Gus's posterous http://blog.fanatassist.com Most recent posts at Gus's posterous posterous.com Sun, 29 Jan 2012 07:01:57 -0800 Roxy chasing her tail http://blog.fanatassist.com/roxy-chasing-her-tail http://blog.fanatassist.com/roxy-chasing-her-tail
Roxie chasing her tail.m4v Watch on Posterous

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Sun, 11 Dec 2011 13:47:59 -0800 The amazing Flying Ratney http://blog.fanatassist.com/the-amazing-flying-ratney http://blog.fanatassist.com/the-amazing-flying-ratney
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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:35:08 -0800 Squeaky pig time at home http://blog.fanatassist.com/squeaky-pig-time-at-home http://blog.fanatassist.com/squeaky-pig-time-at-home
IMG_0616.MOV Watch on Posterous

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:43:03 -0800 New work shwag.. http://blog.fanatassist.com/new-work-shwag http://blog.fanatassist.com/new-work-shwag
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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:55:22 -0800 Camping in Botswana http://blog.fanatassist.com/camping-in-botswana http://blog.fanatassist.com/camping-in-botswana
These guys camped in Khutse in Botswana . They did not know about the ‘visitors’ until the flash went off on the camera.
I would have liked to have seen the next photograph!!!


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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:15:00 -0700 Living with a pastry chef.... http://blog.fanatassist.com/living-with-a-pastry-chef http://blog.fanatassist.com/living-with-a-pastry-chef

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Someone has to do it. :)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:07:25 -0700 My desk @ work http://blog.fanatassist.com/my-desk-work http://blog.fanatassist.com/my-desk-work
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Sent from my iPhone

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:03:01 -0700 There's a blimp over Henley. Cool! http://blog.fanatassist.com/theres-a-blimp-over-henley-cool http://blog.fanatassist.com/theres-a-blimp-over-henley-cool

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Thu, 06 Oct 2011 02:20:00 -0700 Create Rackspace cloud-servers with cURL http://blog.fanatassist.com/create-rackspace-cloud-servers-with-curl http://blog.fanatassist.com/create-rackspace-cloud-servers-with-curl

These are notes for creating cloud-servers with a command line browser on Linux.

First step: AUTHENTICATE:

curl -I -H "X-Auth-User: gusmaskowitz" -H "X-Auth-Key: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" https://lon.auth.api.rackspacecloud.com/v1.0

From this you get the X-Auth-Token

Example without METADATA

curl -X POST -H "X-Auth-Token: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" -H Content-type:application/xml --data-ascii '<server xmlns="http://docs.rackspacecloud.com/servers/api/v1.0" name="testingSharedImage" imageId="10267169" flavorId="4"/>' https://lon.servers.api.rackspacecloud.com/v1.0/10009999/servers.xml

 

And WITH METADATA

curl -X POST -H "X-Auth-Token: de82cd6t-475a-4e78-8ca6-f005efc15447" -H Content-type:application/xml -d '<server xmlns="http://docs.rackspacecloud.com/servers/api/v1.0" name="SharedTestWITHMETA" imageId="23456789" flavorId="4"> <metadata> <meta key="RackConnectPublicIP">1.2.3.4</meta></metadata></server>' https://lon.servers.api.rackspacecloud.com/v1.0/10009999/servers.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><server xmlns="http://docs.rackspacecloud.com/servers/api/v1.0" status="BUILD" progress="0" hostId="8b73f64d1aae05def4169390d6681405" flavorId="4" imageId="23456789" adminPass="SharedTestWITHMETblahblahblah" id="10058183" name="SharedTestWITHMETA"><metadata><meta key="RackConnectPublicIP">1.2.3.4</meta></metadata><addresses><public><ip addr="46.38.175.27"/></public><private><ip addr="10.176.88.196"/></private></addresses></server>

 

 

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:21:47 -0700 Remember kids: Use the serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma) http://blog.fanatassist.com/remember-kids-use-the-serial-comma-also-known http://blog.fanatassist.com/remember-kids-use-the-serial-comma-also-known

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:03:40 -0700 Fascinating view of New York http://blog.fanatassist.com/fascinating-view-of-new-york http://blog.fanatassist.com/fascinating-view-of-new-york

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:02:07 -0700 Working from home http://blog.fanatassist.com/working-from-home http://blog.fanatassist.com/working-from-home
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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:16:31 -0700 I miss south-africa http://blog.fanatassist.com/i-miss-south-africa http://blog.fanatassist.com/i-miss-south-africa Good old saffa-land

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:15:00 -0700 Recipe for an awesome chocolate cake http://blog.fanatassist.com/recipe-for-an-awesome-chocolate-cake http://blog.fanatassist.com/recipe-for-an-awesome-chocolate-cake

Hello friends. 

I managed to instigate CAKEDAY! at work and at the inaugural CAKEDAY! yesterday I made my dear (pastry-chef) wife's amazing chocolate cake. People were so impressed that I thought I'd open-source this sucker to share the love.

