Category: #Good-Times

Random and Old, or Old and Random?

We’re all getting older, right? (I’m talking about the standard humans here, not some mystical beings)

We’re all getting more random, right? (All of us, or just some randoms?)

Was I born at the wrong time, or was the wrong time when I was born? 🙂

At this point, you’re probably thinking ‘bullshit’, and you’d be right in some reality. Your bullshit detector would be right on the money. Except, it’s all true.

I’ve noticed, most recently and with an accelerating pace, that I’m getting more random, and older. As the premise of this article goes, I’m just not sure what’s coming first, or it’s just a coincidence that they just happen to be occurring at the same time. So let’s explore some of the random.

Music is like a canary in this instance, for me. When I was younger there was a distinct divide between old and new music, between classical, and pop. I’ve recently learned a new phrase “Low-Fi Soul” – to have a musical (or other) taste which is older than you are. I’m going lower by the day – my tastes are rapidly evolving to appreciate music either from, or in the styles of the 50s/60s – 10 to 20 years before I was even conceived. I think it’s driving my wife nuts, but that’s nothing new. It’s costing me a fortune, and I’m wondering where, or when (sic) it’ll stop. “Marriage is finding that special person to annoy for the rest of your life”…

Talking of the the music, here are a few fantastic examples of modern artists turning back the clock with modern fidelity. Hi-Fi, Lo-Fi hits :). I fucking love these…

And here are some random thoughts which have occurred, sometimes whilst sober (shocking, right?)

  • If, when you were 18, you had a detailed and accurate window into a moment in your 40’s (Assuming you’ve made it that far), would you self-terminate, or carry on regardless, not knowing the pain you’d go through between the two points?
  • Do you consider life is a shitpile, or it just is?
  • As you get older, does the world get smaller, or do you just see more of the picture.
  • Does seeing more of the picture mean you care less about the details and the missed brush strokes?
  • It’s all so fucking zen.
  • Why are you always calm in other people’s emergencies, but seldom in your own?
  • Are old people just grumpy, or have they simply used up their quota of fucks – Here, behold the field where I grow my fucks, you’ll note it is barren.
  • “It’s only money”.
  • Can’t decide if men or women are more cunty? Yup.
  • Everyday is actually a fucking school day. When it stops, are you dying, or simply learning about death, in depth?
  • When you know everything you need, it’s usually too late.
  • Ignorance is a rogue.
  • All problems can be resolved (or covered up) with enough money, more so as time progresses – what has humanity become?
  • Risk and memories are flip sides of the same coin, one cannot exist without the other. Courage and fear. Evil and no-so-evil.
  • Life: A kind of trick.
  • Talking of Evil. It’s the small bits of evil which are the most satisfying. Try little evil today, it’ll make you smile.
  • Drink wine.

Recipe: Sweet Waffles (No Sugar!)

This recipe will produce delicious Sweet Waffles which can be served with basically anything your imagination can churn out 🙂

This is my spin on the Sweet Waffle Recipe, it has no sugar, instead relying on Splenda (Sucralose) to provide the sweet crispy kick that is expected and welcome with sweet Waffles!

Ingredients (Dry)

  • 250g Plain Flour
  • 2 Heaped tsp Baking Powder
  • 10 Heaped tsp Splenda
  • 1 flat tsp Salt
  • 1/2 flat tsp Cinnamon Powder

Ingredients (Wet)

  • 2 Eggs
  • 30 ml Vegetable Oil
  • 3 tsp Vanilla Essence
  • 475 ml Milk

You’ll also need some oil spray to lubricate the Waffle Maker.

All ingredients are approximate measures only, as anyone experienced knows 🙂

Method

Turn on the Waffle Maker.

Combine the wet ingredients together, whisk well to ensure they’re well combined, and the oil won’t separate!

Combine the dry ingredients together, mix well to ensure even distribution of the Baking Powder, Splenda, Salt & Cinnamon.

Pour the Wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk for a few minutes. Experience will tell you when you’ve achieved the correct consistency – I’d describe it as “flowing slowly from a spoon”. Air bubbles are a must – without the bubbles it will be a Waffle of Fail.

