rachel.blog

insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman

  • Lilly: long may she rampage and ravage around the universe!

    I’ve just discovered (thanks again to my lovely aunt), the Marmalade files which is a collection of early diplomatic correspondence held at the National Archives of Australia. One tale in particular is very funny so I’m going to transcribe it in its entirety here. This is a true story about an Australian woman called Lilly…

  • A funny letter to DFAT

    My aunt sent me this funny letter which was apparently sent to the Australian DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) office about a passport application. I have since discovered that there are British and American versions of this letter as well. I can’t comment on the process in Britain or America but I can…

  • Giant parasitic viruses

    I love science fiction as a genre. A little while ago I read a very old science fiction novel – written in 1938 – by John W. Campbell called Who Goes There? It has been made into a film a few times called The Thing. The story goes like this: A group of scientists are…

  • Abrupt climate change

    I’ve just watched a good video on the andthentheresphysics blog about climate change that begs to be shared. It’s called Expecting the Unexpected and features scientists discussing the possibility of abrupt climate change which is something we should fear. Here it is: Climate science contrarians like to say that climate change is nothing to worry…

  • Phones calls, traffic, the bridge and beards

    Daniel, who is 7 years old, got his first phone call the other day. I answered the phone and heard a young boy politely introduce himself and then ask to speak to Daniel. Completely stunned, I handed the phone to Daniel who was just as surprised as I was and then I heard them discuss…

  • Vegetable and cashew nut pasta

    Here’s a quick and easy recipe that’s also quite adaptable. You can use whatever vegetables you’ve got in the fridge. The ground up nuts give it a lovely creamy texture. I use cashews because I love them but other nuts are fine too. I’ve made it with almonds before and that worked well. I can’t…

  • How many chances for a good passport photo?

    I’m in the process of applying for passports. My Australian passport is soon to expire and I am now eligible for a New Zealand passport so I’m applying for that too. But I hit a bit of a hurdle with the passport photos. The first one I got was dreadful. It was not even clear…

  • Hypocrites, climate change, tragedies and solutions

    I’ve just had an amazing morning on twitter. I woke up to a tweet from someone basically saying that because I don’t pay the annual TV licence fee in the UK then I probably don’t have the right to complain about their service. So I jovially replied that I’ll be back in the UK come…

  • An open letter to the BBC

    I have finally got around to writing my letter to the BBC to complain about their coverage of climate change. Here it is below for all to read. If anyone would like to copy it in part or full for the purposes of emailing the BBC as well, then please be my guest. The email…

  • Sicilian sweet potato and chickpea stew

    This is a recipe from Jamie Oliver’s book, Save, which I had in the UK but had to leave there. It was absolutely delicious and a recipe that everyone must have. Unfortunately I couldn’t remember it exactly so I started searching for it online and finally found it on the DizzyLizzyFood blog. Jamie Oliver’s version…

  • I have an announcement to make

    I have great news which I’m finally allowed to blog about. Some of you may have observed that in the last week or so my mood has improved. But then, maybe this isn’t so noticeable. I’m not sure. Anyway, here’s my news: I am delighted to report that we have a ticket out of the…

  • Tofu sausages

    Sausages are great comfort food and their importance at the neighbourhood BBQ makes them a social food too. So it’s only fair that veg*ns should get to enjoy them as well. And who doesn’t love and appreciate a good sausage or maybe two? Tofu sausages ————————– 1.5 cups wholemeal breadcrumbs 250g tofu 1 small onion…

  • Curry puffs

    Curry puffs

    Here’s another vegan recipe. This one is particularly versatile and loved by all. Even my children love it so it’s a good way to get them to eat lentils. It’s also good party food when you cut the puff pastry into bite-sized triangles. The only negative is that it can be time-consuming, especially if you’re…

  • Dahl – healthy, cheap and vegan

    A friend of mine seems to think that veg*n food is more expensive than meat (you know who you are). I thought I’d challenge this with a series of posts on cheap and healthy vegan recipes. Here’s the first. I’m not exactly sure how much this costs but red lentils are not expensive. A 500gm…

  • Weekday vegetarianism

    I saw this TED talk today about being a weekday vegetarian and thought it was quite good. I know that many people are put off by vegan/vegetarianism because it seems like an impossible task. But it needn’t be done militantly and as Graham Hill makes clear in this video, eating less meat is still beneficial…

  • The denial of science

    Daniel’s recent battle with a Thai monkey got me thinking about vaccinations. He has had all of his rabies vaccinations now but it was quite a detailed process with lots of shots required and at very particular intervals and all of the same type i.e.there are a few options for rabies vaccinations I am told…

  • The extraordinary words of Dr Roy Spencer

    I can’t resist writing about this because it’s jaw-dropping stuff for me. Dr Roy Spencer, a research scientist at the University of Alabama and a climate science contrarian, has written on his blog that, “When politicians and scientists started calling people like me “deniers”, they crossed the line. They are still doing it…..I’m now going…

  • Possible return to El Niño?

    There’s a recent paper which is predicting a 75% chance of El Niño conditions returning late 2014. Should we be worried? I think so. The last major El Niño event was in 1998 and it was the largest ever recorded and caused global temperatures to spike. Since then global surface temperatures have been creeping up only…

  • More on sock puppets

    I have mentioned sock puppets on my blog before and am bringing them up again now because we found one recently on the AndThenTheresPhysics blog. For those who do not know what a sock puppet is, I’ll recap. It’s a fake online identity created for the purpose of making comments or reviews online to give…

  • MikeM – part 2

    As a sort of follow-on to my last post about the death of my father-in-law, I want to post this obituary which was written by him for his own father in 1990. Apparently the newspaper was reluctant to print it at first, but eventually they did. It’s quite funny and says a bit about MikeM’s…