More on Water, Lunch, More on Books, Volcano.

I recently wrote about water, shortages, wastage, etc. A friend mentioned, on Facebook, a new computer chip which is going to revolutionise desalination of water and therefore save many lives by eliminating water borne diseases. There is an article here http://tinyurl.com/y8zaq2e explaining how the chip was develped in Massachusetts and what it can be used for although they say it has no application in the US. My friend, however, has already thought of other uses for this chip such as the pretreatment of industrial effluent. I quoted the predictions of National Geographic who said by 2050 a third of the population would have no access to clean water, hopefully this technology will help to end that prediction. I went for lunch with another friend at the Arabesque on Victoria St. in Kitchener, it was great to see her as we hadn't met for months. We had shawarma and kebabs which we then proceeded to share. We drank a milkshake made with bananas and a mango juice for me. We were both quite satisfied with our meals, I then went up to the counter to pay by credit card and was horrified to see a girl making salads with her bare hands. She stopped what she was doing and took my credit card, then when the cashier arrived she went back to her salads. I have changed my mind about the restaurant since which is a pity. Another thing they offered, in the evening, was hookahs - hookahs? I thought those were used for smoking hashish? They say there is no tobacco and offer all kinds of fruit flavours - I don't think I would try one. As I said yesterday, my friend was lending me her copy of Elizabeth Moon's Oath of Fealty, however, I have already started Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker which appears to be a pretty good story. He is excellent at inventing new magics and this one is, yet again, quite different. He is another one, like Glenda Larke, who is good at world building. In case you don't remember, Brandon Sanderson is the author who has been chosen to complete the Wheel of Time Series started by Robert Jordan. He has already published one which I read last year and I was astounded to see this book also came out last year. He must be working pretty hard at this writing business. Sounds like Karen Miller, who it is believed, has elves in her basement writing for her. I just went to look at Brandon Sanderson's site and discovered an article by him and a link to Warbreaker itself. So you can read the book online. I completely forgot to mention the volcano in Iceland which I heard about this morning. Pretty incredible and causing all sorts of problems in Europe, especially Britain, because there is so much ash in the air they have had to ground planes for the while. The ash is bad for the engines apparently. Not much good for lungs either. I gather people have had to be evacuated in Iceland too which is not surprising. There is an article about it here if you would like to read it. http://tinyurl.com/y3x4n5b in fact it says there is no disruption at their local airport although nearer the coast is affected. The recipe below came from Cooking.com and I couldn't resist it, sounds so delicious. Chocolate Mousse Pie with Peanut Butter Fudge Source: bestdressedmeals.com Yields 8 servings INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups powdered sugar 1 (6 oz.) 8-inch prepared chocolate crust 1 box (2.8 oz.) Nestle European Style Mousse Mix 2/3 cup milk 1 small decorative cookie cutters DIRECTIONS Melt margarine and peanut butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in vanilla extract and sugar until smooth. Reserve ½ cup peanut butter fudge. Drop remaining peanut butter fudge by rounded spoonful onto bottom of crust. Gently spread over bottom to completely cover crust. Prepare mousse mix as directed on box using 2/3 cup milk. When mousse is thick, spoon into crust. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Meanwhile, spread reserved 1/2 cup peanut butter fudge over waxed paper or greased baking sheet to 1/8-inch thickness. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters to use as garnish. Have a great day