Month: February 2023
In And Out Of Contact
Do you have someone in your life that you wish you were still in contact with?
I had to think about that for a long time. You see I do miss my old school friends and the friends I made since then. And at times I wish I could go back to those good ole days and hang out with those friends. Same for college and NIIT – I had some really fun times at the latter for 2 years. Yet I do not talk to or meet these folks.
Would I like to reconnect and talk to all of them or just a few of them? Sure. A lot of them are friends with me on Facebook but I haven’t seen any of them in ages. I don’t chat with them, well except a small handful. I don’t talk to them on the phone or any other option. Funny enough, this is the era that we have all these options of Whatsapp or Facebook video calling or so many other options. But we did not grow up with it and we did not have these apps when we saw each other all the time. I think that makes a difference.
I am ok if I do not see them again or talk to them again. As long as everyone is doing well. I’ve spent all these years not seeing them so I should survive without seeing them again or not talking to them again. It’s all good, man.
Prompt from February Journalling Prompt Ideas at Nu Notebooks
A Delicious Pecan Pie Recipe
The first time I ever heard of pecan pie or pecans for that matter was in an episode of Star Trek Voyager back in 2001 when Captain Janeway serves some of it to their host alien leader. Pecans are a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. Pecan pie would make an annual appearance at American Thanksgiving along with other native foodstuffs like turkey, pumpkin, and cranberries.
Most pecan pie recipes call for two cups of sweetener — one cup of corn syrup plus one cup of either granulated or brown sugar. Feel free to reduce further or add more to your taste. The molasses, butter, and vanilla bring out the wonderful flavor of the pecans. Nuts go rancid with storage, so make sure you are using the freshest of pecans for this pie!
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, frozen for at least 30 minutes (see recipe note)
- 2 cups (210g) pecans, coarsely chopped (save a few whole pecan halves to create a decoration on the surface of the pie, if you want)
- 3 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses (unsulphured)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Method
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Preheat the oven to 350°F Preheat the oven and position a rack in the center.
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Mix the filling: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl vigorously mix together the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, melted butter, vanilla, and salt, until smooth. (No need for a mixer, you can beat by hand using a wooden spoon.)
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Fill the pie shell: Spread the chopped pecans over the bottom of a frozen pie shell. Pour the filling over the pecans. Don’t worry about burying the pecans, they will rise to the surface. (If you have reserved a few whole pecan halves, you can arrange them on the surface in a decorative pattern. Just dip them below the wet filling and let them rise again so they get coated with the filling.)
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Bake the filled pie: Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes tent the pie loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the crust and pecans from getting too browned. Bake for another 35 to 45 minutes until the filling has set. The pie should be a bit wiggly in the center.
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Remove from the oven and let cool completely: Note that the pie will be puffed up a bit when you first take it out of the oven. It will settle as it cools
Something Too Hard That Is Much Easier Now
What is something you can do now that used to be hard for you to do?
Well I wouldn’t say that it is very easy for me to do but some reports on Excel is something that I can do which I found it hard to do before. I used to suck badly at Excel in previous jobs. I found it very hard to send even a basic table when I was with Idea and Prudent technology. The 3 years that I was there I had to send reports for 2 but I struggled. The next 4 years I worked in another organization and luckily our department, like most, had an MIS person so I usually had him create the reports and usually only had a very basic one or two that I would send out.
Since 2016 I picked up a few things at my current job and I feel like I can manage basic reports on Excel and I am a whole lot more comfortable with it. I still hate it but I think it is a necessity in the kind of jobs that I am doing. So as long as I am in this industry, one in which I have been in for a long, long time – I ill have to keep going at it. As much as I hate Excel!
