Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 continues to plague the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside and are social distancing, I hope that my blog highlights what the world can look like after a recovery from covid-19, which can only happen by following the practices listed above. Once things improve (which is not now), I hope you’ll look forward to small interactions with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find these interactions meaningful and enjoyable. In Shanghai, life has returned mostly to normal. Since outbreaks may still occur, it’s important that you wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines so things improve.
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Life in Shanghai
Given the continued, and incredibly frightening, rise in covid-19 cases in the US and around the world, I hope that this latest entry continues to find you, your friends, and your families safe and healthy. Regardless of whether your hometown is experiencing a large number of covid-19 cases, I hope that all of you are continuing to follow social distancing guidelines and wearing masks. Even though there is a promising vaccine (very happy Pfizer took no money from Project Warp Speed), it will still be a long time before that vaccine is made available to everyone, so it is paramount that we all do our part to minimize and restrict the growth of covid-19 cases in the coming months.
With regards to covid-19, I want to highlight the stark contrasts between how the US and China deal with covid-19. Earlier this week, there was 1 case of an airport worker who was found to have contracted covid-19 (after returning home). The area in Pudong where the worker lived was quarantined, everyone was tested, and extensive contract tracing and tests for anyone who was in the area were done by the city. There was even some fear at SJTU because one undergraduate had been in that area, but his tests came back negative. This is in stark contrast to the US, where contact tracing is not happening at all, tests are not always available and when they are, those tests are not affordable, and most people don’t bat an eye after a single case (unless they know the individual). I’m not even sure how seriously everyone is taking 100,000+ cases a day, which is really scary. While some of you may feel like contact tracing is a violation of your individual freedoms, I assure you, that it is far more comforting knowing that I have not been in contact with anyone who is sick than the opposite. So, although it’s unclear what can be done before January 20th, I again implore all of you to shrink your circles. It scares me looking at Facebook and seeing so many of my friends in groups of 10+ people. Are you really sure everyone is being as safe as they should be? Again, I implore you: DO NOT GATHER FOR THANKSGIVING. If we want the virus to slow down in the US, everyone must make sacrifices. My sacrifice is not seeing my family for over 13 months (with no hope of seeing them until the summer at the earliest — Emmet excluded), so I ask you to think about what you are sacrificing (and also what you’re not willing to) and whether it’s worth possibly infecting others. Again in order to beat this, everyone must work together for the greater good; now is not the time to be selfish.
In terms of the covid-19 statistics, the virus remains entirely under control in China. In total, there are 96 cases in Shanghai (6 in Beijing). All but one case in Shanghai is imported. The recovery rate is at 91.9%. The recovery rate for China as a whole is 94.2%. So, clearly, contact tracing, social distancing, quarantining, and mask wearing all work. Regardless of the existence of a vaccine these practices must be done.
In terms of Astronomy, this was a relatively productive week. I’m working on a bunch of different projects right now, so I didn’t make tons of progress on any single project. I’m working on the final statistical analysis associated with my Stellar Mass – Halo Mass relation project for the Dark Energy Survey (DES). I also am running further tests for our Luminosity function measurement as we work to determine when a locally selected background (a background centered on a galaxy) becomes truly random. Furthermore, I’m continuing to explore the higher-redshift DES-ACT clusters as well! Additionally, we wrapped up (for now) the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) secondary proposal review (we’re taking a break and reconvening again post Thanksgiving). Overall, I’ve really enjoyed the experience (other than the really late nights) of being on the allocation committee. I feel like it’s been a valuable process to learn what science excites others and also what makes a compelling observing proposal as well as given me much greater insight into the science goals and strategic planning of DESI!
Even though almost all of my week was spent working, I still took some time for some fun and meaningful activities. On Thursday, Moishe House had it’s 5th anti-racism workshop. This time we discussed racism in literature and the media. We began by reflecting on the 2020 presidential election, discussing our fears (many of mine were raised in last week’s post) as well as how we felt about the portrayal of Vice President – elect Kamala Harris in the media. We then moved on to discussing whether there were any portrayals in tv, movies, and literature of our own racial, religious, or gender identities that we felt had impacted us either positively or negatively. It was interesting to hear people reflect on books that they had read when they were younger and had since gone back and reread and realized how racist some of them were. Overall, this was a really interesting discussion. I had quite a few takeaways. Like with the definition of racism, not everyone agreed on whether stereotypical and racist portrayals are equally problematic and moreover, not everyone agreed that in the future we’ll look back to what we read now and see plenty of other problems — though I do. Additionally, it seemed like almost all of us found far more negative examples that had impacted us than positive. Moreover, I think that as a whole, we all need to be more cognizant of how people of different races, religions, and gender identities are portrayed. These characters can’t just be added for token diversity and need to be treated the same way you treat every other character.
Even though this was a heavy discussion, it was brought to a much lighter end, when Daniel brought his kitten down (still unnamed, they’re arguing between Morpheus and Osiris). The kitten, now 5-6 weeks old is still adorable!
