I find the keyboard very easy to get around -- I can type very quickly; 90+ words per minute when I really get going. I have mastered the problems I had striking 'z' when I really needed an 'x' and I have fully integrated the number keypad into my typing abilities. I'm a connoisseur of the keyboard, if you will.
I have one question though.
What's with the semi-colon key?
I mean, the home row 'asdfjkl;' is the captain of the keyboard (although an argument could be made for that luxurious widebody space key). Some letters have missed out: popular T, E and N are all upstairs or downstairs. The period, down below. Quotations marks, well, you need the shift key to get at those.
So, why put the semi-colon right there? Why not the comma? The comma is in a very inconvenient position, situated between the 'M' and the period. Why not throw the semi-colon down there? I use the semi-colon so rarely. In fact, I use the colon more than I use the semi-colon, yet I need the shift key to get at it.
What is up with that?
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Pants gnome
Somthing odd is going on in my pants. My underwear has a little button that closes the flap in the front thus ensuring the contents don't accidentally exit the premises. Such an exit could prove, to say the lease, deleterious to my well being. The thing is, I never button it up. It is true, I walk on the wild side. I smirk in the general direction of danger. Reason being, I'm just a little to lazy to do it. Who has time? Since I am a Caesarian urinator (one who opens up the fly, while keeping the trousers buttoned, and then uses the flap as a path, to... you know), having to unbutton and then rebutton my underpants gets straining. I also don't bother buttoning up when I fold them after the laundry.
So, I was rather surprised when I went to the bathroom this morning and found that the flap was buttoned. The only explanation can be little underpants gnomes who go snooping around my drawers at night, buttoning the flaps. Only explanation!
So, I was rather surprised when I went to the bathroom this morning and found that the flap was buttoned. The only explanation can be little underpants gnomes who go snooping around my drawers at night, buttoning the flaps. Only explanation!
Monday, September 20, 2004
O's Thai Cafe
Crouch End is awash in neat little restaurants that are distinctive enough to capture your attention, but not so distinctive that you are afraid to try it out. O's Thai Cafe, part of the O's Crouch End bar empire, is a tidy, little Thai restaurant that is pleasing to the eye and has pretty good food as well.
The long, narrow restuarant benefits from having a fresh look. The interior is enhanced by small blocks of colour along the walls and clean lines to compliment simple, good Thai food. Decor is important. It can either be garish and put me off my food or it can compliment the meal, enhancing the experience. I took immediate notice of the interior design. The dining floor is raised a meter off street level, thus distancing the diner from the pleasant experience on the inside and the crueal realities of the world outside. The website describes the restaurant as "Crouch End's own designer canteen," which may be going over the line, but the feeling and design of the dining room certainly fits with the ethos of the menu.
Playing music in a restaurant is always a risk and is probably best to be avoided. Music with a strong beat is tedious to eat to, and musical tastes change from person to person. But sometimes the music works. O decided to play on that night an album from the Buena Vista Social Club. Thai food, Cuban Jazz, but it was pleasant. It reminded me of a sushi restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana, run by a Japanese curmudgeon who cared about his (bad, bland, over-priced) sushi and little else -- he always played Bob Marley.
It was early on a Sunday night when we dined, so the waitstaff seemed at ease, not rushing around, which can be irritating. As most readers know, I am fanatical about service in restaurants. A server should be affable yet professional, knowedgable and helpful, he should know when he is wanted and when to stay away. I can provide numerous examples of times when I have been persuaded into ordering more (expensive) food based on timely, helpful advice from my waiter and other times when all I wanted to do was eat and leave because the waiter was overbearing, unfriendly, unprofessional, etc. Dining at a restaurant is a social experience, but talking to the waiter is a professional transaction -- I don't ever look to make friends with my waiter.
Having said all that, I really didn't test our waitress. It was Sunday, and we were looking to eat quick and skedaddle. We ordered tap water, ordered food, ate and left.
We started off with Poh Piah Tord, aka spring rolls, which were small, delicate and crispy. It isn't too difficult to get them right, so I shan't comment. They were served with a small dish of sweet chilli sauce which could have been a little more on the chilli and a little less on the sweet, but it was welcome nonetheless.
As a main, I ordered Pad Kratiem Prik Tai, king prawns in a sweet oyster broth enhanced with coriander and garlic paste and julienned vegetables, served along side a dish of rice. The coriander, aka cilantro, paste almost put me off, but I persevered. I normally hate the taste of fresh cilantro. When I say hate I mean I won't eat it because I can not stand the taste of it in my mouth. My mother is the same way. But this was in paste form and was cooked, so I took a chance and it worked out. That being said, I didn't really taste the cilantro, and as I have always questioned, what is the point of putting an ingrediant in food that you can't taste? The king prawns were small as king prawns go but were cooked very well, i.e. not chewy and they retained a nice flavour. The broth was a little on the sweet side and there wasn't a hint of heat, which would have been nice. In retrospect, I might also have added a touch of lime to give it some piquancy and to balance out the sweetness of the oyster sauce, but the dish was not a disappointment. The vegetables were julienned nicely and it was served next to an appropriately sized cup of rice.
A friend of mine has said no Asian restaurant is worth its salt if it doesn't serve rice for free. If you have to ask for it or if it costs extra, it is rip off and it probably indicative of a severe moral lapse. O didn't disappoint me. A perfect amount of soft, clean, white rice blemished only by a singular cilantro leaf on top. The effect was pleasing, but I did remove the vile weed and burn it next to the table.