Prompt from Lalilo February ’22 Writing Prompt Calendar at Lalilo
Today’s Peacock Is Tomorrow’s Feather Duster
RIP Gordon Pinsent
Canadian acting icon, writer, director, and singer Gordon Pinsent has died, his family said in a statement. He was 92. The Grand Falls, N.L., native had a storied acting career spanning dozens of films and TV projects over six decades, including Due South, The Red Green Show, Babar and the Adventures of Badou, and The Grand Seduction. Focusing on CBC programs alone, one could add The Forest Rangers, Quentin Durgens, M.P.; the original Street Legal and Republic of Doyle, among others. He was the voice of Babar the Elephant in television and film from 1989 to 2015.
Pinsent, the youngest of six children, was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland (present-day Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada). Pinsent began acting on stage in the 1940s at the age of 17. He soon took on roles in radio drama on the CBC, and later moved into television and film as well. In the early 1950s, he took a break from acting and joined the Canadian Army, serving for approximately four years as a private in The Royal Canadian Regiment. He joined the Stratford Festival in 1962 with roles in Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest and Cyrano de Bergerac, and returned to Stratford in the mid-’70s as a leading player.
In the early 1960s he appeared in Scarlett Hill and The Forest Rangers. He has since become a staple of Canadian television with roles including the series Quentin Durgens, M.P., A Gift to Last (which he created), The Red Green Show, Due South, Wind at My Back and Power Play. The pilot episode of A Gift to Last was adapted for the stage by Walter Learning and Alden Nowlan and has become a perennial Canadian Christmas favourite in regional theatres across the country.
Pinsent’s movie roles include The Rowdyman, Who Has Seen the Wind, John and the Missus, The Shipping News and Away from Her. He wrote the screenplays for The Rowdyman and John and the Missus. Perhaps his best known early film role was that of the President of the United States in the 1970 science fiction cult classic Colossus: The Forbin Project. He starred in a role called Horse Latitudes based upon Donald Crowhurst, now featured in Deep Water. Pinsent had more than 150 TV and movie acting credits to his name, with his Internet Movie Database resumé spanning from a 1957 TV movie to a cartoon voice in 2021.
In 1979 he was made an officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1998. In 2006, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. On March 6, 2007, it was announced that Pinsent would receive a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. He won the best actor Genie and ACTRA awards in 2006 for his work in Sarah Polley’s Away From Her and the Genie for best actor in The Shipping News, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Annie Proulx. He also had a single guest appearance as Corky Dillems in the comedy series Corner Gas. Most recently he had a guest starring role as Maurice Becker on the February 3, 2010 episode of Canadian television series Republic of Doyle and in an episode of Private Eyes.
Pinsent married actress Charmion King in 1962. They remained together until her death in 2007. Their daughter, Leah Pinsent, is also an actress. Pinsent also has two children from a previous marriage. Pinsent is a Companion of The Order of Canada and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada. Pinsent received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2004, Canada’s highest honour in the performing arts. Pinsent received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
Leicester City 0 Arsenal 1
Gabriel Martinelli’s goal was enough to extend Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League with a hard-fought win at Leicester City. The Brazilian struck in the first minute of the second half, latching on to a deft pass from Leandro Trossard to roll his shot past Danny Ward. Trossard had a fine first-half goal disallowed after Arsenal’s Ben White held Ward in the build-up. Arsenal lead Manchester City by five points before Pep Guardiola’s side face Bournemouth in Saturday’s 17:30 GMT kick-off. Leicester, who remain 14th, were lacklustre although Kelechi Iheanacho had a goal flagged for offside shortly after Trossard’s disallowed effort and Anthony Dewsbury-Hall curled a shot just wide in the second half.
Arsenal’s recent league wobble, which saw Arteta’s side drop seven points from a possible nine, may be behind them but they struggled to hit their fluent best at King Power Stadium. Mikel Arteta’s side dominated possession in the early stages and seemed to have hit their stride when the game’s first controversial moment occurred. Trossard’s brilliant curling shot from outside the area was initially given as a goal, but referee Craig Pawson overturned it for sustained holding after consulting the video assistant referee. Arsenal’s Ben White had his left arm around Ward’s right as the ball came over at a corner, while White and Ashley Barnes also appeared to collide during the same incident.
