Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so.
Galileo Galilei

So that’s why today I have been trying to understand what we do by setting up KPIs on Sharepoint. Galileo would be proud of us.

• Sweet green tomato pies with almond paste and lemon

• Green Tomato Chutney

• Worried Fried Green Tomatoes

The girl in the window - St. Petersburg Times

The family had lived in the rundown rental house for almost three years when someone first saw a child’s face in the window.

A little girl, pale, with dark eyes, lifted a dirty blanket above the broken glass and peered out, one neighbor remembered.

Everyone knew a woman lived in the house with her boyfriend and two adult sons. But they had never seen a child there, had never noticed anyone playing in the overgrown yard.

How anyone can do this to a child leaves me amazed. Everyone should read this.

Audio and pictures here

Well not for me so much, more the disk space I have let on my Ipod.

With K buying an Ipod this weekend I’ve been uploading CDs into iTunes. The problem with going from being the only person who used iTunes to sharing it is you get the other person’s taste of music unless you manually sync which I just forgot to do.

Farewell L’Amour est un oiseau rebelle hello I Should Be So Lucky …

Sat next to the Itchen it should have been a day enjoyed with a slow leisurely lunch but it was rather more a race to see what came first, the food or the rain.

I’ve been treated too well on Sunday’s recently and I was missing the extravagance of a roast dinner so eating out seemed to be a good way to enjoy one without the hassle of cooking it myself.

Sadly, they’d run out of roasts by the time we ordered (which seemed to take an age in the queue) but the sea bass with a mustard mash and the best smoked salmon I have tasted outside that I bought in the Hötorgshallen.

would I go back to The Bush, well probably but I’d get there earlier and on a sunny day…

I’ve never liked tripods.

Carrying one around London today after buying it at West End Cameras reminded me just how much I dislike them but it was worth it to see Daisy’s face when she unwrapped it. She now has all she needs to make a start on her photography course : I really need to up my game to keep up from here on in.

Luckily the rain held off for her birthday party (and probably more importantly the wind given the size of the marquee Paul had created in their garden), the food was amazing and the drink flowed freely. There was even live music from Jose Vanders who seems to be a name to watch in the future.

The one thing that kept nagging at my brain was just who was the bloke in the dark jacket. Eventually I gave in and asked Anne, “Is his name Carl ?”, and it was.

I’ve not seen him since I was nine. His Grandparents house backed onto the circular car park we called the frying pan and we met back when the summers were long and the town and it’s trees were ours to explore.

“We only went home when we were hungry”, he said as the years melted away and one kid’s name followed another. Just what did happen to the Castle kids ?

Just for a moment that night the summer was back and I was in short trousers again.

The end of boys night is nigh…

Four in the morning
Crapped out, yawning

Still Crazy After All These Years Paul Simon

Another morning, another hour or so awake and wondering about work.

Curse you Paul Simon…

I got the impression when I swapped the lock on the door last night that we had only just begun but by the time the carpenter left today it was beginning to feel like yesterday once more.

Far from feeling on top of the world with what he had done I was left feeling that we’d been given a ticket to ride. The lock doesn’t fit that well, all these rainy days and Mondays seem to have left the door warped.

It’s going to take some time but a new door is the only way to fix the problem.

Please Mr Postman, be careful.

“Yes, I am”, I replied, trying to replace the frown on my face with something a little more cheerful.

“I used to work here as the estate manager, but I got out to do something I really wanted to do”, he continued.

“I’ve always been an outdoor bloke so I teach canoeing now. I can teach all sorts of people. Even old people. Even you”.

For a moment the idea of spending the day on the river, in the fresh air with the only concern being trying to stay dry seemed very, very tempting.

“Anyhow, I must be off”, he said as he headed down the path.

“I’m sure this suit would fit you, want to swap ?”, I asked hopefully watching him walk away.

Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints ‘faked’ - Telegraph

As the ceremony got under way with a dramatic, drummed countdown, viewers watching at home and on giant screens inside the Bird’s Nest National Stadium watched as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks processed gloriously above the city from Tiananmen Square.

What they did not realise was that what they were watching was in fact computer graphics, meticulously created over a period of months and inserted into the coverage electronically at exactly the right moment.

The fireworks were there for real, outside the stadium. But those responsible for filming the extravaganza decided in advance it would be impossible to capture all 29 footprints from the air.

As a result, only the last, visible from the camera stands inside the Bird’s Nest was captured on film.

The trick was revealed in a local Chinese newspaper, the Beijing Times, at the weekend.

Want the real news from Beijing ? Visit :

• Beijing Wide Open
• Free Tibet TV

But now the whole ROUND TABLE is dissolved
Which was an image of the mighty world;
And I, the last, go forth companionless,
And the days darken round me, and the years,
Among new men, strange faces, other minds.”

Morte D’Arthur Lord Alfred Tennyson

Next time we need to get here when the Farmer’s Market is still open, buy more food and enjoy the hog roast…

I really need to start doing something serious with photography …

Normally weekends are at their house for Sunday lunch but today we had them at ours for lunch.

The plan had been to eat outside but, what with the rain, we had to stay inside for cold meats; tomato and Brie salad; Tuscan Panzanella; pea, mangetout and mint salad and crab flan.

For pudding (and because I know someone will appreciate the recipe and not see Jack Daniels as ever optional) :

Baked Cheesecake

Ingredients
25cm/10in sponge (cut from a large bought flan case)
200g/7oz caster sugar
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 tbsp cornflour
3 tbsp sultanas, soaked in a bit of bourbon
845g/29¾oz full fat soft cream cheese
3 medium eggs
7.5ml/1½ tsp vanilla essence
1 vanilla pod
Jack Daniels to taste or bourbon (optional)
375ml/12½fl oz double or single cream

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Butter a 25cm/10in loose-bottomed cake tin.
2. Cut the sponge horizontally into 2 discs. Use one to line a buttered cake tin.
3. In a bowl mix together the sugar, lemon zest, cornflour and sultanas using a wooden spoon, then beat in the cream cheese. Add the eggs one by one, also add the vanilla essence, beating constantly until all the eggs are well incorporated.
4. Slice open the vanilla pod, remove the seeds with a sharp knife and place the seeds into the cream mixture, add a splash of bourbon (about 4 tbsp), if using, and mix everything together well. Add the cream and beat well until the mixture is smooth. Pour gently over the sponge base in the cake tin.
5. Sit the tin in a baking tray filled with 2-3mm of warm water to help create steam during cooking. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and set completely before removing from the tin.

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