Random tangent (blog)
Ameel Khan's personal blog. This is a blog about life, technology, photography, typography, the internet, science, feminism, books, film, music, and whatever other random stuff I come across or happen to be interested in today.
Maggie was only a little stressed at the vet today. Her visits usually end up net positive though, because the *second* the vet gives her a treat all her stress goes out the window :)
Photo of a red/brown dog standing in a large waiting area, looking up at the photographer. The dog’s mouth is open because she’s panting and her ears are pulled back slightly from the typical alert position. She looks a little stressed.
Two years ago today I wrote this on the whiteboard next to where my team sits in the office. I guess “foreseeable future” was right because, in this post-vaccine stage of the pandemic, we’re all still working from home.
Photo of a whiteboard on which there is text that reads: “Looking for the Digital & Social Media team? We’re all working from home for the foreseeable future. Contact us via Webex, phone, or email. #FlattenTheCurve #COVID_19”.
My current plan is to start going into the office one day a week from April. Maybe. I’ll still be fully N95-masked, of course. We’re not in the post-pandemic stage yet! But let’s see what happens in the next few weeks.
We’re certainly living in interesting times!
Turns out peanut butter bread is super easy to make and is quite delicious.
The recipe I followed made a relatively mild loaf, so next time I’ll make a richer, more cake-like version.
Photo of a home-baked loaf of rich brown bread cooling on top of a wire rack on a kitchen countertop.
FYI: I followed the 1932 recipe in this video (which is from the US Great Depression) and I’ll try Dylan’s own peanut butter bread recipe for the next loaf.
Nadia Tweeted this:
Best part of the day. (Less so for @ameel because he has to spot me these days.) pic.twitter.com/BfgngsknPA
— Nadia Niaz (@NadiaNiaz) March 2, 2022
Which I quote-tweeted and said:
Don’t tell Nadia, but spotting her is one of my favourite things to do. Not only do I get to watch her lift ridiculously heavy weights (and increasingly heavy ones at that) I also get the opportunity to hang out with her when she's having the most fun (+ take cool photos of her)!
Photo of a strong-looking woman in a black sleeveless shirt and hair held up in a bun with paint brushes. The woman is wearing wrist straps and a thick leather belt for lifting heavy weights. She is standing in a room in front of a weight rack that has a loaded barbell on it.
Up side of wearing a well-fitted, (K)N95/P2 mask: your likelihood of contacting COVID-19 in an indoor setting is greatly reduced.
Down side of wearing a well-fitted, (K)N95/P2 mask:
Close-up selfie of a man’s face. On the man's cheek and nose are reddened indentations made by the straps of a tightly fitted faced mask. The man is sitting inside a car.
Sunday afternoons, amirite?
Close up photo of a sleeping red/brown dog with its head resting on the side of a fuzzy dog bed.
My ‘highlights of red’ outfit while walking the dog today: red sneakers, red watch strap, and red leash+collar combo. Not exactly painting the town red; more like fine lining it :)
Photo of the bottom half of a man’s outfit as he stands on the pavement next to some grass. The man is wearing a black T-shirt, olive green shorts, and red sneakers. The man’s watch is on a red strap and he is holding a red dog leash.
The best way to spend an afternoon, tbh.
Photo of a red/brown dog asleep on its side inside an enclosed dog bed cube. The dog’s face and front paws are leaning against the circular hole that is the opening of this cube.
I’ve taken today off (yay for time-in-lieu leave) so I’m doing pretty much the same too :)
Hello from Herring Island in the Yarra River in Melbourne!
Selfie of a man wearing a t-shirt, sunglasses, and a straw hat. The man is standing in an lightly wooded area that’s on an island in the middle of an urban river.
The island is a short punt ride from Richmond.
Photo of a small punt making its way across an urban river to ferry people to the other side.
It has gazebos, public barbecues, several picnic areas, toilets, and even a pottery store.
Photo of a gazebo and some park benches in a large open field surrounded by a wooded area.
Plus there’s artwork to check out. Including this one – ‘Steerage’ by Jill Peck – that you can sit in :)
Selfie of a man wearing a t-shirt, sunglasses, and a straw hat. The man is sitting inside a large piece of artwork that’s shaped like a wide boat. This “boat” is made from pieces of granite, so it looks like grey cobblestones.
It’s a lovely place for a walk and a picnic. 8/10 would recommend.
