Soda, lime (fresh squeezed) and a couple of drops of angostura bitters is pretty good.

You can also hunt down "Chinotto" - a bitter soft drink in cans made by San Pellegrino if you look carefully. They often stock it in the deli part of the Carluccio's restaurant chain. It's very nice!
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 5:00 AM on August 16, 2008

You can get it on the sashimi counter in the food hall at selfridges (pre-packed into plastic pots). In my experience it's never been absolutely perfectly fresh though, and it's on the dear side.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 3:01 PM on August 12, 2008 marked best answer

Yeah, as others have said, three things to do before trying tweaking the recipe or anything drastic like that:

1. Chill bowl properly
2. Chill mixture in fridge before churning (preferably overnight)
3. Reduce batch size

In my experience, number 3 is usually the culprit. Should be frozen inside 15 - 20 minutes if all variables are fine.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:09 AM on August 11, 2008

My machine has an uncovered opening at the top, and can't imagine why that would be your problem.

Basically you have a pretty simple physics problem: you want the ice cream to reach a certain temperature in order to 'set'. There is no chemical reaction that occurs in helping to set ice cream when you freeze it that is comparable to the thickening that occurs when you cook the custard base for the mix beforehand. All you're doing is making the mix cold, and breaking up... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 9:31 AM on August 11, 2008 marked best answer

We holidayed in Tuscany twice with a kiddie around that age. Rented a villa and car, and had a great time. I guess the question is: do you want time away from your kids? (ie babysitting / childcare availability). If not, then it's a great option to go for (as would any other of a number of countries, for villa holidays). The car hire places can always offer childseats for a little extra (make sure they install them properly though); many or most of the villas we inquired of were able to provide... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 12:57 AM on July 16, 2008

It isn't necessarily sexism (although it could be). Personally I'm not a fan of sharing salary details with colleagues - it more often seems to lead to lowest common denominator salary settlements for everyone. In your wife's case though she can probably fairly expect to use the knowledge as a lever to get at least an extra £1k on top of what she is earning now. I absolutely would not mention knowledge of her colleague's salary during negotiations though.

On the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 4:04 AM on July 9, 2008

I have had a couple of bites in the last 20 years, but literally only one or two - often during periods when my wife has been eaten alive. I've had significant exposure to both mosquitos and fleas, and apparently neither much like to eat me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 9:39 AM on June 19, 2008

Counter to what other people have said, it is not "very unlikely to be worthwhile". There are plenty of circumstances in which it could be a vital safety net. Obviously not for everyone though, and you ought probably talk to an independent financial adviser. Such advice is usually free (and regulated up to the eyeballs) in the UK, no idea about the US.

Circumstances you should weigh in your decision are your dependents (if any), whether you're in a profession... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 3:38 AM on June 5, 2008

The ribs are decent at Bodeans, but everything else is completely diabolical. Choose wisely!
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 3:33 AM on May 30, 2008

Venice pretty much dies in the mid to late evenings I'm afraid. The nightlife essentially consists of student bars, and pretty much nothing else. Restaurants are another option of course (and plenty of good options to eat) - but Venetians tend to eat relatively early.

The passeggiata (always good for a gelato and some people-watching) is the obvious choice for an evening activity. Not sure what the usual location for it is in Venice actually, but should be easy to find... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 8:01 AM on May 29, 2008

I get a little glitch with firefox sometimes where the application disappears from the task bar. I can still see it if I alt-tab however. Maybe try that if you haven't already?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 7:06 AM on May 27, 2008

3:1 is way too strong for a gin and tonic. For some strange reason a weakish G&T is fine (40ml with ice, topped up with tonic in a standard highball glass), neat gin is fantastic, strong G&T is bleugh. Also, definitely lemon rather than lime. Not a big fan of Tom Collins variations here. Bombay Sapphire is a cracking gin, but a little wasted in a G&T - take it neat if you're going to that.

Don't forget - gin makes a man mean. Cheers!
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 3:59 AM on May 27, 2008

Seconding treacle tart. Look for a good recipe though, and take care to taste and balance the filling - it REALLY needs lemon to cut the richness of the syrup. Obviously good shortcrust pastry is important too.

Most other things I might have suggested have already been mentioned. Only new thing: golden syrup can also be used as one of the ingredients in a warm butterscotch pouring sauce.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 1:28 AM on May 27, 2008

I stopped roasting cause of the smoke - set off the hardwired alarms in the kitchen every time, even placed right underneath the extractors. :(

I was using a Cafe Rosto, which did a pretty good job otherwise.

One thing you want to watch out for about roasting outside - if the ambient temperature is too low the roast can stall with some machines. I had a problem with the Rosto even inside in winter (in the UK). If you plan to do a lot of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 11:39 AM on May 20, 2008

It's good as a fruit base for trifle. Also rhubarb + vanilla pods + yoghurt makes a decent smoothie.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 9:14 AM on May 17, 2008

Try explaining to the receptionist what has happened, and ask them to give you first refusal on any appointment cancellations that come up before then.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 7:39 AM on May 16, 2008

I'm reluctant to comment on dental issues (I'm English).

