tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30163455703745785102012-01-28T20:04:45.024ZPractitioner of the Traditional Pineapple Methodpykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.comBlogger5421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-37879515619752493652012-01-28T19:02:00.001Z2012-01-28T19:02:17.252Z

I haven't even seen it yet [of course I will, and I will like it, because I'm a guy], but I can tell you The Grey is not about wolves. Predictably, tizzies, frenzies, and lathers are being worked up into. Typical headline about wolf experts unhappy, inaccurate portrayal, etc etc etc. Thank god for midwesterners: "It was a movie." And, from the first article as well, "Rasmussen said she doesn’t

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-5394753325899682752012-01-23T18:00:00.000Z2012-01-23T18:00:02.585Z

Been introducing the young teenager of the house to some old favorites. I've been (possibly tediously) prefacing each viewing with a spiel about how the effects were not computer-generated. The movies are going over well. Blade Runner still looks incredible, to both of us. Road Warrior? Actual cars smashing into each other. After seeing a CGI Dodge chasing deer through Manhattan at approximately

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-8039027364668129242012-01-22T13:36:00.001Z2012-01-22T13:36:08.382Z

The impulse of many good butchers is to provide a solution for you. I did not realize this my first trip to a proper butcher nearly a dozen years ago. My mistake was thinking that you go and tell the butcher exactly what you want and they simply provide it. In other words, I not only know all about my problem, but I have already decided on the exact solution. The butcher, who didn't know me,

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-30478358468532513692012-01-15T15:58:00.000Z2012-01-15T15:58:32.191Z

I was mostly successful at weaning myself from the NFL this season. I didn't renew the online viewing subscription, didn't do a fantasy league, and only watched a little bit on TV. I failed to divorce myself completely -- I did follow the coverage (albeit more casually), did a small bit of wagering at the end, and have kept an eye on the televised playoff games. The latter just reinforced the

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-15682591959120656732012-01-14T09:41:00.002Z2012-01-14T09:42:33.163Z

Heading into this weekend's NFL playoffs, I've locked in a little bit of [now] risk-free profit. Not quite enough to retire on.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-31047178832444419622012-01-12T21:48:00.000Z2012-01-12T21:48:00.897Z

What is this a picture of? It's (former) police. [from here] Do you remember when police used to wear shoes?

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-12589688739002895452012-01-10T22:06:00.001Z2012-01-10T22:08:05.375Z

While I definitely love skiing in the Canadian Rockies, one of the aspects the Alps win hands-down on is the quality of on-mountain food. My last post on Mountain Food had an Austrian bent, but on the past couple of trips I've been sustained by wonderful Savoyarde cuisine. My favorite here is tartiflette. After a day in the cold and snow this is as hearty and warming a dish as you could hope

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-69498460606123032992012-01-10T20:18:00.002Z2012-01-10T20:20:15.086Z

It must be me. On a SWISS return flight to LCY from GVA with my 13 yr old, we had 4 bags to check -- 2 normal pieces of luggage, a ski bag, and a small, soft-sided bag we chucked our helmets into since we didn't want to overstuff the other bags. On the way out, not only was there no problem checking in all four bags, the agent didn't even mention that it might be problematic or that anything

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-62876554421976319492012-01-05T17:38:00.002Z2012-01-05T17:53:30.568Z

Thursday afternoon, attempting to buy lift tickets for 4 days, fri-mon, inclusive: "You can't buy for tomorrow, it's too early. Come back in 30 minutes." Ok. [30 Minutes later...] "You can't buy for four days, only 2 days at a time." That's fine. I'd like 2-day passes, please. "I can sell you a 2-day pass, but there's a special price for Saturday, so it's cheaper to buy Friday and Saturday

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-7602858818326156842012-01-03T20:55:00.001Z2012-01-03T20:55:21.525Z

I feel remiss that I hadn't discovered it before, but I am loving The Last Psychiatrist blog. Some sample posts to check out http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/01/penelope_trunk_abuser.html http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/06/louis_ck_on_being_a_dad--_the.html http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/07/jezebel_proves_scott_adams_is.html http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/10/

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-54191531978237693442012-01-02T17:38:00.001Z2012-01-02T17:38:32.308Z

London's Victoria Park has been undergoing some fairly substantial renovations the past year. This includes redoing the playground in the northeast corner of the west half of the park. Progress on this seemed slow, but it looked like it should have been in a position to open by June or July. Yet it didn't open. It sat there with new equipment, fenced off, all summer long. And into

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-78065621090172906882012-01-01T21:59:00.001Z2012-01-01T22:00:12.627Z

I'd been to Edinburgh before (recommended!) but had never been to the Highlands before until a couple months ago. Loved it. Really pleasant countryside. A brilliant and incredibly civilized thing about Scotland is the "right to roam" -- a very long-held freedom to wander pretty much anywhere that was codified into law in 2003. Basically, you can walk across any land, whether public or private,

