Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a short (75 min) documentary about the only Sushi chef to ever win 3 Michelin stars for his restaurant. It tells something of his life story, part of his family life and background, but is mostly about the pursuit of perfection in the craft to which you devote your life. Having made sushi since he was nine years old, Jiro continues to search for improvements and new ideas in how to conduct a meal of varied sushi courses. An engaging portrayal of a world that is quite foreign to me.
apple tv: idiocracy
Idiocracy is one of those movies like Three Kings where it defies belief that someone funded the production of the story. An average person from today is put into suspended animation, and awakes, hundreds of years later, to a society where he is now the smartest person in the world. Its crass (in a frat-boy humour way) portrayal of a life taken over by corporations has moments of insight into the kind of culture that the West risks embracing to greater and greater extents.
book: steve jobs
Steve Jobs
This is one of those books that I had every intention of reading when it was released, but was too busy to read at the time. When I had the chance to borrow it, I jumped, and spent most of my train trips for a week (and a sleepless night) reading it. This was a good way to consume the book, I think – full immersion, as much as is possible with my current schedule.
Back at uni, I did a “historical computing” assignment on the S-100 bus, part of the technology of the early 1980s, and a key part my first computer (the one I had access to when I was about five years old). I was a big fan of computer culture even back then, though it wasn’t until the late 1980’s that I had a chance to play with a Macintosh.
Even though I didn’t own any Apple computer until I started earning money for myself, Apple computers were a big part of my computer experience – a UNSW program when I was at primary school gave us a chance to learn Appleworks on the Apple IIe (I remember they had an Apple II GS in a room somewhere – it was much faster than the regular Apple II computer series, which made Frogger completely unplayable).
All this reminiscing is to help explain what I liked about the book – it was a chance to go back to that period of time, and see what was happening in the part of the world where so much computer development was taking place.
The book is certainly not without its flaws – have a listen to the hypercritical podcast episodes 42 and 43 for a very detailed breakdown of why Isaacson was “the wrong guy” for the job of biographer – he lacks technical knowledge, and has not done a great deal of cross-checking ideas. In particular, I was wondering how Jobs justified his division of work/life balance, seeming to spend little time with his family: there wasn’t much of an attempt made to explain this.
If you have a passing interest in Steve Jobs, this is a good book to work through in search of answers. If you’re looking for something more substantial in terms of how Jobs achieved what he did, there’s still a lot of mystery remaining, but this may well be the book that gets closest to answering anything.
on the eve of big school
I don’t often blog here about parenting things, but this seemed an appropriate milestone. Tomorrow, my eldest goes to school. Over the weekend we visited my parents, and looked through the old family photos of my own first day at school. In these photos, my parents – now around retirement age – are my age, and I’m tiny. It’s hard to believe that when the call goes around for “an old shirt to use as a paint smock”, that the giant garment he uses will be one of my regular work shirts!
I have no clear memory of my first day at school – there is a vague sense of entering a particular classroom, and getting started on some activity or other, but apart from regular games of “dead soldiers” after lunch – where all the kids had to lie perfectly still until spotted as moving by the teacher, or deputised students who had been caught moving – and getting a question about the relative weights of a couple of objects wrong, kindergarten is a bit of a blur.
So I’m not sure how much my son is going to remember of the day itself. I’m hoping he has an overall memory of the continued effort at sustaining a relationship I’ve invested. I’m taking the day off tomorrow to make sure I’m around to drop him off, pick him up, and be around for the family during the day should anyone need me.
In the lead up to becoming a Dad, and for most of the time of being a parent, I’ve been studying theology, hoping to understand how best to impart some wisdom to my son. Sometimes it works – it’s nice to know Greek and fumble my way through some Hebrew, and to have a better understanding of the Christian worldview. Mostly, it’s a balancing act – avoiding simple moralising, not going deeper than he’s ready for in terms of assumed knowledge.
The main problem is saying anything about it at all. far easier to engage him on his own chosen topics of TV shows an video games. Of things he sees around him and wants to comment on.
We caught up with friends, even today, and there were plenty of opportunities to talk about Christian things – how many times did I just drift back to amusing anecdotes about the kids, when I could have taken some more “risks” and asked some questions whose answers will last long after everything else has faded away?
But I pick myself up, dust myself off, and keep going. It was good to pray with my eldest the night before he’s about to embark on his biggest adventure yet.
