• 4 egg yolks
• 250 g powdered sugar
• 100 ml lukewarm water
• 100 ml vegetable oil
• 250 g all‑purpose flour
• 20 g baking powder
• 4 egg whites, beaten stiff
• 40 g cocoa powder (for dark batter)
• 1 tbsp oil (for dark batter)
• 1 tbsp lukewarm water (for dark batter)
• 200 g powdered sugar (cream)
• 150 g butter (cream)
• 1 packet punch‑flavored pudding powder
• 1 tbsp milk (to mix pudding powder)
• 200 ml cold milk (to cook pudding)
• Chocolate glaze for finishing

Instructions

• Prepare the batter: Beat the egg yolks with powdered sugar until pale and fluffy. Slowly add lukewarm water and oil.
• Add dry ingredients: Mix in the flour and baking powder until smooth. Gently fold in the stiff egg whites.
• Divide and flavour: Split the batter into two equal parts. Leave one plain; to the other add cocoa, 1 tbsp oil, and 1 tbsp lukewarm water.
• Bake: Bake each batter separately in a greased loaf (őzgerinc) pan until set and lightly golden.
• Make the cream: Beat butter and powdered sugar until creamy. Mix pudding powder with 1 tbsp milk and a little sugar, then cook with 200 ml cold milk until thick. Let cool and combine with buttercream.
• Assemble: Slice both cakes along their ridges. Alternate white and dark slices, using the cream to glue them together.
• Finish: Pour chocolate glaze over the assembled loaf and chill until set.
• Serve: Slice diagonally to reveal the striped pattern.

Original Recipe

Négy tojássárgát 25 dkg porcukorral habosra keverünk, majd 1 dl langyos vízzel es ugyanannyi étolajjal lassan felenedjük. Most 25 dkg sima liszttel es 2 dkg sütőpotrral simára keverjük. Hozzáaujuk a 4 tojás kemény habját, és a tésztát két részre osztjuk. Egyik fele fehér, a másik fele barna lesz. A barnába 4 dkg kakaót, 1 kanál olajat, és 1 kanál langyos vizet teszünk, és a kétféle tésztát külön őzgerincformában megsütjük. A krémet így készítjük hozzá: 20 dkg porcukrot 15 dkg vajjal jól kikeverünk, kozzáadunk egy csomag puncsos pudingport, egy kanál tejjel és cukorral elkeverve, az egészet két deci hideg tejhez öntjük és állandó keverés mellett sűrüre főzzük. A tésztát bordánként felszeleteljük, és a krémmel úgy ragasztjuk egymáshoz, hogy tetszőleges hosszúságban egy fehér és egy barna tészta kerüljön egymás mellé. Ha mindezzel megvagyunk, az egészet öntsük le csokimázzal. Ezután lehűtjük, és ha a csokoládé megdermedt, a tésztát ferdén vágva felszeleteljük.

I want to take you out for a break tonight. I want to take you to the bus stop tomorrow. I want to hear you sing in the morning as we wave Nikki off to work with John.

Thirteen years of small moments added up to the best dog we could ever ask for.

I am so grateful you chose us. You were the best good boy in all the land.

I will miss you forever.

So clever me figured I would try to get it to not collapse by poking a little vent hole above the water line. Makes sense no? A vent hole. Like a coffee cup. But instead of expanding the bottle, it actually made the water cooler leak uncontrollably. Or flow freely… you know… like a coffee cup? 😄

So I turned to a LLM for an explanation. Here's what it had to say:

Two really interesting bits of physics and design are happening in your water cooler, and they fit together more tightly than most people realize.

Why the bottle slowly crushes as it empties A 5‑gallon water jug on a cooler is not vented to the atmosphere. When you flip the bottle upside‑down and place it on the cooler:

• Water flows out of the bottle into the reservoir.
• Air cannot flow back in, because the neck of the bottle is submerged inside the cooler’s internal water tank.
• As water leaves the bottle, the air pressure inside the bottle drops.
• Outside air pressure (much higher) pushes inward on the thin plastic walls.
• Result: the bottle slowly collapses or “crushes” as it empties.
• This is exactly the same reason a sealed plastic bottle dents inward when you suck the air out or cool it down.

