November 23, 2007 – 5:40 am
How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in 1 Hour; this approach makes sense to me, having come to grips with Greek a little bit now (after a year).
November 18, 2007 – 11:34 am
Just called into an internet kiosk while in the Gold Coast.
The exams are over, which is a great relief. I’m trying to improve my skills with cryptic crosswords, and generally wind down after a busy year. I’ve had a lot of success with that so far, but I’m eagerly anticipating this next week of relaxation [...]
November 14, 2007 – 5:06 pm
/karen/ asks about good cafés to visit in order to write. I’ve just added a few new cafe reviews to the cafe section of the site, and tried to include some idea of what it would be like to write there.
It’s a difficult subject, though. Many cafes would prefer that customers linger for no more [...]
November 14, 2007 – 4:38 pm
Are all trolleys called frank?
When dropping my laptop in for a much-needed service (turns out the DVD drive is well-and-truly broken, and the hard drive may not have much longer to live), I noticed this shopping trolley.
Sure, I was surprised to find a trolley abandoned on a street near [...]
November 14, 2007 – 4:36 pm
Republica coffee. Normally I would have walked right past this food-court styled café in the new “top floor” of the broadway shopping centre, but it comes recommended. Their point of difference? All the blends they sell are both organic and fair trade.
They’re out of decaf on the day I call in, so instead, a piccolo [...]
November 14, 2007 – 4:36 pm
Golden cobra coffee. Shop 8, 130 Carillion Ave, Newtown. A range of seating options, from “top gear” inspired bench seats, to a mid-size commual table, and a range of outdoor tables. A range of polite, well-groomed locals spend time here savouring a coffee and a read of the communal newspapers, while uni students gather together [...]
November 14, 2007 – 4:36 pm
Allpress coffee. 67 Abercrombie St, Chippendale. Take a tiled kitchen, and put a café in the front of it, and you have this place. I’m not saying the kitchen is out back, but rather that the café’s seating is in its kitchen. Staff are friendly, and always working on something.
Coffee is made in front of [...]
November 14, 2007 – 4:36 pm
Schibello coffee. 475 king st. With no discernable signage, this caught my eye - a place I’d never seen before. This place seems to be the master of the fry up; i’ve never seen lambs fry on offer as part of a breakfast special! For the less adventurous, all the usual bacon, sausages and eggs [...]
November 14, 2007 – 12:24 pm
Decolata espresso bar, summer hill
illy coffee. Very friendly staff take care of you when you arrive at this old-world - 1930’s? - café. The service is prompt, too! A range of coffee-making implements line the wall above the coffee machine, and the clientele are from all phases of life.
Coffee [...]
November 13, 2007 – 4:43 pm
Greek is over for the year. Today was the final exam. There was a real sense of anxiety in the room before the paper was handed out: people frantically pouring over their notes, reading the passages in English to try and remember key phrases, packed with unfamiliar words.
At last, the paper was handed out. Reading [...]
November 12, 2007 – 8:58 am
Ouch. Top Ten Things to Say on Returning Home with Conference Book Plunder
November 11, 2007 – 3:49 pm
I’ll admit, I found this for the magazine title, but the article on Arctic Shopping - imagine doing all your grocery shopping for a year in one hit - was good too.
November 9, 2007 – 11:23 pm
Schibello black label coffee. Lots of natural light shines into the high-ceilinged café. Unusually for the city, it has a wood-fire pizza oven, and a choice of pizzas for the interested diner. A large range of breakfast choices including crumpets with ricotta and honey, and even a steak sandwich.
The table service is a little slow [...]
November 9, 2007 – 10:38 am
New York’s $25,000 dessert sets Guinness record; comes with a free bracelet and some diamonds to take home.
November 8, 2007 – 8:58 am
The idea of a Latte Index - working out a house-values based on its proximity to good coffee.
November 8, 2007 – 8:48 am
Somehow, I’d never noticed this Mail.app setting; in the Edit menu, under Attachments, there’s an option to Always send Windows-friendly attachments
November 5, 2007 – 10:01 pm
Caffeine Kids - how young is too young to drink coffee?
November 5, 2007 – 2:35 pm
If you’ve been tracking my facebook status, you’ll know that I’m flat out at the moment between working, essay writing and studying for exams. I’m also trying to move my blogging activities onto a different computer, to make myself more productive, but I’ve found that using QuickSilver with Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) isn’t working [...]