the end of the year is nigh

i don't see it as a big thing myself, but the calendar is rolling over to 2006 in a few hours time. apparently there is a spanish custom to eat a grape, and make a wish for every month of the coming year every time the clock strikes at midnight on the 31st of diciembre, so...
5 fruit & veg today? - 12 grapes, later
Exercise today? - nil
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - a lie in tomorrow, probably

Create hilarious pictures online

this stuff just really amuses me. you can enter your own text and the picture appears before your very eyes. I can't decide if i spelled "humourous" correctly

Went to Preston tonight

...for a few drinks with Miles and Phil. Including a pint in the Black Horse where a bloke took this photo of us. 

Recipe - Vegan Borscht

To start with you will need

• 4 beetroot (now, you could get fresh beetroot from an old-fashioned greengrocers shop, plucked from the fertile loam that very morn, with a couple of leaves and some bits of soil still clinging to the roots, or you might find the ones you get in supermarkets, already cooked and vacuum sealed, which keep for months. it's your choice)
• half a small cabbage
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 very small carrot
• 1 large onion
• 1 red pepper

these are supposed to be grated but life's short enough so maybe you'd prefer to just chop up really small? fry the above briefly with

• a little olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• some ground black pepper

then add

• stock, made from 2 vegetable oxo cubes and about 500ml of water
• a small amount of salt - remember: it's a killer
• 2 tsp of fair-trade, unrefined sugar
• some fresh dill, or more likely most of a 5g sachet of dried dill. don't chuck the whole lot in - save some to sprinkle on top of the finished product "so sophisticated"

while thats simmering, wash and chop up a few potatoes and boil them to make mash. when the mash is ready teast the soup - does it look okay? put in

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

and stir it round. I blended it with my new Braun Multiquick advantage 4050 HC (thanks Mum). serve in large bowls with a dollop of mashed potatoes in the middle. the eaters can stir in the mash to make the soup look creamy.

del.icio.us

I've seen this mentioned everywhere (like, literally) and i decided that since i've started to embrace Web2.0 i should sign up for it. it's basically a web page where i can leave my bookmarks on view for anyone who is interested to peruse. there aren't many there yet but check in a month - i'll bet it's packed with exciting and useful stuff that will wow the pants off you.
incidentally, i'm blogging this with the "blog this" shortcut. i don't fully grok it but if you have a blog with blogger and you click on the link then you get to a page where you can blog about the thing you just found out or thought of. if you blog then add this to your favourites for simplified blogging
and in closing, not that i need to justify myself, i'm going to turn off my computer after posting this and do something more useful

My pottery completed december 2005

all these were made at the Chorlton Park Adult Education Centre with the help and guidance of Alan.

a two-colour pot on a shiny disc

two pots 

A brown pot on a shiny disc 

work life balance

it's the night of the work xmas bash, a peculiar mash-up of letting ones's hair down and staying professional. I hope that booze helps me steer a course through the evening, or at least provide me with an excuse. maybe the booze will cure my cold too

UPDATE:- I did have a good time and I didn't embarrass myself too badly. at least, no-one has said anything yet
5 fruit & veg today? - does multi-coloured pasta count? a satsuma and a clementine, and an avocado
Exercise today? - zero
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - hardly any

Cutlery

thinking about the spork at the end of my last post led to a mental review of the state of eating utensils today and the lack of progress over the last hundred or so years. for a society that prides itself on creativity, innovation and new ideas we don't seem to have advanced much in this field. my (brief) research summarises the key inventions thus

• stone age - knives
• shong dynasty - chopsticks
• 1st century CE - spoons
• 7th century CE - forks
• c1900 - spork

is that it? thousands of years, billions of people, a LOT of meals and we've got basically three choices for shovelling food into our mouths? well, here's a couple more

for soup with lumps, or noodles how about a fork with a hollow stem - spear the lumps then suck up the liquid. I call it the "strawk"

for food which is basically dry with a coating of sauce or dressing e.g. pasta, salad or fry-up a one-handed device will let you eat with one hand and gesticulate with the other (or turn pages if you read at the table - how rude) such a tool could be modelled on tongs (but smaller to fit throguh the mouth and should have scissor-type cutting blades to reduce large items into bite-size pieces. i haven't got a catchy name for these things yet.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.

