Monthly Archives: February 2012

Launceston’s UGLIEST building – Heritage Listed?

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Henty House - Launceston Tasmania

Every time I drive past this building, I shudder and cringe, wondering what on earth the town planners were thinking when they approved it.

It was recently reported that this building has now been given heritage listing, even though it’s only 29 years old, and in my humble opinion, the ugliest building in Launceston, by far.

To be fair, I didn’t even know there was a term coined for this type of architecture, but most fittingly, it is called ‘brutalism‘.

The wide expanses of concrete and angular lines are reflective of this architectural style which, to put it in layman’s terms, still means it’s dead ugly and has no place in a historical town such as Launceston.

Anyway, it’s nice to be able to put my real feelings about this monstrosity out into the world :-) If you’ve got any examples of worse architecture, please post a comment below!

Pork Spare Ribs with Smashed Potatoes

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As promised, here is the recipe :-)

INGREDIENTS

Meat
8 to 12 Pork Spare Ribs
1/2 cup plain flour
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
For Potatoes
4 to 6 large potatoes
1 tsp minced garlic
Parsley flakes or Mixed Herbs
Oil
For Sauce
6 tbsp honey
6 tbsp tomato sauce
6 tbsp soy sauce
9 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
Juice of two oranges
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
Splash of Tabasco

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 200°c.
2. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and dredge the pork spare ribs in the flour.
3. Drizzle oil in a baking dish, lay ribs in dish and place in oven.
4. Prepare sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a large jar (with lid) or milkshake shaker, and shake until blended.
5. Wash potatoes and cut into quarters. Place in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Continue boiling potatoes until just cooked.
6. Drain potatoes, leave for a few minutes, then toss with minced garlic and mixed herbs. Place in separate baking dish, squash them a bit with the back of a tablespoon, and put in oven.
7. Take ribs out of oven, turn them all over, and pour sauce over them. Place back in oven.
8. Cook both ribs and potatoes for 1 to 1.5 hours, turning occasionally, until sauce is nice and thick, and potatoes crunchy.

The long and winding road…

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So, I missed putting last week’s weigh-in figure online, so here it is:

Previous: 80.7
New: 80.3

A loss of 400g.

Not too much, but at least in the right direction!

However, today’s is a bit better:

Previous: 80.3
New: 79.4

A loss of 900g.

It’s good to be back in the 70′s! I do want to add, though, that I’m feeling pretty good each time after going to gym (I usually go later at night, say around 9:30pm). I’m able to jog continuously for longer periods now – I did 7km one night last week!

As usual, most of the battle is actually getting out the door – once I’m there, I enjoy it and feel great.

Stay tuned!

From ‘Amateur’ to ‘Pro’

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This week, I’ve listened to a podcast put out by Copyblogger, interviewing Steven Pressfield (http://www.stevenpressfield.com). The main point I’ve taken away from the podcast is the discussion about going from ‘amateur’ to ‘pro’.

It’s a state of mind. It means going the extra step, because you love your craft.

I mentioned it in my BNI sales minute this week, as I’ve seen plenty of businesses that still have the ‘amateur’ mindset when it comes to their website. They’ve got great looking marketing material, or a great TV ad, but then it all falls in a heap, due to a homemade Frontpage website.

It’s also something I’m trying to keep top of mind for my own businesses. They need to be taken seriously, and professionally. Not just by my clients, but by me as well.

After all, it’s what’s supporting my (growing!) family.

That’s my thought for the week!