Bite sized Irony....

I love food, Man! So much so that I am doing my final masters thesis on Beta glucans and Fructans in processed barley. No, I dont look anything like this-

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Not even close. But I do love observing little details and write fun blogs about them. And this story happened in the lab today. For those who are elsewhere in the world, heres something you wont know about natives from my most favourite country-Sweden. They are so obsessed with energy and its saving that they hardly talk to each other. Not to forget their other indulgences- recycling, sorting waste, recycling, "Green" technology, environment and oh yeah! Recycling.

Something indeed funny caught my eye. For the non scientific critics who will be reading my blog, I am going to break it down to fool proof science- pictures and words. 

Here goes.

The picture below shows a small selection of plastic tubes that most people use to analyze their samples in a lab. Most of them are disposable and made of plastic. Not very "Green". Only some of them are reused depending on the numbers in use. Most of the time, there will be 100's of these in an assortment going to the bin.

Tree huggers....I know, but it has to be done, in the name of science.

                                                                                                                                                                    

Part of day today was to take measurements of 50 crimson coloured solutions to check for its intensity. The  picture on the right is that of a range of cuvettes- something made of plastic that the crimson solutions are added to, for measurements. They are expensive and disposable also. I remember there was a time when high schools in India has labs that had a glass/crystal cuvette that was probably the most expensive commodity in there.                                                                                                                      For 50 solutions we disposed of 50 of these bad boys. Straight in the bin that says "Plastic". Just hang on to this thought. 

Another experiment of the day involved weighing an array of 46 bran dust samples kept in Swedish Christmas candy foils. 

 

The picture above is exactly that product that Swedes make their home made chocolate in. They are fairly inexpensive (left to a rational persons imagination). After their weights, I disposed them in the trash can that handles miscellaneous waste.

Here comes the funny part. Earlier today, I had a discussion with my supervisior regarding the cuvette trivia that I have shared here. After a while when I was asked about if I had measured the weights, she asked me about what happened to the little cup cake foils. I said, " I put them in the bin". To which the reply was, "I forgot to tell you, we need them for reuse". I smiled at my supervisor thinking that shes joking, only to realize that she was serious. "They are hard to find and they suit our purpose best", she later added. 

There was a serious crisis of butter in the butter obsessed country of Norway last year during Christmas. So much so, it was all over the news. No joke. I had a hearty-hearty maniacal laugh then, but this one beats that. I have now sworn to my supervisor that I ll buy every available pack of cup cake foils that I will come across in the near future, no to make them bite sized goodness of chocolates, but, for my lab. Oh yeah! My department members have a sense of humour or what!

                                                                                 

The Cusp

For those who may not know, Sweden had been offering to qualified students free education till 2011. Students that were accepted before fall of 2011 could have been from any part of the world as long as they fulfilled the criteria- proficient in English (as most program offered here were in English) and have a degree of merit in their chosen field of science. Free education meaning that there was no tuition fee, library fee or the microscopic texts along with it, the reason why Sweden has one of the most diverse student culture in all of Europe. Since 2011 some things had changed, for better.

Free education came with the modern flexibility then- being able to opt a parallel course alongside to what was a persons expertise & being able to take courses in any university in Sweden as long as you had the pre-requisites. I was one of the students that managed to get the foot in through the door to a room that was last free. The first term, I could have applied for any course, anywhere in Sweden.  Bear in mind, the only cost to be born by a student would then be travel and living. After the end of first term, a law was passed that students have to continue acquiring credits in the university that they initially accepted to. They were however lenient to the courses that they could apply to outside of their program. For a masters student, 120 credits were the end mark of his degree and if one chose to get credits more than 120, he/she would have to bear the tuition fee, which, mind you, is not nominal.

I would consider myself a  Zodiacal Cusp in this case who just managed to push through all the elastic obstacles while changing the program from Masters in Biotechnology to Biology. One could ask, " Whats the bloody difference!". Atleast, I did, only to realize that its only bureaucratic palaver. Oh yeah, the Swedes are notorious for their unconditional love to follow the rules. The actual problem came when I was looking to choose my final thesis project work to find out that I had registered for courses more than 120 credit mark, creating a notion whether I dropped out of certain courses or whether I was abusing the legislation. Also, the topic that I had chosen was in the Food science department and could be classed either under a major in Biology or Food science. Major in Biology was only available option for persons belonging to that region in between "free and fee". It was more than just a difference in one alphabet, I tell you. It takes time, but the Swedes are always just and benevolent.

Since last week I have started my thesis work in the same field as planned earlier, under the same Supervisor as agreed and its going swell! The preliminary title is, Evaluation of Beta-Glucans and Fructans in extruded bran from Wheat and Rye.  As confusing/far fetched as it may sound, its not, not when you have great support and confidence from the Food science team at SLU. You will hear more as the magic happens.

Apolonia @ Gastrikes-Halsinge

Weekends for most students is always certainly a visit to one of the Nations in town. Every day of the week different nations are active (there are 13 of them) indulging the crowd with food, ambience, music and club atmosphere. I happened to visit Gastrikes Halsinge (GH) nations for the first time yesterday.