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-68562151749732009212011-12-31T13:06:00.000Z2011-12-31T13:06:34.421Z

It is fashionable amongst the technoliterate to use the metaphor of "Walled Gardens" for any "closed" or "controlled" system or environment they don't like. Crying out in anguish, "it's a walled garden!" is supposed be not only meaningful but also critical. This confuses the hell out of me, because walled gardens are great. I'd wager most people who use the term have never seen an actual walled

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-23265770846014163412011-12-31T11:39:00.001Z2011-12-31T11:39:25.097Z

As mentioned earlier this week, went out Christmas night with the camera. The photos weren't especially good, but the fun was in the taking. Here are a couple samples. See the blue & white sign in the middle of the roundabout? That's where we later setup the camera for the shot below. The shot from the sign in the roundabout.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-33644666104757597912011-12-29T22:24:00.000Z2011-12-29T22:24:31.706Z

Another fine year for South Hackney, aka Victoria Park Village. Family-friendly cafes are doing well, with several more opening in the past year. Elbows continues to be a favourite, but recent addition Amandine is nice as well, joining Loafing and the latest, Tipico. Plenty of coffee yet not a chain in sight. Good! The butcher (Ginger Pig) and fishmonger (Jonathan Norris) are doing well, and The

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-37102489856935249002011-12-28T20:29:00.002Z2011-12-28T20:29:26.651Z

Geese from the butcher, "medium" but quite large, 5.5 kg min each. Removed legs for confit. Roasted crown of -- started 220 for 15-20 minutes, reduced to 200, did not take very long -- removed when breast was 70C outer, closer to 65C near the bone. Was very nice. Served the four of us well, with not much leftover. For the other one, removed the breasts and wrapped them together for the freezer,

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-19709604783035857532011-12-25T21:39:00.000Z2011-12-25T21:39:12.431Z

The older youngster and I went out for a walk tonight and brought my camera and gorillapod. We were goofing off with some longer exposures in the village and at one point scampered to the raised garden in the middle of the roundabout for an interesting point of view. As we were setting up the gorillapod around the top of a lit street sign in the roundabout, a police car eased right by us. There

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-73393314890112186362011-12-25T12:18:00.001Z2011-12-25T12:18:05.982Z

Probably too late, but if you're fretting about a turkey, my top tip is to cook the legs separately. Turkey is not an easy bird to cook, even less forgiving than chicken. The breasts are at their best a shade undercooked, while the legs are better well (or very well) done. I've heard of an interesting method to put ice packs on the breasts for an hour or so prior to roasting if you want to cook

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-88803536482800774002011-12-17T11:27:00.001Z2011-12-17T14:15:00.193Z

So Citibank (recipient of huge piles of save-us cash from the taxpaying public) recently changed terms on some of their entry-level checking accounts. Flat fee if you don't maintain a certain deposit level across any and all "linked" products. Reasonable in general? Sure. But that particulars? Fee is $15 a month (seems high!) unless you maintain net deposit balances of... $6000. Wow! I may be out

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-55637351047361011842011-11-16T21:46:00.001Z2011-11-16T21:58:56.994Z

Nice concept: each bus stop in London has a unique number on it. Text it or enter it onto a web page and get ostensibly realtime information on when buses will be swooping in to pick you up. Unlike the system NYC is trialling, there is no realtime map information. Which would be useful. But ETAs all by themselves would be useful. Except they're not because they are way too inaccurate. So they

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-22266929980770408442011-11-16T21:26:00.001Z2011-11-16T21:29:27.556Z

Read a fascinating interview with an economic anthropologist who's written a book on the history of debt. I've not yet read the book but have ordered it. The interview, though, just by itself is well worth reading. Sample quote: Since antiquity the worst-case scenario that everyone felt would lead to total social breakdown was a major debt crisis; ordinary people would become so indebted to

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-37771491723278102652011-10-30T20:45:00.002Z2011-10-30T20:45:20.680Z

Oh yeah. Now this is more like it.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-8459701592093836832011-10-30T20:36:00.001Z2011-10-30T20:36:15.720Z

E-Cat, anyone? Both Forbes and Wired have been covering the latest cold fusion gambit, Italian Andrea Rossi's "e-cat" power generator. A couple days ago he "demonstrated" the device for a supposed US buyer. Comically labelled a "success", the demonstration consisted of some water being heated up, while his devices remained hooked up to a *running* (and somewhat loud) power generator. Unknown

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-20151598120042493282011-10-30T17:54:00.000Z2011-10-30T18:02:54.663Z

Done a few business trips lately. Flown longhaul on BA, AA, Cathay, Sing Air. My brush with greatness was seeing Gordon Ramsay in the AA first class lounge at JFK. I did not bother him, although if I had to say anything I would have mentioned that his Plane Food is one of the saving graces to Heathrow T5 (second best thing behind BA lounges). The AA flight was interesting. I luckily got upgraded

