Dinner

I would just like to say that this blog post may be exactly what I have been looking for.

I've spent a good part of my life hunting better Hungarian Goulash recipes, and I'm hoping that this one will do the trick!

Places That I’d Like To Visit #13

San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina

Somewhere a bit warmer today, I think.

San Salvador de Jujuy is a city in north-western Argentina, and the capital of the Jujuy Province, which itself is at the borders of Chile and Bolivia. My wife has been to Salta, which is not too far away.

Located on the Andes, 1238 meters above sea level, Jujuy is humid during Summer and dry and cold during Winter. It seems to be a city with a colonial feel, but also a gateway to the colourful Andean culture. Jujuy the city, and the province in general, appears to be much more inclusive of indigenous people and culture than the in rest of Argentina, which is reflected in the predominant Quechua, Aymara and Chiriguano people and cultures.


So I’m thinking that it would be a good place to visit. Jen tells me that the people in the region are incredibly friendly, she has the local lingo down pat, and although we’ll be gringos, we’ll be gringos with a local accent. I can just picture Henry and I in colourful ponchos, patting the llamas (or alpacas), chomping on empanadas, and topping it off with casa bindo.

Old Ads That I Like #12

There is nothing particularly odd or memorable about today’s ad, although the fact that I don’t consider the image of a horse smoking a cigar odd is testament to how stupid some of these ads are.

The reason that I have posted it is that I like it, and that is good enough for me. I do have time for any ad that looks like it has been drawn by a child (albeit a talented child). The fact that it includes a horse smoking a cigar is merely the cherry on top!

Don't H8 the Playa, H8 the Game

Really just a rehash of a comment that I left on the Political Umpire's blog, but it is something that I've thought about for a while and it may just drag Steve Davis out of hibernation if he's out there!

It concerns the criticism of Ponting and the current team, and it is a criticism that I just don't get. I know people think that they're nasty, thin skinned and cliquey (and they may have a point), but surely the side under Border/Simpson was far, far worse. Remember, this was where you could get someone like Jones dropped (because he didn’t get along with Simpson), and Mark Waugh retained (because he was a good 'team man') even though the previous Sri Lankan tour saw Jones averaging 40-odd and Waugh around 2.

Even more so, surely they were a far ‘harder’ unit, not to mention more spiteful and less likable lot then. The team was structured around severe, rough, surely types like AB, McDermott, Healy, Boon, Marsh, and perhaps even nastier annoying blokes like big Merv (as much as I loved the bloke) and Tim May. I reckon that they would have been far less pleasant to come up against then Haydon, Gilchrist, Symonds, Clark, Clarke, BLee and co. They don’t really compare when you think about it.

Similarly, the current team that has copped the most criticism are without perhaps the two most unsavoury characters in recent times (at least on the field for one of them), in McGrath and Warne. I can only assume that it is the winning that annoys people most. But then again, they were a far harder lot under Steve Waugh too (yet they won), so it can’t be just that either. I don’t recall this much antagonism towards the team then.

For the record, I don’t like the current lot very much, but that’s not because they are nasty or play the game in an unsavoury manner, more that they seem bland and boring, and lack characters (like a Merv or a Boonie). Plus I don’t like being proven wrong as I have with BLee and Hayden. Another thing I don’t get is the general sympathy people have for MacGill, people seem to empathise with him as being hard done by because he’s not “one of the gang” (although with 42 Tests under his belt, I don’t think that he’s been that hard done by). But by any measure, he is a far less likable character, prone to far worse outbursts than ANY of the current team. Ponting may well pout, be he’s never physically assaulted anyone on the field, and been in as much trouble as MacGill has, such as here, here, here and here. To be totally frank, MacGill just comes across as a prat.

Tait Retires

And to make the day in cricket just a little odder, it appears that Shaun Tait has retired. His statement indicates that he “has walked away from cricket indefinitely”, citing “physical and emotional exhaustion”.

This resembles the Nathan Ablett episode (Geelong premiership footballer retiring at 21) from a few months ago, I say fair play to the lad if he doesn’t want to do it anymore. However, you have got to wonder where the Australian selectors’ heads were at when they picked him in Perth, despite a lack of form. He said that he was struggling emotionally before the Perth Test, and clearly was off his game right way through, so I’d like to know why someone didn’t pick up on that. It seems a gross oversight, and definitely contributed to the loss. Will Harmison be next? England can only hope so!

A Sorry State of Affairs

So the Indians get their way again? Surprise, surprise. The new evidence that was all over the news last night was pretty damning on Harbhajan, but hey, they were going to “abandon the tour” again, so we better let him off. They may as well throw out any semblance of actually taking racist abuse seriously and let anything go. The ongoing jumble of “he didn’t say it” and “to call the black guy a monkey isn’t racist” from many, many Indian supporters is also doing my head in.

If I have to listen one more time about fair play from the mob that threatens to take their bat and ball home every single time a call goes against them, I will fair dinkum scream. I also feel the need to point to some of the frankly pathetic appeals and attempts to intimidate Bowden in Adelaide, but hey, what would be the point, these blokes don’t see anything but conspiracy against them. The saddest part is that I can just imagine what every drunken yob on the hill is going to call out to Harbhajan (and no doubt the rest of the team, most of them thoroughly decent men). And that is really going to help matters.

