Ah, what is Montréal like?

buenos dias muchachos

Ahoy!

salutations, young rumi

how are you?

Got some much needed sleep, now I have to also get some work on the dissertation done.

I hate it when even the smallest things suddenly blossom into hour long detours.

I wanted to download the data from a survey I started in the spring.

good grief woman, haven't you finished that thing yet?

:D

it feels like you've been writing it the entire time I've known you

Yes, I have

At the beginning I was very much in a "headless chicken" state

or maybe a "deer in the headlights" state

headless chicken in the headlights?

so not much got produced

That combination breaks down. You need a head for the headlights to have an effect on you.

ever the analyst

emphasis on the anal :P

@Catija congratulations!

If I stop being analytical, you should start worrying about me!

He looks a big boy, what did he come in an at?

@rumtscho I want to see Hippy Rumi

"Chill man, the dissertation will take care of itself..."

whatever, man.

@ElendilTheTall this is really starting to piss me off

@Jolenealaska you sound just like my wife

Imagine that

can you be more specific as to the source of your pissedoffedness?

You, of course.

I don't need a reason to be pissed off

oooooooooook

|_・)

It's totally okay, baby.

But now, I need to sleep.

I was looking for you two hours ago.

Story of my life.

Indeed

I will be back to my usual earlier schedule next week btw

What's going on?

Let me know tomorrow… I need to sleep.

nothing major

boss on vacation :)

g'night

Diverting myself on HNQ, I found the coolest cooking metaphor

> this would be like combining a strainer and a baking pan... ...and having Gordon Ramsey trying to kill you while you used them

hey as long as there's another pan underneath the strainer-pan, sounds good to me!

haha, I prefer not to picture such an abomination

a strainer-pan-pan

so, you and your family liked the salad? I'm glad to hear it

also, I somehow imagine shopping in Montreal to be like shopping in France

they have already transitioned to large supermarkets filled with home brand products and Unilever stuff too

but the sortiment is still a bit different. They sell macarons, for example. And the cookie section usually has small tarts filled with jam.

sortiment?

ugh, macarons

The quality of the cheese and meat and produce also seems to be better, if you don't go into Lidl or a similar "we order it a year in advance from a Dutch greenhouse" discounter

I've made about 80 macarons in the last week, if I never see another one it will be too soon

oh, sorry, forgot it's not an English word.

the set of all articles carried by a store.

seems to not have a more succinct translation.

inventory

selection

range

Anyway, France also seems to have a bit better opportunities for shopping outside of the supermarket, like more butchers.

But I might be biased

my impressions of France shopping are rose-tinted by being on vacation

oh, they do, absolutely

and also small villages might have different opportunities than large cities.

yeah

any decent sized village will have a separate baker, butcher, and grocer

and a market every week, of course

and not a shitty market with blue plastic crates full of knock-off clothing

@ElendilTheTall mmm, "inventory" could fit. If I say simply "the shop's range" to my ears it could just as well mean the physical area from which the shop's customers come as the products it offers.

a proper market with lovingly arranged produce and knowledgeable proprietors

French bakeries are great, but German ones are also good, in their own way (if your way is sourdough, that is). So, I'm somewhat spoiled.

last time I went to France, it was with several family members

I'm trying to remember if I've been to a weekly market in France

I was first up, having young ones, so off I drove into town to get fresh croissants

In I go to the patisserie

I visited one in Geneva once, and it was good. Expensive, but great stuff. And exotic too, they had horse meat.

"Douze croissants, sil vous plait!" say I

"DOUZE?!" says the woman behind the counter

as if I'd asked her for a dead beaver or something

lol

I panicked in the natural reaction any Englishman has when confronted by a foreign language

well, it's not a bad heuristic

but then I thought, no, 12 is douze

she shuffled off to the back, evidently the kitchen, and I hear a deeper voice... "DOUZE?!"

It's like they only baked enough for the regular customers

:D

"What do you mean, you are buying for your family? In France, everybody buys his own croissant!"

"This rosbif is gonna clear us out!"

