Thursday, October 28, 2004

I think this piece of advice should be written in bold capital letters in everyone's minds :
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
Mark Twain.

Pienso que este consejo tendria que escribirse en mayusculas y negrita en nuestros cerebros:
"Alejate de la gente que intenta disuadirte de tus ambiciones. Eso es lo que hace la gente pequenia, mientras que las grandes personas te haran sentir que tu tambien puedes aspirar a ser grande"
Mark Twain.

The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
14C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the South Southeast at 22 mph
Dew Point: 12C
Humidity: 83%
Visibility: 7 miles

Wednesday, October 27, 2004



When, as a child, I used to read comic books I remember being very interested in an advertisement which appeared in the inside covers. It was a Sea-Monkeys ad like the first photo above. The ad promised you could grow this 'extraordinary and fantastic marine creatures'in your own home with a minimum effort. The Sea-Monkeys would play, feed and perform acrobatics for your own enjoyment! I always wanted to buy the Sea-Monkeys kit. My parents never allowed me. They said it was too expensive and, probably, a scam. It would not work. The eggs would not hatch and it would be a waste of time and money. I insisted, but the answer was always no. Then I grew up and forgot about the Sea-Monkeys. Until last weekend. We were doing some shopping and went to have a look at a curious and miscellanea artifact shop. And..well, the Sea-Monkeys were not there, but something quite similar. The Triops! (second photo above) Prehistoric creatures which you can grow at your own home! said the packaging. Pour water in the tank, drop the eggs in, feed them..and presto! your own Triops! It seemed incredibly easy. And cheap, now that I am not a child anymore. So we bought the Triops kit. When opening the box at home, however, it didn't prove to be as easy as the instructions outside the box. Spring water and only spring water had to be used or the eggs would not hatch. Temperature had to be constant, in fact, you have to place the tank under a 60 watt bulb table lamp, feeding has to be almost at the exact time and the quantities have to be carefully measured...gosh, it's not as simple as the box said it would be! And then, doing a bit of research on the net...I have now discovered that the Triops have shorter lives than the Sea-Monkeys, are uglier and are cannibals! It seems the biggest Triops will eat the smaller Triops so you cannot hatch new eggs while the adults are in the same tank! What a horror. As with the Sea-Monkeys, these creatures tend to die very easily. A change of temperature, too much food, not enough food, lack of oxigen in the water, a tank too big, a tank too small...for heaven's sake, will they die by just looking at them, I wonder. What is clear is that my parents were wrong. It is not a scam. There are thousands of people who have grown Sea-Monkeys and Triops at home. But it is not easy. And I wonder if the ugly Triops are worth the effort. As you can see, the Sea-Monkey appeal from my chidhood has not gone away with ahem...adulthood!


Los tebeos que leia en mi niniez acostumbraban a tener una serie de anuncios en las contraportadas que siempre me llamaron mucho la atencion. Era el anuncio de los Sea-Monkeys (Monos marinos, no recuerdo si esta era la traduccion exacta en espaniol. El anuncio prometia que podias criar 'estas fantasticas y extraordinarias criaturas en tu casa con minimo esfuerzo'. Los Sea-Monkeys te entretendrian durante horas con sus juegos, acrobacias y vida familiar. Yo queria los Sea-Monkeys. Vaya si los queria! Pero mis padres nunca me dejaron comprarlos. Decian que eran demasiado caros y que seria un timo, una estafa. Que los huevos no eran de verdad, que los Sea-Monkeys no existian. Una perdida de tiempo y dinero. Yo insistia e insistia, pero nada. La respuesta siempre fue negativa. Pasaron los anios y me olvide de los Sea-Monkeys. Hasta el fin de semana pasado. Estabamos de compras y entramos en una tienda de esas de objetos curiosos y regalos varios. Y...no habia Sea-Monkeys, pero habia Triops , algo muy similar. Criaturas prehistoricas que puedes criar en tu propio hogar! decia la caja. Pon agua en el deposito, coloca los huevos en el agua, dales de comer y ya esta! tus propios Triops! Parecia muy sencillo. Y barato, mi presupuesto ha aumentado conforme he ido creciendo. Asi que compramos la caja de Triops. Sin embargo, cuando abrimos la caja en casa, resulto que no era tan sencillo. Las instrucciones del interior detallaban que solo habia que usar agua mineral natural, si no, los huevos no se convertirian en Triops. La temperatura habia de ser constante. De hecho, habia que colocar el acuario debajo de una lampara con bombilla de 60 watios. Las horas de comer tenian que ser regulares y las dosis muy exactas. Vaya con la sencillez prometida. Ahora, buscando por internet, he descubierto que los Triops viven menos tiempo que los SEa-Monkeys, son mas feos y para mas inri..son canibales! Parece ser que el Triops mas grande del acuario se comera a los mas pequenios, asi que si ponen huevos, ninguno crecera mientras esten en el mismo acuario que los adultos. Que pesadilla. Lo que comparten con los Sea-Monkeys es que mueren por cualquier razon. Que cambia la temperatura, que les das mucha comida, que no les das suficiente comida, que el agua no tiene suficiente oxigeno, que el acuario es demasiado grande o demasiado pequenio...por favor, pero es que se van a morir si les miro o que? Asi que no es tan facil. Pero mis padres estaban equivocados. No es una estafa. Hay miles de personas que han tenido Sea-Monkeys y Triops en casa. La unica pega es que es complicado. Y ahora empiezo a preguntarme si los feisimos Triops valen la pena. Ya veis, la obsesion con los Sea-Monkeys no desaparecio por completo con el fin de mi infancia. Suponiendo que mi infancia terminara, claro. Que lo dudo.


