I love Chinese food. Or I'd better say 'the Chinese food we get at restaurants in Europe', as I have never been in China and tried the 'real' Chinese food. I think in Europe they feed us a mix of the most popular dishes from the main Chinese cuisines : Shangai, Canton, Szechuan and Beijing. For a nice website with Chinese recipes, have a look here : Chinavista . Unfortunately, Chinese restaurants are expensive in the United Kingdom compared to, say, Indian restaurants. There is a well established Indian population in the UK, so it is not surprising there is a lot of competition. But curiously enough, Chinese restaurants seem to be mostly a cheap option in many countries. For instance, in Spain they are very well known for their very affordable prices and the variety of menus. Nowadays, there is a Chinese restaurant at every corner (almos!). But the Chinese community has been only established in Spain since the early 90s and they are still a minority. Probably there are more Chinese citizens in the United Kingdom. So how come that Chinese restaurants are that expensive? This question doesn't allow me to sleep But then, again...maybe I should not wonder. After all, everything is expensive here!


Me encanta la comida china. O, mejor dicho 'la comida china que nos dan en los restaurantes de Europa', ya que nunca he estado en China y, por tanto, nunca he degustado la 'autentica' comida china. Creo que aqui nos dan una mezcla de las principales cocinas chinas, la Cantonesa, Pekinesa (Beijing), Szechuan y Shangai. Aqui teneis una util pagina web con recetas chinas (en ingles): Chinavista . Desafortunadamente, los restaurantes chinos son caros en el Reino Unido, comparados con, por ejemplo, los restaurantes indios. Me imagino que los precios de los indios son asequibles porque la comunidad india lleva muchos anios establecida en el Reino Unido y hay mucha competencia en restaurantes. Pero, curiosamente, los restaurantes chinos son, en la mayoria de los paises, la opcion mas barata. Por ejemplo, en Espania son bien conocidos por sus precios baratos y la variedad de sus menus. Hoy en dia hay un restaurante chino en cada esquina - o casi!. Y la comunidad china sigue siendo una minoria en la poblacion espaniola y la mayoria solo llegaron a mediados de los 90. Probablemente, hay mas ciudadanos chinos en el Reino Unido. Asi que...por que son caros los restaurantes chinos? La duda me consume. O quiza no deberia consumirme tanto, si consideramos que, aqui, todo es caro!.


The weather today:
Cloudy
21C
UV Index: 1 Low
Wind: From the West Southwest at 14 mph
Dew Point: 16C
Humidity: 73%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,014.9 mb

I have been helping at our second graduation day. It has been sunny but not excessively hot - just as well, as the Guildhall does not have air conditioning!-and we've had a very impressive ceremony. Even if my gown was terrible, old and crusty, something they use for foreign representatives. If I'm helping again next year, I'm going to lie as hell and tell them I have a PhD by Oxford University, let's see if they give me a more fashionable gown!


He estado ayudando en el segundo dia de graduacion. Hemos tenido un dia soleado pero no caluroso -por suerte, porque la sala de actos del ayuntamiento no tiene aire acondicionado- y la ceremonia ha sido de lo mas impresionante. Dejando aparte mi toga, que era de lo mas penosa, para representantes extranjeros. El anio que viene, si me apunto de nuevo, les miento como un cosaco y digo que tengo un doctorado por la Oxford University, a ver si me dan una toga mas decente.


The weather today:
Sunny
20C
UV Index: 4 Moderate
Wind: From the West Southwest at 9 mph
Dew Point: 7C
Humidity: 43%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,016.9 mb

I read in The New Zealand Herald that the cast of actors for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe , to be shot in New Zealand, has already been revealed : "The four young stars in Andrew Adamson's The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe have finally revealed themselves to the world to welcome Prime Minister Helen Clark. The actors are: Georgie Henley, 9, from London, who plays the lead character Lucy; Skandar Keynes, 12, also from London, who plays Edmund; Anna Popplewell, 15, from West Yorkshire, who plays Susan; and William Moseley, 17, from Gloucestershire, who plays the eldest brother Peter.
James Cosmo, who played Campbell in Braveheart and Mr Renton in Trainspotting, has been confirmed for the role of Father Christmas. He will join the other cast members so far named: Tilda Swinton (the White Witch), Dawn French (the voice of Mrs Beaver), James McAvoy (Mr Tumnus) and Rupert Everett (the voice of The Fox). A spokesman for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe denied all reports that Australian actor Nicole Kidman will be involved in the movie".

