Saturday, 24 November 2007
Doha Driving Part 1
There are several reasons, though, why this isn't representative of Doha driving. Here's why:
1. Everyone is in their lane.
2. People are indicating their intent to change lanes or exit.
3. No one is cutting across from the inside lane to exit, oblivious to other traffic present.
4. No one is chattering on their mobiles while driving.
5. No children are bouncing around in the car (see, this isn't *just* a Japan thing apparantly, having children playing with the front wind screen).
6. No one is openly gawking at the Griswolds for being white.
Friday, 23 November 2007
Beer cheese potato soup-- 3 recipe fusion
I like potato soup, and I also like to improvise with my recipes. I think some of that comes from living in Japan, where you can't always get the ingredients for your favorite dishes so you end up improvising a fix.
Anyway, I made a killer pot of soup last night, so I'll share the recipe. This started out as a simple potato soup but evolved into kind of a beer/cheese variety. It's a fusion of 3 different recipes plus my own ideas.
If you like celery, put it in. Personally, though, I think celery is a nasty little plant, which has been forever banished from my dishes.
Jessica's Killer Beer Cheese Potato Soup
1 T butter (a block roughly 2-3 cm square, or an inch by inch or so)
1 m onion, chopped (I used hot red onions)
4-6 potatoes
water, depending on soup needed.
3 chicken boullion cubes
Parsley, thyme, bay leaves, rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
*If you hate any of these things, then don't use them. Choose your own.
2 cups or so shredded cheddar cheese (two or three handfuls--really sharp cheese gives you good taste)
1 cup beer or so (1/3 to 1/2 a tin)
1 cup flour or so (1/2 a coffee mug full)
milk, to taste-- a good way to use up milk which is reaching its jump ship date.
Cube potatoes-- peel or not, your choice, and put in pot. Add the onion, butter, water, 1 chicken boullion cube, and some spices. Cook until potatoes are done.
In a separate dish, put the flour and beer in and mix. A wisk works best, or a fork. You're doing flour because it helps thicken the soup, and it also helps balance a bit. If you put it right in the pot, you get clumps. So mix it with the beer, then add, and you'll avoid this problem.
The chicken boullion helps add flavor, as potatoes aren't the most flavorful vegetable out there. I haven't tried with vegetable boullion, but I suppose you could get a nice flavor too.
When the potatoes are cooked, do the following:
-add the beer and flour mixture and stir.
-Prepare 2 more chicken boullion cubes and hot water. Just use a bit of hot water. If you put the cubes in a bowl, put enough hot water to cover the top. Add this in and mix. You want a strong flavor, not a weak one, so plan accordingly.
-Put the cheese in and mix.
-Put the milk last and mix.
Beer types change the soup taste, as you can imagine. Stout beer like Guinness... I probably wouldn't use. An amber or a lager would be good. Nothing really pale though. I wouldn't use a hefeweizen, unless you want citrus soup. This last time, I had a tin of Victoria Bitter (which is not bitter at all), and it was good. I almost chose San Miguel, but realized VB is a smidgen darker. I'll try SM next time. I had a bottle of Kingfisher, but I wouldn't use it for soup. Too light.
And that's it! You can eat this with Red Lobster cheddar biscuits, garlic bread, crackers, plain old toast, croutons... however.
Anyway, I made a killer pot of soup last night, so I'll share the recipe. This started out as a simple potato soup but evolved into kind of a beer/cheese variety. It's a fusion of 3 different recipes plus my own ideas.
If you like celery, put it in. Personally, though, I think celery is a nasty little plant, which has been forever banished from my dishes.
Jessica's Killer Beer Cheese Potato Soup
1 T butter (a block roughly 2-3 cm square, or an inch by inch or so)
1 m onion, chopped (I used hot red onions)
4-6 potatoes
water, depending on soup needed.
3 chicken boullion cubes
Parsley, thyme, bay leaves, rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
*If you hate any of these things, then don't use them. Choose your own.
2 cups or so shredded cheddar cheese (two or three handfuls--really sharp cheese gives you good taste)
1 cup beer or so (1/3 to 1/2 a tin)
1 cup flour or so (1/2 a coffee mug full)
milk, to taste-- a good way to use up milk which is reaching its jump ship date.
Cube potatoes-- peel or not, your choice, and put in pot. Add the onion, butter, water, 1 chicken boullion cube, and some spices. Cook until potatoes are done.
In a separate dish, put the flour and beer in and mix. A wisk works best, or a fork. You're doing flour because it helps thicken the soup, and it also helps balance a bit. If you put it right in the pot, you get clumps. So mix it with the beer, then add, and you'll avoid this problem.
The chicken boullion helps add flavor, as potatoes aren't the most flavorful vegetable out there. I haven't tried with vegetable boullion, but I suppose you could get a nice flavor too.
