that canadian girl

Latest adventures…

  • Off topic: Sprouted lentil salad

    I don’t know why I’m calling this post off-topic, it’s not like there’s much consistency in what I post here. It’s a bit like me talking, it rarely makes sense and there’s little common thread! 😉

    A couple of months ago, I went on a little hippie trip and bought a sprouter*, in which you can stick alfalfa seeds, lentils or beans of all sorts. They then sprout little tails in the first few days, making them lovely to have in salads, or even just as a mindless snack while working – it’s certainly better than a bag of crisps, and with a bit of paprika and herbs, it’s quite tasty!

    So for dinner, I tried to make a salad using the lentils I sprouted over the past few days. I based myself on this recipe from Allrecipes.com but, as usual, couldn’t be bothered to print it, so I made up my own variation once in the kitchen.

    Sprouted lentil salad with avocado & garlic dressing

    • A couple of handfuls of sprouted lentils
    • A third of a cucumber, chopped up
    • A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
    • A couple of spring onions, chopped up

    Now for the dressing

    • One overly ripe avocado (but not bruised/brown)
    • Some olive oil (I added a drizzle of garlic olive oil too)
    • Some white wine vinegar
    • A teaspoon of tahini
    • Salt, pepper, morrocan spices
    • Lime juice

    I think that’s probably it, but in the same way I made it on the fly, you should just use what you’ve got at hand to flavour it up. I’ve even got some leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

    All in all, the sprouter’s been a good purchase. Sprouts need a little bit of love and care, keeping them nicely rinsed twice a day, but so far it’s worthwhile!

    [* If you’re looking for a sprouter, I bought mine from Greensfoods but it’s also available from places like the Organic Gardening Catalogue. You’ll probably also find it in your local health store.]

  • Please boss, can we do this too?

    Lip Dub – Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri and Vimeo.

  • Cambridge Congestion Charge

    If you live in the Cambridge area like I do, you’ve probably also had a heated discussion about the congestion charge which could soon come into place across Cambridge.

    Looking at the Congestion Charge map (Downloadable PDF, source article), it’s like someone gave an idiot a big black Sharpie and told them to go nuts on a map of the city – the whole of Cambridge within A14 and M11 boundaries is included in the congestion charge area! That’s inclusive of all the Park & Ride stations, the Science Park and the Addenbrooke’s hospital.

    Of course, it’s for the good of the city, since “Cambridge is a medieval city and it simply wasn’t designed for motor cars”, says Shona Johnstone, Sharpie-armed village idiot council leader.

    Sure, I appreciate that the center of Cambridge – in my eyes defined as the Grafton Centre and Lion Yard area – isn’t made for high traffic density. I also appreciates that this only applies to the hours between 7:30 and 9:30 in the morning.

    But the Science Park? The Park & Ride areas? You’ve got to be kidding me! Isn’t the whole point of those being on the edge of town keeping cars outside of city centre and encouraging the use of such services?

    I’m reasonably convinced that the owners of buildings in the Science Park will come out with pick axes against Johnstone, and that these areas will be excluded from the final ruling, but someone still thought it was worth putting forward the suggestion to include ALL of Cambridge in the Congestion Charge area. This leaves me with that niggling feeling you get when you sense that idiocy might still prevail over simple common sense, and that a repeated headdesk motion may be the only thing you’ll be left with.

    Cambridge Council is wasting its breath on me trying to tell me it isn’t doing it for the revenue they can get from the thousands of people who enter the boundaries of the city every morning. Why else would it include high density, yet city-fringe areas? We’re not the ones wrecking havoc amongst the pretty stone streets of town centre. The only bloody benefit I see is that they might get cyclists off Mill Road.

    So if you’re as convinced as I am that Cambridge needs to look at alternatives before dipping into our collective wallet, take action! You’ll find the petition against the Congestion Charge here and the Facebook group dedicated to discussing the issue here. The “official” Cambridge Congestion Charge discussion group is also a good place to go vent your frustration and find out what actions can be taken.

    I would suggest that Cambridge look at the OC Transpo bus system in Ottawa, Canada – my hometown – amongst some, for tips on how to do a better job at offering us a more suitable public transportation service. I never appreciated OC Transpo until I came to the UK and realised that most towns have completely disjointed, technologically-incompetent companies running the show, leaving us standing in the cold rain – literally. Even in bloody mid-July!

    Oh no, now I’m getting started on the weather, I really better stop here.

  • Taptology: Mobile Chemistry

    Taptology - Taptu's Mobile Chemistry BlogIt’s official, we’ve launched the Taptu blog! It’s still a bit bare on content, but give me a few days to get the engine nicely warmed up, and we’ll be producing some great stuff!

