Month: May 2022

Burger King’s Indie Tikka Chicken Whopper

- Roshan

Every 2-3 months I check out fast food restaurant chains like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, KFC & Burger King (which are the big four chains that I have access to here in Kochi, India) to see what new or seasonal items they have in their menu. It’s always fun to have your favourite items from these big guns but it’s even more fun when they launch a new one. Perusing through the BK India site, I noticed that they had a couple of new ones and so I tried out one of them – the Indie Tikki Chicken Burger.

Loaded with Minty, Makhani and Creamy Sauce with a flame-grilled patty, chips in a XXL bun and loads of veggies, The Indie Tikka Whopper is a fusion of funky flavours. They also have a mutton (which is what I was gonna order but I decided at chicken at the last minute) and a veggie patty version. The rest of the things are the same. And when it arrived via Swiggy, it looked just like a regular whopper but it did have nacho chips at the bottom of the patty. Now this is supposed to be an Indianized burger or a burger with Indian flavours. The makhani sauce and calling it the Indie Tikka burger kinda labels it as such but where in the heck is nacho chips Indian?

Anyways I was disappointed as the nacho chips were soggy and stuck to each other, as expected. There was no way that it would retain the crispiness. But the rest of the whopper was good, the makhani sauce goes well with the veggies and the chicken burger. They also added jalapenos – is this Indian or Mexican? LOL! Or maybe a hybrid. Anyways, it is a good burger though taste wise it isn’t very different from the regular chicken whopper. An 8 outta 10!

Arsenal 5 Everton FC 1

- Roshan

Manager Mikel Arteta said he was “in pain” after Arsenal missed out on Champions League qualification despite a comfortable victory over Everton on the final day. Arteta’s side needed to beat Frank Lampard’s men and hope Tottenham lost at already relegated Norwich, but Spurs’ 5-0 win at Carrow Road meant the Gunners missed out on a top four-spot for a sixth successive season. The hosts took the lead midway through the first half as Gabriel Martinelli stroked home a penalty after his shot struck Alex Iwobi’s arm, with the spot-kick awarded after a video assistant referee check.

Eddie Nketiah nodded in following a corner to extend the hosts’ lead on 31 minutes, before substitute Donny van de Beek, in what is likely to be his last game for Everton, side-footed in. It proved to be a short reprieve as two second-half goals in three minutes ended the game as a contest. Both came from corners as Cedric Soares slotted home, then Gabriel poked in after Everton had initially cleared. Martin Odegaard added a late fifth as Arsenal finished in fifth place, two points behind Tottenham. Their fans were in good spirits as the players did a lap of the pitch to mark their return to the Europa League after missing out this season. But Arteta said he took no satisfaction from that achievement, with a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle on Monday having handed the crucial advantage.

For Everton, meanwhile, a record-equalling 13th away defeat meant they finished four points clear of the relegation zone. The Gunners did all they could to try to finish in the top four for the first time since 2016, but the damage had been done in their two previous games – defeats at north London rivals Spurs and resurgent Newcastle. Buoyed by the home crowd, who booed former Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli on his first Everton start, Odegaard was Arsenal’s key orchestrator and had two efforts blocked. Asmir Begovic, who replaced Jordan Pickford in goal, also denied Martinelli. Despite the disappointment of missing out on the top four, the season can still be seen as progress for Arteta’s young side. But the Arsenal boss will have to deal with the futures of Nketiah, midfielder Mohamed Elneny and striker Alexandre Lacazette, whose contracts all end this summer.

2 Weeks of A Regular Day Shift, 2 More To Go

- Roshan

After a restful 2 day weekend (I worked the previous Saturday and will have to work this one as well) I will start yet another training batch tomorrow. There is a good chance that the batch will get postponed to Tuesday but I will be ready to start by 8:30 am tomorrow. There usually is a problem on Mondays as the system lags when they try to create all the profiles for the new folks who have joined in and this delay usually means that we call off the training on Monday and start afresh on the following Tuesday.

While I hate waking up at 7 am (it would have to be 6 am if I had to travel to the office) the best thing I love about this shift timing is that I get to knock off at 5:30 pm. Well not quite since I also have some other stuff that I need to do after that for maybe a day or two. Which is annoying since I have to extend and donate my time but not only will I not get paid extra for it but I also get nothing out of it.

