Romania Through Their Eyes

Romania Through Their Eyes – Laurie Webb

The third episode of my show, Romania Through Their Eyes, has just gone live. This interview features Laurie Webb, who is from Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. He moved to Romania about a year ago, and he is currently renovating an old Saxon home in the village of Roandola, Southern Transilvania, in order to turn it into a bed and breakfast called Casa Cristina Roandola.

As with the first episode, both English and Romanian subtitles will be available. In order to access them, you’ll need to see the video directly on YouTube, so either click on the video above, or click on the link below. Once on YouTube, use the CC button to select the language for the subtitles.

Episode RTTE-003-EN-HD
Released 4/4/11

A couple of things:

Enjoy!

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Ligia's Kitchen

Ligia’s Kitchen – Spring Sprout Salad

Video

In episode 14 of Ligia’s Kitchen, Ligia makes a nutritious spring sprout salad — just the thing to get us nourished after a cold winter.

English subtitles are available on YouTube (toggle them on/off with the CC button).

Episode LK-014-RO-HD
Released 4/4/11

Thoughts

Java finally acknowledges upgrade issues

Not sure how many of you have been aware of this, but Java upgrades over the past several years have been problematic for Windows users. When a new version of Java came out, the installer would prompt you to upgrade, but would never prompt you to remove the old version, or do it for you. In my work, I’d see computers with as many as 10-12 different versions of Java on them. The user, unaware of the messiness built into the Java upgrade, would leave the old versions on their machine, and they’d keep piling up. You could see them in the Add/Remove Control Panel, but how many people know how to look there, and how many know that it’s okay to remove old versions of Java?

So I was heartened to see that Java is finally acknowledging the problem with old Java versions sitting on Windows machines, and is now prompting users to remove them after installing the new version. See the screenshot below.

Ideally, their upgrade engine ought to remove them for the user, but at least this is a step in the right direction. And to think that Java is being used everywhere these days (even where you don’t want it), and it took all this time for them to straighten out the upgrade issues. It’s a bit shameful if you ask me.

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Romania Through Their Eyes

Romania Through Their Eyes featured on TVR International (again)

My show, Romania Through Their Eyes, was featured a second time on TVR International this past weekend, on a news program hosted by Horia Grusca, called “Romania in Vazul Lumii” (March 19th, 2011 edition). You can watch the archived show online. The segment where my show is presented starts at minute 13:14 and ends at minute 22:23.

If you haven’t yet seen the first two episodes in full length, you may do so as well, on my YouTube channel, in HD, with English or Romanian subtitles (click on the CC button to select your language).

A friendly reminder that I created a Facebook page for the show, so head on over and give it a Like if you want to be kept up to date with what’s going on.

Many thanks to Mr. Horia Grusca!

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Thoughts

Meet Zuzu

Zuzu is a very adorable kitten of unknown age — my guess at this point is 8-9 months — that we first saw on Facebook. She was recuperating after major hip surgery, and was up for adoption. She’d been found on a street in Bucharest, with both of her hips broken, possibly by a car, or a trap, or some deranged person. We fell in love right away with the little black furball, got in touch with the good folks who’d been treating her (Irina Pricop and Magda Radu), and arranged to adopt her. That’s also how we got to adopt two of our other cats (Bubu and Tira), but that’s a story for another day.

This is how the poor thing looked when they found her. Notice the broken and dislocated hips, pushing inside the abdominal cavity and pressing onto her organs.

And this is after the operations, recuperating at the vet’s office.

She’s now been with us for about 6 months, and has recovered very nicely. Her gait has never gotten back to normal, and I don’t think it ever will. She walks a little funny, and she runs a little funny too, but that’s what makes her even more endearing. She’s even learned to climb (and get down from) trees better than any other of our cats. She’s a very resilient cat. She’d have to be, to still be alive after an accident like the one she had.

This is how she looked last autumn, a few weeks after we brought her home.

Can you resist a face like that? Can anyone resist it? Not likely.

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