Spray your now hot and good to cook Waffle Maker with some of the spray-oil (Yes, even if your maker is non-stick), ensure that both cooking surfaces receive a coating of oil. For UK readers, it’s that 1 Cal pump spray stuff. For the hippies, you can even use spray coconut oil 😉

Pour in some mixture. Keep in mind that this mixture will expand to double its original size. Pour in enough to just cover the bottom plate until you can’t see any of the raised bits. Slowly close the lid. Some Waffle Makers will have instructions not to clip the lid closed, some will say clip closed, read the manual (RTFM!).

Generally speaking, when in the initial cooking phase, there will be quite a bit of water vapour escaping the Waffle Maker, moving into the “crisping” stage of cooking, the water vapour will decrease to nothing.

When done, remove and serve with whatever floats your boat! Now, I’m a marmalade addict, so mine are usually with lashings of butter and blobs of marmalade! These waffles go equally well with some strawberries and cream. Go Wild!

Notes

It wasn’t my intention to make Waffles, just toasted sarnies, but my purchase (As below) changed all that… and they’re a bit of an American Thing, and me being a Brit, I’ve always backed away from the American recipes. Now before anyone jumps on this and says “Not American in invention”, which is true, mine are inspired by the American recipes. If you wanna know more about Waffles (Other than consuming the wee buggers), go Google it (JFGI) – you’ll find the closest oldest incarnation is almost certainly European in origin…

With the Breville machine I bought, when the mixture has been poured in, I just gently close the lid – I don’t clip it closed, then after about 4 minutes of cooking, I squeeze the handle until almost clipped, holding it for around 20 seconds and continuing to cook for around 4 minutes afterwards – this is to ensure that the final waffles aren’t wedge shaped. I know traditional / dedicated Waffle Makers won’t suffer from this issue and you’ll be able to close the lid.

I purchased my Waffle Maker from Amazon, it’s the Breville VST041 Deep Fill Sandwich Toaster, Stainless Steel – Silver. Sandwich Toaster I hear you cry in abandon… But fear not – it has changeable plates to turn it in to a Waffle Maker – 2 for 1!

  

Spabbit’s UK Indian-takeaway Mint Sauce.

img_4662For years now, I’ve been after a recipe to exactly replicate the sweet tasty sauce you typically get when ordering from an Indian Takeaway in the UK – the stuff is delicious, and I often found myself ordering more than I needed, just to feast with afterwards.

The sauce is great – you can have it with Indian food, such as bhajis or Samosas, or just as a dip for some tortilla chips (I’ve done that one more than once!)…

The best thing about this – it’s cheap & easy to make. This recipe will make 1.2 litres of sauce, or 12 of those little containers you get from the takeaway 🙂

img_4656Ingredients

  • 1 KG natural yoghurt (NOT Greek-style!)
  • A small jar (230g) of Mango Chutney
  • 2 heaped tbsp Concentrated Garden Mint (NOT mint sauce!)
  • Around 30ml of Lemon Juice
  • 8 tsp Granulated sugar or sweetener (Vary to taste)
  • Food colouring to preference

Method
Blend / liquidise the Mango Chutney until there are no lumps. Measure out all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl, then mix well using a hand whisk – pour into containers, seal and refrigerate until needed. I always go by the use-by date of the yoghurt as a guide as to how long this will last in the fridge.

If you find that the sauce is too thick – you can add some milk to thin it out a little.

Enjoy!

img_4657  img_4658  img_4659

img_4660  img_4662

Some more Post Modern Jukebox…

I’ve posted a few odd songs from PMJ in the past, so here is a pick of the recent best of PMJ – Enjoy 🙂

You Give Love A Bad Name – Vintage Blues – Style Bon Jovi Cover ft. Jennie Lena

Black Hole Sun – Postmodern Jukebox Vintage Cover ft. Haley Reinhart

Stressed Out – Postmodern Jukebox Twenty One Pilots Cover ft. Puddles Pity Party (Sad Clown)

Ex’s and Oh’s – Vintage ’30s Jazz Elle King Cover ft. Lisa Gary

Mad World – Vintage Vaudeville – Style Cover ft. Puddles Pity Party & Haley Reinhart

Review: Beaum Vape

imageOne word: AWESOME.