The weather today:
Cloudy and Windy
13C
UV Index: 0 Low
Wind: From the East Southeast at 25 mph
Dew Point: 8C
Humidity: 74%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer: 994.2 mb

Tuesday, October 26, 2004


As yesterday I started with the bonfire/barbeque topic, I might as well continue today with holidays and festivities. It's Halloween on Sunday. I bought a small pumpkin a couple of weeks ago. SD said it was too small to carve a face on it. It wasn't that small but SD is the carving king at home and he rules on that topic! This last weekend we saw huge pumpkins at the local supermarket. We bought one and SD carved a horrid face on it. You will think, how trivial, how normal. Well, I never had a pumpkin for Halloween in my life. I only started having one four years ago, when I moved abroad. It wasn't the tradition where I was born. So we had roasted chestnuts and oven-baked sweet potatoes and some very expensive marzipan pastries on the night of the 31st November. But no pumpkins, no trick or treat and no dressing up as witches or vampires.

Celebrated for centuries by the Celts of old, Witches and many other nature based religions, it is the most magical night of the year. It is the Witches' New Year, and the Last Harvest. Although the religious significance of it has passed for the general public, Halloween is a "magical" night for all! On this magical night, glowing jack-o-lanterns, carved from turnips or gourds, were set on porches and in windows to welcome deceased loved ones, but also to act as protection against malevolent spirits. Burning lumps of coal were used inside as a source of light, later to be replaced by candles. And now we are here...I found this a very attractive recipe to bake a beautiful Jack-o-Lantern cake!. Or supposing you are lazy and cannot be bothered to carve your pumpkin.. now you can make your own jack-o-latern on the internet, see All Hallows Eve .

I didn't know much of that until I moved here. In fact, the night of the 31st November has been a total bore all my life. Now it's FUN! And more holidays and bonfires are coming, as Friday next week is the 5th of November, Guy Fawkes, Bonfire Night. Another holiday I never celebrated or was aware of before I went to live abroad. I think I like better anglo-saxon holidays than Roman-Catholic holidays. Definitely, there is much more fun in them. Probably because there are no religion implications but close connections with paganism!




Ya que ayer mencione fogatas y barbacoas, mas vale que continue hoy con un tema relacionado.. El domingo es Halloween. Hace un par de semanas compre una pequenia calabaza. SD dijo que era demasiado pequenia para hacerle una cara a cuchillo. No es tan pequenia pero como SD es el experto en el tema de hacer caras en calabazas, en casa se sigue sus normas, ja ja! Este fin de semana vimos calabazas enormes en es super. Compramos una y SD le hizo una cara de miedo. Estareis pensando...que trivial, que normal. No lo es para mi. Nunca tuve una calabaza por Halloween en mi vida. No hasta hace cuatro anios, cuando vinimos a vivir aqui. Lo de las calabazas por Halloween no es tradicion en el pais donde you naci. Asi que hay castanias asadas, boniatos al horno y unos dulces de mazapan carisimos que venden en las pasterlerias. Pero de calabazas, nada de nada. Y menos el famoso 'trick or treat' de ir de casa en casa pidiendo golosinas, disfrazados de brujas, vampiros y monstruos.

