Friday, August 25, 2006

Global Warming ????!!!!!!

As an ex geologist I can say I more or less understand the passage of time and the change of climates and geography. (How it fits into my beliefs is another thing entirely.) However I absolutely disagree with the present hysteria of global warming. Over geological time climates change regularly, if you don't understand this watch a couple of notable documentaries, I highly recommend....Ice Age, and Ice Age II. Not that long ago almost the entire Northern Hemisphere was covered with ice, and a little longer back and you find evidence of the same area covered in desert. And guess what... there wasn't one car, bus or SUV back then!!
So you say what has that to do with this humble blogger, well at the moment the Workers Paradise has yet to turn on the centralized heating system to the houses and businesses. This is despite the fact that the temperatures are touching freezing point most mornings, and it's wet and raining. My apartment is flippin freezing, my office is flippin freezing.......

GLOBAL WARMING MY A**

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Food....Glorious Food !!

After spending a bit of time in this garden spot of Siberia I have continually sort to find a good source of groceries. Not that the stores are bad, just that I can't find them!! It seems to be some sort of local sport to hide the stores. It's hard to explain but stores here are not like stores elsewhere in the world ....they are hidden, usually in the myriad concrete block houses scattered around town! Believe me I have looked hard and long. When I ask the locals in my office they kind of smile and say " yes you need to know were they are". So yesterday I got hold of an engineer in the office asked him to show me the best place to buy good groceries because at the moment I'm living off a diet of canned veggies and lousy apples!
I was driven to a series of concrete block houses about a mile from the office, as is normal there was no signs outside just a metal entrance door set in the concrete wall. There were loads of cars in the car park and people coming and going into this building.
We entered the building......absolute heaven!! Stall after stall of fresh fruit and veggies in a spotlessly clean interior. There were peaches as good as I have seen anywhere, all kinds of exotic fruits, wonderful veggies....wow, I didn't know which way to turn!! And that was not all, the next room/area was full of nuts, dried fruits, beans etc. There was yet another room full of meat, cold cuts, fish..loads of fish and smoked fish. I spent a wonderful hour strolling around all the stalls and buying some great stuff...I will be a regular visitor now I know were it is !!