It's been a long time since I last posted to this blog, and a lot has been going on in my life ... if you don't know what I'm referring to, you can email me and ask. Suffice to say in this public arena, life is going very well and I'm very happy at the moment :o)
Two posts ago, I was musing that autumn had arrived and as I look out on South Parks road now, I can see that well over half the leaves have fallen from the Lymes , and cycling in this morning was certainly colder than it has been for a long while.
I'm poised to head home this evening, to spend most of Saturday helping my parents re-decorate my old room, and trying to salvage the data from their mal-ware infested computer. One thing I'm particularly looking forward to is trying out my new oyster card on the bus home from the station. I am particularly proud of having bought my oyster card online (I'm not a big buying-things-over-the-internet fan) and having had it speedily delivered in time to try it out this weekend (I was particularly aiming for the weekend after). The main advantage is the huge saving on fares (some are reduced by as much as 50%) but there's also the convenience.
One real niggle, though, is that the suburban train companies haven't really got on the oyster band-waggon, so although I can use it on buses in greater London, getting the train to-and-from town is still going to require me to buy a ticket or travelcard at the station, which given the queues is usually a great big faff; the only way round it being to carry around enough heavy coinage that you can use the self-service machines. I think this is just stupid: if the system can work across the whole tube network it shouldn't take several more years to roll it out over the rail network. But at least most of South West Trains' services run vaguely on time (when there aren't derailments at Waterloo!).
Friday, October 27, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Raspberry flavour
The supermarket where I buy much of my shopping do an interesting line in budget cakes. Some of them are really poor quality, but others are not so bad and they are ideal for over-running grad students! I quite like the Raspberry Flavour Tarts. These are jam tarts with red jam and they do taste of raspberry BUT the ingredients listing makes it clear that they have never so much as waved to a raspberry from a distance. There is some apple as well as the usual gelling agents and preservatives and that old stalwart glucose-fructose syrup, but the flavour comes from just 'flavouring'. Today I've discovered what this mystery compound probably is.
Meet 'raspberry ketone' aka 'rheosmin' aka 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)butan-2-one.
Apparently this is what they add to get a raspberry flavour. Being a good synthetic chemist it doesn't bother me in the least that chemicals are added to my food, since I'm well aware that 'natural' ingredients are just cocktails of chemicals anyway. I do, however, still find it fascinating that such a small molecule can give rise to such a distinctive taste. It's a 10-carbon unit and hence probably a biosynthetically produced as a monoterpene with post-condensational aromatisation.
A little gentle googling informs me that it's a white crystalline solid (though if I made it I'd probably end up with a yellow oil!), it is insoluble in water (but soluble in fats and alcohols) and the taste threshold is 40 ppm. It is apparently a major component of real raspberries (Rubus idaeus) and has been shown to be an effective anti-obesity drug - which seems like a good excuse to keep eating cake!
Next time you see 'Raspberry Flavour', think raspberry ketone!
Meet 'raspberry ketone' aka 'rheosmin' aka 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)butan-2-one.
Apparently this is what they add to get a raspberry flavour. Being a good synthetic chemist it doesn't bother me in the least that chemicals are added to my food, since I'm well aware that 'natural' ingredients are just cocktails of chemicals anyway. I do, however, still find it fascinating that such a small molecule can give rise to such a distinctive taste. It's a 10-carbon unit and hence probably a biosynthetically produced as a monoterpene with post-condensational aromatisation.
A little gentle googling informs me that it's a white crystalline solid (though if I made it I'd probably end up with a yellow oil!), it is insoluble in water (but soluble in fats and alcohols) and the taste threshold is 40 ppm. It is apparently a major component of real raspberries (Rubus idaeus) and has been shown to be an effective anti-obesity drug - which seems like a good excuse to keep eating cake!
Next time you see 'Raspberry Flavour', think raspberry ketone!
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Autumn has arrived!
It's been feeling really rather like summer this past week in Oxford, though in the evenings there has been a coolness in the air and birds have started flocking. However I've woken up this morning to find really thick mist shrowding us in Botley - I can't see the far side of the crescent.
I suppose that Keats is responsible for the association between mists and autumn, since as a meterological phenomena, they happen all year round. I'm not a huge Keats fan, but I do like To Autumn (and also La Belle Dame Sans Merci). For those of you that aren't familiar with it, To Autumn starts like this:
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernell to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er brimmed their clammy cells.