Arsenal’s sense of injustice increased a few minutes later when their claims for a penalty, after Bukayo Saka tangled with Harry Souttar, were waved away by Pawson. Martinelli grabbed his ninth goal of the league season just 51 seconds into the second half when he calmly stroked the ball past Ward, sustaining a painful blow to the right leg when Wilfred Ndidi accidentally trod on him in the process of scoring. Saka also had a goal ruled out when Martinelli was flagged for offside, but Arsenal struggled to impose themselves as the second half progressed. Oleksandr Zinchenko, given the captain’s armband by his club as a mark of respect in the week of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of his native Ukraine, came close to a second goal in as many games when Ward pushed away the defender’s curling shot.
After this win and victory at Aston Villa a week ago, Arsenal now have the chance to make the most of home advantage against opposition in the lower reaches of the table, as they face Everton on Wednesday and Bournemouth next Saturday.
The Matrix Resurrections (My Thoughts & Review)
Stuck In The 90s
What do you think it would be like to live in the past? What year would you choose?
I have lived in the past since I am 46 and was born in 1976. But I think the 1990s were the bomb and a great time to live through as a kid. When 1990 came around I was 13 and 7 months away from turning 14. I remember so much from that decade from the age of 13 to 23. And it was a fun decade, with so many great things that happened and also some really bad times as well. But overall I think it was a great period to live through and experience. Much like the awesomeness of the 60s, the 70s & the 80s before them.
The music we had was so great. Pop, rock, metal, grunge bands all delivered great albums throughout the decade. Many legendary bands came out in the 90s like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice In Chains. So much great music. 90, 91, 92 & 93 are according to me some of the best years for rock music in general just because of the sheer amount of great songs and excellent albums to be released in those 4 years. Metallica, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Guns n Roses etc were all on top form. Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Rush, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and others had some awesome music too.
The beginning of the 90s were when I got introduced to cable tv with the rest of India and I loved it. Spent many hours on a weekly basis watching lots of tv shows, music videos and movies. Sports events too. Oh and 3 World Cups as well! I prefer life in the 90s if only we had high speed broadband during those years. Spend a lot of time with my friends and cousins. Brought home a puppy who would steal my heart and then break it 11 years later when she passed away. Fell in love and experienced sex for the first time in my life. It was all a fantastic time with some heartbreaks along the way.
Prompt from Lalilo February ’22 Writing Prompt Calendar at Lalilo
I Wish I Could Go Back To Work From Home
If you could change just one thing in your life, what would it be?
If I could change one thing right now, in a very realistic way that would be to get back to work from home or get a new job that allows me to work from home. I just cannot stand to commute everyday and see the same ole faces and say the same old things and having to eat food at the cafeteria 5 days a week and take the time to come back home. It’s all a waste truly.
Another thing is wading through the crowds at the office, waiting for the elevator to be a little empty at the usual shift end times and well it’s actually painful to be at the office these days. Not to mention on some evenings they seem to crank up the air-conditioning to an almost painful level. For no reason! Then there is the food – I am so fedup with the cafeteria food that they are serving and especially now since I am avoiding certain foods, it just feels so bland and similar when I have to eat almost the same food on a regular basis.
I’m also spending a lot more money when I go out working from the office – Uber/Ola, food, coffee and snacks. It is so much better when I was working from home and more peaceful and quiet. I can even play some music when I am working at home which I can’t do at the office. All in all I wish I could go back to working from home.
Prompt from February Journalling Prompt Ideas at Nu Notebooks
RIP Tom Stephen
Tom Stephen, Drummer and manager of The Jeff Healey Band has passed away on Monday, February 20, 2023. He has been of aid to an incredible amount of musicians all during the course of his career. He took a considerable amount of pride in both marketing Ayotte Drums and playing them, and as a result, he ordered that the whole logo head be placed on each drum while he was using them in the movie Roadhouse. This was done so that the drums would seem more professional.
