Monday, April 20, 2009

Brandon Sanderson, Europe, Whiteout, Piracy

Saturday I was both pleased and disappointed to finish my last book in the Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson. What an excellent trilogy. I didn't expect the ending to be the way it was. If you like fantasy or spec fic as it is also called, I highly recommend these books to you. The one I just finished is called The Hero of Ages. Talking on Sunday to a friend who has just been visiting England and France made me feel somewhat nostalgic. She went to the Louvre in Paris and apparently took a photo of the Mona Lisa, not my most favourite painting by far. Except for its financial value, I wouldn't give it house room and if I did it would be only whilst I auctioned it. Talking of things I don't like, the new pharmacy campus they have built in Kitchener is, to me, a monstrosity. It is so bitty, glass here, stone work there, no rythm to any of it. We pass it four times a week going to bowling and I moan about it every time. Personally I would be suing the architect. I'm no architect but I could design something better than that. Also, having watched the construction since day one, I am not sure it will be that safe anyway. I'm not going to be studying there so I guess I don't need to worry. Funny, I heard on the news Sunday, the British MI5 are advertising for a new Q - I trust you remember Q in the James Bond movies. Read about it here - of course what they are really looking for is a new head of their scientific division. I just returned the Whiteout (Liquid Correction) to my husband who uses it for the odd mistake on his crosswords. I occasionally use it to change stuff on my calendar. I then started thinking about typing errors and how easy it is today. When I first started typing, if the boss wanted 6 copies you had to use one top sheet, several carbon papers and flimsy paper in between for the copies. If you did make a mistake, you had to put a bit of paper between each carbon so that when you erased the copy above it, there wouldn't be a dirty mark. A long, laborious and frequently inefficient method of correction. Now no-one even uses typewriters - or not much anyway and even if they do they have corrector tapes built into them and who ever types anything with copies any more, so simple to just run 'em off the computer or even email them around the company which obviates the use of paper at all. When I was at secretarial college learning shorthand and typing, I couldn't imagine a day when secretaries would not be required. Trotting into the boss' office and taking dictation - how could they ever do without that. I guess that's why I would never be able to fill Q's shoes *g*. The typewriter in the picture is the type I learnt on and I was thrilled to bits to start using an electric typewriter - that was when I worked for DuPont in London. Computers were around of course, but not like the ones we have today. Been a lot about the pirates on the news too. Apparently the Canadians caught a bunch after a 7 hour chase in the Gulf of Aden. They had tried to pirate a Norwegian ship and several other ships took part in the chase. Saw pix of the shooting on TV and so on. They chased 'em, shot at 'em, caught 'em, disarmed 'em and released 'em. Seems a bit pointless. The Americans are saying the Canadians don't have a law which covers such situations, the Canadians are saying there is no law - internationally - nor is there an efficient Somali government to deal with these pirates either. Maybe pirated countries should unite to invade Somalia and set up a proficient government. I found this recipe at the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetables Website and thought it sounded delicious. Salmon is something we can obtain very easily and so eat a fair amount of. Salmon With Cucumber Peach Salsa For those of you looking for new ways to prepare salmon, this is a delicious and nutritious dish. 1 Peach, diced 1/4 Ontario greenhouse cucumber, diced 1/4 Red onion, diced 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 Tsp lemon juice 1/4 Tsp hot sauce or chili flakes 4 Salmon fillets Salt and pepper to taste In a bowl, combine peach, cucumber, onion, oil, hot sauce and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate up to 12 hours. Preheat oven to 400 F. Heat ovenproof sautee pan over high heat. Rub each salmon fillet with oil and salt and pepper. Pour 2 tbsp of oil in hot pan. Place salmon in pan and sear—do not touch it while searing. Turn salmon over, remove from heat and put into oven for 5-6 minutes. Spoon salsa over salmon and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings. Have a great day.

2 comments:

  1. 'Tipex' corrector used to be called in my typewriter days. I was thinking of when I was taught how to type. The teacher used to cover the keyboard with a cloth and we had to put our hands underneath it. At least I am a fast touch typist today.

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  2. Similar thing for me, sometimes with all the keys blanked out, or sometimes with a screen above the keyboard.

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