Created this recipe about last weekend. Sources included asking my Mom, and incessantly Googling "baked chicken".

Note: Any measurements are approximations, or could be totally erroneous, since I'm recalling this from memory...

Ingredients (for the chicken):

• 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breast (sliced into 3 separate, palm-sized pieces, in my case)
• 2 Tbsp chili paste (I use a Chinese brand that comes in a green-lidded plastic jar)
• 1 Tbsp mustard paste
• 1 Tbsp soya sauce
• 1 Tbsp barbeque sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp black pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp salt
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning (a mix of oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, etc.)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

(possible addition: Worcestershire Sauce)

Method:

1. Mix the chili paste, mustard, the sauces, salt, pepper, butter, garlic and seasoning to form a marinade.
2. With a knife, slightly mark the surface of the chicken pieces with lines (don't cut too deep!); I am told this improves the absorption of the marinade.
3. Marinate the chicken pieces, ensuring that both sides are properly covered.
4. Place in glass bowl, covered with plastic. Place it in the refrigerator. (The first two pieces were taken out after 4 hours, the last piece was left marinated for about a day and a half.)
5. Preheat the oven to 375 °F.
6. Place chicken pieces in a baking tray and bake until chicken is cooked*. Turn the chicken pieces to ensure evenly baked pieces.

* I baked the first two pieces for about 30 minutes on the central grill in the oven (15 minutes for each side of chicken piece) and then for 10 minutes on the upper grill - result was pretty dry. The last piece was baked for 20 minutes on the central grill (10 minutes for each side) and on the upper grill for about 5-7 minutes - result was comparatively juicier.

Optional: Serve with potato wedges, cucumber and vegies.

Baked Chicken with Potato Wedges, Cucumber Slices and Other Vegies

Since I started university, at times I have found joy in cooking. As a student, I am the sole subject of my culinary experiments, so I can be rather liberal with my experimentation

Most of my recipes are combinations of recipes found on the Internet, along with additions/subtractions of my own. I thought it might be a good idea to document some of them, so amateur cooks like myself can get an insight into the wonderful world of cooking. Hence, I'm starting a new section in my blog, titled "Culinary Experiments".

Cheers!

Disclaimer: Follow recipes at your own risk. There is a lot of hand waving involved, since most (read: all) of the time, I'm not very precise with my measurements.

A summary of my life in 2012...

Time is a mysterious thing. At times,  memories created years ago are as if they occurred yesterday. At other times, events from mere months or even weeks before seem ages apart.

Since I started this blog, my Life in Twenty-Ten and Life in Twenty-Eleven posts have not only served as something for me to write about, but have also allowed me the opportunity to look back upon the passed year, and reflect on instances that are now memories. So, without further ado, let me step back into time...

January: The New Year started off with a continuation of my search for suitable accommodation for the Winter 2012 Co-op work term.

2012, Day 2 © Osama Sidat

On January 3, 2012, I joined Loblaw Inc. as the SAP Organizational Change Management Co-op Integration Analyst. The first day was basically an orientation about Loblaw in general and its SAP program in particular, an introduction to a few individuals, followed by a short tour of the building. We (that is myself and the other co-ops) were provided with the laptops we would be using, and were asked to initiate the setup of our email accounts, plus other related "stuff". Meanwhile, I waited for my boss to "collect" me and provide further instructions.

The rest of the day went by pretty rapidly; met my boss, had lunch and conversation with him (trying to get a feel for what it was that I would be doing). He showed me to my desk, provided me with relevant documents and showed me a few things that I could work on.

My assigned desk wasn't exactly permanent (and it was separate from the rest of my team), so I spent the next few weeks switching seats, in order to be closest to the people I would be working with. Some may have found this to be an annoyance; I actually enjoyed it as it prevented monotony from creeping up and also gave me the opportunity to interact various people in the team.

I was assigned a few daily/weekly tasks (nothing that caused any grief). I spent the month mostly tinkering with Excel VBA and investigating ways to automate the data analysis processes from surveys.

Starting from my third week, I was assigned as a tester/guide/overwatch for an Access developer, who was called in for a short term contract to fix a database tool that we used...

I was able to find a room a short bus ride away from my workplace. Best part about the place? There was a cat!

Am the Cat © Osama Sidat

My Street in Brampton © Osama Sidat

February: By this time, I started liking work life a whole lot better than university life. The best part about it was not having to worry about work after getting back home. Another thing about it was the sense of accomplishment after successfully completing a task or side project... something that is absent from most university assignments/exams.