"What are we supposed to do, bake more?!"

well, yes, that happens, depending on the size of the village and shop

well, it wasn't huge, but nor was it a tiny hamlet

in campings in France, you usually have to order your desired number and type of bread loaves the afternoon before

in any case, they were awesome croissants and well worth running the gauntlet of Gallic indignation for

the village bakery should be able to handle more variable demand, but I still suspect they are accustomed to stable patterns, if they are not in a touristy area

Normandy

pretty damn touristy

absolutely pitch black at night, no streetlights for miles around

There is an old joke, don't know if it is known in France - I've heard it in Bulgaria

it takes a while for us Brits to get used to the scale of even a modestly area-increased country like France

The little rabbit goes to the forest's bakery and asks "baker, do you have 99 cheese pastries?" "No" says the baker. Next day, the same happens. The baker is seriously starting to think how much money he'll get when he sells 99 pastries at once, so he stays up all night to make 99 cheese pastries. Next morning, the rabbit "do you have 99 cheese pastries?" Baker says "Yes". Rabbit asks "And what are you going to do with so many pastries?"

I don't know if the French baker knew the joke, but she acted like she thought she's being set up for it.

haha

I like the French, against my genetic tendencies

Apart from Paris, I have rarely met a rude French person

Nice to know. I haven't interacted with that many French people to form an opinion.

I want to revisit Austria

I need to start working on my mother to pay for a trip :D

There was this one ice cream seller in France who intentionally misinterpreted my inquiry about a different ice cream flavor as an order for a further scoop. I was a bit ambiguous about it, because it was one of the best ice creams I've ever had, but also outrageously expensive.

Well, "outrageously" is relative, of course. It was 2 Euro per (quite large) scoop, so in Hagen Dasz territory, not in "I am in a bar catering to millionaires" territory.

@ElendilTheTall do so, I hear it's lovely.

The EU is paying me for a trip to Vienna, and I hope I will have a few free moments to enjoy it.

ooo

I've never been to Vienna, I've been to the Tyrol (gorgeous) and the south around Villach (meh)

I've been to the Austrian Alps only, never to the cities.

I was in Ischgl, which is a hamlet in one of the largest ski areas in Europe, more than 10 years ago

and last year, I surprisingly found myself in Austria too

one of those nights eh?

one minute you're in a bar in Heidelberg, the next you're waking up upside down in a dumpster in Kaprun

I had booked a kayaking trip on the Inn, in Switzerland

then one evening the organizer said "we'll be driving the Tösens part tomorrow"

I get up on the bus in kayaking gear - and we pass the Austrian-Swiss border on the way.

I had no passport on me, and it was in the height of the "we are closing our borders because of refugees" wave.

luckily that one border was open, without checks.

Anyway, I can recommend both the Inn valley and the Sanna valley (where Ischgl is). Great for hiking in both summer and winter, and I hear also for mountain biking.

none of which I'd be doing :D

We spent a few holidays near Zell Am See

beautiful spot

so what do you do in Tirol if you don't go hiking, biking, skiing or kayaking?

the same thing we do everywhere else: watch the kids and make sure they don't harm themselves.

The parents I know (admittedly a skewed sample) also do the watching on hiking paths, boats and skis.

I'm sure, but are their children 4 and 2?

For some of them, yes.

well, they are better people than I then

walking, fine, for a short while, if you don't mind stopping every 35 seconds

boats and skis, jesus

or maybe more outdoor-happy

for the boats, it's not kayaks at that age, at least not out on the river

although I know a dad who took a 6 year old into whitewater on a double kayak

I'm entirely outdoor happy

I have slept in hammocks under tarps

kayaks in the swimming pool work well with ages 2 and 4, I observed it once a week last winter

climbed fells

lit fires with only a bowdrill and my wits

as for skis, I tried it for the first time at 4 (but never learned to like it)

at 2, hiking does involve quite a bit of carrying.

my son is especially clumsy, he regularly falls over from a standing start

skiing would finish him off

yes, I was a very clumsy child too. Maybe that's why I didn't like skiing. Or maybe because I had too little opportunity to learn.

here, only the upper crust ski

ie the ones that can afford to pop off to Val d'Isere or Klosters for the weekend

When I was in the 3-5 age range, my knees were always crusted. I scraped them again before the old wounds healed. If that's the description of your son, don't worry, people grow out of it.

