Tyrone's Travels and Ramblings

Blacking It Up! #187 – Soul Food

2012-01-04T08:03:00.000+01:00

Extremism is simply a lack of thinking

2011-12-28T07:08:00.000+01:00

Just read this article in the New York Times online version, and wanted to post. With all of the Muslin hating ongoing in the world, coupled with blaming every extreme act on Muslims, it is "good" to be reminded that there continue to be plenty of other religions around the world that are just as extreme.
It reminds me once again that all extremism, irrespective of source, is bad. I think of people that adhere to extreme points of view as "non-thinkers". They simply are too lazy, dumb, ignorant and lack self confidence, to think for themselves. They need to have some religion or some other zealot tell them what to do and how to live their lives.
This approach would be OK, for them, if they simply left others out of their actions. But often they don't and believe they must convince others of their "religion". Mankind....a reminder that we can be terrible to each other...

Last day of work picture!

2011-12-16T17:29:00.002+01:00

view of Schmitzhoehe

2011-11-20T10:10:00.001+01:00

Sunday morning walk

Watch, enjoy and marvel ...

2011-08-26T23:37:00.001+02:00

Don't remember how I came across this video of Danny Macaskill, but he is simply amazing...

Now there is another one, just as amazing...

Colgone to Worms

2011-08-15T18:07:00.000+02:00

Colognes to Worms witha bikeThis summer our family had a slightly different vacation. Instead of expensive plane tickets and exotic getaways, we did a family bike tour. We used the plane ticket money and bought everyone a decent bike, and then rode along the Rhine river from Hohkeppel to Worms Germany. Now, we did have to convince (force :)) the kids to play along. But, after the first day they were proud of their kilometer accomplishments, and were enjoying themselves. I must say that when my wife suggested this holiday I was not enthusiastic about it. After the second day I was completely with the program. We were able to spend concentrated together as family and it was very relaxing. I can certainly recommend something like this for anyone. Even our 10 year old was able to cope with the trip.In fact, I enjoyed it so much that after we returned back home (via train), I did the same router again on my own, this time in two days! It was one of those things that you do not want to repeat regularly, but was proud that I completed it. At the end of the first day I was completely drained of all energy. Can't remember when I was so tired. At the end of the second day, and the rip, the beer tasted fantastic! Below a link showing vital stats of the trip!

New project

2011-05-15T17:47:00.001+02:00

I've been working on a new project for some time now, and this is just a quick phone camera photo of it ...more to come later. Built all of it my self!

Jim Beam Ad || Willem Dafoe in "Parallels." Directed by Dante Ariola

2011-02-15T02:00:00.000+01:00

3 network in HK

2011-02-14T15:57:00.000+01:00

Another one of those items where a small difference makes a big difference.
I'm in Hong Kong at the moment, and purchased a local Sim card at the airport to have internet capability on my phone while here in China. The best deal at the moment is from the network called "3", which basically comes down to a little above 2 Euros per day, flatrate.
The trick is to get it to work! As this data plan is heavily used for Iphones and Ipads, the SIM card is a microsim. If you do not have an Apple product the SIM comes with an adapter for "normal" phones.
And that is where the difference is. As the SIM is for Apple phones, the APN setup is "mobile.three.com.hk". They set it up in the shop for me, so i thought it would work.
However, if you have a non-apple product, then the APN setting is "imobile.three.com.hk". Go figure.

Any idea long i had to play with my phone this afternoon to figure this one out? Finally called the hotline, and even the technician there had to go look it up!
So now i'm surfing mobile for my remaining time here...

Satisfied

2011-01-15T21:13:00.000+01:00

I spent the whole day working on my most recent project. We have an extra room in the basement, under the garage, which really has not been usef for anything since we've lived here. So i planned a Sauna, walkin shower, toiliet, workout and relaxation area. The room is quite large, but with all of these separate areas i had to plan very efficiently. It's one of those projects where i have a vision exactly in my head of how it should look.
Well today i finally started working on getting a connection for hot water in the basement. All day i've been hammering, drilling, cutting, etc. Running between the basement and the ground floor.
But, i made it! there is now hot water in the basement, and i'm one step closer to realizing this project.
Now i'm sitting here with a glass of wine and feel pretty satisfied, and i began to wonder why this level of satisfaction only occurs after an accomplishment like today? I'm thinking about why i only feel this way when i've actually done something that can be seen or measured or touched? Other people can reach satisfaction with complete chaos surrounding them, but not me.
Strange, but it's a nice feeling....for a while

Latest trip to China…… October 25-29, 2010

2010-10-30T10:04:00.001+02:00

Just returning from my latest trip to China. This one came up on pretty short notice, and to make matters worse the travel authorization did not arrive until the very last day for booking! Irrespective of that, it seemed that all flights to china were almost completely booked out. The only options left were with airlines that I normally try to avoid. Now, while I'm on my way back on the plane, my reluctance to fly these airlines has been confirmed.

On the way to China I flew Lufthansa Business class. First observation in the LH lounge in Frankfurt is that it reminded of a cafeteria, and not a very well stocked one at that. Nothing against cafeterias, but when you are paying premium class business class airline tickets you could really expect more. Next, later when boarding it became clear that half the plane was this business class! I guess that explained the lack of service experienced later when we were on route. But first, the equipment: Seats! Walking onto the plane you could be convinced that you were walking into a business class cabin of 1995. Closely spaced seats. Dark environment. Shady plastic. Seats that only recline maybe 60 degrees. Did I mention the seats that only recline 60 degrees? How can LH still sell this as a modern company? Needless to say, sleeping during the night was held to a minimum. Not good for business class.

During the flight the attendance was friendly but minimal and you had to ask for every little extra thing you wanted. Dinner was supplied, but that was about all.

So, conclusion is that I will continue to try and avoid LH if at all possible.

Arriving Guangzhou and having to transfer there is not a great option. The airport is very large, no clear signs of where to go, no obviously located, working, ATM machines. No Airport Wireless. The flight to Xiangfen was on a very small plane, filled to the limit. Arriving in Xiangfen there were again no ATM machines, and no taxi drivers that knew where my hotel was located. But, arriving at the hotel was a surprise because it was very nice. Celebrity City Hotel in Xiangfen. But careful, there are two of them! I'm told the other one should be avoided.

Normal Room

Hallway

Bathroom

View from hotel window

My impression was that Xiangfen is pretty hardcore China, but some colleagues said that they've experienced worse!

Returning via Beijing was not great either. Xiangfen to Beijing, arrive midnight, taxi (again the driver did not know my hotel), and then back to the airport in the morning. Overnight was in the Great Wall Sheraton, which is not a recommend! Very business, very plane, fairly clean, not overly friendly. Only good thing in the hotel was the club level lounge breakfast. Other than that I'll find a different one next time.

