Solar oven 'induced' ice-cream. Yeah, your eyes haven't deceived you!

Just when you thought I had left off with my countless blogs re my solar oevn---well--here goes again; this time my wonderful process for a fruity and slightly naughty ice-cream. No, I didn't make it on the oven. That is scientifically impossible because no matter what I do, I can't make the temperature go to freezing pint--funny that, eh.
OK, I shall remove those thoughts you were having about how dopey I am! I didn't make the ice-cream in the solar oven but I did sort of cook up four packets of strawberries mixed with a little sugar, for about three hours. It is still possible to buy them really cheaply--but not for much longer so get on and replicate my experiment.
The mixture went all syrupy and gooey. The flavour was intense. To make the ice-cream, I brought a popular NZ brand,  (Tip Top) French Vanilla  to be exact.  I let it get a little soft then added a large pottle of unsweetened plain yoghurt. To this I mixed in the cooled strawberries, saving some for when the mixture became a little firmer when I put it back in the freezer. Now the 'evil part! You don't have to do this and I suspect that it affects the freezing qualities of the finished product. I accidentally slipped in a large measure of Kahlua and brandy! The possibilities for varying this recipe are endless, so use your imagination. Hell, you could even add ginger-nuts or your other favourite biscuits (cookies, for my USA readers) of lollies etc. You need to take it out of the freezer every 20 minutes or so and remix it so that it freezes evenly. I think that you need to let it soften a bit before you serve it, if your plan is to use it the next day. Personally, I like it a little soft. Try it and lap up the praise you will receive. You can make ordinary ice-cream that lifts it above the ordinary and as long as you don't ea the whole damn container, it is healthier than the full-cream ice-cream, with the addition  of the yoghurt and berries. ENJOY!
www.authorneilcoleman.com 

Brave New World?---Don't think so.

I wonder if the authors of that famous phrase, 'Brave New World,' envisioned the world we see today; a world in which nearly every continent is at war with itself, sometimes having their strings pulled by the major 'players,' who have always been behind the scenes. The names have changed in some cases and the extent  of influence  according to 'pull-power' are with us today, thriving in a world of one-upsmanship and political intrigue. Sometimes the games play out in religious terms, but look deeper and there will be nothing more than naked greed for the control power and resources. 'Good books' are used to justify certain stances, children and women paying the price for the machinations or misuse of the said books.
Whether it be the Middle-Age Crusades or the expansion of empire, it all comes down to the same base causal factors.
Take a look at the myriad of 'failed-states' or about to be, and you will get the picture. Look at the swath of countries in Central Africa and the terrible power-plays in the Middle East and the vista of sadness becomes clearer. Take the fringes of Europe and last bastions of drug lords in South America and you uncover yet more instances of disenfranchised populaces and large proportions of the citizens missing out on a life that we in New Zealand take for granted, despite out protests about those who would rule us. At least we have it within our  means to make changes, if we bother to take up the cause.
It is the apathy in our own country and similar democracies and the lack of an expression to legally and effectively change regimes in  much of the world that leads me to to my dismal view of the world in 2014.
Maybe I am just watching too much news on the many channels on offer. Therein is another group of 'players,' usually backed by the same forces that feed the chaos thus described. Try not to get sucked in by the Fox News establishments of the media world. Read within the words of RT or CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and our own news and come to your own conclusions. Use social media but make sure you hold fast to the touch-stone of; 'don't believe everything you read and hear, see or observe.' No source of 'factual reporting' is without its particular biases, meaning he/she who pays the piper probably controls the slant of the news.
'Brave New World'---did you ever exists in anything other then in our imaginations? We don't give up of course. There will always be inspirational figures who take the edge off our despair.  I shall leave it to you to name them.
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Damn---why can't lightening strike when you need it----Windows 8!

I have still not resolved the issues I am having with my 'new' computer; this after even clever people have had an input. I would like to thank the people who have kindly offered suggestions, on-line, all of which have been considered by my 'helpers.' I have had quite improbable thoughts re the reasons, sometimes blaming myself for my lack of computer 'savvyness.'
I have heard from a few of you who have also had issues with Windows 8 (don't even think about downloading Windows 8.1!) and it seems that there are quite a few people out there who are bashing their heads against the wall. I am trying not to overreact but I have reached a level of frustration that should not be apparent when one is supplied with a new computer, post Jack Russell attention of the older one.
OK, so it comes down to two questions: Is it the Windows 8 platform or is it something to do with the Samsung computer itself? I do not want to think that it is something to do with what the firm delivering the insurance work (installation and supply of the computer)
What is it that is happening you ask? The main issue is the one where the clock keeps losing time and it feels like I am in a 'time reversal warp.' No matter how many times we reset the time, (having followed all of your suggestions) it just keeps happening. I am not sure how this affects other aspects of the computer; maybe it's merely a foible I have to get used to!-----NO! On Monday I shall follow through and ring the insurance company and demand---yes, demand satisfaction, pistols drawn and 10 paces later one of us will hit the dust! After-all, there is something in NZ, called the Consumers Act. I am well over feeling like a dumb-arse later middle-aged technically challenged 'gentleman.'  Where's that feckin lightening! Someone please forward this to Samsung and Windows 8 designers.
www.authorneilcoleman.com