choices will add up and move their life in a certain way.

    2. 轮回之苦不在地狱，在人间。The suffering of saṃsāra is not in hell or another life, but right now.


    Carl Jung says: Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. Little habits, conscious or unconscious, create little loops of effects, and these snowball into bigger and bigger effects until an accident happens.
    Example: Jane leaves the cups on the counter at a precarious angle and thinks they should be fine, and that she will wash them later. Her pan is not placed back in the cupboard and the handle is sticking out from the ledge of the counter. She wears a thick coat in the middle of the kitchen since the heater is not turned on. She is also on her phone. She turns to get something and her thick coat gets caught on the pan handle, the pan spins and hits the cups which were misplaced and they fall and smash. Similar things keep happening to her, she drops her water bottles, her newly bought iPhone, and even her laptop. This will keep happening until something really bad happens and she decides to fix this.
    Sometimes, we don’t even recognise that we are caught in the same habits and repeating behaviours or responses.
    There is a concept in psychology called behavioural pattern, and that is linked to habits and heuristics. Examples include the famous attachment theory, how people continually choose partners that attract them but may not be the best for their overall wellbeing. Humans are drawn and attracted to certain things that feel familiar to us or make us happy – we need them in some way or another, at least it is good or feels good to us now. However, if we suffer for it, and we recognise we are worse off from it in the long-run, why do we continue to indulge in them? Why do we never change?
    That, my friends, I believe is the true meaning of suffering of saṃsāra, or in Chinese: 轮回之苦 Lun hui zhi ku *. We continually fall into the same pattern of resolving things, and so many tiny little choices and habits are made based on the conscious and unconscious preferences (e.g. what worked in the past, what feels right etc). 轮回之苦 is not about repeating the sufferings in the afterlife or reliving the worst experience in hell, it is that people are repeating the same fate in many different ways and experiencing pain in all sorts of variations in the life they are living right now.


    3. The Good News
    There is usually a reason for how people adapted in different ways – due to their situations and environments, maybe a major event that altered their life views forever. Lucky for us, there isn’t one “good way” or “perfect way” to live our lives, there is only the life we want – banish the judgement from others!
    The human capacity for change is incredible, and we can all nudge our futures in the direction we want it to be.
    More on that next time!

    2024.07.16

    Reference

    *The first time I heard about the explanation of suffering of saṃsāra is from 泽海命理水之道。

  • Townplanning is Fengshui

    Hello friends! If you told a younger me that my first blog post is going to be on townplanning of all things, I would have looked at you in a very, very confused manner. Nonetheless, this has been very interesting to me recently.

    Townplanning has recently come to the attention of the NSW government due to the housing crisis that is happening in Sydney, and to be honest, if I was a fresh out of high school this would be a really great course to study.

    First things first, I highly recommend watching this youtube video on urban planning in Melbourne:

    It really highlights a few things:

    • planning involves both the macro and the micro – from designing road and housing structures to putting a flower stall in the square to add a bit of colour
    • how planning can change the face of the city
    • how people congregate or thin out depending how you design the structures
    • how little resources town planners had in the past, and some policies/rent tricks they had to pull to get things done
    • planning is a long-term effort and the result often comes in 5, 10 or 20 years

    For me townplanning almost feels like building an aquarium. For example, I’m going to put a little cave here, so the fish will naturally go there when they want to feel safer. Then I’m going to plop some aquarium grass seeds here so in a few months it’ll grow into lushness, and organisms can munch on them. I’m also going to place the filter and pump in the corner so it doesn’t disturb the fish in the caves.

    For townplanning, we’re doing it with people instead of fishes. By creating the structures that foster growth, organisms will find a way to be comfortable/grow on the structures that you created. If you are quite good, you will have studied human behaviour enough that you know what delights them, what drives them away, what draws them together and simply install a typology has that specific function.

    I was very excitedly discussing with my friend about how townplanning is biological, and the city and humans grow and weave together to create that chapter you’ll see in 5-10 years. The flow of humans through the traffic and streets swirled around and became the flow concept that’s in fengshui in an interior designer’s drawings (see Dear Modern‘s hilarious videos) and then my friend said: “You know what, that’s why they had fengshui masters planning the city shopping centres!”

    “Oh my God, you’re right!” I said excitedly. It was customary in the past to consult a fengshui master before building any big structure or buying a house. Some very common fengshui sayings include: the back of the house should not be in the direct line of sight of the front door, house sits in the north and faces the south, water brings in wealth, etc. Consulting a fengshui master would be great for the commercial building – they would check the position of the sun, the wind strength, the surrounding context and visualise the movement pattern of people, what plant/water/sculpture/seating needs to occur to “bring in the wealth” (aka so people will stay/have fun there). No wonder they were paid a lot back then and in hot demand today too.

    As my other friend aptly put, townplanning, architecture, interior design, fengshui, they are all studies of environment and the human interaction. The position of the sun, the flow of the wind, the bustling of that coffee shop, the low speed limit that makes the streets much more welcoming for the pedestrians – they are all designs that take into account the human behaviour. But it’s also much more than that – to be an outstanding townplanner, one needs to take a long-term view because humans and cities will grow with it and become part of the fabric of change.

    Think of it another way – To see examine your gardener’s skill, just look at how they plant and cut their plants. Do the plants grow nicely into shape in the future, or does it require constant trimming and extra effort to maintain it because it was never planted in the right place in the first place? That’s the difference between someone who can trim and someone who masters gardening.

    – 2024.06.09

  • Hello world!

    Hello world!

    #include <stdio.h>

    int main(void) {

    printf(“Site name: Angela Ascertains”);

    printf(“Message: Hello world!”);

    / *about: i’m a curious and creative individual.

    I’m passionate about education, art, communities and technology.

    Explore my projects →

    Read my blog →

    Connect with me →

    */

    // Acknowledgements:

    // This site wouldn’t be possible without the support of my loved ones and friends!

    // Special mention: Nova and Jono.

    return 0;

    }