I have made it to 34c4, registered as an Angel, procured a SIM card for internal comms, and wandered around this enormous venue. It's all coming together. There is buzz and excitement and many many nerds.
Emergency cakes chez Mum. Self-raising flour, bicarb, baking soda, 3 bananas, Vitalite, almond essence, dessicated coconut, and coconut milk until it was the right consistency. Dark chocolate chunks. Shockingly good.
Amy added 2 photos to https://i.amy.gy/madefood/
Usually my problem is that i can't get vegan cheese or chocolate but right now i only have vegan cheese and chocolate which is overall an improvement i guess but i dunno what i'm having for dinner??
This month's convluted travel routing took me through Ghent, Belgium. The bus timetables didn't quite line up to let me go straight through from Boston (the original) to Sarajevo, so I figured if I have to spend a day in a city I should pick a nice one, and one that I haven't been to before. I arrived, early, at 0530. It was very cold. Thankfully one of the earliest opening coffeeshops happens to be an all-vegan one - Full Circle Coffee. Unfortunately I still had two hours to kill before 0730, which I spent shivering in a corner in the train station. It wasn't the best. When I made my way to Full Circle, it was still dark. The place is super welcoming, with sofas, comfy chairs, as well as tables, and a wall-facing bench lined with power sockets, so it's clear laptopping is welcome. I started my day earlier than usual, with an oat milk flat white, and chocolate pie (8EUR total). Their other offerings included carrot cake and chai carrot cake. The wifi was fine, and there was a power socket by a sofa. I curled up there and watched the sun rise out of the glass door which leads to their back terrace. The sun didn't so much as rise, but the sky turned a lighter shade of grey. I thought about leaving for a walking tour at 10, but just as I was making my mind up to close my laptop it started to sleet. I stayed. Just after 11 the weather had improved, and I headed to Mie Vie, a vegan cafe in the town center. I had a somehow spectacular cheese salad sandwich on crusty bread, and a danish pastry. This place was also welcoming, and also had good wifi and power options, and a decent amount of space. It didn't get busy over lunch time. I joined this walking tour at 1300. It lasted two hours, and was fun and informative. I learnt that French Fries are Belgian, there are three peeing children statues (compared to Brussels' one), and there's art in one of the cathedral's that is the most-stolen ever. It rained, hailed, and the sun came out a little, but mostly it was just overcast. Our Mexican tour guide is in the final year of his PhD in international politics. It was a pretty large group; I tipped 5EUR. I almost caved and got chips because I was cold, but resisted, holding out for a vegan all-you-can-eat buffet later. I went to the library (De Krook) to be productive for a while. It's a pretty cool new building with interesting architecture. There were lots of people studying on the top floor, but still space. Next I headed to Komkommertijd for dinner. An all-you-can-eat vegan buffet for a lofty 17EUR. The place was packed and I was permitted a table on the condition I left by 20.00. This wasn't ideal as I had been hoping to use this as my warm place until my 22.00 bus. In any case, I ate all I could. The food was good; a selection of hot stew-y type dishes, all rich and cheesey, as well as spring rolls and pakora-type things, soup, bread and various salads. There was a blueberry cake for dessert. They don't serve tap water unless a drink is ordered which I thought was a little unreasonble given the cost of the buffet. I watched a tiny old lady next to me polish off plate after plate. There was no wifi. I decided to head back full circle to Full Circle Coffee for a hot chocolate, if it was still open. It wasn't. But around the corner I stumbled across Lokaal, which I'd heard about but forgot to look for on the map. From there I did get a hot chocolate, served in a giant vase. "Sometimes we like to play practical jokes on people and today it's you." Out of the corner of my eye I also saw two women struggling to eat dessert from a comically oversized bowl. I stayed well past closing time (21.00) since the place was still half full. The staff were friendly and funny and it had a generally silly vibe. Just as I was leaving, someone broke out Twister but with vegetables and George Michael instead of the usual coloured circles. Then back to Dampoort, for bus number 3 to Cologne Airport. The rest of the photos are here.
The first really good talk I've seen at #34c3 was BGP and the Rule of Custom by cjd. Good thoughts about the interplay between network structure/hardware and the social surroundings. And a pretty solid Mastodon plug at the end :)
I wandered around Leipzig for a couple of hours this morning, looking for food. It turns out that lots of places in the city center are open, but the ones which are are packed, full of families being festive. They were also on the fancy and expensive side. None of these appealed. I could not find a fast food place or a supermarket. Eventually I found myself in the main train station. This is a small bubble of the city where on the 25th of December, life continues as normal. A lot of the food outlets are open, and I enjoyed a coffee and a pretzel in tranquility. I also saw a dm and a smoothie place on my way in, so I can get supplies for later. I'm sitting in a bakery in the station right now. There are a few people about, and it's interesting to observe the folks who are doing not-christmas things this afternoon. A few families with small kids; people not speaking German to the cashier who probably just arrived or are waiting to depart; old couples and old solos. Cafes and restaurants in the city center didn't feel like places it was okay to sit alone, even if there was space. But the train station vibe is safe and comforting.