However, FWIW i lived my life with a temporary filling in a root canal for for almost 20 years. Got it properly filled about 3 years ago, and had one change of dentist since then and now. Neither dentist has even mentioned putting a crown on the tooth to me.

I was a private patient for the first, so it's unlikely that they didn't want to do expensive work on an NHS patient. I don't doubt... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 8:39 AM on May 15, 2008

Eric Godon is reasonably famous in his own right.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 1:34 AM on May 8, 2008

I chose not to view my father's body when he died a couple of years ago. I have no regrets, although I was with him when they turned off the equipment keeping him alive following the failure of a serious operation (ie we had time to prepare for the possibility that he might not make it through). I honestly don't know how I would have felt if it were a sudden or unexpected death.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 1:54 AM on May 7, 2008

There's something in the UK that smells like that too - we used to call it spunkweed when I was a kid. Never quite managed to pin down what it was, but I think it was more ground-level shrub than tree.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 1:25 AM on May 2, 2008

Cooked breakfasts tend to be a godalmighty ripoff in hotels and restaurants, although saying that the "best" is often said to be at Simpsons in the Strand (£18!!!)

You'll get something decent at a local greasy spoon, that will be just as authentic - perhaps more so (although you won't be able to get espresso - more likely a mug of very strong tea).

Not very traditional at all, but the breakfast / brunch menu at Giraffe is very nice... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 7:38 AM on May 1, 2008

Saw In Bruges on Saturday - it was superb.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 1:28 AM on April 28, 2008

First of all, it's not clear from your question what your exact desired position is. You may have thought of this, in which case - great (and please follow up with the info in this question). If not, you really should - it comes across pretty fluffy to say that you just want to work in an industry, rather than in a particular role, from an employer's perspective.

A couple of quick things. First, I think the medium tends to be perceived as less important than the core... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 4:59 AM on April 25, 2008

There are lots of professional qualifications for marketing in the UK. These are of questionable practical use, but can be very useful for helping you to find an opportunity (shows commitment, and basic understanding of industry). Worth your while considering doing an entry level qualification from home or something.

Not sure what sort of work experience you're bringing. If you're straight out of Uni then you'd probably be looking to a Marketing Executive / Marketing... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 7:04 AM on April 25, 2008

I met my wife at work. We're very happily married, and worked together for a couple of years, before she moved on to another job.

Think you need to weigh up how important the job is to you, as there is a potential that if things went badly wrong one of you would need to move on. As the initiator, it's pretty reasonable to think that person should be you. On the other hand things might work out great. Only you are in the position to weigh risk and reward.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:12 AM on April 25, 2008

Hope it's okay to just link you to a couple of mixes that meet your generic, but not specific criteria (ie house, but not necessarily French). These all come highly recommended:

Todd Terje Iron Kukkurru mix
Todd Terje Resident Advisor mix (free registration for access)
Fleep (loads of mixes, mostly upbeat or deep US house)

Don't want to swamp you in stuff, so see how you get on with these, and email me if you want more... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:07 AM on April 25, 2008

Ice cream machine helps, as others have noted. Also, I believe that you would be much better off folding in the fruit puree and particularly the lemon juice as the very last thing that you do before freezing. Ideally your ice cream will hold some air, and the acid in the fruit will work against this. Personally, when I've made a strawberry ice cream, it has been more or less equal parts fresh made custard (eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla), pureed strawberries with a little lemon juice added (test... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:18 PM on April 22, 2008 marked best answer

Finally, it is worth noting that by adding eggs and cooking the mixture, you are not making ice cream, but frozen custard

Disagree - if you're using US grocery terminology, perhaps. But you guys didn't invent the stuff y'know. :D

Most of the "ice cream" / "creme glace" you would be served in a high-end restaurant would be simply frozen, churned custard (see Raymond Blanc's Manoir Aux Quat'Saison cookbook... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:19 AM on April 23, 2008

- Is it possible to have a headset where I sometimes use the earbuds for sound, and other times have sound come out of my speakers, while I still use the microphone? I really like sound coming out of the speakers when I know it won't piss off the roommates. I don't know if this means detaching the earbuds, or what.

I leave the desktop speakers plugged into the audio out and the headset mic plugged into the audio in when I do this. You can assign a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 9:12 AM on April 21, 2008

The Actual by Saul Bellow is beautiful, and beautifully written (although more of a long short story than a full-blown novel).
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 3:14 AM on April 21, 2008

Sleepy sex.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 8:10 AM on April 14, 2008

Pat Chapman published a book of recipes for "restaurant style" curries in the UK several years ago. Most UK indian restaurants are not particularly authentic and use tricks or short-cuts in the cooking (eg tomato soup in tikka masala; boiling onions for bhuna) that give a very distinctive taste. I'm not a big fan of tikka masala (or jarred sauces in general), but I strongly imagine that this style of recipe will be very similar to the Sharwoods style sauces. I own the book and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 1:18 AM on April 7, 2008 marked best answer

