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The rarely updated blog of Joel Dixon
Viewing blogs posted in October, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Garlic Potato Skins
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 31/10/2007 10:43:46Belinda has told me that a number of people have said "I didn't know Joel could cook" to her recently. We assume people are saying this because they have seen my recipe entries on this blog. My response to Bell is generally "I can't cook, but I can follow directions pretty well".
The magical Internet helps me no end. From recipes, history and techniques and simple conversions - I would probably have starved if it wasn't for the Internet's help.
I decided that I needed to do some actual cooking - and tried to think of my own recipe. Whatever it was, it was going to have cheese and maybe some garlic or onion - and it had to be simple. In the end - I remembered some incredibly nice Potato Skins Belinda and I ate at Planet Hollywood many years ago that I would try to replicate with a twist (the garlic).
It went pretty well, except I used way too much garlic (some bites really hurt my mouth) which I've rectified in the recipe below.
Garlic Potato Skins
Russet Potatoes - 2
Garlic, minced - 1 to 2 cloves
Cheese (I like a Tex-Mex mix), grated - a few cups depending on taste
Bacon bits - small handful
Spring Onions, chopped - around a cup
Corn Chips - small handful
1. Bake the potatoes.
2. Quarter the potatoes and remove most of the middle, leaving about 1 or 2 centimeters of "middle white bit" next to the skin.
3. Spread a small amount of minced garlic onto the middle bit of each potato quarter.
4. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese on each potato quarter.
5. Sprinkle a small amount of bacon pits, spring onions and corn chips on each potato depending on taste.
6. Sprinkle some more cheese on the top of the potato skin.
7. Cook in oven until cheese has melted.
It's obviously a very simple recipe, but I was still surprised it was edible as it was my first attempt at something creative.
Before cooking
# Posted in the General section and tagged as: Recipe
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sent Packing
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 30/10/2007 21:40:39Updated by Joel Dixon at 30/10/2007 21:50:56
Well - they've sent me home.
I was only in Canada on a three-month work permit, with the intention of renewing it for an extra year. I found out that the renewal was rejected, and now I'm back home.
Very happy to be home again with friends and family (and my wonderful wife), but there will be parts of Canadian life I will miss.
I guess all I have left to say is G'Day - and where's the shrimp?
(is it too much to expect that I receive copious "welcome back" beers only two months after receiving copious "farewell" beers?
)# Posted in the General section
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Garlic Lime Chicken
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 30/10/2007 12:01:37I like lime, and I love garlic - so this recipe seemed like a good find.
Garlic Lime Chicken
Soy Sauce - 1/2 cup
Fresh Lime Juice - 1/4 cup
Worcestershire sauce - 1 tbsp.
Garlic, minced - 3 clothes
Dry Mustard (mustard powder) - 1/2 tsp.
Coarsely Ground Pepper - 1/2 tsp.
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts - 4
1. In glass bowl mix soy sauce, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, dry mustard, and pepper.
2. Place chicken in resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over chicken in bag, close bag securely, and toss to coat chicken well.
3. Place bag with marinade and chicken in refrigerator 30 minutes or more.
4. Drain and discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with more coarsely ground pepper.
5. Grill until cooked (can also be pan-fried).
Here's a picture of the chicken mid-marinade - it smelt delicious!
# Posted in the General section and tagged as: Recipe
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Sunday, October 28, 2007
Pens lose in shootout thriller
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 28/10/2007 12:52:01We come back from 3 goals down to tie it up with two minutes to play, then we lose it in an eight round shootout.
Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions (with the upping and the downing and the floiven)!
At least we got a point out of it.
# Posted in the Hockey section and tagged as: Pittsburgh Penguins
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Saturday, October 27, 2007
2 Minute Noodle Egg Stuff
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 27/10/2007 01:13:50Today's recipe was suggested to me by a reader of this site - Hitman. It was actually really nice, and incredibly simple to make. He could have come up with a more creative name - but you can't say it's misleading!
