Picture of the Day - 284

"I was left wandering in a dark paradise" by Alex Griffin

If you wish to see more of Alex's photography, please visit his Flickr photostream here.

Picture of the Day - 283

"We Can Be Heroes" by Ashley Carter

If you wish to see more of Ashley's photography, please visit her Flickr photostream here.

It's Fat Tuesday

Millions upon millions of these buns are eaten in Sweden today, which used to be the traditional day when they were first served. Nowadays you can buy them immediately after Christmas.

Every decent employer in the country has treated their employees to these buns during the afternoon coffee-break. The employees then go home and eat some with their families also.

I usually manage one of these a year, but I have friends who really love them and could eat one or two every day of the year.

For a recipe in English on how to make these delicacies, which in Swedish are called fastlagsbullar, fettisdagsbullar or semlor (depending on where you live in the country and the dialect of Swedish you speak), please visit SwedishFood.com: Lent buns.

The recipes never tell you how to eat these monstrosities. There are about nine million correct ways to do it. The only wrong way is to eat it like you would eat a hamburger, that is a definite no-no and would leave you with cream, almond paste and sugar all over your face.

I eat it like this:
1. First I take off the lid and scoop up a little of the cream on it and nibble away that part of the lid. I continue to do this until about half of the cream and all of the lid is finished.
2. Then I take a small spoon and gently caress of a bit of the cream and the almond paste that is in the center until I only have a shallow layer of cream and almond paste left.
3. At this point I have two alternatives on how to proceed depending on my mood and the company, either
  a) I take the bun in my hand and eat the bun and the rest of the cream and almond paste or
  b) I use a spoon to hack my way through the bun/cream/almond paste until it's all finished.

Picture of the Day - 282

"Making This Day Feel Warmer" by Carmelo Morales

If you wish to see more of Carmelo's photography, please visit his Flickr photostream here.

The Peril of Facebook Likes

Yesterday I lost a longtime friend because I had "liked" a comment on Facebook that the person did not agree with. The fact that I had also "liked" the original post which the person commenting disagreed with, did not help in salvaging the situation.

I was informed that my liking of the egregious comment was such a misdeed that it was the final straw - we have had a rather strained relationship lately - which made it abundantly clear to my former friend that we no longer have anything in common.

Do you wonder what important political, religious, moral or ethical issue was being discussed in the post and in the comments to it that it could lead to such a disastrous result? Well, it was basically a difference of opinion on the culling of friends lists in SecondLife and how to go about doing it.

Some Guys...

...are so impolite that they don't even take their cigarettes out when they kiss...

Well, I take full responsibility for my transgression. There is no excuse but the explanation for this lack of courtesy was fatigue. Thankfully I am married to the second-most patient man in the world!

My Love Has Many Faces

...but only one name, Tomais!