As we were in a hurry, I did not inbibe, but the wine list looked pretty good. I can't choose wine. That is why you need a good waiter. You should be able to say to the waiter that you want to spend this or that amount of money and eat this or that dish and he or she should tell you what to order, not narrow it down to a smaller list. But, ranging from ?10.95 to ?17.95, the wine selection fits in with the food menu's moderate prices.
I'd like to visit the restaurant again, especially when filled with people. We got there early, before 6.30, so we were given an "early diners" discount of 10%. Nice touch.
Total bill for one starter, two mains, a 10% discount, rounded up with a small tip was ?16.00. Not bad, not bad at all.
The long, narrow restuarant benefits from having a fresh look. The interior is enhanced by small blocks of colour along the walls and clean lines to compliment simple, good Thai food. Decor is important. It can either be garish and put me off my food or it can compliment the meal, enhancing the experience. I took immediate notice of the interior design. The dining floor is raised a meter off street level, thus distancing the diner from the pleasant experience on the inside and the crueal realities of the world outside. The website describes the restaurant as "Crouch End's own designer canteen," which may be going over the line, but the feeling and design of the dining room certainly fits with the ethos of the menu.
Playing music in a restaurant is always a risk and is probably best to be avoided. Music with a strong beat is tedious to eat to, and musical tastes change from person to person. But sometimes the music works. O decided to play on that night an album from the Buena Vista Social Club. Thai food, Cuban Jazz, but it was pleasant. It reminded me of a sushi restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana, run by a Japanese curmudgeon who cared about his (bad, bland, over-priced) sushi and little else -- he always played Bob Marley.
It was early on a Sunday night when we dined, so the waitstaff seemed at ease, not rushing around, which can be irritating. As most readers know, I am fanatical about service in restaurants. A server should be affable yet professional, knowedgable and helpful, he should know when he is wanted and when to stay away. I can provide numerous examples of times when I have been persuaded into ordering more (expensive) food based on timely, helpful advice from my waiter and other times when all I wanted to do was eat and leave because the waiter was overbearing, unfriendly, unprofessional, etc. Dining at a restaurant is a social experience, but talking to the waiter is a professional transaction -- I don't ever look to make friends with my waiter.
Having said all that, I really didn't test our waitress. It was Sunday, and we were looking to eat quick and skedaddle. We ordered tap water, ordered food, ate and left.
We started off with Poh Piah Tord, aka spring rolls, which were small, delicate and crispy. It isn't too difficult to get them right, so I shan't comment. They were served with a small dish of sweet chilli sauce which could have been a little more on the chilli and a little less on the sweet, but it was welcome nonetheless.
As a main, I ordered Pad Kratiem Prik Tai, king prawns in a sweet oyster broth enhanced with coriander and garlic paste and julienned vegetables, served along side a dish of rice. The coriander, aka cilantro, paste almost put me off, but I persevered. I normally hate the taste of fresh cilantro. When I say hate I mean I won't eat it because I can not stand the taste of it in my mouth. My mother is the same way. But this was in paste form and was cooked, so I took a chance and it worked out. That being said, I didn't really taste the cilantro, and as I have always questioned, what is the point of putting an ingrediant in food that you can't taste? The king prawns were small as king prawns go but were cooked very well, i.e. not chewy and they retained a nice flavour. The broth was a little on the sweet side and there wasn't a hint of heat, which would have been nice. In retrospect, I might also have added a touch of lime to give it some piquancy and to balance out the sweetness of the oyster sauce, but the dish was not a disappointment. The vegetables were julienned nicely and it was served next to an appropriately sized cup of rice.
A friend of mine has said no Asian restaurant is worth its salt if it doesn't serve rice for free. If you have to ask for it or if it costs extra, it is rip off and it probably indicative of a severe moral lapse. O didn't disappoint me. A perfect amount of soft, clean, white rice blemished only by a singular cilantro leaf on top. The effect was pleasing, but I did remove the vile weed and burn it next to the table.
As we were in a hurry, I did not inbibe, but the wine list looked pretty good. I can't choose wine. That is why you need a good waiter. You should be able to say to the waiter that you want to spend this or that amount of money and eat this or that dish and he or she should tell you what to order, not narrow it down to a smaller list. But, ranging from ?10.95 to ?17.95, the wine selection fits in with the food menu's moderate prices.
I'd like to visit the restaurant again, especially when filled with people. We got there early, before 6.30, so we were given an "early diners" discount of 10%. Nice touch.
Total bill for one starter, two mains, a 10% discount, rounded up with a small tip was ?16.00. Not bad, not bad at all.
Typing your name
I just received an email from a friend. It was a pretty ordinary email. At the bottom, instead of writing her name, she just put her first initial, J (initials have been changed to protect the innocent).
I guess I don't really understand the point. If you are going to write something to signify that it is you, then why not just type your name, I mean, we aren't talking about some huge expanse of time being taken up by typing out a six letter name. At the same time, if you don't have to time to type the full name, why not just leave it out. After all, the sender's name is right there at the top of the screen so I already know who it is from. It is just redundant at the bottom.
I guess I don't really understand the point. If you are going to write something to signify that it is you, then why not just type your name, I mean, we aren't talking about some huge expanse of time being taken up by typing out a six letter name. At the same time, if you don't have to time to type the full name, why not just leave it out. After all, the sender's name is right there at the top of the screen so I already know who it is from. It is just redundant at the bottom.
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