2 Minute Noodle Egg Stuff
Packet of two minute noodles, chicken flavour
Egg
Cooking Oil
1. Cook noodles following package direction.
2. Drain water from Noodles, stir in egg and chicken flavour.
3. Heat frypan on low.
4. Add a little bit of oil to the base of the fry pan.
5. Add Noodle / Egg mixture to frypan.
6. Flatten out, like a thick pancake.
7 Cook one side on low heat until golden brown.
8. Flip the Noodle-Egg pancake. (Hitman suggested to add a little bit more oil to the base of the pan to fry it up)
9. Cook the second side on high - until crispy.
Good for an after-work snack, and so easy a caveman could do it.
# Posted in the General section and tagged as: Recipe
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Thursday, October 25, 2007
Zero Punctuation, Many Laughs
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 25/10/2007 11:51:46Updated by Joel Dixon at 15/01/2008 12:23:49
A while ago I stumbled across a series of video game reviews by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw under the title of Zero Punctuation (he speaks rather quickly). Very honest, and extremely funny, I usually watch each video a few times as they are crammed with jokes and by laughing at one joke I occasionally miss the next one.
Zero Punctuation is a must for video game fans, but still very funny for the people that aren't cool enough to catch all of the nerdy references
I'm a little behind on the videos, but about a month ago he reviewed Tomb Raider Anniversary and I found it particularly funny, and thought I'd link it. He also has some brilliant ideas for original video games!
Be warned - the occasional naughty word is included in this video.
The Escapist: Zero Punctuation - Tomb Raider Anniversary
# Posted in the Gaming section
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The Little Things
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 25/10/2007 09:47:18Updated by Joel Dixon at 14/07/2008 23:59:01
I've already blogged about some big differences between Australia and Canada - such as travel, customer service and language. But quite often I'm struck by some of the small differences that aren't much when looked at one-by-one - but they certainly add up.
Some things I didn't notice when I first wrote about differences in traveling are longboards and crosswalks. The number of people getting around on longboards is staggering - I'll see one at least every few weeks. Obviously this isn't a very high number - but considering I've never seen a longboard in use in all my years in Australia - it's pretty striking. Another potentially striking difference (HU HU - you'll see) is the cross walks over here - they are so dangerous. In the middle of the city, on a main road they have random cross walks setup. They have no traffic lights, the crossing lane marks are very faded (and they don't all have zebra marks), some are directly after blind turns and the only indication that they are coming is a small sign on the side of the road. I've already had the car I was traveling in screech to a halt a few times when a pedestrian comes out of nowhere.
A longboard
One of the crosswalk signs that you won't notice driving around Edmonton
It's also been weird for me to live in a place that doesn't value water above gold. Because of Canada's geography, water is an abundant resource and there's no real need to be a water saver. Water features and fountains are in common (and not drained), I've yet to hear the term "Wally" and they don't even have a "half-flush" button on the toilets.
While not related to water (but still important to the environmentally conscience) - plastic bags are handed out like candy here and I've even been asked if I want my items double bagged from time to time. I did however buy re-usable cloth bags - the Australian in me feels like a criminal whenever I'm given a plastic bag!
While they may be wasting water and plastic here, they seem to be doing the right thing about power saving. Almost all of the lights at work are operated on a timing switch, and power saving propaganda is frequently advertised on TV. I do remember some power saving going on at home - but it's nothing like Canada (in my experience so far).
The cool breeze of this energy-efficient fan almost makes up for the exertion you feel from powering it all day
Something that I had noticed a lot in North American sitcoms and school dramas was hand towel distributors. You can't just pull the paper out of the dispenser - you have to either hand-crank it, flick some switch repeatedly or press some button. I'm going to take a complete guess and suggest that this is to prevent somebody stealing the paper towel without supplying great annoyance (or to stop the kids from messing with it). It's taken a bit of getting used to - and I'll feel no great loss when I get back home!
