Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Had a good nights sleep last night, as soon as my head touched the pillow I went out like a light. Part of it was exhaustion from yesterdays toy fair, it now takes me much more effort just to walk about and my energy levels are dropping. I've got a lot on in the coming week, MRC on Wednesday, SEERS meeting on Thursday and the SEERS show on Saturday.

[DaveF]

It looked like being a nice day today but having looked at the opinion of various weather forecasters on line, together with a careful look at the sky outside I have decided  to stay at home rather than go to look at steam powered things.  In fact there have already been two light showers.

 

Yesterday was dry but quite cold.  It began earlier than usual as I woke up at 6.30 and shortly afterwards realised I wasn't going to get back to sleep.  So the e mails were written a litle earlier than usual, in fact they were done along with the phone calls before I went to church.  The church service was a bit longer than usual as the choir sang an anthem and the congregation was a lot bigger so communion took longer to be administered. 

 

It was good to see some older less well people who had clearly made a very big effort to get to church, in some cases having been brought by younger relatives.  There was one sad moment when I said hello to an old friend whose Alzheimers is rapidly worsening, he no longer recognised me.  The sermon was thought provoking, including a section on what failure really means and how everyone fails sometimes.  It also mentioned the Archbishop of Canterbury's depression, pointing out we are all human with the usual frailties.

 

I returned home just in time to put the oven on to cook chicken for dinner and to make a good cup of coffee.  Having had chicken with all the trimmings I was too full for a pudding and I have enough chicken, sausage etc to last me today and possibly in a sauce tomorrow as well.

 

Later on I did a crossword, read and sorted out yet more photos.  I also opened a drawer which had odds and ends from Mum's, some have now been put away properly, other things went in the bin.  At long last I don't feel I have to keep everything - it's taken nearly a year to get to this stage, friends say they had the same experience.

 

One of the things I watched in the evening was the first part of "Why didn't they ask Evans?".  It's a nice change to see something from an Agatha Christie book which closely follows the original plot and story.  I also started on an Easter Egg - it wouldn't be Easter without one,

 

David

[iL Dottore]

Good Morning All,

 

As we are midway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice, it must be Πάσχα (Easter).  Happy Easter one and all. 

 

No chocolate at Schloss iD (partly due to diet, partly due to waiting until the trade supermarket flogs off all their chocolate bunnies etc. at 50% off), however there will be Easter Lamb tonight (albeit in the form of a Lamb Bhuna).

 

Although my Japanese teacher is quite pleased with my progress, I am getting extremely frustrated as a lot of important phrases that I really should know before I get to Tokyo are refusing to stay in my brain. I look at the phrase flashcards and I immediately understand the Romaji (Japanese written using the western alphabet) and the correct pronunciation comes back to me. But does it stay in my brain? Like hell it does.

 

I’ve managed to master (most of) hiragana, and I am now starting on katakana. So very, very slowly I can read a small amount of Japanese. But it’s quite amazing what manages to lodge itself in my brain and what doesn’t. For example, a useful mnemonic for the katana character KE is the Japanese word for CAKE:

 

ケーキ (romaji Kēki, pronounced Cake-eee)

 

which, because of the predilections of an infamous Bear, managed to get stuck in my mind.

 

I thought that I would pass this along, so that @polybear will be able to feed himself if he ever ends up in Japan (I also thought that it might be useful for him to be able to ask for curly oven chips as well. Various translators came up with this: カーリーオーブン焼きフライドポテト Good luck on that one, Bear)

 

As a final parting thought; in my Japanese lessons I am now up to how to order food in a restaurant (something I had sussed out a while back), however, instead of the student being asked to order Japanese things like Tonkatsu, ShioRamen. Donburi  or Kake Udon - students are taught how to order a ハンバーガーとフライドポテト？ (Hanbāgā to furaidopoteto i.e. burger and fries).

 

Really?

 

You go all that way to Japan and can’t think of anything better to eat than a ハンバーガーとフライドポテト？(although MickeyD’s does have some unique “only in Japan“ dishes – which I might try just for fun, just to see if it is better than the McD elsewhere in the rest of the world).

Edited April 10, 2023 by iL Dottore
Typo

[Gwiwer]

Greetings one and all.  Welcome to Ban Collar Day Moanday.  

 

I didn't even need to open the curtains this morning.  I knew it was a holiday.  It has been raining since long before any small brown bird passed wind.  Typical.  Predictable with about 75% accuracy.  At least we had no plans which needed altering.  

 

Dr. SWMBO has braved the elements and is outside planting bean seeds.  I felt a little below par with what is probably hay fever.  Tree pollen is at high levels outside and we have cut flowers inside.  I usually react more strongly to grass pollens but a squirt of Beconase up the snozzle did improve things a bit.  