Now I'm on the China Air flight back to Frankfurt. As LH, not world class. Seats don't go flat, food options ran out even before the steward asked us, drinks did not flow and no snacks during the flight. Then they ran completely out of white wine in Business class! The steward, who was working very hard but the business class was understaffed, promised to check first class to get me a glass of wine, but this never materialized.

So, conclusion from this trip: avoid Lufthansa, China Air and the Great Wall Sheraton in Beijing. Hotel in Xiangfen is great. Test track in Xiangfen is pretty good.

First trip to Nanjing, September 2010

2010-09-06T00:04:00.001+02:00

First trip to Nanjing

I lucked out this time! Somehow Cathay pacific was as inexpensive as the cheapest airlines that we are normally bound to take, which meant i flew CP! Well what a surprise when boarding the plane. The new business class on CP is fantastic, even better that BA! Basically, each passenger has a pretty private compartment! And, flat bed seats. Really flat. Means you can toss an turn just like in your own bed at home. Service was meticulous and friendly. No wanting for anything, almost to the point that they were asking too much if there was something further they could do…but that's nice.

Arriving in the morning in Hong Kong, with the night behind me and a full day ahead of me before the connection flight, I traveled into the city via the airport express. It was hot. Really hot! So, I spent the day walking around the less touristy areas, which might not have been such a good idea in the tired state I was in. But later in the day when I got my second wind it was just as enjoyable as always.

Taking a late flight and arriving Shanghai and a taxi to the Sheraton, which the driver struggled to find, I was met with a very nice hotel. This Sheraton in Shanghai is a definite recommend. And, club level is fantastic: open all day, food and drinks all you want!

Next day was supposed to be travel to Nanjing, but the flight was cancelled, which put me back into the Sheraton. As flights to Nanjing from Shanghai are very limited I took the train the next morning. Unfortunately, no one at the train station spoke English so instead of catching the fast train (1 ½ hours) I ended up on the slow train to Nanjing (4 hours). Hotel in Nanjing was the Sheraton… very tired. Old, not kept up and service was minimal. Not a recommend, and do not bother with the club level...very sparse!

A couple of days in Nanjing and then return via Hong Kong, with a night layover in the Sheraton Hong Kong, which is nice.

This time I made the effort to travel over to Stanley on the other side of Hong Kong. Very nice and peaceful, and very British! Nice.

Returning on CP was as nice as the trip over. The CP lounge at HK airport is very nice. Drinks, cocktails and food to order. Due to the nice business class the plane ride home was fantastic. CP a definite recommend!

Trip to Dearborn, August 2010

2010-08-16T00:50:00.006+02:00

Quick trip to Dearborn

In a previous life we used to live in Dearborn Michigan. In fact our two oldest children were born there, so I have some fond memories of my time there. Every time I travel to Dearborn I make an effort to revisit some of the old "stomping grounds" and see how things have changed. Often when you've not been somewhere for a long time and then see the changes it is sad. So it was for me this time. The city of Detroit decided some years ago to allow gambling casinos, which brings lots of money to the city, but also some less desirable aspects.
I can remember arriving Detroit as a college graduate in 1985 and seeing a city that was partly on the verge of dying, but also on the verge of a renaissance. Back then there were many efforts to revive the city, which resulted in lots of clubs, restaurants and places for entertainment. Now it seems that casinos and all that accompanies them have taken over the city. Sad really.
This trip over was with Delta Airlines, which is not yet world class. Seats not flat, service ok, planes pretty old.
Stayed in the Dearborn Inn, which is a Marriot property, but does not seem to have been kept up to modern standards. Rooms are ok, but that's about all. As it was August the weather in Michigan was fantastic. This is something we definitely miss from living in Detroit. The other thing we miss are the lakes. Summer and water just seem to go together. Difficult combination to find here in middle Germany!
This trip I also visited an old friend and colleague. Back in 1985, having both newly graduated we started to work for Ford, and coincidentally lived in the same apartment complex back then. Our kids are about the same ages and we had a nice evening with some beers and reminiscing. These things are miss also.
Before returning I took a long drive through the city and then on through Gross Pointe. What a nice place. It does invoke some doubts in me as to whether we should have stayed in Michigan so many years ago. Prompts thoughts and questions about how are life would have been. Our children, now very Germany, would be completely American. Would we have kept up connections to our families in Germany, or settled in to only an American life.
Mute questions, but interesting to think about.

The Dearborn Inn Internet speeds

2010-08-12T03:23:00.000+02:00

Just a quick post....i'm sitting here trying to do some important work, and the network in this hotel is not very good. I just did a speed check, and now i know why! So, if you are staying at the Dearborn Inn, Dearborn Michigan, do not hope for fast internet speeds!
speed

breakfast

2010-07-31T12:14:00.000+02:00

Sitting the Bauhaus in Cologne, having a small breakfast. Just waisting time...

Sent from my Xda Diamond 2

Still my favorite

2010-07-27T13:06:00.001+02:00

When i was still young, about 17, I lived in a smaller city in the middle of Germany, named Worms. A unique thing about Worms is that it was not completely distroyed during WWII, and still has an intact midievel Cathedral. In addition, parts of it's old town survived, with tiny cobblstone streets and Renaissance type houses. It is not a major tourist attraction, but still worth a visit.
One evening in late fall 1978 i was walking along one of these tiny streets when I saw and heard a car coming towards me. I could see the silver color with lights on and sound getting louder. As it approached me it turned into another street which took it out of my view, but not out of my ears. I had a short glimpse of the rear of the car which clearly revealed the unique huge spoiler that only the Porsche Turbo had. I could hear that the driver was accelerating, and the further it moved away from me, the louder it seemed to get. Along with the sound as it reverberated off of the old buildings, and echoed back towards me, i could hear the wheels spinning. The engine sound seemed as though it was going to keep increasing in revs endlessly, and i could feel my skin begin to develop goosebumps. Just then, when i thought it would continue, i heard a strange "churping" sound, which i later learned was the wastegate valve of an engine as it neared it's performance limit. Wastegates back then were still pretty primitive as the electronic controls that exist today had not yet been developed.
This car was a Porsche Turbo, and immediately became my favorite car of all times. This morning, as i read a magazine article about the latest variant of a Porsche road car that is closer to track racing than road going, i was reminded that Porsche is still my favorite car. The article i read detailed the announcement of the new Porsche GT 2 RS. A car that can be driven every day of the week to work or grocery shopping, and then on the weekends on the track. It holds the fastest time around the Nurburgring for a normal road car.
Reading the article I was reminded about my experience so long ago, when the sound of the Porsche Turbo gave me goosebumps, and when i decided that i would one day own such a car. Well, as I discovered the price of this new Porsche (237,000 Euros)I realized that i'll never realize my dream. But, maybe not all dreams are meant to be realized....thinking about it again though was nice.....

