tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113604162024-10-05T04:59:40.910+03:00          Travels, photos, middle-east politics, high tech industry, cooking, extreme sports, mmorpgs and morefefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.comBlogger419125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-26091678193647069592013-01-20T22:15:00.001+02:002013-01-20T22:17:54.372+02:00

One new recipe just to try to not forget, I made it up with what was available and turned out delicious: 2 pounds of pork butt (shoulder) sliced in 1' cubes  1 large onion cut in 1/4' chunks  1 red bell pepper cut in 1/4' chunks  5 Serrano chillies (might want to go to 3 for the sensitive palates)  2 pieces of ginger 1' each  6 cloves of garlic  half a stick of

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-41329649233335401072011-04-29T04:10:00.005+03:002011-04-29T04:12:26.236+03:00

As it has happened in the past that I got 2x the same French comics as presents, I started to maintain an Amazon wishlist here.You don't have to pick them from here if you wish to offer me something, but you are taking risks :p. Suggestions of additions are most welcome.

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-45852925149722642052011-04-05T08:15:00.004+03:002011-04-05T08:21:28.954+03:00

Yes the cherry trees are flowering again !This is like 2 blocks south from our building :).

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-28020142230826248582011-04-05T06:10:00.003+03:002011-04-05T06:22:18.142+03:00

Reposting here so I don't lose this home made recipe :).Ingredients-6 garlic cloves-1/4 preserved meyer lemon-4 tbsp olive oil-1 tbsp sweet paprika-1 tbsp cayenne (you can go lighter if you don't like too hot)-1 goat leg roast (or lamb)-a few slices of bacon-1 lemon juice-parsnips-turnips-potatoesCrush the garlic,preserved lemon, paprika, cayenne, and blend in olive oil with a bit of thyme. Coat

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-46889063278542478002011-01-20T02:41:00.009+02:002011-01-20T03:13:15.642+02:00

I know I still haven't finished telling about my sabbatical (missing the end of the France trip and Chile) but I'll go on a small digression. For our wedding and our birthdays we received a lot of food related presents (well we asked for them :) and I have been utilizing many new utensils, pots and in general cookware. I have found some of them to not really provide much, but on the other side I

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-15745710440948863792010-12-24T21:20:00.004+02:002010-12-24T21:55:07.762+02:00

After enjoying the great sights of Cassis, and dropping Greg at the airport our next destination was Vence next to Nice where Laurent and Ludivine would host us.On our way we stopped in Frejus, Saint Raphael and followed all the Esterel coast to Cannes, enjoy a drink on La Croisette and then finally Vence.Going down to a red rocks beach in a protected cove.Enjoying the sight of l'Ile d'Or.After a

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-49961646457682707822010-12-23T02:03:00.002+02:002010-12-23T02:17:02.978+02:00

Yesterday we went to buy some more ski socks in order to improve our smell during our upcoming ski trip to Whistler. Coming out of REI, M suggested to go watch Black Swan in a nearby theater. We decided it was easier to eat out as it would allow us to go to an earlier show. As we were standing right in front of a wings place, I suggested to just go there and have some comfort food. As we entered

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-83474496912400792252010-12-22T23:32:00.007+02:002010-12-23T02:23:40.432+02:00

Our next destination was Volonne, in the Alps next to Sisteron where we would spend one week to enjoy the company, the landscapes, hikes and cute little towns. Greg continued his quest of verifying that he could not find any bad croissants in France and got completely spoiled :). The weather was definitely friendly and we got a lot of blue skies.Above the town of Volonne, the river Durance in the

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-71456952669757159892010-12-22T21:04:00.015+02:002010-12-22T21:58:24.462+02:00

We spent 2 days in Paris going around town with great company, climbing to the top of the Eiffel tower for the first time in over 25 years for me, eating delicious pastries for breakfast and enjoying a nice september weather day.As a day of national strike and demonstrations against the new retirement law was coming, we departed for Normandy. On the way we stopped in Giverny where I had always

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-89537256032006123812010-12-22T20:14:00.002+02:002010-12-22T20:25:34.030+02:00

After a last afternoon in Helsinki we flew to Tel Aviv where we found the usual summer blazing heat. Driving back from the Airport to the Carmel in Haifa proved to be an interesting experience. We arrived in Haifa by sunset and driving up Freud street felt like we had never left and we were just coming back from work after a long absence. It was a weird feeling and we both had it at the same time

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-29014789225403717142010-12-22T00:10:00.009+02:002010-12-22T01:36:09.032+02:00

After our great experience in Finland we were ready for more camping in Estonia. Yeah I started with the verb hope so you are probably already getting the picture that it wasn't that great of a place for camping. I won't go in great lengths about it but the quick summary is that it was the difference you'd expect between an ex soviet union industrial place and scandinavian wilderness. The weather

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-83047104141310861152010-12-21T20:45:00.009+02:002010-12-22T20:34:11.329+02:00

On our way to northern Karelia we stopped in Joensuu in the hope to find a laundry service. We obviously arrived late on a sunday and everything was closing. We were still able to buy some food which would be quite useful the next time we camped. We then headed to the Ruuna national park. After getting maps and some info about the park at the ranger's office we set camp on a little island in the

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-5655133302544028552010-11-14T07:33:00.006+02:002010-11-14T08:13:51.546+02:00