Leo en The New Zealand Herald que ya se ha revelado el reparto de actores de la pelicula El Leon, La Bruja y El Armario , que actualmente se esta filmando en Nueva Zelanda :"Los cuatro jovenes actores, de la pelicula dirigida por Andrew Adamson fueron recibidos por la Primera Ministra Helen Clark. Los actores son : Georgie Henley, londinense de 9 anios encarnara a Lucy, el personaje principal. Skandar Keynes, tambien londinense y de 12 anios de edad, encarnara a Edmund, Anna Popplewell, 15 anios y originaria de West Yorkshire, para el papel de Susan y William Mosely, de 17 anios y originario de Gloucestershire, para el papel del hermano mayor Peter. Se ha confirmado que James Cosmo, quien actuo com Campbell en la pelicula Braveheart y como Mr Renton en Trainspotting, sera Papa Noel. El reparto, ya confirmado, incluye a Tilda Swinton como la Bruja Blanca, Dawn French como la voz de Mrs Beaver, James McAvoy como Mr Tumnus y Rupert Everett como la voz de The Fox. El portavoz de la productora ha negado el rumor de que la actriz australiana Nicole Kidman participaria en la pelicula".

Friday at last! Good weekend to all of you! And if it's cloudy, now you can blame plankton. No joking. A research-funded by NASA confirms that when the sun is too strong, plankton create clouds to protect themselves.See here: Plankton make clouds


Por fin es viernes! Buen fin de semana a todos/as!! Y si esta nublado, ahora podemos dar la culpa al plancton. No bromeo. Una investigacion llevada a cabo con fondos de la NASA confirma que, cuando el sol es demasiado fuerte, el plancton crea nubes para protegerse. Lo teneis aqui (en ingles): Plankton make clouds .


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
17C
UV Index: 5 Moderate
Wind: From the West Northwest at 16 mph
Dew Point: 11C
Humidity: 68%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,012.5 mb

After a conversation with one of SD's colleagues this morning.. I am seriously considering the possibility of applying for a driving licence. Mind you, I am sooo lazy that probably I will fail even to appear for the practical test..and will probably fall asleep on top of the keyboard while sitting the theory test. So...I keep seriously considering it for the moment!

Despues de una conversacion con una colega de SD esta maniana, estoy seriamente considerando el sacarme el carnet de conducir. Claro que, con mi habitual holgazaneria, probablemente ni siquiera me presentare al examen practico..y no digamos ya al teorico, donde probablemente me dormire encima del teclado antes de terminar de leer la primera pregunta. Asi que...de momento..continuare 'considerando' la posibilidad!
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The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
17C
UV Index: 5 Moderate
Wind: From the Northeast at 6 mph
Dew Point: 13C
Humidity: 77%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,004.1 mb

A couple of months ago we got some sunflower seeds and planted them in the garden. The weather was very good for growing plants. It rained a bit every night and it was sunny during the day. Our sunflowers happily grew. Then the weather changed. For a whole week the sunflowers were exposed to very strong and constant wind and showers. Most of the leaves broke and no matter our carefully tying the plants to sticks, the wind was too strong even for the sticks! Then the weather changed again and we thought our sunflowers were damaged, but would survive. I lost hope of winning the 'Tallest sunflower in the city' competition, though, because that strong wind had really really weakened the plants. And now the wind is back again. Strong wind. Gales. Today, tomorrow and many more days to come, according to the weather forecast. I think this time our sunflowers will not survive, as they are in the most delicate moment of their growth, when the flower is starting to sprout. And now you are waiting for the moral of the story. Sorry to disappoint you. It doesn't have any. Apart from 'fuck the British weather!'.