When the potatoes are cooked, do the following:
-add the beer and flour mixture and stir.
-Prepare 2 more chicken boullion cubes and hot water. Just use a bit of hot water. If you put the cubes in a bowl, put enough hot water to cover the top. Add this in and mix. You want a strong flavor, not a weak one, so plan accordingly.
-Put the cheese in and mix.
-Put the milk last and mix.
Beer types change the soup taste, as you can imagine. Stout beer like Guinness... I probably wouldn't use. An amber or a lager would be good. Nothing really pale though. I wouldn't use a hefeweizen, unless you want citrus soup. This last time, I had a tin of Victoria Bitter (which is not bitter at all), and it was good. I almost chose San Miguel, but realized VB is a smidgen darker. I'll try SM next time. I had a bottle of Kingfisher, but I wouldn't use it for soup. Too light.
And that's it! You can eat this with Red Lobster cheddar biscuits, garlic bread, crackers, plain old toast, croutons... however.
Friday, 16 November 2007
Monkey Madness Stalks Delhi
Each day at the ol' Delib, we wait eagerly for the delivery of the daily English newspapers-- The Gulf Times, The Peninsula, the Qatar Tribune, and the International Herald Tribune. We particularly enjoy the Gulf Times and The Peninsula, as both have an uncanny knack for publishing hysterically funny stories. Naturally, they're not meaning to be funny, which makes them even funnier. Kind of like Woody Allen.
Anyway, here's the latest, from yesterday's Peninsula. The best part of the story is the hiring monkeys bit. We were wondering how the monkeys were paid, and if they receive paid health and holiday as well.
**********************
Monkey madness stalks Delhi Thursday, November 15, 2007-->Web posted at: 11/14/2007 6:39:7Source ::: Reuters
Men rest in a park as a group of monkeys pass by, in New Delhi. (AFP)
New Delhi • First it was the death of Delhi’s deputy mayor, who fell after a fight with monkeys on the balcony of his home last month. Then, 25 residents were bitten, scratched and mauled by a lone monkey which went on the rampage in the capital last weekend. The monkey reportedly tried to snatch several infants before being beaten back by residents armed with sticks and metal bars.
Authorities are struggling to contain primates that are stubbornly resisting efforts to portray New Delhi as a modern, clean and globalised capital. The city of 14 million people is growing quickly and experts say monkeys are increasingly being forced out of forests to lead urban lives, putting them on a collision course with humans.
It is a pattern seen across India as the economy booms. Elephants, leopards and tigers are also coming face to face with man as cities sprawl into their former habitats. Monkeys are a regular sight in New Delhi. They can be seen in groups climbing outside government ministries. Troupes lounge on pavements, oblivious to the chaotic traffic around them.
But culling monkeys has never been an option as many Hindus worship Hanuman, seen as a symbol of strength, perseverance and devotion. And when Delhi tried to shift them out of the city, neighbouring states complained.
Faced with what many saw as a monkey plague on homes, offices and ministries, this year city authorities started to capture and send them to a sanctuary on Delhi’s outskirts. Delhi government officials say they have caught and relocated around 1,900 monkeys. While there is no census of monkey numbers, officials say thousands still live on the city’s streets.
Experts say there is a growing pattern of lone attacks that may highlight the random way authorities are trying to reduce the monkey population in the city.
!!!Last year, the Delhi Metro train service hired a larger langur monkey to frighten off smaller creatures after a monkey boarded a train and scared passengers by scowling at them for three stops. Another langur is on the government payroll to scare off monkeys from Delhi’s top federal government offices.!!!
This year, a monkey sneaked into New Delhi’s international airport, forcing the partial closure of the lounge for more than an hour. The Delhi residents terrorised at the weekend said the monkey attack was a terrifying experience. “I thought it was a man at first,” Manohar, one of the residents, said. “It got hold of my son’s leg and was carrying him away but I managed to snatch him back.”
Anyway, here's the latest, from yesterday's Peninsula. The best part of the story is the hiring monkeys bit. We were wondering how the monkeys were paid, and if they receive paid health and holiday as well.
**********************
Monkey madness stalks Delhi Thursday, November 15, 2007-->Web posted at: 11/14/2007 6:39:7Source ::: Reuters
Men rest in a park as a group of monkeys pass by, in New Delhi. (AFP)
New Delhi • First it was the death of Delhi’s deputy mayor, who fell after a fight with monkeys on the balcony of his home last month. Then, 25 residents were bitten, scratched and mauled by a lone monkey which went on the rampage in the capital last weekend. The monkey reportedly tried to snatch several infants before being beaten back by residents armed with sticks and metal bars.
Authorities are struggling to contain primates that are stubbornly resisting efforts to portray New Delhi as a modern, clean and globalised capital. The city of 14 million people is growing quickly and experts say monkeys are increasingly being forced out of forests to lead urban lives, putting them on a collision course with humans.