The crushing is normal and expected. It’s part of how the cooler regulates flow.

Why poking a hole made the cooler leak When you added a hole above the water line, you unintentionally broke the pressure‑based flow control system.

• Here’s what normally happens in a properly sealed bottle:

• The cooler only lets water out when the reservoir level drops.

• As water leaves, a small bubble of air glugs up into the bottle.

• That bubble equalizes pressure just enough to let more water out, but only when needed.

• The nozzle doesn’t leak because the reservoir stays at a controlled level.

But when you poke a hole:

• Air can freely enter the bottle at all times.

• The bottle is no longer sealed, so there’s no vacuum to hold the water back.

• Water flows continuously out of the bottle into the cooler’s reservoir.

• The reservoir overfills.

• Once overfilled, water escapes through the nozzle or drip tray.

In other words: The hole turned your cooler into a gravity-fed open tank, so it overflowed.

This photo was taken using a recipe called Classic Cuban Negative.

I am in love with it and have been bringing it everywhere snapping photos like back in the old days.

I have also been trying to get familiar with all the features. Tonight I was learning to program some of the function buttons for quick access to useful things (like switching between different film simulations) and showed Nikki what I learned. She grabbed the camera from me and snapped this photo.

Pinch and zoom to see the film-like quality.

I keep going back and forth between an Apple Watch 42mm Series 10 and a traditional watch these days.

Back in January I impulse-bought a used Tudor Black Bay Pro on Reddit. It was [mainly, but I guess I could use any excuse to justify it] to mark the milestone of becoming President of the Welland Hungarian Hall (!!)—which I will cover in a separate post, maybe. About a week ago I traded the BBP for a Tudor Ranger on Marketplace. Truth be told, I've been coveting the Ranger since it came out in 2022. I feel very fortunate to be able to own it now.

I love watches with the 3-6-9-12 dial and no date so the Ranger is a home run. In fact, I like it so much that it prompted me to make this post. 😃 Something the BBP didn't even compel me to do, even though that was a nice [and arguably better] watch too. The Ranger just feels way more at home and much less flashy too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/4 cup light mayo
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 medium cloves of garlic, grated
• 1/2 tsp Tajin

Instructions

Whisk everything until smooth. Keep refrigerated up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Update: Ok it was very good. Just tried it on prebiotic toast with a bit of butter… 😋

Ingredients

• 6-7 apples, peeled, cored, diced
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a pot, heat on medium heat until apples are soft (~20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Mash to desired consistency with a potato masher or (less efficiently) a fork.

Update Oct 12: I made another batch today for Thanksgiving. Softer apples this time, turned out more saucy, but equally as tasty. John says this tastes like a new Thanksgiving tradition. 😄

There is a share button that appears when the game ends. What’s your best score? Mine right now is Time Boxed: 50 (17/19/14). The numbers in the brackets indicate the minute of gameplay those points were scored in. The idea is during each of the 3 minutes the game will get a bit harder so having a good score in the third section comes with some bragging rights.

I think so far the game is pretty good but I am still trying to figure out what would make it great and keep you coming back day after day. One idea is limiting it to one game per day and also adding exponential bonus points for longer streaks.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 796ml can diced tomatoes with juice (or half)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup broth of choice (I did chicken)
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 pack Potato Gnocchi (I did Selection brand from Food Basics)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 handful (or more) fresh basil (torn/sliced)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil and butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. Once hot add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, Italian seasoning and give it a stir.
3. Stir in gnocchi. Let it cook, stir often until cooked through (5-7 minutes).
4. Once gnocchi is cooked (give it a taste) stir in mozzarella, parmesan, basil until cheeses melt.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately. ~360 cal / serving.

This recipe with the full can of diced tomatoes made 3 good-sized servings.

