Your Dumb

At Old Town Square in Prague, there was a light show emanating from the Old Town Hall building. It used bright green laser light to write words across the plaza. I'm not sure if it was supposed to mean anything -- SILENCE! -- but at the very least, it was cool to look at.



Cheers!



Dr. Evil: You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! Now evidently my cycloptic colleague informs me that that can't be done. Ah, would you remind me what I pay you people for? Honestly? Throw me a bone here! What do we have?

Number Two: Sea bass.

Dr. Evil: [Unconvinced] Right.

Number Two: They are mutated sea bass.

Dr. Evil: Really? Are they ill tempered?

Number Two: Absolutely.

Dr. Evil: Oh well, that's a start.

-- from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Prague In Pictures

This past weekend we went to Denmark to take a sneak preview of what might be the next chapter of our lives overseas... but that story will have to wait.

So for now, back to Prague where I've managed to narrow down about a 1,000 pictures to about 30 of the better ones. Picture-taking conditions were not ideal: it was hazy all day and raining or snowing about half the time. The buildings and bridges all need that first good spring rain to wash the grime off them and brighten them up. I can't wait to go back on a clear, summer day to try this again!

First, a panorama shot from one of the walls of Prague Castle... stitched using the demo version of Autopano Pro. Click to expand:

And then the slideshow:



Cheers!

St. Vitus

The grounds of Prague Castle hold the impressive St. Vitus Cathedral. It is the 3rd cathedral to be built on this spot, the first built in 925AD and the last started in 1344 but not completely finished until 1929. This is largest and most important church in the Czech Republic. We spent a few hours up around the cathedral -- we attended a short concert in the next door St. George's Basilica.

This first picture is another panorama from stitched together photos. This one was a bit more ambitious and stitches 46 photos together -- click to enlarge:


And a slide show...



Cheers!

Fishsticks!

While in Prague this past weekend, Chase Bank, my main bank back in the USA, once again turned off all of my access to my accounts. Even though I have explained to them I live in Europe, they don't care. Any time I use my card outside of England, they shut off all my cards until I call them. They also have their security people call late at night to confirm that I have been shopping on Amazon UK. I just tried to call and get access back to my accounts. Here is the conversation I had with Delores (not her real name but it rhymes with something):

Delores: Hello sir, can you confirm your social security number?

Me: Sure. ###-##-####

Delores: Can you confirm your account number?

Me: Ok. #### #### #### ####

Delores: Can you confirm your complete address to the zip code?

Me: Yes (I give her my old Chicago address -- usually what they want since they won't accept that we live in England.)

Delores: I'm sorry sir, we have another address on file.

Me: Ok -- I live in England. I gave you my last US residence. Here is my English address:
The Lilacs
Callow
Hereford
HR2 XXX

Delores: Sir, can you tell me where in England that is?

Me: Sorry?

Delores: Where is the Callow?

Me: What do mean where is it? It's just outside of Hereford. Addresses work differently here than in the USA.

Delores: I'm sorry sir. Can you tell me where in England that Ka-K... Callow is, exactly?

Me: Um. Do you want directions to my house? It's in the county of Herefordshire?

Delores: Where in England is that?

Me: I'm sorry -- there must be some confusion. My address is like this (now speaking very slowly):
The Lilacs -- that is the name of the house I live in.
Callow -- that is the name of the village I live in.
Hereford -- that is the town near our village.
HR2 XXX -- that is our post code, like a zip code. There are only 8 houses in it.
Ok?

Delores: I'm sorry sir, I still need to know exactly where that is in England.

Me: Can you explain how you want me to define that?

Delores: Can you tell me wha- where Callow is?

Me: Huh?
...
Do you want latitude and longitude??? I'm 2 hours west of London, I am on the border of Wales, on the River Wye, off Ross Road, near the A49, by that snack bar and the two ga-rages. How is that?

Delores: I'm sorry sir, for your security, I cannot access your account for you. You can call our international service number or visit a branch.

Me: I live in England. You don't have branches here.

Delores: Do you have a pen?

Me: ?

Delores: 713-262-1679... you can call from 9 to 5 CST.

Me: Wait, your "international service" number works on Central Standard Time?

Delores: Yes sir, I'm sorry.

Me: Not sure if you have any one to tell this to, but I've been a customer with Chase for 20 years and I plan on closing all my accounts. This has been horribly unhelpful. Cheers!

Czech, Please!

Hi folks. We are back from a weekend in Prague in the Czech Republic. This is a city with a thick history and a hearty persona. It's been a long day but I had to put a little something-something up on the blog. This quick pic is from a random stop into a place for lunch on our way out to see some sights. This is also the place where I am 99% sure I saw a guy stab a shiv into the front right tire of Audi A6 that was parked in an unfriendly manner on the curb. Seriously but... anyway ... we had an excellent meal at this place and the price was right as well. I think it worked out to about $35 for the whole meal.