Y de donde viene esta tradicion de la calabaza con cara (llamada jack-o-lantern? La antigua fiesta de Halloween ha sido celebrada durante siglos por los Celtas, Brujas y religiones basadas en la Naturaleza. Es la noche mas magica del anio. Es el Anio Nuevo de las brujas, y el dia de la ultima cosecha. Aunque el significado mitico les pase a muchos por alto, todos sabemos que es una noche magica. En esta noche se colocaban jack-o-laterns iluminados en los porches, entradas y ventanas de las casas para dar la bienvenida a amigos y familiares fallecidos pero tambien para actuar como 'protectores' de los malos espiritus. Las jack-o-lanterns de hace siglos podian ser calabazas o nabos y se iluminaban poniendo carbon ardiendo en su interior. Hoy en dia usamos la variedad mas grande de calabaza y las iluminamos con velas. Y ya que estamos.. aqui, por ejemplo, hay una receta para hacer un pastel en forma de Jack-o-Lantern!. O suponiendo que no tienes calabaza a mano pero quieres tener tu jack-o-lantern...pues te lo creas virtualmente en internet en esta pagina : All Hallows Eve .

Creo que es una bella tradicion. Sin embargo, no le encuentro nada de bello a las tradiciones catolicas. De hecho, la noche del 31 de noviembre era un aburrimiento total en mi pais. Ahora es diferente. Es divertido! Y aqui no se acaba todo, la noche del 5 de Noviembre tambien hay fogatas y mas fiesta, ya que es Guy Fawkes. Otra fiesta que nunca celebre o supe que existia hasta que llegamos aqui. Pienso que me gustan mucho mas las fiestas anglosajonas que las catolico-romanas. Hay mucha mas diversion en las primeras. Probablemente, porque casi no hay implicaciones religiosas y mucho que ver directamente con el paganismo!
.

The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
13C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: calm
Dew Point: 10C
Humidity: 82%
Visibility: 10 miles
Barometer: 1,011.5 mb


Monday, October 25, 2004


Yesterday I ate roasted marshmallows for the first time in my life. Sounds strange? Well, I never saw a marshmallow until I was twelve and since then, I never thought you could eat them any other way than straight from the packet. But no! There is THE other way! You need a bonfire, barbeque or oven with grill. Get a thin stick (like the sticks you use for kebabs) and punch your marshmallows through it. Or use only one marshmallow in a fork, if you want to take things easier! Hold the marshmallow kebab in front of the bonfire, barbeque or grill for several seconds, until the mallows start roasting. Take away from the fire and eat. It is delicious. It's sugary and toasted outside and all melting inside. Jeeez and it's taken me SO many years to discover this wonderful treat... I was born in the wrong country, for sure.


Ayer comi nubes (la golosina que aparece en la foto de arriba) tostadas por primera vez en mi vida. Suena raro? Bueno, para empezar no vi una nube hasta que tenia doce anios, asi que ya os podeis imaginar que esto de las nubes tostadas ni se me habia pasado por la cabeza. Que las nubes pudieran comerse de otra manera que de la bolsa a la boca? Pues no. Pero si, hombre si! Hay OTRA manera! Se necesita un palito largo y fino, como los que se usan para pinchos y kebabs. O un tenedor, si lo hacemos de uno en uno. Se insertan las nubes en el palito, como si fueras a preparar un pincho, pero en lugar de pollo o carne, usas las nubes. Se enciende la fogata, o barbacoa, o grill del horno. A continuacion, hay que sostener el pincho de nubes delante del fuego, hasta que empiece a tostarse. Se retira del fuego, y..a comer! Por fuera estaran tostadas y dulces y por dentro las nubes estaran blanditas, derritiendose. Parece asqueroso? Pues no! Es bonisimo! Y pensar que me he perdido esta golosina durante tantos anios... y es de lo mas normal para los crios en paises anglosajones, ya veis. Naci en el pais equivocado. Seguro.


The weather today:Partly Cloudy and Windy
14C
UV Index: 2 Low
Wind: From the West Southwest at 32 mph
Dew Point: 9C
Humidity: 74%
Visibility: 9 miles
Barometer: 1,004.4 mb

Friday, October 22, 2004

Thirty five students in classrooom 2.01 Park Building. One Tutor and one very lost student in room 2.27 Portland Building. Who's lost there? According to the Tutor : "All the students are lost!" That reminded me of 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', when young Indy goes on a excursion to the desert with his schoolmates and teacher. Indy gets separated from the rest. When he realises that, he says with total conviction: "Everybody got lost except for me!". And, of course, we smile and believe it. After all, he IS Indiana Jones. Well, in this case the Tutor was NOT Indiana Jones. And he was following last year's timetable. There are different rooms this year, dear lost Tutor! Don't assume anything, says one of bosses. And he is right.


