13.11.12 One Horse is like the Apocolypse

Today’s post is a short one, but in my humble estimation a pretty funny one. Now I know it’s not ok to laugh at people’s phobias, I myself am genuinely terrified of spiders….. And falling from heights….. And suffocating. And i can understand that people have fears of things that can cause them harm like heights or foreign animals like snakes. But I never realised that grown men and women could be genuinely petrified of horses.

I knew there was a word for it, equinophobia, but I didn’t realise that people honestly suffered from it. Even my iPad’s spellcheck is questioning it. But esteemed Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry has today taught me that it is very real, he is honestly petrified of horses. Just one problem as the below link to a video shows (I don’t have a premium WordPress account yet).

Eric Berry fears horses

It must be horrific being petrified of something that are as common as horses, particularly if you live somewhere like Kansas!

DC

12.11.12 Pumpkin Head Ale

In this crazy country called America they go ape s**t for something I absolutely love – Pumpkins. They are everywhere! I know they love Halloween but this appears to be a feature of fall as a whole in this country and I for one think it’s brilliant. What’s more it has led to every bar I walk into serving pumpkin based cocktails with things such as nutmeg spicing them, or in even greater news – Pumpkin based ales!

Literally every single bar I have visited has served a version of pumpkin ale and I have thirstily gobbled them up. Today in fact, I ordered pitcher after pitcher of it in the sports bar we were in whilst watching the football (or fooooosbawl as Lucy has so lovingly nicknamed it). Now I am determined to not just know how they make it, but also how if I ever get time I can make my own. The following is from seriouseats.com and I picked it as it is recommended for home brewers:

“This recipe is designed for beginning homebrewers. It can be brewed by anyone with the basic equipment setup and a pot large enough to boil 6 gallons.
I’ve adjusted this recipe to produce 4.5 gallons instead of the usual 5 gallon batch. The fermentation of this beer tends to be more active than most, and the pumpkin makes it a little sticky. A 4.5 gallon batch will ensure that your fermentation vessel won’t overflow during the first few days of fermentation. When you bottle, remember to reduce the amount of priming sugar to account for the smaller batch, or your beer may end up overcarbonated.

About This Recipe
YIELD: makes 4.5 gallons
ACTIVE TIME: 4 hours
TOTAL TIME: 4 weeks
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: 7.5 gallon kettle (or bigger), and the basic homebrewing equipment setup

Ingredients
4.8 pounds light dry malt extract
12 ounces crystal 20L malt, crushed
3 ounces chocolate malt, crushed
30 ounces 100% natural canned pumpkin
1/2 ounces Northern Brewer Hops – 60 minutes
14 fluid ounces grade B dark maple syrup
1 teaspoon McCormick’s pumpkin spice
1 package Safale US-05
Procedures

1. Spread the pumpkin into a shallow pan and bake at 350°F for 60 minutes.
2. Tie the crystal 20L and chocolate malt in a small mesh hop bag. Place the bag in 5.5 gallons of water in a 7.5 gallon pot and immerse the grain.
3. Begin to heat, making sure mesh bag isn’t sitting directly on the bottom of the pot. Remove the grain bag when the temperature reaches 170°F.
4. Bring wort to a vigorous boil. As water is heating, slowly add 4.8 pounds of light dry malt extract and the baked pumpkin, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. When the boil begins, add 1/2 ounce Northern Brewer hops in a mesh bag.
5. After a total of 55 minutes has passed, add the maple syrup and the pumpkin pie spice.
6. After total of 60 minutes of boil, remove from heat. Warning:After wort cools below 180°F everything that touches it should be sanitary, and exposure to open air should be limited as much as possible.
7. Cool wort by placing pot in ice bath or by using a wort chiller until it is at 65°F. Transfer to sanitized fermentor (either a carboy or a fermentation bucket).
8. Use a sanitized auto-siphon racking cane to remove enough wort to take a gravity reading with your hydrometer. Make a note of this number, since you will be using it to calculate the actual alcohol content when it’s done fermenting. The reading should be around 1.057. Cover fermentor with a sanitized stopper and airlock.
9. Agitate vigorously for at least 5 minutes or aerate using pure oxygen for 1 minute. Add 1 package of Safale US-05
10. Ferment for at least 14 days at 64-68°F
11. Bottle after conditioning is complete, using enough priming sugar for a medium level of carbonation.

I only have one further thing to add on the topic…. Ok maybe 2 – Pumpkin ale is delicious…… and I am drunk.

DC

11.11.12 Seeing is Decieving

I love a good bear fact – We are all clear on that. If I could shrink one down and make them less vicious, then I would definitely have one as a pet (along with my Ocelot). They are also an endless source of fun and interesting information and given that they are constantly the stars of a lot of nature shows, there’s plenty of chances to learn these tit bits of info.