 There was an event on Facebook that some of my close, interest sharing friends had opted to attend this concert, late evening yesterday. The night was dedicated to Sputnik, a celebration with Balkan music, DJ-ed by gypsy looking couple. Prior to music hall we had a couple of drinks over at the GH bar. A decent sized bar with stylish wooden furniture with a bar menu with 100+ ales/stout/lager/IPAs. A very brave menu, compared to the size of the bar, I thought then.

 Moving on to Sputnik, the Balkan theme that night- a video to show you how it was.

The band that rocked yesterday was Apolonia- A 7 man band with Sax, Violin, Double bass, Trumpet, lead vocalist, bass guitarist & drummer. A link to a random video of theirs -

What was so special about this band? Like any other live music swing/gypsy music- full of energy and gusto. The small crowd that was gathered yesterday was dancing like on no other night. To me, it was a break from the monotonous friday nights where I am with most of my friends lining up to get inside this other nations called Varmlands. The music there is so lame that a regular there could most accurately predict the next song the DJ there will play, by looking at this wrist watch.

 There is no music like live music and this band was better than some I have recently been to see. I think I ve found a new past time for fridays now. The other nice thing about it- free entry for people who made it there before 9PM. A great benefit for people on a student budget.

We are from Krypton

This year, winter has been awkwardly mild. During Fall, it was in the news that winter will be one of the coldest since donkeys years. Instead it turned out to be the other way around. Since the last couple of days, land has been covered in a icy slush. The sun keeps shining more than merrily and one cant help but feel awkwardly happy.

 Considering the winter depression last year, people have been very content with how mild the winter has been and how its had its positive effect on mood. Relatively warmer February meant being more outdoors, this time. Almost as to make a point how vital sunlight is to this ficticious superhero from Krypton, who fuels his energy from our "yellow Sun". Science has shown that its the same with us, 15 minutes of exposure to sunlight fills our recommended dose of vitamin D to 100 % . The same vitamin that is a catalyst in absorbing dietary Calcium to bones, making them denser, stronger. I know friends who used drops of vitamin D in milk to help fight the low moods last year and not this year. The sunlight is more vital to us than we think. What could be better with the sun shining at us with no clouds to blanket its warmth till its time to form lilac skies and disappear beyond the horizon.

Many like me might have felt the contrast to winter this year compared to last. We do feel like Superman from Krypton. I just hope that I havent spoken too soon and that spring starts earlier with a mild finish to this winter.

Norge for Xmas

For Christmas this year, me and my brother ( in Goteborg) decided to visit a first cousin in Stavanger, Norway. The couple had just moved to Stavanger a couple of months ago when he changed employer. The trip was planned in a way that we both got to travel together to Stavanger from Goteborg. That way, I d get to see a bit of Goteborg also. The other reason was that the cross country train network to Stavanger was available only from Goteborg and not directly from Uppsala.

I didnt know much about Goteborg before I reached there. The place is much milder, weather wise cos its so close to the coastline. The humidity keeps it damp and relatively warmer. The downside was that the snow never sets there. You get hail more than snow. We decided to go to one of the islands just outside of the Goteborg- Branno. Slightly overcast, the weather was but that didnt stop me from getting my camera out to cover the day.

Once we reached Stavanger-

The family..

We decorate the tree together

As we were told we brought good weather with us, we decided to take a quick walk to the centrum to get the last minute essentials before everything went shut for Christmas

A place where they sold fresh catch off the boat. A lobster is called hummer here. 

Just outside an 'Oil Museum' we see a model of their hole drill bit

Just some pictures

 We then did what men do best- talk no sense and drink beer.











There ll be more of Stavanger to come.

Pillage of ambience

A long wait from my last blog. Was giving in to the taste of Autumn. The subtle changes that tingle the nerve cells on the largest organ. The change in taste of ground water, the swings in mood and the change in pastel colors on the sky by the horizon just before the sun makes it to the other side. A recent funny experience that I would definitely have to share with the small but dedicated readers of mine- (almost) fine dining with friends of mine at a restaurant in Uppsala.

Has to be the first ever restaurant that I visited in Uppsala if you dont consider fast food in the same menu. The occasion was that of a close friend of mine getting what he wanted, a green signal to entry in the Swedish army forces as an artillery man. We decided to make the best of the day that was, a saturday with no hangover, a sunny cold day that can be only described as inviting to nance outdoors. While on a budget, people look for best option to fine dine while looking for quality. It is too much to ask, but we got it at a local Chinese restaurant serving a buffet at 1600 hrs on a saturday. There were atleast 14 items on the menu with appetisers and dessert. The drinks were extra as the restaurant hopes to draw a small profit from its business. The soup of the day was my favourite- Chicken sweet corn soup. It was the very dish that turned this little Brahmin born Hindu boy in India on track to be a world class carnivore. I have to thank my old man for that.The dishes were real easy on the palate. Full of flavour but free from overdose of astringent spices. Shrimp dishes were my target as I am a fan of seafood. Two dishes on the list that caused surprise among the three of us were these Sushi items. I couldnt tell you the names, cos I aint a fan of Salmon or Sashimi. That was it about food.

