Priceless Paintings from W7

Just as I was planning to tell the world (you, that is) about the benefits of fountain pens over ballpoint pens or similarly inferior equipment, the BBC comes along and paves the way by commenting on the slow death of handwriting.

While I am guilty of not writing handwritten letters, I take a lot of handwritten notes, mostly to document my work. I find that I am more thoughtful and more focussed when writing by hand as opposed to taking similar notes on the keyboard, and inserting a little diagram, or some-such, doesn’t have any overhead at all.

If you have fallen out of the habit of handwritten notes, or letters, I recommend you try it out once more.

Unfortunately, the BBC didn’t tell you how you should be taking your notes. This is where I come in and tell you that you should get yourself a nice fountain pen. Not one of the cheap and scratchy things we had a school, but a real fountain pen. Some mid-priced Waterman does the job nicely, but lots of other brands exist: Parker, Lamy, Cartier, Pelikan, Rotring, you name it.

I am sure there’s a lovely fountain pen out there, just waiting for you.

I do of course recommend Waterman. Nice shape and size, excellent tips, and in particular because they supply their lovely South Sea Blue ink, which you can also see in today’s little picture.

Thoughts pen, writing

No post today, not a single one. I am drained by work, and by working all those workers around me. The builders need a-talking to, then the postman knocks and the builders’ coffee is done, I am running late for the dentist appointment and the architect stops by. I must run down to the store to get a couple of things for our supper, then the dear colleagues are on the lovely phone again, oh, and the cleaning lady also was in, some time in between everything.

I can already sense a need for a business trip coming up real soon.

For now, I am hanging in there, trying to get some paid work done so that I can pay everybody else for their work.

Phew. Had to get it off my chest. Feeling much calmer already.

Thoughts home

…red meat, by the looks of it. One of my gourmet builders advises against red meat and recommends a diet of fish and chicken, but I find that a bit dire. Even though red meat isn’t easily digested –let alone raw red meat!- it’s ever so nice. Especially the raw variety, so here you are:

Steak Tartare,  with fries and green salad (from a nice cut of Angus Sirloin, of course)

Home-made roast beef with fresh white bread and basil mustard (the best reason for buying a combination microwave oven – just pop it in on 190 C and 180W for 25 minutes the kilo, then wrap in tin foil, done)

Rosemary and garlic roast chicken, with saffron egg tagliatelle (just to please my builder, of course)

Goat cheese tartlets for a taste of summer, rack of lamb over roasted root vegetables, saffron rice, Creme Brullee. Quite possibly the last larger dinner party before the kitchen comes apart. We’ll see.

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

One of my American colleagues often tells me that something was “AOK” (also “A-OK”). Now, I am OK with “OK”, but “AOK” really only has meaning as one of the public German health care insurers to me.

So, I wiki it. Turns out it means “spot on, fine, OK” to Americans, but the corresponding hand gesture is is considered offensive in many countries, including most European countries (but not in Spain), Brazil, Turkey, Venezuela, and many others.

So, instead of giving him an A-OK, I give him a thumbs up. Well…. better be careful with that in Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Thailand and India, though. Risky business.

My colleague provides the data I had asked for, and assures me that Okie Dokie is offensive in Yemen.

Maybe we should simply communicate with obscene gestures and explicit swearwords only. Chances of misinterpreting unfriendly words are small.

Thoughts human, language

Just my kind of builder: “Excuse me,” they asked, “do you mind us asking what kind of coffee this is?” and they went on explaining that they liked it very much.

I have no reason to complain about the quality of their work, and I am glad they recognise the quality of mine: 3..4 litres of finest Ethiopian Sidamo or Kenian AA Blue Mountain (supplied by Another Coffee), freshly ground in the morning, accompanied by half a pint of milk and a major sugar dose keeps them going for a day.

The boys have been working quite hard in return.

While today’s picture only shows another important aspect of the project (much to the amusement of every passer-by), you can find the first pictures online right here.

The foundations are cast, the drainage is rerouted and work on the floor platform has started. We expect to see things taking real shape, with walls and roof and all that, within the next two weeks or so.

Exciting, and well worth every single bean of coffee.