    If you’re wondering what else your phone can do, aside from ringing at the most inopportune moment and seemingly disappearing after you’re “certain you put it on the coffee table 20 minutes ago”, we can provide some ideas. Your phone won’t start doing backflips – hopefully – but it can go on the Internet and provide a whole lot of entertainment while you’re sitting on the train or trying to win the pub quiz, that I can assure you! 🙂

  • Heads up! Driving Tests are changing

    Some of you might remember that I’ve only passed my driving test a few months ago. Feels like it’s been years already, and I’m generally pretty comfortable with the whole driving thang (aside from the M25 and tight Cambridge car parks!)

    So for those who are lagging a few months behind me, I just spotted some new legislation information which might be of interest:

    If you are still to book your Theory Test? Then you need to be quick. As of the 3rd September 2007 the Theory Test will be getting harder. The current pass mark is 30 correct answers out of 35, As of the 3rd September this will raise to 43 correct answers out of 50. There will also be a test fee increase from the current £21.50 rising to £28.50.

    I found this via ABMW Driving School‘s news page, one of our past (and favourite!) Pepsmedia clients, and thought I’d share it around. The pass mark you need to get remains 86%, but more questions and more money to spend are never such a welcome thing. So go ahead and book now! Yep, you know who you are! 🙂

  • Welcome to the Internet, kids!

    Nigerian schoolchildren who received laptops from a U.S. aid organisation have used them to explore pornographic sites on the Internet, the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported on Thursday.

    NAN said its reporter had seen pornographic images stored on several of the children’s laptops.

    Well, what? Did you expect otherwise?

    [From Reuters, via gapingvoid on Twitter]

  • I wish I could love milk

    I’ve played the Get The Glass game a number of times now, but at most, I got to the second mini-game and certainly got nowhere near finishing the game. I REALLY want to love this game, it’s got such an Incredibles feel to it, yet it’s so difficult (maybe it’s the three large wine glasses, but I’m sure I struggled when I played sober too…) that you just lose all the fun factor.

    If you’ve finished this game, PLEASE tell me, so I can regain faith into online game developers and assume I’m just rubbish at them! It was developed by the Califorma Milk Developers (apparently) and it’s the sexiest board game I’ve ever come across, but it’s still pissing me off!

    Arghhhh!!!

  • Breaking up in the age of social networking


    Girl 1: Omg, are you alright babe?
    Girl 2: What?
    Girl 1: Well… I just saw you and Josh broke up, he updated his relationship status on FB to single. You ok?
    Girl 2: Oh… I kinda thought we were just taking a break… Hmm :/

    Splitting up with a girlfriend or boyfriend has always been a thorny issue. It’s not much fun to go through it in the privacy of a kitchen or a coffee shop’s darkest corner, but social networks are bringing a whole new public aspect to break ups.

    Jessamyn West of librarian.net, along with many others, has covered the issue before me:


    “Do I take my ex off my buddy list? Do I remove his blog from my RSS feed reader? Should I stop commenting on his Flickr pictures or block him from commenting on mine? How many passwords do I need to change? Do I deauthorize his computer from my iTunes store?”

    Facebook BreakupWhen your blog, your MySpace page or Facebook profile is your personal soapbox and daily diary, how can you find the right balance between keeping your friends updated about your real life and avoiding airing your dirty bedsheets in public? What about when the new boyfriend comes into the spotlight? Should the ex be demoted from friend status to hide updates? That’s a whole new set of online ethics for which we’ve categorically lost the handbook.

    Such drama over bits and bytes, really, but social networks have weaseled their way into having an impact on our very real flesh and blood lives. We’re all warned on a regular basis to watch what we blog, in case future employers find out about our drunken sexcapades, but what about future (and past) boyfriends and girlfriends?

    [Disclaimer: I’m not splitting up with anyone, by the way, this is purely an observational post.]

    [Update: I came across this post by Thomas Crampton dating from approx a month ago. I remember seeing the update on Loic’s Twitter feed, but it’s interesting to see what impact it had on Thomas in real life.]

  • We're all going to drown!

    Get your wellies, raincoats and a small boat. You’re going to need it tomorrow according to MetCheck. A quick search for Cambridge is forecasting over 60mm of rain tomorrow morning.

    Thank Dog, I live at the top of a hill!

  • Setting your expectations in business

    When you have two dollars in your pocket, you don’t expect to travel in a limo, do you? You take the bus. So why do people with a small website budget expect otherwise?

    There’s nothing wrong with being thrifty and on a limited budget, but expectations and budget need to be aligned.