Obama is the new president of the US. With the Yes We Can and Change campaigns, here is one of his latest interventions, one that he promised the American electorate on.
Sincerely, I hope that his pledges of support and money to the climate change cause are implemented and bring a significant energy shift.
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Cycling morning
I have been feeling the need to cycle a bit around since my last cycle trip with a MIRM mate in Maremma Italy. I decided to combine it with a noble act, i.e. waste disposal at a Civic Amenity Sites. These sites accept all kinds of waste from the usual paper/plastic/glass/metal to electronic and hazardous waste.
For no reason at all, I have been collecting endless amounts of old PC motherboards, CD-ROM drives, graphic cards etc. I had lots to throw away. I packed all the stuff in Baanisuu's backpack. This included 2 power supplies, 2 motherboards, 2 hard disks, a discman, a joystick, some RAM, a CD-ROM, an old car stereo and an old phone. I straped the backpack to my back and off I went.
I set off from my home in Safi and cycled all the way to the Hal Far Civic Amenity Site. It was pleasant, at times bumby and noisy (hunting season you know). I could not notice the smell of carob, the pleasent colour of green and also a particular and long crawling species that I am sorry I did not have a camera to take a picture of.
Anyway, it took me one hour in total to disposte of the waste and arrive back home. I used the cycle lanes on the urban roads. They are not bad but a little akward with lots of breaches.
Nonetheless, it was some good exercise on the thighs for sure and some long-awaited fresh air.
For no reason at all, I have been collecting endless amounts of old PC motherboards, CD-ROM drives, graphic cards etc. I had lots to throw away. I packed all the stuff in Baanisuu's backpack. This included 2 power supplies, 2 motherboards, 2 hard disks, a discman, a joystick, some RAM, a CD-ROM, an old car stereo and an old phone. I straped the backpack to my back and off I went.
I set off from my home in Safi and cycled all the way to the Hal Far Civic Amenity Site. It was pleasant, at times bumby and noisy (hunting season you know). I could not notice the smell of carob, the pleasent colour of green and also a particular and long crawling species that I am sorry I did not have a camera to take a picture of.
Anyway, it took me one hour in total to disposte of the waste and arrive back home. I used the cycle lanes on the urban roads. They are not bad but a little akward with lots of breaches.
Nonetheless, it was some good exercise on the thighs for sure and some long-awaited fresh air.
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Eating fast makes you fat
While reading this article on the BBC website, a number of people whose eating habits I know came to my mind. The study by Osaka University scientists found that fast-eating men were 84% more likely to be overweight. Women were just over twice as likely. Also those, who, in addition to wolfing down their meals, tended to eat until they felt full, were more than three times more likely to be overweight.
In other words, if you eat slowly, savor your food and enjoy the company, you will probably eat less and live a healthier life.
In other words, if you eat slowly, savor your food and enjoy the company, you will probably eat less and live a healthier life.
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Let's go Indian!
Indian food is an occasional must. Both Baanisuu and I adore it, the spices, the thickness, the bread, the rice. It's a Sunday morning and just thinking of it wets my appetite.
Anyway, so yesterday (Saturday) we decided to indulge ourselves in our favourite cuisine. I came up with the brilliant idea to go to a new place called Ganeesha at Xemxija. I got to know of the place the day before during some work related travelling. I saw a sign by the road of this new place and thought we could try it out.
Anyway, so after around 40 minutes to reach Xemxija, we started following these signs but got to a dead end. We drove around every street of Xemxija without success. That's strange. We ended up asking a local who pointed us to the corner we just drove around but remarked...'if it's open!'.
So we drove back around this corner and finally found it. But it was closed! We were going to try a new Indian restaurant that was not yet open! We should be invited to the opening night for our dedication.
Anyway, so we ended up applying Plan B, i.e. dining at the Star of India (also at Xemxija). We can safely say that this is our favourite Indian place. It is actually the first Indian restaurant we ate at, four years ago, to celebrate Baanisuu's birthday. And as with most first timers, it remains special.
Our second visit (we rarely revisit restaurants, if though they may be favourites) was no exception. As starters, we had vegetable pakoras and onion bhaji. For the main course, our choices fell on Pulao rice, garlic Nan bread, Chicken Chettinad and Jeera Ghost. Yes, the Jeera Ghost. I learned the hard way that Ghost means lamb in Indian. I made a complete fool of myself by telling the waiter "...and I would like to order Lamb Ghost." It is like saying: "I would like to order fish huta (fish in Maltese) or meat carne (meat in Italian)".
