Bright Lights, Short Circuit

broderic on March 4, 2012

My Mini Cooper drives me nuts. Most cars have a regular N number of miles before service: my Jetta recommends service every 5,000 miles. The Mini doesn’t. It relies on the computer to tell me when it’s ready. I think it talks to me a Botchie because I don’t know when it signals me to bring her in for service. That’s why I went and did the Mini Cooper service festival this weekend. I knew that it was about time for service plus I went for the recall. Oh, yeah, she’ll catch fire on occasion if you’re not careful. I think I want to get that fixed.

Now, the last time I was in the Mini dealership it was empty. A weekday would do that. But on Saturday, it was busy. There were a few people doing the same thing I was doing, and there were a few people shopping for cars. I also saw a lady picking up her new Mini Countryman trading in a bigger SUV. People actually are buying this car? I can’t believe it, just as I can’t believe that I have one myself.

An hour into the wait, the service manager gives me the first diagnosis of the ills of my Mini Cooper. I already know what he’s going to say. Tires. Mine are bald. I know that. He’s trying to sell me on 3 tires for $1,000+. Come on. I could probably get all four for that much. That price because of the tires being run flats. I didn’t know that they also offered Pirelli run flats. I’m looking for an upgrade and for slightly cheaper than the Goodyears that are currently on her.

From behind me, I hear a lady groan about tires, too. She’s got a 2006 Cooper and she knows about tires. If you have to replace tires every 30,000 miles with $1,000 set of four, you’ll know something about tires.

We start a conversation about the tires. How terrible it is and the cost. It’s one of the worst parts of owning a Mini Cooper. We start discussing how we like the Mini, though. Her’s, as I mentioned, is a 2006 in a blue which they don’t offer any more. She takes hers to the beach with her bike on the back hitch. She’s able to pack a whole hell of a lot into her Mini. She’s put a beach umbrella in there! We both like our Minis but would definitely buy another. She’s got a Benz that she may or may not trade in for another Benz. Her Mini, like mine, is her summer driver.

As we discuss our Minis, we take a stroll through the showroom floor. She tells me of the older Coopers having a chintzy cup holder that is easy to break. We look at the current Cooper S. We discuss how the rolltop cover to the convertible causes visibility problems. We both agree that the white convertible is cute. We stroll over to the Clubman and check out the back barn door. That center pillar has got to cause rearview problems. We agree that the Clubman kind of grows on you after a while. We checkout a Countryman. Then we wander over to the new Coupe in JCW black. I get in and she compliments me that it fits me. Not really as it is really compact in there. The black headliner makes it dark as hell, too. I kind of like it.

I wonder about this interaction I had with this lady. I wonder if she was flirting with me. I wonder if I was competent in my flirting back. Is all of this in my head or was it palpably real? Or am I grasping at straws? Older, upper 40s or 50ish. Not bad looking slightly beautiful in the older white lady way. I am grasping at straws…

Anyhow, the Mini Cooper is ready for another year, and I have to get her tires…

Quote of the Day [3.01.12]

broderic on March 2, 2012

There’s too much caffeine in your bloodstream
And a lack of real spice in your life

The Smiths, “A Rush and A Push And The Land Is Ours”

Spanish Tortilla or Italian Frittata

broderic on February 26, 2012

What I’ve been calling a Spanish Tortilla has always been an Italian Frittata. Who knew? I thought they were the same. The Italian version finishes off the cooking in the oven. The Spanish version you just finish on the stove itself. I just finished finishing cooking up the Spanish version. I’m letting it sit until lunch time before diving in. While I wait, here’s how I did it.

I sliced 5 Yukon Gold potatoes into half slices. That’s cutting each potato in half and then slice them thin. I salted the potatoes with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and then put them to the side. I diced 1 sweet onion and unfroze 1/2 a package of spinach to be a part of the filling. I’m also adding 1/2 a package of artichoke hearts. I figured that these are good enough flavors.

I fry up the potatoes in a pan of oil. This is a difficult task as it takes some movement to get all potatoes in the oil. I don’t think I am doing this right. After the potatoes are cooked — they come apart at the touch. I take them out and then start the sautéing of the other vegetables. Once these are done. I put more oil in the pan, add a little butter, and put the potatoes and vegetables back into the pan.

For eggs, I use 6 eggs which I scramble with some pepper and tabasco sauce. I then pour this mixture back over the vegetables in the pan. I let this cook for about 8 minutes then flip it over. You do this with a plate over the sink. Then you slide the tortilla back into the pan and cook for another few minutes. Flip it back out onto a plate and let sit to soak up the flavors.

This sounds good and easy. You know I had to mess it up. First, I left it too long in the pan. It’s burnt, but not too far that I don’t want to eat it. I also used too much vegetables and potatoes. Perhaps it should be 1/2 an onion and only 3 potatoes like I did before.

Welp, that was it. Let me go see if it was all a success or not…

My Oscar Picks for 2012

broderic on February 26, 2012

Once again, I must apologize for not doing the fifth annual BrowserMetrics Oscar Pool. It is an end of an era, perhaps we can do this o mobile phone app some day? Here’s my picks done in a hasty manner. I don’t think I’ll get too many, but then I may hit them all. Just my luck I quit doing the Oscar Pool. Anyhow, if you still want, throw your picks in the comments and we’ll see how well we do. It’s a simple Oscar Pool!

Actor Leading Role: Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
Actress in a Leading Role: Viola Davis in “The Help”
Actress in a Supporting Role: Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
Animated Feature Film: “Rango” Gore Verbinski
Art Direction: Hugo
Cinematography: “The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
Costume Design: “Hugo” Sandy Powell
Directing: “The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
Documentary (Feature): “Undefeated”
Documentary (Short Subject): “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Film Editing: “Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
Foreign Language Film: “A Separation” Iran
Makeup: “The Iron Lady”
Music (Original Score):”Hugo” Howard Shore
Music (Original Song): “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets”
Best Picture: “The Artist”
Short Film (Animated): “La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
Short Film (Live Action): “Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Sound Editing: “Hugo”
Sound Mixing: “Hugo”
Visual Effects: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
Writing (Adapted Screenplay):”Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Writing (Original Screenplay): “The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius

Leia desu

broderic on February 25, 2012

I haven’t seen Empire Strikes Back in a long time, but I can follow every line of dialogue even in Japanese. Funny that. This is a clip of Norio Wakamoto as Lando Calrissien. I figure he may be a famous Japanese voice actor. I guess he does a fine Lando, but someone tell me who’s doing Leia. So Kawaii!

Quote of the Day [2.23.12]

broderic on February 23, 2012

Blaine Faulkner: I know how crazy this is going to sound, but… I want to be abducted by aliens.
Jose Chung: Why? Whatever for?
Blaine Faulkner: I hate this town. I hate… people. I just want to be taken away to someplace where I… I don't have to worry about finding a job.Blaine Faulkner (Allan Zinyk) to Jose Chung (Charles Nelson Reilly), The X-Files, "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'"