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Ricky Martin - Livin' la vida loca

Seemed good but I was quite drunk when I got in so will look forward to the reheated version tomorrow. Going to try soup for the first time. Lentil and bacon soup overnight for lunch tomorrow. Tried lentil soup years ago in a pot and it didn't really work but think the slow cooker is much better for dissolving the lentil. This looks straightforward enough: http://www.food.com/recipe/lentil-soup-with-ham-and-bacon-crock-pot-slow-cooker-354148

Saw this on bus, jumped off a stop early to buy the beef at supermarket. Couldn't find fresh ginger so will need to use ground. Will report back with independent verification of your "amazing" claim tomorrow night.

If you are making beef or lamb, chuck a tablespoon or two of flour over it as you brown it. Keeps the juices in the meat and also flour thickens the sauce a bit.

Going for a cycle tomorrow so will have a bit of beef bourgignon set up. Beef Stock Bacon Shallots Mushrooms Red wine Flour Herbs de provence (will need to concoct own herbs cocktail if i cant find it) Stock and red wine will be 50 50 to cover ingredients. Should be easy. Made a fig and thyme lamb tagine last week. Was a bit meh, particularly the reheated batches. Figs are too sweet.

Recipes or it didn't happen.

Side point on heineken qualification. I was thinking it could benefit Scottish rugby if Scotland lost one of their auto spots. Bit more rivalry between the two teams would ensue - more interest from the public? Maybe fanciful - euro cash is no doubt king in rugby too.

Not much rugby chat going on and not surprising given recent events. So.... Edinburgh spanked for 78 points in their first two Heineken cup games for a return of... zero points. Glasgow a bit more respectable against a good Ulster team (that I'm going to stick a couple of quid on for eventual winners) but ultimately two defeats from two. If there was a good argument for Scotland having two automatic qualifiers, it's been lost. SRU seem to have invested in the two teams and while Glasgow seem to be doing ok, Edinburgh have been going from bad to worse after a couple of good results at the start of the season. I thought the whole point of the investment was to give strength in depth so they could both challenge in both the Heineken and the Rabo, but Edinburgh have just collapsed since Laidlaw and Visser went off at half time in the Saracens game. On the international side, got my tickets for the NZ and SA games. Who knows - after the great tour we had in the Southern Hemisphere, I was genuinely hopeful for something out of SA and respectability (less than 10 points?) against NZ but if most of the team are in a losing frame of mind, I'm losing that optimism.

Trying to get into cycling as a long-term alternative to running to save the knees. Did Leith to Cramond Brig and back yesterday in an hour and a half on the 14 speed hybrid my brother left me before he went to Oz. Aiming to go as far as South Queensferry and back in the near future. However, when I see references to 68 miles and a "wee" trip being 20-odd miles, it does concern me about my ability given my 12-14 mile stint yesterday left me (a) knackered and (b) barely able to sit for saddle sore. I know having a road bike makes a fair difference but would the posters on here find a flattish 25 mile trip (maybe climbing a total of 200m in total?) on a hybrid to be a total breeze?

And I was. Dealt with Vorlich last month. Was a bit tougher going than I recalled - enjoyable but the main advantage is accessibility from the central belt. Not the greatest pic but I think the thread is lacking pics. It did give me one last F-U though - I'd forgot my waterproof jacket and it started pissing down halfway up. Was soaked but just ploughed on - probably a tad foolish but Vorlich's a fairly non-intimidating climb so just thought to hell with it. Your words inspire me. Looks fantastic the way it sits on its own and the view you describe sounds jaw-dropping. E-mailed my mate and plan to get there towards the end of the month. 5 or 6 hour drive for me though - did you stay in a hostel the night before?

I've always wondered which would upset a couple more, liking a picture of the girl in a bikini or liking a picture of the mate in swimming shorts.

Did Mayar and Driesh a year ago. Got talked into going up a dried burn towards Mayar and spewing halfway. Never done such a ridiculous ascent in my puff. Apart from that, fairly dull.

Had a lesson a month ago and they really are worth the cash. Two things I got fixed - twist the wrists so club is pointing up when you've swung to three o'clock and swing the club over the head ("outwards"), rather than over the shoulder. The last felt completely unnatural but it's definitely improved my woods and long irons. I'm honking around the green though. Two shots to being just off the green then usually another 5 shots to close out. Any ideas on how to address - not sure if lessons would help (i.e. get the pro out on the course rather than the range). Not sure if just practicing on tod at a putting green or pitch and putt would help.

