Fluffy pancakes and other useful advice

Okay, I have my pancakes back on track.  The recipe came from America’s Test Kitchen:

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup milk (plus an extra tablespoon or so if batter is too thick)
1 large egg , separated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
vegetable oil (for brushing griddle)

1. Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl. Pour buttermilk and milk into 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Whisk in egg white; mix yolk with melted butter, then stir into milk mixture. Dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients all at once; whisk until just mixed.

2. Meanwhile, heat griddle or large skillet over strong medium-high heat. Brush griddle generously with oil. When water splashed on surface confidently sizzles, pour batter, about 1/4 cup at a time, onto griddle, making sure not to overcrowd. When pancake bottoms are brown and top surface starts to bubble, 2 to 3 minutes, flip cakes and cook until remaining side has browned, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

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The Limburg Kamer van Koophandel (KvK) has moved again, and will once more at year’s end.  The glass offices in Sittard have been exchanged for modest (under construction) digs up the road , and are soon to be exchanged for a new location further north in Roermond.

It fits a general trend of offices closing in the south and hubs moving north towards Eindhoven.  It’s happened with the KvK and Expat Center, various friend’s workplaces, and more generally with Rockstart.  What are we doing wrong in the south (even as we strive to be Europe’s Capital of Culture for 2018.

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At some point, remember to back up your blog.  The XML file is surprisingly small; the peace of mind is huge.

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The FT has an essay on “The benefits of business with no fixed abode” , detailing the virtues of working from public spaces.  As someone who is as likely to operate from a Starbucks or BTWireless hotspot as from St. Johns or the bioIncubator2, I can see both the advantages and disadvantages.  I do tend to squeeze work into life’s corners and like being able to be productive anywhere, anytime.  Still, an  office drives interactions and focus that are difficult to replicate on the road.  I’m hitting ore of a balance these days, half in-office, half-out, that gives me the contact and flexibility I need to cover life’s portfolio.

The biggest productivity tip, really, is to avoid travel as much as possible.  It eats time and its almost impossible to do work on a train or plane.

I’m experimenting with publishing expat entrepreneurial content (with a Netherlands focus) to a FlipBoard magazine (along with another, more general one with expat literature relevant to those living in the Netherlands). They are best accessed through FlipBoard Search: I’m still figuring out how to connect my Pocket as the curated content (feed, archive, or notification), but will keep it maintained.

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I’ve been noticing that I tend to compose my photographs with the focus to the right, subject to the left.  Flipping through travel magazines, it seems to be the dominant composition there as well (although there is a bias in how things are arranged within and across pages as well).

I took a look at whether on orientation feels more “right” than the other by flipping a magazine ad:

    

I definitely have a feel tat one is more comfortable, less artificial than the other, but I doubt that it’s universal.  I’ll try to mix up my perspectives in any case, right/left, just like I do sky/ground.