The highlight of my week was on Saturday when Heather, Hannah Maia, and I got together to make Cranberry Relish! Although we usually make jam together, this time, since Thanksgiving is coming up, Hannah Maia showed us all her Dad’s recipe for Cranberry relish. In addition to cranberries, it has apples, walnuts, brown sugar, cloves, and cinnamon. Although I had no idea what it would taste like, when Hannah Maia suggested it, it came out fantastically! It’s a nice balance of tart and sweet, and I look forward to enjoying it at Thanksgiving (and maybe for breakfast as well)!
Following our relish making, the three of us ordered pizza (we got vegan pizza!) and watched some old episodes of Jeopardy, in honor of the dearly departed Alex Trebek. As I’m sure it is for many of you, Jeopardy was a nightly tradition growing up. When I lived in the US, I never missed an episode. Though sadly, it’s much harder to find while living abroad. There’s been so much good done by Jeopardy and it’s emphasis on the importance of facts and intelligence and nobody epitomized that mindset better than Alex Trebek. Rest in Peace Alex Trebek.
In addition to these fun activities, I also went running 4 times this week! Even though the sun now sets at 5pm, it’s still been relatively warm (and will be for one more week). Most days, the highs have been in the low-70s, with lows in the upper 50s, so I’m still able to run in my shorts and t-shirts! 🙂 Below, you can see some cool things I saw during my runs!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
This week, Josh, the president of Kehilat Shanghai hosted a Community Shabbat service at his home in Pudong! Even though Pudong is quite far, it took me an hour to get there, I was glad I joined. I will note that this is a different part of Pudong (which is gigantic), than the area that was quarantined. The Kabbalat Shabbat service was led by two of the teenagers who had recently done their b’nei mitzvah. Following the service we had a delicious Shabbat dinner and a lively conversation discussing topics ranging from Astronomy (If I’m there, someone always asks me something. :)) to the Kaifeng Jews in China, to the China-US relationship. Overall, it was a lovely Shabbat and I look forward to going to more community Shabbats in the future!
This was a quieter week, which after all the stress of the election was exactly what I needed. This upcoming week will again be largely research focused (hopefully with a bit more tangible progress). Additionally, I also wanted to note, that despite my best efforts, I haven’t been able to figure out how to make it so you can be notified when I respond to your comments. However, I always do read them and respond, usually within 24-48 hours.
I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my week and seeing the cranberry relish. If there’s anything you’re curious about with regards to my life in Shanghai, please let me know.
In peace,
Jesse
Dear Jesse,
This is another great post as usual. It seems like you had a nice mix of academics and fun with friends and the Jewish community. As we hunker down for another period of rising cases, which I agree is scary, it is heartening to see pictures of you meeting with people without masks and sitting or standing close to each other without fear. Let’s pray that the Biden-Harris administration makes this more of a reality for the US even before we get the vaccine.
I am intrigued by the various ways you are engaging in all stages of research from running codes and evaluating proposals and formulating theories! I loved seeing pics of Daniel’s adorable new kitten. Please tell us soon what name is chosen!
This is the final week of classes! I will miss the students and loved teaching both the Brontes and Austen. The students in my first-year seminar could not have field trips or get togethers as we normally do in that class, so I sent each student including the remote students a jam of their choice and a personalized bookplate; the college is posting another Austen spinoff I selected as a keepsake gift for each student and our peer mentor, who has been outstanding! The students in both classes are giving presentations on objects important to the lives and literature of the authors, and so far they have been great!
My other fun news was that the design Alice Tinkle and I created was accepted in the Alice in Wonderland gingerbread competition, and we built it yesterday with masks, social distancing, etc, windows wide open in the back porch, wearing coats and hats and gloves! Our design of Alice gazing at the Cheshire Cat in the tree turned out well, and we are excited that Alice and Adam and Milo are to bring it to Springfield to the art museum there!
Tell Hannah Maia that the cranberry relish looks fantastic. I will type up the pumpkin bread recipe to share.
I love you 💕 and miss you.
Mom
Hi Mom! Thanks! It was a good balanced week. I’m glad you are heartened by seeing me out and about in the world. I hope that soon things will improve so you can enjoy the company of friends and family as well. Of course I’ll tell you once the kitten is named.
I’m glad the semester has gone so well for you. That’s so nice of you to give each student a jar of jam and a bookplate! I’m glad that the presentations have been enjoyable, though I’m sure they would be more fun if you were all together.
The gingerbread house sounds so much fun! I’m sure Alice is excited to see her work in the museum!!
Thanks for sharing the pumpkin bread recipe with me! I love and miss you, too!