Yeah I know my sabbatical posts are slow to come and kind of out of order, but I am so late that the order does not matter anymore anyway ;). During our trip in France we stopped in Paris for a couple of days then headed to the D-day beaches in Normandy, stopping on our way in Giverny at Monet's garden. We then spent a whole day visiting the Mont Saint Michel. And I happened to have developped

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-37463128272206043162010-10-30T07:35:00.003+02:002010-10-30T07:44:51.736+02:00

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch, got lost in the Maize (corn maze) and brought back a 15 kilos and a 5 kilos pumpkins. It took us about 1 hour to get out, and we tried quite hard. The maze was really large :). You can see here the girls happy to finally exit.Pumpkins everywhereTonight, while waiting for my carbonade flamande to cook I carved the small one, say hi to happy Jack !More

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-10799258607036285772010-10-26T18:21:00.007+02:002010-10-26T19:16:16.764+02:00

Looking back at the whole sabbatical, the time we spent in Finland definitely left us some of the greatest memories. It was the beginning of the vacation and the time we spent in the wilderness was definitely a welcomed break from the daily routine.As said in the previous post we started in Helsinki, the city ambiance was quite laid back and nice, but we were not overly impressed by what it had

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-14143154190970974402010-08-23T17:07:00.004+03:002010-08-23T17:29:34.840+03:00

I've been in the company for long enough to be elligible for a sabbatical vacation, that's an additional 8 weeks on top of the usual vacations. M successfully took unpaid vacation to come with me and we've been going around for over two weeks. You won't see any pictures for now and for a while but I'm going to try to keep our itinerary up to date here.We flew to Helsinki, through Chicago and

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-37055868476784019262010-08-02T21:52:00.005+03:002010-08-02T22:00:41.074+03:00

This weekend was the day for them, it started with a nice ceremony in Peninsula park right next to their home, driven by MC Allen and continued at the Bridgeport brewery downtown. We had a great time.Walking down the aisleKissingMarried !!!The rest of the ceremony pictures are here.

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-13128790202760774402010-07-08T08:03:00.006+03:002010-07-08T23:14:39.264+03:00

Just a quick note to say that I changed the way images are displayed once you click on them. I suggest you try to click on the next picture (once the page has been fully loaded). It should allow you to preview bigger images without having to navigate back and forth and is prettier than what I was doing before.I took this series of pictures over the weekend to see how small were the things that I

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-66161321028581513692010-07-06T02:41:00.003+03:002010-07-08T07:54:21.567+03:00

Yesterday for the 4th of July, Anna and Danny invited us at their house for a chicken roast party to celebrate the Independence day. As we arrived, I noticed Danny in a corner in front of THAT:Yes he overdid himself and there was clearly some advanced engineering and thinking that had been going on. He had been patiently rotating the chicken by 90 degrees clockwise every 3 minutes precisely for

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-16864026422167451232010-06-28T00:49:00.006+03:002010-07-08T07:55:41.046+03:00

Yesterday, after picking 6kg of raspberries in Sauvie Island, we headed to Overlook park in Portland for the North American Organic Beer Festival. It was conveniently located on the yellow MAX line which passes close to our place so we could just ride the tram there, we actually met our friends in the MAX as they had found parking only quite far away. Like most beer festivals here, the first

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-51967652414276858722010-06-22T10:04:00.009+03:002010-07-08T07:56:02.310+03:00

As a wedding present, M got a pastry course at the Oregon culinary institute. She spent Sunday morning baking and baking more. As I had bought nice hood strawberries and raspberries we decided it was time to put her newly acquired skills to good use as well as our newly acquired tart pans.And yes I had quite some fun playing with the macro lens, the tripod and the remote flash :).

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-29492596219083758132010-06-21T01:37:00.004+03:002010-07-08T07:57:26.472+03:00

Last week I spent 2 days near Phoenix, Arizona for a conference. The hotel/resort was located in the middle of the desert so we would be isolated and work all together I suppose :). I found the location to be great and would actually have enjoyed spending more time there.The hall was quite impressiveThe outdoors were nice, a combination of desert, water and cacti, more pictures here. The good

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-9606154340547024372010-06-01T20:06:00.003+03:002010-07-08T07:57:50.351+03:00

Saturday around 6 we received a text from Anna asking us if we were coming to a concert with them that night. I answered a "No" for Michelle, to realize 5 minutes later that we might have to change our plans for the night because she had indeed purchased tickets for that concert. Silly me :). Anyway we still had time for our first part of the evening plan: using up our Mc Cormic and Shmick

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-18764243968299359522010-05-25T22:47:00.005+03:002010-07-08T07:58:40.481+03:00

Last weekend I took advantage of a business trip to stop in the Bay Area. We spent the weekend with M's mom and enjoyed the area. Saturday I took them to Big Basin Redwood Park where we enjoyed the sight of a forest of giant trees. Just to give you an idea of the dimensions:We finished the day by a Chinese Banquet with KY's old classmates and friends (I don't think I've ever had that much Chinese

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11360416.post-11502116753703615562010-05-21T07:39:00.002+03:002010-05-21T07:48:28.602+03:00

Last time I tried to bring friends to the fire station, the trucks were out. Today they came straight home after the fire alarm rang. Thankfully it was a small fire and not on our floor, and the time out waiting for them to inundate the floor and the one below gave me the opportunity to take pictures of the trucks.You can check the rest of the series here.

fefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12070134927601417916noreply@blogger.com5