Treinta y cinco estudiantes en el aula numero 2.01 en el edificio Park. Un profesor y un alumno despistado en el aula numero 2.27 en el edificio Portland. Quien se ha perdido? Segun el profesor : "todos los estudiantes se han perdido!" Esta frase me recordo la pelicula 'Indiana Jones y La Ultima Cruzada', cuando el joven Indy sale de excursion al desierto con sus companieros de clase y profesor. Indy se separa de sus companieros y, cuando se da cuenta, dice con mucha conviccion : "Todos se han perdido excepto yo!". Y, claro, los espectadores sonreimos y nos lo creemos. Porque, a ver, el ES Indiana Jones. Bien, en este caso de la vida real el profesor NO era Indiana Jones. Y seguia las instrucciones del horario del anio pasado. Querido profesor despistado, este anio son aulas distintas! No des nada por asumido, dice uno de mis jefes. Y tiene razon!


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy and Windy
15C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the South Southwest at 33 mph
Dew Point: 12C
Humidity: 83%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer: 1,007.5 mb

Thursday, October 21, 2004


We are having another of our mad weather days. Sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy and hop! let's start again..sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy... The weather changes every five minutes. It wasn't surprising then when this morning we got a glorious rainbow. From my window at the top floor of the building, I could see a very defined and bright rainbow which floated on top of our city. It was beautiful. Then we got rain, clouds, wind, rain again, the sun came up again..and hop! another huge rainbow. But wait..not only one, but two huge rainbows crowning our city. I've never seen two big rainbows like those before. It was a memorable moment.


Hoy tenemos otro de esos dias en que el tiempo parece que esta loco. Hace sol, viento, lluvia, nubes y hop! empecemos otra vez...sol, viento, lluvia, nubes... El tiempo cambia cada cinco minutos. Asi que tambien se nos ofrecio un arco iris glorioso esta maniana. Desde mi ventana, en el ultimo piso del edificio donde trabajo, vi un arco iris muy bien definido, de colores brillantes, que parecia flotar encima de nuestra ciudad. Era bellisimo. Y entonces llovio otra vez, paro de llover, las nubes se quedaron, vino el viento, llovio de nuevo, salio el sol...y hop! otro enorme arco iris. Pero..un momento...no un arco iris, sino dos, dos enormes arco iris, como si fueran diademas, encima de la ciudad. Nunca habia visto dos arco iris tan bellos en mi vida. Fue un momento memorable.


The weather today:
Partly Cloudy and Windy
14C
UV Index: 2 Low
Wind: From the Southwest at 36 mph
Dew Point: 9C
Humidity: 75%
Visibility: 10 miles
Barometer: 1,004.1 mb

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

I don't have Messenger anymore. Well, let me elaborate. I don't have Messenger at the office. They have been installing new firewalls and security software and have definitely banned chat software like Messenger. Of course I still have Messenger at home, but there I don't use the internet (or the computer) that much. I spend most of the day in front of a computer. When I get home, I want to do other things. Reading, for instance.

Anyways, back to the story. I am not missing Messenger that much. Of course I loved having surrealistic conversations with my friend Nurita and admiring Hightoro's new pictures - I specially liked that one with the electric chainsaw, oh yes. But apart from these contacts, I din't spend much time in Messenger. My contacts were mostly my cousins. And they are not very talkative. Or at least they are not very talkative with ME! But I still remember when Messenger was important in my life. And the chatrooms. I've not been in a chatroom for ages. I got bored of them. But there was a time, at the end of 1998, when I discovered chatrooms, that they were an important feature in my life. I used that little piece of software, the Microsoft chat engine, which allowed me to use mirc and irc chatrooms. I think this Microsoft chat doesn't exist anymore.

Anyways, it was very exciting, having the possibility of talking to total strangers from anywhere in the world. Most of the chatrooms were pure crap, most of the room-mates were morons. But sometimes, a pearl would appear between all that crap. Nice, real nice people were out there. A very nice girl, Rhianna, introduced me to a wonderful club, the www.sixdegrees.com. It doesn't exist anymore, either. But for a while, it was a wonderful free club where I made lots of friends. Then I got accepted to New Zealander chatrooms. They were scarce and the room-mates mostly wanted to talk to other Kiwis. I was not. But going back to the same chatroom again and again, I managed to be made an 'adoptive Kiwi'. I remember a couple of very nice room-mates : Mrs Gnome and Kiwi Guy. They were who they said they were. No lies and no changes of personality. When I went to NZ, I met them, along with nice Rhianna. They were real. And they were good people. On the other hand, I met a suspicious man, The Hobbit, who pretended to be from the US and after a while wanted to involve me in a gambling scheme on the internet. American, my arse. He was Arab. My English was better than his! I never had any interest in meeting him. I could see he was false and crap.

