Month: April 2007

We have a herb garden. Yes, we do!

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We went to Southwold this weekend for a day trip to the seaside. It was a lovely day.

It started in Saffron Walden, where we went to pick up some food and a parcel from the post office. Katy got nibbled on by a duck, which we took to be a good omen for the day to come.

The weather was lovely, and the tourist route we were on to to take us to the seaside was a perfect windy, meandering road (if a bit narrow – we almost had the side of the car taken off by a very wide tractor going rather fast. So wide we were actually relieved that the vehicle behind it was a LGV…) We stopped at a little teapot pottery along the way but didn't buy anything.

Southwold is really, really lovely. It's what I expected a seaside town to be like (not the crass and tacky version I'd seen in Yarmouth). We walked along the beach and stopped here and there to collect nice looking pebbles. I officially love the sound of the ocean. It was sooo relaxing, especially since the beach was mostly empty (except for a few lads drinking beer and people walking their dogs). One thing that shocked me though, which I've only found out today. Those dinky little seaside shacks that have no utilities and look a bit tacky and decrepit sell for about 20K – and you don't own the land they're on – you still need to apply for a license from the council.

Southwold is home to the Adnams brewery. We wanted to go have a visit but apparently they stopped doing those years ago. We did walk next to one of the fermenting room buildings and the smell of the hops coming out of the ventination ducts was beautiful :) We had a quick pint at a local pub then went shopping at the Adnams wine and kitchen shop. I could have spent waaaay too much money, but we were reasonable and only spent about £20. I did succomb to temptation though and bought stout beer-cured bacon. I mean, beer and bacon. Hmmm, bacon. It's nature's perfect food.

We walked around the high street for a bit and then headed home. On the way back, we stopped at Shawsgate Vineyard in Framlingham. The wines are not bad at all, but in our heart of hearts, it doesn't compare to Chillford (but then again, nothing probably will). Their Baccus dry white is nice (we had it with a baked camembert last night for dinner – LOVELY!) and their medium-sweet Harlequin will make a nice dessert wine.

Sunday was a bit of a weird day. I'd planned to go to the Cambridge Gliding Center open day as they'd announced cheap trial flights. Unfortunately, my headache came back with a vengeance and submitting myself to G-forces would not have been the best thing to do. Instead, we went to Tesco for a shop and then went to the garden center to pick up some herbs for our new herb garden. I planted most of those. I did! Yes, me! Those of you who know me well know that I'm not the most outdoors-y type, but Katy and I spent a good hour outside with our hards dirty. We now have two types of sage, two types of oregano, coriander, chives and lemon thyme. They smell really, really nice :)

Finally, I leave you with more pictures;

Tolstoy: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/tolstoy/30_04_2007/
Southwold: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/southwold_apr_2007/

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Some days, it feels like the world is going to hell

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I've been reading the news again. Really, I shouldn't. Hypocrisy abounds. Most of the news is SCANDAL!!! and gossip from the latest reality-tv-show-that-is-not-scripted-we-swear!!! People are spoon fed claptrap on body image and celebrity schtick. In the meantime, news about the fact that the biggest world economy on the verge of collapse and that big brother is watching you more and more (and you're letting him, cause you're too distracted by shiny pretty things and fake boobs on TV). The “most powerful” country in the “free world” is led by a moron who more than 2/3 of his countrymen think he's doing a crap job (at the time of writing this, Dubya has a 28% approval rating).

You have to give it to Bush though. Everybody knew that politics was dirty and that backscratching was commonplace. He had the chutzpah to actually do it to such an extent that it's right in the faces of the masses. The amazing thing though? He managed to blow smoke so far up their asses that they were distracted enough with other things. The tail truly did wag the dog.

What's the point of this entry? There is none, really. I read about how a U.S. customs agent barred a prominent canadian psychotherapist because he published scientific work on LSD in the 60s and this “admitted drug abuse” was enough to bar him foverer from entering the land of the free. He can appeal to the US embassy and “that for $3,500 (U.S.) plus incidentals, he'd have a 90 per cent chance to get an entry waiver, but it would probably be just for a year, and the procedure would have to be initiated again, any time he wished to cross the border. Each time, he would have to produce a statement saying that he had been 'rehabilitated.'”