Anyways, I will also have to sleep early. I usually get to bed by 10 pm and then try to watch some tv shows but most days I end up falling asleep by 11 pm. Sometimes I can stay awake and watch 2 or 3 episodes of a tv show or multiple shows as I try to catch up with the week’s tv. Sleep though is never enough for me it seems in this shift timing and I always want to snooze my alarm. Sometimes I do for atleast 20 minutes. But that is the maximum I can get as I will need to get up and get the day started.

Microneedling Treatment Process Or Cosmetic Procedure

- Roshan

Microneedling is a cosmetic procedure. It involves pricking the skin with tiny sterilized needles. The small wounds cause your body to make more collagen and elastin, which heal your skin and help you look younger. You might also hear it called collagen induction therapy. With the evolution of the equipment and techniques, Microneedling treatment process has become more prevalent within skin-care practices.

The steps done by a professional usually are:

  • Your doctor will check your skin issues and discuss with you the possible outcomes and the number of sessions that may be required to observe visible results. Your doctor may also prescribe vitamin A and C supplements a month before the procedure. This boosts the cell turnover and collagen production in your skin, which help to get the desired benefits of microneedling.
  • A mild anaesthetic cream will be applied on the skin surface, before starting the procedure. This will decrease the pain or discomfort, if any, during the process.
  • The doctor will use either a dermaroller or a pen-like instrument with microneedles, and swipe it uniformly across the surface of your skin. This may take anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes depending on the area being treated.
  • To finish off, a calming moisturiser or serum will be applied to soothe the treated area.
  • Microneedling can be practically done anywhere on your body depending on your treatment goals.

The treatment will take between 10 and 20 minutes, though you’ll need to buffer in more time if you’re receiving topical anesthesia. According to the March 2017 Dermatologic Surgery study, some redness or mild irritation can appear in the first few days — that’s just the skin recovering. The redness should go away within three days. You might also notice that your skin feels tight, swollen, dry, or sensitive to the touch in the days immediately following the treatment, or it might flake away within the week. An in-office treatment will set you back somewhere between $100 and $700, depending on the size of the area being treated.

Microneedling may help with issues like:

  • Acne
  • Hair loss (also called alopecia)
  • Dark spots or patches on your skin (hyperpigmentation)
  • Large pores
  • Reduced skin elasticity
  • Scars
  • Stretch marks
  • Sun damage
  • Fine lines and wrinkles

The Turning (2020)

- Roshan

The Turning is a 2020 American supernatural horror film directed by Floria Sigismondi and written by Carey W. Hayes and Chad Hayes. It is a modern adaptation of the 1898 ghost story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The film stars Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, and Joely Richardson, and follows a young governess in 1994 who is hired to watch over two children after their parents are killed. The film first entered development in March 2016 and was described as a passion project for Steven Spielberg, who wanted to be involved in a horror film again.

The adaptation went through two phases of production: first as Haunted with Juan Carlos Fresnadillo  attached as director, then as The Turning with Sigismondi. Filming took place at Killruddery House, County Wicklow, Ireland from February through April 2018. The Turning had its world premiere at Los Angeles Film Festival on January 23, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on January 24, 2020, by Universal Pictures.

8 Fun Facts About Roland Garros / The French Open

- Roshan

1. The first French Open was played in 1891 and was originally played on sand. For the first six years it was only open to men, women weren’t allowed to take part until 1897. What is now called the Stade Roland Garros was constructed in 1928 to host France’s first defense of the Davis Cup.

2. The Stade Roland Garros in Paris where the French Open is played is named after Eugène Adrien Roland Georges Garros, a World War I pilot and pioneering French aviator who completed the first solo flight across the Mediterranean Sea. Tiny yet unique, it is the smallest venue compared to the other three majors. The area is way lesser than half of the area of Australian open, Wimbledon and US open.

3. The ‘clay’ surface isn’t actually clay – the courts are surfaced with white limestone covered with powdered red brick dust, which gives the courts their ochre colour. It is the only Grand Slam event that is played on a red surface. An estimated 44,000kg of crushed red brick are used each year.