I know there are many people who are suspicious of chatrooms and the people you meet there. Probably. There is good and evil everywhere. In your city, in your work, in the internet. It's up to you to find out. With eyes wide open.


Ya no tengo Messenger. Puntualizo. No tengo Messenger en la oficina. Han instalado nuevos firewalls y mas software de seguridad que no permite instalar Messenger. Por supuesto, aun tengo Messenger en el ordenador de casa. Pero en casa no uso mucho internet (o el ordenador, ya que estamos puestos). Me paso muchas horas delante del ordenador en la oficina. Asi que cuando llego a casa, quiero hacer otras cosas. Leer, por ejemplo! y de un libro, claro.

Volviendo a la historia, he de decir que no echo mucho de menos el Messenger. Echo de menos las conversaciones surrealistas con mi amiga Nurita y el admirar la foto de presentacion de Hightoro - me gustaba especialmente aquella en la que el aparecia con una sierra electrica, ah si! Pero a parte de estos contactos, no pasaba mucho tiempo en messenger. El resto de mis contactos eran, principalmente, mis primos y primas. Que no hablan mucho. Bueno, al menos no hablan mucho CONMIGO, ja ja! Pero recuerdo cuando Messenger era importante en mi vida. Y las chatrooms. No he estado en una chatroom desde hace siglos. Me canse de ellas. Me aburri. Pero hubo una epoca, cuando las descubri, a finales de 1998, en que eran de lo mas divertidas. Yo usaba aquel programilla, el Microsoft chat, que permitia entrar en chatrooms de mirc e irc. Creo que este programilla ya no existe. O no funciona.

Bueno pues, a lo que iba. Que era divertisismo tener la posibilidad de hablar con desconocidos de cualquier parte del mundo. La mayoria de las chatrooms eran una mierda total. Y la mayoria de los participantes eran medio subnormales, pobrecitos. Pero a veces, se descubrian perlas. Habia gente simpatica e inteligente. Una chica encantadora, Rhianna, me introdujo a un club genial, el www.sixdegrees.com. Ya no existe, claro. Pero durante una temporada, este club gratuito me puso en contacto con gente estupenda e hice muchos amigos. Fuera del club me introduje en chatrooms de Nueva Zelanda. Habia pocas y los miembros no aceptaban facilmente a extranios. Pero con paciencia y teson, volviendo una y otra vez, me hicieron 'kiwi adoptiva'. Recuerdo a un par de miembros de una chatroom : Mrs Gnome y Kiwi Guy. Eran quien decian que eran. Sin mentiras y sin falsas personalidades. Cuando fui a Nueva Zelanda, les conoci en persona, y tambien a Rhianna. Eran reales y eran buena gente. Por otro lado, tambien conoci a malvados de pelicula en internet. Por ejemplo, un hombre la mar de sospechoso, The Hobbit, que pretendia ser norteamericano y queria meterme en un negocio de casinos en internet. Norteamericano, una mierda. Era arabe. Mi ingles era mejor que el suyo! Por supuesto, nunca tuve ningun interes en conocerle en persona. Era obvio que era falso y mala persona.

Se que hay mucha gente que esta en contra de las chatroom y de conocer a gente usando internet. Quiza. El bien y el mal estan en todas partes. En tu ciudad, en tu trabajo, en internet. Calificar a internet como el origen de todos los males es ridiculo y de ignorantes. Tu tienes que ser capaz de distinguir. Abre los ojos.


The weather today:
Cloudy and Windy
16C
UV Index: 0 Low
Wind: From the South Southwest at 26 mph
Dew Point: 14C
Humidity: 94%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer: 989.2 mb

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Ah another rainy day... lovely!

Y otro dia de lluvia....encantador!

