Pavlova

Snack for Dog on Warm Days

Any small container will do. You can use an ice cube tray if you want the dog to have an easier way to the snack. 

Layer of meat, water, in the freezer for 30 minutes - repeat. 

"What, I have to work for my snack now??"

This is like they feed polar bears in zoos. 

"Can I have some more?"

Minifigures Series 11 Checklist Revealed

I know there has been an abundance of Lego-related topics lately (all though today's large article was on a slightly different topic, despite the first image), but this was something I had to share. A picture of Series 11 Minifugres was leaked on the internet, and I like what I see! 

Nostalgia and the Reason We Collect Toys

Let me apologize immediately for the pretentious title. I don't plan on writing a scientific article on nostalgia and toys, but I want to put into words something that has been on my mind. I've tried to figure out why I have this fascination for vintage toys, why modern toys fail to bring me the same excitement, and I'm not alone in asking these questions, and for the outsider, it can be very strange that grown men and women still purchase, store, display, and sometimes plays with toys for kids.

Basically it can be boiled down to "Why do we collect toys?", but it's not that simple either. Read on for a rather long article on collecting. Agree, disagree, additional thoughts, personal similar stories? Leave a comment below!

Minifigures Series 1 Checklist

For some reason, I couldn't find a decent scan of the Minifigures series 1 checklist online. I know Lego has an app with all the checklists, but I wanted something to post here. I had planned on scanning my own, but my scanner is not talking with my current computer. So a photograph will have to suffice.  

 
Series 1 has many of my favorites, even now, after 160 figures. They're also becoming increasingly more rare and sought-after. As you can see, I've crossed them all out, but I've lost the number plate of the Crash Test Dummy. Series 1 is not 100% complete for me, and that annoys me quite a bit.

Spring Onion

The spring onion is a personal favorite ingredient, all though I would have a difficult time arguing why it's better than the regular onion. I use them in the same situations, when ever I make a pot, I try to include spring onion. Same if I fry vegetables as a side dish. I have included spring onion when I have made various sauces. And of course inside the burger meat. Is it the green color? Is it the natural portion sizes? The mild taste? The crispiness? What ever it is, I try to always have a spring onio ready when I cook.

Tea Robot

You have noticed the different labels I put on my various articles and blog entries. They range from "bacon" and "bread" to "Lego" and "vintage toys". My articles usually fall under more than one category, and are therefore given multiple labels. Let's say I write about Jetfire. As he is both a robot, and a vintage toy, it makes sense to give the article the "robot" label as well as the "Vintage" label. And since I rarely talk about contemporary robots, many of my Transformers articles usually have these two labels. Likewise with the "motuc" label, which usually is accompanied with the "rant" label. 

Today, I will need to use two labels I never expected to use together. I certainly don't mind. Tea and robots are two passions of mine. I got the tea robot from my mother, I guess she felt I needed to drink more tea, and that I don't own enough robots. I agree on both accounts. He's made of metal, like any good robot, and he clings on to the rim of the cup until he has fulfilled his purpose. 

To Catch a Fruit Fly

Summer is here, and for many of us, so are the fruit flies. Not really a big threat in any way, at least not if you give some thought to where you store your food. I usually keep all my food in the fridge or in closed containers, and I try to not have fruit out in the open. But even I get visits from the occasional fruit fly, and among things I really don't like, bugs are high up on the list.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I find bugs fascinating. But they belong outside. So for all bugs inside, it's game on. And here's my way of dealing with the fruit flies.

Take a small glass or jar, and fill it ever so slightly with white wine. It's possible to use citrus fruit as well. Or yeast. The flies seems to be attracted to fermentation, all though I couldn't possibly confirm this in a scientific way. Well, that's not entirely true either. I left a glass of wine on the table over the night, and in the morning it was filled with flies. That's a scientific confirmation, right?

Either way, I place two layers of plastic wrapping over the jar, and a string to hold the plastic in place. I then cut a tiny hole for the flies to enter. The hole does not need to be bigger than the size of a fly, but don't worry about the flies escaping. They're too interested in the smell of white wine to ever exit the hole.

It's not a delicate sight once the flies start filling the jar, so feel free to cover the jar with something. Or, if you feel all natural geographic, you can think of the jar as your own personal insectarium. Why not try to tell the flies apart? Give them names? Start cheering for them, and bet on who lives the longest? Everyone needs a hobby.

I will show the result of this Fruit Fly Trap in a few days, but as I can see exactly no fruit flies in my apartment right now, it may be rather uneventful. That said, I can confirm that this method works.