This is insane. The US is going to implode under the weight of all its stupidity and two-facedness. It's puritanism gone to the extreme. It's ok to show solders being shot to hell and bombs exploding Marines to little bits of gooey shapnel on prime time TV, but God(!) forbid you see even the hint of a boob. You have freedom of religion to believe in God in any way you want (be it baptist, catholic or even protestant). You can get a complimentary shotgun when you open a bank account (but please refrain from bringing it to school, that's bad taste).

I don't know why I'm so pissed off about everything today. I think it's because the US is going to hell, and it'll drag everybody down with it. CIvil liberties are being eroded away in the name of “safety”. Britain is a prime example of this. Heath & Safety are going completely nuts. It seems that there is no sane middle ground. Everything is hazardous to your health. Warning labels abound (my favourite still being a “may contain traces of nuts” on a block of pure porc lard I bought from Tesco). The UK is following the US's lead and turning into a Nanny State and this is not a good thing in my opinion. It seems that personal responsibility is giving up and burying its head in the sand. Drinking 10 liters of coke a day made me fat so I'm suing Coca Cola because they didn't warn me about the health hazards.

I give up.

Go home, Turn on, tune in, drop out.

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Why was ths not available years ago when I was a lonely geek?

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A Dutch escort agency Society Service has set up a special service for geek virgins looking for that elusive first sexual encounter. Sociology student Zoe Vialet set up the agency last year, Ananova reports, and admits she's had “a lot of demand from virgins” – most of them from the IT sector. She explained to De Telegraaf: “They are very sweet but are afraid of seeking contact with other people. They mean it very well but are very scared.”

Zoe has a crack team of five girls “specially trained” to pop geeks' cherries. However, those readers tempted to avail themselves of their charms are warned it's not just a case of stump up the cash, insert your floppy in the drive, eject and then off for a pizza.

Au contraire, you'll be expected to hone your skills over a extended period, as Vialet insisted: “Every booking lasts three hours minimum. Longer is possible, shorter not. We take the time to take a bath together, do a massage and explore each others body. When the date is over, you will have had a fantastic experience, and you will be able to pleasure a woman.”

And just in case you thought you might just try and get a real squeeze for a bit of mutual body-exploration, think again. Vialet warned: “You better practise before having a girlfriend. Woman expect men older than 30 having had some experience. Some men need a little bit of help. But it makes them happy and they are glowing .There is nothing more terrible than dying as a virgin.”

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/20/geek_service/

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[Recipe] Hungarian Goulash

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Ingredients

* 2 lb. stewing beef
* 4 onions, white or yellow
* 3 Tbsp. sweet paprika
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 L. water
* 4 peeled and diced potatoes
salt & pepper

Cut beef into 1 inch squares, add 1/2 tsp. salt. Chop onions and brown in olive oil, add beef and paprika. Let beef simmer in its own juice along with salt, paprika, bay leaf and 1/2 liter of water for 2 hr. on low heat. Add more water as required during simmering period. Add diced potatoes and remaining salt. Cover and simmer until potatoes are done and meat is tender.

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[Recipe] Gooey chocolate pudding

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Preparation time less than 30 mins

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
150g chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids)
4 free-range eggs
75g caster sugar
50g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
mascarpone, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/365F/Gas 4.
2. Place the butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, and allow the chocolate and butter to melt.
3. Once the chocolate and butter have melted, stir to combine, then set aside and allow to cool.
4. Place the eggs and sugar into a clean bowl and whisk for 4-5 minutes, or until pale and light (more than doubled vlume and holds soft peaks).
5. Add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture and gently fold together, taking care to maintain volume in the eggs.
6. Add the flour and cocoa powder and fold in.
7. Grease and flour four ramekins or dariole moulds.
8. Divide the chocolate mixture among the ramekins. Place onto a baking tray and transfer to the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes, or until set, but still with some wobble in the centre.
9. Loosen the puddings and very carefully turn each out onto plates.
10. Dust the puddings with cocoa powder and serve with a dollop of mascarpone on top.