Monday, October 18, 2004

We bought our bedframe, bedside tables, lamps, mattress and matress pad in Ikea this weekend. Now our bedroom has a minimalist-Oriental ambience, simple and easy. While we were in Ikea we found these wonderful blackout blinds (pictured above): Roller blind TUPPLUR, 100% black-out, thanks to the acrylic-coated cotton fabric. Can be cut to desired width. Can be fixed to the ceiling or the wall. In dark blue, beige and grey. We've calculated that covering the two windows in our bedroom we would be spending around £50. We'll go to Ikea next weekend again to get the blinds! Now what is amazing is that we went to a local blinds shop and were quoted £400 for the same type of material and blinds. So this story comes with a double conclusion : 1) It pays to shop around. 2)To those little 'alternative' types who preach supporting small local shops against big chains, I would tell them to stuff £350 worth of blinds up their asses. This is exactly the amount of money I am saving by NOT shopping at a small local shop. Yeeeha!



Este fin de semana fuimos a Ikea y compramos la nueva cama, mesitas de noche, lamparas, colchon y colchoncillo. Tiene un aire oriental-minimalista, simple y sencillo. Y cuando estabamos en Ikea vimos estas persianas de la foto de arriba: Estor TUPPLUR. 100% opacidad a la luz gracias al tejido de algodón con superficie acrílica. Se puede cortar al ancho deseado. Se puede colgar del techo o de una pared. En azul marino, beige y gris. Hemos calculado que, para cubrir las dos ventanas de nuestro dormitorio, gastaremos unas £50. Asi que iremos otra vez a Ikea el proximo fin de semana! La historia no se acaba aqui... hace un par de semanas fuimos a una tienda de nuestra ciudad para preguntar precios de persianas/estores. Nos hicieron un presupuesto de £400 por dos estores del mismo material que el que ofrece Ikea. Asi que esta historia termina con dos bonitas moralejas : 1) Hay que visitar varias tiendas antes de comprar y 2) A esos tipejos 'alternativos'que nos machacan la importancia de comprar en las tiendas del barrio para ayudar al pequenio comercio, yo les digo que se metan por donde les quepa un par de persianas por valor de £350. Esta es exactamente la cantidad que me ahorro al NO COMPRAR en un pequenio comercio local. Ahi os lo dejo...


The weather today:
Sunny
14°
Wind 6 moderate
Pressure 1009
Humidity 62%
UV Index 1
Pollution 2

Friday, October 15, 2004



Another little tool which has radically changed my life! The potato peeler! Because you see, before the discovery of the potato peeler, I didn't peel potatoes. My mum's tool 'par excellence' is the knife. She could have earned her life in a circus as a knife throwing genius. She uses the knife as a professional killer. I tried using a knife. The potato was reduced to a dwarfish size. Or I almost amputated my hands. As I only have two of them, I thought it was better to forget about peeling potatoes. Now, however, I happily peel anythign you put in front of me! And what is a potato peeler? A potato peeler is a metal blade attached to a metal, plastic or wooden handle that is used for peeling vegetables, usually potatoes, but you can also use it with carrots, green beans, apples..anything you need to peel! As you can see from the photos above, there are different types of potato peeler. They look similar, but one is superb and the other one is crap. I found the first one in New Zealand, land of wonders. The metal blade swivels, that is what it makes the peeler so easy to use. The second one I found it in the UK. The blade does not swivel at all. And it is crap. Buy the first model, if you can. It will change your life, just as it has changed mine! Oh and this story comes with a little nice conclusion : You may spend years and years thinking your mum is a domestic goddess and you are just simply useless. But one day, you will know more and better than your mum!


Otra pequenia herramienta que ha cambiado radicalmente mi vida! El pela-patatas!! Porque, vereis...antes de descubrir el pela-patatas, yo no pelaba patatas. Mi madre siempre usaba el cuchillo. Podria haberse ganado la vida en un circo como tiradora de cuchillos. Mi madre usa el cuchillo como una asesina profesional. En cambio yo...cuando probe a usarlo, los resultados fueron de pelicula de terror. O bien las patatas quedaban reducidas a tamanio enanito o bien me amputaba las manos. Y como solo tengo dos manos, decidi no volver a pelar nunca mas una patata. Ahora, sin embargo, pelo patatas y pelo todo lo que me pongais por delante, con rapidez y profesionalidad. Y que es un pela-patatas? Basicamente, es una hoja metalica pegada a un mango de metal, plastico o madera que se usa para pelar vegetales, usualmente patatas, pero que tambien es usado para pelar zanahorias, judias verdes, manzanas...cualquier fruta o verdura que querais pelar! Como podeis ver en las fotos de arriba, hay varios modelos. Los de las fotos se parecen, pero hay un mundo de diferencia entre los dos. Uno es una maravilla. El otro es una mierda. Encontre el primero en Nueva Zelanda, tierra de maravillas. La hoja metalica se mueve de lado a lado, y es lo que hace que sea tan facil de usar. El segundo lo encontre en Inglaterra. La hoja metalica no se mueve. Y es horrible de usar. Comprad el primer modelo, si podeis. Cambiara vuestra vida, exactamente igual a como ha cambiado la mia! Ademas, esta historia viene con moraleja : Puedes pasarte la vida creyendo que tu madre es una autoridad en temas domesticos y tu un/a simple inutil, pero llegara un dia en que tu sabras mas que tu madre.


