It’s been a long, long time since I’ve posted something that was not a featured question.

The weird thing is, it’s not that I don’t have anything to write about.  I just don’t feel like I know how to go about writing it.  In no specific order:

At this point, I’m hoping that I can get back to the habit of writing.  A bit more frequently anyway.  That’s all.

^_^

It’d probably be a tie between the time I dreamt I was being chased by a disturbingly amorous female werewolf singing “All I wanna do” by Cheryl Crow; and the time I dreamt I was living in Bangladesh only to wake up and realize it was all a dream and I was still in New York, only to wake up and realize it was all a dream and I was, in fact, actually living in Bangladesh.

^_^’

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No.

Although that’s mainly because I haven’t given up any of my childhood hobbies.  Videogames, cartoons, and books of both graphic & non-graphic variety.

So

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At home: Primarily Linux.  It’s stable, it’s free, it doesn’t hog resources just to sell hardware, and it has yet to be infected by viruses.  Infact whenever I need to deal with pen drives or external hard disks, I use Linux just to be safe.  Plus it’s got a wide library of opensource software, conveniently available as a list in package manager; so whenever I need to download something, or upgrade the system files, all I need to do is check the appropriate box and click “install”.  Sadly, quite a few PC games have not been ported to Linux, so I end up using Windows XP to play them.

Incidentally enough, my laptop (Compaq CQ45 301-TU) came with with Windows Vista, but Bob knows, it ended up irritating the hell out of me.  Too many “helpers”, from Vista as well as HP, automatically doing things they think I want to do, even though I don’t; and telling me what I shouldn’t do because they think I don’t know what I’m doing.  In the end, I figured if I’m going to turn off all the “features” and configure the operating system to run like Windows XP, I might as well install Windows XP instead.  So I ended up formatting Windows Vista in favor of a Linux/XP dual boot setup.

At the office: I have little choice but to use Windows XP.  90% of the work I need to do require software that are not available for Linux.  i.e. Photoshop, After Effects & Flash.  (And WINE can’t run the latest editions without problems.)

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It’s a common idea in Bangladesh, that that simply because you’re paying someone to do something, you magically attain the right to make them do anything.  It’s further reinforced by a collective mentality.  The superintendent at our apartment, who’s responsibilities primarily cover maintenance of the apartment building, also pays the bills, does random odd jobs, and occasionally goes grocery shopping for some of the tenants.  The superintendent accepts this as a normal part of his job just as much as the tenants.  With the exception of one otherwise confusing individual.

Shortly after we first moved in, my “erratic” behavior quickly managed to perplex quite few people.  No one could quite figure out why on earth a man took the stairs to ascend and descend five stories, when there was a perfectly good elevator right next to the stairwell.  Then there was the month I spent living by myself.  Which stood in stark contrast to the common knowledge, that without a woman to cook & clean at home, a man can’t take care of himself. 

Needless to say, the superintendent, and a few days later my father, were dumbfounded when I declared my intention to go to the bank, stand in line for the better part of an hour or two and pay the bills, by myself.  Everyone else is doing it, my father argued.  The superintendent is perfectly capable of paying the bills, my father argued further.  After spending fifteen minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to explain my philosophical disagreements on the sociocultural views on dependency, I decided to try an approach closer to his understanding.  “I’m paying the bills, and I’ll pay them any which way I please.”  He stopped arguing, but he was confused none the less.

BTW, for those that are not familiar with the Bangladeshi system, generally speaking, bills for phone, electricity & gas are to be paid in designated branches of designated banks.  Inevitably, this involves standing in long lines over an extended period of time.

So, as things stand, I’ve managed to confuse the poor superintendent.  I take the stairs despite his repeated insistence to take the elevator.  I pay my bills despite his repeated insistence to let him take care of it for me.  And while my dad often sends him on errands like buying a quart of milk, he occasionally sees me walking down five stories via the stairwell, and venturing outside for something as trivial as half a dozen eggs in the late hours of the night.

And on my way back, I see him with a perplexed look on his face.  Confused about why anyone willingly avoids the rules, regulations and luxuries of  “modern” life.

Fried Potatoes, The Incredibley Amazing Saad Azim way.

