donderdag 16 april 2009
woensdag 15 april 2009
Postcrossing random card
Today I am sending card to Nummi from Finland. She likes to read about foreign cultures and prefers to receive the cards written in native language with translation. Well, there is not so much space for text on both language, so I decided to write her a card in Dutch and give a translation here.
So, the original text:
"Hoi Nummi,
Hierbij een kaart uit Amsterdam. De stad met vele grachten en bruggetjes. Ze zijn zo mooi 's nachts als ze verlicht zijn. Jammer, dat het water in de grachten niet meer bevriest in de winter en je niet meer kan schatsen op de grachten. Max"
And here is the translation for Nummi:
"Hi Nummi,
Here a card from Amsterdam. The city with many canals and small bridges. They are so beautiful at night when illuminated. Pity that water in canals doesn't freeze up anymore in winter and you can't skate on canals anymore. Max"
Well, I can also try to do it in Finnish (well, google translated):
"Hi Nummi,
Tässä on kartta, Amsterdam. Kaupungissa on monia kanavia ja siltoja. He ovat niin kauniita yöllä, kun valaistus. Harmi, että vesi kanavat enää jäätyy että talvella ja et voi schatsen annetun kanavat. Max" Hmmm - I don't understand a word, but looks amazing!
So, the original text:
"Hoi Nummi,
Hierbij een kaart uit Amsterdam. De stad met vele grachten en bruggetjes. Ze zijn zo mooi 's nachts als ze verlicht zijn. Jammer, dat het water in de grachten niet meer bevriest in de winter en je niet meer kan schatsen op de grachten. Max"
And here is the translation for Nummi:
"Hi Nummi,
Here a card from Amsterdam. The city with many canals and small bridges. They are so beautiful at night when illuminated. Pity that water in canals doesn't freeze up anymore in winter and you can't skate on canals anymore. Max"
Well, I can also try to do it in Finnish (well, google translated):
"Hi Nummi,
Tässä on kartta, Amsterdam. Kaupungissa on monia kanavia ja siltoja. He ovat niin kauniita yöllä, kun valaistus. Harmi, että vesi kanavat enää jäätyy että talvella ja et voi schatsen annetun kanavat. Max" Hmmm - I don't understand a word, but looks amazing!
A little bit about our dreams...
Our dreams are interesting creatures. When we follow some of them we can come into the woods of illusions and roam there thinking we are someone else. Sometimes they bring us into the morass of despair. But when we understand what our real dream is and dare to follow it, than we finally come to a forgotten, but very familiar place that fills our eyes with tears and pinches our hearts. It doesn’t matter how long does it take to get there – the final destination is the only thing that matters.
It’s difficult to describe, but easy to experience and feel… like in the video below.
A simple woman from an English province came to “Britains got talent”… she is 47 now and she has a dream that she had no chance to realize before… And everyone is laughing and doesn’t have any expectation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
Well, I wish you all to find your dreams and follow them. And let them come true…
It’s difficult to describe, but easy to experience and feel… like in the video below.
A simple woman from an English province came to “Britains got talent”… she is 47 now and she has a dream that she had no chance to realize before… And everyone is laughing and doesn’t have any expectation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
Well, I wish you all to find your dreams and follow them. And let them come true…
vrijdag 10 april 2009
Postcrossing
Browsing the virtual diaries of other people you can find many interesting and funny things. Like for example a Postcrossing thing. What is Postcrossing? You register and enter your address. And someone will send you a postcard. A total stranger from far far away (or it might be your neighbor if he is also registered). But you can also ask for a randomly picked up address to send your own postcard to a total stranger. So just today I sent a postcard with a lighthouse on it to Cathy from South Carolina...
The sent and received postcard should be registered on the website and can also be shown on the map. It feels a bit odd to send or to receive the card to or from a total stranger. But also exciting. Random connections without any obligations. Some you forget soon and some will interest you for a longer time. I don't like to write obligatory postcards for special occasions like holidays or birthdays. But an idea of sending a postcard to a random stranger at the moment I choose really attracts me. So, let's see what it becomes...
