Archive for April, 2007
April 27, 2007 at 2:17 pm · Filed under Food, Montreal
If you love Indian food, there is an Indian food fair tomorrow (Saturday 28th April) night from five until ten pm at Lucien Page School (8200 St-Laurent corner Jarry).
They have the fair every year, and we went a couple of years ago so I can speak from personal experience when I say that the food is delicious and varied (although all or almost all vegetarian) and very different from anything you get in the average Montreal Indian restaurant.
Most booths sell their wares for one or two dollars per portion.
April 26, 2007 at 11:41 am · Filed under Geeky
Tuesday night was a scary one. First of all we encountered a strange hound whose terrifying howls sent me into a blind panic. Out of my senses, I ran in the opposite direction to the howls, smashing into a door and scrabbling at the handle until I got it open. As I was running through the door I caught sight of something very ugly with tentacles out of the corner of my eye but I was still too panic-stricken to react. Suddenly my entire body went rigid and I collapsed to the floor.
Having recovered from my paralysis and panic and discovering my party had quickly dispatched the ugly tentacle thing we continued onwards, only to be set upon by two very unpleasant lions. While trying to avoid those nasty claws, a massive spider suddenly blinked into existance next to me. In a panic I started casting a spell but before I could complete it the spider had sunk its fangs into me and I felt poison coursing through my veins. Before my colleagues managed to kill the nasty arachnid it had bitten me once more.
I was very close to death and still badly poisoned. Luckily we managed to make our way to the swamp to get help and healing from the lizardmen. Free from the poison I was able to sleep un-interrupted for 24 hours thanks to the protection of Antonio and Nedgie. The following day I was able to restore myself to full health.
That was a close one.
April 19, 2007 at 10:13 am · Filed under Movies + TV
It seems Lost is having a little trouble taking itself seriously, which isn’t a bad thing. The resident comedian is of course Sawyer, so here are a few of the best quotes from last night:
What do I have to do, make you a mix tape?
What are you two doing, arguing about who’s your favourite Other?
We have to play every 108 minutes or the island explodes.
And then there was the fabulous Charlie/Hurley exchange:
Why would the man of steel consent to a foot race?
For charity!
April 17, 2007 at 9:45 am · Filed under Conservation, Movies + TV
I’ve haven’t been a fan of Al Gore ever since he claimed to have invented the internet, but I have new-found respect for the man after watching An Inconvenient Truth at the weekend. He’s obviously passionate about the cause and he’s been trying to tackle it for a long time. He’s done his research and has all the numbers to back up what he says - something the “skeptics” absolutely don’t have. He has a message which is incontrovertible:
The human race have had a measurable, dramatic and detrimental effect on global climate change.
At least, it’s indisputable according to the science. Almost one thousand scientific studies back up this message. Zero do not. However, public opinion is still divided; why is this? A quote from Upton Sinclair which Al Gore presented in the movie goes some way to explaining it:
You can’t make somebody understand something if their salary depends upon them not understanding it.
Al Gore may not have invented the internet, but he could be an important part of saving the planet, which I guess is probably a better claim to fame anyway. The importance of his contribution could have been so much greater though if it hadn’t been for a few votes in Florida.
April 16, 2007 at 9:33 am · Filed under F1
It looks like it’s going to be a memorable F1 season. The Bahrain race had plenty of good overtaking, surprisingly lacklustre performances from Fernando and Kimi and surprisingly excellent performances from their teammates. Hamilton is incredible, although statements from people like Jackie Stewart saying he could win the world championship still seem a little premature.
At the end of the race we have three drivers tied for first place in the championship (Hamilton hasn’t won a race so he’s third but they’re tied on points) with Massa not far behind. We have two constructors fighting for the title with BMW biting at their heels. We just need some of the other teams to pick up their pace a bit and we’ll be in for some wonderful racing.
For a moment in the race it looked like I was in for some big money, as I had a bet on Anthony Davidson to get a points finish, so it was a disappointment to see his engine give way. Massa won me $21 by winning the race though. Some of that is going on David Coulthard for the next race.
