kan ku kenang akhir tahun itu
dan akan kuingat awal tahun ini.
saat kau buat aku bangga dan bahagia.
kau adalah salah satu yang terhebat.
kau yang ku banggakan.

H & F(z)*
1 april 2012 2:19

baru kali ini
dua musuh bersatu dalam diriku
senang dan sedih
mencoba kompak memerihkan mata
menerbitkan butir-butir embun
yang siap basahi mata

inginku rangkai kata
inginku tulis sapa
inginku lantun suara
apakah aku bisa?

aku tahu aku bisa
namun aku tak kuasa
menggerakkan jemari
merangkai sebuah nama
nama yang kadang kulantun
dalam doa harap dan pinta

H & F (kesan yang mendalam)

apa yang akan aku tuliskan
kalau tulisan ini tak juga kau baca
apa yang akan ku ungkapkan
kalau ungkapan ini tak juga kunjung kau simak

baru saja aku menemukanmu
kamu yang selama ini pergi begitu saja
aku tahu, pergi itu susah
pergi itu berat
pergi itu sangat menyakitkan
terutama untukmu
untukmu yang mulai berharap

pada bait-bait harapan
pada bait-bait pedoman
yah... pada bait-bait pedoman
padanya kau tambatkan

kau memang hebat memilih
hebat
bait-bait pedoman
bait yang buatku terkesan

*special wat dua bersaudara. H & F

by Salman Hameed

Enjoy this TED talk!

And as a bonus you also get a clip from Cosmos about Eratosthenes and his calculation of the circumference of the Earth:

To read the content of this blog post, please click on the link below:
http://www.inspiremeasap.blogspot.com/2012/03/we-broke-our-funny-bone.html

I’m not a big fan of rice pudding, but curiosity got the best of me, and I needed to find out how much better/different a version would be that used Arborio rice, and the same basic technique as a savory risotto. 

In addition to trying out a new cooking method, I also wanted to sneak in some coconut milk for a little tropical twist, and I’m happy to report great success on both fronts. The Arborio produced a wonderfully creamy texture, and unlike tradition long-grain rice pudding, the grains of rice maintained a certain textural integrity, instead of just disappearing into one big, starchy mass.

The coconut milk gave the pudding another layer of subtle sweetness, and also inspired the fresh mango garnish, which really elevated these bowls of comforting goodness. Of course the mango is optional, and you’re welcome to take your chances with raisins, preferably golden ones. If desired, those can be added at the same time as the sugar and salt.

Speaking of bowls, I generally don’t make dessert for three (except this one time, at band camp…), but I had some new porcelain ones I wanted to use, and didn’t bother to check the volume before ladling in the sweet porridge.

Despite my “odd” yield, you should get four nicely sized portions from the amounts below. And yes, if you can’t find coconut milk (which you can), simply use all milk. I hope you give this coconut milk rice pudding a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 tbsp butter

1/3 cup Arborio rice (Note: I haven’t tested this recipe using regular rice, so no idea if that will work here. My instincts tell me, not nearly as well)

1 cup coconut milk

2 3/4 to 3 cups milk, or as needed

1/4 cup white sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla

salt to taste

1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 tbsp milk

For the garnish:

1/4 cup finely diced mango

pinch of Chinese 5-Spice

View the complete recipe

lagi belajar Photoshop.
lihat nih hasilnya... :)
*thanks to meldi chaniko...

1st.

 

Rumah Karya Uda Agus: 2 in 1 Book: Buku terbaru Uda Agus

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Kadang hidup butuh sebuah keberuntungan. Beruntung yang membawa kebahagiaan. Yah, beruntung yang membawa kebahagiaan. Karena ada pula beruntung yang tak membawa kebahagiaan. Tentu antum tahu seperti apa keberuntungan yang tak membawa kebahagiaan itu. Antum bisa menggambarkannya pada apa yang pernah antum rasakan, ataupun yang dirasakan orang-orang di sekitar antum. Ana gak ingin mempersempit makna keberuntungan itu, maka ana persilahkan antum untuk menggambarkannya seluas daya antum. J

Disini, ana mau sedikit cerita. Cerita yang baru saja membuat ana terbangun dari lelapnya tidur. Terbangun dari indahnya mimpi. Mungkin dapat sedikit menggambarkan akan sebuah keberuntungan. Adapun makna yang antum tangkap nanti adalah sebuah keberuntungan yang membawa nikamt atau yang membawa kebahagiaan, semua dari persepsi sudut pandang antum. Up to u J

