Hello

Hello & Welcome
ugh face

I’m currently rebuilding the website as the old one got totally messed up when i was playing around with things (no idea what happened).

So i thought that while it was a total clusterfuck mess of SQL, i would take the opportunity to give it a whole new life and everything.

So if you go clicking on things you might find that very strange things happen. Don’t moan, i know a lot of things are broken, i’m working on it, it takes time.

I’ve got tons of old posts and pages from three websites that i’m working through and will be gradually posting all the stuff i want to keep on here while fixing all the broken things as i go through, one post, one page, at a time.

On top of doing all that, i will, of course, be continuing to add more new content and my latest posts will always appear directly below.

Or, if you prefer, you can also follow me on Twitter and Pinterest where i put a link to all new posts.

Enjoy


The Descent of Man — Grayson Perry

The Descent of Man -- Grayson PerryIt’s been too long since i read this book to give it a real review, but i will say that it was well worth reading.   Grayson is an incredibly intelligent human being, who not only has an amazing view of society but is also fully capable of expressing it on many different levels in many different mediums.   In this book that view is turned mostly upon white, middle class men, and it’s good!!!

Grayson’s Page

#graysonperry

Spice Alchemy — Neil Cowling

Spice Alchemy -- Neil CowlingIf you like food with flavour then this is a great book.

If you have high blood pressure and want to get rid of salt out of your diet, then use spices and herbs to replace it — this is the book to show you how.

No, i’ve no idea how authentic the spice mixes and recipes are, but to be honest, they’re all really nice so i don’t actually care if my cajun spiced high carb salad dressing is authentic or not, it’s delicious and that’s all i wanted from this book.

The book has lists of various spice recipes from around the world, and also complete recipes in which to use those mixes, if you chose to.   Personally, i just take the spice mixes and make my own things with them as i’m vegan.

My only complaint is that the spice mixes are listed in tsp and tbsp, some ingredients are listed as pre-ground, others are whole, so it all gets confusing in that regard.   I found i had to go to Cronometer and use their “Add food” thing with what was stated in the spice mix ingredients and then change the output to grams to get the exact weight.   That way i could use whole coriander seeds by weight to the same amount of ground coriander by tsp that was listed in the recipe. But if you’re happy using the pre-ground spices then all that won’t be a problem.

But, if you’re going to all this trouble of making your own spice mixes then do yourself a favour and buy whole spices with as far away a ‘sell by’ date on them as you can find in the shops to make sure they’re as fresh as possible — you can even splash out and get organic ones.   You’ll notice a huge difference.   Pre-ground spices are stale by nature as once you grind a spice it starts to degrade rapidly, with fats oxidising and going rancid and essential oils evaporated away.   Most whole spices, that you grind fresh each time to the exact amount you need, are living seeds that you should be able to plant and grow — they’re very fresh!!!   If you do want to get into the weighing whole spice thing then you’ll also need a micro scale (ebay) that weighs to 0.1 grams or finer — well worth a few pounds if you want to make some seriously consistent spice mixes that are repeatable.

That all said, even if you do just want to use tsp and tbsp with pre-ground spices, this book is very much worth the 99p to begin your journey into mixing spices and having some real flavour and health in your food instead of just salt and high blood pressure.

Neil’s Page

#food #recipes #neilcowling

Lost For Words — Stephanie Butland

Lost For Words -- Stephanie ButlandA most lovely book in its own right, but especially if you like books about book shops.   If you do like books about book shops then this ones a good ‘un, it’s like a mix between The Little Paris Bookshop and The Keeper of Lost Things.

But as well as being a lovely book in its own right, it really spoke to those of us who have been through the “Care of the Local Authority” system (or at least it did to this one of those us).

And then there’s the added bonus that was all the Whitby stuff.   I used to go there a fair bit in my teenage years and if, like me, you remember Whitby from your childhood, then that’s another reason to read this book.

Did i mention the mystery thing?   Yeah, there’s the usual mystery going on for you mystery readers — will it be solved or won’t it, what’s it all about, etc., etc..

Oh, and before i forget, there’s even a love story thing as well?   Yeah, one of those, but, don’t worry, it won’t distract you from the best bits.

So it’s pretty much got a bit of everything going on in it, and it’s got it going on really well, so it’s definitely a keeper.   One day i plan to get around to reading it again.

Stephanie’s Page

#stephaniebutland

Lil and Coop — Joseph R. Lallo

Lil and Coop -- Joseph R. LalloLike The New Inspector, this is another short story from the Free Wrench series.   This time it’s Lil and Coop’s turn to get the focus.

In the main books Joseph just brushes over how the crew came to be on Windbreaker — apart from Nita who gets a whole novel — so it’s great to have these back story shorts from Joseph telling us more about our favourite characters’ past.   Definitely not to be missed by fans of the series.   Looking forward to the rest of the crew getting laid bare in the future.

So how do you get it?

Originally only available to Joseph’s Patreon supporters, but now also in Sidequests.

Joseph’s Page

#steampunk #josephrlallo

The New Inspector — Joseph R. Lallo

The New Inspector -- Joseph R. LalloAlthough this delightful little short is the sixth book of the Free Wrench series, i feel it can be read at any time once you’ve got settled into the series.

I read it after Cipher Hill and it totally worked for me reading it then.   And i’m actually quite pleased that i didn’t read it until then because i really enjoyed the change in my feelings towards Wink.   I won’t spoil it, but suffice to say, if you’re a fan of the Free Wrench series by Joseph R. Lallo and its resident little furries, the Aye Ayes, then this is an absolute must read.   After reading The New Inspector i really do hope Joseph writes more Aye Aye stories, they’re awesome little fuggers and easily deserve their own spin off series.

And yes, Aye Ayes really exist.   Isn’t it nice to know that they’re going to survive “The End Time” when the Fug envelopes the earth?

So how do you get it?

Originally only available to Joseph’s Patreon supporters, but now also in Sidequests.

Joseph’s Page

#steampunk #josephrlallo



Currently

Fiction

Robots and Empire -- Isaac Asimov With the rise of the machines on the horizon . . .
 
. . .me thinks it’s a good time to re-read Asimov.

Fiction

Four Seasons in Japan -- Nick Bradley The Cat and The City was excellent, let’s hope this is too.

Nonfiction

Why Work? -- Collection Yeah, why?

Nonfiction

More Zen.