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Blogging from the loo

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Sometimes I'm such a nerd, I scare myself.

What do you do when you *really* want to check your email because you've not had a chance to do it all day but you *really* need to go powder your nose?

You take your wireless laptop with you, of course.

Sad, sad man I am. Having said that, I'm sure that among my readers I'm not the only person to have ever done so.

In other news, good news for a change.

I came back from a wii session in the Sanger shared facilities conference room this morning to find that I had a plain brown enveloppe waiting for me at home. Opening said enveloppe revealed a short letter and a handwritten cheque. It seems that the Home Office has refunded my failed passport application. This is more confusing that it seems, as it's written in big bold letters on the application form that refused applications will not be reimbursed. That's why I was so pissed when it first got refused, over a month ago. I so wasn't expecting this (and neither was Katy – her reply being “Since when has the government decided to be nice?”).

I'm guessing that it's a spin-off effect of my “pseudo” diplomatic visa. In any case, I'm not complaining and it's £335 that's going straight in the piggy bank.

Went into town to go pay that cheque in and send off my grandfather's 100th birthday gift. The old coot has been saying that he won't make it through the winter for the last 40 years and now he's going to receive a letter from the Queen :)

Now I'm back home alone save for the cat. Katy is in Derby (pronounced Daaaaaaaaaarby – the 'r' being optional even) to visit Rita. The cat is being shockingly nice. He's jumped on the bed this morning and butted me in the face demanding fuss. He's jumping on the couch to sit on my leg and watch the snooker world championships. He's climbing on the coffee table to stretch and put his paws on my stomach to beg for fuss.

Somebody has clearly doppelgangered our cat, but I'm not complaining. He did however finally kill Katy's plant that, frankly, had been slowly dying of neglect on the windowsill in any case. It did require some impromptu vacuuming lest he be tempted to use the soil on the carpet as a room-sized litter box but it's a small price to pay if he remains such a nice cat.

And now, Daleks!

EXTERMINATE!!!!

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Get your freak on

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“Ask interesting and hard questions of the data and you will find the truth,” said Dubner, author of Freakonomics.

At a lab under the supervision of veterinarians and animal psychologists in New Haven, Conn., Yale economist Keith Chen taught the capuchins how to use washers as currency in exchange for treats.

“Morality is a set of ideas (about) how each of us, individually and collectively, want the world to work,” Dubner said. “Freakonomics shows how the world really is. You can't change the world if you don't understand how it really works.”

The capuchins, known for their love of sweets, were not allowed to have money when in the general population, but only when in the testing area.

Chen tested economic theories like price shocking by varying prices of favorites like Jell-O cubes in comparison with grapes and apple slices, and found the monkeys responded similarly to humans by budgeting and making the most of their money.

He also devised two games that showed monkeys could end up feeling as if they'd won or lost, even though they'd actually broken even. Their seemingly irrational preference for the “winning” game had Chen questioning how useful the monkeys would be as a touchstone for studying human behavior. Then he found that a similar study of day traders conducted by another researcher resulted in the same psychological preference. Even when they came out even, the day traders irrationally preferred to feel they won, rather than lost money.

The best of Dubner's stories involved an incident in which one of the capuchins threw a tray of washers that ended up spilling into the general population area. The monkeys, as expected, fought for the coins and, except for one, were easily bribed with the opportunity to purchase food in order for researchers to get the washers back.

“Out of the corner of his eye, Chen saw that one monkey gave a coin to another (instead of rushing to exchange it for treats.) He thinks, am I witnessing the first instance of monkey altruism? No. He was actually witnessing something he said he really wished he hadn't seen,” said Dubner.

After a brief grooming ritual, the monkeys who exchanged the coin started to have sex. Immediately after the incident, the paid monkey went over to Chen to get food in exchange for returning the coin, Dubner said.

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