Western Union

2010-07-23T23:07:00.000+02:00

It's my blog, so i can say it: Western Union is crap!
I've never had a need for Western Union until past weekend. Normally i travel to China, USA, or anywhere else in the world with 5 Euro im my pocket and a few credit cards, not more. The world of plastic has become universal. You can pay almost anywhere with your EC card or a credit card, and if not you can can get cash from them. It has always worked for me. But not my daughter.
Last weekend she was in London and relied completely on using here DKB (Bank) credit card for obtaining cash locally. This worked successfully on the first day, but not the second day. What made matters worse is that she was supposed to retrieve cash for her friend too, whose father had transferred money in that expectation. After receiving her panicked phone call, i learned from the bank that her extremely low credit card limit had been exhausted AND they do not automatically transfer money from her bank account, which had plenty of cash. To shorten the story, there was no way for her to obtain cash in the normal way.
So i thought, Western Union! Never used it, but their ads look good. How does it work?
Well, all (seemingly in London) agents are independent, which means that they apparently front their own cash! This means that after you have transferred cash to Western Union, the client that wants to retrieve the cash locally has to find a local agent that has sufficient cash to pay! Finding one of those in London last weekend proved impossible. As they are all independent, they all belong to different organizations. Finding an agent then means you have to ring the organization, who then gives you the telephone number of an agent in the client's area. You then ring that agent to inquire whether he has sufficient cash to pay out to the client. If he does not (which all of them did not have last weekend!), you then start again.
Western Union has no way of determining which agent can actually pay out the cash you have just given them. So you give them money, and you "might" get your money paid out at the other end, plus a horrendous fee.
As i was desperate to get some cash to my daughter , i did try to transfer some money, hoping that we would find a local agent that would have sufficient cash. But then the transfer did not work! After waiting 30 minutes on the phone to confirm the transfer, a computer voice informed me that the transfer did not work! But, i was offered the chance to "start over" and try again......NO THANKS!
First experience with Western Union...last experience with Western Union.

Sneffel -ing

2010-07-03T08:58:00.001+02:00

Just surfing and found this wonderful little online application. It's probably fantastic for kids, but i find it quite entertaining also. In fact, it could actually really be useful at times ....

Just walking

2010-06-06T16:32:00.001+02:00

This is tent 6 of the worms pfiingst fest

Sent from my Xda Diamond 2

Some more motivational ramblings

2010-05-31T07:00:00.000+02:00

Continueing on from my ramblings a few days ago, i just remembered this graph that i found some time ago. I found it on the follow Headrush page. Fundamentally it also explains what happens to employees that are not given some level of freedom to pursue their responsibilities as they see best. Some bosses not only communicate what needs doing, but then proceed on to explain exactly how to do, when to do it, with what tools and perhaps even at what hour of the day. In some instances they go on to explain how to spell things on documents that you create. This type of A-typical behavior drives exactly what the Zombie function shows. What's worse, it goes a long ways of demotivating the workforce....along the lines of "hey, let the boss do all the thinking, he likes it"...

Motivation ... I knew it!

2010-05-28T08:07:00.001+02:00

Just reading this morning on the internet, as i normally do every morning first thing, with a cup of coffee. And i had one of those aha moments. I work in a large corporation, and like all large corporations it is very structured, very hierarchical, very process driven, and as a result not very flexible. The most significant method that management uses (and i'm part of that management!) to motivate employees is the typical carrot of financial compensation. We have, like so many other corporations, methods and processes for categorizing people in good and less good achievers. Based on the "category" that they land in, they are compensated. This of course comes with all the pitfalls of political strategizing and game playing that is standard in a large company.
But I've long believed that people charged with significant responsibility to "think" really are motivated by other things. This belief is based on simple experience. As available financial rewards are limited, we (management) are forced to find alternatives for motivation.
Money is important. But at a certain level it loses it's motivational effect. This video shows proof, based on science, that this is true. Great! Now to just get my management colleagues in my own company to accept this science, and act accordingly....

Asus Laptop Service, or lack of!

2010-05-14T11:20:00.002+02:00

Back in March 2009 I purchased an Asus 1000HE netbook from Amazon.com (USA). I had the first drama with this laptop even before i received it!
Apparently UPS left the box at the door, without getting a received signature, but the laptop was not found at the door! It was gone, or never delivered, or whatever. Point is, i did not have it.
Much to Amazon's credit, when i rang them to report this they immediately submitted another shipment, and the netbook arrived 3 days later.
We've used the netbook for about a year (12.5 months exactly) before it seemed to die. Unfortunately this was immediately following a trip to New York City,(in fact on the train home from the airport) and all of the video and pictures i had taken were already transferred to the netbook. Obviously i had some panic feelings when it did not start, and rang the Asus "international" service line for help. After a few confirmatory actions given to me by the agent, i was asked to send the unit to Asus for repair.
Hoping to recoup at least some of my pictures, i removed the HD from the unit, attached it to another computer, and was able to copy all media files. The HD seemed to work fine.
After a few days i rang Asus to find the status of the investigation, but all i was told was that i was sent an email that would give me more information. The service line could not give me details of the email.
After several calls during that week in which i communicated my confusion about why emails from Asus seemed to take a very long time, i finally received a snailmail (post) version of the document. In it Asus informed me that as the unit had been purchased in the USA the guarantee was valid for 12 months only, and 12.5 months was beyond 12 months. I was asked whether i wanted to pay to have the unit repaired. All appeals on my part for some leniency on the warranty as 2 weeks beyond 12 months seemed a bit strict, were rejected.
Prior to deciding on a repair i thought it important to learn what was wrong with the unit, but was only informed that the harddrive was defective. That is, the HD that i had coincidentally connected to another computer prior to shipping to Asus, and in doing so had confirmed that the HD was in fact not broke!
After some further investigations on my own i discovered the repair company that actually completes Asus repairs here in Europe, and spoke to them.
Although i was not permitted to speak to a technician, apparently technicians are not permitted to have phones in this company, or so i was told, i learned that some additional items were going to be replaced on the unit.
With this information i agreed to the repair, and sent them an email confirmation of this approval.
A week later i rang Asus to learn the status of the repairs, and was told that some parts required for the repair were on backorder, although the agent could not tell me which parts.
I then rang the company that is actually repairing the unit, and they told me they were still waiting on the confirmation from me authorizing the repair!
So, i sent this to them again...
The Saga is still ongoing....
21 May: after ringing the hotline every day this week to learn the status, i was told yesterday that my netbook was on the way back to me. And, it arrived today! Finally. After almost exactly 1 month!
And, the replaced parts were also in the box: the harddrive and the front screen fascia of the screen. The fascia does not seem to have any electronic parts on it, so why replace it?
After starting up the computer the first surprise: XP in German! Remember, this was an American unit, which was part of the whole problem.
Second disappointment: different to the US unit, this version of XP is loaded with bloatware! So, some more work to be done.
There was no bill in the box, so i'm expecting that to come in the mail the next days. But, i can already say that this experience with ASUS was a complete disappointment. One whole month to essentially replace a HD on a netbook! In comparison, while the netbook was being repaired i also had a problem with my Logitech DiNovo keyboard, also purchased at Amazon in the US.
One call to Logitech US, who referred me to Logitech Germany, who took my data and immediately dispatched a replacement unit to me, which arrived two days later! The new unit arrived and it was a model that we better than what i originally have, which bty i still have. Logitech did not ask me to ship the broken keyboard to them!
So, my summary on these two companies?
Logitech: Super!!
Asus: Crap!
Many companies can make an interesting product, but it's the whole "package" that counts. Logitech seems to have learned something about customer loyalty. Asus seems to care less about customer loyalty!
Next netbook: NOT ASUS!!!