Fair play to Roebuck, who really nails it in his column in The Age. I reckon I won’t bother with cricket for a while, or at least not anything involving India. Maybe tune in to England versus the Kiwis...

Risk and Modern Life

Interesting little article in Psychology Today about how humans regularly err in everyday risk assessment.

I’d like to think most of this stuff I’m awake to, but I think that it is important to sometimes stop and think things through a little. I particularly liked the musings on how risk and emotion are inseparable, and even more so that sometimes thinking too much about risk is not always the smartest thing to do.

Well worth a look.

Places That I’d Like To Visit #12

Yakutsk, Russia

Yakutsk (Яку́тск) is the capital of the Sakha Republic (the Yakutia region, formerly the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Located in Siberia, it has some renown as the coldest city on earth. It has a population of around 200,000 people, so it defiantly qualifies as a city. But is it cold?



You bet your sweet Aunt Nelly it is! In January, daily high temperatures average around -40.9 °C. For those not impressed by facts and figures, that’s COLD. Warnings are issued to people about wearing glasses outside, as they have a tendency to freeze to the face and tear the flesh off when one tries to remove them. Nice visual there.

The coldest temperatures ever recorded outside Antarctica occur in the basin of the Yana River not far to the northeast. Conversely, July temperatures can often exceed 32 °C, making the region among the greatest in the world for seasonal temperature differences.



The biggest city built on continuous permafrost, Yakutsk is about 4° below the Arctic Circle, this roughly equates to 450 kilometres. Founded as a Cossack fort in 1632, it boomed upon the discovery of large reserves of gold and other minerals in the late nineteenth century. These reserves were developed extensively during the rapid period of industrialisation under Stalin. The influx of labour into the Siberian Gulags also ‘encouraged’ the development of the city.

Unimaginably rich in diamonds, gold, oil and gas, The Sakha Republic is the world's second largest producer and exporter of diamonds, and also has around 30 tons of gold mined within its borders annually. Signs of wealth are clear. Unlike other cities and towns in Siberia, modern buildings are sprouting up around the city. The fact that the city has eleven hotels speaks to Yakutsk's status as a regional centre.



Yakutsk has fifteen museums devoted to the history, traditions and customs of peoples of the region. It is said that the most impressive is The Treasures of the Republic of Sakha. According to the BootsnAll Travel Network (a great little site), the museum is:

well-guarded and accessible only to small groups of 2-4 visitors at a time, [and] houses the republic's most valuable and largest diamonds (by law, exceptionally large newly-mined diamonds belong to the state). Gold bricks and nuggets are also on display, along with many other precious and semi-precious stones, such as the radioactive charimite, found only in the Sakha Republic and the neighbouring Irkutsk Oblast (charamite can be bought in many tourist shops, but this is not recommended, given the radioactivity). The heart of the exhibit, however, is award-winning and often fanciful jewellery.

I would also like to visit The Permafrost Institute, which allows tourists to visit its underground research chamber. There, beneath the Earth's frozen crust, the temperature is a steady -5.00 °C all-year-round. The shaft is apparently the legacy of one early pioneer's attempt to dig a well.



The travel section in The Independent has also recently featured a fascinating piece on Yakutsk, so it is clearly must be a city on the rise!

Old Ads That I Like #11

Two for the price of one. Today we’re looking at ride-on lawnmowers. What comes to mind when we think of ride-on mowers? Why, women in uncomfortable-looking shorts, of course! Now, I can’t see the footwear in these fine young ladies, but the ensembles suggest some sort of open-toed arrangement. I’m not sure how that would fit in with modern health and safety practice. In fact, a closer look at these mowers suggests to me that they are lacking somewhat in the safety department. The ladies do not, however, seem to mind.

The Meanest Dude in Town?

It seems a pretty straightforward story. Cops arrest drug dealing gangbanger, turns out he popped a few caps into some dudes Cut and dried. However, the accompanying pic really appeals to me. I want to know if it will increase his cred or make him a laughing stock back in the hood?

Well worth a click though, as I’m sure that this story from Allentown, Pennsylvania will make your day!

Place That I’d Like To Visit #11

Pago Pago, American Samoa

My wife has been hassling me to do a new place that I’d like to visit, so here we go. The capital of American Samoa, Pago Pago is a village located on the island of Tutuila. And yet another town where the harbour is surrounded by impressive cliffs for my list (I can’t help myself, I know).

Unlike Western Samoa, American Samoa appears to have limited tourist infrastructure catering mostly to businessmen, locals visiting from abroad and the occasional eco-tourist enthusiast seeking out the rainforests and archaeological sites. Thus, visiting offers a challenge and an opportunity.

The deep water harbour itself is a collapsed volcanic crater, and the town of Pago Pago holds less than 4000 residents, a couple of banks, some shops, restaurants, a museum with a collection of ancient Samoan artefacts and a few government departments, oh and there is the yacht club at Utulei.

Outside of town, you’ve got your tropical rainforest, fine beaches, swimming and snorkelling, as well as a few bars.

Apparently there is also quicksand on Tutuila, so that would something to amuse Henry, and porpoise or sea turtles lurk all around the island. Terribly inappropriate as well, but part of my interest is the Crash Bandicoot vibe that amuses me, I reckon that I could cope with jumping a few crates of nitro just to eat a few whoompa fruit.