By the end of the month, the developer had left. The question of whether the goals of the contract were completed remain debatable to this day. In any case, my previous experience with Access helped me assume administrative responsibilities of the database (along with the responsibility of "fixing" the "fixes"!)

I found that a co-op term is a pretty good time to experiment with photography projects that had been on the back-burner, such as this:

Water in Glass © Osama Sidat

Visited the Toronto AUTO Show - quite an awesome experience! Would definitely try to check out the show whenever it happens next (equipped with more camera gear, of course!).

A Piece of History © Osama Sidat

March: Sometime during March, some of my colleagues started calling me "The Overlord". I have no idea what triggered it (I'd love to know!).

A couple of my cooking experiments from then:

Chicken & Mushroom Spaghetti © Osama Sidat

Pasta with Ground Beef © Osama Sidat

April: Couldn't believe that the co-op term had reached its final month! Started the preparations for the return to Waterloo...

Meanwhile, Ludwig dropped by for a visit. Who's Ludwig? This gorgeous fellow:

Ludwig © Osama Sidat

The term concluded on a happy note, with a great evaluation from my boss. I also signed up to come back in Fall 2012 (at this point in time, I wasn't exactly sure about continuing with Actuarial Science, my original career path since I started off at Waterloo).

My work term ended on Friday, April 27, 2012. Packed up my room overnight and moved to Waterloo over the weekend.

May: The school term started off on May 3. Had little time to get my bearings straight.

In Spring 2012, I took up Intro to Actuarial Mathematics, Intro to Combinatorics & Optimization, Linear Algebra II, as well as two Computer Science courses, Logic & Computation and Object-Oriented Software Development.

My schedule during the term was fairly spread out. Really busy Mondays, fairly busy Wednesdays and Fridays, really busy Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Rather challenging weekly or fortnightly assignments, as one should expect at the end of the second year.

Won myself a delayed birthday present... an HTC One S from Techvibes! Embarked on a Project 365 using the phone soon after.

HTC One S © Osama Sidat

June: By mid-June, midterms were under way. Most of them were pretty challenging, but none more so than Linear Algebra. Despite being in class for every single minute of the lectures, the material seemed totally foreign to me. Ended up dropping the course to avoid further damage.

I finally made the decision to switch from Actuarial Science to Computer Science. My interest in ActSci was declining rapidly, whereas I found CS fun and enjoyable. In the end, the decision was logical, and in my head, the right path to follow.

Towards the end of June, FEDS Waterloo arranged a visit to Canada's Wonderland. What a thrilling experience!

Me at Wonderland © Osama Sidat

My first ride: The Leviathan, a roller coaster, which has a highest drop of 306 ft. and a maximum speed of 148 km/h. Everything else seemed tame after that...

Leviathan - The First Climb © Osama Sidat

July: Spent Canada Day in Waterloo - witnessed a pretty impressive fireworks show over Columbia Lake.

Over Columbia Lake © Osama Sidat

The rest of July was spent pursuing the end-of-term CS project along with the preparation for exams. This also marked the first Ramadan I actively spent in Waterloo - a completely different Ramadan from the ones I've experienced all my life.

August: The exam frenzy started off... Looking back now, given the way the exams went, I feel lucky that I was able to clear 'em.

My 5-year Sony Alpha was showing signs of aging. Instead of continuing with a new camera from the Alpha line, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to downsize, by switching systems. After a few months of research and comparison between the Sony NEX and the Micro Four Thirds Systems, I decided to go with the latter, starting off with the Olympus OMD E-M5 as the camera. Based on the system-building lessons learnt over the past five years, I am now able to start afresh, taking a slightly different approach by focusing on quality rather than quantity of gear. So far, any cons of switching systems have been overshadowed by the pros.

Since term ended early and I wasn't due to start work until September 4, I moved all my stuff to Brampton as soon as the exams ended and then flew back home to spend Eid with family. Had quite a long flight (via Lahore) but it was definitely worth it.

Home © Osama Sidat

Watched The Dark Knight Rises... an awesome and deserving finale to the trilogy...

September: Flew back to Canada on the 2nd... the troubles I had at the Karachi Airport this time round made me seriously doubt the wisdom of flying with PIA in the future. Moved into the familiar accommodation from last term and returned to Loblaw as the Overlord OCM Integration Analyst - for a second time.

It was nice to see Am again - no Ludwig, since he had gone back to whoever owned him.