Sounded like warriors were brave if uninspiring against Leinster. A great season for Scottish pro rugby, just hope it wasn't a flash in the pan.

Picked off the Lawers five yesterday: Beinn Ghlas, Ben Lawers, An Stuc, Meall Garbh & Meall Greigh. Parked one car at Ben Lawers Nature Reserve car park and the other at the Lawers hotel. Think it's about 10 miles and 1800m ascent in total going by some web articles and it took us just under 6 hours so roughly tallies to Naismith's rule. Descent from An Stuc is a bit hairy as it's steep and loose gravel under foot. Meall Greigh is probably the most boring munro I've ever done but coming down off it is actually pretty painful on tired legs. Probably the toughest route I've done but certainly manageable for experienced hillwalkers.

Well done Warriors. Was watching on BBC Alba (loving the combo of Gaelic and English!) and thought they had thrown it away but surely looking good for the playoffs now. Might go to Firhill for the Connacht game after the Ayr game if I'm not in a state of despondency. Not that I'd want to read too much into Leinster putting 8 tries past an abject Edinburgh, but I'd think it'll make a big difference finishing third.

Good twist last night (no spoiler in this post)! I thought i was leftfield in suspecting Sol but everyone seems to suspect him now. That, plus last nights episode, has made me doubt the Sol theory. I dont think Brody is in the clear yet tho. Trust no-one!

Once? .

It was good and looking forward to the rest. Couple of "oh c'mon" moments but that's par for the course with any show, bar the exceptional Wire. I'd forgotten how lovely Claire Danes is.

Aimed to get started yesterday by nipping up to Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn one). Lovely day having a good time, quite a few folk around and a bit of snow underfoot (crampons not needed). Got to 100m (height) from top with the Ordnance Survey trig point in sight and had to turn back. Weather had said there would be 80mph gusts and wasn't till you were near the top that you became exposed to it. Got blown 2m sideways and with a steep fall up ahead if the same thing happened, just wasn't worth the risk. Gutted. Going to go back in April and do Vorlich, Stuc a'Chroin behind it and come back down Ben Our. I'll be back Ben. You ain't heard the last of this.

Beef, chorizo chilli stew: http://www.allaboutyou.com/food/recipefinder/chunky-beef-chorizo-chilli-stew-recipe-52378 Didn't have polenta and didn't do the topping bit but was one of the best things I've cooked in a slow cooker yet. Only thing I did differently was sprinkle some flour over the beef to make sure the sauce thickened.

Agree that it's best not to give a number. Have seen people do that, then worry about having undersold themselves if they get that offer. Have also been on the other side of interviews and I've no problem with people saying "prefer not to give a number but looking for something more than I'm on/something at the competitive end of market rates". ICTChris - they will want to know what you're getting now, so if you feel that's undervaluing you then tell them but make it clear you feel that's low (with strong reasons why) so they don't think that they just need to offer the same as what you are/were on. From my experience, the best thing is to be business like - it's a business negotiation you're entering. I persuaded my now employer to change my work location by showing them the hit to my disposable income if I had to commute - I deliberately didn't put it as an ultimatum to keep my options open and avoid pissing anyone off.

Beef Goulash last night. 60g flour 300g beef Stick of celery 2 carrots Large onion Green pepper 3 tbsp worcester sauce 3 tbsp tomato puree 1 tsp paprika 3 tsp mixed herbs 200ml red wine 200ml beef stock Fry the veg, chuck in the chopped beef after rolling it around in the flour until it's browned. Chuck in the puree, worcester sauce and paprika for a couple of minutes then add the stock and wine until it's simmering. Transfer to slow cooker for about 6 hours on high and it's yum yum time.

Finished 'And the land lay still' by James Robertson over Xmas. Based in Scotland and stretching across the last 50 years, it tracks the lives of a few seemingly unconnected individuals from different backgrounds. It's almost like an 'our friends in the north' for, well, the true north. Just as it had a heavy socialist slant, i'd say this has a heavy pro-independence slant. Well worth a read. 8.5/10. Finished 'World without end' by Ken Follett last night. Set in 14th century England, it's a good read but not as good as the epic 'Pillars of the earth'. As Private Eye's review pointed out, he can often labour the point a bit for the historically-challenged and by the end (1200 pages) he occasionally spends half a page re-capping earlier events so the reader knows why the next bit's important. So, basically saying that it's annoying in patches but a good yarn that I raced through nonetheless. 7/10. Holiday season over. Prob wont get another read until Summer holidays now.

Chris Hiv-some-room-noo