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-37338962308431729612011-10-15T14:42:00.001+01:002011-10-15T14:42:13.496+01:00

Thursday night crowds of what at first I took to be young domestic workers settling in for a long wait for ferries were grouping together and hunkering down on the elevated walkways leading into Hong Kong's IFC mall. Seemed odd, though. The next morning, huge queues for the Apple store in the mall. While there was no iPhone 4S launch locally, apparently it was global iPhone *4* price drop day.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-34760623102411346022011-09-16T06:51:00.001+01:002011-09-16T06:51:16.255+01:00

From AP story on the latest rogue trader (UBS loses $2bn): The University of Nottingham said he graduated in 2003 with a degree in e-commerce and digital business. A degree in "e-commerce and digital business"? Sounds rigorous.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-25947296287330741712011-09-11T12:24:00.002+01:002011-09-11T12:24:29.387+01:00

I had a lot to say on this topic, but can't quite pull it together into coherent writing yet, and haven't had time to do so. Didn't want the title to go to waste. The tempest in a teapot nature of subject-specific blogscape is sometimes amusing, sometimes just silly and tedious. But hey, I loves me some confirmation bias as next as the next guys, so party on, Garth. Anyway, on a somewhat

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-8397584306434880972011-09-04T15:22:00.002+01:002011-09-04T15:22:53.706+01:00

I recently had a go at butchering half of a dressed pig carcass. Various relatives-in-law had raised 3 pigs this year. They got up to slaughtering weight while I was there on holiday. They were taken to a small processing place to get turned from live pigs into frozen packages of various cuts and sausage, but my father-in-law was kind enough to have them reserve half a carcass for me to work on.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-22438833377481747192011-09-04T14:13:00.002+01:002011-09-04T14:13:52.016+01:00

As noted a few months ago, I gave up on carrying my old leather wallet. I've been using a vastly thinner wallet for a while now and it's great. I use the Big Skinny "World bifold" wallet. Love it. Holds 7 cards, one of which in a clear pocket (for ID if desired) and money, plus you can tuck addl cards into it if needed. I rarely use all 7 individual card slots so not an issue. Even fully loaded,

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-1905227331301836312011-08-26T18:50:00.000+01:002011-08-26T18:50:35.954+01:00

I get sunburned if a single photon lands on exposed skin. Spending a week at 30 degrees north in August not the best environment for me, but I didn't want to spend all day indoors, so I tried an extensive range of sunscreens. Least favorite: nutragena spf 110. I forget the exact name, but it was supposedly sweatproof, but that was not my experience. Coppertone Sport Ultra Sweatproof lotion was

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-21277847583403770692011-08-13T17:45:00.002+01:002011-08-14T18:38:50.390+01:00

Down in the redneck riviera. Very encouraging: loads of life in the water. Lots of big blue crabs (surprisingly scuttling around in the water on the gulf side, normally they are more likely to be found in the bay side), fish of all shapes and sizes -- catfish, ladyfish, spanish mackerel, and many others. Even some dolphins. UPDATE: also swam with a southern stingray, shovelnose guitarfish, and

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-24984490522268493642011-08-05T01:07:00.003+01:002011-08-05T01:11:41.737+01:00

British brewing is about 20 years behind the US. In the past few decades, the US has witnessed a thriving and maturing brewing scene. The enthusiasm has been both broad and deep. The canonical brew, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, is what I'd call an APA, an American Pale Ale. But the market has not limited itself to even a narrow range of styles. Everything's been fair game -- from Belgianesque ales to

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-79634593125840128032011-08-03T22:07:00.000+01:002011-08-03T22:07:23.403+01:00

Simple cure with maple, hot-smoked over hickory. Success! Curious now about cold-smoking. But even after hot-smoking, was nice sliced and fried.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-21351757007062524852011-07-30T16:20:00.000+01:002011-07-30T16:20:41.922+01:00

Rural South in the US displays vast diversity of quality of food on offer. On the one hand the cheapest, most horrid, engineered, factory-extruded not-really-food food is available in abundance. On the other hand, I found a really nice unpasteurised organic cheddar at a regular grocery store. On the third hand, some of the finest fresh produce, fish, game, etc. can be easily and cheaply gotten.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-46848917877975001672011-07-30T16:05:00.000+01:002011-07-30T16:05:32.067+01:00

Took me a minute to figure this one out: I use skype on the iphone to call long distance and to make calls, if possible, when abroad. I wanted to check my voicemail while abroad. To do this I call my own number and hit 9 when it rolls to voicemail. Not thinking about it, I called myself from skype, which of course then set my phone ringing. Not the result I wanted. To disable all incoming calls

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-58176505000716304112011-07-15T15:27:00.000+01:002011-07-15T15:27:49.691+01:00

