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From BBC news: Hoon ponders new passport checks (via curious hamster).

Lordy lord. What now? Will the UK be turned into a police state? Will all inhabitants be microchipped/tagged?

My experience with the US Dept of Homeland Security’s OTT measures has not been good so far, what with being stopped at the check-in gate in Schipol because some jobsworth decided I could be a security risk because my starting point was the UK although I don’t hold a British passport. Why he thought that was dodgy, I will never understand. Unfortunately, I didn’t know the Dutch term for jobsworth or f*ckwit, or I’d have told him exactly how I felt about him.

And don’t get me started on the number of times I had to “report” to various authorities to get my DS-2019 stamped on arrival here (for those who don’t know what one is, lucky you!). And should I wish to leave the US for a vacation, I have to report to UCLA’s immigration representative to get that damn DS-2019 stamped again to verify that I am still working for them. Yes, even to visit the UK for a week in September for P’s brother’s wedding. Thank goodness I thought to ask when I should report to her for that, because it turns out she’s on holiday for most of August, and I’d be well and truly f***ed for going home at the start of September. How’s them security measure for you now, safety elephant?!? Never pay heed to any security advice from the Americans. They really know how to make aliens feel alienated. No wonder nobody bloody likes them. Do we want the UK to seem as unwelcoming as the US? (And bear in mind that I’m not even here on an immigrant visa, being a postdoctoral fellow… Nothing complex about that, but I’m already very reluctant to extend my J1 visa if I have to go through all that sh*t again.)

Oh yes, I nearly forgot. To rent an apartment here, one has to fill out a detailed form with all of one’s very personal and private information. Why? According to my landlady-to-be, because of the events of the 11th of September. So they now track where everyone lives. I seriously considered putting “Mickey Mouse”, “Disneyland” and “none of your business” under some of the categories.

A different take on beef noodles

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While flicking through my old shots on Flickr, I realised I forgot to write up this recipe a couple of months back. So I’m back-dating the post, ‘cos I don’t want it cluttering up my recent slew. –20th Sept 2005 (yeah, i know.. slack!)

The first proper meal I cooked in LA, with a $5 frying pan (v. thin, cooked too fast). Still in my miso-marinade phase, strips of sirloin steak sat in a couple of tablespoons of brown miso paste for about 30 min (better o/n if you can help it) while I sliced the various vegetables. Apologies for the bad slicing. There’s something about using crappy knives on glass boards that really annoys me. And add to that the fact that the board would not sit still because it was on an uneven tiled surface. I can’t understand that about the two kitchens I’ve cooked in over here; why tile it, thus leaving plenty of grouted surface to grime up and look disgusting? Then again, it’s probably because these are rented properties and the landlords don’t care.

Stir fry the beef and veg (separately if your pan is as titchy as mine), and mix with some cooked soba noodles. Sprinkle on some soya sauce, sesame seed oil and rice vinegar. To garnish, plenty of toasted sesame seeds and spring onion.

Ingredients (continued) Step one completed
vegetables Step two (continued) miso beef and noodles

appalled

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I’m appalled.

Marin Alsop is an excellent conductor, and we’ve gone to many of the concerts where she was conducting the RSNO (Royal Scottish National Orchestra. And yes, it has both Royal and National in its name). And we’ve always come away greatly impressed. I’ve also heard she gives fantastic pre-concert talks, and is extremely knowledgeable. It’s a shame we tend to miss them cos there’s only so much time before the end of the work day and start of concert. Anyway, I’m appalled at the orchestra’s behaviour, and am hoping they were just so overjoyed they were speechless. Yeah right.

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From the Guardian: Foreign scientists barred amid terror fears.

Meant to write a few thoughts about this last night, but was too eager to go to the pub to watch some *real* football. Unfortunately, it was Real Madrid vs LA Galaxy. Yawn.

Anyway. I wonder if that’s why, for YEARS, the Home Office held on to my passport for months at a time while they had me vetted. I didn’t think my PhD work would be a threat to anyone (it’s medical research, for g’sake!), although I guess any life science lab would be capable of producing dangerous substances, given the right starting materials. Just thinking aloud on why the HO kept picking on me… Funny how when the university applied for my work permit, they gave it to me within a week. Any HO case workers care to comment? Am I on a blacklist? Will I be able to return to the UK in the near future? Will the Safety Elephant (™ I don’t know who coined it first) bring in a UK equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security? (omg, just the name fills me with dread. even more so when I see it on the forms I have to fill in here… remind me to post sometime about my wee immigration/security scare in Schipol on my way into the country… i’m still recovering from the fear.)

Popping in

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Busy at work (don’t ask), busy at play (more on that next week on the other blog). So much so I haven’t read or written much all week other than lots of boring science. curious hamster has posted the inaugral weekly Scottish political blog round-up (stress on the weekly, because Stuart posted a round-up many moons ago).

Sighs. Just linking to others for now. No cogitation going on up there. Wee edit: Umm… I should clarify that I’m referring to *my* lack of writing and my bad habit of merely linking to commentary by others, not dissing the quality of the round-up. (See comments for apology… Oh, I feel so bad…)

Segue

Further brief ruminations on nationality. My new colleagues consider me Scottish, even though I explained that I wasn’t born in Scotland, nor have any Scottish ancestry. To them, and my friends in Edinburgh, I’ve lived there long enough to have picked up some mannerisms, expressions and a wee bit of an accent (although I still swear I have nae accent!). I find myself having to defend Scottish/British sporting sides (easy enough) and London’s Olympic victory (ambivalence from me). But since my link there is by residency (and by having a Scottish partner), to all the governmental agencies here, I’m not. Which makes filling out forms pretty difficult. I’ve been putting my Edinburgh flat as my permanent address, with Singapore as my country of nationality (and legal residency). Sooner or later, I’ll come a cropper when someone in some bureaucratic office finds the discrepancy. So, although I’m posting infrequently, if you don’t hear from me in the space of a fortnight, send a rescue mission to Cuba…