Pre-Laboratory…

Had my first pre-laboratory of the semester.

My experiment: Ejector
Lecturer: Mr IN

Had an appointment at 09.00.
Showed up at his lab at 08.55, no sign of Mr IN

At 09.05, Mr IN walked through the front door of his office.
Walked in through the laboratory door, took off shoes and went inside.

He motioned us to a table with 4 chairs and a white board in front of it. The two of us (me and Dd) sat down, waiting for Mr. IN. He then came, put down a folder, and was about to sit down when his hands touched the table and then…
He took a pouch of tissues from his pocket.
Took out a tissue from it, and then wiped a small (really small) area of the table.
-_-”

First question:
IN: Novi…
Novi: *gulp*
IN: What is an ejector?
Novi: *exhale* An ejector is blablabla…

Then…

IN: Dianti…
Dd: …
IN: What are the uses of an ejector?
Dd: An ejector is used in a condenser…

And then everything went quite smoothly, until…

IN: Novi…draw a scheme of the apparatus on the white board.
Novi: *walked super confidently, having drawn the apparatus on the laboratory journal*
*started drawing a blower, a nozzle, difuser…*
IN: No, I mean the whole apparatus that you’ll be using in the experiment.
Novi: *stopped dead*
*trying to remember*
*something about a thermocouple, an orificemeter…*
*trying…*
*gulp…*

And then several minutes and several questions later:
IN: Now Novi…
Novi: *okay, what now…*
IN: So, explain how you’re going to do the experiment.
Novi:First we heat up the suction fluid, and then produced a high-pressure motive fluid with a blower. We then measured temperatures of the motive fluid, suction fluid, the mixed fluid and then the discharge using a thermocouple. We also measured the velocity of those said fluids with a venturimeter, and then…
IN: Venturimeter?
The girl who wished she had not said venturimeter: *shit* I meant an orificemeter, Sir. *smiled*
IN: Okay, just now you said venturimeter. What is a venturimeter?
The girl who cannot remember what a venturimeter is: Errr…

Well, at least Mr. IN is very patient.

2.0.01 Ejector

My first laboratory experiment of this semester:

An ejector, or injector, or steam ejector or steam injector is a device used to transport fluid (the suction fluid) using the motion of another fluid (motive fluid).

So an ejector works like this: A high-pressure motive fluid is flowed through a nozzle (preferably a convergent nozzle), and the nozzle converts the pressure energy of a motive fluid into velocity energy, and a low pressure zone is created in front of the nozzle, since the motive fluid is expanded (V>>> therefore P<<<). This low pressure zone then draws in the suction fluid.

After passing through the mixing chamber of the ejector, the mixed fluid expands and the velocity is reduced, resulting in the recompression of the mixed fluid (by converting velocity energy back into pressure energy).

The motive fluid may be a liquid, steam or any other gas. The suction fluid may be a gas, a liquid, a slurry, or a dust-laden gas stream.

The diagram below depicts a typical modern ejector. It consists of a motive fluid inlet nozzle and a converging-diverging outlet nozzle.

Water, air, steam, or any other fluid at high pressure provides the motive force at the inlet. The Venturi effect, a particular case of Bernoulli’s principle, applies to the operation of this device. Fluid under high pressure is converted into a high-velocity jet at the throat of the convergent-divergent nozzle which creates a low pressure at that point. The low pressure draws the suction fluid into the convergent-divergent nozzle where it mixes with the motive fluid. In essence, the pressure energy of the inlet motive fluid is converted to kinetic energy in the form of velocity head at the throat of the convergent-divergent nozzle. As the mixed fluid then expands in the divergent diffuser, the kinetic energy is converted back to pressure energy at the diffuser outlet in accordance with Bernoulli’s principle.

A bit confused? So am I… >.<

Fall 2009 Shows

Just several things I seen and heart from the 2009 fall shows.

Let’s start with BCBG Max Azria:

I (heart)! A belt on the waist will be nice, though

Derek Lam!

Lurve this!

Alice + Olivia…

Doo Ri:

Lorick!!! =)

Then there’s Vera Wang

And I can’t help but really heart this look I found on Vera Wang’s website:

And a lacey, adoring dress from Monique Lhuillier. Me likey likey… =)

So…which one(s) do you like best?

Headband, Anyone?

I’ve always have a thing for headbands, and Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf has made headbands even more alluring than ever.

One of the designers that made her famous headbands is Jennifer Behr.

See the pink orchid on skinny headband that Blair wore to Lilly’s wedding?