The clown zombie in Day of the Dead. Clown. Zombie. *shudders*
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 9:42 AM on March 3, 2008

My wife has managed to blag an emergency passport appointment on the basis of a family emergency before (twice actually, passports for a new child in both cases). They do always check up though, so I'd be very cautious about claiming deaths or illnesses that can be verified through doctor checks. A bit of creativity of excuse and you might get away with it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 8:15 AM on March 1, 2008 marked best answer

Meh, I routinely eat stuff under those exact same circumstances, and have rarely been ill from food. Mind you, I live in the freezing-cold UK, and even I might balk at something that's sat out for that long on a warm-ish day.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 6:48 AM on February 25, 2008

The only thing that I'd eat after having been left out all night would be pizza, because it's indestructible.

My local branch of Domino's proves you wrong on a routine basis. :)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 7:35 AM on February 25, 2008

You can even substitute the buttermilk for lemon juice, although I have never done the lemon juice thing myself.

This works absolutely fine in stroganoff.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:32 AM on February 25, 2008

Prostatectomies also reroute seminal fluid to the bladder I believe (although I did ask my father to spare me the finer details of the surgery...) - no negative effects to this that I know of.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 11:21 PM on February 20, 2008

Yeah, this sort of area is under-serviced I'm afraid. As you have doubtless noticed, most restaurant reviews in local media tend to be thinly veiled advertorials.

I guess there will be different answers depending on what you mean by "a good meal" (michelin contender, or just "not shit"?) If the former, then really the cream rises to the top, and you will definitely find occasional evidence / reviews etc of very good restaurants off the beaten track... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 7:53 AM on February 13, 2008

I think it's not uncommon for people to ask for workshops without really knowing what one is. The crucial thing is to make sure tha the objective of the session is clearly understood - and this is something for you to solve with the organiser. Once they have been clear to you about what they actually want, you can plot out the best way to work towards it, and start to manage their expectations more towards receiving a presentation than a workshop, if such seems more appropriate. If they starts... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:07 AM on February 11, 2008

I just bought and enjoyed Daxxar by the Steve Reid Ensemble. Very nice, percussive afro-jazz, recorded in Sengal (IIRC).
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 1:51 AM on February 11, 2008

Well, on the obvious side of the coin a couple of Margaret Atwood books fit the criteria, and are good reads to boot (Oryx and Crake; The Handmaid's Tale)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 5:10 AM on February 8, 2008

Are they contracted to stay with an agent for a minimum period of time? Could be a downside if they decide to change agents, and the time off the market is not counted against that minimum period.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:57 AM on February 6, 2008

Also, if I were to monitor the blogosphere for a living (let me worry about finding paying clients) what sort of online tools would I need to do the job effectively?

I know that it isn't exactly what you're asking, but I have some experience in this area that may be interesting or helpful.

It's increasingly hard to sell a "value added" web monitoring service (ie human filtering; interpretation; narrative reports... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:44 AM on February 6, 2008 marked best answer

I think you're overheating it. It's a common problem - too hot an extraction pulls out more of the bad tasting compounds that you don't really want in your coffee (and more caffeine too), and gives a really nasty bitter taste, and thin, acidic consistency. You really don't want the water to get to a fast boil.

Personally I never had 100% satisfactory results with a moka pot, but I got my best results by heating on a low-ish temperature (and I think filling the base with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:26 AM on February 6, 2008

I did a load of research with the same plan a while ago, but sadly have lost most of the links I took. Still - this looks handy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 9:19 AM on February 4, 2008

Personally I always found King Tubby pretty dull. IMO Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires is the best dub album of all time (also, the most sampled album of all time in any genre), but it might have a few too many vocals for you. Must Scientist stuff is just dubbed up Roots Radics tracks, but all pretty exceptional. i recommend you try it to see if you like it, if nothing else.

I'm kind of fond of Mad Professor - Psychedelic Dub Dub, Escape to the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 2:58 AM on January 31, 2008

Oh, also forgot to mention Yabby You - Jesus Dread is pretty sweet. Blood and Fire is a good (modern) label to watch for quality dub reissues too, although try not to be put off by the Mick Hucknall connection.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 3:01 AM on January 31, 2008

I threw my lot in with GUESS in the end, as it seemed from the label on the tin to be more flexible with both inputs and outputs.

As it happened, it was a screaming horror for a non-techie like me to get to grips with (horrible documentation, and seems to assume intermediate ability in Python coding. Me = clueless on that stuff), and frighteningly inefficient to acquire and format the graph data in the right way (I guess automated harvesting / formatting is one thing... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 1:33 PM on January 17, 2008

Best way to do it always used to be to get a copy of Loot early in the morning, and a wad of cash for deposit. Ring round and visit places that seem suitable, and if it hits the spot, put the deposit down straight away (good places go fast in london). I think you'll struggle to get somewhere that doesn't require two months rent in advance though (1 month deposit, 1 month rent).
posted to Ask Metafilter by bifter at 4:40 AM on January 15, 2008