This I believe

2010-04-13T11:16:00.000+02:00

I listen to lots of podcasts daily on my enjoyable (not!) ride to work, and one i particularly enjoy is the series of broadcasts initiated by Edward R Murrow in the 50s, called "This I believe". They are fantastic essays of various honest, sometimes also disagreeable, personal beliefs.

This morning I heard one that I particularly enjoyed, and in fact is probably the closest to what I would write, if I could so, so eloquently as did Wallace Stegner.

Have a listen and a read….

http://thisibelieve.org/essay/17017/

Ein gutes Restaurant in Lindlar

2010-04-13T11:02:00.000+02:00

Gestern hatten wir einen "runden" Geburtstag bei uns in der Familie, und da dachte ich das ein besonders Restaurant angesagt ist. Normalerweise würden wir zum Hohkeppler Hof gehen, aber da ist leider am Montag Ruhetag. Somit musste ich nach einem anderen Restaurant suchen, was ja auf dem "Land" nicht so ganz einfach ist.

Ich hatte viele in Internet gesehen, aber keins sagte mir, auf Basis von den Kritiken die ich online lesen konnte, so richtig zu. Also habe mit einigen Leuten telefoniert, und bin auf das Alte Amtshaus in Lindlar gekommen.

Es ist lange her das ich in so einem schönem und klassischem Restaurant war. Die Bedienung war (fast) perfekt, das Ambiente sehr schön, das Tischgedeck komplett, das Essen sehr lecker, und sogar der Eigentümer kam zu jedem Tisch und hielt ein kleines, nicht zu langes, Schwätzen.

Die Preise sind ein wenig stolz, aber für das was man da bekommt kann man nicht klagen.

Also, ich kann dieses Restaurant definitiv empfehlen.

It's the simple things

2010-03-11T21:20:00.001+01:00

As i believe I said at the beginning of this blog, it will be about things that interest me, are important to me, and just general ramblings from me. As such, these writings are not really for anyone else but me, so could easily get boring for others.
Today I regard as a good day. Why? Well simply because someone very close to me received some good news about a biopsy taken a week ago. The results of which could have been devastating, but were not. So, i'm having a glas (or two) of red wine, and simply enjoying the good news .....
It's the simple things .....

Valencia

2010-01-23T13:29:00.000+01:00

In Wednesday this week i traveled to Valencia Spain for work. We are going to build our new C-max model there beginning later this year, and the preparations are beginning to heat up.
Normally when we travel to Valencia we stay at a hotel on the beach, Sidi Saler, but as so many were traveling this time, it was full. We are limited to specific approved hotels, so the only other options were in the City, which led to us staying at the Holiday Inn, Valencia City.
Two things are good at this hotel: the location (city) and the breakfast. Other than that, I cannot recommend this hotel. It's a standard city business hotel, but the rooms are small, very dry, the beds are exremely uncomfortable there is no usable gym, the pool was closed (outside), and the bar is limited. No a recommendation. Some pics:

However, i can recommend Valencia as a spot to see. Probably due to the nice climate, at night the restaurants and cafes are full, and the food is generally very good, Mediterranean. One evening we traveled down the coast for dinner to a little village (El Palmar). As it is now off-season, the restaurants on the coast were empty, and our service was therefore fantastic! In addition to fanstastic seafood, the owner of the restaurant (Pescadores) served us, and he kept bringing complementary after dinner drinks and coffees.

On the afternoon of our flight back we briefly strolled through Valencia, and relaxed in a Cafe with coffee.
BTW: there are orange trees throughout the city!

The Earth

2009-10-24T17:51:00.000+02:00

As of my last post, I've been surfing the net about Carl Sagan, and have come across many interesting, philosophical and entertaining pages and videos. The one below is of particular interest, and shows Carl from his philosophical side:

Children's Questions

2009-10-23T10:27:00.000+02:00

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to participate in a Franklin seminar in Birmingham, UK. The purpose of the seminar was to try and inspire or re-energize corporate participants to initiate new ways in their businesses. The speakers were all successful public figures in the world of motivational or personal organizational methods and approaches, and included such well know names like Steven Covey, Olympic gold medallists, etc.
However one speaker particularly struck a resonance with me, and identified something I’ve long believed, but was not able to logically put together.
Sir Ken Robertson noted that our modern lives are actually structured according to what was required in the late 19th and 20th century: learning or gaining a skill that can find a job. This job would more than likely be something in manufacturing, i.e. to make something. This focus logically leads to minimizing all of the other natural abilities that children have, such as arts, dancing, music and other "soft skills". As a result we adults are systematically trained to think only in a very structured fashion, limiting risk and thereby minimizing creativity. There are some companies that are trying to counteract this phenomenon by encouraging their employees to do different things. For example, apparently at Google every employee is encouraged to take some training or a class on a subject that has nothing to do with their job. For 4 hours every week, i.e. 10% of their time!
This video shows Ken Robinson speaking to this point. What I now find very interesting is that Carl Sagan also spoke about this point more than 20 years ago!

Statistics, WOW!

2009-08-18T09:09:00.001+02:00

Just stumbled upon this page, with numbers and statistics, more than anyone probably wanted to know. Cool....
Worldometers - real time world statistics

The Wind

2009-07-27T20:15:00.001+02:00

I am an engineer by education, but am not sure that that accurately describes me really.

As a kid we moved around quite frequently, as my dad was in the military. I think this is called an army brat, but I don't agree with the connotations of "brat". This moving around often required that things in our new house or apartment were installed, and somehow I had an affinity towards the regular lamps, appliances or other things that required connecting. At the time I did not think this was anything special, but only a required necessity of moving around frequently. Perhaps out of this experience, or maybe something else, I also developed a liking towards building plastic models. This kept me occupied during my early teens, until at about age 17, when I met two guys: Derek Snead and his friend. These two guys introduced me to cars, or rather the fixing of cars. Prior to meeting them, I was of course interested in cars, like any other red blooded boy. But I was primarily interested in driving them. Derek introduced me to fixing, modifying, changing or just plain fiddling with cars. I immediately fell in love. I liked everything about it. The grease, the tools, the learning, the mysteries, the other people, the variety of problems. I just liked it all. We spent hours in the crafts shop (you have to be an army brat to know what that means), changing engines and other parts, talking about cars, sometimes having a beer, and just relaxing. There is almost nothing as satisfying as hearing an engine start up after being rebuilt.

I was sitting in front of our house this evening while a storm was gathering strength. I watched the trees being bent by the wind, and thought about the strength of nature, and somehow this reminded me of engineering. The strength of natural laws and the knowledge of how to harness them is probably what I felt when rebuilding engines so long ago.

When I think about what I do now professionally I feel a bit sad. Surely I earn a living for my family, and the projects I work on deliver products for the whole world. But this is not as personally satisfying as what I felt when actually working on cars, or rebuilding a carburettor or something else similar. The results of what I do for work now seem so distance, almost as if they do not exist.

Growing into professional life I always planned to continue working on cars. But somehow this plan got lost in the typical stuff that happens when growing into mid life. But I do remember real, simple engineering, and I miss it.

Parking with your phone!

2009-07-25T09:37:00.001+02:00

Now this is a good idea. There is a new service available in Cologne that allows you to pay for your parking fee with your phone. It's called "CallPark"

How many times have you stood at a parking meter and did not have the correct change in coins to pay for your parking fee? You were left with the choice of either driving somewhere else to find a some change, and hope that the parking space is still there when you returned, or you could risk it. But, risking it is becoming much more expensive, as cities throughout the world are increasingly strapped for cash and are search for new revenue sources.

So, now you can simply make a quick call with your mobile phone, and your parking fees are taken care of. Very easy. I like it!

Motorola S9 Bluetooth Headphones: look good, but .....

2009-07-24T12:13:00.002+02:00

I have a set of the above mentioned headphones,(MOTOROKR S9 - Home Page) and i've been attempting to get them to work reliably with several phones of mine (all HTC devices). When I connect the phone with these headphones, they work. That is, the connection works, but!
The connection only works reliably if the headphones are within 30 cm of the device! This means, while running for example, you have to keep your phone close to your head. Not very comfortable running!
I do have some experience with other bluetooth headphones, and with all of them you can actually walk out of the room where your device is and keep a connection. This is what i would have expected from these headphones. Imagine you are working out, and want to put your phone in one corner of your workout room, and listen to music. With these headphones this will not work.
So, for me a definite no buy! They look the part, but definately do not perform!

US Embassy Frankfurt

2009-07-16T22:51:00.001+02:00

I have been trying to get a copy of my US based credit check for some time now. In the most recent communication i received from one of the credit agencies that i inquired about getting this credit check, i was told that i could not be completely identified. They requested that I send a copy of my SS card to them for full identification.

So, i began to search for my SS card….When do you actually need this? As an army brat you had to memorize your sponsor’s SSN (your dad’s), as this was needed for many things. As such, when i received my SSN i just naturally immediately memorized it, filed my card away somewhere, and never needed it again.

After searching for a while i just accepted that it was gone, and searched the internet as to where i could get a replacement here in Germany. After ringing the Embassy in Frankfurt i learned that i could either do it by mail, or come personally to apply for a replacement card. As the mail method required me to send my passport to them, i opted to travel to Frankfurt, which i did this morning.

Well, upon approaching the embassy i immediately had visions of my many trips to the Houston Texas immigration service back in the early 80’s, where i had to apply for US citizenship…a story for another day. There were many people standing outside, just waiting in the sun, and it reminded me of TV scenes where people were trying to leave a country! Not really very nice, and a bit degrading if you ask me.

In any case, upon being sent back once to my car to get rid of any electronic devices that i was carrying, i quickly got a number, entered the dedicated security building, and then proceeded on to the actual embassy. Upon entering the embassy, i saw pictures of the President and the Vice President. I must say that passing these pictures did make me feel a bit proud of how far America has finally come. Plus, i also thought it pretty cool that Vice President Biden did not have a tie on in the picture.

I was told to go up one floor, and wait until my number was called. I had number G033, but on the electronic boards I only saw numbers beginning with C and D. Accepting that it would be a long day at the embassy, and thinking of what i could do to fill it, i began to walk around the corridor. I noticed people being called in, getting whatever their questions were processed, and then leaving. After about an hour, some of the people that arrived after me where being called, and the boards still only showed C’s and D’s!

So I did what i should have done in the beginning: I asked someone if i needed to wait. Short response: Nope, just give us your application, and within 5 minutes I received an official document that my SSN would be coming in the mail in about 4-5 weeks.

Lesson learned: ASK!!!

Goodbye to a friend

2009-07-05T12:11:00.004+02:00

I was sitting in a meeting on Friday, opening my email for the first time of the day, expecting the normal to-do's that come from various areas during the night. A single email instantly struck my view, which made me immediately suspicious, as it was labeled strangely. I recognized the email address from a friend, but the subject showed that the message was from his wife. My thoughts began to churn, and as I remembered, I also became apprehensive. I recalled that John (my friend) recently told me he had to be treated for a medical condition, and that the treatment took on several phases. I opened the email to find that my wildly running thoughts had been confirmed. A dear friend of mine had passed away. I struggled not to simply pack my things together and leave the meeting, as I was on the agenda later in the morning. I stayed, however I almost heard (literally) nothing that was being said in the meeting, and certainly could not concentrate. Memories of John throughout the years flashed through my head, making me smile.
This news simply floored me, as John was not the kind of person you could ever think of passing away. He was a full of life kind of guy, always willing to help, always had interesting stories and information, and simply enjoyed being alive. John was British, but retired in Florida to one of those very nice upscale retirement communities. We visited John and his wife some years ago and found that they really had a very nice retirement. However, John and his wife were not the typical Florida retirees in that they golfed daily or had public exercise classes. Being British they were much more interested in the world as a whole. As traveling was part of John's job before retirement, they continued to travel after John finished work. It was cruises, back home to the UK for a few weeks, a stint down to the south of France, or perhaps some other exotic or posh trip. In a sense I guess I envied John a bit as he really seemed to be doing what many people plan for their retirement, but never really achieve.
John was interesting to me for a number of reasons, but one that particularly struck me were his stories of doing business in the era of the cold war in Europe. Those of us that have a personal connection to the cold war era due to personal circumstance, direct involvement or having lived through it, will understand. With obstacles like the Berlin Wall, strict borders to Czechoslovakia, Poland and Bulgaria, doing business with these countries was not easy. It always included a sense of the covert as things were not always as open as today. But John, being ever resourceful did not find this to be a great obstacle and did well. I always enjoyed listening to him when he told of trips to these countries and his experiences.
In recent years I also enjoyed receiving almost daily e-mails from John, as he was an avid reader, and really enjoyed the access that the internet gave him.
John and his wife and my family also had another sort of connection. Coincidentally both John and his wife were at the same restaurant and guests at the same mutual friend's house when my wife went into labor with our first two children, 20 years ago tomorrow. The running joke after that was that we could only have kids when John was around.

I will miss John.

