What are you doing right now?

[Icarus]

Hermes, A hip replacement is not such a bad deal these days.  My daughter, 60 years old, recently had a hip replacement, She had her surgery one morning and walked out of the surgical place in the afternoon. After about six weeks of recovery time she is riding her bicycle and doing other things that were most painful for here before the replacement.  I suspect that some of your SA medical facilities are as well equipped and as competent as ours.

I have a neighbor who lives across my street. He is a trauma surgeon who got his med education in South Africa....and has a charming SA wife.

[Dave]

Hermes, A hip replacement is not such a bad deal these days.  My daughter, 60 years old, recently had a hip replacement, She had her surgery one morning and walked out of the surgical place in the afternoon. After about six weeks of recovery time she is riding her bicycle and doing other things that were most painful for here before the replacement.  I suspect that some of your SA medical facilities are as well equipped and as competent as ours.

I have a neighbor who lives across my street. He is a trauma surgeon who got his med education in South Africa....and has a charming SA wife.

Icarus, it's the 50th anniversary of  Christiaan Barnard 's first duccessful heart transplant in South Africa - yesh, I think they have good people and kit there! 

[hermes2015]

Thank you for the encouraging words, guys. Yes, medical facilities are as good as anywhere here if you are able to pay. I often visit Christiaan Barnard's hospital in Cape Town to train some of the research staff, but in spite of that they still manage to do good work!

Let's see how I get on early next year. At the moment I'm doing quite well.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I just won the chili competition at our Christmas office party.  There were about 30 people voting on 4 pots of chili, and I got the most votes. I took my wife's basic chili recipe (which is plenty good) and then added a bit of pork and red pepper.  Pork is not a traditional ingredient in Texas chili, but it added a nice smoothness to the taste. 

[Tank]

I just won the chili competition at our Christmas office party.  There were about 30 people voting on 4 pots of chili, and I got the most votes. I took my wife's basic chili recipe (which is plenty good) and then added a bit of pork and red pepper.  Pork is not a traditional ingredient in Texas chili, but it added a nice smoothness to the taste.

Congratulations!

[Dave]

I just won the chili competition at our Christmas office party.  There were about 30 people voting on 4 pots of chili, and I got the most votes. I took my wife's basic chili recipe (which is plenty good) and then added a bit of pork and red pepper.  Pork is not a traditional ingredient in Texas chili, but it added a nice smoothness to the taste.

Ever tried harissa? Arabic hot sauce made with ground chilis, olive oil and lime juice. The first fuels, the second smooths, the third sets it on fire! Some add garlic.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I just won the chili competition at our Christmas office party.  There were about 30 people voting on 4 pots of chili, and I got the most votes. I took my wife's basic chili recipe (which is plenty good) and then added a bit of pork and red pepper.  Pork is not a traditional ingredient in Texas chili, but it added a nice smoothness to the taste.

Ever tried harissa? Arabic hot sauce made with ground chilis, olive oil and lime juice. The first fuels, the second smooths, the third sets it on fire! Some add garlic.

Wow. Never have tried it, but now it's on my list!

[Dave]

I just won the chili competition at our Christmas office party.  There were about 30 people voting on 4 pots of chili, and I got the most votes. I took my wife's basic chili recipe (which is plenty good) and then added a bit of pork and red pepper.  Pork is not a traditional ingredient in Texas chili, but it added a nice smoothness to the taste.

Ever tried harissa? Arabic hot sauce made with ground chilis, olive oil and lime juice. The first fuels, the second smooths, the third sets it on fire! Some add garlic.

Wow. Never have tried it, but now it's on my list!

Needs to be a paste rather than a dip, recipes online of course. But good for experimenting with proportions!

There is also Yemeni zhug, a variation on a green chili sauce/dip
http://thymetomango.com/yemeni-zhug-green-chilli-sauce/

[xSilverPhinx]

Going through my getting-ready-to-go-to-the-lab-on-a-saturday ritual. 

[hermes2015]

Just finished re-watching Vanishing Point. Still a brilliant movie after all these years. I kept thinking of Easy Rider during the movie.

[Dave]

Thinking that publishing videos here is a bit of a bind, unless you upload them to Youtube or somewhere first.

I have recently acquired new camera apps that are installed on my backup tablet. That's time lapse, panoramic and "high speed", have not tried the last yet. 

Fun!

[Dave]

Trying to get "Maud'dib" out of my brain!

My ceiling fan has a sort of two-tone hum. Not really listening to it, like a clock tick it fades, but "Maud'dib", as when the Fremens are chanting the name in Dune, got "attached."

And now it will not let go! Time for a cup of tea... then stuff the teabags into my ears! (Wonder if that will clear the wax out of them and stop the eczema itching.)

[Tom62]

I just finished packing the Christmas gifts.

[xSilverPhinx]

Drinking a nice, cold cup of diet coke.

[Sandra Craft]

Eating a banana, drinking hot tea, watching "Miracle on 34th Street".