An Angry Vegan at Bread Meats Bread. A train ride with the bird. Chips at Mum's.
Amy added 13 photos to https://i.amy.gy/201711-uk/
Edinburgh times, with the bird, and Holyrood, and food.
Amy added 27 photos to https://i.amy.gy/201711-uk/
A day in which I went to Snax, Anteaques, the SHRUB, and Holy Cow.
Amy added 22 photos to https://i.amy.gy/201711-uk/
Doughnuts at Considerit, unexpected jaunt to Calton Hill with Harry, Soul Sushi, and Star Trek ToS projector-sized.
Amy added 23 photos to https://i.amy.gy/201711-uk/
Walking, eating and typing in Ghent. Blog post.
Amy added 43 photos to https://i.amy.gy/201712-ghent/
A morning run around the glorious Holyrood Park.
Amy added 29 photos to https://i.amy.gy/201711-uk/
A few days in Leipzig, from the 24th of December to the 31st. Mostly for attending the 34th Chaos Communication Congress. Post about the trip.
Amy added 39 photos to https://i.amy.gy/2017-leipzig/
Sarajevo has been remarkably kind to me upon my return today.
Amy added 17 photos to https://i.amy.gy/2017-sarajevo/
Food and fun in Sarajevo. Featuring Sushi San, Karuzo, krompirusa, making pizza with Elizabeth.
Amy added 16 photos to https://i.amy.gy/2017-sarajevo/
A gloomy run from Stickford to Stickney; Boston (original) early morning; a train to London.
Amy added 15 photos to https://i.amy.gy/201711-uk/
Now my student card has expired and I can't access Edinburgh University buildings to bum around with my laptop at the weekend, it's nice that I can cosy up on a sofa at the SHRUB for a couple of hours. It's a lovely welcoming place and community of people, and it's come so far since I volunteered here a bit about three years ago. I also bought a hat.
I did slip over on my ass twice on the hill 1 minute from my front door though and the neighbours saw.
I published Social Web Protocols as a Social Web Working Group Note today. It's supposed to be a one-stop shop for understanding the various specs of the WG. Hopefully it makes your life easier not harder.
tl;dr In a spectacular feat of learning absolutely nothing from my recent three-consecutive-nights-on-buses excursion, I have now booked an upcoming trip involving two night ferries and a night bus (and two day buses). I was tryna do it in three ferries and one bus, but the Bari-Dubrovnik line is apparently ~seasonal~ and not running in January how selfish. tl For anyone interested in further details of my folly, my goal was to get from Malta to Sarajevo in the first week of January without flying. During high season it is possible to go in basically a straight line. After I found out (thanks to an unexpectedly fast and helpful email response from Jadrolinja) about the Bari-Dubrovnik line not running however I had to work out a more indirect route. The ferry from Malta to Catania (Sicily) is a given. It's 9 hours overnight, and a steep 60EUR. But no way around it. (Tirrenia ferries.) The next most obvious option was to bus from Catania to Ancona, and take the Jadrolinja ferry from there to Split (Croatia). Split to Sarajevo is easy. To my surprise, there's a direct bus from Catania to Ancona; 15 hours and 80EUR. But I've done the Ancona to Split ferry twice before. There's nothing wrong with it, but I'm seeking new experiences. It's about 50EUR, and 12 hours. OH and one other thing. It only runs on Tuesdays and Fridays. The earliest I can leave Malta on a Thursday night and there is just no way I can make it to Ancona by Friday evening, so started planning to spend 4 days in Catania, because it would be cool to climb Mt Etna and more interesting than waiting around in Ancona for the next available ferry. I found accommodation for about 40EUR for the whole time. In total, this would get me back to Sarajevo on the 10th of January, and cost about 190EUR in transport and accommodation. If I take entirely buses though, I can shave off three days and 60EUR, but I also sacrifice an extra vacation in Sicily. I could do this with a bus from Catania to Venice (80EUR, 14 hours), Venice to Ljubljana (3.5h, 15EUR but only an hour to transfer), an afternoon in Ljubljana (+10 points) and a nightbus to Sarajevo (11h, 33EUR). Down to less than 130EUR. Time in Ljubljana would be cool, but it'll still be cold and I'll only have like 4 hours of daylight, and the bus to Sarajevo is not until after 1am. And I want more ferries. What else have we got? *rhiaro peers furiously at maps of Italy* A ferry from Catania to Napoli you say?! Don't mind if I do. It's 45EUR and 12 hours overnight. (TTTLines via Caronte Touriste.) That gives me a full day in Catania (enough for a half day jaunt to a volcano perhaps..) and no accommodation costs. Compared to costs of other transport options in Italy this felt like a real bargain. Napoli to Ljubljana was kind of awkward, timing-wise, for the connection to Sarajevo. But Napoli to Zagreb with Flixbus was a euro cheaper anyway for some reason even though it's the same line, and there are more connections to Sarajevo from Zagreb. There's a change in Rome; I shaved off 2EUR (and added an hour to transfer time) by booking Napoli-Rome and Rome-Zagreb separately. I already know that Rome Tiburtina bus station has a small cafe with vegan cake options, so if the bus does arrive on time it's a fine place to wait a couple of hours. I'll be there early evening, a hospitible hour. From Zagreb I have a three hour wait before the trusty Centrotrans 12.30 connection to Sarajevo (25EUR). This whole option is 121EUR, adds 8 hours on compared to the all-bus route, but I get to keep a ferry, have more time in Catania, and can still make it to work on Monday. I have spent several days over the past month intermittently researching the options and waiting for various January ferry schedules to emerge. Totally worth it.