How you know you are getting old

2009-05-20T21:43:00.001+02:00

If we are lucky, we stay healthy while we grow old. Nevertheless, growing old is not pleasant, and I think the subconscious tries to ignore or suppress the fact that one is getting older. During certain stages in life one tries to “fight back” against this aging process by watching the diet, exercising even more, trying to “relax” a bit more and generally trying to think young. This is actually successful to certain degrees, and you tend to generally feel better.

However, I’ve recently noticed something that is unavoidable in bringing the fact of aging back home in a very personal sense. Much more so than ever before I notice when the passing of someone famous is written about in the news. This particularly touches a nerve when it is someone that you liked or found interesting in some way. Somehow the people you see on TV or movies leave the impression that they will always be the way they are. When these people die it certainly reminds one that we too are getting older.

People that have recently passed away, that struck a nerve with me were:

Jack Kemp

Dom Deluise

Paul Harvey

James Whitmore

Ricardo Montalban

Patrick McGoohan

Who are yours?

Booker T and the MG's

2009-05-06T10:12:00.002+02:00

Listening to PBS (as i do everyday in the car), i heard another very interesting podcast about someone that I'd heard the name of, but would never have found more interesting than that.
Booker T and the MG's.
Several things interested me in the podcast. For one, this guy Booker T sounded like a professor, speaking about american modern music history, rather than an entertainment legacy. Further, the people he worked with over the past 40 years....basically everyone that has a name in American music.
Pehaps the most interesting aspect of his story for me was the "the MGs" was a band that was 2 white guys and 2 black guys, at a time in US history where this was uncommon, if not perhaps even close to illegal in some states. But, the comment that he made when questined about this fact that impressed me the most was that this "mix" was not a problem to their (the MGs) world. It was only a problem to the outside world. I found that nice.
If you have a chance, have a listen to the podcast, and maybe even get a copy of Booker T new album: Potato Hole.

Easter Travels

2009-04-20T21:42:00.005+02:00

This year we took a slightly different holiday, in that it was very short, and to a place that we would normally never have gone to, had it not been for our youngest child: Slowakia!
Briefly, she has a friend who's father is on foreign service there and they invited us to visit. After convincing ourselves to make the trip there, we also decided to combine it with a brief Vienna and Munich visit.
The route we took was rather direct, (map ) and was intended to minimize the kms we had to travel, as the distance was large for such a short visit.
On the way there we overnighted in Vienna at the Danube Hilton. I chose this hotel as it was available for some of my Hilton points. Basicially, this hotel is not a real recomendation, as i've been to many (much) better Hiltons. Even in the middle of China! It was clean (been to some less than clean Hiltons too!) and public transportation is only a 5 minute walk. This is important as the Hotel is on the outskirts of town.
We spent an evening walking around Vienna, and then had a leisurely dinner in an open front Restaurant. The next morning we traveled to Schloss Schoenbrunn via public transport (which is very good in Vienna), and spent some time viewing how the "bluebloods" in a previous age lived. Not bad!
Then off towards Kosice, Slowakia, via Budapest Hungary. There is a shorter way of traveling as the crow flies, but i was warned by many not to take it. All recommended to go via the good highways that are available in Hungary. But, be warned: Budapest is a nightmare to get through, and there is no ring road! So ofcourse we got lost in Budapest and lost an hour before finding the highway on the other side, and continued on.
The last bit of road towards Kosice(ca. 50 Km) is only secondary, and the travel is slow going, but we finally made it. Our friends were happy to see us, and the girls disappeared in their room, happy as can be.
We stayed 4 days in Kosice, and took day trips to several places. Our friends were perfect hosts, and really showed us a variety of things in Slowakia. Not to dwell on that part of the trip, here are a few pictures:

We departed Kosice on Easter Monday and headed towards Munich, again via Budapest. However, this time we were armed with a map, and breezed through the city center, arriving Munich at 20:00, at the Holiday Inn Schwabing. Again, not really a recommend if you have a choice, but it was clean and had a pool, which I promised our 8 year as we left Kosice and her best friend:(
The next day we went to the Deutsche Museum, a very strong recommend for anyone even slightly interested in anything technical or how things work. I've been to this museum a number of times and never seem to have enough time to really feel like i've seen it all. There is simply so much, and most of it is so simply explained. Anyone with kids (or without) will find this a wonderful day. And, you'll feel enlightened on a number of things you perhaps never thought you would understand!
After the museum there was a brief shopping session near the old part of Munich, and then off swimming in the holiday Inn pool. Dinner was a "Leberkaese" Broetchen...you don't want to know:)
One small incident occurred while at the pool in the hotel, which did remind me of a remaining social difference between Germany and the USA. There were some americans at the pool, and one girl (looked college age, so probably on spring break) commented in English, thinking that we could not understand, that the fact that my wife took a shower naked prior to entering the sauna was simply "gross". We dismissed it as just one of those known social differences between Europe and the USA.
The next morning we stopped at the WWII concentration camp Dachau. As both my wife and i had been to this site previously, we would not have made a stop this time. However our 12 year old is learning about the 3rd Reich in school at the moment, and she asked if we could go there.
I do not want to say too much about Dachau, as nothing can explain what you see there. It just reminded me once again of something i heard a long time ago: Humans can be the worst animals in the world. Nothing in the animal kingdom can even come close to what man did to man during WWII. A definite recommend to anyone, anytime.
We traveled home after our trip to Dachau, and arrived that evening to nice weather and a nice beer, for me:)

Wine Tasting class: Vinum in Cologne

2009-04-04T07:52:00.003+02:00

Recently I received two tickets to a wine tasting class as a gift from my children. I was pleasantly surprised to receive such a gift, but i tend to forget that the two older kids are now earning some of their own money. I tend to think of them still as "the kids".
Anyway, my wife and i attended this class yesterday, and were luck enough to be the only ones attending. So we have a private wine tasting lesson at the Vinum in Cologne.
In summary i can recommend this to anyone. The hostess/teacher was ever so pleasant and was completely open to learning what our taste direction could be. Based on this she offered us some wines for tasting that were new, or rather that we had dismissed some time ago. However, these were from younger, more modern "Winzer", and they did exhibit a surprising taste.
Vinum also does full wine tasting evenings with dinner and is located in a cellar in the Agnesviertel of Cologne.
Definately a recommend!
BTW, this is one of the wines we tasted, and bought!

Wifi Finder

2009-03-27T12:09:00.003+01:00

As i'm receiving a new netbook next week, i've been thinking about all the things i can do with it. However, much of that will be a function of whether i'm "online" or not. I currently still have my Simply (Victorvox) data plan, which is a fantasitc deal at 5 Euros per month for a flatrate. However, this will run out in about 4 weeks, so i need to find other options.
I just came across a way of finding hotspots quickly (free or otherwise), which could be useful for others in my situation.
The site is http://www.jiwire.com and it gives a number of options for searching. Jump on over and have a look!