 

Not sure I'll take up iD's offer of learning Japanese in order to survive there.  But how does one order steak and chips in Finnish?  We're off to Helsinki later in the year.  There are no plans to visit Japan and of the Anglicised / Antipodean Japanese food I have tried I have yet to enjoy any.  Mo's Burgers are, I am assured, rather good.  They don't deliver here!  

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Well, it started out sunny first thing this morning, but rain was forecast for the afternoon, so I went straight outside to clean the drive, it was dirty anyway, but it got even dirtier after yesterday’s mammoth car cleaning session. My first job was to move the car onto the road and park it outside next doors house, as they are away and to keep it clean. Well, the seaweed twirlers got it wrong, I’d done about 30% of the drive when it started to rain, so I stopped and took shelter in front of the front door. A few minutes later it had stopped, so I continued, then it started to rain again……….and so it continued for the next 2 hours. But, I did manage to get the job finished, as well as giving the 4 recycling bins a clean as well. However, I was a little bit damp, so after I’d cleaned down the pressure washer, hose reel, my wellies, my brush and wheelbarrow (used to carry the equipment from the back to the front), I packed away all my gear and came inside and had a nice hot shower. I’m now warm and refreshed and ready to spend the afternoon on the computer tackling Inkscape once again. 
 

Back later. 
 

Brian

Edited April 10, 2023 by BSW01

[jjb1970]

On hamburgers and fries, I must confess to have enjoyed a burger and fries at Five Guys a few days ago.........

 

Japanese curry is great, I was told that curry was taken to Japan by the British. After the Meiji restoration Royal Navy officers were attached to the IJN to modernise and train their officers and took Indian cooks with them. However Japanese curry has evolved into something very distinct, it is mild and quite sweet.

 

My favourite Japanese dish is probably beef sukiyaki, but when done well it's not cheap in a restaurant as a hostess cooks it at the table. A good friend who is now retired likes to take me to a lovely place in Tokyo when I visit, part of the experience is being pampered by the hostesses (I should add they're rather senior and it's not quite for lecherous types).

 

Something well worth doing is okonomiyaki, which is sort of like a DIY savoury pancake, they bring the makings to your table which has a hot plate/gridle and you make it yourself with whatever you want in it. Okonomiyaki with yakisoba (fried noodles) and plenty of japanese brown sauce is terrific.

 

Japanese cakes and confectionary are quite superb, the bread is also excellent. I'd recommend having some kyoho grapes, they're very different to the grape varieties grown in Europe but very nice. Spend a bit on the good ones, it's worth it (but don't go crazy).

[jjb1970]

I should also include ramen, noodles are a staple of Japanese diet and really excellent, it's Japanese comfort food and if you want a hearty, filling meal then a bowl of ramen seldom disappoints. And a nice thing about it is you don't have to pay much to enjoy excellent ramen.

[Gwiwer]

52 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

And a nice thing about it is you don't have to pay much to enjoy excellent ramen.

My nephew, who has visited Japan several times, assures me that you can also pay a lot more to enjoy rather poor ramen.  He was equally scathing about the ramen served in a London branch of the chain store starting with W and ending in A.  

[Coombe Barton]

... Pics are the boathouse at Bow Pool, and a posing duck ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/04/10/zoe-downward-trend-slight-and-a-model-for-the-uk-from-australia/

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Rain? We had lots, soon after Ben's morning patrol, it started chuckinitdarn, it continued till around 13:00 when it turned to drizzle. Roads were awash when I took Ben for his long walk at 13:00.

I had an eyelid inspection, from 14:00 when it was still grey and drizzle. When I awoke a few minutes ago It was sunny but getting very windy.

 

Early on I did the preparation to the car for tomorrows trip, oil, tyres, washer water etc,  getting a bit wet . Tomorrow SWMBO's brother and wife are heading to Heathrow at 04:00, I'll head north west at 06:00 ish.

His phone and this tablet computer did forced updates today, which suggests Android had found a serious vulnerability.

 

Time I polished some shoes...

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Its stopped raining but blowing a hooley outside, and now even the sun is shining. I've got to get a few bits to get from Tess Coes, bread, eggs and milk are required.

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

My nephew, who has visited Japan several times, assures me that you can also pay a lot more to enjoy rather poor ramen.  He was equally scathing about the ramen served in a London branch of the chain store starting with W and ending in A.  

If I recall correctly, there is a Ramen shop in Tokyo that has about 10 to 15 seats and a Michelin star. The lines start building up before the shop opens at 11 am and every day the Master Ramen Chef sells out. And the cost of this Michelin starred Ramen meal? Around ¥1000 - about six quid.

 

Whilst I agree with @jjb1970 assessment of the excellence of Japanese cuisine, I must disagree with him over his high rating of beef sukiyaki. As good as it is, for me it doesn’t have the same  “oh God, that’s amazing” factor as both Tonkatsu and TenDon: 天丼 (Donburi topped with tempura) have.

