Japanese chain

I had to put a new chain on the fixie, as it was worn and was creaking and squeaking as it went around. I go through a lot of chains, mostly because my work is near a aggregates recycling place. There are endless trucks going in with stuff that has been dug out of the ground, which means the road is coated with a fine dust seeping from all the trucks.

https://chillikebab.wordpress.com/2026/03/14/japanese-chain/

Riding round New York

In the middle of last year, I had to go to the US on business, and because I had to be there for two weeks ended up with a free weekend in New York. Whilst travelling on business and being away from home is hardly great, New York is a great city and so there was some upside in this trip - notwithstanding that the US is not really a place I'm keen to visit right now.

https://chillikebab.wordpress.com/2026/03/07/riding-round-new-york/

Arnott’s Scotch Finger Reduced Sugar

In these modern times, there is undoubtedly a move to eat less sugar. I too am eating less sugar, which may well make me a biscuit-reviewing fraud (and also explains the relatively fewer sweet biscuit reviews on this blog). But Arnott's have clearly seen an oportinity in the market, and launched reduced sugar versions of a few of their classic lines.

https://chillikebab.wordpress.com/2026/03/01/arnotts-scotch-finger-reduced-sugar/

Skullduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy

Regular readers may recall that a while ago I was called upon to write a book review that was unusually stressful. And now I must go into the breech again dear friends, because Chillikebab Jnr #2 has similarly requested that I read a book that has become an obsession - complete with the obligation to enter into long and detailed discussions about it.

https://chillikebab.wordpress.com/2026/02/21/skullduggery-pleasant-derek-landy/

A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara

This is a very uncomfortable book to read that took me some time to finish, as I had to put it aside from time to time and then come back to it. It follows the lives for four protagonists - Jude, Willem, Malcolm and JB. It opens with them all reaching adulthood after college and starting out in the world; each in different fields (law, acting, architecture and painting respectively), and follows them through the ups and downs of their lives.

https://chillikebab.wordpress.com/2026/02/15/a-little-life-hanya-yanagihara/

Arnott’s Murray River Salted Caramel Tim Tam

Another biscuit review, this time from the archives. I actually sampled this biscuit in 2023, and made some notes, but never wrote them up. I am no longer sure you can actualy get this flavour, but I supposed it is good to have it here for historical purposes; years into the future it is this record that will tell our descendants about the wonders of this remarkable biscuit.

https://chillikebab.wordpress.com/2026/02/07/arnotts-murray-river-salted-caramel-tim-tam/

No more steps!

For a good ten years of my life, I carried my bicycle up and down the steps at the northern end of the harbour bridge every day as I commuted that way. A ridiculous charade that essentially prevented all but fit cyclists with lightweight bikes from accessing the cycleway across the harbour. A ramp to make it easier was of course first mooted in 1789, but the locals of North Sydney shrilly complained about the horders of unwashed scoflaw cyclists that would surely descend, and so despite endless plans being drawn up year after year nothing was ever built.

https://chillikebab.wordpress.com/2026/01/31/no-more-steps/