John Legend

2009-03-20T22:31:00.002+01:00

On my way to work and back home again I almost always listen to my Ipod in the car. What a woderful device! It is so easy to find exactly what you want to hear.
I mostly listen to podcasts, but tonight while running I listened to music, and came across something i had on my phone (listening via bluetooth) that i'd not heard yet. On the way home i wanted to continue listening and switched on the Ipod. This then led to me listening to other music, and finally on to familiar artists, one of which is John Legend.
I listened to JL so much last summer, but have not done so recently. On the way home this evening i discovered him again, and must say that he is fantastic! Almost ever song is so fantastic, both musically and lyrically. You can dance to his music and simply escape, or you can listen to the words and really think. And that on every song, whether it's a fast one or one of the beautiful slower ones.
For example "used to love you"......who can't relate to that one?
Or "Let's get lifted"...such a "get off your ass" kinda song
"Alright".... well who has not been at a party and .....and "She don't have to know" ????
One of my favorites is "Number one" as it must relate to every man who has to take a decision at some point ..... just like "I can change"... we all fool ourselves, right?
I could go on through all of his songs. I can just recommend you go out and listen, i mean really listen. There is some deep sh.... there!

Opladener stoffmarkt, material market

2009-03-01T14:41:00.000+01:00

Today i went with my wife to an annual cloth market in Opladen (near Leverkusen), that has most vendors from Holland. Apparently this type of street market is very normal in the Netherlands. There was a gigantic variety of different cloth and the prices are fantastic.
I went with my wife, but to be honest, only because she is coming to the computer market after this!

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Thai Elephant restaurant in Vilkerath Germany

2009-03-01T01:05:00.000+01:00

Picturef rom this nice new Thai restaurant in the next village. The service is a bit slow, butt they just opened.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

2009-02-27T13:36:00.002+01:00

Found this very interesting link on the web. It allows you to enter all of the places you have been in the world, with as much detail as you like. I've entered almost all places that i've actually been (excluding airports and drivethroughs), and am surprised at how much there is. It also shows very clearly what areas of the world are still missing a visit! Have fun entering yours!

View my profile

Create your own travel map or travel blog

Travel Info at TripAdvisor

Lindlar

2009-02-14T12:58:00.000+01:00

Just playing with my phone in Lindlar.

Sense of Guilt: Lucy Kellaway

2009-02-12T09:41:00.002+01:00

I used to listen to music all the time on my Ipod, but for about a year now I focus mainly on podcasts. I primarily listen to American based news broadcasts so that I can get a different sense of the true news. I find that although the information content in the European news broadcasts is identical to what I hear in the US broadcasts, the "spin" makes the perceived news much different. Anyway, that's a story for a different writing.
One of the podcasts I also listen to is Lucy Kelleway's broadcast of her regular column. Apart from the fact that her British accent is clear and attractive, her column is almost always dead right. It usually goes directly to the heart of a matter and is refreshingly honest. I definitely can recommend it.
The article this week (Feb. 9) is another very good comment and dissection of our modern life. It speaks to the ramifications of working parents on their children. Here is a link to the article, but listening to Lucy in the podcast (here) is even more interesting.

Watching Germany vs. Norway

2009-02-11T21:53:00.000+01:00

Just watching the game alone... Germany not doing too well. Norway playing a very smart game. But it reminds me of the old English adage: soccer is a game of 90 minutes, and then Germany wins.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Winter storm

2009-02-11T10:08:00.000+01:00

We got another winter storm yesterday, which really caused some major problems in the Cologne area. I was lucky to be able to borrow a car with snow tires, or else I would not have gotten home!

Weekend ski trip coleagues and Alessandro

2009-02-08T16:58:00.001+01:00

We are now on our way back in the car (posting mobily) from a weekend trip to Fiss Austria. friday morning very early we left home with 4 others to have a nice relaxing trip. But, it was lots of ski-ing and good.
I can only recommend the Fiss-Ladis-Serfauss ski region. It is very large with lots for everyone, especially kids.
Pictures to come later.

Bidialecticity

2009-01-27T20:40:00.004+01:00

Striking a new Chord

Just heard a podcast about a linguist (John McWhorter) in the New Republic that really struck a resonance with me. He speaks about how Barack Obama is "bidialectal" and that this is part of his attraction, particularly to a younger audience. Albeit not exclusively. Have a look at the article here. This is something i have heard in several speaches of his, but could not describe it. I believe it is something that does make him more "connected" to normal folk, and it does show a certain "coolness" about him.
Anyway, i thought it most interesting ...

Our Dog

2009-01-23T21:36:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately we had another "Dog incident" today. Our dog (Jesse) is a very likable bobtail-Appenzeller mix that is perfect at home. He listens, understands, "thinks" and is generally very likable. At home he understands all commands that we give him and immediately follows them. He loves to play and is extremely smart. When we go for walks he always tries to "control" the rest of the family and keeps us together. He loves to chase sticks and easily involves himself in any games.
However, he does have one problem, which as i describe it is pure fear. He has an immediate reaction to anyone that comes to our house, passes the house or remotely tries to threaten us. When someone comes to our house this reaction lasts for about 5 seconds, until he has had a chance to smell them, and i guess decide that there is no danger. Immediately his tales goes and wants to play with the new stranger.
However, he also has a hatred of a few small dogs on our street. And today this hatred materialized in an incident where Jesse bit one of the small dogs. We do not know the condition of the small dog yet, but it's probably not good. So we'll wait and see.
To be honest, i am a bit upset at Jesse, and simultaneously also feel a bit sad for him. He really is a very nice dog that needs lots of affection and generally tries to please his owners. But, I just wish we could find a way for him to just ignore the small "yacking" dogs around us.
Oh well.....

Last day of year walk through our forest

2009-01-04T18:30:00.003+01:00

On the last day of December we went for a beautiful walk through the forest next to our house. Every time I do this I ask myself why I do not do this much more often. Some people travel miles to get to a place like this, and i need to walk for about 2 minutes. Attached is one of the pictures i took during the walk:

Last day work post

2008-12-18T16:52:00.002+01:00

So all of you, this is my last day before the holidays.....

My current "wants" list :)

2008-12-07T09:48:00.000+01:00

für 1 x HTC Touch HD Blackstone schwarz 99HHC021-00 4710937326918

für 1 x SAMSUNG SGH-i900 OMNIA 16GB

Gesamtpreis: Merkliste mit 2 Produkten auf Schottenland.de übernehmen

Voting Map for November 4th

2008-11-03T23:03:00.000+01:00

Countries I've been to ...