The weather today:
Light Rain
11C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the West at 10 mph
Dew Point: 8C
Humidity: 82%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 993.9 mb

Thursday, October 14, 2004


I think we have finally found the bedframe we were looking for...Kodal bedframe from Ikea , as pictured above. Seems simple, doesn't it? You would think this bedframe would be easy to find, available in most furniture shops. Well, it was not. We only found it in Ikea. There was a wooden, more expensive version in Habitat, but we are happy enough with Ikea's cheaper version. Which means a visit to Ikea to check if the bedframe is as good in real life than it is in the Ikea brochure online.


Me parece que ya hemos encontrado la base de cama que buscabamos... el modelo Kodal de Ikea . Parece de lo mas sencillita, no? Un tipo de cama que encontrarias en cualquier tienda de muebles, no? Pues no. Solo la hemos encontrado en Ikea. Habia una version en madera, mas cara, en Habitat, pero nos conformamos con la version baratita de Ikea, somos asi de sencillos! Lo que quiere decir que ahora nos toca ir a Ikea este fin de semana, a ver si la cama es lo que parece en realidad porque hasta ahora solo la hemos visto 'virtualmente'en el catalogo online de Ikea.


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
13C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the Southwest at 10 mph
Dew Point: 6C
Humidity: 63%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 994.9 mb

Tuesday, October 12, 2004


A week ago we discovered something that has totally changed our lives forever! We discovered...the steamer! (pictured above). Now vegetables taste wonderful and we just stuff ourselves with greens for dinner every night. It is incredibly easy. Just peel and cut (if needed) your vegetables, put them in the steamer, fill in the thank with water -we normally use the 40 minute cooking time- and that's it! In 40 minutes you will have lovely steamed vegetables. Give it a try, you will never go back to tasteless boiled vegetables!! And what's more, if you hated vegetables..from now on, you will simply love them!


Hace una semana descubrimos algo que ha cambiado por completo nuestras vidas! Descubrimos...la cocina al vapor (foto de arriba). Desde entonces, las verduras saben de maravilla y nos hartamos de ellas cada dia para cenar. Y es tan sencillo! Pelad y cortad las verduras (si es necesario). Colocadlas en la maquinita. Llenad el tanque de agua. Nosotros usamos la coccion a 40 minutos. En 40 minutos, tendreis deliciosas verduras cocinadas al vapor, sin problemas. Probadlo, os aseguro que nunca mas querreis volver a comer verdura hervida con agua. Es mas, si no os gustaba la verdura..ahora os encantara!


The weather today:
Cloudy
14C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the East at 12 mph
Dew Point: 13C
Humidity: 96%
Visibility: 2 miles
Barometer: 1,003.4 mb

Friday, October 08, 2004

I was strolling down Commercial Road this afternoon when I saw that the French market had been also moved there, plus the usual Food market we get every Thursday and Friday. The French stalls were selling cheese, sausages, pastries, foie-gras, crepes..and one of them was selling Spanish paella (rice+additions, basically). They had two options, vegetable paella and chicken paella. Not my favourite, the seafood paella, but even so, I was very tempted to buy a ration...although I had already had my sandwiches for lunch! It smelled delicious! Anyway, there were two English students having a look at the food. One of them suggested they may have 'that French food' for lunch. The second student replied : " I've never eaten this in my life, I don't even know what it is. Let's go to McDonalds". Jeeezz! Here we have a staggering example of rebellious and modern youth! I bet there won't be any revolution in the future with types like this!


