Fish & Potato Salad

I found this recipe on the internet. Apparently they eat their fish like it that in the City of Hamburg.

(for four)

You need:

enough fish filet for four
3 eggs
150 ml beer
some flour
2 teaspoons mustard
some oil
3 tablespoons olive oil
potatoes for four
150 ml vegetable broth
2 tablespoons white vinegar
some parsley
some lemon juice

Here's how it's done:

Roll the fish in flour. Mix the eggs with the beer, then add flour until the mixture is nice and thick but still liquid. Heat oil in a skillet, dunk fish into the egg-beer-mixture and fry until it's nice golden-brown. Sprinkle with lemon juice before eating.
Boil potatoes, peel them, cut in slices. Mix hot broth, vinegar and mustard and let the potatoes sit in that for 10 minutes. (If you end up with too much dressing in the salad, just pour it out.) Then add olive oil. Decorate with parsley.

That's it.

I cooked this today and it tasted awesome. I was wondering why there's no salt or pepper mentioned, but we've found it's not necessary. The meal is super delicious just like that. We had some cauliflower and carrots on the side. No picture, though. We had eaten half of it already before I remembered that a photo might be nice.

Cinnamon Rolls

I made cinnamon rolls today.

I also got word from the computer people. They say next week or shortly after. How disappointing.

3 Weeks

Today it's been three weeks since I've ordered the laptop. Apparently they are assembling it right now (I hope), but there's a chance they're still waiting on some exotic parts (me and my extra-sausages). Well, well. But I got a 22 buck refund (7 is cheaper than Vista). I'll wait some more.

By the way, my chess playing hasn't much improved since yesterday. It's like: Mh... won't go here, shouldn't go there, could do this, definetely won't do that, but this looks good... - CLICK - or does it? Argh, shit! Fuck! Shit!

Pawn to H1N1

Alright. I am now officially H1N1 vaccinized. The epidemic can come.

But: I've lost another chess game to a certain friend. It's the 3rd one already (and one draw), and that is quite unacceptable. I remember the times when we played over beer in scarcely lit bars. It was quite balanced. He won, I won, I won, he won. But now? Either my brain's degrading, or I just happen to play better over beer in scarcely lit bars.
So I must take refuge to a The Byrds quotation: To everything, there is a season. Turn, turn, turn.
*sigh*

Another Day, Another Cake

We ate the last piece of pound cake today, so it was time for a new cake. This time with cherries on top. It'd be better with fresh recently-picked-from-the-tree-sour-cherries, but the ones out of a jar are okay (well, they're the only ones I could find, so they kind of have to be okay). Rating: Mhhh, good cake, honey.

Simulated Bacon Books

Simulated bacon bits have a tendency to loose their color, and if you put them in a meal, they will also gradually lose their flavour (unlike real bacon, which gives its flavor to the meal). Related to that: I made green bean soup yesterday for today (no cooking today because of switched off water). And can you believe it, for some reason I forgot to add broth. And there I sit wondering why the soup has such a plain and sober taste... unbelievable. Forgetting the broth. I've added it now, but I'm afraid now it's too much.
I've read some books in the last few weeks. First I read through the whole Harry Potter series once again. That's always fun. Then the latest Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol. Well, what can I say, it's like The Da Vinci Code all over again, only in Washington, quite unsurprising, yet entertaining. At one point I was really impressed with the author, thinking that he has brought up the courage to SLIGHT SPOILER AHEAD kill off a very important person, only to discover that he hasn't. Quite disappointing that, just like the revealment in the end of what the Lost Symbol really is. Apart from that it's a nice book for some light reading.
After that I read a way better book: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. Swedish guy with a talent to create interesting and believable characters. The book is basically a mystery, set in Sweden, and the plot not in the least feels as constructed as many others. While you keep reading a Dan Brown to prove that you anticipated correctly, you keep reading Larsson to see where he's gonna take you next, and because you have to know what will happen to the characters and how they'll react.
I really like reading a Swedish author again, all the Gatans and Kronors remind me of reading the Wallander series, which I very much enjoyed.
Right now I'm reading the second part, The Girl Who Played With Fire. It picks up about a year after the happenings in part one and as of right now (I'm 60 pages in) is just as good as its predecessor.
My mother has also send me a book in my native language, but I'm gonna save that one for Christmas and read it under the Christmas tree. (I wonder if they do Christmas trees here in Bumfuck. I sincerely hope I won't have to go into the woods and cut one down myself.)