I lived in Edinburgh for 4 years, but the vegan offerings have ramped up in the 2 years I've been away since. On my last two visits, in September for my viva and December for my graduation, I visited old favourites, as well as crammed in as many new places as I could. The classics The Auld Hoose I went to the Hoose almost every Monday evening for 4 years. They have a 20% discount on food on Mondays. They also have a ton of vegan options in a laid-back grungy pub atmosphere. They had vegan cheese on their GIANT nachos before it was cool. The menu changed while I was away, and these days along with their vegan chilli, vegan burrito and vegan burger they also have a fried tofu sandwich and raspberry sorbet sundae. I miss the veggie haggis and mushroom pie of ye olde days though, gotta say. But you really come for the nachos. Anteaques I practically lived in Anteaques when I ran SocieTea. They were our best sponsor, and I am as unfailingly loyal as you can be to a tea shop. They also have at least one homemade vegan tart at weekends, usually chocolate and raspberry. Rhubarb apparently briefly put in a seasonal appearance last month, but I missed it. Anyway I'm happy to eat the chocolate and raspberry tart with a pot of tea every single time I go, it's fantastic. The tea is also good. Rigatoni's I used to eat at Rigatoni's a lot. It's a lovely family-run pizza and pasta joint. It's not the cheapest, but the quality is outstanding. Over the years I developed my perfect topping combo: spicy kidney beans, artichoke, and mushrooms or olives (depending on what I was in the mood for). I went so regularly they'd remind me to remove cheese from my order if I forgot to mention it. They don't have vegan cheese, but the pizza sauce is so good it holds up a pizza all on its own. The XL is best value for money, and would usually last me one and a half to two meals. It's great cold the next day, smothered in hot sauce. Henderson's An Edinburgh veggie institution, there are now about three or four branches of Henderson's in different forms. Felicity and I went to the vegan deli version, and tried a whole bunch of stuff. It was all great. It is not particularly cheap. I've been to the main restaurant (vegetarian not vegan) for full meals a couple of times too on special occasions, and it was always really good. David Bann This is an upscale vegetarian restaurant, also generally reserved for special occasions. I've tried every vegan option on their menu at this point, and they're all good. Last time I had a late bus out of Edinburgh, Jane and I were killing time beforehand. Despite having just demolished Hoose nachos (see above), we hauled ourselves to David Bann for fancy pants dessert and coffee. We really had no space for it, but enjoyed it nonetheless. If you wanna go for a full meal you probably need a reservation, but they were good enough squeeze us in unannounced at 2130. Forrest Cafe This is somewhere between a classic and a new for me. Forrest has been around in various forms for a loooong time. The cafe is all vegetarian, with lots of vegan options or amendments. I think it's run by volunteers, and/or extremely low-paid do-gooders. I only visited a couple of times when I lived in Edinburgh, and only for coffee and cake. Recently I stopped for a meal and a few hours of laptopping. The burrito was incredible, huge, cheap, delicious, and they now have vegan cheese. There's not loads of space, but there is power and wifi if you go at none busy times. There's usually also a box of free bread by the door. New and exciting ATFresh In the newly refurbished Appleton Tower, a cafe has sprung. They have a bunch of vegan options on their small menu, including a pizza flatbread with vegan cheese. Suddenly hungry in the 15 minutes before my graduation ceremony started, I stuffed this into my face. It was about £3 and quite delicious. Herbivore Kitchen This place is great on a number of levels. Clerk St is a very handy location. It is all vegetarian and mostly vegan, and everything is well labelled. They have a good selection of cakes and drinks, and both large and small mains. They have loads of seating downstairs, so I would feel no guilt whatsoever taking my laptop there for several hours (there's wifi and power). It opened in late 2017, and I went several times over my last two visits to Edinburgh, feeling a need to try as much of the menu as possible. It has all been really good, although a turmeric latte was a bit bland. The milkshakes are elaborate and luxurious though, and the