DVD protection & Sony VAIO

One thing I hate is putting boundaries to culture. As some of you might know, DVDs from around the world can only be played in certain zone, as they have restricted use across the globe.
There are 6 areas: North America (region 1), Europe (region 2), Australia (region 4),... and so on.

The restriction is a mere software thing such as you cannot play a DVD unless its region matches the region of your DVD player. I have bought loads of DVDs in my travels and some I bought over the internet as they were cheaper.

With my new notebook, a Sony Vaio FW21E, there was no software to play my DVDs from various regions, nor I found a firmware to replace the original locked one. The computer kept asking me if I wanted to switch region and that I had fewer and fewer region switches left.

By chance, I came across a way to play any DVD on my VAIO, regardless of its region.
I downloaded DVDFab, a software to copy DVDs. It has a preview mode for each video track of the DVD, just pick the longest one which is the movie itself. The shorter ones are the various titles, trailers, promos, extras,...

Double click on the preview windows to go full size. use the right button of your mouse to select different languages or subtitles.

Palačinke

Palačinke is a dessert derived from the Austro-hungarian palatschinken. It is a tipical dish you will easily find in Slovenjia, Croatia, Hungary, Austria and Germany.
They are very similar to crepes for shape and are made with the same ingredients as American pancakes.

Palačinke can be filled with jam, nutella, ice-cream, fresh fruit, sugar,...
They can be served rolled: cover one face with your favourite filling, like jam in this picture:


then roll it until you will get this:

I eat them with my hands, keeping the ends lifted up to prevend jam from slipping out (they are to be served warm, so the filling melts a little).

At the restaurant they are served in a different way, more suitable to be eat with fork and knife, like this:


Recipe for 6 Palačinke

2 eggs
2 tablespoons of sugar
5 tablespoons of flour
1/2 of a glass of milk + 1/2 of a glass of water

Put the whole eggs in a bowl, add the sugar and whip until you get an evenly airy mix.
While you keep whipping, add some flour and some milk+water until you finish.
You will get a smooth mix. Have a taste of it to see if it needs more sugar.

Prepare a flat non-aderent fry-ing pan, put some butter to avoid the mix to stick to it. Drain the excess of butter, then pour half a ladle of the mix in the pan. You just have to cover the whole fry-ing pan with a thin layer of the mix.
Cook it on both sides: if you are able you can turn it jumping the Palačinka in the air. If you don't want to risk to lose a delicious Palačinka playing Nigella, help youself with a dish or a spatula.

Serve warm, with a spread of icing sugar and your favourite filling.