Hi Jesse,
It sounds like you had another great week. That’s scary about a domestic case of COVID, but I’m glad the government reacted swiftly. I think we’re all assuming that NY will be going into a second lockdown sometime soon, because the cases keep rising. It certainly isn’t looking great in the US right now and the response to the 100,000+ cases hasn’t been swift enough. I’m glad to hear that the astronomy TAC has been fruitful. Make sure to add it to your CV. I hope the astronomy research continues to progress nicely. What are you using as your comparison for the local background. We used SpUDS/UDS and found that it was easier to do statistics on a random background that we could analyze uniformly. I love the pictures from your run! I really like the drawing of the woman. The relish looks like it was a lot of fun to make. I’m glad you got to do something fun. The anti-racism discussion sounds really important and helpful. I agree that there are definitely modern portrayals of minority groups that we’ll look back on and cringe. There are also lots of jokes that I’m sure we’ll find problematic. That is an incredibly cute kitten! I like Morpheus for the name. I’m glad Shabbat was fun! I miss in person Shabbat services. I hope you have another great week and continue to stay safe and healthy!
Love,
Emmet
Hi Emmet! It’s kind of scary, but it was just one case, and the beuracracy in China keeps everything well contained, which is comforting. I hope that NY doesn’t go in to another lockdown, but It probably will be what’s best for the state/country.
I’ll definitely add the TAC to my CV! I hope the research can progress a little faster, or at least more tangibly. In terms of the background, we’re using SDSS fields, just with different locations of centers (for the random background) and different radial regions (for the local background).
I hope you also have a safe and healthy week!
I agree about the portrayals of minorities in TV shows and the jokes will definitely look bad. Although I like Morpheus as a name (Dream!), I think it fits a Black and white cat better.
Another very interesting and informative post, Jesse. It’s so hard to get my head around the fact that almost a quarter of a million people have died of this virus in the US and that the number of verified infections in one day (today) is 180,000 with 11 million people who have been infected since the outbreak. For Trump “it is what it is” is beyond acceptable and I heard that he had not attended a meeting of his corona-virus team for three or four months. Hardly surprising then that we have no coherent plans in place to deal with this pandemic.
You used the word “sacrifice” in your post. I understand hat you mean but public health is not so much about making sacrifices as paying a price to ensure the health of everyone. I don’t make a sacrifice to pay taxes or to pay for a private good I want. I pay a price for the cost of roads, education, public safety, (OK, and for defense), and the cost of ensuring public health at this time is to limit contact with people, to wear face masks and to wash , wash , wash. That cost may be high but the price of not paying this cost is the death of so many and the possible chronic illness of so many , many more.
Your cranberry relish sounds delicious. I have in years past made cranberry wine but making wine from cranberries is a challenge – the berries are very tart because acidic and tamping down the acidity is a real balancing act. One way is to dilute juice expelled from the cranberries with water but water also dilutes the flavor. Using an alkaline base to neutralize the acidity can add flavors that are unwanted…
That said, I have been experimenting with pomegranate juice to make pomegranate liqueur – and I can say that I think I have found a nice balance using Pom and some spirits I make from whey I obtain from my cheese making. The problem is that the cheese I make is from cow milk so while it is vegetarian it isn’t vegan.. BUT since I still need to add about a kilo of sugar to every gallon of whey (and I add lactase enzymes to break down the lactose into glucose and sucrose, (I think sucrose and not fructose) ) and so my guess is that one could make an interesting wine from vegan whey (say, nut or soy based cheese) and then remove some of the water from that wine to up the alcohol level to a level that yeast cannot reach…
Stay safe and stay well.
Hi Bernard! I completely agree with you about the numbers in the US. They’re hard to believe, and so distressing at this point. It’s completely irresponsible of Trump and his acolytes, and shows how little they care for anyone. Your argument for cost versus sacrifice is very well put. I think cost is what it should be because everyone should pay these “prices” for health. However, sadly, so few are even willing to acknowledge this cost.
I’m glad you liked the look of the cranberries! Thanks for sharing about the cranberry and pomegranate wine! I didn’t realize that people put whey into wine! I guess that makes sense why some wines now advertise as vegan! Hope you and Lisa continue to stay safe and healthy!
Not so much whey in wine but wine made from whey. The reason why some wines are advertised as vegan is because many wines are “cleared” so that all haze and particles are removed and the wines are made “bright and clear when bottled and some of the clearing agents are made from fish (isinglass) or from crushed shells from crustaceans. This is one (but not the only) difference between kosher wines and non kosher wines – kosher wines cannot contains those fining agents.
Hey Jesse,
That cranberry jam looked great! Even though you didn’t sound super happy with research progress, I’m sure the TAC experience will pay dividends down the line. And every bit of incremental progress counts 🙂
I hope you have a nice week!
Ryan
Thanks Ryan! It was great catching up last week! I’m more disappointed in the slowness of all the projects than any singular result, which is good. I completely agree about the TAC. Hopefully it’ll at least help me build a name for myself within DESI. :). I’m glad you liked the look of the cranberry relish! Hope you have a safe and healthy week as well!