It was one of Jennifer Behr’s collection, shown below in neon, and it costs $225 an orchid. Quite a fortune for a headband, huh…
Plus, not every gal can pull off wearing a giant plastic orchid on her head. Unless that gal is Blair Waldorf, of course.

Blair also wore the headwrap below, a double rosette headwrap in royal purple. This one here costs $152.

I heart this victorian crystal and silk satin headwrap in cream. Of course, it costs $182, but I heart it anyway.

This is a really plain headband, and while anyone can try convincing me to wear anything fluorescent (the shocking pink headband below is fluoro skinny headband, for $58), it’s not going to happen. EVER.

OOOH oooh oooh… Me likey… =)
Petite crystal knot in antique crystal, $188. Not really practical to wear, but still…

So…black widow? =)
Voilette headband in black, $165. Me likey…

This last one is my favorite:

It’s a pale amethyst crystal and satin headwrap, $228.

For more headband galore, visit Jennifer Behr’s website here.

Heart It!

Whimsical, colorful, and just simply heart-capturing.

No…, I’m not talking about me. =p

I’m talking about currently-Yogyakarta-based Ms. Ayang Cempaka’s handmade bags, totes, and wallets. She posted pictures of her crafts at her website.

Look at this bag for example:

I absolutely love the color, and the stitchings are simple, but intricate enough that creates a simple bag, yet not too simple that it’s plain.

And here’s another type of bags called Totesacs. They’re nice, but I must admit I was kind of baffled when I found of that I have to pay $59 to own one of these.

Love the color combo

 

I (heart) white bags...esp this one ^^

Of course, there some of her products that I don’t like:That is the Pink-Turquoise CowMoo tote, at $45 a cow. While I might consider getting the tote with bird applique below for the same price of $45, I did not even think to intend to purchase the CowMoo (Maksudnya, no offense, tapiii empat ratus lima puluh ribu?).
IDR544500 sih sebenarnya berhubung rate hari ini IDR12100.

 

Me likey!

The tote with bird applique is actually brown, not gray. It’s something about the lightning… =p

Anyhoo…I love this one best:

 

cocoHobo

It’s called cocoHobo, it’s a custom-made gift for her future mother-in-law, so it’s not for sale. *damn*

There might things that I miss, or things that’s not really my cup of tea but you might like, so check out the website. (Click here)

Love at First Sight

It was love at first sight.

I was shopping for shoes with Ms. Astri, when I saw something that made my heart skipped a beat.

*hiperbola abis* LOL

Anyway…this is the object that caught my heart:

Pink Clutch

It’s pink, it’s trimmed with brown suede, its material is soft, and IT HAS A BOW ON IT!

I think it was the bow that got into me.

For IDR198000, it’s a good splurge. The thing is I have no use for it, so I reluctantly say goodbye to it. >.<

Forrest

*Please understand if the contents of this post is…what’s the word…weird? I just had an equally weird day.*

You know Forrest Gump?

I named the latest addition to my boudoir, a Basset hound, Forrest. Forrest Wijaya.

Well, see? He looks dumb (I decided it’s a male Basset hound). Those teary eyes; those stupid, teary eyes…

I adopted him from Riau Junction a couple of days ago. He had spent the last two nights somewhere on my bed, and in the mornings he was always on the floor. I wonder if he was making a run for it… But that’s impossible. Forrest couldn’t find another owner better than me, right?
Besides, he can never open the door. How is he ever going to reach the door handle? =p

Then the other day, when I just got home, the dog was nowhere in plain sight. Then I looked closer, and found him hiding behind the pillows. Like I said, he’s not so bright.

“I can see you from here, Forrest…”
*dog whimpers*

The tag is still attached to his left ear

Forrest and the pink piggy

Ah! The pink piggy by the name Viola. I now have four dolls in my room, and every one of them is a freebie. =p

I got this weird green deer from Timezone. You know, from the doll-catching machine.

Hans the weird green deer, named after Hans Christian Andersen.

And there’s the pink piggy with the pink ribbon.

Viola

After the pink piggy, I got a blue hippopotamus, also from the machine in Timezone.

Rina the blue hippopotamus

Gosh, I’m such a cheapskate. =p

The Jane Austen Book Club

The Jane Austen Book Club, a 2004 book by American author Karen Joy Fowler, and also a 2007 movie adaptation of the same title, based on Fowler’s book.

The book “The Jane Austen Book Club” takes place near Sacramento, California, and centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss Jane Austen’s six novels. It was a critical success and became a national bestseller.

The novel takes place over the course of several months in a contemporary university town in California’s Central Valley near Sacramento. Each of the six chapters is dedicated to one of the six book club members as well as one of Austen’s six works. In turn, each of Austen’s novels parallels the individual characters’ experiences with relationships and love.

