A quilt

I have not made a quilt in a long time, five years, I think. I have been collecting some fabric for a few years, and the other week, I officially got started! I had decided to make a quilt that I can do a little block at a time, because I don't have a lot of time, and most especially, I do not have large chunks of time.

5 minute brownies that you can make on campus if you carry around baking ingredients in your backpack

We are writing technical instructions for a class and today we had usability testing. I was kind enough to test another group's instructions on microwave brownies, and for real, it was easy and delicious. A brownie from scratch with ingredients that could stay in a locker. Dear printmaking students: You could probably make this on the hot plate in the intaglio room, too, but that is probably also illegal. So easy, I remember the instructions by heart:

In a mug, combine together

• 4 tbsp flour
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa power
• dash of salt

Stir in

• 2 tbsp veg. oil
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 tbsp vanilla

Microwave on high for 1 minute and 15 second. Remove from microwave and allow to finish cooking and cool for 5 minutes. At this time, I suggest purchasing some BYU Creamery milk since you are probably using a microwave just by the vending machine. The top will be a little gooier than the inside. But it is perfect. And, being that it is egg-less, super easy to clean the mug and spoon.

This really works. And tastes delicious. And I don't have a photo, because it tastes better than it looks. And I ate it too quickly.

A take on what English sounds like to foreigners

Skwerl

An opinion article I read, written by a mom of a boy who won't live past his third birthday. I think this is good: "The only task here is to love, and we tell him we love him, not caring that he doesn’t understand the words."

Good friends aren't hard to find

I had a few lovely things from good friends this weekend. Thursday night I received this hand-made gem on canvas in the mail from one of my dreamboat hiking buddies who moved away.

Then, this morning I had a nice little surprise email from my boy's mom. Just saying hello, but perfect.

Then, I attended a nice little 1-year-old birthday bash with some of my favorites. Such a good time just hanging out and eating cake and playing with the baby and watching the game, which we won. Go Cougs.

And these are the things that get me. Great people, they are.

Half Dome, Yosemite

I like lithography a lot. It requires precision, and that is satisfying.

beginner

Innovation is more than new ideas

This week I read three articles in the NYT about advancements being made in technology as it relates to the fields of science and, ultimately, health. People talk all the time about the scientific advancements that are helping us to be healthier and live longer! but I am excited about these advancements because they are all known health issues with known treatments that have been studied by minds dedicated to making healthy bodies and minds available to more people. The first is a new method for detecting and fighting cervical cancer, which was, for a long time, the No. 1 cancer fatal to women. In developed countries, it lost that spot after development of the Pap smear. This article proposes an innovation that uses little more than household vinegar has the potential to bring down cervical cancer in less-developed countries. It is already changing the lives of many women in Thailand. The second development, by Harvard Doctor George Whitesides, is a disease-testing instrument the size of a postage stamp, and costs roughly a penny to produce. So far, this innovation is promising to help AIDS patients with tuberculosis by testing for liver damage. They literally use an $800 Xerox machine to produce the test. The third was created by art students in California: a shower cheap to make and easy to use, tested with displaced families after a natural disaster. Showering with soap is one of the most basic ways to fight disease, especially with children, but there are people that do not have access.

The funny thing is that I read another article in the opinion column about our general lack of willingness to adopt simple solutions to health problems (sort of like Naaman). I think it's a line easily blurred: between advancements that make health more accessible and efficient and advancements that make health more complicated. Perhaps there are easy solutions that are available to most in developed countries, but innovation can produce solutions that make a healthy body available to those who have never had it.