Thanks (again) to seat61.com, had a successful mission to Amsterdam in which getting there was part of the fun instead of something to dread. Took the train from London to Harwich -- relatively fast train from liverpool street station to manningtree, then an easy switch to Harwich International. We arrived a few minutes before boarding opened for the Stena Line ferry. A bit after 20:30 we were

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-48615724443760616772011-07-14T11:12:00.000+01:002011-07-14T11:12:02.322+01:00

The British seem oddly incompetent when it comes to getting air the right temperature. My office building, not even 30 years old, is routinely too hot or too cold. This despite an external temperature range that is not excessively broad over the course of a year. Tubes are notoriously stuffy. There are brand new buses on the route I take to work and they come with ventilation in the upper deck.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-75590135796417108812011-07-14T11:03:00.000+01:002011-07-14T11:03:31.691+01:00

I'm still really liking Evernote. Well worth the price for the premium edition. Glad to see they are doing well and raising more money. Maybe with that warchest they can buy Omni Group, if for no other reason than to integrate (the excellent on iPad) Omni Focus with Evernote. That seems to be a much-requested feature that's more down to Evernote's not providing easy (e.g. URI) access to notes

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-7106008032876424122011-07-07T23:15:00.001+01:002011-07-07T23:16:11.050+01:00

My new favorite app: planefinder/planefinder HD. Immensely gratifying geek credibility enhancement moment: displaying type, heading, speed, altitude, route, airline, recent path, and, if available, some snapped photos of the actual plane that's just interrupted your conversation by flying overhead.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-76213655082896981472011-07-02T09:01:00.000+01:002011-07-02T09:01:54.017+01:00

I am well calibrated to some movie reviewers, e.g. Roger Ebert, to the extent that I can usually predict my rating of a movie based on the review. I've not found the same with book reviewers. In fact I seem to be get a bum steer every time I buy something on the back of keen reviews. The most recent example is Robopocalypse (robocalypse?) by Daniel Wilson, which we bought after a gushing

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-70895143721363648602011-07-02T08:03:00.000+01:002011-07-02T08:03:38.611+01:00

In 1066, Norman invaded England and forced King Arthur to sign the Magna Carta, which is latin for "molten card". Three generations later came Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth. The Shakespearian Age lasted until King George and the American Revolution, which to this day is the single most important event in all of English history and is still widely discussed and even mined for rhetoric in

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-19527827751447893842011-06-25T20:15:00.004+01:002011-06-25T20:17:38.672+01:00

I need a new wallet. Probably a new walleting model. It's way too thick. It's uncomfortable to sit on and not particularly flattering. I probably put too much stuff in it to boot. The contents of my wallet, with money folded and all the cards aligned into a single stack, are 14mm thick. Selecting only the things I have a 50-50 chance of using in any given week, this shrinks to 9mm. Not piling the

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-66316172699662561652011-06-25T14:10:00.000+01:002011-06-25T14:10:21.119+01:00

Went to Spitjack's the other day, a small and welcoming place in the village above vicky park, on Lauriston up near the roundabout, on the way to the delightful Deli Downstairs and the excellent fishmonger (Jonathan Norris) . Really liked it -- very relaxing early dinner for the four of us. Service was friendly, menu was what I consider the right size -- properly focused rather than endless

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-54801054507729694102011-06-23T21:46:00.001+01:002011-06-23T21:47:07.741+01:00

Something I've wanted for years and finally got: a mechanical watch. It is less accurate than my plastic timex and a couple orders of magnitude more expensive. It is a NOMOS, a brand that is crying out for a '!' suffix. I've concluded that the sapphire crystal instead of glass makes a huge difference. I'm spoiled now. Swatches just won't be the same. NOMOS! makes their own movements. Many

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-19911366115702539322011-06-18T10:05:00.000+01:002011-06-18T10:05:20.443+01:00

Couple items in the news caught my eye recently: Iceland issuing sovereign debt for the first time since Global Financial Meltdown, and Sweden's moving "to the right" politically. Iceland's response to their financial institutions was effectively to let them fail, defaulting on their debts, and making whole only domestic savings. There's a nice article summing it up in the wsj. Since then,

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-60468307246331910932011-06-14T21:30:00.000+01:002011-06-14T21:30:54.829+01:00

Where the apparent agenda is to obey corporate masters as blatantly as possible. Why bother with pretense at this point? Making conservatives nationwide puff out their chests with pride, I'm sure, Wisconsin government is going after small brewers and non-profit supplier of internet to public education. When the current crop of republicans were campaigning, I assume they announced, "we're going to

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-22595437216588455062011-06-12T07:57:00.000+01:002011-06-12T07:57:57.043+01:00

Down in the heart of teaparty south, the same people who still, somehow, unironically think of themselves as warriors for "small government" have unironically passed immigration law which among other things: requires schools to become agents of law enforcement: requires schools to verify the immigation status of both children enrolling and their parents requires landlords to become agents of law