So I caved and switched to iPhone, as most of my contacts are using iPhones. I also knew that RCS was coming soon so I was happy that I would still be able to use RCS with the Android contacts. I learned that RCS was already available in Beta... I wanted a piece of the action and I joined the Apple Beta program.

Still, it was not available in my country or with my carrier. 😱

But then last night, when iOS 18 Beta 3 was released, I finally had access to it! Oh man. You have no idea - I've been racking my brain for weeks trying to solve this, trying to bridge the gap. Finally! As a nerd, this makes me very happy.

All in all, I don’t mind using iPhone. I have “Googlefied” the crap out of it (ie: using Google Maps, Calendar, Chrome, Gmail, etc). It almost feels normal now.

I found a Heart & Stroke article on managing cholesterol I like so I copied it to this entry for reference in case it gets taken down one day.

Heart & Stroke recommends that you:

1. Eat a healthy balanced diet

• Choose a variety of whole and minimally processed foods at every meal. This means foods that are either not packaged or have few ingredients.
• Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit at every meal. Choose vegetables and fruit for snacks.
• Select fresh, frozen or canned vegetables and fruit. You want them to be plain, without sauce, sugar or salt added.
• Choose whole grains. Look for whole grain breads, barley, oats (including oatmeal), quinoa, brown rice, bulgur, farro, etc.
• Mix up the centre of your plate. Choose more vegetarian options such as beans, lentils, tofu and nuts. Include vegetarian options as often as possible in your weekly meal plan. Make sure your meat is lean, poultry without the skin and include fish a couple of times per week.
• Limit your portion sizes.
• Choose lower fat dairy products or alternatives with no added sugar. Select 1% or skim milk, plain yogurt and lower fat cheeses.
• Plan healthy snacks with at least 2 different types of food. For example try: hummus and baby carrots; apple wedges and lower fat cheese or plain yogurt with berries.
• Drink water or lower fat plain milk to satisfy thirst.
• Avoid sugary drinks including soft drinks, sports drinks, sweetened milk or alternatives, fruit drinks, 100% fruit juice and ready-to-drink sweetened coffees and teas.
• Note: If your blood cholesterol level is high, your physician or dietitian may recommend restricting your intake of foods high in dietary cholesterol such as egg yolks, organ meats, full- fat dairy products and processed meats.

2. Cook and eat more meals at home

• Cooking at home allows you to select whole and minimally processed foods.
• Develop and share skills in food preparation and cooking with your family.
• Buy a healthy cookbook or try some healthy recipes.
• Select the top ten recipes your family loves and get everyone involved in the meal preparation.
• Reduce the amount of sugar, salt and solid fats used in your favourite recipes.

3. Make eating out a special occasion

Eating out usually results in you consuming large amounts of food, more fat, salt and sugar.

• Try to limit the number of times you eat in a restaurant per month.
• When you do eat out, choose restaurants that serve freshly made dishes using whole and minimally processed foods and provide nutrition information.
• Share meals, order the appetizer size or ask for half the meal to be packed up to eat the next day.

4. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight

Being overweight or obese increases your LDL or bad cholesterol level, lowers your HDL or good cholesterol level and raises your triglyceride levels. Reducing your weight is a positive way to reduce your blood cholesterol levels.

5. Maintain physical activity

Being physically active will help improve your cholesterol levels and general heart health. Aim for 150 minutes a week. That is less than 25 minutes per day!

Choose activities you like. Cycling, swimming, gardening, walking are great ways to keep active.

6. Be smoke-free

Smoking is a risk factor for heart disease. It reduces the level of your HDL “good” cholesterol. Once you quit, within a few weeks your HDL levels will start to rise.

Anyway, I've been wear this Galaxy watch for about two weeks now. I find it more versatile (all of my 20mm standard watch bands bands fit it and look great!) and I like the UX over the Pixel Watch. The only things that don't seem to work with my Pixel phone without "hacking" the watch are ECG (which I have rarely used), blood pressure monitoring (again, infrequently used) and synchronizing bedtime mode with my phone. I get around that last part by just setting a scheduled bedtime on the watch (eg: display and notifications turn off at 10PM).