Jocelyn (Emma Woodhouse in Emma):
an independent, 50-something dog breeder and matchmaker who organized the Jane Austen Book Club. Jocelyn has been best friends with Sylvia since they were eleven and introduced her to her husband, Daniel, when they were in high school. She has never married and has no children. She originally invites Grigg to the book club for Sylvia’s sake, but ends up attracted to him herself.

Allegra (Marianne in Sense and Sensibility):
the young and impetuous daughter of Sylvia and her husband Daniel. Allegra is an artist and a thrill seeker, having been known to sky dive and rock climb, amongst other things.

Prudie (Anne Elliot in Persuasion):
a 28-year-old French teacher at a local high school. She is married to Dean, whom she loves, but she becomes confused when witnessing every-day infatuations between her students, especially when one student in particular flirts with her.

Grigg (represents basically all of Austen’s misunderstood male characters):
an offbeat 30-something, and the only male member of the book club. Grigg grew up the only boy amongst his three older sisters. He is also addicted to science fiction and coincidentally met Jocelyn at a hotel in which they were attending two separate conventions: Jocelyn, a dog breeding convention, and Grigg, a science fiction convention.

Bernadette (Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice):
a 67-years-young yoga enthusiast and the most talkative of the members. Bernadette has been married multiple times and is determined to “let herself go” with style. Although she is the oldest of the members, she is the most satisfied with her lifestyle.

Sylvia (Fanny Price in Mansfield Park):
Jocelyn’s best friend, Sylvia is also 50-something years old and is going through a troubling separation with her husband Daniel, who has left her after thirty years of marriage for another woman. Their daughter, Allegra, has come to live with her for the time being.

The idea of the book club comes from Bernadette (six times divorced), who has this inspiration when she meets Prudie, a prim, married high school French teacher in her mid 20s, at a Jane Austen film festival. Bernadette’s concept is to have six members dicuss all of Austen’s six novels, with each member hosting the group once a month.

Also inducted into the club are Sylvia, a fortysomething housewife who recently has separated from her philandering lawyer husband Daniel after more than two decades of marriage; Sylvia’s 20-year-old lesbian daughter Allegra; Jocelyn, a happily unmarried control freak and breeder of Rhodesian Ridgebacks who has been Sylvia’s friend since childhood; and Grigg, a science fiction fan who’s roped into the group by Jocelyn with the hope he and Sylvia will prove to be a compatible match.

As the months pass, each of the members develops characteristics similar to those of Austen’s characters and reacts to events in their lives in much the same way their fictional counterparts would. Bernadette is the matriarch figure who longs to see everyone find happiness. Sylvia clings to her belief in steadfast love and devotion, and eventually reconciles with Daniel. Jocelyn denies her own feelings for Grigg while playing matchmaker for him and Sylvia. Prudie, encumbered with her inattentive husband Dean and a free-spirited, pot-smoking, aging-hippie mother, a product of the 1960s counterculture, finds herself desperately trying not to succumb to her feelings for her seductive student Trey. Allegra, who tends to meet her lovers while engaging in death-defying activities, feels betrayed when she discovers her current partner, aspiring writer Corinne, has used Allegra’s life as the basis for her short stories. Grigg is attracted to Jocelyn and mystified by her seeming lack of interest in him, marked by her failure to read the Ursula K. Le Guin novels he has hoped will catch her fancy. He also serves as the comedic foil to Jocelyn and Prudie’s very serious takes on the books.

Cast:
Maria Bello as Jocelyn
Emily Blunt as Prudie
Kathy Baker as Bernadette
Hugh Dancy as Grigg
Amy Brenneman as Sylvia
Maggie Grace as Allegra

Jane Austen #6: Persuasion

Persuasion is Jane’s Austen’s last completed novel, which she began soon after she finished Emma. It was completed in Auguts, 1816. Austen did in 1817 (aged 41), but Persuasion was not published until 1818.

Persuasion is a story about two people who used to love each other. Then they were separated, and met again and found their way back into love again.