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-81926586837626561912011-06-09T20:11:00.000+01:002011-06-09T20:11:01.664+01:00

I made my own version of rendang the other night. Beef braised in coconut milk with chili, etc., then reduced in pan. Was easy and turned out well. Seems like a simple braising in coconut milk should work well for pork or beef, even without a particular mix of additional spices and herbs.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-58790894429518432942011-06-05T18:28:00.002+01:002011-06-05T18:32:35.396+01:00

I am flummoxed by bitcoins. Checkout the markets. What's the catch? Are these things fungible or not? If so, why would I be able to cross bid/ask everywhere? I must be missing something, because someone with even the most rudimentary trading skills should be in there ripping everyone's faces off.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-79191561159351816992011-06-04T14:38:00.000+01:002011-06-04T14:38:33.616+01:00

Great advice from the Man in Seat Sixty-One (fascinating site, great for stirring the imagination). Looking at rail journeys and the advice for Amsterdam - London is to book via a Dutch site instead of via eurostar. So I priced in both, on the exactly the same trains -- a thalys high-speed amsterdam-Brussels, eurostar to London. For 3 of us, eurostar came  up with 488 GBP(!), whereas nshispeed

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-26186157213808364912011-06-04T10:02:00.000+01:002011-06-04T10:02:55.347+01:00

Finished off musicals week with Legally Blonde. [I will brook no eye-rolling!] The whole family this time. Light entertainment, really well done and thoroughly enjoyable. Some great performances and the cast seemed to be having a lot of fun. Some bigger laughs than I expected. The British audience got a special kick out of the Irish mythologizing by the hairdresser character, and the exuberant "

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-36952199115981676912011-06-03T18:03:00.000+01:002011-06-03T18:03:39.514+01:00

Seems like the gestation period for a jukebox musical is 30-50 years. I hope I live long enough to take my grandchildren to the certain west end hit, Debaser!, a geezer extravaganza featuring the music of the Pixies.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-88154983237274639082011-06-01T23:36:00.000+01:002011-06-01T23:36:35.513+01:00

Went to see Million Dollar Quartet in the West End last night. This was a remote bonding experience between my oldest son and my dad. As a younger man, I might've turned my nose up at this sort of entertainment and held out for some art, but hey, one of the joys of having children is the ability to put cynicism or criticism aside and enjoy even simple entertainments with and through them. So

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-79967870937452949102011-05-28T20:55:00.000+01:002011-05-28T20:55:31.406+01:00

Seriously, this never gets old. It's been like this for many years and many products, but I still chuckle every single time.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-44746409645620159242011-05-28T08:27:00.000+01:002011-05-28T08:27:07.217+01:00

Weeks ago I ordered some music gear from an online UK retailer I'd used before. After 3 weeks with neither the goods nor an explanation, I asked what was up and they apologized that they'd gone bankrupt or were being bought out or something. But of course. I cancelled the order and placed the same thing at a German retailer I'd also used before. The Germans shipped the order the same day I

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-84031232181427221452011-05-25T23:12:00.000+01:002011-05-25T23:12:41.567+01:00

What we wanted: air travel more like rail What we got: rail travel more like air Behold the vanishing dining cars. We're poorer for their loss. Radio 5 summed it up best: "Now it's back to cardboard cups, plastic wrapped sandwiches and the rattle of the refreshment trolley."

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-81734437694655738992011-05-23T22:15:00.000+01:002011-05-23T22:15:26.241+01:00

Testing out my LAN performance when on wifi, I was only getting 4.5 - 8 Mbps. It's certainly a crowded field. Must take extra time for those radio packets to elbow through the neighborhood scrum. Today my powerline ethernet adapters arrived (D-Link 307AV, £50 for a pair). Does it work? Oh yes: 78 Mbps, even though one is plugged into a shared power strip (suboptimal) instead of a wall socket.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-21937126854203978632011-05-21T22:10:00.000+01:002011-05-21T22:10:25.784+01:00

Newest computer at home typically sees about 16 wifi networks. Briefly set a new record tonight by seeing, including my own, twenty-nine networks. The powerline ethernet adapters have been dispatched....