Setelah shalat isya’ ana langsung mengambil posisi di sebelah kanan teman ana yang sudah tak sabaran menginstal ulang komputer kantor kami. Yah, tak sabar sekaligus tak kuat menahan rasa bersalah. Kenapa merasa bersalah? Karena komputer yang awalnya sehat wal afiat, kuat, kekar, dan gagah perkasa itu sekarat kami buat. Dari kemaren, kami mencoba berbagai bentuk dan jenis windows. Mulai dari versi terjadul XP sampai versi terbaru windows 7 yang baru saja kami download. ( Maklum, mumpung ada speedy :P )

Sayangnya, si komputer ngambek sewaktu di instal. Dia gak mau terima satu pun windows yang dimasukkan. Ada ada aja kesalahannya. Mpe terakhir kemaren bisa pake XP SP2. Tapi sewaktu di restar malah ngawur lagi. Katanya ada data yang missing gitu. Dudududuhhh...

Ana eksperimen lagi, siapa tau kalo tangan ana yang msukin drivernya, bakal idup dia. Hahahaaaa... ternyata sama saja. Pake bismillah pun hasilnya sama saj. Wah, terbukti sudah, bismillah yang ampuh tu, yang bener-benr bener. Bener dari segi spek komputernya, bener juga dari segi cara pengistalannya. Juga bener dari timmingnya.

Kok pake timming segala? Ya iyya lah. Bayangin coba, betapa serunya kalo kita lagi sabar-sabarnya nungguin data terinstal ke komputer, eh pihak PLN mutusin litrik. Udah dari seeblumnya gagal instal berkali-kali. Pas kemungkinan bisa, lampunya yang mati. Tau gak? Ternyata itu yang ana berdua rasakan. Pihak PLN gak Cuma sekali mutusin listrik. Sebentar lagi. Belum lima menit udah hidup lagi. Tapi, yang kita instal tadi terpaksa diulang dari awal.

Waktu terus berjalan. Akhirnya ana tidur dalam keadaan masih mikir komputer. Sampai mimpi indah. Entah berapa episode mimpi yang ana lewati malam ini. Yang jelas, episode terakhir dari mimpi itu, ana masih dalam suasana menginstal komputer sambil memutar-mutar piringan CD pada jari manis. Dan itu membuat jari ana serasa tergesek.

Pelan. Sedang. keras. Makin lama makin keras. Jari ana tergesek. Dan tiba-tiba ujung jari manis ana serasa di gores. Reflek ana menarik tangan ana. suasana hening. Mata ana langsung terbuka sempurna, namun semuanya gelap.

Ana kira yang baru saja ana mimpikan itu nyata. Maka untuk memastikannya, ana sentuh ujung jari manis sebelah kiri ana dengan jempol sebelah kiri pula. Terasa ada cairan yang agak lengket. Darah!

Ana raih hape yang tergeletak di sebelah kanan ana. ana hidupkan lampu sentrenya. Lalu ana perhatikan keadaan setiap sudut kamar. Tak ada yang mencurigakan. Kecuali satu suara dari arah kaki ana. bersembunyi di balik kasur. Semakhluk Allah yang membangunkanku tengah malam. Ya, seekor tikus datang tepat waktu. Ketika aku terbuai mimpi, ia datang menawarkan realita. Tinggal ana memiih yang mana. Apakah ana akan bersyukur karena bisa bangun tengah malam. Atau ana akan terus merasa jengkel dan terbetik niat untuk membantai semua tikus haha

This was my answer to my husbands request "honey can you make something sweet to eat?"  "Sure no problem, I'll whip something up".....I'm June Cleaver after all!.  So I figured I would make some simple straight forward chocolate chip cookies but as I was preparing the batter I thought, BORING!  How about Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies?  I substituted the vanilla extract for almond extract and added sliced almonds.  I ended up making half the batter with chocolate chips and half without to make everyone in my house happy.  I really LOVED the plain almond cookies, they were light, crisp and buttery.   The next time I make these I'm not using chocolate chips at all.  The chocolate takes away from the delicious almond flavor so add the chocolate if you are craving it but try some without too and let me know which ones you like better.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (1 cup) butter or margarine
1 cup white sugar
1/4 dark brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons almond extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a small bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda.  In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together butter and sugars until light and creamy.  Add almond extract and eggs and beat until combined well.  Add almonds (and chocolate chips if desired) and mix until incorporated.  Drop by tablespoons on a lined baking sheet.  I prefer using silpat liners but you can also use parchment paper or reynold release foil.  Bake for 12 minutes until cookies are light golden brown.

by Salman Hameed

This is perfect project to show that there is still hope for sanity in this world. At a time when the rhetoric of war has been rising, Israel and Iran - along with Jordan and Turkey - have been collaborating on SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East). It is built with the help of UNESCO and will be located in Jordan. It is expected to be operational by 2015. From last week's Nature:

Based in Allan, outside Amman, Jordan, SESAME aims to build scientific expertise in its member countries and bolster cultural ties between them. When completed, the $110-million machine would be the Middle East's only source of high-intensity synchrotron X-rays, which are used in fundamental research ranging from molecular biology to materials science. 