To start, we had a Czech cheese, battered and deep-fried -- when you cut open the crispy crust, the innards oozed all over the plate. Then soup: cream of mushroom and Bohemian garlic. Both excellent. The garlic soup was a thin, garlicky broth with tiny cubes of potatoes and crunchy, salty croutons floating in it. I'm going to make it at home and soon. Our mains were equally hearty and good: crispy roast duck with Czech-style dumplings and a beee-you-tee-ful pork knuckle. All this with some dark Czech beer.

It was all nice until the waiter came back and asked if we were finished. The portions were ample and we were quite stuffed. I had done my best with the pig but hadn't eaten much of the skin and fat. The waiter gave us a disappointed look and when I said we were done, he said, "Really?" and shook his head. Ouch. Next time I eat the fat.



More to come, stay tuned. Cheers!

Oh Pita, That's Nasty

After the highlight of my birthday this past week, the rest of the week may have passed for the dullest in my brief English history. The wife's company was doing a count of their stock -- scheduled hours were 8 to 8 but she was getting home at 9 or later each night -- dusty from the warehouse and dog-tired. And, she worked Saturday, too. The dog and I can only entertain each other for so long before we start getting on each other's nerves. We need our better third to level us out.

The big highlight of my birthday was a new iPod Touch. If you have an iPhone, same thing minus the phone. But, linked into our home wireless network, I am simply in awe of what this thing can do. It's a remote to control my music from anywhere in the house, it keeps me on top of Facebook (oh so important) for the first time, I can make calls over Skype, I can browse the Internet while sitting on a giant, orange toilet, and so on and nonsuch. Niner.

Anyway... we are trying to trim down the bulk in our pantry. I walk in, figure what's been there the longest, and then cook it. This past week, I re-discovered a kilo of dried chickpeas -- you know, garbanzos. One of the stores here had them on a discount shelf months ago. I know about two things that you make with these things: hummus and falafel. We made both. I'd never made falafel before.

It's a simple thing: soak the beans for at least a day. Throw them in a food processor with herbs and spice. I toasted and added cumin the wife bought at the Bazaar in Turkey, both coriander seed and coriander leaf, fresh parsley, a healthy dose of cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. Also into this mix goes a bit of baking powder -- to lighten up the texture. Just before frying, added finely chopped onions, garlic, and (just to use them up), a couple of shallots. Form meatball sized balls or patties, deep-fry a couple of minutes. Done. It might have beginner's luck but the results were really, really good.

We stuffed them in crappy English pitas with fresh hummus, cukes, tomatoes, some spicy greens (watercress with parsley and cilantro), and a yogurt sauce made with dill. I topped mine with some Indian lime pickle (just to use it up) and some extra cayenne. Fantastic. I stuffed my self. And if you are following along at home, a kilo of chickpeas makes a helluva lot of falafel. I'll be happily eating these things all week.

Til then -- the big news this week is Thursday's trip to Prague -- land of lasting architecture and beer...Cheers!




Did I hear a "niner" in there? - Richard in the movie Tommy Boy, 1995

Everything Here Is Puddin'

Some of you might remember the Jiffy-Pop-pie-in-a-can I tried a month or two back. It's time for Fray Bentos round two:

I'm not sure what voodoo it would take to get the pudding to come out of the can looking like that thing on the lid.

To cook it: Poke holes in can. Drop into simmering water -- up to the rim. Cover, simmer for 30 minutes. Remove water and remove lid. Enjoy.

Appearances can be deceiving -- this thing looked and smelled not so appetizingly. Gross. Or is it? I had to go on.

I ate it. All of it. And it was actually pretty good -- once you got past the idea of chunks of meat and organ hidden like Easter eggs-gone-wrong in a soggy fat-based "pastry".

The damage:

• 21.7 grams of fat
• 358 calories
• 19% beef
• 15% pig kidney
• 2% OXO gravy (mmm, gravy)
• Cost: £1

Here is another look, enlarged to show (lack of) texture:


Cheers!

The Emporer's New Clothes

Gift from my folks to the dog: Boo is seen here modeling a piece from the WOOF collection -- cream fleece with a faux fur collar. She first thought it was a toy and attacked it. It's cold here in England -- it was actually trying to snow this morning -- so she is now glad to be wearing it.

Boo then got a snowman from the wife's folks. She gutted it within 24 hours but two squeakers survived the first attack. I don't expect it to survive the week.

Cheers!