 

Okonomiyaki has become a staple at Schloss iD (or should I say キャスルiD [Kyasuru iD]), although I tend to make the Osaka version and not the Hiroshima version (which is the one that involves piling lots of tasty yakisoba noodles on top of it). I’m not quite satisfied with my attempts: partly because getting hold of Japanese mountain yam around here is well nigh impossible and partly because I still have to find a recipe that works for me. (although all the attempts I’ve made so far have been pretty decent). The cooking courses I plan to attend in Japan will undoubtably help improve my Japanese cooking.

 

Finally, a shout out for the delights of Wafu spaghetti - the combination of Italian spaghetti and Japanese seasonings and ingredients. There are many recipes available (including one with sea urchin, which I will try once I can source some fresh sea urchin [probably in France]). Fusion food par excellance.

Edited April 10, 2023 by iL Dottore
Typo

[Ian Abel]

Morning all.

 

Of course the UK members are relishing the holiday Monday and basking in the ability to relax (maybe!)).

 

Saturday or Easter family dinner went very well a great time enjoyed by all.

Sunday a long day of singing, and then a nap in the afternoon.

 

Weather over Easter weekend has been good with sun and "relative" warmth. A lot more of the snow cover gone, with mostly now the piles from plowing waiting their turn to disappear. Remarkable what a few days of sun and no overnight temperatures below zero can do this time of year.

 

Today started at 6c and sunny, expecting 18c for the high, and sunny days and mid-20s for the highs all week until Friday. Suggestions of snow again Saturday!!

 

Tally ho.

[PupCam]

Evening All!

 

SWMBO wanted to pop into a garden centre.     A garden centre has been popped into .....

 

Then a visit to Junior Puppers and Junior Junior Puppers.    A form of motorised vehicle that runs on (plastic) rails may have been setup and played with with Junior Junior.

 

The Mondog was running on petrol vapour so a visit to a purveyor of petroleum spirit was made.   Puppers was quite pleased to see how relatively cheap Super Unleaded was compared with a few months back.   Puppers was still less than impressed that it cost nigh on £80 to fill up the Mondog!

 

Quite successful Beeza wrestling has been embarked on over the last couple of days and now the engine not only has a piston complete with rings it also has a cylinder barrel and head screwed down tight.   It is even possible to detect some compression when the engine is turned over so that's most encouraging (not hard as there is nothing to open the valves yet)!    The next little challenge appears to be to get the pushrods to fit.  As the engine now has the proper cam followers and tappets the (specially made?) pushrods appear to be ~1/4" to long.   Time to get out of the box and start thinking.    Oh, I tried out the valve and ignition timing gadget for the first time properly today.  I'm very pleased to say it works a treat 😀

 

I understand Toad in the Hole may becoming along shortly.   Best I make some gravy then.

 

TTFNQ

[Tony_S]

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

And a nice thing about it is you don't have to pay much to enjoy excellent ramen.

Matthew was at the LSE for a year. The library used to shut at midnight and there were lots of noodle bars on the way back to Northumberland Avenue where he lived. The noodles were sold really cheaply that late at night and were a much appreciated snack. 

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

But how does one order steak and chips in Finnish?  We're off to Helsinki later in the year.

"May I have the steak and chips* please?"

 

* You might have to substitute "frites".

 

I've never met a Finn in Helsinki (particularly under a certain age and working in a restaurant) with no ability to speak English. It is a required subject at school. Of course some people have thicker accents and lesser mastery than others.

 

The first/only Finnish my colleagues wanted me to learn was "kippis" - "cheers".

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Ozexpatriate
Kippis!

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

Today started at 6c and sunny, expecting 18c for the high, and sunny days and mid-20s for the highs all week until Friday. Suggestions of snow again Saturday!!

The national weather report I saw yesterday suggested that northern Minnesota might soon see temperatures as high as 27°C with concerns about rapid snowmelt-caused flooding. (Not that that is very unusual. I remember the 1997 Red River flooding from before I left Chicago.)

 

6 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Well, the seaweed twirlers got it wrong

Here they forecast rain. And, it is raining, more or less constantly, though it is very light at present.

 

We might just crack 10°C, barely. We might crack 15°C by the weekend.

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

Weird browser/internet provider behaviour today - clearly on my end. I got "address unreachable" errors from a slew of websites including the local television station weather page and John's WordPress blog but not RMweb, my email portal and my default news site which all worked normally.

 

I decided that a reboot was in order and all functionality seems 'nominal' again.

 

Another shooting is in the news. It made me wonder about the 'degrees of separation' applied to firearm violence in the US. With >300M people, *most* people are not directly affected by these tragedies - which is the case for me, though I do personally know the parent of a school shooting victim (she was 19) in Illinois and someone who ran for cover from the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, both of whom were colleagues.