Hace un par de meses plantamos varias semillas de girasol en el jardin. El tiempo resulto ser bonisimo para el crecimiento de las plantas. Llovia un poco cada noche y los dias eran largos y soleados. Nuestros girasoles crecieron alegremente. De pronto, el tiempo cambio. Durante toda una semana, los girasoles estuvieron expuestos a vientos huracanados y tormentas. La mayoria de las hojas se rompieron y aunque atamos los girasoles a postes para que no se rompieran, el viento era tan fuerte que rompia los postes o los agitaba junto con las plantas. Entonces el tiempo cambio de nuevo y, aunque vimos que los girasoles estaban daniados, supimos que sobrevivirian. Sin embargo, seguro que ya no tendriamos ninguna posibilidad de ganar la competicion del 'Girasol mas alto de la ciudad', porque los vientos huracanados habian debilitado mucho a las plantas y ya no crecerian con fuerza. Y hoy, los vientos huracanados vuelven a castigarnos. Hoy, maniana y a saber cuantos dias mas, la prevision del tiempo es muy muy mala. Esta vez estamos convencidos de que los girasoles no sobreviviran. Especialmente porque ahora estan en la etapa mas delicada de su crecimiento, cuando las flores empiezan a brotar. Y ahora os estareis preguntando por la moraleja de la historia. Pues lo siento, pero no la hay. A parte de : " A tomar por culo con el tiempo en Gran Bretania!".


The weather today:
Rain and Wind
18C
UV Index: 3 Moderate
Wind: From the East Northeast at 21 gusting to 36 mph
Dew Point: 8C
Humidity: 52%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,010.2 mb

Ah the joys of summer! Barbeques, for instance. For a colleague of mine, his barbeque was more a horror than a joy...the poor soul was telling me today how he bought an 'instant barbeque' this weekend. It is quite a useful thing, the 'instant barbeque'. It is an aluminum box with a grill on top and filled with coal. Just light it and start cooking! When it's finished, throw it away and that's it. Very practical to take anywhere and improvising barbeques on the spot. However, that little box became a horrid nightmare for my colleague. Thinking the fire was off, he left the box on a wooden board, placed on top of a wooden table standing on his garden deck. Guess what. The heat from the coal burnt the wooden board, went through the wooden table, down a leg and ended up burning the whole decking! Waking up at 3 in the morning, my colleague decided it was too hot in the house and went to open the window...to his horror, he saw a glowing light down in the garden, rushed downstairs, and forgetting about the hosepipe due to the panic, filled a cooking pot with water and spent almost an hour dousing the deck and putting off the fire. I have used 'instant barbeques' several times and never ocurred to me such a thing could happen. This story was a wake-up call for me. Let this be a warning for us all! Make sure the barbeque is off by liberally spraying it with water, and never ever, leave an aluminum instant barbeque box on top of any inflamable surface!


Ah las delicias del verano! Las barbacoas, por ejemplo. Sin embargo, para uno de mis colegas la barbacoa ha tenido consecuencias desastrosas. El pobre hombre me contaba hoy como ocurrio...el sabado compro una 'barbacoa instantanea', una caja de aluminio con una parrilla y rellena de carbon. Se enciende el carbon y..voila! barbacoa instantanea! Una vez se ha terminado de cocinar y la barbacoa se ha apagado, se tira la caja y ya esta. Es una barbacoa de un solo uso, muy practica para llevar a todas partes e improvisar barbacoas en un momento. Sin embargo, esta inocente caja de aluminio se convirtio en una amenaza para mi colega. Pensando que el carbon se habia apagado, el buen hombre dejo la caja encima de una tabla de madera, encima de una mesa de madera que tiene colocada en el 'decking' de su jardin. Ya os podeis imaginar lo que paso. El calor de la caja quemo la tabla, paso a la mesa, bajo por una pata y quemo todo el decking del jardin. Despertandose a las 3 de la madrugada porque tenia calor, mi colega fue a abrir la ventana y, para su sorpresa, vio un resplandor que provenia del decking. Bajo corriendo, en pleno panico, al darse cuenta de lo que estaba sucediendo. Se le quemaba el jardin! Por los nervios, se olvido de usar la manguera, agarro una olla de la cocina y, llenandola de agua, se paso casi una hora rociando el decking para apagarlo. Yo he usado las barbacoas instantaneas varias veces y nunca se me hubiera ocurrido que fueran tan letales! Que esta historia nos sirva de advertencia a todos/as, pues. Tenemos que asegurarnos de que la barbacoa se ha apagado totalmente. Si es necesario, vaciar un cubo de agua encima del carbon. Y nunca, nunca jamas dejar la caja de aluminio de una barbacoa instantanea encima de una superficie inflamable!