The Majestic © Osama Sidat

Earlier, my role was quite small. However, since we were in a major phase of the program, my role inherited (according to my observation) around three times as many responsibilities - not necessarily a bad thing. Thanks to my boss, I was able to keep my working hours in check, would've definitely gone overboard had it not been for his reminders.

October & November: Nothing of much significance, other than routine work, and a bit of photography here and there. Oh, and I got my G2 driving license - street legal now!

Square One Mall, Mississauga © Osama Sidat

A Gaggle of Geese, Fletcher's Creek, Brampton © Osama Sidat

December: Started wrapping up my projects, since I was getting a week off at the end of my scheduled co-op term. Handover of responsibilities was smooth (or as smooth as can be).

On my last day, my team presented me with a fitting poster - something that should definitely be up here, part of this post. Unfortunately, to date, I have not been able to get a scan of it... I'll definitely put it here sometime soon.

A shout of thanks to all the people I worked with, especially my team and particularly my boss. My great experience at work wouldn't have been the same without all of your contribution, and your roles in the initial stages of my career shall never be forgotten.

Now: spending the holidays peacefully (read: lazily), until I jump into the fight again, 7 days from today.

The Sight I Wake Up To! © Osama Sidat

Looking back now, I have a feeling that this year was an important one. Not that any year was/is unimportant... it just feels that this year was a tad bit more...

Just like last year, I'll end this year with the following prayer:

A few days back, a friend asked me for a bit of advice on selecting a new camera as a means to get into the art of photography. In my opinion, it was a question that could not be answered without (obviously!) asking a few questions of my own. I've had similar requests before, and I think it is about time I write down a basic introduction to cameras and related gear, so that I can use it for my own reference, as well as point others to it.

Please note that this article is simply the way I view the different cameras out there and how I would possibly use them. Also note that this is written from an enthusiast photographer's perspective. I'll keep updating this post from time to time. Feel free to point out any corrections. If you have anything to contribute to this post, let me know and I'll consider adding it in.

Some terms used in this article may not make sense unless the reader is acquainted with photography terminology. Questions are more than welcome, ask in the comments section!

So without further ado, let us get started...

*****

Cameras can be classified into two main groups, Fixed-Lens cameras and Interchangeable-Lens cameras. The former group, as the name implies, have lenses that cannot be detached/changed/replaced, while the latter group enjoys the flexibility of using a variety of lenses for different purposes.

The Fixed-Lens group can be divided into three further groups: Basic Point & Shoot, Bridge/Prosumer and Advanced Compact.

Basic Point & Shoot Cameras

These cameras offer the user the most basic of photo-taking features. Most are small, light, and easily pocketable. Besides a number of effects presets and scene modes, these cameras offer the user few manual options, if any. A few are outfitted with special features, such as water and shock proofing.

P&S cameras are usually equipped with a zoom lens within a 24-150mm (35mm equivalent) range. They may have a minimum focus distance as low as 2cm (5cm seems to be the norm, according to the random camera specs I checked). Prices are usually $65 and above, depending on features.

If you have a decent camera-phone, a Point & Shoot can potentially give you a better lens with optical zoom, but does not offer major image quality improvements (unless you start pixel peeping). I used to be a firm believer in the idea that camera-phones could not match dedicated cameras - until I got an HTC One S. Now my Panasonic Lumix FX150 barely sees any use, unless I need it for some of its special talents.

There is a rather large variety of P&S cameras to choose from. Examples would include the budget Sony Cybershot WX50 and the water-and-shock-proof Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS. There are also other cameras which sit on the fence and may have enough features to stray into the bridge camera or the advanced compact territory (such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ1 or the Canon Powershot S110).

Bridge (aka Prosumer) Cameras

Bridge (also known as prosumer) cameras occupy the ground between P&S cameras and interchangeable lens systems (hence the name, bridge). They are sized accordingly; most are smaller than traditional DSLRs. Generally, these cameras offer the user more than a fair bit of manual control over exposure (aperture, shutter, ISO), and higher-end models may offer extra customization options and controls.

Bridge cameras usually offer an all-rounder lens with both wide-angle and telephoto features. Some are known as "ultra-zooms" since they are equipped with lenses having a very wide focal length range (optical zoom). To my knowledge, the Canon Powershot SX50 HS currently offers the highest zoom ratio; a 24-1200mm (35mm equivalent) lens, 50X. Such high zoom ratios are achieved by using smaller sensors (the digital equivalent of film) compared to most interchangeable lens systems.

In my opinion, bridge cameras were more relevant in the days when there was little variety among DSLRs (not to mention that they were super expensive). However, with the advent of cheap entry-level DSLRs (and lenses), I would recommend bridge cameras for people not interested in investing in a system and want a camera that can (in general) cater to all occasions.