You can see the small handle on the right hand side of this paper towel dispenser
There's also even smaller things that are different - such as stamps costing $1.10 here. Also, people have really embraced bluetooth headsets more than in Australia. It's appears people aren't ridiculed for this as much as they should - I've been playing my part - and usage is somewhat frequent.
But the biggest little difference that I've encountered here - is that everyone (about 5 or 10 people) that I have said "Maccas" to have no idea what I'm talking about. Even when I'm discussing fast food restaurants and say something like "Yeah, I really like Maccas nuggets" it's met with "Maccas?" (it's McDonalds if anyone from Canada's reading this
). They use Mickey D's (which I thought was more American) or just plain McDonald's. Thinking about it, if it followed the typical Australian nickname generation algorithm it should probably be shortened to Macco's (Jonno, Richo, Dicko etc). A quick look on Wikipedia lends a few more nicknames:The UK seem to be a cross between here and North America with "Macky D's", but "de Mac" is where I want to be eating!
Hmmm, (fast) food for thought
# Posted in the Travel section and tagged as: Edmonton
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Top 5 non-Hollywood movie endings
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 24/10/2007 11:08:25I was watching Without a Paddle the other day (I'm a Seth Green fan) and it wasn't too bad. But throughout the film, no matter how dim the future looked for the main characters, I knew it was all going to work out OK. A lot of movies coming out of Hollywood seem to spend most of the time trying desperately to fool you into thinking the story will end in a disaster, then do a spectacular switch-a-roo at the end.
I'm also reminded of the time I watched Pirates of the Caribbean with Bell, I was really enjoying the movie until they pulled a complete Disney ending and everyone was happy (except for the bad characters). It's made me think back to the movies I've enjoyed because of an unexpectedly sad or weird ending.
The death of the main character isn't enough for me, as they can be quite common especially in mafia / crime movies. There are also a lot of movies where the main character does die at the end, but everyone learns a life lesson and the world is a better place. Movies with a moral to the story don't count no matter how tragic (think Romeo and Juliet). I'm after the unexpected, coming-out-of-nowhere and for no good reason endings which aren't just a logical progression of the storyline.
We need these unexpected tragic endings from time to time, to keep us honest. If there is the real threat that all of the characters contract rabies and die from a freak electric can-opener accident - you are more invested while watching the film.
I will note that I am probably missing out on many other great non-Hollywood movie endings. There's many movies I've never watched (which I'm currently rectifying), so some killer endings are probably missing. If you know of any - please comment to this entry and let me know - I would be very interested.
Here are my personal top 5 non-Hollywoodland movie endings:
Bambi didn't make the final list - as I don't remember anything about the actual movie (including the ending). It does however get a honorable mention because I can still remember that I was extremely upset by the movie at the time. After checking out a synopsis on the Internet I can confirm - yeah, that would have upset me.
A great movie that makes you think, and definitely needs to be watched twice. Guy Pearce plays a man with a weird form of amnesia in which his brain is unable to store new memories. For assistance he leaves himself a series of notes and has a number of tattoos on his body with various facts he feels are important. It wasn't the easiest movie to understand or try to guess what was coming up - but I still think the ending was notably unexpected.
A top movie written by a pair of Melbourne boys - directed by one of them and the other played a main character - I blogged about this movie when I first watched it. As I said then, one of the better twist endings and completely unexpected. It's a horror movie, so you know people are going to die at the end, but there was one aspect of the finale that forced an audible gasp from me.
I have to admit I didn't see the twist ending of this movie coming, and I think that was the same for a lot of people. This movie really kick started another round of the surprise twist ending for mainstream films - and at it's time of release it caught many people by surprise. This is another movie where it pays to watch it twice.
This movie would easily be number 1, if they had have kept the original ending. I've kept it in my list because they have preserved the original ending in the DVD as a special feature (be sure to check it out). The story is that Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and director Rawson Marshall Thurber were very happy with the unconventional ending, but the movie studios wouldn't allow it (instead creating the bubblegum ending in place now). See the movie's Wikipedia entry for more.