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-5213659027244788712011-05-21T10:05:00.000+01:002011-05-21T10:05:04.574+01:00

The whole family recently enjoyed a charming and thoroughly enjoyable The 39 Steps (very funny, played with panache and gusto, heartily recommended), now looking forward to some Stoppard and might try out an evening as a groundling later in the summer.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-40103728710450118522011-05-20T08:54:00.000+01:002011-05-20T08:54:33.518+01:00

A while ago I was disappointed that bluetooth tethering (for internet) was not available on iPad. I was considering jailbreaking the thing to try this out but never got around to it. I did end up using a little 3g mywi thingy to create a small personal wifi hotspot for my iPad at work, and that's been fine. But I just noticed that since one of the recent updates, bluetooth tethering is now

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-11960561358720774102011-05-16T19:31:00.000+01:002011-05-16T19:31:27.886+01:00

I've mentioned before that I really like Chattanooga. I've been visiting there annually for at least a decade now, and it seems to keep just doing the right things in terms of investment, community building, diversifying the economny, public & private investment, focused and meaningful renewal efforts. It's got lots of local crafts, a tidy campus in UTC, a kid-friendly downtown, interesting old

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-39080922445631230342011-05-15T12:33:00.000+01:002011-05-15T12:33:28.053+01:00

A Forbes blogger is turning out to be a goldmine of good explanations. The latest is clear, concise, and well worth a read: Money Growth Does Not Cause Inflation

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-88260385393739671882011-05-11T07:30:00.001+01:002011-05-11T07:35:04.801+01:00

While the USA stumbles ineptly towards a dream of 100mph rail travel (golly!), Japan is working on flying robot trains. Bring back the ekranoplan!

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-17600827338536613522011-05-07T10:07:00.000+01:002011-05-07T10:07:14.859+01:00

Westbound central line train for Ealing Broadway: next stop, Shepherd's Pie! I love charming and goofy stuff such as this.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-67943409588289811462011-04-30T16:56:00.000+01:002011-04-30T16:56:26.893+01:00

Stunning spring day today in London. The youngest and I went to Broadway Market, which was abuzz with cheer. The upside of mostly mediocre weather most of the time is that when a breezy, sunny, blue-skied, 21C day comes along, everyone's in a great mood. Got some flowers, some garlic-stuffed olives, 4 different salamis (duck, venison, garlic, extra-hot chorizo), and stopped by the bratwurst stand

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-17891245634004795872011-04-30T07:27:00.000+01:002011-04-30T07:27:46.194+01:00

I'm surprised to see it spelled out this clearly in Forbes of all places! Highly recommend: this great, easy-to-read post covering the basics of GDP and the relationship between private investment and government spending. I might carry around hardcopies of this and demand it be read and understood before agreeing to even discuss the economy socially. (Yes, I am well on my way to curmudgeonhood.)

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-63251953029847496602011-04-26T21:53:00.000+01:002011-04-26T21:53:57.497+01:00

Which reminds me, I have enjoyed these bratwurst from the stand Broadway market, about double the size of "the bratwurst" in broadgate, and slightly cheaper to boot!

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-21540932294499138772011-04-26T21:38:00.001+01:002011-04-28T21:55:11.310+01:00

City lunches: In Broadgate Circle a new vendor, "the Bratwurst" has taken residence in a stand sadly vacated by what had been a decent place for burgers. But hey, bratwurst! Should be good! And that's really all they sell: plain or run through a nifty overengineered automatic sausage slicer and slathered with curry sauce. I tried the latter. The taste is fine, but it's terrible value for money,

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-89472307274789942982011-04-21T21:23:00.002+01:002011-04-21T21:30:23.941+01:00

Your iPhone might be. Apple isn't. Is the difference pedantic? I don't think so. Even ZDNet, whose writers should know better, made this mistake, claiming Apple is not the first company to collect data without users knowing. Google fell in hot water in 2010 after admitting that it was collecting data from non password-protected Wi-Fi networks for three years as part of its Street View

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-19122665205098604282011-04-19T22:17:00.000+01:002011-04-19T22:17:44.571+01:00

As I age, gracefully, into a transcendent state of wisdom and grace, I find comfort in the idea of things outlasting me. It's getting harder and harder for me to buy furniture that probably won't outlast me. I hate disposable furniture. Good furniture is expensive, even really simple pieces, if they are solid and built with joinery rather than hex bolts and staples. So pulling the trigger today

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-72821372144324489242011-04-19T22:07:00.001+01:002011-04-19T22:07:55.346+01:00

(I promise) The Kansas City crowd writes it up much better than I ever could (well worth the read): You have more chance to be hit by lightening twice during your life than to experience a default of dollar-denominated sovereign US debt. The only really worrisome variable is the stupidity of US congress and its willingness to try to fix something that is not broken.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-48879214482522783462011-04-19T00:05:00.000+01:002011-04-19T00:05:32.991+01:00

LOL Business Insider for the perfect summary

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-40183586369265506172011-04-18T23:21:00.000+01:002011-04-18T23:21:38.819+01:00

Perhaps inspired by Jesse Jackson, Jr.,  S&P issued a warning about US sovereign credit rating. This is the same ratings agency that gave AAA stamps of approval to toxic pools of subprime-backed crap that turned out to be worthless. But that's not the half of it. Does S&P think it's possible for the US to default? S&P should spend more time over at TC.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-91877547593137267912011-04-17T09:11:00.000+01:002011-04-17T09:11:07.053+01:00