Iba caminando por la Calle Comercial este mediodia cuando vi que, ademas del tipico mercadillo de fruta y verdura que ponen cada jueves y viernes hoy habia, ademas, un mercado frances. Los puestos franceses vendian embutidos, quesos, foie-gras, croissants, crepes..y uno de ellos tambien vendia paella! Tenian dos opciones, paella de verduras o paella de pollo. Lastima que no tenian paella de marisco, mi preferida. Y aun asi, el olorcillo era tan tentador que casi voy y me compro una racion, olvidando que me habia zampado 2 sandwiches hacia bien poco. Bueno, pues ahi estaba yo, haciendoseme la boca agua delante del puesto de paella, cuando oigo a dos estudiantes (ingleses) hablando a mi lado. Uno le pregunto al otro que le parecia comprar un par de raciones para almorzar. El segundo estudiante le contesto : "No he comido de eso en mi vida, y no se que es (arroz, inutil, pense yo!!). Vamos a McDonalds". Toma yaaaa! Vaya un ejemplo de juventud rebelde y moderna! Con tipos asi, no me extrania que las cosas no cambien!


The weather today:
Cloudy
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the Northeast at 15 mph
Dew Point: 10°C
Humidity: 68%
Visibility: 10 miles
Barometer: 1,016.6 mb

Thursday, October 07, 2004

Now that I finally have five minutes to post in the blog...now my mind has gone blank blank blank I don't have anything to say! It must be the stress...the enrolments, the new committees... I am especially scared of the Research Ethics Committee. After attending just one meeting, I am 100% sure it will be one of those committees where people talk talk talk for hours hours hours and then there's lots of paperwork for this humble person to deal with for the rest of the week. Why is it that each year I get involved in more and more committees? As if I had not clearly said I hate them all! Maybe I should have followed the opposite strategy. Maybe I should have said I love them all and then I would have been expelled from all of them??


Ahora que por fin he conseguido tener cinco minutos libres para postear en el blog...ahora me he quedado en blanco y no se que decir! Sera el stress... las matriculaciones, los nuevos comites... el que da mas miedo es el de investigacion etica. Despues de asistir a la primera reunion, esta clarisimo que se va a perpetuar como uno de esos comites donde los miembros hablan dale que te pego durante horas y horas y luego hay un monton de trabajo extra para mi persona. Por que sera que cada anio me caen mas comites? Como si no hubiera dejado bien claro que los odio! Quiza tendria que haber seguido la estrategia opuesta. Decir que me encantan, para que me echaran de todos?


The weather today:
Cloudy and Sunny
15C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the Southwest at 9 mph
Dew Point: 11C
Humidity: 73%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,015.9 mb

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Oh shit! I was having a bad day. Then I read the newspaper and it got worse! What the hell is this!!!??? Duran Duran release their new album today after a 25 year silence (with the original members). And I think they might as well kept the silence for another 25 years. Nobody is missing them! Right, maybe I should try to find something positive about it. Weeeeelll...for instance, I am 100% sure Spandau Ballet will not come back. They have been hating each other's guts for years and nothing has changed, as I saw recently on tv. That's something to feel happy about!


Eramos pocos y pario la burra. No querias arroz? Pues dos tazas! Ya tenia un dia bastante malo y solo me ha faltado leer el periodico para empeorarlo. Duran Duran lanzan su nuevo album tras 25 anios de silencio (con los miembros originales). Y digo yo, ya se podian haber quedado otros 25 anios mas en silencio, que nadie les ha echado en falta! Por otro lado, quiza tendria que verle su lado positivo. Por ejemplo, los que seguro seguro seguro que no van a volver son los Spandau Ballet , que se pelearon a muerte hace anios y, por lo que vi hace unos meses en television, siguen sin hablarse. Algo es algo.


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy and Windy
16C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the Southwest at 30 mph
Dew Point: 13C
Humidity: 81%
Visibility: 10 miles
Barometer: 1,006.8 mb

Monday, October 04, 2004

And here you have some more...better this than telling you the shitty day I'm having today!


Y aqui van unas cuantas mas.... mejor esto que contaros el dia de mierda que estoy teniendo!!
'prick'=polla en ingles; fart=pedo; juicy pussy=conejito jugoso; shit(o)=mierda






The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
15C
UV Index: 2 Low
Wind: From the West at 15 mph
Dew Point: 11C
Humidity: 78%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer: 1,006.8 mb

Friday, October 01, 2004

Creating the name of a product is not that easy... sometimes, you'd better not export internationally...see below!
Dar nombre a un producto no es nada facil... a veces, es mejor no exportar a mercados internacionales...para muestra, un boton!
('cock' y 'dick' se traducen como 'polla','picha'- pene, en ingles)







The weather today:
Cloudy
14C
UV Index: 0 Low
Wind: From the Southwest at 1 mph
Dew Point: 13C
Humidity: 92%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer: 1,016.9 mb