Waiting

Today it's been two weeks since the order for the new laptop went out. They won't ship it before thursday, that much is certain, and I've upgraded from Vista to Windows 7, so no later updating fuzz for me.
*more waiting*

Also I got a call today from my good old buddy Your Captain Speaking. It went like this:

Phone: *ring ring, ring-a-ring ring* (the 'a' is a little hiccup which only occurs with long-distance-calls)
Me: Hello? Hello?
Phone: *silent*
Me: Hello? *looking at phone* HELLO?
Phone: *silent*
Me: Hell--
Phone: WWRHHOOOOOHHHHHHMMMMM!!!
Me: WTF? How did you fuckers get my number?
Phone: Hello, this is Your Captain Speaking, you just won tickets for a cruise!
Me: Fuck off. *slam phone down*

I have a steak marinading in the fridge.

Pound Cake

So we had garbanzo-bean-burgers for supper, with salad and potatoes and tzatziki. And since that is not exactly my favourite meal, I felt a little... unsatisfied afterwards, and I thought: What about a nice dessert? And I remembered talking cake recipes with a friend of mine on skype in the afternoon, and suddenly I was completely captured by an infinitive urge to make a pound cake.
So I made a pound cake, and I followed my mother's recipe closely, I even scraped off the peel of one lemon and added that to mixture.
Unfortunately the white powder in an unmarked bag among my baking supplies I thought was icing sugar turned out to be baking soda - good thing I checked first! So I just sprinkled a bit of vanilla sugar on top of my cake instead, which worked out okay. (I don't have a special pound cake pan, neither the rectangular nor the round holey kind, that's why the rather odd shape.)
And I'm just having a piece right now. And it tastes awesome. It always amazes me again and again, that I myself can make all kinds of awesome meals and cakes and stuff without having any additional education or special (grand)motherish gene modification done. Isn't that something? Yes, it is. Almost like magic.

Behind Bars

The winter is coming. The days get shorter. Temperatures go lower. Darkness comes earlier and goes later. The Air Conditioner Unit got taken out. The windows get bars.
Yes, the windows get bars. If that is an annual winter precaution or something completely new this year I don't know. The bars are not supposed to keep us inside, of course they are supposed to keep burglars and murderers and other criminals and their friends and their friend's friends outside. The bars are here to lower the danger, to lower the risk of being robbed by fellow members of this community. To keep us and our possessions safe. I feel so much safer now.
Welcome, new bars! Let us be friends.

Plumcake Again

For some reason they had blue plums (black plums, according to my receipt) at the store, so I bought them to make plumcake. I kind of improvised my last plumcake, but this time I followed the recipe a little more. Here's a (little over-yellowish) picture. I have a good feeling about this cake. It's gonna be awesome. (I ran out of plums, so that part became sugar-cake. Even better. Two cakes in one. Whee, I can't wait to eat some.)

Will Soon The Eggs Take Over?

Today at breakfast it hit me: What if eggs tried to take over the world? Isn't that a terrible danger? Aren't we all in mortal peril?
But then I thought about it, and now I'm not so sure if the eggs will ever even succeed in an attempt to dominate the world. Here's why:
As soon as the eggs gain power, they will first of all want to enslave the chickens, to make new eggs and offspring. The chickens won't care, they're enslaved already by humans, and if you're a slave, it doesn't really matter who your master is, they might even be better off, because eggs won't eat chickens.
But then, and that's the problem, sooner or later all the eggs will evolve into chickens. Then the masters become the slaves, who will create more masters - it'll either be a terrible paradoxon, the kind that fucks up the space-time-continuum, or a giant circle, that will work. But I think it won't work, because the offspring of slaves will usually not be emotionally fit to become cruel masters, knowing slavery and all. So after a while there will be masters, who don't really want to be masters and instead go for democracy or something, and then the whole world domination thing will be over with.
You might say, what if the eggs just make sure they won't evolve into chickens, just by keeping male and female chickens seperated. Yes, that will interrupt the reproduction, but also the chickens will get old and the eggs will go foul. Old chicken = less eggs, foul eggs can't rule, ergo no world domination.
Then you might add, what if there's just a small amount off chickens allowed to produce eggs, and those eggs will immediatly be educated to rule by a small group of eggs, an egg-elite of masters? That won't work either, because sooner or later all the other chickens and eggs will die of old age or decay, and then the dictators will have no people to rule, and, more importantly, no army to use against all the other lifeforms, thus, no world domination.
I must therefore conclude, that the danger of eggs taking over the world is pretty small at the moment, we can sleep in peace at night, we can keep eating eggs and chickens for now, all is well.