flavours have been different each time I went. The pancake stacks are pretty epic. I wanted to try the kuku but they hadn't had a delivery yet when I was there. My biggest life regret may be not staying in Edinburgh long enough to try their christmas menu. Nova Pizza An all-vegetarian pizza place in New Town. The vegan menu is so extensive it could stand alone and you wouldn't know anything was missing, over starters mains and desserts. Jane and I shared two pizzas, as well as a 4-'cheese' bruscetta to start. We were too stuffed for dessert, but a hazelnut latte went down very well. This was £40 between us. Holy Cow This place is all vegan, and hidden away behind the bus station. It's small, but the cake selection is huge. They have a bunch of different kinds of burgers. I didn't even look at the juice and smoothie menu. The chips were fantastic. It was all good. I wanted to eat everything. I took photos of all of the cakes so I could think about them more whilst eating my burger. ConsiderIt These folks used to sell handmade vegan chocolates at markets, and now opened a shop across the road from Summerhall. The Summerhall guest wifi reaches, and there's power, and a reasonable amount of space, though it's not super comfy (yet - I think it's being developed). Anyway it's a VEGAN DONUT SHOP so who cares about the seating. Felicity and I tried four between us, along with oat milk mochas. We took chocolates to go as gifts. Yeah this was good. Soul Sushi A new (to me) sushi place on Nicholson St seemed worth checking out, and they have a lot of vegan options. The veggie 'garden platter' can be veganised upon request. When I went in to pick up our order, the guy behind the counter told me they're working on introducing a lot more vegan options, including fixing their breading so it doesn't use egg. Keep an eye on this one! Bread Meats Bread Uuuugh it's a burger bar, but the vegan menu is extensive, so I guess it's good to show demand. They have branches in Glasgow, but the one on Lothian Road is the first in Edinburgh. I had an Angry Vegan, which was seitan based, with not-cheese and good salad. The spicy buffalo sauce was good too, and Felicity and I shared chips with blue not-cheese dip. Pakora Bar Exactly what the name says, this place is mostly but not all vegetarian. When we were there ordering all of the vegan things, we were told they're introducing more veggie and vegan options in the near future too. They have a haggis pakora, which you can't really say no to. We shared a variety of pakoras, and also the red bean soup which was really good. What looks like a small amount of food is surprisingly filling, and the prices are good too. It's in New Town. This doesn't cover all of the places to eat vegan in Edinburgh, and there are many that I frequented when I lived there which aren't listed. This is just a roundup of my two trips this year. Here's the HappyCow link for your convenience, and the Edinburgh University Vegetarian Society.
Finished Nanowrimo at 30,413 words, which is a new second place. Went to Edinburgh (via a nightbus to Munich and a flight). Climbed the Scott Monument finally. Graduated. Saw my parents and lots of people I haven't seen for a while. Ate at many of the new vegan establishments in Edinburgh.
Week in review: 27 November - 3 December
Spent a couple of days at my Mum's house. Took the bus to London then the night bus to Ghent. Spent a day eating Ghent. Took the nightbus to Cologne Airport, and slept there for a few hours. Weird dreams. Cold. Food offerings have improved though. Took the final 24 hour bus back to Sarajevo. Fixed some aleph things I'd been stuck on, but no huge progress. Shipped sloph's AP outbox endpoint. It works with curl but I haven't tested it with clients yet.
Spent the 25th of December in Leipzig train station eating pretzels. Attended 34c3. Lots of nerds, tea, and Isaac Asimov. Took the night bus to Munich and a plane (ugh) to Malta. Rang in the new year in bed with Lizziepoop and a movie.
memorious has some good new features, so I spent a chunk of time updating all of the OCCRP crawlers to use them. Parsed some things. Sanitized some things. Started moving generic endpoint discovery mechanisms in to a library to use with AP clients. Finished Season 1 of Salvation. After the first two or three episodes, it became surprisingly good. Updated Social Web Protocols so we can publish it as a Note this month. Took a bus from Sarajevo to Leipzig. Discovered that at this particular time of year, everything in Leipzig is closed.