The sent and received postcard should be registered on the website and can also be shown on the map. It feels a bit odd to send or to receive the card to or from a total stranger. But also exciting. Random connections without any obligations. Some you forget soon and some will interest you for a longer time. I don't like to write obligatory postcards for special occasions like holidays or birthdays. But an idea of sending a postcard to a random stranger at the moment I choose really attracts me. So, let's see what it becomes...
vrijdag 27 maart 2009
Synchronicity: a fair wind to find the destiny
Synchronicity is a term suggested and developed by Carl Gustav Jung. It describes an experience when two or more events (seemed to be totally unrelated) take place simultaneously. It might look like a coincidence, but in case of synchronicity there is a hidden meaningfulness. For the person who observes synchronicity it feels like there are supernatural powers are involved.
You can talk about synchronicity when you get a message or a telephone call from someone at the same moment you were thinking about this person. Or you met an interesting opportunity at the moment you begin to consider it. Like you decide to change your job and do something connected to your fragrant hobby and meet an old colleague who tells you about a vacancy for a sales assistant in her perfumery store. There is even more synchronicity when you realise that this perfumery shop is in your favourite part of the city or much closer to your home than you current job (and you’ve already started to hate long bus trips).
Synchronicity belongs to irrational domain and is not easy to understand, explore or analyse. You can experience it, make guesses or try to understand the meaning and finally accept or reject it. But it slips away anytime you try to explore it within rational framework.
Synchronicity exists beyond linear time or causality when one event causes another and they happen always in a certain order. If you don’t study for a chemistry test you fail. A cause (not studying) induces a certain effect (fail at the test). Within the timeline a cause is always in the past and the effect is always in the future. It’s different within the synchronicity – there is no timeline there. You might fail for a chemistry test because you are not meant to become a chemist, no matter if you were studying for it hard or not. In this case a cause lies in the future and the effect in the past. In fact, within the synchronicity both cause and effect are always beyond the time and always here and now – you fail for the chemistry test (always as well as here and now), because you never (moment beyond the time) meant to be a chemist. It’s not quite simple, but it’s the way synchronicity works.
And what if you are meant to be a chemist? Then something magical can happen. You will feel a fair wind each time you are making efforts to become one. As if all puzzle pieces falls together because they are belongs to each other. And at the same time you might get serious troubles if you try to take another direction. As if someone doesn’t want you too.
You might ask who is the One who dare to predetermine MY destination? The One is nobody, but us. Deep in our heart (again an irrational domain of emotions and intuition) we always now what we want, what do we like and what way we are the most happy to follow. But we don’t always follow our heart, because of prejudices, different points of views, family traditions, rules, education etc. Synchronicity can easily reach our unconsciousness and try to show us our destiny. The choice is always on us.
You can talk about synchronicity when you get a message or a telephone call from someone at the same moment you were thinking about this person. Or you met an interesting opportunity at the moment you begin to consider it. Like you decide to change your job and do something connected to your fragrant hobby and meet an old colleague who tells you about a vacancy for a sales assistant in her perfumery store. There is even more synchronicity when you realise that this perfumery shop is in your favourite part of the city or much closer to your home than you current job (and you’ve already started to hate long bus trips).
Synchronicity belongs to irrational domain and is not easy to understand, explore or analyse. You can experience it, make guesses or try to understand the meaning and finally accept or reject it. But it slips away anytime you try to explore it within rational framework.
Synchronicity exists beyond linear time or causality when one event causes another and they happen always in a certain order. If you don’t study for a chemistry test you fail. A cause (not studying) induces a certain effect (fail at the test). Within the timeline a cause is always in the past and the effect is always in the future. It’s different within the synchronicity – there is no timeline there. You might fail for a chemistry test because you are not meant to become a chemist, no matter if you were studying for it hard or not. In this case a cause lies in the future and the effect in the past. In fact, within the synchronicity both cause and effect are always beyond the time and always here and now – you fail for the chemistry test (always as well as here and now), because you never (moment beyond the time) meant to be a chemist. It’s not quite simple, but it’s the way synchronicity works.
