Appalachian Cooking

22 Jan 2011 - For the first time ever I met a TV cook. For 10 years Mark Sohn had a half hour cooking show on one of the USA network. He specializes in Appalachian cooking. From his website I learned that the foods of Appalachia are the medium for the history of a creative culture and a proud people. This is the story of pigs and chickens, corn and beans, and apples and peaches as they reflect the culture that has grown from the region's topography, climate, and soil. Mark Sohn has also written a cooking book about Appalachian cooking which unfolds the ways of a table that blends Native American, Eastern European, Scotch-Irish, black, and Hispanic influences to become something new and uniquely American. He shows how food traditions in Appalachia have developed over two centuries from dinner on the grounds, church picnics, school lunches, and family reunions as he celebrates regional signatures such as dumplings, moonshine, and country ham. Food and folkways go hand in hand as he examines wild plants, cast-iron cookware, and the nature of the Appalachian homeplace.

KL/Amsterdam

22 Jan 2011 - The last weeks I heard about a number of incidents involving bag-snatching, pickpocketing and theft in town. I had this (stupid) impression that Kuala Lumpur is a relatively safe city, but it turns out to be a city like any other in the world, where junks and criminals are always on the look-out preying for an opportunity to make some quick bucks. It reminds of the zillion times that my bicycle got stolen in Amsterdam. Bicycle-theft is probably still a reality for students and other folks in Amsterdam, but I read that the city also tops the Dutch list of car thefts. In particular the Volkswagen Golf appears to be popular. More than 17,000 cars were stolen in Holland In 2010, and 2,200 car thefts occurred in Amsterdam. Wow! This figure is about the same as 5 years ago, which must be quite frustrating for the police officers in charge and of course for the victim car-owners. I remember that miserable feeling when you realized that your bicycle had been stolen, but - damn - how lousy would it feel if your car is missing from its parking place?

Sopranos in Hong Kong

21 Jan 2011 - A copied this pice for the blogger BigWhiteGuy in Hong Kong. Never piss off a Hong Kong triad member, because they can hold a grudge. One might recall the 2009 murder of a triad member outside the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel. It turns out that was precipitated by a bar fight involving dozens of triads in 2006, in which the Red Pole smashed a whiskey bottle over the head of a rival gangster, causing loss of face and leaving him with a scar running down the right side of his face and throat (a literal loss of face, I would say). That's when the plotting began, culminating in the attack three years later, which saw the victim hit by a car and then hacked with knives.And the reason for the bar fight? Because one triad shouted at a bar girl. Rude behavior led to someone getting whacked. If it weren't Chinese it could have been an episode of The Sopranos.

Miracle Machine

20 Jan 2011 - A man whose heart had stopped was brought back to life after 3,5 hours thanks to a machine that performed 20,000 life-saving compressions. Arun Bhasin, 53, was found lying unconscious in Croydon last month. He was rushed to Croydon University Hospital, but suffered a cardiac arrest. He was then hooked up to a revolutionary cardiac support machine. The Zoll AutoPulse pump, which is battery-operated, performed 100 compressions per minute. It maintained Bhasin's heartbeat for more than three hours. Bhasin, who is on the road to recovery, said: "I should be dead. I cannot believe they kept me alive for so long. It's a miracle." I would love to know what Bhasin experienced while he was on the other side.

Toylets

19 Jan 2010 - There is great news for gadgets-lovers all over the world, because in Tokyo the Toylets.have been introduced. The Toylets have been launched by computer-game producer Sega, who transformed a number of public toilets in Toylets. Toylets have a pressure sensor in the otherwise innocuous urinals, which responds to the pressure of your urinal delivery. If you piss full strength into the right direction your delivery helps to blow up a girls' skirt, while an other application offers multiplayer competition. Your pressure is measured against the pressure of your predecessor to have used the urinoir. So hallelujah, the lives of Japanese men has now been enlightened with a measurable way to have pissing contests. The Toylets have been installed in four pubs and game halls, and are currently being tested. I guess after this news it's official: I will move to Japan. Who will join?

Ophiuchus

18 Jan 2011 - So, I thought I was an Aquarius, but after reading about a new zodiac sign it seems this is no longer true. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune a 13th constellation, Ophiuchus - Greek for serpent bearer - is being widely regarded as a new zodiac sign. Astronomy instructor Parke Kunkle also explains that the moon's gravitation pull has made the earth "wobble" around its axis which shifts the stars allignment with about a month. So suddenly I find myself being a Capricorn! Astronomers are quoted saying this is nothing new as Pphiuchus has been there for thousands of years, but that the ancients who discovered the constellations left out one constellation to fit the months of the calendar. The news has also reached social platform Twitter, where people reacted in shock. Twitter-bird @HarryPotterish said "First we were told that Pluto is not a planet and now there is a new zodiac sign: childhood was a bloody lie!".or @geezi who twittered "Damn you Ophiuchus, I was born a Virgo and I will die a Virgo." Anyway, if you are born between Nov 30 - Dec 17, you are Ophiuchus.

TukTuk Cheating

17 Jan 2011 - Do you also hate to be cheated by taxi drivers? Well, hope is appearing on the horizon. It could spell the end for cheating autorickshaw drivers in India, the scourge of commuters and foreign tourists alike.An Indian company has developed a mobile phone application that allows consumers to calculate the fare they should apy for a journey rather than the often inflated amount demanded by drivers. MindHelix Technologies, a software company based in Kerala, has launched its TukTuk Meter application that uses Global Positioining System (GPS) technology to calculate routes and their costs. "Anyone with a GPS enabled mobile phone camn download the application for free and use it when they are traveling in public transport", said Kalidasan, the company's Kochi-based Chief of Operations. "No autorickshaw driver can fleece you if you have a TukTuk Meter installed in your phone". He said the application can be used anywhere in India, even in remote areas.

Watson

16 Jan 2011 - Remember computer HAL from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: a Space Odyssey? Well, the future is here. Watson, a supercomputer which IBM claims is as a profound advance in artificial intelligence, edged out jeopardy! game show champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter on  Thursday in a short practice round ahead of a million-dollar tournament that will be televised next month. It is powered by 10 racks of servers running the Linux operating system. It's not connected t the internet but has digested encyclopedias, dictionaries, books, news, movies scripts and more. John Kelly III, IBM Director of research said the technology could help doctors sift through massive amounts of information to draw conclusions for patient treatment and care.