During a pre-evening tv watch whilst a certain someone got ready, I flicked over to a nature show that was focused on the incredible polar bear. In an interesting sidebar, my favourite polar bear moment was watching one do backstroke in the zoo in Central Park, NYC…. But I digress. The channel informed me that when a polar bear is born, it is born with no sight. I couldn’t believe it so I took to the internet (because if it’s on the internet, it must be true) to verify these audacious claims.

It is completely correct, polar bears have no sense of site when they are born but their eyes then develop to similar levels as human with a slightly worse sense for colour. They also have a membrane that covers the eye ball to stop them being too sensitive to the light reflecting off the white of the snow.

Next time you see polar bears, just think – The little guys can’t actually see. Doesn’t that make them even cuter??

DC

10.11.12 Saucing the Best BBQ

There are few things more likely to get you over a hangover when on holiday than a huge plate of food and a little hair of the dog. As I woke this morning, a smile cracked over my face as I remembered that today was BBQ day. I figured I couldn’t come to New York City without having some BBQ food and my hangover demanded the likes of ribs and pulled pork.

I sat down in Blue Smoke Bar (which I can fully recommend btw) and ordered their platter of chicken, two types of ribs, pulled pork and sausage win sides of collard greens and fries. All of this of course washed down with a pumpkin ale. The food was incredible, served up with 3 different kinds of barbecue sauce, the meat just fell apart. Afterwards, replete, I sat and wondered exactly how I would go about making some really good BBQ sauce…..

Apparently there are vinegar based, thin BBQ sauces which explains why some of the table sauce was so runny, but for me it has to be thick, rich sauce. So here’s the recipe that I best liked the look of:

Kansas City Rib Sauce (Credit: Derrick Riches)

This is a rich, thick, tomato based barbecue sauce recipe often associated these days as Kansas City Style. You get that traditional combination of sweet with a touch of heat in a dark and thick tomato sauce. Adjust the heat by changing the amount of cayenne.
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cayenne
Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add garlic and sauté until brown. Add remaining ingredients and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes until thickened.

Now that you know, it’s definitely time to start slow cooking some bbq’d pig for some pulled pork!

DC

9.11.12 Empire State of Mine

New York’s skyline is one of the most iconic images in the world. Impossibly tall buildings intimidating the almost insignificant people that run around in their shadows. It’s made all the more spectacular by the number of recognisable buildings there are that are that tall. One building does, however, stand out above the rest.

The Empire State Building has to be in the top 5 most widely recognised buildings in the world. It’s a feature of New York that few miss when they visit, offering an incredible landmark and an unbelievable view. Until now I always thought that the building was a strange design, I mean is a spike on top of a large building safe for planes etc? Pleasingly, today I found out why.

This 102 story building supposedly had the spike added to allow airships (blimps) to dock, as it has been reported in articles such as the New York Times. However, the real reason was the Chrysler building was also underway at the time of building and the spike was added to ensure that the Empire State Building would remain the world’s tallest building.

It held this record for over 30 years until the World Trade Center’s North tower was built and surpassed it (obviously now those towers are no more). Although many buildings have passed it since in other countries, it still remains the second tallest in NYC behind the new World Trade Center, but it will remains New York’s most iconic skyline feature.

DC

8.11.12 Sign of the Times

My first day back in New York, one of my favourite places in the world. It’s been a bit of a travel to get here and frankly I was more than ready for a drink and something to eat. The first walk we took was a familiar to most mid town Manhattan tourists (I’m told 39m people annually visit), as we walked across to Times Square.

The huge cascade of lights and bustle is also known as “The Crossroads of the World” and is an iconic New York photo opportunity. Although I’ve visited this area multiple times, I rather foolishly never knew how it got its name.

Originally it was known as Longacre Square until 1904 when the headquarters of the New York Times moved to the square. The building thats address is One Times Square is best known for being the site of the New York ball drop at midnight on new year’s eve that is now a part of popular culture the world over.

As with all things, particularly in New York, money talks and big business was able to rename something, in this case I think for the better.

DC

7.11.12 Pain Kills

It’s funny how intense, agonising pain will really sharpen your focus as to what’s in your medicine cabinet. I’ve tried everything to dull the throbbing pain in fear before the flight tomorrow – the panic is beginning to grow whilst I wait for the antibiotics to kick in.

I started with my stock answer to any problem – Nurofen express. It didn’t work. Then I tried some paracetamol that I had lying around and that helped a little, but not for the 4 hours it advised me to stave off the next dose for. Finally I caved and went to Boots and requested the most powerful painkiller that I could get. The answer I got was Paramol, and it worked a treat. But it made me drowsy and one drink felt like 7. So what exactly is the difference between ibuprofen and paracetamol and why is Paramol so good?