And what if you are meant to be a chemist? Then something magical can happen. You will feel a fair wind each time you are making efforts to become one. As if all puzzle pieces falls together because they are belongs to each other. And at the same time you might get serious troubles if you try to take another direction. As if someone doesn’t want you too.
You might ask who is the One who dare to predetermine MY destination? The One is nobody, but us. Deep in our heart (again an irrational domain of emotions and intuition) we always now what we want, what do we like and what way we are the most happy to follow. But we don’t always follow our heart, because of prejudices, different points of views, family traditions, rules, education etc. Synchronicity can easily reach our unconsciousness and try to show us our destiny. The choice is always on us.
maandag 23 maart 2009
Jasmine liqueur
When I had my last obsession with jasmine it was not enough just to smell it in fragrances. So, I bought a jasmine tea and was also wondering if such thing as jasmine liqueur existed. Thanks to google I I could find a recipe of jasmine liqueur made from scented tea. The recipe is very simple:
1 pint, dark rum
1/2 cup, jasmine tea
1 cup, sugar syrup
Mix rum and jasmine tea and infuse for 24 hours. Than filter and add sugar syrup from 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. That’s all. I decided to use honey instead of sugar and enhance the liqueur with one drop of jasmine absolute.
Well, the problem is that tea gives this liqueur too strong flavour and you can’t drink it alone. But it was a perfect essence to “jasminize” other drinks. I tried one or two tablespoons of this liqueur in a glass of different juices, soft drinks and cocktails (like rum-cola). It always gave a surprising exotic nuance. A perfect enhancer of tropical fruit juices to surprise your guests at Hawaii party.
Another solution to soften the strong tea flavour is to use less tea or to shorten the time of infusion. I am also wondering if it’s possible to make this liqueur without tea at all – just rum, honey and a couple drops of jasmine absolute… and may be orange blossom water and some lemons or oranges. I am very curious if I end up with a liqueur or an eau de cologne.
1 pint, dark rum
1/2 cup, jasmine tea
1 cup, sugar syrup
Mix rum and jasmine tea and infuse for 24 hours. Than filter and add sugar syrup from 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. That’s all. I decided to use honey instead of sugar and enhance the liqueur with one drop of jasmine absolute.
Well, the problem is that tea gives this liqueur too strong flavour and you can’t drink it alone. But it was a perfect essence to “jasminize” other drinks. I tried one or two tablespoons of this liqueur in a glass of different juices, soft drinks and cocktails (like rum-cola). It always gave a surprising exotic nuance. A perfect enhancer of tropical fruit juices to surprise your guests at Hawaii party.
Another solution to soften the strong tea flavour is to use less tea or to shorten the time of infusion. I am also wondering if it’s possible to make this liqueur without tea at all – just rum, honey and a couple drops of jasmine absolute… and may be orange blossom water and some lemons or oranges. I am very curious if I end up with a liqueur or an eau de cologne.
maandag 16 maart 2009
Espresso myth
People seem to be more concerned about their health trying to be critical to what they are eating and drinking. The food industry on the other side follows the customer and trying to make our food healthier or sometimes just creating myths to give us some misleading ideas about the healthy food.
Myth: Espresso contains less caffeine than another sorts of coffee, because water steam passes coffee powder so quickly that caffeine doesn’t have enough time to dissolve. Another explanation given is that beans used to make espresso contain less caffeine because it “evaporates” (sublimates would be a correct word when you refer to “evaporating” of solid materials) by a longer roasting process that is needed to make darker espresso bones.
Well, bare facts are the best to see if this statement is correct or not. According to the International Food Information Council a cup of coffee (brewed) contains about 65 – 120 mg caffeine and a cup of espresso – just 30 – 50 mg. It looks like espresso indeed contains less caffeine. But don’t forget that espresso cup is much smaller than a regular cup of coffee (and mostly it’s a beaker). So, one coffee cup contains about 65 – 120 mg caffeine in about 200 ml of coffee and a cup of espresso contains 30 – 50 mg in about 30 ml of coffee. Now we can see that the concentration of caffeine in espresso is higher (1 – 1,7 mg/ml) than in a regular coffee (0,3 – 0,6 mg/ml). That means, that neither the way of roasting nor the way of making decreases the caffeine amount in espresso – it contains even more caffeine than a regular coffee, because you use more or the same amount of coffee powder for the less amount of water.