First and foremost, you’ll need water.  You’ll need a lot of water if you are to properly fry potatoes The Incredibley Amazing Saad Azim way.  So make sure you’ve got a steady supply of water, and preferably, something to hold the water.  You’ll also need some oil, or cooking spray.  How else are you suppose to fry potatoes?  Hmm?  Hmmmmmmmm?  (The Incredibley Amazing Saad Azim recommends Olive Oil, of if possible, Sesame Seed oil.)  Last but not least, you’ll need some potatoes.  Roughly half a pound or so.  There’s also the ambiguous issue of spices, but it varies according to taste, so I leave it up to individual choices.  (The rule of thumb: you can’t go wrong with salt.  However, experiment to your heart’s content.)

Utensil wise, you’ll need a knife, a cutting board for the knife, a bowl to hold some of that steady supply of water you’ve got going, a frying pan, a working stove, and something to stir stuff with.

Ready?  Ok.

Peel the potatoes and make some thin vertical cuts, roughly a quarter inch thick, followed by some thin horizontal cuts, also a quarter inch thick.  (The Incredibley Amazing Saad Azim avoids those all-in-one food processors/graters because they always manage either make the slices too thin or too thick.)  What we’re going for here are thin, yet strong enough to stand on it’s own, slices.  (Imagine a midget French-fry.)  Now, as soon as you’re done slicing the potato, put the pieces into a large bowl of water.  Repeat until you’ve finished with all the potatoes.

Let the bits sit in water for roughly five to ten minutes.  This basically draws the…erm… “juice” out of the potato, which would otherwise make the fries sticky & mushy.  Soaking the potatoes in a buttload of water for a couple of minutes means you’ll get crisp & non sticky fries. and drain the water.  If possible, change the water ever three to four minutes.

Add your favorite spices.  (The Incredibley Amazing Saad Azim way involves a combination of various flavors of fish sauces, a quarter cup of red chili powder, a quarter teaspoon of turmeric, and a couple of sliced green chilies for half pound sliced potatoes.  Less than adventurous cooks can probably go with some salt, added according to taste.)  Either way, let the marinated potato sit for another five to ten minutes.  This allows the marination to seep into the potato.  (Hence the thin slices.)

Pre-heat the oil, set the flame to medium-low, and add the potatoes.  Stir the potatoes gently to make sure most of the slices are coated with oil/cooking spray and spread them out evenly over the pan.  You want just enough heat to cook the starch.  Too much heat you’ll have fries that are cooked on the outside but raw on the inside.  Every 30 seconds or so, stir the fries.  Every minute or so, pick out a random fry & see if it’s cooked or not.  The objective is to make sure the fries are crispy on the outside, properly cooked on the inside.  The more space there is to spread the fries around, the crispier the fries will be.

Er… that’s about it.  If you’re going all the way, and doing thing The Incredibley Amazing Saad Azim way down to the T, you’re probably using a quarter cup of red chili powder.  In which case, once your eyes start watering, the fries are roughly a third way done.  Once you start sneezing, they’re about two thirds done.  Once people at the other end of the apartment are complaining about your cooking, you’re finally done with the fries.

(Originally posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2007)

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Well, there’s the guitar.  I’ve wanted to play one since I was a wee lad, and once I started earning money on a regular basis, I decided to have a go at it.  I’m not great at it, but I’d like to think I can play a few songs.

Then there is the traditional South-East Asian flute called the “Bansuri”.  (Though, technically speaking, all I can manage are the first few riffs from “Iron Man”.)

Also, back in my High School days (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back), I learned to play the recorder in our obligatory music class.  Depending on who you ask, it was either disturbing or hilarious that I could play it with my nose.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.  XD

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None of them, actually.

Rewind it the most tempting, because in theory, it allows for the possibility of going back in time to “undo” mistakes.  But then, it creates paradoxes.  Like, if you succeed in going back in time to stop something from happening; then you wouldn’t really have the motivation to go back in time in the first place would you?  (Kind of like someone who goes back in time to kill their parents.  If the killer succeeds, he wouldn’t be born to kill the parents in the first place…)  Furthermore, avoiding a tragedy  might lead to an even bigger tragedy.  Like saving a loved one from being run over; only to learn, a few months later that the person was diagnosed with leukemia.

