blub thoughts

Lyrics Snippet #20

2011-11-17T18:11:00.001+01:00

Und wieder was auf deutsch heute....und auch wieder von Rüdiger Bierhorst, den ich vorgestern mit den Monsters of Liedermaching mal wieder live erleben durfte. (Link zum Video bei Youtube)

Für die, die Freiheit gerne hätten
ist sie immer süß wie Honig.
Aber mich legt doch in Ketten,
ich rühr' mich sowieso nicht.

Ich bin nicht frei.
Ich bin nicht frei.
Ich bin nicht frei.
Ich bin nicht frei.

...
...
...

Ich habe Freiheiten, was nun?
Ich habe Freiheiten in Massen.
Ich hab die Freiheit alles zu tun
und nehm' sie mir um alles zu lassen.

~ "Ich bin nicht frei" - Rüdiger Bierhorst ~

Some random thing...

2011-10-12T19:48:00.001+01:00

that has bothered me often and for a long time.
Imagine you walk into a sports bar to watch a game. This place makes a living off of showing sports and selling you food and drinks. And then you notice that the aspect ratio of the picture is messed up and that you see black bars on the top and the bottom of a wide screen TV...

It is really simple:
If you receive your TV signal via some digital medium and you own a wide screen TV, then please tell your digital TV receiver that you have a 16:9 TV and not a 4:3 TV. It's not rocket science!

OK, that really needed to be said.

Lyrics Snippet #19

2011-02-16T22:42:00.001+01:00

Heute nur was für die Deutschversteher unter uns. Hab ich gerade im Auto gehört und fand es passend zur Jahreszeit:

Ist schon wirklich erstaunlich, wie schlau manche Menschen sind

Ich hab davor so 'ne Achtung, dass ich nicht mal Worte dafür find'

Ja, man staunt ja immer wieder, was heutzutag alles passiert

Aber wichtiger als alles ist, dass endlich Frühling wird

~ "Frühling" - Rüdiger Bierhorst ~

Stromanbieterwechsel einfach? - Ein Erfahrungsbericht mit Stromio

2011-02-09T19:37:00.039+01:00

Es ist kein Geheimnis: ein Grossteil der deutschen Bevoelkerung zahlt zu hohe Strompreise, da er nicht vergleicht und schon gar nicht wechselt. Ich hatte schon vor einigen Jahren vom staedtischen Versorger zu einem anderen Anbieter gewechselt, doch ein erneuter Vergleich zeigte, dass es inzwischen guenstigere Anbieter gab. Daher beschloss ich am 15.12.10 meinen Stromanbieter zu wechseln. Hier meine Erfahrungen:

