By George, it's a tirade-al wave!

My pal George, overwhelmed by an understandable wave of frustration, let loose with a tirade on his Twitter feed.  You can read about it here, as someone from Adelaide's sole Daily, the News Ltd-owned Advertiser, must be a fan.

George, as champions of free speech and net neutrality, we salute you.  Also, happy birthday for tomorrow!

Status Update - 29 June 2010

Entering week four (or is it five?) of our home Internet exile.  Virgin Broadband won't even sell us another modem to replace the one that died, but are more than happy to send us a new one for free if we cancel our currently suspended service (which, apparently they won't be un-suspending regardless) and take up their current offer (less data per month for more of our cash). So now we're shopping for a more reasonable service (and a higher data threshold - you get to that five-gig ceiling so quickly).

Any suggestions for a new ISP, drop me a line. If we take up your recommendation I'll immortalise the moment in a very special haiku status update.
  

Haiku Status Update - 16 June 2010

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No Facebook chatter,

No faint roar of Google Wave;

Just my thoughts, unplugged.

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Still no home Internet connection.  I've given up trying to find a new suitable wireless modem; we've suspended our service with our current provider (if we still get charged for a service we can't use because they can't supply us with a new modem - they claim they don't have any and don't know when/if they'll be getting more, even though they seem to be signing up new clients for the very same service - I will be naming names), we're considering copper-connection services again.  More as it comes to hand.

Tanka Status Update - 13 June 2010

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Still no connection

Missing the "status updates"

Of others, and the 

Random, jokey emails

That neatly fill my inbox.

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Spent a good part of yesterday and today trying to find a modem that will work with our "state or the art" wireless broadband service.  May as well added a purpetual-motion machine and a unicorn to my Must-Pick-Up-Today list.  Really starting to get annoyed.  Getting some writing done in the purpetual isolation of my truncated existence, though, so it's not a complete loss I guess.

Haiku Status Update - 11 June 2010

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Still unconnected:

A leaf fallen from its tree.

I miss my Google.

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"Grrrr"; or, the maddeningly ephemeral nature of the modern object

Our modem failed last night.  I was watching the little display light up and start to look for a connection, then all was blackness.  Well at least on the little screen.

The effect on our household is that not only do we no longer have wireless broadband coming in and connecting our little old PC to the wider world, but we also no longer have a "landline" connection to the greater humanity, as our telephone connection comes through the same modem.  We are, until I can find a replacement, informationally and communicatively marooned from society.

For the record, I'm writing this in my lunch break on my work computer.
     

Food Report - Syrian Pizza

Last night we made the Syrian-style pizzas I've mentioned in a previous post.  They were really delicious, but not without some problems.  The pizza dough is the easiest I've ever made - throw the dry ingredients in a mixer with a dough-hook (we have an 700 year old Kenwood that still runs like a steam-engine), with two teaspoons of olive oil and slowly add the water as it's mixing on the slowest setting, then let it run for ten minutes. 

This is where the problem occurred.  The dough was about three-and-a-half cups of flour, and 420ml of water.  Now, I'm still a novice baker, but that amount of water got my spider-senses twitching.  I added about 370ml in the end and that was still too much - a pizza dough should be a lot looser than your average bread dough (and should only get a single prove, to maintain that elasticity), but this was almost runny and difficult as all hell to work with, sticking to everything it came in contact with, including the oiled baking sheet and damp tea towel covering it while it proved (next time I'll use cling-wrap sprayed with oil).

I made the full amount of dough, divvied it up into four roughly equal portions and let it prove for two hours, as per the recipe.  When I came back to it the dough portions had spread back into one homogeneous spread of really sticky dough, and when I tried to cut it apart with my old blunt chef's knife I keep just for working with dough, it stuck to the baking sheet, the knife my fingers and anything else it touched (again).  Eventually I managed to work it on a well-floured board, and eventually my managed to stop laughing.

In spite of this, the dough made one of the best pizza bases I've ever tried.  Next time we make these Ill take a photo and post it.  Lamb and cinnamon are magic when combined, and the tomato topping on the base actually added to the overall taste rather than fighting with the other flavours.  Definitely a recipe for the repertoire.