The project mirrors the organization of CERN, but Amman is a long way from Geneva — metaphorically as well as literally. In recent years, SESAME has had to contend with the assassination of two members of its Iranian delegation and huge political upheavals in partner countries including Egypt. 

Despite the tensions, scientists involved with the project say that SESAME is succeeding because it has something to offer all the participants. Israel, for example, gets a world-class research facility on its doorstep and an opportunity to show its willingness to collaborate with neighbours, says Eliezer Rabinovici, director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a member of SESAME's council. Other member states see an opportunity to educate a young and rapidly growing science base. “Turkey is also interested in developing similar laboratories and SESAME would be a very good experience,” says Zehra Sayers, a physicist at Sabancı University in Istanbul and head of SESAME's scientific advisory committee. 

Llewellyn Smith is optimistic that the remaining money can be found. Now that local partners have committed funding, the project is more likely to gain support from outsiders such as the United States and the European Union. And other partners in the Middle East, notably Egypt, may yet provide cash, although political turmoil could make commitments difficult.

Read the full article here. What's next? A joint observatory between India and Pakistan?

As I mentioned in the intro, this orange zest beef recipe is not supposed to be Chinese food, or even Americanized Chinese take-out food. Of course, since it’s obviously inspired by those day-glow orange, deep-fried beef nuggets (which may or may not be actual beef), comparisons are inevitable.

While I have no delusions that those crunchy bits would be preferable to most people, especially ones that just stumbled out of a Phish concert, this much-lower-fat alternative is still a quick, easy and perfectly delicious meal.

You’ll want to use a tender beef for this, since the cooking time is only 4-5 minutes. Cheaper cuts like chuck are going to be too tough, unless, of course, you pound it paper-thin, or use some kind of tenderizer. I used sirloin, which worked fine, but ideally you’ll find yourself some beef tenderloin trimmings.

Here’s another instance where you are much better off going to talk to a butcher, rather than a clerk at the supermarket. A real butcher will sell you the scraps produced when a whole tenderloin is trimmed. The meat is cut from something called the “chain” (be sure to use that word to impress the butcher), which is super-tender, and probably half the price.

One last tip: Be sure the beef is VERY well drained before it hits the hot pan. If your meat is wet, it will just boil and steam, and won’t work as well. Of course, if beef isn’t your thing, this will also work with chicken, pork, and…[gulp]…textured vegetable protein. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb tender beef, ideally trimmed tenderloin scraps

vegetable oil spray, as needed

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp Sambal hot chili sauce

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp brown sugar, or to taste

2 tbsp orange zest

1 bunch green onions

1/4 cup water

1 tsp corn starch

salt and pepper to taste, optional

white rice as needed

View the complete recipe

by Salman Hameed

Stem cell research shows up Presidential politics here in the US. But it has been going on in Malaysia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, etc. Even embryonic stem cell research - the bone of contention in the US - is progressing without controversy in some of these Muslim countries. In case, you are interested, you can check out the official Malaysian Guidelines for Stem Cells Research and Therapy (pdf) and it also has a section on ethnics.

Now here is a news item about four women stem cell researchers from Qatar (tip from Don Everhart):

One of the first steps taken by the collaborations was to form the International Programme on Stem Cell Science and Policy, charged with examining the ethical and religious issues involved in stem-cell science, relevant to Arab culture, and engaging with local communities. Five years on, the plan is bearing fruit. 

Hamda Al-Thawadi, Halema Al-Farsi, Heba Al-Siddiqi and Sarah Abdullah joined the Qatar Science Leadership Program (QSLP), a QF initiative that aims to groom Qataris to take leading roles in Qatari science and one day steer its ambitious national programme of research. 

The QSLP sends students to train at some of the best universities in the world. And 2011 saw Al-Thwadi and Al-Farsi go to one of France's largest universities, University Paris-Sud 11, Al-Siddiqi go to Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Massachusetts and Abdullah go to the University of Cambridge in the UK. 

At the Qatar International Conference on Stem Cell Science and Policy held this past week in Doha, Al-Thawadi, Al-Farsi and Al-Siddiqi presented their research on ovarian cancer and obesity-related diseases. Al-Thawadi practiced medicine for two years before applying for the QSLP. "In the past there was only one path for a medical doctor, treating patients. But when QF started this programme, they created a new path for doctors or graduates interested in science," she says. "This is a perfect chance for Qatar to create home-grown researchers."