Photo of a woman in a red and black patterned dress and a straw hat walking across an open field that’s surrounded by tall trees.
*sigh*
(When you’ve been super busy at work and haven’t paid enough attention to the dog.)
Photo of a red/brown dog lying on her side in a carpeted room. The dog’s back is smooshed up against the leg and caster of an office chair. A very short distance away from the dog is a fuzzy, orange dog bed. The photographer had added bold, all-caps text on top of the three main objects in the photo. This text reads: MY CHAIR, MY DOG, and HER BED.
Important update: it’s warmer outside in the sun than it is my study.
Photo of a red/brown dog asleep on her side next to a fence in the sun.
A smidge of sunshine…
Selfie of a man walking a red/brown dog on a residential street. The man is wearing a bright blue cap and a light grey rain shell. There’s a bit of pale sunlight on the bottom half of the man’s face.
On an otherwise overcast and drizzly day.
Selfie of a man walking a red/brown dog on a residential street. The man is wearing a bright blue cap and a light grey rain shell, with the shell’s hood covering the cap. There are splotches of rain on the rain shell.
I know it’s going to be a Hot Day today, but it’s quite nice out there right now. Even if it is a smidge windy and a tad humid.
Selfie of a man wearing sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat with the sun behind the man’s head.
That said, the temperature did rise by almost three degrees in just the half hour that Maggie and I were out walking. So it’s not going to be pleasant for too much longer!
Selfie of a man walking a red/brown dog on a red leash. The man is wearing a t-shirt, sunglasses, a wide brimmed straw hat and is looking up at the camera. The dog is just behind the man, sniffing around in the grass on a nature strip at the side of a road.
Home made, gluten free, mini apple pies on a Saturday afternoon.
My mother loved apple pie. Had she been alive, today would’ve been her 75th birthday. *sigh*
Photo of a few square, single-serve apple pies with a rich, brown, caramelised crust lying on a cooling rack.
Important Sunday breakfast update (lactose free vanilla ice cream in slightly warmed pie)…
Photo from the point of view of a man holding a yellow plate. The plate contains a square piece of pie with a scoop on vanilla ice cream on top of it.
Throwback to two weeks ago when we were picnicking at Donnelly Weir in the Yarra Ranges.
Selfie of a man with his back to a constructed weir in the middle of a forest.
You might not hear the tree fall in the woods, but at least you get to see it and then take a photo of it :)
Photo taken along the length of a tree that’s fallen in the woods.
One nice thing about living near a train line is that you get the chance to take lots of train-in-motion photos when you take the dog for a walk every day.
Photo of a train in motion taken through a gap in tree branches. The train is in sharp focus but the branches of the tree are motion-blurred.
Hot day; gotta stay hydrated. (That’s Maggie’s outdoor water bowl by her feet.)
A red/brown dog is licking her lips after having drunk water from a large ceramic bowl lying next to an outdoor deck in a residential garden.
It’s that kind of a day for me today. *sigh*
Photo of a red/brown dog sprawled across a dog bed, with its chin propped up by the raised edge.
Why wait for Sunday when you can have a roast on Saturday night instead? :)
Photo of a hunk of roast beef lying on a large white platter on top of a dining table. Arranged around the beef are diced roast potatoes and carrots. To one side is a large jug of gravy. There is a two-person table setting around the platter.
Got a nice crust on the beef and the potatoes, too.
Close-up photo of a hunk of roast beef that is crispy on the outside. Next to the beef is a pile of diced roast potato pieces.
It’s our eighteenth wedding anniversary today. I am a very fortunate man.
Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black, both smiling at the camera.
From Nadia:
Happy 18th wedding anniversary to the (wiser) head growing out of my shoulder. @ameel pic.twitter.com/SHWzIM6LoE
— Nadia Niaz (@NadiaNiaz) February 1, 2022
The Hobsons Bay green waste paper bag trial has kicked off!
I picked up trial bags yesterday, so from today we’ll be putting our green waste into these compostable brown bags – the smaller of which fit into a the green waste kitchen caddy.
No more stinky neighbourhood on bin day! (Hopefully.)
Photo of a stack of collapsed brown paper bags, one smaller and one larger. On top of the stacks is a flyer with the title ‘Paper bags for food waste’. Next to the bags is a counter-top kitchen caddy for green waste that has been lined with one of these paper bags.
This is personal website of Nadia Niaz and Ameel Zia Khan. Here we document our lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia