Notices by Jeff Smith (sumisu3@mastodon.nz)

@skinnylatte tough to get a good paying job here. I’ve done Asia Pacific roles so the income has been good, but now coming off a sabbatical and looking at local opportunities it is pretty sparse and the pay definitely isn’t Silicon Valley company pay at all. While the cost of living is high and increasing. For a country that grows so much food, including dairy, our prices are outrageous.

The beat Fiji by 2050 is a bit harsh but not entirely…

@skinnylatte Singapore and HK I always had to bring a jacket - to wear indoors.

Japan on the other hand doesn’t seem to know what air conditioning is. Saves energy but so little air flow as well. In the winter it is way too hot in the offices and in the summer it feels like a fan would be a better solution.

@skinnylatte do thermometers even go that low in Singapore?

I guess indoors with the wicked air conditioning they do but outdoors that is darn cold for Singapore

@skinnylatte not too many places in the world you will get mango sago and good tacos on the same day, in the same town.

@skinnylatte I do miss the “Adventures of Cookie” and I know how hard it is to lose a canine companion. They are so special and love us unconditionally.

Here is my eldest son’s new Cavalier puppy. We will drive down to Wellington around Easter to take our Cavalier to meet the puppy.

@steter no bombing required. Naval blockade for a fortnight and Taiwan has no oil or coal and thus no electricity. They’ve been practicing this for a while. Kaohsiung is something like 80% of all Taiwan import traffic. And they will do it with their Coast Guard claiming to inspect ships in what they claim as their territorial waters. Japan and Philippines won’t jump in without back from the US

Fait accompli

@skinnylatte the “zooid of siphonophore” sounds like some alien race from Star Trek or Stargate :)

And I so love all the aquarium and marine stuff you share!

@skinnylatte I wonder how they’d do in the Nordic winter? On the other hand summer at such latitude is also a bizarre experience.

@skinnylatte is it open 24/7?

@skinnylatte I’m definitely not a cheerleader for AI, but I am old enough though to remember, and was part of, trying to convince businesses that the Internet was going to change the world and that connectivity was crucial for business. This was pre-WWW so it was indeed a tough sell.

@skinnylatte I must admit my first glance at your post I read “Cook book launch..World Eaters” and thought you had published a book on your culinary explorations.

Much more serious and dire topic instead.

One can hope for such a book though

I probably need to harvest these Riwaka hops tomorrow. Would be ideal to wait another day or two but we are supposed to be getting some rain and wind. Better to harvest a little early than lose them all.

Already lost one of the bines due to wind a few weeks ago. This will still end up being enough for a batch of beer.

#hops #BloomScrolling

@skinnylatte rice cooker for every day (and for us it is pretty much every day) rice. But there is something very special about rice cooked over a wood fire in a traditional pot. Now, that said, haven’t had rice made that way in oh so many years. The crispy crust on the bottom is unequivocally the highlight of such a meal. Persian style with the sliced potatoes that become crispy in the bottom also insanely good.

@skinnylatte we are darn close to the immigration version of you don’t need to go home but you can’t stay here. I feel very worried for many of my friends in the US, and for all the people I don’t know, on visas facing even more uncertainty and stress than usual.

@skinnylatte Lady Jane and an actor from California sounds like it should be a completely different topic. More herbal.

@skinnylatte my son just put in a request to make this again. And my friend who introduced me to this dish in Goa reminded last time that I can make it with prawns also. Now we have a serious plan.

I really need to get my kids to India some day. Will change their entire view of the world (social, culinary, economic, everything)

@skinnylatte now that you mention it, I’ve never had a donut for dessert - only with coffee at breakfast time. When I moved to Japan I realized how good pastries and desserts could be without being too sweet or too large. But then again, I’m very much not a sweets person and a piece of a cookie or cake will keep me for months. On the other hand, some dried squid, fish, peanuts and chilis…

@skinnylatte my Cavalier, Loki, even though he isn’t even two yet (few more weeks) snores. Sometimes surprises the Irish Setter. Those two always sleep together - Cavalier always somehow partially or fully on top of the Setter.

@skinnylatte my three year old Irish Setter is basically that. Hyper then crash within seconds.

Does your cat snore? I had a Maine Coon that snored. He was so cute. He also stuck his tongue out.

@skinnylatte I’ve struggled with the whole not wanting to let others down “self punishment”, and cannot completely understand it, having not grown up in that culture. But I’ve heard many folks try to appropriate the Asian phrases and concepts to use as examples of grit and be completely unaware of these implications.