It is a pattern seen across India as the economy booms. Elephants, leopards and tigers are also coming face to face with man as cities sprawl into their former habitats. Monkeys are a regular sight in New Delhi. They can be seen in groups climbing outside government ministries. Troupes lounge on pavements, oblivious to the chaotic traffic around them.
But culling monkeys has never been an option as many Hindus worship Hanuman, seen as a symbol of strength, perseverance and devotion. And when Delhi tried to shift them out of the city, neighbouring states complained.
Faced with what many saw as a monkey plague on homes, offices and ministries, this year city authorities started to capture and send them to a sanctuary on Delhi’s outskirts. Delhi government officials say they have caught and relocated around 1,900 monkeys. While there is no census of monkey numbers, officials say thousands still live on the city’s streets.
Experts say there is a growing pattern of lone attacks that may highlight the random way authorities are trying to reduce the monkey population in the city.
!!!Last year, the Delhi Metro train service hired a larger langur monkey to frighten off smaller creatures after a monkey boarded a train and scared passengers by scowling at them for three stops. Another langur is on the government payroll to scare off monkeys from Delhi’s top federal government offices.!!!
This year, a monkey sneaked into New Delhi’s international airport, forcing the partial closure of the lounge for more than an hour. The Delhi residents terrorised at the weekend said the monkey attack was a terrifying experience. “I thought it was a man at first,” Manohar, one of the residents, said. “It got hold of my son’s leg and was carrying him away but I managed to snatch him back.”
Monday, 5 November 2007
Do you see camels?
On my way to Mesaaid for diving yesterday, I was sure I wouldn't see any camels because I was sure to put my camera in the car. Lo and behold, there was a small herd of 3 in the desert, between Al Wakra and Mesaaid. So, naturally, I jerked my car across a traffic lane to take a few photos. I couldn't get closer, partially because I was on a highly important mission to dive and partially because it was a long walk to where they were.
If you make the photo big and really look, you will see camels.
So I'm not making one of my usual ridiculously ludicrious comments in order to gain attention. There really *are* camels in the Qatari wild.
Thursday, 1 November 2007
Into the World
Since I arrived in Doha on September the 19th, I have had to stay in Qatar for two reasons:
1. If I left Qatar, the whole Residence Permit process would be cancelled, and I'd essentially have to start all over again;
2. My passport got confiscated on my first day at the office.
I am finally able to leave Qatar, as my passport came back from the government yesterday. So now I've got a passport with pages waiting to be filled (I'm almost through my second set... I can ask for one more set before I have to ask for a new passport).
So the first thing I did? I called the admin. assistant in HR, told her I had gotten my RP back, and we had the usual conversation about how nice it was, etc. Then I asked for the company letter so I could apply for my liquor permit. Her response? "I thought that would be what you were calling for..."
Is it a Cornell pattern of habit, to promptly request liquor permit letters from Cornell?
So anyway I visited the Qatar Distribution Center today, and got my liquor card. I can have quite a party, as I get 3,000 a riyal limit on purchasing. It's supposed to be 10% of your salary or so, but they often bump it up quite a bit.
The inside is well-lit, clean, and staff are very friendly and helpful. I was carrying a case of beer, and a staff member literally ran off to find me a non-existent trolley. Female advantage, check one.
Prices, for those who know Japan, are quite similar. Only the selection is heaps better. No Suntory Whiskey, though, I don't think. I didn't spend long--the shop was packed today since it's Thursday.
1. If I left Qatar, the whole Residence Permit process would be cancelled, and I'd essentially have to start all over again;
2. My passport got confiscated on my first day at the office.
I am finally able to leave Qatar, as my passport came back from the government yesterday. So now I've got a passport with pages waiting to be filled (I'm almost through my second set... I can ask for one more set before I have to ask for a new passport).
So the first thing I did? I called the admin. assistant in HR, told her I had gotten my RP back, and we had the usual conversation about how nice it was, etc. Then I asked for the company letter so I could apply for my liquor permit. Her response? "I thought that would be what you were calling for..."
Is it a Cornell pattern of habit, to promptly request liquor permit letters from Cornell?
So anyway I visited the Qatar Distribution Center today, and got my liquor card. I can have quite a party, as I get 3,000 a riyal limit on purchasing. It's supposed to be 10% of your salary or so, but they often bump it up quite a bit.
The inside is well-lit, clean, and staff are very friendly and helpful. I was carrying a case of beer, and a staff member literally ran off to find me a non-existent trolley. Female advantage, check one.
Prices, for those who know Japan, are quite similar. Only the selection is heaps better. No Suntory Whiskey, though, I don't think. I didn't spend long--the shop was packed today since it's Thursday.
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