14.12.10
Ich entscheide mich zur Stromio GmbH zu wechseln und schliesse den Vertrag online bei verivox.de ab. Am naechsten Tag erhalte ich die Bestaetigungsmail von Verivox. Noch sieht alles gut aus.
27.12.10
Ich erhalte nun auch die Bestaetigung der Stromio GmbH und mir wird der 01.02.11 als Beginn der Lieferung mitgeteilt.
01.01.11
Ich erhalte eine Email in der mir mitgeteilt wird, dass mein bei Verivox eingetragener Jahresverbrauch von 1700 kWh stark vom Verbrauch abweicht, den Stromio von meinem oertlichen Netzbetreiber mitgeteilt bekommen hat. In solchen Faellen wuerde man ueblicherweise den Mittelwert nehmen und so wurde mein voraussichtlicher Jahresverbrauch mal eben auf 2215,5 kWh erhoeht - ein Aufschlag von schlappen 30 Prozent. Das hat zwar nur Auswirkungen auf die monatlichen Abschlagszahlungen, aber das war mir trotzdem nicht recht.
Somit folgte ich zwei Tage spaeter dem Aufruf, bei fehlendem Einverstaendnis Stromio die letzte Jahresverbrauchsabrechnug zuzusenden. Diese belief sich uebrigens nur auf 1547 kWh.
Tags darauf wird mir der Empfang meiner Mail bestaetigt.
22.01.11
Drei Wochen spaeter hatte ich immer noch keine Reaktion auf meine Mail erhalten. Jedoch bekomme ich an diesem Tag per Post eine Vertragsbestaetigung. Die festgesetzten Abschlagszahlungen basieren immer noch auf dem viel zu hohen Jahresverbrauch.
24.01.11
Zwei Tage spaeter schicke ich erneut eine Mail an den Kundenservice und schildere die Situation. Ich teile Stromio mit, dass ich eine Abbuchung in Hoehe von 49 Euro nicht akzeptieren werde und in diesem Fall die Buchung von meiner Bank zurueckbuchen lassen und Stromio gleichzeitig die Einzugsermaechtigung entziehen wuerde.
Am naechsten Tag erhalte ich die automatisierte Empfangsbestaetigung.
03.02.11
Wie kaum anders zu erwarten, entdecke ich eine Abbuchung in Hoehe von 49 Euro in der Umsatzanzeige meines Girokontos. Direkt am naechsten Tag veranlasse ich - wie angekuendigt - die Rueckbuchung. Zunaechst habe ich noch versucht, die Sache telefonisch zu klaeren. Allerdings wurde mir von einer freundlichen Automatenstimme in der kostenpflichtigen Hotline nur mitgeteilt, dass es wohl nichts wird und ich es spaeter noch einmal versuchen solle. Das haette mir ein Besetztzeichen auch signalisiert....und zwar ohne mich 4 Cent pro Anruf zu kosten.
Genervt setze ich meine Kuendigung auf Grund meines Widerrufrechtes auf und versende sie per Einschreiben mit Rueckschein ueber epost.de (man muss ja alles mal ausprobieren).
09.02.11
Ich finde den Rueckschein meines Einschreibens in der Post....und zusaetzlich eine Mahnung von Stromio. Ich solle 62 Euro ueberweisen - den Abschlag von 49 Euro plus die Ruecklastschriftgebuehren (8 Euro) und die Mahngebuehren (5 Euro). Da wuenscht man sich doch, dass der Kundenservice so gut wie die Mahnabteilung funktionieren wuerde. Aber das erlebt man ja bei Unternehmen haeufig.
Ich versuche mich wieder ein paar mal an der Kundenhotline. Mit dem bekannten Ergebnis. Beim vierten Versuch lande ich endlich in einer Warteschleife. Nach 10 Minuten werde ich ungeduldig und nehme mir vor, bei 15 Minuten aufzulegen. Ungelogen: bei 14:58 auf dem Display ertoent eine menschliche Stimme. Ergebnis des folgenden Gespraechs: mein Widerruf wurde noch nicht bearbeitet. Auf Grund der gesetzlichen Fristen zum Versorgerwechsel bin ich wohl noch bis Ende Maerz an Stromio gebunden (kann mir jemand sagen, ob dass bei einem Widerruf stimmt???)
Ausserdem koenne ich die Mahnung ignorieren und wuerde Ende Maerz eine Schlussrechnung erhalten.

Nun bin ich mal gespannt. Kann mir irgendwie nicht so recht vorstellen, dass das jetzt alles gewesen sein sollte. Ueber neue Entwicklungen in der Sache werde ich hier natuerlich informieren.

[UPDATE]

03.02.11
Heute hab ich mal wieder von Stromio gehört. Und was für eine Reaktion mag das wohl sein? Genau, es wird wohl niemanden überraschen: es ist eine weitere Mahnung. Die zusätzlichen 5€ Mahngebühren treiben die Gesamtforderung von Stromio auf nun 67 Euro. Besonders perfide der Satz:
"Falls kein Zahlungseingang innerhalb der genannten Frist zu verzeichnen ist, sehen wir uns leider gezwungen, Ihren Vertrag zu kündigen."
Darauf antwortete ich direkt mit einem Einwurfeinschreiben folgenden Wortlauts:

Damen und Herren,

heute erhielt ich erneut eine Mahnung von Ihnen. Durch die zusätzlichen Mahngebühren fordern Sie inzwischen 67 Euro. Leider ist Ihr Mahnverfahren anscheinend das Einzige, was in Ihrem Unternehmen reibungslos funktioniert. Anderenfalls hätten Sie auf eine meiner Emails oder zumindest auf meinen Vertragswiderruf reagiert. Der Empfang des Letzteren am 7. Februar wurde mir übrigens durch den Rückschein bestätigt.

Bitte nehmen Sie erneut zur Kenntnis, dass,

Ihre ursprüngliche Forderung in Höhe von 49 Euro zu hoch ist, wie ich Ihnen durch Übersendung meiner letzten Jahresabrechnung hinreichend nachgewiesen habe

ich von dem Vertrag bereits zurückgetreten bin (siehe mein Einschreiben vom 07. Februar)

Ihre Drohung mir bei Nichtzahlung den Vertrag zu kündigen daher vollends ins Leere läuft

mir am 09. Februar am Telefon mitgeteilt wurde, dass meine Kündigung anscheinend noch nicht verarbeitet wurde, ich aber die Mahnung ignorieren könnte und von Ihnen eine Abschlussrechnung erhalten würde

Ich nicht gewillt bin unberechtigte Mahnkosten zu bezahlen

Sie meine gesamte Odyssee und das Versagen Ihres Kundenservices unter http://blubthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/02/stromanbieterwechsel-einfach-ein.html nachlesen können.

Grüße,
...