Big changes ahead for the whole family; as ever, it’s impossible to tell what the future will hold, but we presume that God will continue to be faithful to us.
Bring on the next step.
artisanal toast
It’s a sign of how broken the link of “I’ve read something interesting online” and “I should blog this” in my head, that I read this a few days ago, and didn’t share it here.
The history of the artisanal toast trend in San Francisco is not just a story about ridiculous hipster spending and how much money they can generate for their owners, it’s a story of redemption through cafe ownership.
fifty two (52) breakfasts
What’s your favourite breakfast? I recently made up a list of 52 breakfasts for a friend. Here they are.
- Weetbix with sliced fruit and milk
- granola with fruit
- bircher muesli
- weetbix with grilled cheese
- boiled eggs with vegemite soldiers
- eggs benedict
- french toast
- fried eggs with bacon
- poached eggs with spinach
- omelette – ham and cheddar
- omelette – spinach and mushroom with feta
- omelette – tomato and feta
- omelette – leftover roast lamb and mint
- omelette – tomato and bocconcini with basil
- croque monsieur
- omelette – mixed mushrooms
- omelette – rosemary potatoes
- omelette – chorizo
- omelette – smoked salmon with dill
- giant mushrooms on toast
- fruit salad and yoghurt
- ramekin lined with salmon, fill with scrambled eggs
- english muffins with fresh jam
- baked beans on toast
- scrambled eggs with crispy prosciutto
- omelette – asparagus and feta
- pancakes with bacon and maple syrup
- breakfast wrap – scrambled eggs and mexican spices
- sliced bananas and berries on brioche.
- breakfast trifle – muesli / granola with yoghurt and berry coulis
- porridge with brown sugar
- crepes
- porridge with peanut butter and mixed berries
- omelette – cheddar and pea
- croissant with jam
- croissant with ham and cheese
- potato cakes (left over mashed potato brushed with egg, mixed with some flour and some bacon or similar, then fried in a pan)
- blueberry muffin
- freshly baked bread rolls with boiled eggs
- baked eggs with leftover veggies
- hash browns
- mango smoothie
- baked ricotta with poached fruit
- marinated mushrooms and poached eggs
- chocolate coated brioche
- corn fritters
- mushroom bruschetta
- mushroom stuffed with goat cheese and ricotta
- vegemite on toast
- breakfast smoothie (add rolled oats, fruit and milk, with yoghurt)
- baked eggs with bacon and tomato
- breakfast stack – toast, baked beans, poached egg, spinach
What am I missing?
The Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills
Seven Seeds, Reuben Hills, and a variety of other coffees. 80 Commonwealth Ave, Surry Hills. I’ve been avoiding this one for a while as they’re not really into decaf, and I’ve been trying to find a balance between low caffeine intake and exploring different coffees.
I buckled, and – seeing from the Paramount Coffee Project Facebook page that the shop was open for coffee, but not yet open for food – it seemed the perfect day for a visit. The entryway is a little low-key, but once you step inside, you can tell immediately you’re in the right place.
Tip for beginners, don’t sit at this bench which is physically connected to the grinders they use for pour-over coffee – the bench vibrates quite a bit, and you’ll feel sheepish given the wide variety of other seating options.
Across the way is the espresso side of the business and the kitchen: if the pour over (an Esmeralda) I had is any indication, there is spectacular coffee to be had here. The staff are highly knowledgeable without being condescending, and there’s a level of passion for coffee here that is everything you could hope for. A worthy part of any self-respecting coffee tour of Sydney.
how families decide to visit museums
I’ve been thinking about different annual passes for families at the moment – this post from the Australian Museum website helps frame the way institutions are thinking about attracting family visitors.
Book: Eyrie
Book: Eyrie
It’s been a while since I’ve read a Tim Winton novel – I think the last one was also a Christmas present.
Winton taps into the class struggle, environment vs mining battle and the dramas of middle age in a novel that is a bit of a page turner, with some achingly well crafted sentences and enough horrible happenings to make me wish I was still reading kids’ books.
Well crafted (apart from a confusing ending) and vivid, it was for the most part an enjoyable world to be lost in.
Zokoko, Emu Heights
Morgan’s coffee. 6/84-90 Old Bathurst Rd, Emu Heights. Unexpectedly warm and friendly fit-out, especially in an industrial area.
Dark chocolate crackles are great, especially at $3.
Coffee is well made – they have three grinders clearly visible beside the coffee machine.