I'm sure

Yes, the ski thing sounds problematic. I forget that childhood is different in a geographically unvaried land.

it's varied, it's just snowless most of the time

jet stream and all that

That's the climate map for the UK

it says that it has some tundra and subarctic, but the areas must be too small for me to see. Probably somewhere in Lerwick.

The main skiiing areas in the UK are Aviemore in the Cairngorms, and Glen Coe in the western Highlands

we also have a few indoor snowslopes

yes, but you are both snowless and rather flat

well, flat is relative I guess

we're more rolling

with the occasional proper mountain

It's better if you look at the whole UK, but I think England doesn't have high mountains.

orly

depends on your definition of high I suppose

Wikipedia says England's highest point is 978 m

yup

flickr.com/photos/cintramontane/28532379813/in/…

over on the right

They do look good for their height - nicer than the Blackforrest. But it's not even in the coniferous zone, much less alpine style mountains.

yes

You probably have nicer coast than I'm used to - I've never seen it, but people say it's beautiful. I'm not saying that England must be ugly. What I mean by "varied" is to have the choice between high and low, hot and freezing, mountain and sea, dry and wet, all packed in less than 500 km in the longest dimension.

the coasts are probably the areas I'm least familiar with

I dislike sand

:D

What's wrong with sand?

I'd be interested to see the English coasts. I've never been to a cold beach.

what's right with it?

Also, it doesn't have to be sand only. Cliffs are picturesque.

it gets everywhere, is uncomfortable to sit or lie on, conceals sharp and/or disgusting objects

There are few things I like to do less than spend a day at the beach

For sand: I find it very comfortable to lie on. Especially when properly heated by the sun. It warms your muscles into relaxation. Forms to accomodate your body. Smells of hot quartz, which, mixed with the smell of algae and the refreshing feel of moisture in the hot air, feels like you are in the right place at the right time.

hot quartz, rotting seaweed, fish

you may keep it

And screeching gulls.

British beaches are better suited for wrapped-up walks than lounging in any case

due to the aforementioned lack of warmth

Northumberland has some lovely ones

OK, one more reason to get your children accustomed to the mountains (Tirol or elsewhere) as soon as you feel comfortable taking them there.

big open, relatively empty sweeps

and they sometimes have castles on them: 500px.com/photo/147447899/…

to ward off marauding Europeans

I once went to a beach in scotland that was all pebbels ;p

@ElendilTheTall "I FART IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION!"

@JourneymanGeek yeah, there are lots of pebble beaches

here and all over Europe tbf

I've only seen pebble beaches on rivers, not on the sea

but I have seen very little sea beaches, so I'd love to see more

singaporean beaches typically are the sort where they dump a ton of fine, tourist friendly sand every few years

I saw the Atlantic for the first time on my 30th birthday

bless your cotton socks

we have lots of official coastal paths

visitpembrokeshire.com/explore-pembrokeshire/coast-path

south west wales, very pretty

pembrokeshire! Home of the corgi!

that's the place

pronunciation guide: pem-brook-sheer

"pem-brook-sheer? I arrrrrdly knew errrr"

This picture quite nicely sums up my internal image of the English landscape

or British, I guess

indeed

you might get one free pass as a foreigner, but after that, you might find yourself bundled into a van and dumped at the border

this is probably more quintessentially English:

rolling hills, fields, woods

@ElendilTheTall and lots of rain? ;p

yup

@rumtscho if @Stephie ever comes in for more than 56 seconds at a time I'm sure she can recommend an England itinerary suited to Continental sensibilities :)

@cindy boo

@ElendilTheTall what's up?

hi @Stephie

Elendil we were talking about the beauty of the English landscape, and my ignorance of it

oh.

also the beauty of the British landscape, of which I am equally ignorant.

@ElendilTheTall Very nice.

Now how to say "it is really beautiful" without it going to Tall's head...? ;-)

But there is something odd.

The ground, it is...coming up!?

That can't be right.

I call Photoshop.

Well, @Cerberus, I'm sure you have heard of "hills" sometime. (A side effect of "the earth is not a disk, I guess.)

H...hi...what?

That's unpronounceable.

A proper landscape.

You forgot the tulips and windmills?

Hah!