FCK - FC: ein Blick durch die rot-weisse Brille

2011-01-16T22:09:00.000+01:00

Heute gab es mal wieder einen Ausflug zum Betzenberg. Haette man mir vor dem Spiel gesagt, dass es zum Schluss 1:1 stehen wuerde, ich waere damit wohl zufrieden gewesen. Den Betzenberg umgibt immer noch, und nicht zuletzt wegen der Hinrundensiege gegen die Bayern und Schalke, die Aura der "Heimfestung".
Nach der 1:0 Fuehrung und dem Platzverweis fuer Lakic in der 39. Minute ist das Ergebnis allerdings enttaeuschend. Der FCK war zum grossen Teil spielbestimmend aber konnte auch nicht viele Chancen herausarbeiten. Waere einer der beiden Aluminiumtreffer des FC im Tor gelandet....wer weiss wie das Spiel geendet haette.
Zwei der drei Koelner Neuzugaenge praesentierten sich durchaus stabil. Eichner machte hinten links eine gute Figur und Rensing hielt was zu halten war. Wie er beim Gegentor aussah kann ich allerdings nicht genau beurteilen, da ich auf der gegenueberliegenden Tribuene sass. Enttaeuscht war ich allerdings von Peszko. Als zweitbester polnischer Mittelfeldspieler angekuendigt (nach Kuba), war er fast ueber die gesamte Spieldauer blass.

So viel zum Spiel. Aber nun noch etwas zur allgemeinen Regelkunde. Auch heute Abend fiel mir, wie so oft, das Sperren der Abwehrspieler auf, die den Ball vom Gegenspieler abschirmen um ihn ins Toraus rollen zu lassen. Auf dem Bolzplatz gab es frueher das Vergehen "Sperren ohne Ball". Mein Vorschlag lautet daher, Ballbesitz auch dadurch zu definieren, dass der Spieler den Ball beruehrt hat. Dann wuerden diese Szenen der Vergangenheit angehoeren.

Allerdings ist das aktuelle Vorgehen explizit durch die Regeln des DFB gedeckt. Hier ein Auszug:

Behindern des Gegners

Behinderung des Gegners liegt vor, wenn sich ein Spieler in den Weg eines Gegenspielers stellt und ihn dadurch auflaufen lässt, zum Abbremsen oder zu einer Richtungsänderung zwingt, wobei sich der Ball für beide Spieler außer Reichweite befindet.Jeder Spieler darf seine Position auf dem Feld selbst bestimmen. Er darf dem Gegner zwar im Weg stehen, ihm jedoch nicht in den Weg treten. Das Abschirmen des Balls ist gestattet. Schirmt ein Spieler, der den Ball in spielbarer Distanz kontrolliert, diesen aus taktischen Gründen vor einem Gegner ab, ohne dass er dazu seine Arme oder seinen Körper benutzt, liegt kein Vergehen vor. Befindet sich der Ball in spielbarer Distanz, darf der Spieler vom Gegner regelkonform angegriffen werden.

Allerdings ist das Ausstrecken der Arme anscheinend nicht regelkonform. Vielleicht wuerde es schon helfen, wenn die Schiedsrichter dieses "Vergehen" ahnden wuerden.

Was meint ihr?

Lyrics Snippet #18

2010-12-08T23:56:00.000+01:00

Today in my car I had my music collection on random and a song by 'Ton, Steine, Scherben' came up - a somewhat radical left wing band from the 70s and early 80s that I used to listen to every now and then when I was back in school. So, I just wanted to share part of that song with you....and I am sorry that you will have to cope with my crappy English translation if you don't understand German.

Ich hab geträumt der Winter wär vorbei

Du warst hier und wir warn frei

Und die Morgensonne schien

Es gab keine Angst und nichts zu verliern

Es war Friede bei den Menschen und unter den Tieren

Das war das Paradies

I dreamed the winter was over

You were here and we were free

And the morning sun shone

There was no fear and nothing to lose

There was peace among the people and the animals

This was paradise

~ "Der Traum ist aus" - Ton, Steine, Scherben ~

Lyrics Snippet #17

2010-11-14T02:49:00.000+01:00

Okay, let's face it. This blog is as good as dead. But I'm not giving up just now. I'm going to make an effort to keep this rotting thing alive. Maybe some day I will even post the last chapter of my around-the-world trip :)
For now you have to settle for a couple of song lines that describe my situation at my job right now pretty accurately...

This isn't me I'm not mechanical

I'm just a boy...

~ "Mechanical Animals" - Marilyn Manson ~

Maja

2010-09-15T08:14:00.003+01:00

Das ist wohl der schönste Post, den dieses Blog bis jetzt gesehen hat. Und genaugenommen auch der einzig Wichtige.
Ich darf hier stolz und exklusiv die ersten Bilder der kleinen Maja präsentieren, die gestern am 14.09.10 das herbstliche Licht dieser Welt erblickt hat. Ich kann den beiden Eltern nicht oft genug gratulieren. Habt ihr gut gemacht!