March 2011 "Let me be clear about a few things. [iPads and Kindles] are revolutionizing our country — and they will fundamentally alter how we will educate our children." April 2011 "[the Ipad is] probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs" I can suggest some other targets if he wants to talk about destruction of wealth and jobs, but why bother? This is bafflingly daft

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-29378933537576211852011-04-14T23:41:00.000+01:002011-04-14T23:41:54.158+01:00

I've just finished a stolen draft of book six of George RR Martin's "A Song of Endless Characters" series, A Lack of Edits. The first five books are: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and... I forget the fifth one... A Dance with Draco? A Maiming of Malfoys? Something like that. This is exactly what I'm talking about when I go mental about the value of

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-15272419367278929502011-04-14T23:23:00.000+01:002011-04-14T23:23:36.775+01:00

Recently flew from ORD-LHR on BA on a brand-new Boeing 777-300. Sat in economy+ in seat designs I'd not experienced before. They were really nice. The screens were nicer than I've had before on any BA flight. The seat also had a couple full-plug power outlets, 2 powered USB ports [I should've brought more devices to recharge!], and a set of RCA video inputs in case you wanted to view your own

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-67077914695865369482011-04-14T23:17:00.000+01:002011-04-14T23:17:44.380+01:00

Had an excellent lunch the other week in Stamford, CT, at Layla's.  I've been there before and always enjoyed the jovial feel of the place and the satisfying shawerma. A popular take-out place, it also has a casual dining room. This time, 3 of us sat down later in the lunch hour. The waiter suggested we just let him take care of us, so we put away the menus and before too long the food started

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-35797717326032925352011-03-28T21:55:00.000+01:002011-03-28T21:55:52.180+01:00

I tried Stephan Guyenet's buckwheat suggestion. It worked out well, very easy. I soaked it for 24 hours (including some "rice water" in the soak), rinsed, and pureed it with just a little bit of water to get the consistency of hummus. I did not wait for any fermentation at this point, just fried up some thick pancakes in plenty of butter and a bit of salt. They were good. Had some plain and some

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-88494136848013793382011-03-26T20:36:00.000Z2011-03-26T20:36:21.958Z

The other comments I get tend to be along the lines of "you really must be hitting the gym". I like exercising, when I have free time I tend to do more of it, but it is not at all required for weight loss nor for maintaining stable weight. I've got the data to prove it my own case. I think exercise has many virtues (keeping me the right side of sane is top of the list), but keeping me thin(ish)

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-7826834178684652202011-03-26T14:41:00.000Z2011-03-26T14:41:05.954Z

Interesting phenomenon: despite being roughly stable weight for 2 years now, a lot of people who have seen me in the past two years, but only intermittently, will still remark that I've lost weight since they last saw me. Must take quite a few impressions to recalibrate the persisted mental model.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-32463749282847743752011-03-20T12:51:00.000Z2011-03-20T12:51:12.744Z

Equinoxy But a few months from now the lack of dark will be driving me batty

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-75670914127488809002011-03-13T12:28:00.000Z2011-03-13T12:28:00.677Z

Return transatlantic trip into London City went well. It was a different crew, but equally cheery as on the outbound. Something about this flight just makes folks happy. Flight time was a bit longer than in the bigger planes, and the A318 had a lot more motion, frequently just smooth little bumps, but it was fine. The seats do recline flat with plenty of space, but are not quite as comfortable as

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-84198732351834262162011-03-13T10:34:00.000Z2011-03-13T10:34:29.423Z

I view sports coverage, heavy on numbers and stats, as generally a good thing in the perpetual battle (that is being lost) against innumeracy, but still rife with examples from people who should know better. In coverage of Jazz-Bulls last night, ESPN notes "Chicago [performed impressive feats] while pulling within percentage points of Boston". Pulling within percentage points! What does that mean

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-21099466786824937522011-03-09T12:03:00.002Z2011-03-09T12:03:50.610Z

London City (LCY) is a small east end airport that mainly serves short-hop flights around europe. Very short runway. Makes it pretty fun with short takeoff rolls and fairly steep approaches. BA recently added a transatlantic route from LCY. It's a version of an A318 with a modification for steep approach capability and with the 100 econo-seats in its normal regional jet configuration replaced by

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-2503692674879466752011-03-05T17:53:00.000Z2011-03-05T17:53:47.667Z

Local Tesco is selling 12-packs of cadbury eggs for £6.00. They have 3-packs as well, for £1.00.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-19789231720638443682011-02-20T14:56:00.000Z2011-02-20T14:56:33.649Z

East London rules: congratulations to Bottle Apostle on being awarded Best Small Wine Shop by the Telegraph. Well deserved.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-408097659002991642011-02-20T11:11:00.000Z2011-02-20T11:11:17.274Z

This article on the 787 delays and costs won't be terribly surprising for anyone in a technical profession with large-company experience, but well worth a read anyway. 