Yes, I rather like it.
The oak leaves on the tree opposite my window are starting to turn too: 'Summer's lease hath all too short a date', as Shakespeare has it.
That's probably enough literature for this time on a Sunday morning. Suffice to say that I have decided that it's now officially autumn as far as I'm concerned.
I used to really like autumn above the other seasons, but as I've grown older I've come to appreciate the stark beauty of winter (even in the absence of snow), the freshness of spring, even the heat of the summer - my affection for autumn is now matched with an admiration for the rest of the year, which I consider to be something of a blessing, since each year will inevitablty expose me to all four!
I suppose that Keats is responsible for the association between mists and autumn, since as a meterological phenomena, they happen all year round. I'm not a huge Keats fan, but I do like To Autumn (and also La Belle Dame Sans Merci). For those of you that aren't familiar with it, To Autumn starts like this:
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernell to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er brimmed their clammy cells.
Yes, I rather like it.
The oak leaves on the tree opposite my window are starting to turn too: 'Summer's lease hath all too short a date', as Shakespeare has it.
That's probably enough literature for this time on a Sunday morning. Suffice to say that I have decided that it's now officially autumn as far as I'm concerned.
I used to really like autumn above the other seasons, but as I've grown older I've come to appreciate the stark beauty of winter (even in the absence of snow), the freshness of spring, even the heat of the summer - my affection for autumn is now matched with an admiration for the rest of the year, which I consider to be something of a blessing, since each year will inevitablty expose me to all four!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Lake District
It's been rather too long since I last posted to this blog. I believe that there are many blogs out there which, rather like this one, are enthusiastically started but then fall to the wayside as the novelty wears off. I hope that the past few weeks will turn out to be a momentary dip.
Anyway ... I had a few days away from Oxford, holidaying with friends in the Lake District. This was my first visit to Cumbria and I was quite overwhelmed by the scenery. My friends with digital cameras took some good photographs, some of which are included below.
We left Oxford at ~6.15 am and reached Grasmere in about five and a half hours, stopping only once on the way. We spent a pleasant afternoon visiting Ambleside, seeing a little of the village at Grasmere and taking a gentle stroll up the fell on the western side of the lake. My friends had asked for the first day to be fern-free, which I found to be relatively easy, despite them all continually trying to start conversations about ferns with me: it seems that a walk without fern commentary isn't that exciting after all!
The next day was mostly spent climbing the Old Man of Coniston. It was quite steep, but well worth it for the views over Coniston and Coniston water.
View over Coniston Water
[Photo by David Lowry]
View towards Lake Windermere
[Photo by Peter Baker]
There were several ferns of note - fine stands of Oreopteris limbosperma and Pteridium aquilinum everywhere. As we got above 300 m clumps of Cryptogramma crispa began to appear. One thing that struck me, though, was the relative absence of lycopods: Huperzia selago being the only one I found. At similar altitudes in Snowdonia there is a much wider variety to be seen.
The penultimate day saw us doing a very steep ascent over Grasmere via Alcock Tarn.
View over Grasmere on starting the ascent
[Photo by Peter Baker]
The ascent left us a little worn out, but again it was worth it for the views over Grasmere, Rydal and then further away to Windermere and Coniston water.
The top ridge that we reached
[Photo: Peter Baker]
View towards Windermere
We were all beginning to feel a bit tired - though David was keeping his cool as usual - but Richard wasn't having any of this sitting-down stuff, not when there was banoffee pie to get back for.
[Photo by Peter Baker]
On getting back down, the weather was beginning to change for the worse - Peter took this excellent photo of the storm gathering over the lake.
Our final day was somewhat damp but the poor weather was discounted by meeting up with some old friends. We went for an abortive row on Lake Windermere (returning within half an hour due to the heavy rain) and then returned to shelter for the afternoon.
It was a great time with great company: here's the obligatory comedy group photo
[Photo by David Lowry]
I was very sad to be back in Oxford afterwards, but I've got some great memories to keep me going though the next few months. :o)
Anyway ... I had a few days away from Oxford, holidaying with friends in the Lake District. This was my first visit to Cumbria and I was quite overwhelmed by the scenery. My friends with digital cameras took some good photographs, some of which are included below.