A few bridge cameras in the market today: Sony Cybershot HX200V, Panasonic Lumix LZ20, Nikon Coolpix P510.

Advanced Compacts

Of all the fixed lens cameras, advanced compacts are my personal favorite. What makes them so enticing is their (often) larger sensors, abundant manual controls, and, relatively fast lenses, all inside a compact and flat package. Most (if not all) can shoot in a RAW format, which allows for more flexibility and control in the editing process.

Advanced compacts are mostly equipped with a fast zoom lens, such as the Canon Powershot G15 with its (35mm equivalent) 28-140mm f/1.8-2.8 lens. A few specialized cameras have fixed focal length lenses, like the new Sony Cybershot RX1 or the Sigma DP1 Merrill. Some of them are also equipped with a hotshoe for accessories such as flash units or wireless flash triggers.

When looking for an advanced compact, the main feature I would ponder over is the size of the sensor. To give an idea, here's a picture of sensor sizes overlaid, courtesy of Wikipedia. To put things in a bit of a perspective, most P&S and bridge cameras have a 1/2.3" sensor.

Sensor Size Comparison - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Some time ago, the advanced compact category was dominated by the Canon G-Series, with the only other option (as I recall) being one of the Panasonic LX cameras. However, the past couple of years have seen more manufacturers jumping in the fray, so now, there are quite a few options to choose from Some advanced compacts and their sensor sizes (sorted by ascending Sensor Size):

Canon Powershot S110 - 1/1.7"
Canon Powershot G15 - 1/1.7"
Nikon Coolpix P7700 - 1/1.7"
Panasonic Lumix LX7 - 1/1.7"
Olympus XZ-2 iHS - 1/1.7"
Fujifilm X10 - 2/3"
Sony Cybershot RX100 - 1"
Canon Powershot G1X - APS-C
Fujifilm X100 - APS-C
Sigma DP1 Merrill - APS-C
Sony Cybershot RX1 - Full Frame

With the plethora of features available to them, advanced compacts can generally handle most photographic scenarios within the "normal" focal length range. In my opinion, they are best for enthusiasts looking for high-end features in a compact package, or system camera users looking for a backup camera (for those events where you just can't lug around your camera gear!)


DSLRs
(Coming Soon)

Mirrorless Cameras
(Coming Soon)

You may have noticed a few changes to the general layout of the blog. Added in some extra stuff, such as being able to account for multiple screen resolutions, and a newer social media widget (still needs a bit of tweaking). Post summaries (snippets) are now on the main page for easier scanning. Removed some stuff from the sidebar that didn't add much to the blog. Hoping to add some dedicated photography-based content to the main flow of things.

I am still in the redesign process, so expect to see some changes in the upcoming days. Like it, hate it? Let me know in the comments.

So... on with the story of my life within the past 3 months...

The last few weeks of Spring 2012 were pretty crazy. Hot weather, assignments, projects and finally, the exams. Particularly the final exams. In terms of academics, there are few feelings worse than getting bulldozed by an exam of a course that was your best/favorite of the term. Anyways, I pulled through, though my overall average definitely took a hit...

After the exhausting term, I definitely needed a vacation. I was able to fly back home for Eid-ul-Fitr! Never has a two-week break been that welcome...

Got back to Canada on September 2, started work at Loblaw 2 days later. It was kind of same, yet way too different at the same time. I was able to hit the ground running due to my past experience, but because of all the ongoing action in my project, at times it feels like being airdropped in the midst of battle... Nevertheless, I like my work life way more than my academic life...

My Project 365 is still going pretty strong... I may have stated earlier, the HTC One S produces pretty good results, as far as lighting is good. My Panasonic Lumix compact is rarely seeing any action these days...

Here are some of my Project 365 shots. Check out the rest here.

Speaking of photography, I recently upgraded my camera system, since my beloved 5-year old Sony Alpha was starting to show its age. Will do a write-up about this in a later post... probably... Here's a sneak peek:

... and a link of photos: The New Star.

I guess thats all for now. Until next time...

Take Care.

In my last post, I detailed my life during the my work term. I just realized that almost two months have passed by since then, and I am roughly 4 weeks away from the end of lectures for the Spring 2012 term.

Since I have already arranged to go back to Loblaw for my next work term, this term I did not have to go through the usual pain endured by UWaterloo co-op students, commonly known as JobMine. That move, I believe, was for the best, since my current courses do not appear to be pulling back any punches.