 

I wonder about a similar 'degrees of separation' for Nine-Eleven - which was very far from here on the west coast. I personally know two people who had plans to be at the World Trade Center that morning, but changed their minds at the last minute. The neighbour of a colleague was a victim.

 

[Tony_S]

49 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

It is a required subject at school.

One of the places Matthew considered studying for a M.Res was at Oulu in Finland.  Tuition was in English, and they were happy as he was a native speaker, as were Utrecht where he eventually went to.  Stockholm said his English wasn’t of a high enough standard despite being a native speaker, having a first degree from Leicester and an MSc from the LSE. The poor grade at GCSE English (a C ) damned him. 
PS

He never had any language problems when in Finland when he visited Helsinki for conferences. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Tony_S

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Stockholm said his English wasn’t of a high enough standard despite being a native speaker, having a first degree from Leicester and an MSc from the LSE. The poor grade at GCSE English (a C ) damned him. 

Which I find ironic. I find the Swedes (whose English is usually very good in a professional setting) have slightly stronger accents and more eccentric idioms (in English) than the Finns - but that's a bit of a generalization on my part.

 

I never made it as far north as Oulu, though many of my colleagues have. All my time in Finland was in Helsinki (and suburbs).

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.  A day of four seasons here.

 

Friend Jayne has her next-one-down sister and her partner staying, they have a tradition of always taking the train up the mountain when they visit, regardless of weather.  You can guess.....2036 feet of rain.

 

 

It was wild up there!

 

By the time we were back down in Laxey the sun was shining.  Then the train home was cancelled as wires were down - Julie (J's sis) commented that the service was about what they are used to on the Elizabeth Line.  ie crepe.

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

On 05/04/2023 at 08:17, iL Dottore said:

Something for @polybear? A twist on the usual fish supper:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/05/last-supper-japan-killer-puffer-fish-fugu

And a recent fatality in the southern pointy bit of Malaysia not too far from our Singaporean correspondent:

 

CNN: Elderly couple dies after eating poisonous pufferfish in Malaysia

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Not up to date with the goings on here on ERs so apologies. 

Some may recall I booked a dog behaviour therapist in January, well Hovis had her appointment today, yes Easter Monday.  The good news is he thinks her aggression is anxiety based and she can be helped.

As well as that visit, I also went to York and had a quick chinwag Baz .

Nothing else to report so goodnight,

Robert

Hovis watching tv after her busy day.

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Erichill16

[polybear]

4 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Mr. Anderson was a very young black man just out of teachers' college (so not all that much older than his students) but in fairness, he really did know his stuff. To this day I still like classical music the best so he succeeded in his job, at least with me.  I am sorry that in much later years, I did not go back to the school board to see if he still taught with them and make arrangements to see him and thank him.

 

He could still be around....

 

3 hours ago, PupCam said:

Evening All!

 

SWMBO wanted to pop into a garden centre.     A garden centre has been popped into .....

 

 

A Garden Centre?  On an Easter B/H Monday?  Is Puppers mad???

The only possible saving grace is the cr@p weather may have limited all the other mad people.

 

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I wonder about a similar 'degrees of separation' for Nine-Eleven - which was very far from here on the west coast. I personally know two people who had plans to be at the World Trade Center that morning, but changed their minds at the last minute. The neighbour of a colleague was a victim.

 

 

ISTR reading that 9/11 continues to slowly claim victims due to the dust cloud created immediately following the event.

 

Bear here.....

Yet more danglin'....still a bit more to do, rather disappointingly** (other words are available...) - barring any disasters it definitely will be completed tomorrow though; today's progress was somewhat slower than hoped for due to messing around papering some boxed in pipework with pipes protruding.  This Bear definitely prefers paste-the-wall paper that doesn't need pattern matching as it's a bluddy sight quicker.

 

**I probably could've finished it, but (a) it would've meant a long day, and (b) the paw would've had it's revenge - it was mildly protesting so I decided not to push it too much.  Last night was the first time in, well, rather a long time that Bear went to beddy byes without having taken any sweeties (a Trammy or Pink Pills - or even both on a bad night) - and at 4am "The Paw" had it's revenge - though only mildly and I was able to get back to zeddy land before too long.

 

Bear watched "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" on Prime last night - a true story all about a CIA Diplomatic Compound being attacked in 2012; I was left thinking the US did next to buggerall to help those under attack and the CIA Chief stationed there was a tw@t - who was later awarded a medal.....

Worth a watch 

 

Bear gone

 

 

[polybear]

In other news......

Tomorrow sees the start of the Junior Doctor's Strike at 7am and lasting four days - so not a good time to need the services of a Hospital.