And Al-Siddiqi is a co-author on a paper published in Nature Cell Biology just this past month:

The first research paper Al-Siddiqi's co-authored was published in Nature Cell Biology in February 2012. "It felt amazing, especially after all the hours of hard work," she says.
Al-Thawadi and Al-Farsi decided to work on ovarian cancer as it is highly prevalent in the Middle East. Al-Thawadi incubated cancer cells in culture with Protein C, a coagulation factor, to test its effect on thrombosis of ovarian cancer cells, which led to a significant increase in metastasis. "This gives us a clue to outline preventative measures for thrombosis in ovarian cancer patients," she explains.

This is actually pretty neat! Read the full article at Nature Middle East.

The Children of War

By Gayatri Wedotami (Intan), 1996

A boy in Palestine

may come and ask me

as he never lived in peace

“Can you teach me how to sing a song

and I will teach you how to use a gun?”

A boy in vietnam

may come and ask me

as he has lost his two legs

“You look so perfect, can

you give me one of your legs?”

A girl in Iraq

may come and ask me

as she never went to school after the war

“How come you enjoy eating at Mcdonald’s

while I’m starving here and never go to school again

because of America?”

A group of children in chechnya

may come and ask me

as they are now being orphans

“What were you doing

When our parents shot by the Russians?”

A group of girls in bosnia

May come and ask me

As they were raped by the Serbians

“We’re pregnant. Should we kill

our babies or see them grown up

and hurt as again?”

suddenly

thousands, no millions

children from war

come and ask me

(as they lost they happiness and childhood)

“When will the people on earth

stop this disaster?”

I saw them crying

their bloody tears made up a lake

I saw them, anggrily

running after me

Oh, no! Help!

(Nobody listen to me.

as no one listen to them)

BONUS MENGGIURKAN!!!

Lihat gambar di atas?
apa yang kamu pikirkan kalo lagi liat gambar diatas?

Peredaran bulan ?

Penentuan tanggal ?

Purnama ?

Atau yang lainnya?

Aha! Kalo ana liat gambar di ats. Ana teringat banyak hal. Termasuk hal-hal istimewa...

Segitu istimewanya, sampe-sampe Cuma dengan bulan hal itu bisa kuraih..

yap, peredaran bulan begitu berarti dalam hidupku...

apa sih yang istimewa itu?

 Ini nih....

Gambar apa pula tu???

Yap, tu adalah salah satu hadits yang masyhur. Hadits tentang shaum tiga hari di setiap bulannya. Tentu bulan yang dimaksud adalah bulan hijriyah yang di hitung dengan sistem peredaran bulan...

So, bulan begitu berarti bagi ku. Terutama saat-saat menjelang purnama sampai purnama sempurna. Kenapa? Karea di saat-saat itulah kita dapat bonus usia.

Lho, kok bisa?

Secara umur biologis, kita memang gak bakal nambah. Yakin deh sama ana.. tapi, secara hitungan pahalanya, kita sebagai umat nabi Muhammad yang telah ditakdirkan berumur lebih pendek dari umat terdahulu, bisa mengejar taraf amalan mereka. Sebagaimana mereka telah beribadah sampai ratusan tahun, kita bisa juga dinilai beribadah sampai ratusan tahun. Hingga umat nabi Muhammad bisa lebih banyak pahalanya dari umat terdahulu.

Ah, agak ribet ya?

Gini deh, shaum atau puasa yang ana maksudkan disini, adalah shaum ayyamul bidh (hari-hari putih/purnama). Jadi, kata Rasulullah Shalallahu ‘alaihi wa salam, siapa yang shaum tiga hari di tiap bulannya, maka ia seperti shaum sepanjang tahun.

Shaum tiga hari, dihitung shaum sepanjang tahun, enak gak tuh? ^_^

Adapun shaum yang dimaksud, waktunya sebagaimana yang telah banyak kita ketahui. Yaitu pada tanggal 13, 14, dan 15 tiap bulan hijriyyah. Makanya, bulan begitu penting untuk kehidupan akhirat kita.

so, tunggu apa lagi? Segera ganti kalendermu dengan kalender hijriyyah. Coz, ternyata tidak hanya shaum ini saja yang di tentukan dengan kalender hijriyyah. Namun masih banyak lagi bonus-bonus pahala lain yang telah Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla sediakan. So, jangan lewatkan edisi selanjutnya. Bonus-bonus akhirat menanti kamu!!!
*semoga ana mapu untuk terus memposting ilmu-ilmu beranfaat seperti ini. Mohon dukungan dan do’anya.

By. Amin Al-Valalai

4 jumadil ula 1433

27 Maret 2012