4. The Stade Roland Garros is a 21-acre complex boasting 20 courts. Built in 1928, Court Philippe Chatrier is the centrepiece and seats over 15,000 spectators. The other show court is named after French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen, one of the biggest tennis stars of the 1920s. The project to add a retractable roof to Court Philippe Chatrier was completed in February 2020. The roof is made up of 11 trusses, each weighing 330 metric tons, which took two years to manufacture and eight months to assemble.

5. The prize for winning the men’s singles event is the Coupe des Mousquetaires (the Musketeers’ Cup) – it refers to the legendary French tennis stars who reigned over the tournament until 1933 and were known as the Four Musketeers: Jean Borotra, René Lacoste, Jacques Brugnon and Henri Cochet.

6. The Coupe des Mousquetaires remains in the stadium – the winner is given a smaller replica to take home. The trophy is so precious, it has its own special trunk that was created by Louis Vuitton.

7. Non-French tennis club members were only allowed to enter the tournament in 1925, when it became the ‘French Open’. Before then it was only open to members of French tennis clubs. However, only two French nationals have lifted the most prestigious singles trophy at the Roland Garros in the Open Era. Yannick Noah won the men’s title in the year 1983 and Mary Pierce was the last French national to win the women’s singles title in 2000.

8. The French Open has been held every year in Paris since 1891, except from 1939-1945 when it was cancelled because of World War II. The 2020 edition of the tournament, which was the first to be assisted by the roof over Philippe-Chatrier, was postponed to late September and early October and was played in front of limited spectators, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Art Of Letters & Letter Writing Is On It’s Last Legs

- Roshan

Is letter-writing dead? Tell us why you think it is or isn’t (or should or shouldn’t be…).

I don’t think it is completely dead but it sure is something that looks less and less necessary as the years pass on by. There are millions and millions of young people who probably have never received or sent a letter in their lives. Infact I bet there are tons and tons of teenagers who don’t even know that the email logo (and Gmail as well) is basically the open envelope and letter inside it peaking out.

My niece for example, who is 16 – most of her generation may never have a use for a letter and writing a letter using a pen and ink. I doubt if she has ever received a letter in her life. The same for my nephews who are 25 & 24 respectively. And all the kids of my cousins. They generation and younger will probably never have to write a letter in their lives unless they are sending it to a grandfather or grandmother who live far away and who don’t have mobiles phones or computers.

And even if they do it is few & far between what people in their 30s & 40s and the ones before us did. Someday soon, if the internet and computers/smartphones reach is increased even more, the letter will become a thing of history and will probably end up being artifacts in a museum.

Prompt from MAY BLOG PROMPTS {12 MONTHS OF WRITING IDEAS} #BLOGPROMPTS at Food Fun Family

5 Weird Laws In The Republic Of Estonia

- Roshan

Dual citizenship is not allowed but nobody can take away your Estonian citizenship when you were born here. Basically if you get another citizenship in another country you are breaking the law and Estonia can not take you citizenship away.

it is forbidden by law to sell cocktails for takeaway (ie not for consumption in the bar/restaurant where it is served), or to deliver cocktails with food delivery services. Any other alcohol, like wine or beer, is fine, but cocktails are a no-go. A well-known bar in Tartu which primarily sells cocktails for takeaway has to stop doing it as a result, taking away their main source of revenue.

While reading the penal code I discovered that there is a higher maximum punishment for beating a child compared to genetically mutating him or her.. You can make your child into half-fish, but don’t slap him. Its up to 5 years for beating your own child (KarS §121 lg2) and up to 3 years for making a human clone, a human hybrid.

Age of consent is 14. That’s pretty weird on its own, but it applied only to heterosexuals until recently. The Age of consent for male gay sex was 16 and for Lesbian sex was apparently never legal. Until 2002 when the new Penal Code went into effect. Age of consent is currently still 14 but for everybody but from June 1st 2022 it will be changed to 16!

No sex while playing chess in Estonia : It seems like too many couples were getting it on while playing chess in Tallinn, Estonia, which brought this weird law into effect. It was probably taking the fun out of the game (or out of sex) to think up a law like this in the first place.