Academically speaking, this term might turn out to be my most turbulent yet. Started off with a standard set of five courses, Linear Algebra II (that I had been trying to avoid so far), Intro to Actuarial Mathematics, Intro to Combinatorics, and two computer science courses covering Logic & Computation and Software Abstraction and Specification.

The actuarial science course started off well. The instructor pointed out that only those who find this course interesting should ideally continue on the path of an actuary. Truth be told, the content in the first couple of weeks or so was fairly interesting. However, the number of formulas kept increasing and the content steadily started becoming more boring...

Meanwhile, Linear Algebra II... now this one was a constant thorn in my side. I wouldn't blame the instructor... the content just flew way over my head. Went into the midterm having little to no idea about I would fare in the exam... Saw the math adviser afterwards, and agreed with his idea that the best course of action would be to drop the course, to avoid taking any hits to my average...

Combinatorics has some neat applications (especially when thinking in terms of CS), interesting enough that the proofs and computations were bearable. The Logic course was something that I had been dreading (due to nightmarish stories by former students of the course) but it turned out to be better than the others, mostly because we have an excellent instructor (compared to profs who usually teach this course). The programming course remains my favorite to date. I accept that it has its high-stress moments, but there is this unique sense of achievement when you complete a CS246 assignment, unlike my other courses...

The way I saw it, CS steadily became more appealing to me while my interest in actuarial science declined. Not the best idea to pursue a career in which I am not interested. Therefore I decided that some important decisions were in order.

Here's how it goes: I started off pursuing Actuarial Science. In the 2A term, I turned towards a Joint ActSci-CS. Finally, 2B, I decided to let go of ActSci, and put my efforts into pursuing CS. Let's see how things go from this point forward.

Enough about academics. On to happier stuff.

Recently (well, not really recently) I have started actively following all sorts of tech developments, especially in terms of consumer products (phones, tablets, PCs and the like). I've found that Twitter is an excellent platform for this type of thing. I've been following a Canadian tech blog, Techvibes, which held a giveaway for an HTC One S. And I won!

Here are some pictures of my new phone (close-up shots since I have no inclination to show off the clutter on my desk!)

HTC One S - The Box

HTC One S - The Front I

HTC One S - The Front II

HTC One S - The Back I

HTC One S - The Back II

The HTC One S currently has Android 4.0.x Ice Cream Sandwich installed, with HTC's Sense 4.0 UI. Initially, the phone was locked to Telus (I am on contract with Fido). Took me a few hours to root it and extract the unlock code (didn't feel like paying for it), thanks to a few excellent tutorials online. See the end of post for links to the tutorials I used.

So far, using Android has been a rather enjoyable experience, especially compared to my older BlackBerry Curve. Compared to iOS, it is highly customizable, but I feel that there is a certain "roughness" about it, something not really present in iOS. Currently, I have multiple operating systems co-existing across different devices... really enjoying the variety.

The camera on the HTC One S is awesome! Plus, it has a pretty decent built-in photo editing app. I recently started a Project 365 with the phone.

Here a few shots from the project, the rest of which can be followed here

Biology Buildings, UWaterloo © Osama Sidat

Apple Stabbed © Osama Sidat

I just hope that HTC provides an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the One S soon.

Went to Canada's Wonderland last Saturday. Had a awesome time! Rode the Leviathan, Canada's tallest and fastest roller-coaster

The Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland © Osama Sidat

The weather is pretty hot these days (I know, I know, 36 degrees isn't exactly that hot, but still, coming from a negative 20, it is). Recently replaced my stand fan... the new one's much more powerful, and blows around every bit of paper (or any lightweight thing, for that matter) in the room. Fun...

Well, I guess that's all I have for this post. Can't think of anything else to write here.

Until next time...

Take Care.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Links for HTC One S Rooting and Unlocking:

• Unlocking the bootloader (HTCdev)
• Unlocking bootloader and installing ClockworkMod Recovery (XDA dev forum)
• Root Instructions for Linux
• HTC SIM Unlock

Thanks to all of the authors of the instructions in the links above!

I used a combination of all of the above instructions, additionally Googling whenever I got stuck (or when something did not appear to work). Bear in mind that you risk bricking your phone.
Note 1: For some reason, I had to root the phone twice before it was properly rooted.
Note 2: In the last link, the author uses the Terminal Emulator within the phone. I was not able to use that, so I used an alternative method which involved connecting the phone via USB to my netbook, and executing the relevant commands through the Linux shell terminal. Unfortunately, I did not document the exact procedure.