PS
Remember {crap in = crap out} so put in the best ingredients you can get.
PPS I'm writing this without Luisa in the house so I'll be coming back to make amendments where I stuffed it up.
Post PPS cake was AWESOME. Trust this recipe :)

INGREDIENT LIST: - this makes a flat 'tray' cake but you can do round ones and stack em. I'd recommend you keep to max 6 cm deep in a baking tray)
2 cups self raising flour
2 cups soft brown sugar
1 cup coco (get the good stuff. Green and Blacks make a really an organic one which I used)
2 and a half teaspoons of bi-carbonate of soda
salt ( Luisa instructed "not too much and not too little".. WTF? yeah I know.. .Go for half a teaspoon, but I may come back to amend this...) Chocolate was perfectly salt balanced.
Tub of buttermilk (the one I used says 284ML cultured buttermilk ideal for cooking from Waitrose)
3/4 cup of oil (no need to go fancy on this one. Just plain vegetable oil will do. You don't want any other tastes in this baby - and PS this replaces the butter from what I can see and makes for a really nice spongy bounciness.)
2 large eggs
vanilla extract (again "not too much" was the instruction... I say "f*ck-off". No one does anything scientific and says "add _some_ plutonium and _hope_....")  Anyway I went for a short splash..I really don't think it matters either way more or less.
cup of coffee (plain black douwe egberts instant gold in this case.. The kind I never actually drink since I'm an immense coffee snob)

====== MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS ======

PREP
Start by PREHEATING your oven. (Sounds like a euphemism for something .....ladies?)  But no. Just switch on the oven before you start else your mix will stand too long at the end)
Set your fan over to 160 degrees C (I can't speak for a any other kind of oven but you want it at 'hot but not roasting potatoes hot' so about 180C max)
When you put the cake in later turn it down to 150)

Boil water and wake a cup of coffee - then let is stand to cool while you go ahead

Choose your tools:
Take a oven tray (I used a 35-ish cm by 20-ish cm oven tray)
Line with wax-paper for easy removal/flip-over later

Mixing:
Luisa has a f*cking AWESOME mixer from Kitchen-Aid that her Mom and Dad got her years back in South-Africa (then about a year ago her cousin brought to the UK on a trip as hand luggage. She deserves a frikking medal for the effort because it's heavy.... and beautiful ...and red) 
Please note: I'm not bragging - I think I'm _sharing_ the reason why, in my opinion, the cake is coming out well when I make it this way..
Anyway, put your shit in the mixer or if you are doing this by hand prep to work your arm muscles nice and hard

START
ADD
2 x large eggs and switch to slow to whisk 'em. Should go from yellowy gush to white foamy gush then go ahead.
Add the sugar and oil so it whisks to an emulsified consistency (meaning till there's no glaring oily bits, but all 'mayonaisey' so to speak)

ADD
salt and vanilla

Mix well 

Then with the mixer on SLOW.
For the rest of this recipe - DO NOT MIX/HANDLE TOO MUCH.
Supposedly the less you handle this the better the outcome.

ADD
buttermilk 
+ add about an inch of milk to the buttermilk still stuck in the yub to clear it out and add a little more liquid to the mix

ADD
2 X cups flour,
1 X cup coco and 2 and half tsp bi-carb

LAST ADD
the cup of coffee that's been cooling

DON'T mix too much. 
Stop and DIG DEEP and FOLD with a "spatch-bat" (that's what my friend Ros calls a spatula) 

Pour into baking tray lined with wax paper

Shove in the preheated oven (remember turn to 150C now ..I guess this is to bring it all up to speed quicker)

Check in on her at about 15 minutes and stick a clean knife in to see if anything sicks to the tip. If so (likely) then keep going.
At 20 minutes today I did the test and there was no stick-to-the-tip test and BOOM!.....

Take out onto a cooling tray. Flip over and remove the baking tray and let cool.
Later slap some Carnation Caramel on this baby and enjoy with friends.

GOOD LUCK!
Gus out.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Sun, 18 Sep 2011 08:37:32 -0700 Spotted on the way to Henley http://blog.fanatassist.com/spotted-on-the-way-to-henley http://blog.fanatassist.com/spotted-on-the-way-to-henley
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Sent from my iPhone

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:36:03 -0700 Roxie the mud monkey http://blog.fanatassist.com/roxie-the-mud-monkey http://blog.fanatassist.com/roxie-the-mud-monkey
VIDEO0188.3gp Watch on Posterous

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Thu, 28 Jul 2011 01:55:00 -0700 Chimp with an AK47 http://blog.fanatassist.com/chimp-with-an-ak47 http://blog.fanatassist.com/chimp-with-an-ak47

Chimp_with_AK47.wmv Watch on Posterous
Ah, I miss living in Africa.....

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Tue, 07 Jun 2011 06:10:44 -0700 big suitcase or small human? http://blog.fanatassist.com/big-suitcase-or-small-human http://blog.fanatassist.com/big-suitcase-or-small-human
Chmoo_suitcase

This is Chmouel in our office. 

PS
He is normal size.
This is a pretty big suitcase..

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:16:02 -0700 Luisa is home from the hospital. http://blog.fanatassist.com/luisa-is-home-from-the-hospital http://blog.fanatassist.com/luisa-is-home-from-the-hospital
VIDEO0126.3gp Watch on Posterous

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav Mon, 27 Dec 2010 11:43:31 -0800 Behold....Roxie! :) http://blog.fanatassist.com/beholdroxie http://blog.fanatassist.com/beholdroxie
VIDEO0035.3gp Watch on Posterous

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/447096/bio.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36zGgcaaALWp Gustav Gus Gustav