April 14, 2007 at 6:32 pm · Filed under Conservation
Everyone knows that taking a shower uses less water than having a bath, and is therefore friendlier to our planet.
Everyone also knows that flushing the toilet is a big waste of water.
Can you see where I’m going with this?
I think peeing in the shower has a bad image, it’s about time we accepted it as a form of multi-tasking which not only saves us time, but also saves water and helps protect our planet.
I believe when David Suzuki and Al Gore hear about this (which they surely will, I know they read my blog often) they will be impressed with my visionary approach to environmental issues and immediately make the peeing in the shower agenda part of their campaign to slow climate change.
Go on, pee in the shower, it’s the right thing to do.
April 13, 2007 at 2:09 pm · Filed under Books
Over the Easter weekend we removed the piles of junk that have been sitting on our bed since we moved in, and got our bedroom in a functional state. It hadn’t been in a functional state before that because we had been sleeping in Aidan’s room so he could come join us when he tired of his crib (which was usually at about 2am). We decided it was time to abandon Aidan to his room and reclaim our own. We nervously went to bed on the first night fully expecting it to be a very sleepless night but surprisingly Aidan slept through to 6:30 the next morning. He has done the same every night since then.
All that preamble is to say we can read again! I’m reading a book. For the first time in, ooh, about 16 months. After rifling through our bookshelves for a while I finally decided on The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin. Jen got it for Christmas (thanks Kim!) but I’m temporarily stealing it. I’m not a big fan of crime and mystery books but I have enjoyed the Rebus novels and this one adds an extra dimension by being set against the recent G8/Live 8 happenings. No mention of the Canadian concert so far though…
I never thought of reading in bed as a luxury but for now it is, and one I’m very much enjoying.
April 10, 2007 at 9:17 am · Filed under Food
The cupboard was bare on Saturday apart from a few bits and pieces. When all you have is a few bits and pieces it’s time to improvise.
I made a very quick tomato sauce with the one and a half tomatoes we had, along with some onion, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic and chili powder whizzed up in the food processor and cooked on the stove for a while.
That sauce was distributed over the four frozen pita breads we had left over from the Greco birthday bash and topped with some grated gouda and cheddar cheese (not very italian, but it’s all we had).
The pita pizzas were finished off with a sprinking of chopped kalamata olives and ham and thrown in the oven for 10 minutes (straight on the shelf for extra crispiness).
The result was surprisingly delicious.
April 7, 2007 at 11:46 am · Filed under F1
So the qualifying session was in high definition today, and the commentators paused in their jabbering to listen to team radio. Maybe TSN are listening to the fans at last.
April 4, 2007 at 9:36 am · Filed under Family+Friends, Food
At the weekend we had P&J and J&K and K over for a small and belated celebration of Jen’s birthday. The plan had been for Jen’s Mum to be there too, but she ran off to Vancouver, something to do with some baby being born or something.
Jen’s Mum is the master salad creator, and the plan was for her to bring a big Greek salad for the occasion. In her absence I took on the job of creating a Greek salad, and used that as an inspiration for the rest of the food.
The classic Greek salad is a combination of rustically chopped tomatoes, cucumber and green pepper tossed with kalamata olives, salt, pepper, oregano and olive oil with feta cheese crumbled over the top. That’s exactly what I did.
I also cubed some pork tenderloin, skewered it and marinated it in olive oil, oregano and salt and pepper for a few hours before throwing it on the bbq. The kebabs were served with pita breads, tzatziki, and sliced red onion.
To accompany the salad and kebabs, I picked up some taramosalata, some crusty bread and a few spanakopitas. There was too much food, but that’s the way a Greek meal is supposed to be, right?
We finished the evening with a fun game of 80s Trivial Pursuit which through some stroke of luck the girls won, and carrot cake fetched from our old favourite the Homestyle Bakery (hey, the owner’s Greek!).
Opa!
April 3, 2007 at 8:51 am · Filed under Montreal
One more annoyance about being a cyclist in Montreal is having your bike stolen on its first day out of the basement.
To the thieves: Thanks for carefully removing both my locks, relocking them and leaving them on the ground for me to find when I got out of work. Wankers.
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