Tom Stephen was the drummer in the Jeff Healey Band from its formation in the early 1980s, up to the beloved Toronto native’s death in 2008. Stephen also served as the band’s manager, helping to navigate their international rise to fame in the wake of their multi-platinum selling 1988 debut album, See The Light. He’s chronicled it all in a new book. Best Seat In The House: My Life In The Jeff Healey Band (ECW Press) focuses on the impact of his dual role that often turned on a dime from indulging in the excesses afforded successful rock stars to having to discipline the band for the havoc they caused. Since Healey’s passing, Stephen has done more than anyone to keep his legacy alive (although sometimes at odds with Healey’s widow Cristie), and for any fan, Best Seat In The House is a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of a truly unique Canadian rock and roll story.
Tom and bassist Joe Rockman were introduced to Jeff Healey in the late 80s and together they released 5 albums studio albums, several live records as well as their recording of the soundtrack to Road House – touring across the globe, jamming with some of the greatest rock and blues artists, and beyond the untimely conclusion of the band. Thomas Stephen was born on 2 February 1955 in New Brunswick, Canada. Along with Jeff & Joe he also performed in the movie Road House (1989) and the live dvds The Jeff Healey Band: See the Light – Live from London (1989) and The Jeff Healey Band: Live at Montreux 1999 (2005).
PRS Custom 24 Floyd Rose in Tobacco Sun Burst
How I Feel When I Wake Up In The Morning
How do I feel when I wake up in the morning?
Groggy. It seems that it doesn’t matter how much I have slept during the night and the morning, I usually am very tired and sleepy until I have had two beverages in me. Notice I said two hot beverages since I have reduced my coffee intake and instead drink more tea? Yeah so morning I need a cup of coffee as soon as I wake up and brush my teeth. Then a cup of tea later at around 11:30 am or 11:45 am.
I do like the mornings a lot. I especially like the time I spend with my coffee or tea and checking out Facebook or sports scores or just watching new videos and vlogs on Youtube. This time is very precious for me and I totally enjoy the free time. I then feel excited about getting breakfast and most of the time, depending on what it is that I am eating, will eat my breakfast at my desk while still watching Youtube. I love the mornings and always feel bad when it’s afternoon and time for lunch.
On weekdays, it’s about the same since I work from 4:30 pm till 1:30 am. I get ready to go to work by around 3:30 pm and leave the apartment by 4. I enjoy my mornings even if I am sleepy and groggy but the coffee and tea do help. And there’s music to cheer me up as well.
Prompt from 28 Best February Journal Prompts for 2023 at Lifegram
What Are My Go-to Movies To Pick Me Up When I’m Feeling Down?
What is your go-to movie to pick you up when you’re feeling down? Why do you love it?
- My Cousin Vinny
- School Of Rock
- Weekend At Bernie’s
- I Love You, Man
- Ace Ventura
- The Mask
- Dracula : Dead & Loving It
- Naked Gun Trilogy
- A bunch of Abbott & Costello films
- All The Star Trek films
Prompt from DAILY JOURNALING PROMPTS – FEBRUARY 2022 at Krafty Planner
How The Month Of February Makes Me Feel
Be 100% honest. How does February “the month of love” really make you feel?
It does make me feel lonely. While I love romantic stuff and movies, tv shows and love songs this month, because of Valentine’s Day, I am reminded that I am not with anyone and that I am missing being in a relationship with a woman and missing being in love and being loved. Companionship is something that I have found elusive and evading since my early 20s.
You see I used to be in a relationship, 2 to be exact. I have come close to being in a relationship since then but each time, it as twice, it fizzled out. Wrong choices for me I guess. Whatever it is since the last 13 years I have not come close at all, not that I have actually looked. I did feel like I was in love with a girl – a girl who I became close with but was also much younger than I am – and I started to feel all the usual things but later on I realized that it was a reaction of being lonely and nothing else. I don’t want to embarrass myself.
So yeah since then I usually feel a lot sadder during this month, much like I get sad during the end of the year which I consider to be a family oriented period. Do I wish I could have changed my situation? Ofcourse I would. But I think it’s too late and perhaps I am doomed to always remain alone.