Persuasion mostly tells us about Anne Elliot, the middle daughter of the vain Sir Walter Elliot, a baronet who is a little too concious of his good looks and rank, and spends excessive amounts of money. Anne’s mother was a fine, sensible woman who is long dead. Her elder sister, Elizabeth, resembles her father in temperament and delights in the fact that as the eldest daughter she can assume her mother’s former position in their rural neighborhood. Anne’s younger sister, Mary, is a nervous, clinging woman who has made an unspectacular marriage to Charles Musgrove of Uppercross Hall, the heir to a bucolic but respected local squire. None of her surviving family can provide much companionship for the elegant-minded Anne, who, still unmarried at 27, seems destined for spinsterhood. Soon after her earlier commitment to Wentworth, at age nineteen, Anne had been persuaded by her mother’s great friend –and her own trusted confidante, the widow Lady Russell– to break the engagement to the man she loved deeply. Lady Russell had questioned the wisdom of Anne marrying a moneyless young naval officer without family or connections and whose prospects were so uncertain. Wentworth re-enters Anne’s life when Sir Walter is forced by his own profligacy to let the family estate to none other than Wentworth’s brother-in-law, Admiral Croft. Wentworth’s successes in the Napoleonic Wars resulted in his promotion and enabled him to amass the then considerable fortune of £25,000 from prize money awarded for capturing enemy vessels. The Musgroves, including Mary, Charles and Charles’s younger sisters, Henrietta and Louisa, are delighted to welcome the Crofts and Wentworth to the neighborhood. Both Musgrove girls are attracted to Wentworth, though Henrietta is informally engaged to clergyman cousin Charles Hayter. Hayter is viewed as a merely respectable match, being a bit beneath the Musgroves, socially and financially. Charles, Mary, and the Crofts continually speculate as to which one Wentworth might marry. Captain Wentworth’s visit to a close friend, Captain Harville, in nearby Lyme Regis results in a day-long outing being organized by those eager to see the resort. While there, Louisa Musgrove sustains a concussion in a fall brought about by her own impetuous behaviour. This highlights the difference between the headstrong Louisa and the more sensible Anne. While onlookers exclaim that Louisa is dead and her companions stand around dumbfounded, Anne administers first aid and summons assistance. Wentworth’s admiration for Anne reawakens as a result. Louisa’s recovery is slow and her self-confidence is severely shaken. Her newfound timidity elicits the kind attention and reassurance of Wentworth’s friend Captain Benwick, who had been mourning the recent death of his fiancée. The couple find their personalities to be now more in sympathy and they become engaged. Meanwhile, Sir Walter, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s scheming friend Mrs. Clay, the widowed daughter of Sir Walter’s agent, have relocated to Bath. There they hope to live in a manner befitting a baronet and his family with the least possible expense until their finances are restored to a firmer footing. Sir Walter’s cousin and heir, William Elliot, who long ago slighted the baronet, now seeks a reconciliation. Elizabeth assumes that he wishes to court her, while Lady Russell more correctly suspects that he admires Anne. Although William Elliot seems a perfect gentleman, Anne distrusts him; she finds his character disturbingly opaque. She is enlightened by an unexpected source when she discovers an old school friend, Mrs. Smith, living in Bath in straitened circumstances. Mrs. Smith and her now-deceased husband had once been Mr. Elliot’s closest friends. Having encouraged them into financial extravagance, he had quickly dropped them when they became impoverished. Anne learns, to her great distress, of his layers of deceit and calculated self-interest. In addition, her friend speculates that Mr. Elliot wants to reestablish his relationship with her family primarily to safeguard his inheritance of the title, fearing a marriage between Sir Walter and Mrs. Clay. This helps Anne to understand more fully the dangers of persuasion –in that Lady Russell pressed her to accept Mr. Elliot’s likely offer of marriage– and helps her to develop more confidence in her own judgment. Ultimately, the Musgroves visit Bath to purchase wedding clothes for their daughters Louisa and Henrietta (who has become engaged to Hayter). Captain Wentworth and his friend Captain Harville accompany them. Anne and Harville discuss attachments with Wentworth writing a note within earshot of the discussion. This causes him to write a note to Anne detailing his feelings for her. In a tender scene, Anne and Wentworth reconcile and renew their engagement. The match is now more palatable to Anne’s family — their waning fortunes and Wentworth’s waxing ones have made a considerable difference. Also, ever overvaluing good looks, Sir Walter is favorably impressed with his future son-in-law’s appearance. Lady Russell admits she has been completely wrong about Captain Wentworth, and she and Anne remain friends.

***

I haven’t watched any adaptations of Persuasion, but I heard there’s a great TV drama aired in 2007, starring Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliot and Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Frederick Wentworth.

Jane Austen #5: Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey was actually the first novel finished by Jane Austen, although the fifth published. It was written by Austen in 1798, revised in 1803, and sold in the same year for £10 to a London bookseller, Crosby & Co., who decided against publishing the novel. The bookseller was content to sell it back to the novelist’s brother, Henry Austen, for the exact sum that he had paid for it at the beginning, not knowing that the writer was already the author of four popular novels. The novel was further revised before being brought out posthumously in late December 1817 (1818 given on the title-page), as the first two volumes of a four-volume set with Persuasion, Austen’s last published novel.