Thursday

Well, today I did some of the questing described on the map, I did the blue ones up to 4. Ones blue 5 happens, I will finish blue, and go for green and red.
My package from europe arrived today, too, containing Risen. Now all that has to arrive is the new computer. *I'm waiiiiting, I'm waiting... for you...*

Mechanical Horse Part 3

(check if completed)
...
4. Put everything in the box(es). CHECK!
5. Haul to chosen shipping company (Canada Post). CHECK!
6. Pay. CHECK!
7. Travel on commercial airliners to destination. CHECK!
7b. Wait forever. CHECK!
8. Show up with identification. CHECK! (well, kind of)
9. Receive parcel(s). DEFINETELY CHECK!
10. Carry home, unpack, reassemble, ride. CHECK!

(The horse arrived yesterday. Some parts got here last thursday already, but what good is a mechanical horse without a seat? Or without a handle-bar? Or without pedals? Exactly.)

Getting Used To Living In A Kind Of Different Climate Zone (Almost)

According to the weather network it is -10 degrees outside today. I can't 100% confirm that, because I didn't go outside yet. But it certainly looks cold.
Today it's been one week since I ordered my new computer. That means: Probably another two weeks to go... *sigh*

Chicken

Today I made chicken. A whole chicken. In the oven. I rubbed it with a spice-mix first. It turned out great. Deliciousness according to the wife-o-meter: Awwwwwwwwesome!

Snow Again

It's October 1oth. The trees are still green but there is snow. I wouldn't say it's cold, more like the weather we have in Europe around christmas. But it's not christmas. It's october.

Questing: The Map

To illustrate better the questing I have to do for that job opportunity, I've drawn a little questmap.Okay. H is home, J is where the job is, C is the cop station, P is the post office, B is the bank, R is the place where heard the rumor about the job opportunity and AwayLand is that place far away where stuff has to be mailed to.
The dotted red line represents the job rumor, the full red line represents the main quest (get the job). Green and blue represent the various subquests, while the dotted blue line stands for stuff being mailed somewhere. The numbers illustrate the right order of things. This of course shows already the most efficient way of questing in this kind of situation, although additional and not yet known unsurfaced subquests may emerge at any time.

Questing

Sometimes real life imitates role-playing games: A couple of days ago I found out that there is one more job-opportunity in this town, one I have not explored yet...
Main quest: Get the job.
So I went there, but in order to work there, you have to do...
Subquest A: Go to the Cops and get an I'm-no-criminal-card and bring it back.
So I went there, but in order to get that card, you have to do...
Subsubquest 1: Go to the bank and get a money-order for 10 bucks. Then come back here and do...
Subsubsubquest alpha: Fill out this form (with all your personal information) and bring it back here, then wait forever.
and
Subquest B: Fill out this form and mail it to this adress, then bring the result back.
Subsubquest 2: Go to the bank and get another money order for another 10 bucks. Then mail that, too and wait forever.
So, after completion of subquest A and B, subsubquests 1 and 2, and subsubquest alpha, I will be able to do...
Subquest C: Master the interview...
And so on, and so on...

Snow?

Snow! It's snowing. Right now. Not very much, and it doesn't stay, but it is snowing. Snow.

EDIT: Forget very much. The ground is turning white.

Update: The Terrible Cat-Book!

The terrible cat-book is not here anymore. It's gone. Or going. Somewhere else. It's basically on its way to another location. To a destination. Muahahahahar! Muahahahahar! Recipient of the terrible cat-book, beware!

The Weather Is Ass

I took a walk today, to the post office (hehe), to the store, bought three packs of strawberries, all that in this cold drizzling rain (who was with his friend, evil freezing wind). Back home I made tuna-fish-salad. And then I felt like making strawberry-cake. Good thing I had bought all those strawberries. Mhh, strawberry-cake. Delicious.

The Terrible Cat-Book!

Fact 1:
I don't like cats. They make me sneeze and itch. They run away when I wanna touch them (which I don't), they stalk me when I want them gone (which I want). They scratch unexpectedly and they don't listen. I find people who have cats at least suspicious, especially male people (I believe there must be something wrong with men who keep a cat for company).
Fact 2:
I don't find most comedians funny. I find most of them predictable, lame, dull and intellectually undemanding. I don't want to waste my time with their bullshit, especially not if they venture into other fields, like i.e. writing.
Given all that you might be able to imagine my surprise when I opened the present my sister gave me three weeks ago when we met in Toronto. It was a present from my mother. I unwrapped it and found:
A book.
By a male comedian.
About his life with his cat.
A book intended to be funny, but incredibly mediocre and predictable.
For me this book is and will always be: The terrible cat-book.
Here's a link, for those who really want to know.
(One of these things you never forget. Once in my childhood the christmas duck didn't turn out so well, it was kind of un-tender and un-meaty. This particular meal since then is known as "the rubber-duck" or "the flying duck" to our family. The terrible cat-book will always be the terrible cat-book, brought up again when present-wise someone seriously mis-picks.)
So after I was done wondering what weird constellation has made my mother send me this horrible piece of printwork, I purposefully 'forgot' it in Toronto. I left it in my sister's boyfriend's appartment, hoping he would find a use for it (put it under a desk's leg if the floor is uneven maybe). Then I boarded my plane and forgot the book at once.
Two wonderful weeks of peace followed.
Today there was a package in the mail. Yay, I love getting packages! From my sister! Cool! What might she be sending to her brother? I opened the parcel and there it was, stalking me, haunting me, not letting go of me: The terrible cat-book!
Argh!
But you won't win, cat-book, hehe, no you won't, I know exactly what I'm gonna do with you!! Muahahahahar! Muahahahahar! Harharharhar!