Stopping time, feels like the riskiest of them all because of the potential to become stuck out of time.  Then there’s the question of whether or not the ability to stop time allows for interaction with the “frozen” world.  Say you froze time, and moved a bottle of water three inches to your left.  When you unfreeze time, that bottle of water would have moved at an infinite speed.  (Three inches/zero seconds = infinite speed)  Once that bottle hit something, anything, you’re looking at destruction on a planetary scale.

Fast forwarding time is, IMHO, the worst of the bunch, because it allows you to waste time quickly.  On a short-term basis, your loved one might die during the day you skipped; and worse still, if you had a way of preventing it.  On a long-term basis you might fast forward yourself to a point where human civilization has crumbled and you’re stuck in a new dark age with no way back.  Then there’s the issue of whether or not you’re physically there when you “fast forward”.  If you phase out of existence, then phase back in once you’ve stopped fast forwarding, there’s always the probability that you’ll phase into a wall.  Or a septic tank.  If you’re physically frozen as you “fast forward”, someone, or something might be inclined to move you.  If your luck’s anything like mine, you’ll be moved to someplace inconvenient.  If you become immovable, there’s the risk of finding yourself entombed/buried alive.

So like I said, given the choice, I’d prefer none of them.  While the ability to fix mistakes & avoid tragedies sound convenient, it usually leads to more mistakes that needs to be fixed and more tragedies that need to be avoided.  Me, I’d rather live with mine & face the consequences.

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So I’m having the umpteen thousandth conversation with someone about things that has pissed me off in movies over the years, and suddenly I have an epiphany.  If I take all the things that has pissed me off in movies over the years and string them together to form some kind of a coherent narrative; it just might make an interesting story in and of itself.

Er… that’s about it, actually.  I believe I’m gonna let the idea gestate in my head before posting anything further on it.  All I have are random & somewhat disconnected ideas at the moment; like… Ming, an daring pirate who always shoots first.  (Even if it looks like Ming awkwardly dodged a projectile and shot back in self defense, Ming shot first.)

It might work as a one-shot joke, but it can’t really carry a whole movie.  Anyways, I am off. 

Greetings & salutations again.

This is probably one of the simplest things I’ve cooked.  Mainly out of necessity, since 11:30 at night is generally a bad time to  try and cook something fancy.

Why  Salmon?  Because as all four most of you probably do not know, December 9th marked this year’s Cow-Day.  Maybe one of these days, I’ll post the recipe for spicy Beef with Apple-Cider-Vinegar.     Anyways, for about 4 days that followed, I ended up living on beef.  An unhealthy amount of beef.  So I decided to switch to fish for a while.  As luck would have it, I found a local supermarket selling Salmon, of all things.  At a little less than $1.10/lb, it seemed like a decent deal, so I bought a whole Salmon for a whopping $7.00, and decided to try my luck at cooking the damn thing.  I would have preferred to grill the fish, but since I don’t have one, I had to improvise with frying pan.  Hence the Pan-Grilled part.

To begin, you’ll need:

Preheat a little bit of Olive Oil in the frying pan.  Just enough to make sure the Salmon doesn’t stick to the pan.  Add the Salmon and cook over medium heat.  That’s all there is to it, actually. ^_^

Every once in a while, lightly nudge the Salmon with a utensil of your preference.  Thoroughly fried/grilled fish have a tendency of magically becoming non-stick.  So, if you are able to flip the fish over by lightly nudging it, that side of your fish is done.  Flip the piece over and cook the other side until it’s thoroughly cooked as well.  Put the Salmon aside.  Preferably on a plate.

I use the same frying pan to cook the noodles as well, because it means there’s less to clean up, but you’re welcome to your own preferences.  In a pan you may or may not have cooked the Salmon in, heat up enough water to cook the instant noodle.  Add a little bit of Olive Oil, again.  Add some fish sauce according to taste.  Throw in the noodles, unless you have bad aim.  In that case, gently lower the noodles into the water.  Stir until the noodles are done.

That’s all.  Bon Appétit.

=^^=