Long peppers are indeed long
Sensibly, the EU's moving toward mandating electric vehicles make some kind of sound, to make up for the lack of the godawful racket internal combustion engines make. Here's what TfL's buses will sound like, when stationary, and then, when moving. It's surprisingly delightful. =:D
Rather a cool comparison of Chinese and Western wheelbarrows - no, come back, it's more interesting than you'd think! The key is the Chinese version places a large wheel in the middle, so the hauler doesn't have to bear any of the load weight, making them suitable for much heavier loads, or for far longer distances.
Water Is Life: Nick Estes on Indigenous Technologies is a fascinating insight, and as justly anticolonialist as you'd expect. Well worth a few minutes.
Interesting retrospective on its recent twentieth anniversary (egad!): the film's costume designer, Kym Barrett, talks about her iconic work in The Matrix.
mps-youtube looks like quite the handy cross-platform utility for managing YouTube playlists at the terminal, including the ability to view the resolutions and codecs available for a given video, and download your choice from them.
A while back, during one of her Ear Candy shows over on CHIRP Radio, the DJ described the most wonderfully bad TV ad. Of course, I had to check if it was up on YouTube - and lo, there it was. ^_^ Enjoy the magnificent acting in this 1995 ad for Illinois car insurance =:D (Still, I'll admit, not a bad eagle fursuit!)
Gah. Today in Low Customer Service Expectations: I wanted to find out what kind of ticket-sharing operates on a particular bus route, as I'd noticed mention of the other, main operator's passes being accepted. So, I sent a quick enquiry, hoping to receive an answer the following weekday. My hopes were.. dashed, when I noticed their auto-ack come back, including the disclaimer "We aim to reply to your email within 14 working days". ^_^; Ye gods and little fishes, I could order a paper-making kit, make up a few sheets, write the enquiry, and send it to them in less time.. =:/
And food.. of course. =:) I'd originally planned on ox cheek braised in red wine and bone marrow, but, perhaps not entirely unexpectedly, when I got to Waitrose (the only supermarket that sells cheek, a beautifully rich and cheap cut; likewise marrow), they had no cheek - apparently they don't get that much in - and no sign of marrow either. =:P So, a bit of scouting through the ciders later, to reconsider my plans, I went for some silverside marked down to about the same price, and replacing the opulent richness of marrow, Sobrasada de Mallorca, something of a mild spreadable chorizo. And so it came to be - around 11pm last night, I thickly sliced several chestnut mushrooms, 2/3 of an onion, and 2/3 of a bulb of smoked garlic, added a bottle of cheap red wine, then the silverside cuts, wrapped in the sobrasada, with some smoked hot paprika dabbed on to point it more in the direction of its Italian 'nduja cousin, and left that to get underway overnight, adding some basil and freshly ground oregano buds last thing. Once I got back down again this morning, it was developing very well, and seemed to want a little sweetness to help balance the relative tartness of the marinade. I added a little maple syrup, and then, some freshly ground long peppers - like tiny pine cones about 2-3mm wide, 8-12mm long - which proved, I feel, pivotal. That managed to bring it all together, with a symphony of deep notes from the wine and smoked garlic, a robust edge from the sobrasada, and a gently feisty zing from the pepper. Really good. ^_^
To go with it: roast new potatoes & parsnips, brussels, and carrot batons. I rarely do roasted anything, given the amount of oil that's inevitably involved, but once a year doesn't feel excessive. ^_^ I may only have been cooking for myself this year, but it felt such a cozy meal, reminding me of ones past. So well worth it.
Whatever you're celebrating, I hope you're enjoying this time. ^_^
Rather a cool comparison of Chinese and Western wheelbarrows - no, come back, it's more interesting than you'd think! The key is the Chinese version places a large wheel in the middle, so the hauler doesn't have to bear any of the load weight, making them suitable for much heavier loads, or for far longer distances.
Water Is Life: Nick Estes on Indigenous Technologies is a fascinating insight, and as justly anticolonialist as you'd expect. Well worth a few minutes.
Interesting retrospective on its recent twentieth anniversary (egad!): the film's costume designer, Kym Barrett, talks about her iconic work in The Matrix.
mps-youtube looks like quite the handy cross-platform utility for managing YouTube playlists at the terminal, including the ability to view the resolutions and codecs available for a given video, and download your choice from them.
A while back, during one of her Ear Candy shows over on CHIRP Radio, the DJ described the most wonderfully bad TV ad. Of course, I had to check if it was up on YouTube - and lo, there it was. ^_^ Enjoy the magnificent acting in this 1995 ad for Illinois car insurance =:D (Still, I'll admit, not a bad eagle fursuit!)
Gah. Today in Low Customer Service Expectations: I wanted to find out what kind of ticket-sharing operates on a particular bus route, as I'd noticed mention of the other, main operator's passes being accepted. So, I sent a quick enquiry, hoping to receive an answer the following weekday. My hopes were.. dashed, when I noticed their auto-ack come back, including the disclaimer "We aim to reply to your email within 14 working days". ^_^; Ye gods and little fishes, I could order a paper-making kit, make up a few sheets, write the enquiry, and send it to them in less time.. =:/
And food.. of course. =:) I'd originally planned on ox cheek braised in red wine and bone marrow, but, perhaps not entirely unexpectedly, when I got to Waitrose (the only supermarket that sells cheek, a beautifully rich and cheap cut; likewise marrow), they had no cheek - apparently they don't get that much in - and no sign of marrow either. =:P So, a bit of scouting through the ciders later, to reconsider my plans, I went for some silverside marked down to about the same price, and replacing the opulent richness of marrow, Sobrasada de Mallorca, something of a mild spreadable chorizo. And so it came to be - around 11pm last night, I thickly sliced several chestnut mushrooms, 2/3 of an onion, and 2/3 of a bulb of smoked garlic, added a bottle of cheap red wine, then the silverside cuts, wrapped in the sobrasada, with some smoked hot paprika dabbed on to point it more in the direction of its Italian 'nduja cousin, and left that to get underway overnight, adding some basil and freshly ground oregano buds last thing. Once I got back down again this morning, it was developing very well, and seemed to want a little sweetness to help balance the relative tartness of the marinade. I added a little maple syrup, and then, some freshly ground long peppers - like tiny pine cones about 2-3mm wide, 8-12mm long - which proved, I feel, pivotal. That managed to bring it all together, with a symphony of deep notes from the wine and smoked garlic, a robust edge from the sobrasada, and a gently feisty zing from the pepper. Really good. ^_^
To go with it: roast new potatoes & parsnips, brussels, and carrot batons. I rarely do roasted anything, given the amount of oil that's inevitably involved, but once a year doesn't feel excessive. ^_^ I may only have been cooking for myself this year, but it felt such a cozy meal, reminding me of ones past. So well worth it.
Whatever you're celebrating, I hope you're enjoying this time. ^_^