In essence, ibuprofen is also an anti inflammatory but should be predominantly used for joint and muscle pain whereas paracetamol is better for other pains and headaches. Paramol, aside from being a stronger paracetamol, also contains dihydrocodeine (or commonly referred to as codeine). Codeine works by mimicking the actions of naturally occurring endorphins to combine with opioid receptors to null the pain. Codeine essentially replaces the endorphins to stop the agony.

Now I know that, I’m off to take a huge dose and lie in a blissful daze.

DC

6.11.12 Invading their Space

Due to living in the UK we often get the sense of ourselves as the righteous protector of our own domain. A country that has proudly defended its boarders against all threats, like the nasty Germans. Call it revisionist history all you like but it is very seldom that our schools teach about Britain’s history as an invading nation.

Sure there’s vague talks of the British empire, but no real talk of how exactly we gained that empire. Well a recent study shows that Britain has in fact invaded nine out of ten countries in the entire world. The study delved into the history of around 200 countries and found that Britain only hadn’t invaded 22 of them at some point or other. Just look at the map below that details the countries we haven’t tried it on with:

This only includes any invasion that was executed either directly by the British government or with their permission. Actually most of them were never part of the empire and include some interesting ones such as Iceland, Cuba and Vietnam (yep, before the much vilified US). Our most invaded you ask? Why, France of course!

All in all you look at that map and once you get over being amazed, you can’t help but feel sorry for poor Luxembourg for being left out!

DC

5.11.12 The Root of the Problem

The word literally is thrown around a lot nowadays, often incorrectly. But I am literally falling apart at the seems. To add to my semi-broken nose that is causing so many problems, I now have an infected tooth. I am currently in more pain that I believe a dose of terrorist torture causes.

A brief trip to the dentist has brought only bad news and it’s much worse than expected. I’ve often heard of people talking about root canal surgery but never knew what it was or what the problem was, now I definitely do!

In essence the problem occurs when a chip in the outer tooth exposes the root of the tooth. This leads to the soft tissue, or dental pulp, becoming infected and if not immediately treated can lead to the tooth slowly (and very painfully) dying. To stop the pain and fight the bacteria, penicillin can be administered but this is only a short term fix. The only two long term fixes are:

– Extraction of the tooth
– Root Canal surgery

The first is obviously just getting rid of the tooth and the root but leaves you with no tooth. The second is more complicated but, if successful, ultimately saves the tooth. I could explain the surgery, but I found this rather nice hand drawing that explains it perfectly:

Pretty scary and expensive stuff, but ultimately you (or more precisely, I) have no choice. Here’s fingers crossed that they can sort the problem, save the tooth and then restore my mouth to normalish. In the meantime, this ibuprofen had better work!

DC

4.11.12 Living Comfortably?

The cost of living is increasingly rising and as my bank manager knows all too well, it can be a real strain on finances. The interesting thing is that you eventually become used to all of your living expenses and, for the most part, plan accordingly. Then when you visit foreign countries you start to notice that some things such as food are cheaper or more expensive but of course this is only for a temporary period. A work friend of mine is, however, moving abroad to Sidney to work and as part of the relocation has had to consider the cost of living in another country – The results are quite interesting.

The country in question for the move is Sidney, Australia. A popular destination to emigrate to and a nice change of climate from living in Reading. Jennifer noted though that Sidney is the 15th most expensive city to live in in the world. I would actually have thought that it would be higher but it did make me wonder the cities that come in more expensive. The financial service group UBS have carried out a study into this and found some interesting results based on a combination of food costs, clothing costs, monthly ‘services’ and an average monthly rent. These are the results (please note that the costs are considered vs average wage for the area…. Hence Caracas rating so highly):

#15 Sidney, Australia
#14 Paris, France
#13 Munich, Germany
#12 Frankfurt, Germany
#11 Helsinki, Finland
#10 London, England
#9 Caracas, Venezuela
#8 Stockholm, Sweden
#7 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
#6 New York, New York
#5 Copenhagen, Denmark
#4 Geneva, Switzerland
#3 Tokyo, Japan
#2 Zurich, Switzerland
#1 Oslo, Norway

Once you take into account the average wage it is phenomenal that areas such as Caracas can have such a high cost of living. At least in areas such as New York and London there is (for the most part) huge job markets that pay well. In Oslo the total for the considered items/services totals out at $6,129 per month!! Still, I will have to let Jennifer know that actually comparatively living in Sidney, she is better off than being in London

DC