The ambience- A fountain with a bank and goldfishes as you enter. Tables demarcated by aesthetically placed wooden booths with arty sculpting. Framed posters on walls with Chinese pieces of art. Gradient lighting (energy saving of course, we are still in Sweden) and clean spic bar counter. Once we got to our table, we did what any hungry guy bunch would do- try to talk about domestic problems i.e money and girls. The topic deviate focus every other second as if you were looking through a Kaleidoscope. I know what you are thinking, but the drinks had only been served to us by then. Amidst the rambling, we saw a table that was occupied by a company of three- two girls and a boy. We were talking while they were sitting like spies, not a word to each other while looking at their smart phones. The large table of 10 behind us were a large family/friends together seemed to be having a nice time, talking. Just as expected at a restaurant. We couldnt help but notice the former table of 3. The friend of mine was telling me that they had to be Swedish. But how uncommon it was to behave in such a way, not talking to your friends and just staring at your phones. Thats how nosy we are. Everyone loves to gossip, not just girls. What do you expect three guys to talk about at a table? We were like the fellas from the movie 'Goodfellas'. I imagine I would fit the Ray Liotta shoes, or it could just be wishful thinking. Anyway, just then, a man from the larger table while on his way for a third helping stops by their table and says something to the young bunch in Swedish and walks away. Emil, my friend gave me a look right then. After a while, when the three musketeers left, Emil told me what the man had said to them. He had said, " Are you guys playing a video game amongst yourselves?". That got the man like a zillion points in my "book". Here I was thinking that the Swedish didnt have a great sense of humour and that anything goes here; BAM! A hammer of wit shuts me the fcuk up. It became the highlight of our day. Definitely something worth sharing about. Laughing about. Admiring about.

'People are people no matter where you are, only clothes and the language may be different'  -Some wise guy

Reverberating Cathedral

We know of fundraisers that collect cash for people in distress in different parts of the world. This one was for the destitute in Somalia. The venue was the Uppsala Cathedral, one of the oldest, most traditional landmark in Sweden. Music was the emalagmate to get to people with cry for help. The evening was called 'The Light-Dark' or 'Ett Ljus | Morkret' in Svenska.

The evening was cold but surprisingly pleasant considering its November. Me and a bunch of friends from my block and from Flogsta decided to reach the venue early to get decent spots. I was thinking the weather would be too cold so we dressed in layers, just to be warmer. Little did I know, that it was inside of the church. The same place where people pray and try and connect with the almighty or the like of it. There were handouts with the itenerary of the evening. The songs that the band would play and also the lyrics to each song, apart from the instrumental ones. There werea variety of 12 timeless numbers in all from the Icelandic Bjork to Engel. Well, timeless ones were actually covers of Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Pink Floyd. The songs were in order of play- 'Rockin' in the free world' by Neil Young, 'Joga' by Bjork, 'A whiter shade of  pale' by Procul Harum', 'In the light' by Led Zeppelin, 'Angels' by Robbie Williams, 'Listen to your heart' by Roxette, 'Life on mars?' by David Bowie, 'The great gig in the sky' by Pink Floyd, 'Engel' by the jarring Rammstein, 'Sound of Silence' by Simon and Garfunkel, 'November rain' by Guns'n'Roses and 'Viva la vida' by Coldplay.

 I thought that the songs had mostly some religious essence in one way or the other. We were intrigued about the song by Rammstein. For those who haven't heard it, its by a German heavy metal band. The ones that can leave you wondering if you are dead or alive, in the end. The Gothic, abrasive feeling to the original was well masked by the choir singers in chorus. It did give me some creeps though. It was my first time listening to loud live music inside a Cathedral. Pictures will appeal more

 A quiet gathering patiently waits. As the church bell marks the start of 7 PM with the bells, we knew the gig would start at the end.

 One of them beautiful Chandeliers.

 The Neil young started fine and melodious.

The lighting during the rendition of Bjorks 'Joga' was well matched with the vocalist. Was very much impressed. No music like that from a quality live band who know what they are doing. 

Bass and lead guitarists.

 Whats a fundraising concert without the messengers interlude. The message was read out in Swedish but some one with common sense could guess that it was about Somlia.

 Was truly blown away with the cover of 'The great gig in the sky'. It was the girl in the picture on far right who sand the topsy turvy of a song by Bjork and the singer from the Pink floyd hit. As challenging as it was, the girls voice hit all notes with an impressive degree of precision and control. Not trying to sound like Simon Cowell, but, she can sing!

The intense fiddlers with their Maestro who was also the Pianist when the need came.

 The lightsets were a sight on their own. Set the mood just right for a wonderful show.

 The Drummer rocks the Led Zeppelin tune, originally by John Bonham

 

A view of the choir members as they sing in unison, 'Engel'.




Everyone enjoyed it. One could tell from the applause they showered them. Considering the band was made of 12 members, plus the choir singers, it was a show to watch. Hope the hit their ideal expectations in donation from the attendees. Short, artistic and eventful the show was, I thought.