clinging to the wreckage: Faster,smaller, better!

Monday, 3 November 2008

Faster,smaller, better!

Perhaps the main reason we chose Mario's Marina in the Rio Dulce as a place to wait out the hurricane season was it's excellent internet facility. With TBH developing his software,the challenges of marketing his book and our usual email use it was very important to us.

Unfortunately the market value of the copper wire for the DSL lines proved irresistible to local 'entrepreneurs'! After replacing the 25k of landline 4 times the Guatemalan provider declined to do it once again and the Marina was left dependent on a satellite system for internet connection.

This provided about 1.5 gigabytes of bandwidth a day which should have been more than enough for the liveaboard boats that were using it. However something TBH calls 'the tragedy of the commons' entered the equation. That is the incentive for selfish people to grab more than their share of a common resource. That's what happened here. Consequently the internet was overloaded and everyone had to wait a whole day for it to reset. Bloody irritating.

Reminds me of the current economic meltdown where we are all going to have to pay for the greed of a few. The'solution' is to limit everybody's internet access to a 40mb download per day after which each individual maxes out.

Certain steps have helped us make use of our limited megabytes such as steering clear of Youtube and installing the flashblock add in to Firefox, our browser.

But far and away the most successful remedy has been to use Propel Accelerator. Occasionally we come across a bit of software that works like magic (I would put Skype and Paypal in this category) and this accelerator is one of those.

It costs less than $5 a month, speeds up page loading by 5x or so and reduces the bytes downloaded by blocking adds and banners and degrading photo quality(you can always increase the quality by right clicking on it).

And as a result our 40mb has given us 4-5 times as much surfing. For those on wifi with bandwidth limited locations I cannot recommend it highly enough.A very satisfactory solution.

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Cuban-style shrimps with rum

100ml rum
few drops tabasco sauce
zest and juice of 1 lime
2tsps worcester sauce
2.5tbso plain flour
pinch of ground cumin
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
24 large shrimp,peeled and deveined
10z butter
80ml olive oil
4 large cloves garlic,crushed
1tbsp chopped parsley
1tbsp chopped coriander(cilantro) leaves

Mix rum,tabasco,lime juice and zest and worcester sauce in a small bowl.
Mix flour with cumin,nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.Dip the shrimp in the mix before cooking.
Melt half butter with half oil in large saute pan, when hot add half garlic and half shrimp. Cook until prawns are pale pink and lightly golden. Lift on serving plate, keep warm. repeat with remaining butter,oil, garlic and shrimp.
Pour rum mix into pan and allow to bubble for a minute or two, stirring.
Mix with parsley and ciltrano.
pour over shrimp and serve with rice as a main dish or alone as a starter.

Delicious!

Caramalised Onion,Fruit and Nut Pilau

2tbsp Ghee
2 large onions, sliced
2tbsp Ghee, extra
1tsp hot chilli powder
1tsp ground black pepper
1/4tsp saffron threads
4 cardamon pods, crushed
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1tsp salt
2 cups basmati rice, washed and drained
4 cups water
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pistachio nuts, shelled

Heat ghee in large pan. Cook the onions until caramelized. Remove from pan.

Add extra ghee and spices to same pan, cook stirring, until fragrant. Stir in salt, rice and onions.

Add water, bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cover until rice is tender and all water has been absorbed.Stir in fruit, cover and stand 5 mins.

Just before serving stir in nuts.

Carrol Shelby's Chili Recipe.

1/4	lb suet or 1/4 cup cooking oil
1	lb beef round steak, coarse chili grind
1	lb beef chuck, coarse chili grind
8	ounces can tomato sauce
12	ounces beer
2	tablespoons crushed red chili peppers
2	medium garlic cloves, minced
1	small onion, finely chopped
1 1/4	teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/2	teaspoon paprika
1 1/2	teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/4	teaspoons salt
1/8	teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4	lb monterey jack cheese, grated

Melt suet or heat the oil in a heavy 3-quart (or larger) pot over medium-high heat.
Remove the unrendered suet and crumble meat into the pot. Break up any lumps with a fork and cook, stirring occasionally. until meat is evenly browned.
Add tomato sauce, beer, crushed red chile, garlic, onion, oregano, paprika, 1 teaspoons of the cumin, and salt. Stir to blend and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
Taste and adjust seasonings, adding cayenne pepper.
Simmer uncovered 1 hour longer.
Stir in the cheese and the remaining 1/2 teaspoons cumin.
Simmer 1/2 hour longer, stirring often to keep cheese from burning.
I serve the chili with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese to garnish, and warm cornbread on the side.
The cookbook actually called for 1/4 cup of crushed red chile pepper, but unless you have a taste for fire, use less! I use half that amount, and I really like hot food.