5 fruit & veg today? - tomato & a banana
Exercise today? - 4 + 4 + 4 chin ups
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - optimistically 7

Weekend

Had a great wknd with my lovely girlfriend.Went to Something Blu for cocktails on Saturday-the manhattan perfect lived up to It's name.When i drink these I always think of the Simpsons episode where Bart mixes drinks for Fat Tony.Sunday lived up to its name too (i.e. it was sunny) and we went for a walk round Quarry Bank Mill.A slightly disappointing event was being stung by the people who installed a CD changer in my car-when quoting for a business customer it might be acceptable to give the price without VAT but as a domestic consumer i tend to assume it is included.

Recipe - Vegan Goulash

the hardest part of this is using wine in the sauce. I recommend eastern european wine, cheap stuff so you can get plenty extra for drinking

1. put a cup or two of tvp chunks into 600ml of stock (e.g. boiling water with 3 green oxo cubes) to soak. add a generous glass of red wine. after 5 mins or so drain them (and retain the liquid) and fry them gently in olive oil. season with ground black pepper and a bay leaf or two
2. chop up two medium onions, two medium peppers and about a dozen mushrooms - put these in the frying pan too
3. when the chunks and veggies are slightly roughed up pour in the stock/wine mix you saved from #1. simmer very gently
4. start boiling some potatoes for mash. when the potatoes get soft add a couple of tsp of paprika to the goulash
5. drain and mash the spuds. by the time the mash is ready the goulash should be ready too.

I'm not sure if a fork or spoon is the best tool to apporach this dish with. you'll probably need one of each - or perhaps a spork?
5 fruit & veg today? - banana, tomatoe, veg in goulash
Exercise today? - nada
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - i'll take whatever i get

The National

Their name is barely so-so but some of the songs sound good. Serious & kind of wistful - but with definate guitars espescially on the bottom track (m.m.r.)

The National - 'Wasp Nest'

The National - 'Slipping Husband'

The National - 'Murder Me Rachael'

Click on their name (above) to see lyrics and other vital information. Theres another MP3 file (Cold Girl Fever) too

5 fruit & veg today? - tomato, lettuce, apple, banana
6 mince pies today? - oh yes
Exercise today? - I can barely move after yesterday
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - aiming for seven

winter holiday hazards

Some useful advice in The Register about dangers which can befall people at this time of year. Having a fir tree (or a plastic replica) in one's house is obviously asking for trouble. Trees are supposed to go outside, until they've been made into furniture.
5 fruit & veg today? - lettuce, an apple and a banana
Exercise today? - 2 hours of proper martial arts lesson today for the first time in ages
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - 7 would be good

Mobile Blogging, let's go...

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I've been to a (1hr) kung fu lesson today and i Feel more energised than i have in a while.I fall into lethurgy every winter,i have to keep moving or I'll go into hibernation.I've eaten an avocado and some raspberrys.The sleep was a washout last night but i might still get 8 hours tonight if i make this sandwich quick

Recipe - Chili #1

1. Boil 150g of green lentils rapidly, while you...
2. chop up 2 medium onions and a pepper, and fry in sunflower oil
3. add ground black pepper, a tsp of cumin and either fine chopped fresh chili or dried/crushed/whatever to taste
4. add a carton of passata and ½ tsp marmite to taste*
5. strain, rinse and add the green lentils. drain and rinse a tin of red kidney beans and a tin of baked beans
6. add 50g of soya mince
7. start cooking some rice, when the rice is done check that the lentils and the mince are tender and serve if they are

* it's ridiculous putting "to taste" - if you don't like chili, or marmite, then just put a bit in, or leave it out completely. would you put loads in just because i told you to? would you jump off a bridge?

5 fruit & veg today? - 2 (salad in sandwich, veg in chili)
Exercise today? - 4 + 3 + 3 chin-ups
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - 8 i hope

Bridget Thingy's diary

I'd like to change my template for postings, so that each day I can put scores at the bottom for the targets i keep failing to meet. Then I could

1. be even more annoyed with myself for living my life incorrectly
2. know why i feel such a wreck all the time

Maybe I should leave things as they are
5 fruit & veg today? - no, an apple and a tomato
Exercise today? - none
Hours of sleep I'm going to get tonight? - 6

Luxury item

The greatest achievement of my weekend so far is the successful installation of a heater in the bathroom. Now for a lovely warm bath...

