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Paul's Journal

paul
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02/01/2009 21:43 #47595

Buffalo's Original Green Publication
Category: estrip
Estrip.org is Buffalo's original green publication.

I love how Buffalo Rising is now pretending that being green was a motivating factor in giving up their print publication. I think failed business model and inability to see the obvious death of print was more likely.


02/01/2009 16:53 #47593

Smelts at Kosta's
Category: food
We headed over to kostas after watching slumdog millionaire. The movie was pretty good, although I'm not really a fan of movies with homeless child protagonists, visions of big crowded cities, or the Indian head wiggle gesture (sorry indian friends - it makes me uncomfortable because I don't get it). It was surely better than Disney's Hotel for Dog, which is what I thought we were seeing. I knew it had dog in the title.

Totally unrelated, the point of this post was that in addition to fresh octopus, Kostas has smelts. I have not seen smelts on the menu anywhere else - let alone on a bed of dandelion with lemon. I would get it if I could say no to octopus.

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tinypliny - 02/02/09 19:21
Heh, I am not sure Indians like this movie too much. It's simple not the raw bollywood we love. Odd, but this film actually feels more coldly British than Indian.
paul - 02/02/09 10:06
The Indian Head Wiggle: Last night, no one would believe me about Indian head wiggle. I found some references to prove I am not crazy. There are a ton of references about it.

:::link:::

:::link:::

According to that link, you can even use the wiggle to acknowlege one's presence:

"Acknowledging one’s presence

In the Western world, acknowledging one’s presence is performed through words or through a smile. If you are in the United States, you can acknowledge one’s presence by smiling and saying “hi.” If you are in a Spanish-speaking country, you can smile and say, “Buenos días.”

In India you do not have to open your mouth. In fact, even smiling is optional. If you want to acknowledge someone's presence, just make eye contact and wiggle until the recipient notices the waggle. Presto."
james - 02/01/09 22:59
I must go to Kosta's now! I demand smelt.
mike - 02/01/09 17:35
wow that is really crazy. i thought they were just something like noone made anymore except mom
tinypliny - 02/01/09 17:22
That sounds like a Greek version of tempuras. Maybe you should try this: :::link:::

:)

01/31/2009 23:20 #47587

Cinnamon Sticks at Guercio's
Category: food
Today, I went shopping at Guercio's, the Coop and Eegmans with (e:libertad), (e:mike) and (e:matthew). I cannot believe how cheap spices are at Guecrio's. I got about 60 sticks of cinnamon bark for $6.99 and about a liter of coriander seeds for the same price. To give you an idea of how cheap this is, at Wegmans - the cheapest cinnamon sticks I could get - were about 7 sticks for $5.49. It seems totally unreal, huh?

Guercio's price for cinnamon sticks
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Wegman's price for the cheap brand
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tinypliny - 02/01/09 13:50
@James: Make your own! Store-bought masalas are so not the real deal! (except Trader Joe, which we don't have here unfortunately). The recipe is ridiculously simple. Dry toast:
5 parts coriander seeds
2 parts cumin seeds
2 parts cloves
2 parts whole black peppers
Dry red chillies to taste (A LOT! :)
in a cast iron skillet till the coriander seeds are a lightish brown and aromatic. DO NOT CHAR.

Pour everything in a blender. Add
1 part dried mango powder (Amchur)
3/4 part cardamom pods (shelled)
Dash of cinnamon.

Grind to a fine-coarse powder. That's it. Store in the fridge to retain freshness (around 6 months).

@Jenks: REALLY?? What kind of spices do they have in bulk?! Pray, tell!!
jenks - 02/01/09 12:49
ps i just found that the wegs on amherst has a bulk spice section- near the bulk candy, towards the front. Not 'name brands' but way way cheaper.
jenks - 02/01/09 12:48
yeah same here. Last year I wanted whole cloves, and a little mini bottle was like $3 in the spice section, and then I found a gigantic lifetime-supply size bottle for like $2 in the 'ethnic' aisle.
james - 02/01/09 11:47
Yesterday I was in Wegs buying some Garam Masala. In the spice section 2oz sold for 6.99. In the Indian food section an 8oz package sold for 2.49.

WTF?
tinypliny - 02/01/09 10:52
McCormick prices are atrocious, BTW. I wonder what their profit margin is. I am sure harried housewives and bakers grab those insanely expensive bottles from the Wegmans shelves as a last-minute resort.
tinypliny - 02/01/09 10:50
On everything?! You must post some rosemary-centric recipes! :)
paul - 02/01/09 10:46
I use rosemary on everything, so for me tht bottle seems very reasonable. The price sure is.
tinypliny - 02/01/09 10:38
What do you think of Rosemary prices at Guercios? I wanted to buy a bottle but it was too huge. I haven't really experimented with Rosemary in my cooking till recently (when you gave me some from your garden). I didn't know if I could get through that huge bottle. Maybe I should have bought it...
tinypliny - 02/01/09 10:36
1 Litre coriander seeds = 1 kg for $7?
Is that correct?

I just compared the Indian Store prices. I pay around $7.50 for a kg (1000 gms). Its the fastest moving spice in my kitchen next to salt!

01/31/2009 11:17 #47579

Parking at dance camp on linwood
Category: linwood
These people stopped in the middle of the street blocking a plow.
Then someone got out of the passenger seat. Then that person walked
around and let more children out the otherside. The entire time they
were parked diagnal across the driveway and in the middle of the
street. It's the worst possible combo as it stops all traffic on
linwood and blocks the driveway.
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metalpeter - 01/31/09 16:07
Maybe that is a good thing, just hear me out. If the plow got blocked I'm sure the guy saw what lead to it, if he is a city guy maybe he passed it on to someone else. I'm not saying anything good will come out of it but maybe something might.
drew - 01/31/09 12:16
amazing.

01/30/2009 11:33 #47573

Macbook pro dead pixels


Seeing as one whole row is dead now, I have at least 900 of them.
It's under AppleCare and it can get fixed but seriously, I don't have
the time to not have a comp and this is the second time the laptop has
had a hardware failure. I know that I use it quite hard but going to
the applestore and giving up my comp for the weekend is not convenient.
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jenks - 01/30/09 11:41
i called and made a stink once, and they sent a guy to my house to fix it while I waited... worth a try...