But the fact is still a fact – if you want to cut your daily caffeine you can better drink a small cup of espresso than a big beaker of coffee. But if you really concern, you should drink a regular coffee measured by an espresso cup.
And now it’s time for some logic to support the facts and to give more explanation about a myth.
First of all, caffeine dissolves very well in water. There are two facts that increase its solubility – temperature and pressure. At 100 °C you can dissolve almost 4 times more caffeine in the same amount of water than at 80 °C. Pressure also contributes to the better solubility. Espresso making occurs at higher temperature (even if there is a couple of degrees difference) and higher pressure that create better conditions for caffeine do dissolve, although the time of contact between water and coffee powder is shorter. Thus, it seems unlikely that the way of making espresso leads to a less amount of caffeine.
It’s not easy to find out if roasting indeed helps to reduce caffeine in coffee beans. Caffeine is indeed an easily sublimating substance and it seems to be logic that higher roasting temperature or longer process can decrease the amount of caffeine. But the facts shown above do not support this idea. One of the clues might be, that espresso is not always made of just longer roasted bones. In many cases it’s a mixture of different (mostly two types) of coffee sorts with different amount of caffeine. In general, espresso coffee powder contains more caffeine than a mixture for a regular coffee.
Myth: Espresso contains less caffeine than another sorts of coffee, because water steam passes coffee powder so quickly that caffeine doesn’t have enough time to dissolve. Another explanation given is that beans used to make espresso contain less caffeine because it “evaporates” (sublimates would be a correct word when you refer to “evaporating” of solid materials) by a longer roasting process that is needed to make darker espresso bones.
Well, bare facts are the best to see if this statement is correct or not. According to the International Food Information Council a cup of coffee (brewed) contains about 65 – 120 mg caffeine and a cup of espresso – just 30 – 50 mg. It looks like espresso indeed contains less caffeine. But don’t forget that espresso cup is much smaller than a regular cup of coffee (and mostly it’s a beaker). So, one coffee cup contains about 65 – 120 mg caffeine in about 200 ml of coffee and a cup of espresso contains 30 – 50 mg in about 30 ml of coffee. Now we can see that the concentration of caffeine in espresso is higher (1 – 1,7 mg/ml) than in a regular coffee (0,3 – 0,6 mg/ml). That means, that neither the way of roasting nor the way of making decreases the caffeine amount in espresso – it contains even more caffeine than a regular coffee, because you use more or the same amount of coffee powder for the less amount of water.
But the fact is still a fact – if you want to cut your daily caffeine you can better drink a small cup of espresso than a big beaker of coffee. But if you really concern, you should drink a regular coffee measured by an espresso cup.
And now it’s time for some logic to support the facts and to give more explanation about a myth.
First of all, caffeine dissolves very well in water. There are two facts that increase its solubility – temperature and pressure. At 100 °C you can dissolve almost 4 times more caffeine in the same amount of water than at 80 °C. Pressure also contributes to the better solubility. Espresso making occurs at higher temperature (even if there is a couple of degrees difference) and higher pressure that create better conditions for caffeine do dissolve, although the time of contact between water and coffee powder is shorter. Thus, it seems unlikely that the way of making espresso leads to a less amount of caffeine.
It’s not easy to find out if roasting indeed helps to reduce caffeine in coffee beans. Caffeine is indeed an easily sublimating substance and it seems to be logic that higher roasting temperature or longer process can decrease the amount of caffeine. But the facts shown above do not support this idea. One of the clues might be, that espresso is not always made of just longer roasted bones. In many cases it’s a mixture of different (mostly two types) of coffee sorts with different amount of caffeine. In general, espresso coffee powder contains more caffeine than a mixture for a regular coffee.
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