We left Oxford at ~6.15 am and reached Grasmere in about five and a half hours, stopping only once on the way. We spent a pleasant afternoon visiting Ambleside, seeing a little of the village at Grasmere and taking a gentle stroll up the fell on the western side of the lake. My friends had asked for the first day to be fern-free, which I found to be relatively easy, despite them all continually trying to start conversations about ferns with me: it seems that a walk without fern commentary isn't that exciting after all!
The next day was mostly spent climbing the Old Man of Coniston. It was quite steep, but well worth it for the views over Coniston and Coniston water.
View over Coniston Water[Photo by David Lowry]
View towards Lake Windermere[Photo by Peter Baker]
There were several ferns of note - fine stands of Oreopteris limbosperma and Pteridium aquilinum everywhere. As we got above 300 m clumps of Cryptogramma crispa began to appear. One thing that struck me, though, was the relative absence of lycopods: Huperzia selago being the only one I found. At similar altitudes in Snowdonia there is a much wider variety to be seen.
The penultimate day saw us doing a very steep ascent over Grasmere via Alcock Tarn.
View over Grasmere on starting the ascent[Photo by Peter Baker]
The ascent left us a little worn out, but again it was worth it for the views over Grasmere, Rydal and then further away to Windermere and Coniston water.
The top ridge that we reached[Photo: Peter Baker]
View towards Windermere[Photo by Peter Baker]
We were all beginning to feel a bit tired - though David was keeping his cool as usual - but Richard wasn't having any of this sitting-down stuff, not when there was banoffee pie to get back for.
[Photo by Peter Baker]On getting back down, the weather was beginning to change for the worse - Peter took this excellent photo of the storm gathering over the lake.
Our final day was somewhat damp but the poor weather was discounted by meeting up with some old friends. We went for an abortive row on Lake Windermere (returning within half an hour due to the heavy rain) and then returned to shelter for the afternoon.
It was a great time with great company: here's the obligatory comedy group photo
[Photo by David Lowry]I was very sad to be back in Oxford afterwards, but I've got some great memories to keep me going though the next few months. :o)
Monday, July 17, 2006
The Birthday Weekend Break
This post has been a little long in the editing (and it's nowhere near beautifully written), but here it is at last ...
Yesterday (16/7) was my mother's 50th birthday. As a surprise, my father had booked us into the Victoria hotel in Sidmouth. I was doing some church PA stuff on Saturday morning, so I took the train afterwards and met them at my Uncle's house in Woking. When we left there my father took the 'wrong' turning - towards the southwest rather than towards London.
3 hours later, we arrived at Sidmouth and swept up the drive of the hotel. My mother was very surprised - my father and sister had executed a perfect conspiracy. The rooms were very well appointed and the hotel was tastefully furnished throughout.
Dinner was excellent, as was breakfast.
Having spent the night at the hotel, we set out to make the most of the day, starting with a walk up Salcombe Cliff (on the east side of Sidmouth).
It was very very hot, but there is plenty of shade going up. There were also plenty of ferns. Altogether there were Dryopteris dilatata,
D. filix-mas,
D. affinis affinis,
and Asplenium scolopendrium.
I looked for D. carthusiana but did not find it. Previous excursions at Branscombe (a little east of Sidmouth) showed mainly with only occassional carthusiana so I wasn't really that hopeful. In addition there was plenty of Pteridium aquilinum
After the walk, we cooled off in the Connaught Gardens and then braved the beach for a few hours, which was quite pleasant. I was even induced to stand with my feet in the water for a little while. At the end of the day we headed back to London and finished the weekend with birthday cake on the patio at home.
We all had a really great weekend - many thanks to Dad for organising it!
Yesterday (16/7) was my mother's 50th birthday. As a surprise, my father had booked us into the Victoria hotel in Sidmouth. I was doing some church PA stuff on Saturday morning, so I took the train afterwards and met them at my Uncle's house in Woking. When we left there my father took the 'wrong' turning - towards the southwest rather than towards London.
3 hours later, we arrived at Sidmouth and swept up the drive of the hotel. My mother was very surprised - my father and sister had executed a perfect conspiracy. The rooms were very well appointed and the hotel was tastefully furnished throughout.