@ElendilTheTall Your landscape is just not realistic, sorry. Next thing you'll post this:

@Stephie I already know :P

Completely different question: is it just me or do the original avatars show some weird shifting lately? Just in the "who's here" bar and at the bottom of the page? I see myself in mustardy green-brown and with a different pattern and @ElendilTheTall is blue...

And in auto-complete.

all look the same to me

You are even "toggling".

^ And that's hideous...

@Stephie there's some wierdness with people seeing different auto-avatars/gravatar

@Stephie Yes.

It's been reported to SE ten days ago or so.

Elendil on chat: chat.stackexchange.com/users/17106

So I presume they're working on it.

Elendil on cooking: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4194/elendilthetall?tab=profile

I don't even know if they are working on it, because it seems to come from Gravatar's side

Those are the two he toggled between up there, and it seems reproducible.

Oh hmm.

but yes, it is a known problem, which happened recently.

Perhaps they're working Gravatar on it.

Spank it!

'Elendil on Cooking' sounds like a great idea for a blog

Good. Then it's not me seeing weird things ^_^

Sounds a bit pretentious, "Look, I am so like McGee, I called my blog in a way which channels his book title!"

the more people exposed to my deeply correct opinions the better

@Stephie oh, sure you are. Just not that. I mean look at @ElendilTheTall he's weird. AND TALL.

weird is relative

I like the blue Elendil better than the green Elendil

I spell weird wierd most of the time ._.

that's definately wierd.

@JourneymanGeek I meant other than the usual weird things. I've gotten used to the pink bunny following me everywhere.

something about the shape of the identicon. Larger granularity, and more flowery. Also, the color combination is a classic. Like Delft porcelain. (Proper porcelain, as Cerberus will tell us).

@Stephie telling you to burn things...

@Stephie You are a veteran of so many slug wars, be happy that the consequences are as benign as seeing a pink bunny.

I saw the biggest slug ever yesterday

it was enormous

a good 2.5cm across

and it wasn't smooth, it had an extremely rugose hide

Slugs aren't smooth, they are furrowed

yes, but usually they are so small as to be virtually smooth

this one was noticeably rugose

@ElendilTheTall yer and yer tuppenny words. ;p

Cool.

Are there slugs or snails whose radulae can actually hurt you?

maybe the German slugs are different. I am accustomed to seeing them rugose.

@Cerberus I think none, as long as you stay out of the ocean.

Ah!

yes, sea slugs and snails can be nasty

I know they can be nasty, but they have harpoons?

Do some have weapon radulae?

They use the refined venom of sea snails in lethal darts for big game, because they work quicker than bullets

I recall seeing a show where a guy was talking about it

The conus marmoreus used to be my favourite animal. We always went to the sea-biological museum when I was a child.

Smart.

He handed the presenter a rifle with it loaded in (for some reason) and said - "Don't shoot yourself in the foot with it, because you'll be dead before you realised you've pulled the trigger."

it works quicker than the nerve impulse somehow

Surely the poison needs to reach a vital organ first...

¯_(ツ)_/¯

this sea slug looks like a pokemon:

Ah yes, those are cool.

They eat Portuguese men-o-war, or whatever they're called.

yes

and absorb their venom to use themselves

Ah, yes, that was it, very good.

I remember reading about a species of sea snail in a David Attenborough book

this species inserts its radula into a fish

and then starts digesting its internal organs while they are still in the fish

then it sucks the chyme back in

nice

OK, I now found a dangerous website

arkinspace.com

I could spend hours there

though I'm not sure if that wasp that lays its eggs inside spiders, so the larvae can slowly feed on the internal organs, eating it alive from the inside out isn't worse

vimeo.com/29960640

That's an amazing video

both the content and the filmmaking

truly beautiful

also @ElendilTheTall it has a spider.

@rumtscho Huh, what happened? One moment I was chatting. The next I'm chain-watching scary animal videos.

I found a site threatening to swallow me up for days, if I let it

scary?

The bobbit worm is perfect. We must all worship it.

From your site.

The birthing spider was beautiful. And somewhat poignant. But it didn't scare me.

I didn't watch the bobbit worm.

I recommend the cheetahs

vimeo.com/53914149