What To Do When Your Fridge Stops Cooling

- Roshan

What should you do if your fridge looks like it has lost its frosty feel. Refrigerator not cooling is a problem that most home owners dread. There are several possible causes when a refrigerator doesn’t keep your milk cold or your ice cream frozen. Before you attempt more complex repairs, try these simple fixes if your refrigerator is not cooling and if your freezer is not working:

There are several possible causes when a refrigerator doesn’t keep your milk cold or your ice cream frozen. Before you attempt more complex repairs, try these simple fixes if your refrigerator is not cooling and if your freezer is not working:

  • Be sure the fridge is plugged in and getting power. The light should come on when you open the door.
  • Check the thermostat to make sure it hasn’t been turned way down by mistake. If your fridge/freezer thermostat isn’t working, get these easy to install thermostats on Amazon.
  • Be sure the vents on the back of the freezer compartment aren’t blocked by boxes of ice cream or frozen vegetables—the vents have to be clear for cold air to circulate.
  • Vacuum the coils under or behind the fridge. Clogged coils can cause poor cooling.
  • Check to make sure nothing is stuck in the condenser fan and that it spins freely (models with coils on the back won’t have a fan). To do this, unplug the fridge and pull it out. Clean the fan blades and spin the fan by hand to see if it’s stuck. Plug in the fridge and make sure the fan runs when the compressor is running. If the fan doesn’t run, see the directions below, which show how to replace it.

And if all fails, ensure that you call that reliable refrigerator repair service to see if they can fix it for you.

Heavy Rainfall Lashes The State Of Kerala

- Roshan

Flooding rains have been lashing the state of Kerala for the past few days which light breaks in between. Some parts of the state have seen some disruption regarding these heavy rainfall activities that have been over the state for quite a while. During the last 48 hours from 8:30 AM on Tuesday, some parts of Kerala recorded three digit rain as well including the cities of Kozhikode where 115 mm of rains were seen and Kannur where 120 mm rainfall was recorded.

Other parts that saw significant rains include Wayanad 63 mm, Karipur 56 mm, Alappuzha 44 mm, and Thiruvananthapuram 31 mm. Cities of Kannur, Kozhikode, Thallasarry, Kasargode, Wayanad, even going down to Thrissur and Palakkad saw some flooding rainfall activities yesterday as well as today. The Cyclonic Cicrulation over the Southern region is still persisting and the offshore vortex has moved a little inside. Thereafter, some relief can be expected only around May 20. Before that, weather conditions will remain rainy and cause some disruption to the residents of North Kerala.

For us here in Kochi, it has rained so heavily throughout the day and especially at night. It is so cold that I am now sitting in my room starting work and drinking hot black coffee without the ceiling fan switched on. I usually cannot even think of switching the fan off while I am in the room, unless the ac is on full blast. But it is that cool.

My Now Favourite Sandwich Spread

- Roshan

I have mentioned it here before that I love mayonnaise, and garlic mayonnaise is really one up above that. I must also add, that I usually buy eggless mayo, like the brand that you see here. I used to buy Veeba’s garlic mayo most of the time but lately it has been this particular brand which I started buying from the online grocery delivery store that I usually buy groceries from when Veeba was not available – Dr. Oetker’s Garlic Mayonnaise from FunFoods.

So now for a few months I have been buying this brand more and 4 to 5 mornings a week my breakfast is 4 thin slices with liberal spreadings of this garlic mayo. At times I will add either cucumbers slices or tomato slices or perhaps both. Toast the bread and then make my sandwiches and get my coffee, which is usually my second for the day, A nice, hot, black & sweet coffee with two nice sandwiches of garlic mayo with some tomato & cucumbers sounds really nice during these cold, rainy monsoon mornings.

That is what I usually like for breakfast. Other days it could be dosa or maybe upma or bread with peanut butter. But yeah most of the days it is eggless garlic mayo with toast. And coffee!

Top 5 Most Forbidden Islands In The World

- Roshan

1. North Sentinel Island, India

Home to the Sentinelese tribe, the North Sentinel Island in the Andaman chain is one of the forbidden islands in the world. The people inhabiting the island often get violent to safeguard their isolation. The Sentinelese tribe have lived on the island for over 50,000 years under the protection of the Indian Government. This region is strictly prohibited for visitors of any kind and is one of the most dangerous and forbidden places in the world.