It’s not often that I’m inspired to go out and write a positive review for a retail store, however in this case, I’m not only inspired but actually compelled to do so. I’m new to vaping, this is only my fourth week in to my vaping journey, and a week ago, thanks to Beaum Vape, it changed massively for the better.

I’ve been in a few Vape Shops, but they’ve been staffed by kids, lax kids who couldn’t give a shit, sat behind a counter, wearing shell suits and backwards baseball caps, not paying attention, and generally not giving a shit – I was really put off going into the stores; however Beaum Vape was recommended to me by a few people, so I decided to give it a try. Completely the right choice, and something I’m so glad I did!

Beaum Vape will make you feel welcome. The retail environment is perfect for the subject and products. Beaum Vape will go out of their way to ensure you get the best possible products and service, and are passionate about it. It’s not often when you can walk into a place and be guided by people who actually know what they’re talking about, but this is one of those places. If you’re new or experienced, Beaum Vape will make you feel welcome, and enhance your vaping experience.

You can try a mind blowing range of different e-liquids, and get an amazing experience. The prices are awesome, often beating the online retailers for the same products. What is amazing is the personal service provided, nothing is too much trouble for the staff who go out of their way to ensure you’re taken care of to the best possible standards.

They also don’t let kids into their shop – this is important, and one of the many points which distinguish them, and put Beaum Vape, head and shoulders above others in the same retail environment.

They recommended a combo of the Asmodus – Ohmsmium mod with the Aspire Cleito tank, which has upped the vaping game for me, and I honestly think at this point in time, it’s to a standard which will be extremely hard to beat. The e-liquids on offer are all vetted by the staff, and smoothness isn’t even a consideration – you just know that anything in store is going to be silk dynamite.

In summary – if you’re in the South Wales area, or anywhere within travel distance, and you want to improve your vaping experience, go visit Beaum Vape. Go visit their website, they also trade online. In the physical world, you can find them in Ivor House, Bridge Street, Cardiff, CF10 2TH. I’ve added a perma-link to their website on Spabbit 🙂

Vaping – 4 Week update

imageAs per my original thread regarding Vaping, this is my four week update!

It’s working. I’m snacking significantly less, and my weight is maintained. My health actually seems to be improving – I’m running up and down stairs like they don’t exist (Mind, I was panting the other day, when I carried 60lbs when running up stairs lol), and my initial cough has vanished.

I’ve tried lots of different e-liquids, and have discovered that like cigarettes, they vary greatly, in terms of flavour, nicotine content, and smoothness. One liquid I did try, My Man, was like trying to smoke razor blades – wow – nasty – made me cough my lungs up (Great flavour though); however the vast majority have been awesome.

As per the picture, I also upgraded in terms of mod and tank, going for the Asmodus – Ohmsmium with the Aspire Cleito tank. Wow. The combination blew my mind – an incredible difference, and one which I couldn’t have imagined – so much better. I think the combination of the upgraded mod, better tank, and a smooth e-liquid has firmly brought vaping home to me.

So, for the four weekly update in my vaping journey – It hasn’t done me any perceptible harm, and on the flip side, I’m greatly enjoying it, am still discovering how awesome it is, and my health is improving. #win 🙂

I have to give a massive thank you to Beaum Vape, who recommended the upgrades and guided me to a better experience. I’ll also post a separate reviewfor Beaum Vape…

Retro is back! #casio

IMG_4255For around the last 20 years I’ve worn a watch made of stainless steel, usually weighing a metric fuckton, and having features which I’ve probably only used once – they looked awesome and have been fantastic, however the clunkiness and weight have become a bit of a drag. I’ve also been in the habit of taking my watch off every time I sit down, as they’ve been so big, they hindered my typing – and as a geek, that was a bad thing!

So I’ve gone back to my teenage years and purchased a Casio B640WB-1AEF, a gloriously basic watch which just tells the time. Yes, I’m a geek, an Apple fan, and don’t have an iWatch, and no intention of having one either. Just give me the basics in a watch these days and I’m happy. The only concessions to the more modern standards are the metal strap, and the LEDS for those times when you need the time in the dark 🙂

£32 for a watch I fully expect to last the next 10 years – #happy Spabbit!