Food and Drink, Thoughts, home coffee, food, home

While the economy isn’t doing so great, at least one business is busier than ever: the home conversion and extension business. People don’t want to sell-up and buy new homes right now. Putting money into the banks is not very attractive neither, but taking money out on credit is cheap, so many people chose to improve their homes.

So do we, although we decided before the interest rates changed so much.

Not that we can turn the economy around single-handily, but if you think about it, we are actually generating a lot of business: the builder and his staff, the suppliers of material as well as those doing the planning and the inspections. I’ve just been to John Lewis‘ kitchen planning and appliance department (and saw a lovely Neff oven and microware unit…), so some kitchen and appliances supplier will get some money. The garden will be a wreck and, at a minimum, the garden centre will see more of us next spring, …. The list goes on.

So, I am feeling double-proud already. All we need now is make swift progress, on both accounts, the economy and the building works. As to the latter, the foundations are cast in concrete and the drainage is being worked on. Concrete floor platform and walls should be coming up, and the whole thing should begin to take shape real soon. Will post a photo next week.

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Thoughts, home economy, home, Kitchen

We will have to evacuate part of our house due to the ongoing building works. In particular, the kitchen and dining areas need to be emptied and surrendered to the strong men. The good wife suggested hiring some storage space in a near-by storage facility – it’s the one where they found terrorists’ deposit of fertilizer for bomb making, so it must be good.

Although I am no big friend of these ugly storage buildings appearing everywhere like mushrooms (earlier rant here), this might be a good solution for the imminent but temporary space problem in our home. So I check out the local store online,  and boy! these guys are well connected:

Apparently, they are just a 2 minute drive from both Ealing Broadway and the A4, and Boston Manor Tube is just 10 minutes walk from the store.

Driving 2.2 miles in 2 minutes requires pretty heavy speeding (66 mph, where the legal limit is 30mph, and the practical limit is much less). The 1 mile walk to Boston Manor Tube should be possible in 10 minutes, if you walk at 6 mph (9 km/h, for the imperially challenged). Piece of cake for Alex Schwazer, who claimed gold in Bejing for walking 50km in 3 hours 37 minutes (14 km/h or 8.8mph).

I thought it was funny. For us, they are just round the corner, but if one was a terrorist, relying on their directions for the planning of a swift get-away, I recommend to double-check with the locals.

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Thoughts Ealing, london

Gosh, is it Wednesday again, already? OK, here’s what we ate this past week:

Upmarket Bangers and Potato/Parsnip mash, with Madeira sauce

Choucroute de Mer with smoked Salmon, smoked Halibut, and spicy King prawns (pictured here)

A coal-fire barbequed succulent lamb, with couscous and chick pea mash (at J&S’)

Pancakes with spicy minced meet filling – a favourite since childhood

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

Our local council here in Ealing has its flaws and weaknesses, as they all do. However, self-praise, shoulder-slapping and chest-beating are not among those weaknesses. You’ve got to give them that.

The council’s latest one is the 8.5 Million Pounds bravado. 8.5 millions, so they boast on countless posters and banners throughout the borough, is their magnificent investment in road maintenance. The fact that they don’t say “extra” alone makes me suspicious, but I regret being unable to find much in terms of hard numbers.

Ealing has a population of approximately 300,000, with 36km of principal roads and, without doubt, much more minor roads and residential streets. I couldn’t find the total length of public roads and streets under the responsibility of the Borough of Ealing, or the total of the public paved area. With 36km of principal roads, I don’t 360km for the total will be an overestimate.

So, allow me to work on the basis of 360km. £8,500,000 / 360,000m = 23.61 pounds per metre for street maintenance. Filling a single pothole is £72 on average, so the BBC told us just a few nights ago.

I have the feeling that £8.5 is nothing to boast about, but simply what a town of that size ought to invest for upkeep and street maintenance. I’d be really grateful if anyone out there could put me right, provide some real numbers, pointers for reference, etc.

Current Affairs, Thoughts Ealing council, london

I mentioned Pandora some while ago. Pandora is a fantastic online music service, but sadly, Pandora is no longer available outside the USA. For the same reason –conservative RIAA and record label’s protectorate, I guess-, Rhapsody also never (yet) became available outside the US.

But, Spotify is now available to everyone in the UK, so that’s progress! Compared to Pandora and Rhapsody, the name Spotify is a regrettable step back, but as far as technology and content goes, it’s great.