2. Surtsey Island, Iceland

Surtsey is a little island located in an archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland. It was formed as a result of a volcanic eruption that lasted for four years. Surtsey also has the reputation of being the newest island on the planet. Currently, it is open to a few scientists and geologists. This forbidden island is off-limits for tourists as it is believed that human interference will disrupt the ecological succession taking place on the island.

3. North Brother Island, USA

Located in New York City, North Brother Island is one of the most popular abandoned places in the USA. Originally developed as a quarantine hospital, it was the home to the Typhoid Mary. She was identified as the first American to carry the typhoid fever. Later, this place became a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. Now, North Brother Island has a bird sanctuary and is permanently shut for the common people.

4. Heard Island, Australia

One of the most unexplored places on the Earth, Heard Island lies between Antarctica and Madagascar. Politically, this island is a part of Australia. There are two active volcanoes on the Heard Island, and it is completely barren. The entire island is composed of debris and limestone that took place as a result of volcanic eruptions. To preserve the fragile natural surroundings, the Australian Government restricted entry to the forbidden island.

5. Snake Island, Brazil

As the name suggests, this is an island in Brazil infested with thousands of deadly snakes. No human even dare to tread on Snake Island, and it is even regarded as the most forbidden places in the world and in Brazil. In fact, it is so dangerous that the government has made it illegal to visit the island. It is estimated that there are approximately 4,000 golden lanceheads on the island – the deadliest serpents on the planet.

The Unfounded Claims Of The Myth Of Nibiru

- Roshan

One popular myth that I was only made aware of a few years ago is that of Nibiru, a supposed planet that some claimed would collide with Earth at the end of the year 2012. But despite the buzz, there’s no scientific evidence supporting the alleged planet’s existence and, of course, our planet survived 2012 without absorbing a massive impact.

The story began in 1976, when Zecharia Sitchin wrote “The Twelfth Planet,” a book which used Stitchin’s own unique translation of Sumerian cuneiform to identify a planet, Nibiru, orbiting the sun every 3,600 years. Several years later, Nancy Lieder, a self-described psychic, announced that the aliens she claimed to channel had warned her this planet would collide with Earth in 2003. After a collision-free year, the date was moved back to 2012, where it was linked to the close of the Mayan long-count period. A planet with an orbit so eccentric that it took 3,600 years to orbit the sun would create instabilities inside our 4.5-billion-year-old solar system.

After only a few trips, its gravity would have significantly disrupted the other planets, whose own gravitational pushes would have changed the hypothetical world’s orbit significantly. According to the information available, a planet with a 3,600-year-long orbit that was due to impact Earth in 2012 should be available to the naked eye. Easily performed calculations show that, by April 2012, it would have been brighter than the faintest stars viewed from a city, and almost as bright as Mars at its dimmest. This would have made it visible to astronomers everywhere.

However; a planet called Nibiru, although not associated with Earth’s doomsday, featured briefly in the 2013 Star Trek film installment Star Trek Into Darkness. The planet appears in the opening scenes as a home of savage tribesmen and a supervolcano about to erupt. The planet, covered by a red jungle and an ocean deep enough to comfortably hide the Enterprise spaceship, is a target of exploration by the crew led by Captain James Kirk. However, things quickly go awry after Spock gets stranded on the super volcano while trying to stop the eruption, prompting the Captain to break the Prime Directive, which prohibits Star Trek explorers from interacting with alien civilizations.

2022 NHL PLAYOFFs – Second Round Lineups

- Roshan

With the first round having ended, we now have the lineups for the Eastern & Western conferences. In the West while Edmonton beat of the strong LA Kings, they will now face their Provincial rivals in the Calgary Flames who also got the better of the Dallas Stars in 7 games. The winner of this series will faceoff in the Western Conference Finals against the winner of the Colorado Avalanche vs the St.Louis Blues. Colorado has seen off Nashville while the Blues had defeated the Minnesota Wild.

In the East we have a Florida matchup of the defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning face off against the Florida Panthers. While Tampa won 4-3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Panthers had won their series against the Washington Capitals. The final 2 sides are Carolina Hurricanes who saw off the Boston Bruins and who will now face the New York Rangers who had beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins.