From Mechanical Engineering to Sports Science!

The above image is from the Royal Veterinary College... Well... It's the best picture I could get of muscle fibre typing on the internet! And it's very much similar to human muscle fibre typing image! Even if it's from a horse!

And this is a photo of a microscope image of mild steel... Stolen from here!

Was lecturing to a lecture on biochemistry of exercise physiology last week... A very interesting lecture... When the speaker flashed the image of muscle fibre typing... I felt nostalgia! It was just like the image of mild steel when I peek at it from a microscope! Ok... So it's massively different... But still very similar!

Just like any confused 16 years old getting his O level results, I had a hard time choosing where to go... JC was out... Because I reckon I would kill my Chinese language teacher if I go there... But Poly seems so vast... So many courses to choose from... So many interesting thing to learn! The only thing I liked at tat age is cycling... And technology enchants me... In the end... Of the endless amount of courses on offer... I choose mechanical engineering... And so came 3.5 years of suffering for me (including half a year from failing a module and getting retained! For one module! No more!)...

Not that I hate mechanical engineering! Mind you... I love designing things! And thinking of how to make it! And making it! But mechanical engineering doesn't exactly turn out the way I expect it to turn out! At the end of 3.5 years... I had a diploma and a dread of engineering... I also have a pathetic GPA...At the same time... I developed a keen interest in the human body (not just of the female kind... mind you... =P)... My final year project involves designing a machine for the rehabilitation of arm injuries... And my interest in the human body got sparked from there!

I have always been quite a sporty person... Cycling... Soccer... Martial arts... Rockclimbing... Exploring and getting lost... And when I have one whole semester to study just one module... I hitted the gym! I started learning about nutrition... Training allocation... Reps and sets... Hypertrohpy... And it was a new amazing and fantastic World to me... And I love it!

And when the chance came along for me to undertake a degree in a field I enjoy... I jumped at exercise and sports science! The one year spent serving the nation (National service! Woo!) and studying was total shit! But I always look forward to my classes in the evening when I get out of camp! It was great learning about human anatomy, human physiology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, nutrition and psychology... Learning about improving performances, about injuries management and helping people with chronic diseases, that can be improved with exercising...

But you know what else is similar with mechanical engineering and sports science? They both deal with movement... They both deal with improving performances... They both give me headaches when I study them...

And some food for though... What frozen curry looks like...

Looks better defrozed and with roti prata... =)

Peri Peri Chicken!

I always thought that Nando's is lousy... I meant... All I had there is the wraps... And the wraps are really a bad representation of Nando's... Den someone special introduced me to their flame-grilled chicken... And I'm hooked!

Decided to try making my own peri peri chicken... Got a bottle of Nando's peri peri marinade and peri peri sauce... The marinade is slightly thicker compared to the sauce...

Looky! Fresh chicken!

And here they are marinading in peri peri... Woo!

Not too impressed by the final product... Cooked 4 drumsticks after 2 hours of marinading... Not exactly the greatest taste... But well... Dipping it in the sauce helps! Hopefully the other 6 drums will taste better after a full 24 hours of marinading!

Maximum Aerobic Test!

Disclaimer: The first 2 photos are generally safe... But if you are afraid of blood... Don't scroll beyond the first 2... =D

Derek... The guinea pig... Hooked up to the metabolic cart... And running... Doing his VO2max test... The VO2max test is a test of maximum aerobic capacity... It is used in sports science as a predictor of aerobic performances... Average VO2max range from 42-46ml.min.kg for a healthy young male... Top aerobic athletes hits VO2max of 60ml.min.kg and above... With cross country skiers coming in at up to 90+ml.min.kg... For a full range of VO2max normative data... Dun ask me!

Derek getting unhooked from the machine...

As part of the test... We are required to retrieve blood sample to test for blood lactate level... My job is to prick his finger and draw blood! MWAHAHA...

And this is what your hand will look like after some guy prick ur fingers once too many... =x Luckily I'm not the guinea pig! =D

Heading down to UWA tml for some 'Raine' lecture or something... Titled 'Is Exercise Bad for your Heart?' Uhuh? =x

The Great Storm of Perth!

Today... The skies opened up and dropped ice! Not small tiny pea-sized one like the previous time... But HUGE ASS ICE! Scroll down to the bottom for a wrongly-orientated video of the storm! The wind was gusting in at 120km/hr! It was noisy... It was virtually shaking... It's AWESOME!

Tat's an average one...

All over the place!

See what I meant by average?

Moko... Wet and scared...

My room's window... Cracked by the ice... I'm considered lucky... Coz...

William got a huge hole in his room! He's gonna have a breezy nite...

Other damage... Include this repaired leak... Leaking again!

Saved by the pot...

Healthy Asian Cooking?

I'm under the impression that some westerners are under the impression that Asian cooking is all healthy... No way... Allow me to introduce you to 'kong ba bao' or stewed pork bun...

Pictured above is a can of stewed pork... Note the saturated fat...

After heating... Note that this piece of 'meat' is mostly fat... Oh yeah!

Save the health talk for health nuts... I'm not one... I'm an exercise nut! Well... They taste really really really good... =x I don't feel gulity after eating them... No way... =D

Uhuh? Pork Curry?

I like curry... Alot... It's spicy... It's hot... It's fattening... It's all good... So I got a can of curry sauce... $2.75! Coconut milk... $0.80! And diced pork! $5.50... Pork curry? Not something you will find regularly...

So I made 4 portion of pork curry... Each for around $2.27! Hooray! Goes well with roti prata... Bread... Rice... Just about anything... Yup... =D Rather cheap... And pretty good... Well... Pork curry is weird... =D

Nothing's Happening!

This is Momoko in her 'GIVE ME FOOD!' pose...

The food she's targeting... CURRY! No Momoko... Not gonna feed ya!

In other news... My life is pretty boring nowadays... Nothing much is happening... Not exactly a bad thing but... Oh well... Was doing some random search online when I came across the Red Bull Air Race 2010! Apparently one leg will be held in Perth! Woo! Tickets for a 1 day pass to the grandstand is $95... 2 days pass including qualifying is $130... So... Anybody wanna buy me a ticket? =D No? Ok...