It’s free and unlimited if you tolerate an advert every 3 songs. Register with them, download their player, search for an artist, select the album, hit Play – done.

Advert-free options are also available for a fee.

Go, Spotify!

Thoughts, Web/Tech music, online world;

There are no rainbow colours in my study any more. I used to have an impressive display of solid on and flashing LEDs in the traditional colours yellow, red and green, with all those prototype and development electronics I like to play with during paid working hours.

This week, I got a new laptop computer, a new docking station, a new power supply, and a new LCD display.

Because somehow, geeks like the blue light, my study is now illuminated by numerous blue LEDs, even in places where they weren’t strictly necessary.

I used to like the blue light, too, but I am growing rather annoyed about it.

Nothing wrong with yellow, red or green, or just a good colour mix, is there?

Thoughts, Web/Tech cool, light

Hold on, let me get this right. In this tv commercial, you’re telling me that I should buy this all-new Dove deodorant. You say that it shows perfect performance as a deodorant -that is, to keep my underarm nice and dry.

At the same time, you say, this new concoction is your latest must have because it keeps that natural and vital moisture… ?!

I am puzzled.

Thoughts beauty, Health

… sea food, by the looks of it. Writing this weekly column on the past day’s menu is always a strange navel-gazing affair, but here you go:

Mixed fish al Greco (actually, Cod and Tuna, because Swordfish wasn’t available). “Al Greco” means to shallow-fry in olive oil, with lots of black pepper and a fair amount of garlic and red chillies. When done, lightly sprinkle with lime juice. Try it! It’s really great, and easy to make. Accompany with boiled potatoes (which I prefer Portuguese-style, that is, cooked with a clove of garlic, ahlf an onion, and afterwards sprinkled with flat parsley).

Singaporean Laksa. Yeah! Always soooo rewarding, especially on a cold winter day of course.

Thai Green Curry (Yummy and so easy to make, once you figured it out), Thai Jungle Curry, and Beef Rendang (which burnt, can you believe that? After 27 hours of tender cooking and care, I spoilt it in the last few minutes! Grrrrr).

A lovely South Indian meal at Sarasas in Harrow (www.sarasasrestaurant.co.uk). Staff consisted of several bosses and one (very nice) guy who effectively run the place single-handily. The other guys just stood around and tried to look important. Too bad the single guy couldn’t quite cope with demands, but once the food started coming our way, we were delighted. Such a nice change from your usual W7-ish Curry House! We’ll be back.

Spaghetti Calabrese (or whatever – Spaghetti with a sauce from mixed seafood, tomatoes, and capers). It’s OK. It’s simple, quick, and helps emptying the freezer now and then.

Food and Drink food; recipe

Speaking of grumpy old men, here’s a book warning, and a book recommendation.

The warning is about Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist. I bought and read it, because I was lead to believe that this is a household essential in America. Poor America.

It’s a long time since I was so insulted by a book. The pretty thin book delivers a single morale, sickenly repeated and spread thickly more than anyone can endure, and it does make sure that you get the point. It goes like so:

Sentence one tells you what is about to happen, and why. Sentence two repeats part of the statements made in sentence one, just in case you didn’t get it. Sentence three describes what sentence one already announced, number four explains the moral (confirming the expectations raised in previous sentences). Then it moves on to repeat the same spiel over and over again, but doesn’t even bother changing the moral at all.

Try living your dream, is what the book says. It’s not very difficult to say, is it?

Now nice and completely refreshing on the other hand is Sarah Gruen’s Water for Elephants. A lovely story, told by a 91-year old man, who looks back on his live with a circus during the years of the Great Depression.

Water for Elephants. Highly recommended.

The Alchemist. You have been warned.

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Books, Thoughts Paulo Coelho, Sarah Gruen, United States

Our builder takes pride in his work and wants to advertise his company. Fair enough.

Interesting to see that the builder’s man was strong enough to whack four large screws into our newly built front garden wall to attach the sign, splitting mortar and lifting a brick off all together in the process. At the same time, the same strong man wasn’t strong enough to give our front door a hearty knock in order to seek my consent (or refusal, as it would have been).

I thought it was funny. Our builder will move the sign and repair the damage, of course, so it’s null problemo. I am even optimistic enough not to think of this as an omen for the next four to five months.

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Thoughts, home home