I recently have fallen in love with Ginger, even the man in the shop has noticed my admiration for this nobbly spice. No not the pop star with the hair, the actual spice. I’m buying big chunks of it now as I used to try and buy broken bits and would have it lying around in the kitchen or in my fridge for ages. It dried out and I would do my best to get the last bit of flavour out of it.
Now even in the quantities I’m buying ( I’ve had to use a second source, the vegetable market) it won’t last a week. My secret is washing the ginger then letting it dry and then grating what I need off of it. I’m mainly using it for drinks , so I boil it up and then sieve the pithy bit and presumably the skin off of it. I must admit I wonder if it’s a bit like the potato and that the best nutrition is just under the skin.
However, the next phase will be to add it to cakes. I’ve already added it to stir frys and no one has complained.
So here’s to ginger, it’s a wonderful spice.
AI Generated Image.(In my experience Ginger is a lot more nobbly and cannot just be sliced, so grater is best )
Thanks to James Gregory at BBC News Online for the Headline.
Unfortunately the criminal activity of requesting “protection money” by violent and extremist groups like IS (Islamic State) continues to this day and a French Muliti-National concrete firm found itself in hot water because in order to “do business” in Syria during their civil war they paid large amounts of money both to protect their employees, enable them to safely travel to work and also protect their premises. Lafarge paid groups about £4.83million to keep their plant operating in North Syria.
Lafarge had invested heavily in Syria , and the French Court said that their actions were purely for financial gain and they ignored the implications of the money being used by terrorist groups to attack other targets.
Even some of their employees have been jailed including the CEO and Lafarge which is now Swiss owned is saying that they are hoping that the legacy of the case will soon be over, however , there are still some investigations continuing into crimes against humanity.
Sad that in an area where infrastructure is being destroyed that a Company protects it’s assets in order to rebuild damaged areas by financing the very people who are destroying those assets.
Thanks to Mathew Weaver and The Guardian Online for the Headline.
I thought this was an interesting story. That Barron Trump sensitive to who he was took it on himself to make a phone call to the British Police reference a violent attack on a lady he was talking to.
The transcript from the call to the Police, which was used in the case makes it clear that Barron Trump was aware that he was a “media personality” and was concerned about his profile being used for erroneous purposes in the Public Domain.
But the boy did good and the woman’s attacker was brought to justice with the information that Barron Trump provided. He acquiesced to the police call handler and managed to get the details over so that the Police were able to attend the scene.
Thank you to Diana Resnik from Online Euronews for the Headline
I was fascinated to hear the results of a survey completed in Aberdeen Bay which measured actual behaviour in the immediate vicinity of wind turbines combining AI-powered (is this not virtual reality?) and detailed expert analysis to prove that not one bird was injured in a collision with one of the blades. Result eh?
Also the German Offshore Wind Energy Association(BWO ) has commissioned a study involving one and a half years of research and monitored with the help of radar and AI based cameras four million bird movements which showed that 99.8per cent of migratory birds reliably avoided the wind turbines. Clever birds!
It seems that there is a conflict between the Bird Watchers and the Climate Change Protestors, both support the idea of “wind farms” and both want to work together to protect Nature and the Environment
The Bird Watchers in Germany have suggested politely keeping the site of a wind turbine at least 6000 metres from the nest of a “lesser spotted eagle” as they say there is a danger to native bird species. This recommendation is included in the “Helgoland Paper”. Have you heard of it ? Neither have I?
However, the first survey referred to in the article comes from Vattenfall(One of Europe’s largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat) and Spoor( a High tech AI and Camera Visualisation method for analysing Bird Behaviour near Windfarm Blades).
The Vattenfall and Spoor survey, the name which sounds a bit like a weird Dickens Law Firm in “Bleak House” comes out , not surprisingly in favour of the Wind Farms and their rotating blades. It also has the gravitas for the cameras , but perhaps not the conclusions of the full report to be verified by the British Ornithological society.
This is by no means the end of the story , let’s face it common sense would say that birds are going to collide with things that are flying through the air that they aren’t expecting to be there. Just like whales will always get stranded and animals will fall sick.
It’s keeping people busy finding out what the real impacts are. Humans are the bees in this, the reward the nectar of low-cost , sustainable energy, hopefully the results will not be bleak.
Seagulls fly over offshore wind turbines glowing in the sunset light
Everyday things are everyday things. Except nothing is everyday is it? For some, washing their socks is exceptional. You cannot bottle happiness. Some days it would fill five pint milk bottles other days, well it’s dry and that is just that.
Five glass bottles filled with milk are neatly lined up on a wooden surface.
Thanks to Nada Tawfik and BBC News Online for the Headline.
Is this another ” I really don’t care , do you ?” fashion moment written on the back of a jacket , but this time a Press Conference totally unannounced and made by Melania in a Power Suit but without letting the Press ask her any questions afterwards. Who knows and although it has generated interest because of it’s subject matter , who cares?
Well Epstein’s ghost is ever present and certainly for the victims of his twisted psyche will probably never go away and there is real tragedy there. I can’t help but feel Melania’s story is tragic in it’s own way, perhaps she sees her husband’s cognitive deterioration or his shallow ignorance close up.
Whatever her background is , becoming “First Lady” was a hell of an achievement and she is willing to play the role, just as she is willing to play the role of “supportive wife” when it suits her. Who knows, and who cares?
The fact is , it gave the Press a broadside, and something else to talk about instead of a debacle of a War in the Middle East that has caused much suffering and a Global Economic Fallout.
Her advisors probably tell her what is appropriate and what she can get away with, I very much doubt there is much “independent thought” there. So I err the reasoning was a distraction and yes probably Melania doesn’t care but she plays the Trump card if only to confuse everyone, meanwhile keeping her real thoughts to herself.
The US Capitol building stands amid a storm with newspapers swirling in the air.
Learning became valuable, there are certain teachers that had a constant influence. They were interested in their subject and wanted to pass on their knowledge. Also learning became an escape or indeed an escape route. Either way I learned to respect knowledge but not be overawed by it. Life is not a brain game, though it can be a brain drain.
An open book lies on a forest path bathed in warm sunset light
Thanks to Naj odak and Mike Zeller and BBC News Online for the Headline
Believe it or not a “Red List” of endangered crafts was created in 2017 to highlight skills that were being lost.
Glass Crystal Cutting was one of those crafts, unfortunately due to the recent rise in energy costs, a Company who employs these highly skilled crafts people has had to close down one of their furnaces, reduce people’s hours and cut non- essential staff, including the CEO who is now putting what would have been his salary towards keeping the business going. What would William Morris have thought?
The admirable CEO has said that there are contracts to keep the business going and that hopefully they can ride the storm. I wish them well.
A skilled craftsman carefully engraves a crystal glass using a rotating wheel.
thenotsomightyom 