The weather today:
Sunny
22C
UV Index: 5 Moderate
Wind: From the East Southeast at 6 gusting to 17 mph
Dew Point: 5C
Humidity: 33%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,020.0 mb

On 5th July 1954, Elvis Presley recorded That's all right, his first single, at the Sun Studios, Memphis. Today, 50 years later, the song that, for many people, signalled the birthday of rock and roll will be played at the same time in more than 1000 radio stations around the world. Elvis'fans will also meet in Memphis to celebrate the anniversary. Yes, there is always a good reason for Memphis to organise a party and let the good times roll...


El 5 de julio de 1954, Elvis Presley entro en los estudios Sun de Memphis para grabar That's all right, su primer single. Hoy, 50 anios despues, la cancion que para muchos marco el nacimiento del rock and roll sonara al mismo tiempo en mas de 1.000 emisoras de radio de todo el mundo y miles de seguidores se reuniran en Memphis para celebrarlo. Los ciudadanos de Memphis siempre tienen una buena razon para organizar una fiesta y, como dicen en ingles, 'let the good times roll'.


The weather today:
Partly Cloudy
16C
UV Index: 4 Moderate
Wind: From the West Southwest at 6 mph
Dew Point: 13C
Humidity: 81%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,018.3 mb

My friend's AP thoughts on food when I accuse him of eating only Pot Noodles:"That is right. Nothing but Pot Noodles. But what you dont know is that Pot Noodles encompass almost every food in the world. The variety is astonishing. You have Oriental Sweet & Sour, Spicy Chinese Chicken, Spicy Chilli. Then there is Pot Rice and Pot Pasta. It is endless. Discover Pot Noodle and you eat the world!" And no. He doesn't work in marketing or an ad agency. He should. What a waste of talent!. With this statement, AP has demonstrated he can really really argument the benefits of Pot Noodles against Paul Hogan's article in The Observer.


La respuesta de mi amigo AP cuando le acuso de comer solo Pot Noodles (marca britanica de fideos chinos deshidratados): " Pues si. Solo como Pot Noodles. Pero lo que tu no sabes es que Pot Noodles te acerca a todas las cocinas del mundo. Una increible variedad. Tienes Fideos Orientales Agridulces, Fideos Chinos con Pollo Picante, Fideos con Chili Picante. Hay incluso Pot de Arroz y Pot de Pasta. No tiene fin. Descubre Pot Noodle y te comeras el mundo!". Y no, no trabaja en publicidad o en una agencia de marketing. Pero deberia hacerlo. Que perdida de talento!. La declaracion de mi amigo AP es la respuesta perfecta al articulo de Paul Hogan que aparece en The Observer (en ingles).


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
19C
UV Index: 4 Moderate
Wind: From the West Southwest at 20 mph
Dew Point: 11C
Humidity: 60%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,009.1 mb

Say you want to read a book online and for free. You may find it at The Online Books Page which will direct you to the appropriate online Library. The oldest free online Library is Project Gutenberg . But be aware that they cannot publish any texts still in copyright. This generally means that their texts are taken from books published pre-1923. So if you want to read Gone with the Wind or Alice in Wonderland, to mention two examples, then you can do it for free. But if you want the latest bestseller, unfortunately you will still have to pay for it or borrow it from your local Library.


Digamos que quieres leer un libro online y gratis (en ingles). Probablemente lo encontraras en The Online Books Page , que te dirigira a la biblioteca online donde puedes encontrar el libro. La gran (y mas antigua) biblioteca gratis online es Project Gutenberg . Pero ten en cuenta que no pueden publicar textos que aun estan en copyright. Lo que quiere decir que sus textos estan extraidos de libros publicados antes de 1923. Asi que si quereis leer gratis Lo que el viento se llevo o Alicia en el pais de las maravillas, por poner un par de ejemplos, lo podeis hacer sin problemas. Pero si lo que quereis es el ultimo bestseller, aun tendreis que pagarlo en la libreria o bien tomarlo prestado de la biblioteca de vuestra ciudad.


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
19C
UV Index: 4 Low
Wind: From the Southwest at 14 mph
Dew Point: 8C
Humidity: 49%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,011.9 mb