There is a science to guessing at the game, Two Truths and a Lie. Last week, the Neish lab got together and shared 3 things about themselves. As per the name, two of the three things were true, and one was a lie. The goal of this exercise was to get to know each other a bit better, especially as we had a few additions to the lab. The method, or at least my method, was to rank them in order of likelihood based on all the additional information I knew about each person. Extra insight could be gained by comparing the level of detail in each statement. In instances where I had no idea where to begin evaluating the statement, I assumed they were true. This method wasn’t the greatest considering I got two wrong! Fortunately, there are no stakes in the game, and we all learned quite a bit. For example, the lab could probably start up a band together.

Here are my preamble and statements (everyone “won” this round, though the reasoning was wrong).

Hello new lab members and stray huamns! This week in the Neish lab, we’re welcoming new folks into the fold and getting to know each other. Here’s to hoping these two truths and a lie aren’t ones I’ve used in the past!

Two truths and a lie:

1. I drink three cups of coffee a day
2. My post popular blog post is on plants
3. My number one food request is, “no bell peppers!”

Without hesitation, I heard a couple voices coming through the screen saying something along the lines of, “There’s no way you only drink three cups of coffee!” and “It’s definitely one.”

Reader, they were right. I drink one cup of coffee a day now. At some point in my life, I was probably imbing 5-7 cups a day (350 ml+ cups, mind you), and it probably did show in the way I interacted with the world. It seems I still behave very caffeinated! That day in particular, I had finally hit the robusta beans in my grinder, and I was a few notches perkier and more speed talkier than usual. Here was my prepared response.

Alas, no more. For the past three or so years, (Note: this might be a lie, it might only have been for two years) I’ve been sticking to one cup of coffee a day, with the rare foray into two. While I’m still not convinced caffeine does particularly much for me, it’s clear that I can experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms (so I suppose that it must do something after all). I’m a big fan of coffee in general, so it saddens me a bit to restrict myself from the diversity of flavours and roast profiles. However, I can’t deny that I have been sleeping better since I cut any form of caffeine intake after 2 pm. I’ve not come across a decaf coffee so far that is more enjoyable than just plain tap water, though I do try it from time to time and it can be an enjoyable experience on its own (Note: my attempt at pre-empting the question). It remains on my to-do list to try and seriously roast my own small batch coffee beans at some point, so I want to keep trying to find my perfect coffee and then one day replicating it at home from scratch.

As for the plant pollination?

Surpising, but true! My sketchy illustration of how to transfer pollen between awkwardly shaped hoya flowers and masquerading as a moth makes up a disproportionate number of my blog views. While not many to begin with, I assume it is due to the increase in hoya hybridization interest that has taken place in the past few years. I’ve recently noticed several imbricata hybrids become available if one prefers a less shingly and ant hiding type of hoya. Unfortunately my hoya linearis blasted its blooms this year when I was away at an inopportune time, so I did not get a chance to try it out again. The other hoya I currently have in bloom is shaped so oddly that I haven’t given much thought as to how I would conduct the pollination! The hoya decipulae (Fig. 1) is a prolific bloomer however, so I assume I shall have chances in the near future once the propagations I took become established.

For my food preferences, I figured it would be interesting to hear how others felt as well. I heard at least one person say this wasn’t the first time they had heard about a strong disliking for bell peppers. I also snuck in some random tidbits about flavour and scent profiles.

And it is! Followed by no cilantro. Celery can be rough as well, though has become more tolerable over the years. I have a scale for bell peppers as well. Green bell peppers are the worst. Then red. Then yellow. They’re all terrible to me though (spicy peppers are oddly fine, though non pickled jalapenos can be a bit too green bell pepper adjacent). Green bell peppers are unsalvageable and are awful raw, cooked, baked, or blended in a sneaky fashion (Note: I mentioned during the meeting that the two exceptions I could think of were: BBQ skewers and in sweet and sour pork. Presumably because the bell pepper chunks have minimal contact with the other elements of the food, but I can still taste it! It’s just less horrifically potent). I have never figured out why I dislike bell peppers so much, but the scent of them makes my stomach turn, and eating them is an exercise in suffering. On the other hand, I tend to find baked or stir-fried yellow bell peppers mildly sweet, and even on occassion, pleasant. Red bell peppers fall in between. I typically dislike them. However, in extremely small quantities (and typically sweated down and charred!) I can enjoy them if sandwiched between other strong flavours. Interestingly, the scent of “dead leaves” and “bell peppers” have a large overlap in vegetal aspects. Much like with almonds overlapping with cherries, something very pleasant (such as dead leaves) can suddenly veer into ick and headache territory for me. One must be ever vigilant when sniffing away!

I can’t remember what three “facts” I came up with last time. Perhaps I’ll have successfully pollinated a few plants or have quit caffeine altogether by then!