Author: admin

You got to pimp my riiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

Posted on By admin 2 Comments on You got to pimp my riiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

Last night, Katy and I watched something that should not be allowed to go on. Hell, it shouldn't even have happened. I'm talking, of course, of the launch of Pimp my Ride – UK.

Now Pimp my Ride, or PMR for short, is something that is mildly amusing if you like to watch overenthusiastic people yell “What up DOG!” and “that's going to be TIGHT, yo” while transforming ghetto cars into flashy gettho cars for other overenthusiastic people who yell “OH MY GOD!” all the time.

You'd expect the British to have a bit more decorum and style.

Apparently not.

What's even sadder though is that, well, you expect Xzibit to act like a black rapper. He is one, so that's ok. No self-respecting white man should act like a black rapper. I'm sorry, I'm a white man, I can say this, we can't pull it off and WE LOOK DUMB TRYING TO DO IT!

 

Case and point.

It was hilarious to watch though. Instead of Ish and Mad Mike and Big Dane and 2Shae pimping out a Cadillac Escalante on the West Coast, you had a bunch of mechanichs somewhere in Birmingham working on a Morris.

They still managed to cram a stupid amount of wattage for a sound-powered car, so that's ok I guess.

PMR – UK: http://www.mtv.co.uk/mtv.co.uk/pimpmyride/microsite/index.html
PMR – US: http://www.mtv.com/onair/dyn/pimp_my_ride/meet_cast.jhtml

uncategorized

Roasting Lamb

Posted on By admin

General Guidelines

Roasting is usually done in a shallow, uncovered pan, often with the meat raised slightly on a rack to allow heated air to circulate completely around it. Roasting is the cooking method of choice for large or irregularly shaped pieces of meat if they are tender (or have been tenderized). A smaller cut, such as a chop, would dry out if roasted.

Lamb meat is naturally tender so most of the market ready cuts can be roasted with success. Of course, some cuts are more tender than others, but the shanks and the neck are the only cuts that must be cooked with moist heat methods. The shoulder cuts are often best when braised, but are also excellent when carefully roasted and are not overcooked. Shoulder from a young lamb is more likely to be tender. Leg, rib roast, (also known as rack of lamb including crown roast and guard of honor), and loin (including saddle) are ideal cuts for roasting. Baby, or hothouse, lamb is also roasted, but because the meat is so tender and has so little fat, special procedures should be followed.

In general, a roast should have a crisp brown surface and a juicy pink interior. This can be accomplished by searing the meat at high heat (450in the oven for a short time (usually 10 minutes) and then reducing the heat to 350for the remainder of the time. Typical cooking times (after the roast is seared) are 10 minutes per pound for rare meat, 12 minutes per pound for medium-rare, 15 minutes for medium, 20 minutes for well-done. These are approximate times, for average size, bone-in roasts at room temperature. Cold meat, directly from the refrigerator, or very large pieces, or boneless roasts will take somewhat longer. The only way to be sure that the meat has reached the desired doneness is to use a good quality rapid-response thermometer, inserted into the meatiest part, but not into fat or against a bone. It is a good idea to plan where you'll insert the thermometer as you prepare the roast.

Roast lamb should be allowed to rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 to 30 minutes (depending on the cut) after removal from the oven. Cooking will continue during the resting period (the internal temperature will rise at least 5and as much as 10reaching the desired level of doneness. The rest period minimizes the loss of juice and allows the meat to become firmer, making carving much easier.

Roasting Temperatures

Lamb may be roasted at different temperatures, depending on the desired result:

High Heat: 400- 425(for the entire cooking time)
Roasting at high heat maximizes the brown crusty surface. This method should not be used on large pieces because the surface will dry out and may burn before the interior is cooked to the desired doneness.

Moderate Heat: 325- 350(for the entire cooking time)
Roasting at moderate heat maximizes juiciness and minimizes shrinkage. Leg roasts are often cooked this way.

Varied Heat: 425- 450followed by 325
Roast at 425- 450for an initial 10 – 15 minutes to brown the meat, then continue cooking at 325to the desired doneness.

Note: To prevent lean cuts from drying out while cooking, the meat may be rubbed with oil prior to roasting and/or basted with pan juices during roasting.

uncategorized

I quick job, but I'm insanely happy with it

Posted on By admin 2 Comments on I quick job, but I'm insanely happy with it

A friend gave me a lift to B&Q so I was able to finally buy all the supplies I need to make my window “screens”. I wasn't able to find any wire mesh, so I'd some clean cotton muslin a while ago. It's a simple thing: cotton stapled on wood frames held on the wall with self-adhesive velcro, but I got 'em done and I'm really happy with the results. There's one for the bathroom, kitchen and living room. We'll finally be able to open some windows without having the outside come in. Oh, and I bought a new toy for myself as well (a cordless jigsaw – it was on sale).

uncategorized

Tag, you're it!

Posted on By admin 7 Comments on Tag, you're it!

It's friday, taraa-taray!

