It’s the evening of the 3rd of November, 2008. And like every other night, I’ve been browsing several news sites and my 1000++ RSS items. And for the past year, all these websites have been peppered with articles about and references to the 2008 US Election. Without intending to, I have decided which candidate I […]
Oof! My plans for a quiet weekend sorting through the thousands of Alaska photos was scuppered by way too many good things happening. A normal blogger would probably devote several posts to these, but I’m lazy and will present them as a Top [relevant number] List. The start of our LA Phil Autumn/Winter season. It […]
Could not let 08-08-08 pass by without posting something, so here’s a little LaLaLand garden update. The brinjal/aubergine/eggplant has borne some beautiful fruit, of which this is one (the plant in its infancy). There are a couple of wee ones tucked away behind it, and a weird bendy one somewhere in the dense vegetation. The […]
It’s been a goal of ours since arriving in LA to visit some of the more “unusual” states of the USA, with Alaska being top of that list. Three years on, we feel we really have to make those plans just in case our visas and work contracts are not renewed. A stressful fortnight of […]
Science doesn’t stop for anyone or anything, much less a public holiday. Which left me with a dilemma: what to take to the mega-lab’s Independence Day Blast? My RSS reader to the rescue with a really pretty take on the classic Eton Mess by Maki of Just Hungry. For top marks, I should have made […]
I’ve hummed and hah-ed over getting a smartphone for nearly 5 years now. I’ve made do with pay-as-you-go basic phones, and they’ve served me well. As mobile phones. I’ve also been willing, in that time, to lug my laptop around on the off-chance that I’ll find wi-fi at my destination. No longer. I’d like to […]
Bought my first bag of fruit from a street vendor in LaLaLand. Sprinkled with some pico de gallo, a little salt and a squeeze of 2 limes, this $5 bag of fruit made me feel I’d ripped the vendor off¹! This $5 bag saved us both from dehydration. It’s so easy to get dehydrated in […]
Hard boiled (egg)plant, originally uploaded by framboise. The potential fruit of this plant has had a progression of names that track the continents I’ve lived on. It’s the brinjal of my childhood, aubergine of my twenties and now eggplant of my thirties. I now need a new continent and local name for Solanum melongena for […]
Here’s a bit of silliness that combines my two casual interests: food and politics (via Serious Eats). Suffice to say, it’s demographics gone mad. Or maybe not. Consider the food preference of the “likely” McCain supporter: high-fibre cereal, protein bars, energy drinks are all foods I would previously have associated with a certain demographic of […]
Did you bring your raincoat?
akatsuki ra-ra-ra 