Apart from that, the food was excellent, the setting quiet, uncrowded and with a beautiful view of St. Paul's Bay. It is highly recommended and also well priced. The meal cost us Eur19 (Lm8) each, including a bottle of sparkling water.
Anyway, so yesterday (Saturday) we decided to indulge ourselves in our favourite cuisine. I came up with the brilliant idea to go to a new place called Ganeesha at Xemxija. I got to know of the place the day before during some work related travelling. I saw a sign by the road of this new place and thought we could try it out.
Anyway, so after around 40 minutes to reach Xemxija, we started following these signs but got to a dead end. We drove around every street of Xemxija without success. That's strange. We ended up asking a local who pointed us to the corner we just drove around but remarked...'if it's open!'.
So we drove back around this corner and finally found it. But it was closed! We were going to try a new Indian restaurant that was not yet open! We should be invited to the opening night for our dedication.
Anyway, so we ended up applying Plan B, i.e. dining at the Star of India (also at Xemxija). We can safely say that this is our favourite Indian place. It is actually the first Indian restaurant we ate at, four years ago, to celebrate Baanisuu's birthday. And as with most first timers, it remains special.
Our second visit (we rarely revisit restaurants, if though they may be favourites) was no exception. As starters, we had vegetable pakoras and onion bhaji. For the main course, our choices fell on Pulao rice, garlic Nan bread, Chicken Chettinad and Jeera Ghost. Yes, the Jeera Ghost. I learned the hard way that Ghost means lamb in Indian. I made a complete fool of myself by telling the waiter "...and I would like to order Lamb Ghost." It is like saying: "I would like to order fish huta (fish in Maltese) or meat carne (meat in Italian)".
Apart from that, the food was excellent, the setting quiet, uncrowded and with a beautiful view of St. Paul's Bay. It is highly recommended and also well priced. The meal cost us Eur19 (Lm8) each, including a bottle of sparkling water.
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Panasonic Lumix TZ5
I have recently decided to go for a new digital camera. My current one is a Nikon 3100 that I purchased almost 5 years ago from Liverpool. It has served me well, taking so many memorable pictures of student days, travels, Baanisuu and other events. But, the time is up for it and hence my search for a new one.
My eyes almost immediately fell on the Lumix TZ5. I still wanted to go for a compact camera, since I do not considered myself a pro or semi-pro. Plus, I'd rather have a camera that can fit in my jeans pocket. What struck me of the TZ5 is its optical range (280mm or 10x) and its wide angle (28mm) lens. It comes with a lithium ion battery pack which is what I was after after a not-so-happy relationship with rechargeable AA batteries. I had a look at several reviews which gave it quite a positive ratings:
Digital Camera HQ
Image Resource
DPReview
It also is capable of shooting HD video with sound (My Nikon shot videos without sound).
One of the downsides seems to be pictures taken indoors and at low light. As for the dimensions, it it a typical point and click measuring 104x 62 x 35 millimetres. Here below are some pictures of it. I quite like the blue one.
In terms of price, I found the item on eBay for Eur 260 (Lm111) including shipping costs, a 4GB SD memory card and other 7 goodies. What do you think?
My eyes almost immediately fell on the Lumix TZ5. I still wanted to go for a compact camera, since I do not considered myself a pro or semi-pro. Plus, I'd rather have a camera that can fit in my jeans pocket. What struck me of the TZ5 is its optical range (280mm or 10x) and its wide angle (28mm) lens. It comes with a lithium ion battery pack which is what I was after after a not-so-happy relationship with rechargeable AA batteries. I had a look at several reviews which gave it quite a positive ratings:
Digital Camera HQ
Image Resource
DPReview
It also is capable of shooting HD video with sound (My Nikon shot videos without sound).
One of the downsides seems to be pictures taken indoors and at low light. As for the dimensions, it it a typical point and click measuring 104x 62 x 35 millimetres. Here below are some pictures of it. I quite like the blue one.
In terms of price, I found the item on eBay for Eur 260 (Lm111) including shipping costs, a 4GB SD memory card and other 7 goodies. What do you think?
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