Reasons to be happy today:
1. Read above, it's friday. Even better, it's friday evening and I'm home.
2. It rained today, so it's a lot cooler now.
3. I'm going to see Coldplay at the Crystal Palace next monday.

Did you see #3?

I'm going to see COLDPLAY!

So yes, we are amused. A pair of tickets just basically appeared out of the blue and I jumped at the occasion. It's going to be so good!

Oh, and you might have noticed that I updated my blog style. I also updated LJ.NET to support tags. I am a geek. Fear me.

uncategorized

The hell?

Posted on By admin

http://www.monopolylive.co.uk/

What is it with the British and monopoly?

From the website: You have 24 hours to make as much money as you can. Pick a cabbie, buy properties, place apartments, but invest wisely; once you click GO it is in the hands of the cabbies for 24 hours how much money you make. We have 18 taxis fitted with GPS, and they are the playing pieces in the biggest game of Monopoly ever played. Pit your cabbie against 5 others to make your fortune on the streets of London.

uncategorized

There will be a test later on

Posted on By admin

Adam and Eve = believe ('would you adam and eve it?')

Arstotle = Bottle

Cobblers (cobblers awls, or cobblers stalls) = Balls ('you're talking cobblers')

Boat (boat race) = face

Bobble (Bobble hat and scarf) = laugh (“you're having a bobble”, ie., you cannot be serious)

Brahms (Brahms and Liszt) = pissed

Brass Tacks = Facts ('let's get down to brass tacks')

Bread (bread and honey) = money

Bird (bird lime) = Time (prison)

Bristols (Bristol Cities) = titties (breasts)

Brown Bread = dead

Butchers (butchers hook) = look ('give us butchers..')

Charlie (Charlie Hunt) = (yes you guessed it again – remember it next time you call someone a right charlie)

Chewy toffee = coffee

China (china plate) = mate ('me old china')

Cloud seven = heaven

Crust (crust of bread) = head

Dickie Bird = word

Dickie Dirt = shirt

Dipstick = prick (bet you never knew that was rhyming slang)

Dog and bone = phone

Duch (duchess of Fife) = wife ('me old Duch')

Dunlop Tyre = liar

Earwig = twig (understand, to catch on – now evolved to mean eavesdrop)

Elephants (elephants trunk) = drunk

Flying duck = (yes you guessed it – and now more commonly evolved back to give the expression 'couldn't give a flying fuck')

Greens (greengages) = wages (money)

Ginger (ginger beer) = queer (homosexual)

Jam jar = car

Joe Soap = dope (stupid man)

Khyber (Khyber Pass) = arse

Loaf (loaf of bread) = head ('use your loaf')

Marbles (marbles and conkers) = bonkers (mad – probably the root of the expression 'lost your marbles' meaning gone mad)

Merchant banker = wanker

Micky (Micky Bliss) = Piss (the origin of 'taking the micky' – bet you never knew that)

Moby Dick = sick

Mutton (Mutt and Jeff) = deaf (originally from an American fictional pair of bungling characters called Mutt and Jeff, popularised by the cartoonist HC 'Bud' Fischer in the 1930's)

Nellie Duff = puff (breath, evolved into 'not on your nellie' – puff being breath, and breath being life)

Old bag = hag (horrible woman – bet you never knew that was rhyming slang.)

Pipe (pipe and drum) = bum

Pony (pony and trap) = crap

Porky (pork pie) = lie (fib)

Raspberry (raspberry tart) = fart (evolved to include 'blowing a raspberry' with the tongue)

Razzmatazz = jazz (evolved to mean general excitement)

Rubber/rubber dub (Rub-a-dub-dub) = Pub (or club)

Tea leaf = thief

Tiddly (tiddly wink) = drink (now evolved to mean drunk)

Titfer (Tit for tat) = hat

Tod (Tod Sloane) = alone, (on your own – 'on your tod')

Toe rag = slag (originally meaning a girl of easy virtue, but now evolved to mean an unpleasant person)

Tom (tomfoolery) = jewellery ('Tom' now means any stolen goods)

Trombone = phone

Trouble (trouble and strife) = wife

Two and eight = state ('in a right old two and eight')

Uncle Dick = sick

Vera Lynn = gin

uncategorized

Bits and pieces

Posted on By admin 1 Comment on Bits and pieces

Got my inner eye pressure tested again this morning and all is well. It actually went down. Given the antics of my ophthalmologist in Montreal, I'm betting that his head was up his ass (or headed in that general direction) when he told me that my IEP was elevated that last time. Anyway, its been measured twice by 3 different people here and it's well normal, so I'm happy about that.

I'm working from home today, cause my appointment made me miss my shuttle to the EBI and there's no real way to get there unless I take a very costly cab. So, working from home.

Surreal moment of the day: as I was waiting for the bus, a plane flew ovearhead. Now given that Stansted airport is close by, that's not really an unexpected event. This one was different though. The noise was so loud that I could feel the engines screaming in the pit of my stomach and when i looked up, it filled my field of vision. I thought it would crash just beyond the neighborhood. In the absence of a big boom and a column of flame, I'm assuming that it made it ok but dayum, that's impressive.

uncategorized