Easy Rider is a great movie that's clearly stood the test of time. Interesting story, pretty good soundtrack, and a brilliant performance by Jack Nicholson in his first big role (for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar). While I had heard of this movie for a long time (as I'm sure a lot of people have), I didn't know that the ending was going to be so unexpected. You have to watch this film if you haven't already - and then you'll definitely know what I'm getting at with this blog post.
# Posted in the General section and tagged as: Movies
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Monday, October 22, 2007
Waltzing around West Edmonton Mall
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 22/10/2007 08:01:10Updated by Joel Dixon at 07/03/2008 11:00:57
A few weekends ago I took a trip to the West Edmonton Mall with my camera to provide content for this blog. Even though it was the world's largest mall for a 23-year period, it didn't really feel that much bigger than large shopping centres in Australia.
World Waterpark
Apparently the blue water slide starts higher than the red one - but I'm sure you pick up a little extra speed on the red one!
Another yellow water slide in the distance
The Wave Pool - not very wavy at the moment
A bit of beach atmosphere, parents can watch their kids on generic white deck chairs
There is a small enclosure with a few flamingos tooling around - quite a shock to see when you're in a shopping centre
Galaxyland
Galaxyland is an indoor theme park, why not?
My kinda ride - I've only felt like throwing up on three ferris wheels in the past
A pretty impressive indoor rollercoaster
It feels a little unsafe walking directly under the rollercoaster track
Deal or No Deal is extremely popular here (and hosted by Howie Handel). Here's the arcade game version (it dispenses tickets instead of cash)
Sea Life Caverns
Sea Life Caverns is an indoor lake with a daily seal show as the main attraction
The lake also houses a big-ass pirate ship
The coolest part of Sea Life Caverns (IMO) is a submarine-ride. The subs go down a few meters and drive around on a track
Some kind of ride, these things seem to be driven by the ride-taker
Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street, a small section of the mall themed to resemble the Bourbon Street of New Orleans
One of the classy restaurants in Bourbon Street
A comedy club - though in the real Bourbon Street I'm sure this would be a strip club that features comedians taking their kit off
Movie Theaters
The mall has two movie theaters, and this is what was playing in one of them the day I was there
I had to take a photo of this awesome Yoda statue/thing hanging from the roof
General
The movie Christmas in Wonderland was shot in the mall, and the Christmas decorations haven't been taken down. Pity I missed my chance to meet with Carmen Electra - one of the actors in the movie!
NHL regulation sized ice rink in the mall. The Edmonton Oilers used to train here occasionally back in the Gretzky days. I remember when Knox Shopping Centre had an indoor ice arena which was about the size of my apartment's living room
West 49 (a skate shop) has a small skate park downstairs
It's weird, directly above Bourbon Street is Chinatown
The mall is host to two mini-golf courses - this one is a "putt in the dark" experience
The second mini-golf course - apparently this one is based on Pebble Beach
The in-mall hotel - is it just me that finds the name a little suggestive?
A casino inside the mall. They had a few table games (Caribbean Stud poker, roulette) but no proper Hold'em table - it was mainly pokie machines
A little course was setup to test-drive Segway Scooters
The Dollar Kingdom, where everything is "$1 or more". Does that sound stupid to anyone else? Their selling point is that they sell nothing under $1
Every good mall needs a police station
# Posted in the Travel section and tagged as: Edmonton
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Saturday, October 20, 2007
Customer (dis)Service in Edmonton
# Posted by Joel Dixon at 20/10/2007 10:31:01Updated by Joel Dixon at 23/02/2008 12:36:27
As I may have already mentioned, Edmonton (and Alberta in general) is going through a boom right now. Fueled mostly by the natural resources in the region, Alberta has the lowest personal and corporate tax rates in all of Canada - and Albertans don't have to pay sales tax. This has caused the job market in places like Edmonton go wild.