Northanger Abbey follows Catherine Morland and family friends Mr. and Mrs. Allen as they visit Bath, England. Seventeen year-old Catherine spends her time visiting newly-made friends, such as Isabella Thorpe, and going to balls. Catherine finds herself pursued by Isabella’s brother John Thorpe (Catherine’s brother James’s friend from university), and by Henry Tilney. She also becomes friends with Eleanor Tilney, Henry’s younger sister. Henry captivates her with his view on novels and his knowledge of history and the world. General Tilney (Henry and Eleanor’s father) invites Catherine to visit their estate, Northanger Abbey, which, because she has been reading Ann Radcliffe’s gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho, Catherine expects to be dark, ancient and full of fantastical mystery.

The story’s heroine, seventeen year old Catherine Morland, is invited by her neighbours in Fullerton, the Allens, to accompany them to visit Bath for a number of weeks. While, initially, the excitement of experiencing such a place was dampened by her lack of other acquaintances, she is soon introduced to an intriguing young gentleman named Henry Tilney, with whom she dances and converses. She does not see him again for a few days however, though her attention was quickly taken upon meeting a young lady named Isabella Thorpe. Isabella tries to make a match between Catherine and her brother John. Catherine is not too interested in this, and tries to maintain her friendships with both the Thorpes and the Tilneys. John Thorpe continually tries to sabotage her relationship with the Tilneys, which leads to many misunderstandings.

Meanwhile, Isabella becomes engaged to Catherine’s brother James, though Isabella is dissatisfied that James is not as rich as she had previously thought. At a ball, when James is away, she meets Henry’s older brother, Captain Tilney, who is dashing and charming; Isabella and Captain Tilney immediately start flirting. Innocent Catherine cannot understand her friend’s behavior, but Henry understands it all too well. The flirtation continues even when James returns.

The Tilneys (Henry, his sister Eleanor, and their father General Tilney) invite Catherine to stay with them for a few weeks at their home, Northanger Abbey. Catherine, who has read too many Gothic novels, expects the abbey to be large and somewhat frightening, and Henry encourages her fears in order to tease her. Her first night there is very stormy; she discovers mysterious manuscripts in her bedroom, and her candle suddenly goes out. The next morning, she reads the papers and discovers they are only laundry lists. She is disappointed that Northanger Abbey is pleasant and positively un-Gothic. However, there is a mysterious suite of rooms that no one ever goes into: Catherine learns that they were Mrs. Tilney’s, who died nine years earlier. Catherine, with her overactive imagination, decides that since General Tilney does not seem affected by his wife’s death now, he must have been indifferent or perhaps hostile to her. Perhaps he murdered her. Or she may still be alive and imprisoned in the house.

Catherine persuades Eleanor to show her Mrs. Tilney’s rooms, when General Tilney suddenly appears. Catherine flees, sure that she will be punished. Later, Catherine sneaks back to Mrs. Tilney’s rooms, but is startled by Henry, who is passing in the corridor. Panicked, she admits her speculations about his father. He is horrified but, surprisingly gently, corrects her wild notions. She leaves crying, fearing that Henry will want nothing to do with her. James informs Catherine, via letter, that he has been deceived by Isabella, and that he broke off their engagement because she flirted with Captain Tilney. The Tilneys are shocked; Catherine is disenchanted with Isabella. Catherine passes several more enjoyable days with the Tilneys; the General goes off to London and Eleanor becomes even more fun. One night, he returns abruptly, and Eleanor tells Catherine that the whole family has an engagement that prevents Catherine from staying any longer. Catherine must go home early the next morning, in a shocking and inhospitable move.

At home, Catherine is unhappy. Several days later, Henry visits her and explains what happened. General Tilney was enchanted with Catherine and wished her to marry Henry, but only because John Thorpe (who was infatuated with Catherine at the time) had misinfomed him that Catherine was an heiress. In London, he ran into Thorpe again, who, disappointed with Catherine, said instead that she was nearly destitute. He returned home to kick Catherine out. Henry says that he still wants to marry Catherine despite his father’s disapproval. Eventually, General Tilney agrees to the marriage, because Eleanor has become engaged to a wealthy and titled man, and he discovers that the Morlands, while not extremely rich, are far from destitute.

***

There’s a great adaptation of this novel in the form of TV drama aired in 2007, starring Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland.