Rick's b.log - entry 2024/12/29

Chilly?

I'm sitting here with a little heated pad on my lap, the oil radiator beside me (on its lowest setting), and should I tell you that it's about 6°C in here. Chillier than the bedroom, but I'm none too inclined to spend too long in bed - my back won't thank me for that.

It's not a question of finance, I could turn some more heating on, but doing that would be going against half a century of programming.

I blame Scotland.

I had only just fallen out of my mother, unfashionably early, when these mad grannies would tell my mother that I'm a wee bonnie bairn and that the correct way to handle a baby is to put it into a pram and put it outside for at least half an hour of "fraysh ayer". It was not a request, it was a command. Remember, I'm a winter baby. So there I was in the middle of winter out in my pram. Because if I didn't have bright red cheeks, I was clearly ill, right?
Couple that with mom, at the time, living in a place that people said lots of stories about it being haunted because candles would blow themselves out. Mom tested it and, yes, some of the candles she lit did go out. Now you can believe in ghosts if you like, but the correct explanation is that windows and doors fit so badly that there was enough of a draft to manage to blow out candles.
So from my earliest days, I had my concept of warm and cold somewhat skewed. Which is always a bit amusing when I am at work and I'm wearing a light shirt and my work tunic over top and I'm saying it is hot, while my cow-orker has a vest, shirt, a jumper, and a polar fleece top stuffed under her tunic and she's saying it's freezing.

Of course, as an older child I went to a boarding school where the heating system (until they replaced it in my final year) could only manage to decently heat half of the building at once and the seniors had the priority both as more important students and closer proximity to the boiler. Very often the prefects would open the windows at lights out because <lots of old wive's tales about fresh air>, and that thing that I wrote about in my story where we'd all have to run around the woods wearing shorts and short sleeved rugby shirt while there was a thick layer of snow on the ground? Totally happened. Actually, wasn't that uncommon. Oh, and the part about the PE tutor being parked up in front of a portable gas heater reading a confiscated Playboy? Yup, that happened too.

That was boarding school in the eighties. None of this modern touchy-feely-vibey crap, it was enough to survive one day to the next. And since one couldn't exactly mock those with various mental afflictions (given that it was a special needs school), some of them were really big on "class", as in the British Class System. I never got to play cricket because I was the wrong class, and I never got to play football because I was a total spaz [note: this was a fairly common insult back in the 80's and one of the milder ones at that].
The irony is that, let's just say that the kids who thought they were a better class than the rest of us (some as sons of trustees and the like), they were mostly entitled total-bastards. For them, class was defined by how much their parents had in the bank. They must have all been that naff nouveau riche because anybody with actual class not only doesn't flaunt it in everybody's face, they are brought up way better than that.
As for where I fit into the class system, I simply don't care. I prefer to judge people by who they are in terms of personality and behaviour towards others. Having loads of money might make some things in life easier, but it won't make you a good person. Just look to the world's richest man for a brilliant self-demonstrating example.

Anyway, it's not especially warm in here although four teas later it seems a little warmer. It's brass moneys outside. It hit a high of 3.4°C earlier. Whoo, tug the string of a party popper.

Larder v0.09

• Fixed an off-by-one in the stringcopy() function that was, as a side effect, messing up the total item counts for the affected articles.
  Breaking the total item count isn't a good thing (a fair bit of code relies upon it to determine if there is anything to show) but the database verification can fix it by simply looking to see what the item counts for each date are and adding them up.
  Ironically, this was the result of a change in the previous version to remove strncpy() that cannot be relied upon to return a valid null-terminated string.
• You can now press Esc or Backspace/Delete to abort things that may have a lot of output, like "What's expiring soon?" or "List everything".
• Item removal has been simplified. Rather than asking you to enter the date of the item to be removed (if there are multiples), it will list them and prompt you to choose which to delete.
  
• Verification option added to the Inventory menu. This will go through each article permitting you to either selectively remove items or to zero all of them; allowing for simpler tidy-up of the data if it has come out of sync with reality and - in particular - if you don't have barcodes to scan to remove items the usual way.
  
• The article Inventory screen now has quick links to go to Add or Remove items. This allows you to check inventory and the add/remove without having to scan the item again - like if you want to check you have picked up the item with the soonest exiry date.
  
• The "Character test" screen in the System menu has been replaced with a potentially more usedul "Program Info" screen.
  

Edamame

Beans, beans, beans, beans... [to the tune of the Spam song]

Sadly, I'm not able to buy soy beans like I can buy, say, brocolli or chips. Maybe in the freezer aisle of an Asian supermarket, but out here in the sticks it's hard enough getting anything "fancy".

I'll give you an example. There's a weird flat flaky pastry thing that is popular at this time of the year, traditionally eaten on Epiphany/12^th Night. It is called the "Galette des Rois" (King Cake - there's something similar in the UK) and it typically has a little ceramic figurine inside (or coin, bean, almond, etc if homemade) and whoever gets it in their slice (and doesn't smash their teeth on it!) gets to wear a little paper crown.
Rumour has it that this tradition is banned in the Palais d'Élysée because the President is not a king (remember what the French did to their royalty!) and thus is forbidden to wear any form of crown, even a symbolic one (though, really, I'm not sure Macron gets the distinction 😉 ).

In the local supermarkets around here, you can get the traditional flavours of Frangipane (almond paste, like that in Bakewell tarts) and Apple.

Upon going to the Leclerc in Big Town, I was confronted with two entirely new options. The first was a chocolate filling and while I'm quite aware that Frenchies will happily riot over Nutella, I'm not that partial to chocolate paste.

The other option? Well... let's see...

The traditional galette, lemon scented.

It was hideously expensive (something like €6), but it is one and it might be really nice.

At work there are actually two "plonges" (washing up areas). The big plonge does all of the 'flat' things: the baking trays, cake tins, silicone moulds, etc. There is a smaller one that gets everything else: the mixing bowls (both 1l and 100l!), metal tubs, whisks (both handheld and metre-long-for-a-machine), etc.
One of my happiest times at work is when they're making lemon cream or lemon sauce or, frankly, anything with lemons in it. After a few of those come through, everything smells lemony and for me lemon is like taking sunbeams and making them an actual tangible object.
It probably shouldn't be a surprise that my last three cakes have been lemon cakes with lemon curd between the layers.
So I have high hopes for this galette. I'll probably be disappointed, as industrial stuff rarely impresses and it's basically lemon juice added to the almond paste instead of actual lemon jam or whatever, but there's always the possibility that it won't suck.

By the way, I'm not religious, I don't care much about about Epiphany, and to be honest I couldn't tell you what it even was other than "something to do with 12^th night" without looking it up. I just like the galettes.

Note: A little distinction should be made here. In the north of France, we have a galette which is two layers of puff pastry with some sort of filling. In the south of France it is more likely to be a big round brioche coated with candied fruit pieces and sugar lumps; which is closer to the style of King Cake that may be found in the UK, Germany, Spain, and Portugal. I'm not sure why northern France has gone with something different, but they have.

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jgh in Japan, 30th December 2024, 04:39

When waiting for a 'plane last week in Osaka, the departure was delayed, I was following the announcement: <i>We are currently awaiting the loading of ...</i> and in my head... <i>lemon soaked paper napkins...</i> :D

jgh in Japan, 30th December 2024, 04:45

Last night I was describing my childhood in Northern England, trying to get her to believe: digging through snow in the morning to bring in the coal, banking up the open fire, the sole heating, waiting 30 minutes for the immersion for hot water for a bath, ice on the inside of bedroom windows, dressing under the bedclothes. Cold? Put a jumper on! :)

C Ferris, 30th December 2024, 09:50

I'm surprised Rick hasn't a open fire in that old farmhouse :-)

C Ferris, 30th December 2024, 11:04

Strange that 'Chilli' is used to describe a really hot plant :-)

Rick, 30th December 2024, 11:20

Chilli/chili came from a Nahuatl (Aztec) word. The reason we often say chili pepper is because the invading Spaniards added the word pepper in order to liken chili to something they understood.    Why no fire? Several reasons. Open fires are banned in France as the rate of burn and air control cannot be controlled therefore they are something ridiculous like 70% less efficient (in terms of wood burn versus heat output) compared to an enclosed fire. Secondly the chimney hasn't been swept so if anything happened my insurance would be "nope". And finally in order for the chimney to draw properly, the window needs to be slightly open, which does rather defeat the purpose of having a fire.    There is a wood burner in the fireplace, but I cannot use it as the flue pipe only goes up a metre or two. In order to be insurance approved, it would need to go all the way up, be lined, and swept yearly by a professional (paperwork needed). Getting that installed, due to the height of the chimney, would cost over 1,500 (a quote we had back around 2004).    I have in mind a plan to get a small wood burner fitted in the kitchen, but that's something in the long term planning...

jgh in Japan, 30th December 2024, 13:52

Is the calendar in the top corner correct? It's 10pm here, so surely that should mean it's lunchtime *Monday* where you are, not Sunday.

jgh in Japan, 30th December 2024, 13:57

Long term planning? (Checks calendar) My grandma once told me that long-term planning was what you did before you were 50. :D    (I've just been updating my accounts and find myself actively counting the 41 months until I have no mortgage. Two more months, and the tens drops another digit!)

Rick, 30th December 2024, 14:21

You had me worried there for a moment...    The calendar doesn't show the current date. That's at the top of the screen.    The calendar shows which days have blog entries, and it highlights the one you're currently reading (so the calendar changes to be the month applicable to the entry you're looking at).

Rick, 30th December 2024, 14:31

Mom was very very big on only borrow money from a bank of there is no other option. That's why I borrowed €3K for my first car (I needed it right away), and bought the second one myself. My current car is a sort of loan, but I was in the sticky situation that I needed a car that would not have to undergo an MOT, but it wasn't yet required to *sell* them with one (it will be as of the day after tomorrow).    Still, it's been interesting having an electric car. I like the idea, I like the quiet, but far too many charge points are the wrong type, need some weird subscription, or simply don't work. There's a way to go before it'll be a viable substitute for petrol.    Whether or not my next car will burn fuel depends a lot on whether or not I get around to passing the driving test. If I don't and I need another toy car, it'll absolutely be diesel. The range is just too short, and the inability to quick charge off three phase makes it unfeasible for journeys of any length.    On the other hand, I'm supposed to go for a work medical checkup on the 29th and I laughed and said I'd be surprised if my car could make it into Rennes, never mind come back afterwards. They'll probably have me share with somebody like last time and the time before...    No mortgage to worry about, thankfully (as the ever skyrocketing price of electricity is being noticed). Mom sold a small place in the UK to buy this big ol' pile of rocks. But that was back in the days when house prices made sense (on both sides of the Channel).

Rick, 30th December 2024, 14:40

I should add - I had no intention of getting a brand new car, but they don't rent used ones and I couldn't be in the position of paying €€€ for a used car that would go and fail its MOT.    I liked Caoimhe, I had no problems with that car, she had a good few kilometres left in her, but alas the rules changed and she didn't meet the requirements.    Honestly, I *fear* the idea of buying a replacement "real" car. I don't want all of this connected crap, I don't want any driving assistance, especially that automated braking stuff...  ...oh, and NO touch screens. If I can't feel along the dashboard in the dark and twiddle a knob to adjust the fan, I'm not interested. There are more than enough distractions already, eyes on the road please!

jgh in Japan, 31st December 2024, 02:05

Eeek, horrors. My current work van has touch-screen controls, and it's actually *terrifying* having to take your eyes off the road at speed and visually search out the control you're trying to find.

jgh in Japan, 31st December 2024, 02:12

Here in Japan I've been discussing prices of goods here and in the UK with my host. She and I are alternately horrified at each other's country. :)    We walked past a petrol station yesterday. Petrol Y150/l. That's 75 pee! I told her petrol in the UK was typically 150p = Y300.    I told her my December gas+elec bill was £215 - hers is about £80. She spends about £100 a week on food, I spend about £40.    UK minimum wage is about £12/hr. Japan's is £6/hr. Many people are on *part-time* just-above minimum wage jobs.    Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu.

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