2008-09-23T13:25:00.000+02:00

create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide

2008-09-19T09:28:00.001+02:00

Business Trip to Erfurt

2008-08-18T22:00:00.006+02:00

Last night i drove to the eastern German city of Erfurt. It was the first time I actually was in the part of Germany that was previously East Germany. The drive (approx. 380 Km) was very nice, and the geography actually looked a bit different.
Although I had to visit a company in Weissensee (Mubea), i stayed the night in Erfurt at the Best Western Hotel Excelsior.
This hotel is very basic, but clean. No Internet access, other than wirelessly via a Telekom Hotspot.
Below are some pictures from our stroll through Erfurt Sunday evening:

Japan April 2008

2008-04-16T15:17:00.002+02:00

Just a quick post about my trip to Japan in April. It was a bit of world wind trip, as i really did not have much time. We were busy with 3 long days of meetings, mostly late into the night. So again i did not have any time to see anything. Hotel-office-hotel-office-hotel. This time i stayed again at the Oriental Hotel downtown Hiroshima. The hotel is newly refurbished and is very contemporary is furnishings. Breakfast is good, both western and Japanese, and the people are friendly. It is only a short (5 min) walk from the pedestrian shopping area, and about a 25 minute walk to the peace memorial, which a recommend anyone to see.
Most colleagues like to stay at the Rihga Royal in Hiroshima, probably because it is close to the peace memorial and ground zero. Although it has 4 stars i find it rather crude, with little amenities and definitely no style.
The last day in Japan we normally have to catch the train at about 17:00 so as to be at Osaka airport for the morning flights back to Europe. As time is always a premium this is usually a mad dash to the train station. The trains in Japan really should be the envy of the world. They are almost allways on times, and stop precisely at the same spot in a given station, everytime! It's actually pretty amazing. People line up at this spot as they know the train will stop exactly there. Here a few pictures of the bullet trains i took, and a picture of 1st class cabin inside.

China Trip: March 2008

2008-03-13T14:20:00.007+01:00

Early in March of 2008 i participated in another trip to China. This time to visit some suppliers and also have some discussions with our Chinese Automotive partner. To avoid any criticism of the quality of these pictures, please just note that they were all taken with my phone camera (HTC TyTnII).
The trip began in Shanghai, where we stayed at the Sofitel hotel. This is a very nice business hotel, right in the middle of Shanghai, albeit quite expensive. It seems very heavily French business men based, but that is not all bad :)
I was a bit lucky in getting a booking on British Airways, as BA is difficult to get these days because they are not the least expensive. So, i decided to take a picture of BA's business class:

Next are some pictures of a typical Chinese dinner....way too much food, too much beer, but a fantastic feeling in the end?

Now some pictures of a nice Chinese Sea Food (and miscellaneous) restaurant....you pick your the items you want to have for dinner, and they are "prepared" on the spot....

And of course the unusual stuff is not missing....fresh snake anyone?

If I go to Asia i usually try to find a way to go via Hong Kong. To me, Hong Kong is "Asia lite". Just enough, but not much of the really extreme cultural differences. This time in HK i decide to be a bit touristy and i visited one of the main attractions: The Jumbo boat. It was described as being in the old "village" are of HK, so i told a taxi driver to take me there. He was a bit confused about my request, and after driving around for a while i mentioned Jumbo. Then he took me straight to it. Suffice it to say that it is not in a "village area" of HK! It sits a pemanent dock, surrounded by the normal skyscraper apartment complexes that are typical for HK.

Basically this is a fancy restaurant that is used for many formal functions, weddings, etc. The food is ok, but i would not make it a high priority on my HK sight-seeing list. Not really worth it, and there is no village!

Some more supplier visits and another dinner, this time in Peking. The restaurant was very nice, with an interesting fish tank walk through corridor.

On the way home another picture of the new BA business class section. Very nice BA! For me still the best in business class!

Prague: December 2007

2007-12-13T23:07:00.002+01:00

Just a quick entry. Went to Prague on short notice and was lucky enough to spend an evening there during a Christmas market. This is a nice time of year, but Prague is always nice anyway. Again, camera phone pictures...so don't complain!

Hohkeppel Church Pictures

2007-06-14T15:47:00.001+02:00

One day back in the summer of 2007 I decided to take some pictures of the church in our littel village. Apparently this church dates back to the year 1000! It was renovated the prior year and is very nice, both inside and out. One day i'm going to convince the deacon in our village to let me climb the church tower to take some pictures of our village from there!

China Trip: Sep/Oct 2006

2006-09-29T10:02:00.000+02:00

In the fall of 2006 I travelled to China to visit and understand the capabilities of some local suppliers that we were interested in bringing on board. During the trip i traveled to several parts of china, including traveling via Hong Kong.

The first part of the trip was based in Ching Qing China (a lovely place: NOT!!!), and we went on from there. Below is a nice view of Chong Qing... notice the clear air? Next is our dinner....We were invited to "the best fish restaurant in Chong Qing", and were asked to "pick our dinner" from the various tanks that stood center stage. Well, not knowing how the various fish specialities would be prepared, I decided to choose lobster. Thinking that Lobster is prepared the same way everywhere in the world: put the lobster in the boing water, and presto, right? Wrong!
In China, they like looking at their food, still alive, while you are eating it. So below you see my lobster, main body looking at me (still alive), while i'm eating it's tale spread out to it's right, raw of course!

Team Trip to Japan 2006

2006-08-09T22:47:00.003+02:00

In 2006 the team responsible for our project (Ford's largest platform project worldwide!) took a trip to Japan to visit our colleagues, and to have some reviews.
One of the interesting tourist items to see in Hiroshima is "ground Zeroe", the real one! There is a large museum there which i definately recommend, as it houses very many items from the time that the bomb was dropped. Interestingly though it also gives some insight about how the decision was made to actually drop the bomb.
As is typical in Japan, there is always an evening out, and it gets worse as the night goes on.
Some impressions ....

Hong Kong July 2006

2006-07-13T23:11:00.002+02:00

Another China trip via Hong Kong... just some impressions...
Below the lobby of my hotel in Hong Kong, very trendy!

Just sitting in one of the thousands of street restaurants, having a "Blue Girl". Watching cars go by...sounds boring, but in Hong Kong it's not!

Just a nice picture I took in the Forest

2005-10-02T11:20:00.001+02:00

Boy's Ski Trip (work)

2005-03-12T22:47:00.001+01:00

In March 2005 I participated in the annual "boy's ski trip" from work. A small group of regulars go skiing/snowboarding once a year, for a weekend. Normally nice skiing and a relaxing weekend. No hard drinking or partying, just skiing and sucking up some sun:

My brother and I

2004-01-17T20:04:00.002+01:00

A picture of a picture of my brother and I. Must be about 1984 when he came to visit me on his way to California. He was in the Airforce at the time, and was being assigned to Merced California. This picture is at Lamar University where i was finishing (finally!) my degree.
My brother passed away on November 4, 2000, from the results of a rather aggressive form of cancer.

Über den Dächern von Worms

2001-03-11T09:00:00.003+01:00

Hier ein schönes Panorama Bild, aufgenommen aus dem Fenster von unserer Wohnung in Worms.