Desk

The small plane that took me here was piloted by 2 female pilots. They also have to move the luggage from and to the plane... for weird security reasons they don't accept any help from passengers, so I had to watch how they moved around the big heavy 64 lbs desk-package with difficulty.
It doesn't seem as heavy once put together, but it makes for a nice fine workspace.

It's Done!

I've done it.
I've ordered my new computer:
Sager NP9280 (Built on Clevo D900F) Ultimate Custom Laptop

- Operating System: ~Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit - Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell) - Case: Basic Black Business Case - Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D - Camera: Integrated Digital Video Camera - Wireless Network: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless - Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR - Memory Card Reader: Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader - Raid: Raid 0 Stripe Enabled - Third Hard Drive: None Standard - Second Hard Drive: ~ 500GB 7200RPM - Primary Hard Drive: ~ 500GB 7200RPM - Optical Drive: ~ 2X Blue-Ray Read/8X DVDRW - Ram: ~ 6,144MB DDR3 1066MHz Memory - Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 280M 1,024MB - Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - Processor: Intel Core i7 Quad (Nehalem) 950 - Display: 17" WUXGA "Glare Type"

Whee! Now I can only wait.

Back In Bumfucknowhere

We're back in Bumfuck. Later more.

Travels

Another flight, another city, another luxury hotel room with a football field for a bed. The flight was two hours and a bit crowded. We've been a little late for check-in, so I didn't get my ususal seat next to the emergency exit. Middle-seat. But who cares. Nice week last week is over, tomorrow we'll fly on to Bumfucknowhere again! I will go to the bulk barn tomorrow and stock up especially on Italian seasoning, which can't be purchased in Bumfuck.
One thing: Eight degrees here feel much warmer than 8 degrees where we just came from. Weird.

Viva Civilization Reason #20561 And #20562

There's hope for humankind, because of:
- the invention of non-latex condoms.*
- the invention of alcohol-free beer.**

*because they're way better than normal ones: No smell.
** because it tastes likes beer, refreshes like only beer can refresh, makes you feel like drinking beer (so manly, muahahahar), but doesn't make you fat. Nor drunk. It's also less expensive.

Alternative post title: Serious Signs Of Getting Old #1 and #2.

Saturday

The weather is crazy. All of a sudden today summer is back again, when yesterday and before it was fucking cold. Tomorrow we'll travel back north again.
The game I was waiting for, Risen, came out yesterday (and amazon informed me that my order has shipped). In the meantime I played the demo a lot. I like it. Can't wait to play the full game (though I'll have to, it doesn't run on my own computer, and my new laptop won't be delivered before the month is over).
I'm hungry.
Oh, today is a holiday in Germany. It used to be october 7th (kind of), but now it's october 3rd. It goes kind of unnoticed here, though. And I'm not one of the flag waving kind anyway.
Later today we will go and see Zombieland. I don't really know why, but who cares. Then there's my chess games. I'm playing several games at a time against different people and some games don't go too well for me... Grrr. Must play better! Must play better!
But first I must go now and find something to eat.

Mechanical Horse Part 2

(check if completed)
1. Remove feet, handlebar, seat, pedals and all other detachable parts. CHECK!
2. Find a big enough box. FAILURE!
2b. Be upset because found boxes are too small. CHECK!
2c. Make plans to find bigger box. CHECK! (sort of)
2d. Find bigger box. Be happy. Realize box is still too small. CHECK!
2e. Modify box to fit necessary measurements. CHECK!
2f. Use loads of duct tape make 2e happen. CHECK!
2g. Keep thinking: This will never work! This will never work! FAILURE!
2h. Be happy about newly created box. CHECK!
3. Optional: Inquire about shipping costs at post office and UPS store. CHECK!
4. Put everything in the box(es). CHECK!
5. Haul to chosen shipping company (Canada Post). CHECK!
6. Pay. CHECK!
7. Travel on commercial airliners to destination.
8. Show up with identification.
9. Receive parcel(s).
10. Carry home, unpack, reassemble, ride.