Driving around the streets, it's impossible to miss the high number of "help wanted" ads. Everyone is hiring, from typical industrial types working with Alberta's resources (mostly oil) to fast food joints and department stores. My local doctor's office does not provide any late appointments anymore, as they do not have enough staff. It's hard to get a taxi around here as they are currently low on drivers (not a problem I'm used to experiencing in Melbourne). This is great for the job hunters, but not so good for the companies.
I personally believe that this is why I've found the customer service in Edmonton to be sub-par at best. With so many opportunities, the jobs that would generally be viewed as not enjoyable (customer facing roles) are left unfilled - or filled by whoever's available. This has put me on the annoying side of customer service issues, which I am going to whine about now:
- My first example of this was attempting to hook up my IV (Internet, Cable TV, PVR and phone). I called to book an installation almost as soon as I got here - at which point I was told it would take two and a half weeks before a technician can visit (and I needed to be home between 9 am and 12 pm). When the technician finally arrived (2 pm), he had forgotten to bring my new fangled PVR device, so he had to install a regular set top box. I wasn't too upset (as I finally had Internet), so I organised another appointment (in another week and a half) for a new technician to come with the PVR and swap it over.
When a technician didn't turn up at all on the scheduled day, I gave Shaw a call. After verbally wrestling with the automated assistant (see below), I was told that an extra work order was never made against my account - but I was welcome to make another appointment in two weeks to get a technician to my apartment. I ended up going to a Shaw dealer and picking up the PVR and "installing" it myself (by plugging it in). After a few complaints on my behalf - I did receive a discount on my first month's fee, but I would have much preferred to have it all setup a few weeks earlier. - As mentioned earlier, customer "help lines" are very difficult to navigate (much worse than Australia). Everything's automated ("Why don't you tell me the movie you want to see"), even though the voice recognition is terribly dodgy (perhaps it's my accent). What really annoys me is when the help line has voice prompting without the backup of pressing numbers on the keypad (the good ones at least offer "If you wish for me to sacrifice a goat in your honor, say 'goat' - or press 4"). Sure, if you mumble garbage into the phone for long enough, you'll eventually get to speak with an actual person (5 to 10 minutes later) - but it's very inconvenient. At least get voice recognition right before forcing it upon us.
- Product knowledge is definitely lacking in some of of the staff that I dealt with. For example, I saw an ad on TV which featured some dashing Sidney Crosby casual gear that was only available at SportChek stores. I went to SportChek to pickup a Crosby jacket, asked a kid in the clothing section where the blue Crosby jackets were, and he took me to a non-Crosby (and not even blue) rack of jackets. I explained that it was a new line of Crosby clothing that SportChek sold - and he informed me that they only sold T-shirts at this store. Fair enough - to make sure I went to the hockey section, when I was told that they only sell Crosby sticks and gloves - no clothing. Still not convinced (especially as the store had signs posted advertising the new gear), I went to the front of the store and found a "new arrival" table to be full of the Crosby gear. Sure, they were new items - but considering the amount of TV ads done by SportChek you'd hope they would invest in a little training for staff.
- Stopping at the local electronics store one weekend, I asked if they had a certain Xbox accessory for sale, which they didn't. Fair enough - I asked if they knew when they were getting it in, "nope" was the non-commital reply. OK - "I shop here a fair but, and I'm willing to come down and give you my money if you just give me a ring when this product comes in" to which the kid replied with "Sorry, we don't do that". Is it just me - or is it not a normal request for a customer to be called when a product comes in? Sure, it wasn't the most expensive product - but I've already spent a few hundred dollars in the store, and will probably be taking my further business elsewhere.
The strange thing about this is, pretty much all government employees I've dealt with have been great. From my quick and easy immigration process to applying for and receiving a Social Insurance Number (SIN) - I've received helpful and friendly service. Government workers in Australia don't have the greatest reputation for customer service - but here they seem to be great.
# Posted in the Travel section and tagged as: Edmonton
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