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-34935177205170600732011-02-11T11:10:00.000Z2011-02-11T11:10:50.780Z

I recently got cut off in the middle of an international call from my mobile, with an automated message telling me I'd reached my credit limit. Hm. I checked online, and my charges to date were £19.47. £20 would make for an odd credit limit. I called. My credit limit is £50. Confirmed unbilled charges are only £19.47. Hm. Anyway, I asked to increase my credit limit. Certainly, sir, we can

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-45781289595598738982011-01-29T16:42:00.000Z2011-01-29T16:42:59.414Z

The problem with contrarians is that if they attract enough agreement then whatever internal pressure demands a contrarian stance will push them to split with whatever consensus they've actually helped build in the first place. This leads to some good unintentional comedy in the blogosphere if you don't take things too seriously (e.g. the "paleo" ..uh.. "community"). And speaking of taking

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-19163171291181994282011-01-29T08:58:00.000Z2011-01-29T08:58:16.096Z

some of this, all of that, less of that, more of this, and fucking plenty of this Seriously, I think PaNu still has the best & most succinct summary. Well worth the 90-second investment it takes to read. This is not low-carb per se: " Note that "Fat" and "Carbohydrate" are macronutrient categories that each contain good and bad. Saturated and monounsaturated fat is generally good. More than 4%

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-54853159074225886712011-01-26T21:11:00.000Z2011-01-26T21:11:29.769Z

Initial impression of Minosharp 3 is quite good. Seems to work great with Global knives, and very easy to use. Much quicker and easier than using a whetstone, and better results so far (for me, anyway). Oddly, looks like they are way more expensive in the US [$74?] than in the UK [£35].

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-4046433298843038682011-01-25T22:23:00.000Z2011-01-25T22:23:37.692Z

Embarrassing congressman Dan Burton (R-Ind) suggests closing the "loophole", the terrifying security vulnerability, if you will, that is the lack of a protective barrier between the Visitors' Gallery and the House of Reps' floor. He imagines an apocalyptic scenario of terrorists jumping (or perhaps gliding, flying-squirrel style) into the midst of an all-hands vote and detonating all 435

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-43817377801458507412011-01-22T10:48:00.000Z2011-01-22T10:48:09.664Z

I haven't been posting as much lately because I've been devoting myself to tiger parenting. Not apex predator husbandry or creating a cereal flake mascot, but good old let's-all-be-as-awesome-as-China child rearin'! Look, the bar is high and I have installed a performance-based culture in my household. Weekly peer reviews determine the daily minutes I allocate to rigorous beatings. I have a set

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-70220189835075562012011-01-13T21:56:00.000Z2011-01-13T21:56:18.372Z

Got fed up with the seemingly endless bleating from climate change skeptics about snowstorms in northern europe and the USA. As if that means anything or is proof that global warming is a hoax, a government conspiracy to confiscate your handguns or something. So it would be just as stupid of me to offer a counter-anecdote that a few days ago it was warm and raining high up in the french alps.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-81458075062049785712011-01-12T06:37:00.000Z2011-01-12T06:37:12.976Z

I thought Londoners were bad when it comes to driving in snow, but apparently the US southerners are even worse.  This is a demonstration of how not to do it from a CNN article on snow in Atlanta. Should I floor the accelerator in my bmw and let the wheel spin until the car catches on fire? No.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-70103146728830540512011-01-02T17:44:00.000Z2011-01-02T17:44:32.432Z

Had a conversation New Year's Eve about the lack of significance, for me, of the "New Year" as a marking point. I cherish the holidays.  There is lovely seasonality to the shortening of the days, the hunkering down around candles and lights and a hot oven, yielding roasts and other comforts savory or sweet that fill the house with reassurance and warmth no matter how grey and cold outside. But

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-10178938485734178412010-12-30T12:52:00.000Z2010-12-30T12:52:58.840Z

Oh the gym will get crowded next week, I'm sure. And stay that way a while. On the plus side, I'll be curious to see what the latest trends are for the legions of personal trainers.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-52365615652097918082010-12-28T09:59:00.001Z2010-12-28T09:59:59.367Z

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-16330686850023563392010-12-27T10:34:00.000Z2010-12-27T10:34:07.016Z

Today is confit day. I have four goose legs well-rubbed with salt, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme for the past 48 hours. The roast goose breast on the bone turned out perfectly for our Boxing Day feast. I've rendered all the fat from the geese as well. Lovely stuff. Now to cook the legs, jar them, and resist eating them.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016345570374578510.post-51976307929315559272010-12-25T14:57:00.000Z2010-12-25T14:57:06.073Z

I love my Global knives for most cooking prep tasks, but for finessing the legs off a goose or turning a boneful piece of meat into a boneless one, hard to top the value of plastic-handled eicker trade knives. The one I just used on the christmas geese cost less than £10.

pykerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845984235403387118noreply@blogger.com3