Dinner was excellent, as was breakfast.Having spent the night at the hotel, we set out to make the most of the day, starting with a walk up Salcombe Cliff (on the east side of Sidmouth).
It was very very hot, but there is plenty of shade going up. There were also plenty of ferns. Altogether there were Dryopteris dilatata,
D. filix-mas, 
D. affinis affinis, 
and Asplenium scolopendrium.
I looked for D. carthusiana but did not find it. Previous excursions at Branscombe (a little east of Sidmouth) showed mainly with only occassional carthusiana so I wasn't really that hopeful. In addition there was plenty of Pteridium aquilinum
After the walk, we cooled off in the Connaught Gardens and then braved the beach for a few hours, which was quite pleasant. I was even induced to stand with my feet in the water for a little while. At the end of the day we headed back to London and finished the weekend with birthday cake on the patio at home.
We all had a really great weekend - many thanks to Dad for organising it!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Vegetable chemistry
I've been looking at Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Vol4, issue 12. The cover has a picture of a bunch of carrots, a blender and a reaction, and refers to the article on p2348 which is entitled "Daucus carota L. mediated bioreduction of prochiral ketones". Basically, these guys have taken some carrots, chopped them up and then put them in a reaction to effect the chemo- and stereo-selective reduction of ketones. The general procedure reads:
Why didn't I think of this?
Carrots were obtained from a local market. The external layer was removed and the rest was cut into small thin pieces (1 cm long slice). Ketones (100 mg) were added to a suspension of freshly cut carrot root (10 g) in 70 mL of water and the reaction mixtures were incubated in an orbital shaker at room temperature. The suspension was then filtered off and the carrot root was washed three times with water. Filtrates were extracted with ethyl acetate, organic layers were dried on sodium sulfate, filtered and evaporated. The crude products were purified by flash chromatography.
The amazing thing is that they get good yields and high ees!
Why didn't I think of this?
Monday, July 03, 2006
A busy few days
It's been really busy these past few days. The good news is that my finger is healing up well. When I took the steristrips off on Saturday morning it really didn't look pretty, but it has dried out quite well. I thought the doctor did a pretty good job of closing it up, since the original wound was about twice as wide. I was talking to a friend who is a doctor yesterday night and he thought a stitch or two might have helped it, but that it didn't matter much either way.
Saturday was spent playing around with PA stuff at church. We re-organised the equipment at in the control desk cupboard and fitted new patch cabling. We also identified the cable runs for at least 2 older PA installs and checked which sockets worked around the church as well as some supposedly new cable installations. This was all occassioned by the need to install a brand new mixer desk (a Yamaha MG24/14) which is really cool. A long but fun day.
Yesterday was a typical Sunday but with the added panic of 2 deadlines to be met today (Monday): my quarterly progress report and a book proposal review that I had agreed to do for a publisher. I've been working away at both of them for a week or so, but only finished the review at 1.30pm and the report at 4.30pm.
Phew.
Just everything else to catch up on now ... I hope my finger will be sufficiently better than I can do some labwork on Wednesday. One other exiting (if slightly geeky) thing that I've done is to edit a .wav file for my mobile ring tone. Now it plays Noel Coward singing "I'm old fashioned" (my theme song) whenever I get a call. I like the irony of that!
Saturday was spent playing around with PA stuff at church. We re-organised the equipment at in the control desk cupboard and fitted new patch cabling. We also identified the cable runs for at least 2 older PA installs and checked which sockets worked around the church as well as some supposedly new cable installations. This was all occassioned by the need to install a brand new mixer desk (a Yamaha MG24/14) which is really cool. A long but fun day.
Yesterday was a typical Sunday but with the added panic of 2 deadlines to be met today (Monday): my quarterly progress report and a book proposal review that I had agreed to do for a publisher. I've been working away at both of them for a week or so, but only finished the review at 1.30pm and the report at 4.30pm.
Phew.
Just everything else to catch up on now ... I hope my finger will be sufficiently better than I can do some labwork on Wednesday. One other exiting (if slightly geeky) thing that I've done is to edit a .wav file for my mobile ring tone. Now it plays Noel Coward singing "I'm old fashioned" (my theme song) whenever I get a call. I like the irony of that!
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