Two days off

After five days of work I'm very keen to get a bit of rest. catch up on my sleep, chill out and regain my inner calm. On the other hand, if I don't do something significant I'll feel like I've wasted my weekend. It's a moot point anyway: tonight I've had a couple of beers with my team mates, eaten some pasta and watched Peep Show - I haven't got any energy left to do significant things. Over the weekend I have a variety of mundane tasks to perform - and my life's ambitions of climbing the Matterhorn or writing the great American novel will have to wait. Maybe over the winter holidays if I get a couple of days to myself.

Traffic lights - are they any good?

On my way to work I have to turn right onto a busy dual carriageway. When I got there this a.m. and saw that the traffic lights were not working I steeled myself for a long wait. But actually I got through much quicker, and I couldn't see any large build up of traffic either. I've seen this happen before at Brian Bevan island in warrington - much quicker when the lights are out of order. Perhaps some kind of a crusade is in order? There are probably situations where lights are useful (blind corners? humpback bridges?) but I'm certainly going to write to my MP about this blight on our city streets.

Recipe - Polenta

For tea today I had polenta, chopped up into small chunks (approx 8cm³) and fried in olive oil with

• finely chopped red onions and sun-dried tomatoes
• coarsely chopped mushrooms and cherry tomatoes

Not very exciting but I wanted to make the blog more visually appealing and putting a picture in should help

Recipe - Vegan Yellow Coconut Soup

I had something like this in Cachumbas on Burton Road, Manchester and have tried to reverse-engineer a recipe. Other people seem to like it

1. Boil up 250g of mung bean dahl for 10 minutes or so, then rinse it.
2. Chop up 1 onion, 1 red pepper, 4 stalks of celery and fry with 1 tsp crushed chili, 1 tsp coriander seed, some lemongrass to taste and 1 tsp cinnamon. Don't let them get too soft
3. Add a tin of chick peas and a tin of coconut milk, 1 tsp turmeric and a pinch of saffron
4. Finally add a squeeze of tomato puree and some stock (I use a vegetable Oxo cube made up with about 200ml of boiling water) and leave to simmer

I think it's better if you blend it before serving, but it works as it is. It will probably serve 4 people if you put some boiled rice with it.

Laura Cantrell songs

I found a couple of MP3 files on the website of Laura Cantrell's record company. At some point (or in response to reader requests) I may put something up about the fantastic concert I saw her play in Manchester on the 7th December 2002.

Laura Cantrell - '14th Street'

Laura Cantrell - 'Hammer & Nails'

Making this playable has been quite a learning experience, but I think it works now. I should say by way of disclaimer that the MP3 files are stored on Matador Records' website and are perfectly legit. You should visit their site straight away to see info about Laura and many other fine bands/artists

the winter celebrations

people have been asking me about a gift that i might like. gift giving is traditional this time of year though personally i see no reason for it. I'm not religious - i'm practical. It would be better if people bought gifts for others when they saw something good. this would stagger the gift-buying over the year and avoid the

• over crowded shops
• expense of buying a year's gifts out of one pay packet
• panic buying of horrible tat

which is the main feature of december in these parts. anyway, there isn't anything i really need & most of the things i want are too obscure for anyone to guess e.g. a universal sink plug would be handy but more helpfully

1. oxfam have things to spend money on
2. any vegan food which got here would be unlikely to go to waste
3. as a last resort, i have a wishlist on amazon

Outdoors

It's invigorating to be outside. especially when you can see a fine example of limestone pavement

ManLUG beer and curry session

I went out tonight with some people from ManLUG. the format of beers at the Clarence, followed by a vegetable curry at one of the nearby eateries, has been tried before, and didn't fail tonight. Many computer topics were discussed, and one I'm keen to investigate further is honeypots

Hello world

I wouldn't feel like a proper techie if I didn't have a website. but a free blog and a free gmail address will save me about 60 quid a year. With the adverts it may even make me money. And the publishing is a lot easier. okay world -brace yourself for my opinions...

a day in the countryside

party at Andy's house