Prompt from 28 Enchanting February Journal Prompts at Mercy K
FOOD REVIEW #414
Five More Weird Laws In The Province Of New Brunswick
1. No loud phonograph-playing
Where: Sussex. In a piece of municipal legislation ripped straight from the pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sussex’s nuisance Bylaw 750-12 s. 4(i) not only prohibits loud piano playing but also overly noisy phonographs. The phonograph, invented in 1877, was largely out of vogue by the 1930s. Wonder how many tickets the RCMP issue for that one — or for over enthusiastically dancing the Charleston.
2. No hooting.
Where: Saint John. Bylaw M-22, intended to prevent excessive noise in the city, dictates “no person shall permit … yelling, shouting, hooting, or unreasonably loud whistling or singing” that disturbs others. No word on the implications of anti-hooting legislation on hootenannies. Or owls.
3. No pigeonhole or bagatelle
Where: Saint George. Remember that song in The Music Man, when the unscrupulous Harold Hill convinced parents that all the kids in River City were going to be led astray by playing pool? The Town of St. George was listening. Bylaw No. 11, enacted in 1974, dictates that “no person, firm, or corporation shall operate, maintain or conduct a pool, billiard or bagatelle or pigeonhole table open to the public” without a licence. Unlicensed pool tables, OK. Bagatelle and pigeonhole, on the other hand? The good people of St. George are probably safe from the corrupting influence of these old-timey games.
4. No circuses in the park
Where Sackville, Nackawic. Hey, you clowns. Get back in your tiny little car and head back where you came from. Setting up a Big Top in a public green space is strongly discouraged in both Sackville and Nackawic. Bylaw No. 236, regulating the use of public parks in Sackville, states “no person … shall use a park or any part thereof for the purpose of holding or carrying on a fair, carnival, bazaar or circus.”
5. No excessive garage sales
Where: Edmundston. New Brunswick’s love for good deals is well-documented. But Edmundston residents better not love them too much. Section 10(d) of Bylaw No. 13R2014 has strict guidelines on the number of garage sales a household may hold over the course of a year: exactly two. No more. You’ve been warned.
Noise Buds VS102 Pro With ANC
Noise has added another budget TWS earbuds to its existing VS 102 series. The new Noise Buds VS102 Pro are the latest ANC earbuds by the Indian brand, with an affordable price tag under Rs 2000. Noise, one of India’s leading smart wearables brands, offers a wide range of TWS earbud options across price segments. The Noise Buds VS102 Pro are its new affordable TWS style earbuds featuring a lightweight design and are claimed to offer up to 40 hours of battery life without Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) while 36 hours with it on.
The Noise Buds VS102 Pro have been launched in India at a price of Rs 1,799. The TWS earbuds come in 4 colour options – Jet Black, Calm Beige, Aurora Green, and Glacier Blue. Buyers can grab the Noise Buds VS102 Pro from GoNoise.com, the official website for the brand. The Noise Buds VS102 Pro also features on-ear touch controls.
The Noise Buds VS102 Pro earbuds feature Quad Mics with active noise cancellation (ANC) for up to 25dB as well as environmental noise cancellation (ENC). The wearables come with an in-ear form factor and on-ear touch controls that let users enable ANC, transparency, gaming mode, adjust volume, and control music, call, as well as access Siri and Google Assistant. It also features hands-free calling. The earbuds are compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. Noise Buds VS102 Pro earbuds utilises 11mm speaker drivers and also come with an IPX5 rating for sweat and water resistance.
The earbuds support Bluetooth 5.3 with 10 metres of wireless range. Noise claims the earbuds can offer up to six hours of playtime on a single charge and an additional 34 hours with the charging case. An Instacharge feature will let users charge the earbuds for 10 minutes for up to 150 minutes of playtime. The Noise Buds VS102 Pro earbuds weigh four grams each, and the charging case weighs around 34 grams. The case has a dimension of 57.5 x 52 x 26mm.