PS: Ein Klick aufs Bild öffnet das Album!

Update: Es sind neue Fotos eingetroffen!

Update2: Wer immer noch nicht genug hat, kann sich hier noch mehr Fotos anschauen.

Lyrics Snippets #16

2010-09-13T11:29:00.001+01:00

When I'm feeling blue

All I have to do

Is take a look at you

Then I'm not so blue

~ "Groovy Kind of Love" - Phil Collins ~

Lyrics Snippets #15

2010-08-05T10:21:00.000+01:00

Here come just a few pieces of an Arctic Monkeys song I was listening to today on my way to work. The song supposedly deals with the lead singer's ex girlfriend:

Well now then Mardy Bum

Oh I'm in trouble again, aren't I

I thought as much

Cause you turned over there

Pulling that silent disappointment face

The one that I can't bear

...

And yeah I'm sorry I was late

but I missed the train

And then the traffic was a state

And I can't be arsed to carry on in this debate

That reoccurs, oh when you say I don't care

but of course I do, yet I clearly do,yeah!

~ "Mardy Bum" - Arctic Monkeys ~

England vs. Germany - some blub thoughts

2010-06-26T16:08:00.005+01:00

We know that Gary Lineker hasn't always been right but let's hope his famous quote will be true tomorrow: "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win".

The whole football world will be watching tomorrow when the old rivals lock horns and the world cup finally really starts. Beckenbauer had it right when he said that it's unfortunate that these teams play each other so early in the tournament - a constellation worthy of a semi final.

After Germany's win over Ghana I was not really happy because it was a crappy game. I am sure that I won't care about the game quality on Sunday as long as the Germans win.

It's interesting to see how the British media always uses war vocabulary when it comes to playing Germany. There was a really good interview with former football pro John Barnes in today's "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" (German newspaper). He states that when he came to London (he was born in Jamaica) he learned that you were not allowed to like the Germans because they bombed the fish'n'chips restaurants. While this might not be an appropriate description of a serious matter it does show that maybe this is not a good reason to hate the Germans anymore. English readers might be disappointed when they hear that our arch rival is actually Holland - England is only second on the list.

Barnes said another remarkable thing: when asked why the media always has such high expectations and sees England as one of the favorites to win the cup he says that patriotism is the enemy of perspective. How true.

So who will win the game tomorrow? Statistically Lineker was not right. England beat Germany more often than vice versa. I've heard lots of people say that the German team is too young and inexperienced. I did the math (and made some assumptions regarding the line-up): the German team is almost 4 years younger on average. So that part is true. But they only lack the experience of 77 international games (499 vs. 576). This number cuts in half if you cancel the goalie out of the equation. And I really do not think that Neuer is worse than James. The most stunning statistic is the number of goals with Germany's players leading 117 to 83.

I guess the chances are 50:50. But let's be honest: whoever wins will most likely not go all the way and win the cup.

Germany 0 : 1 Serbia

2010-06-18T15:43:00.003+01:00

What can I say? Congratulations to Serbia. Looks like Germany's win against Australia was the exception and now the "old" Germany is back. Hardly any movement away from the ball. Nowhere to play for the player in possession. They were not able to increase the pace at the right time and dominate their opponents.
But here come the "Buts":

Germany still played better then Serbia...but as always in football - this does not necessarily get you anywhere
The referee: WTF?!?!? How can you let a guy like this be a ref at such a game? Sending Klose off was just ridiculous! I cannot find the words to describe this bad call. The only time I have ever seen a bad call like this was by a ref that was later proven guilty for corruption.
Even with 10 against 11 Germany was the better team and should have scored at least one goal :(
Life obviously sold Podolski a used day. Missing a couple good chances and then even missing the penalty shot.

So, what now? Let's keep our fingers crossed for Australia. If they beat Ghana then a tie against Ghana would be enough for Germany...if I am not too confused right now.

And after all....it's never good to be dominating during the group phase....look at Italy in 2006 and Holland in 2008...

Heads up Germany!!!

Fragwürdiges Geschäftsgebaren der Telekom

2010-05-24T10:17:00.009+01:00

Am Freitag erhielt ich ein interessantes Schreiben der Telekom. Sie freut sich, dass ich mich für eines ihrer Komplettpakete entschieden habe und fordert mich auf, bei meinem bisherigen Anbieter zu kündigen. Interessant dabei ist, dass ich überhaupt nicht vorhabe an meinem bisherigen Telefon/DSL-Anschluss etwas zu ändern und mich auch nicht für ein Produkt der Telekom "entschieden" habe. Da ich es auch für unwahrscheinlich halte, dass jemand anderes bei der Telekom in meinem Namen einen DSL-Anschluss bestellt hat, bleibt als einzige Erklärung nur eine verdammt fieser Versuch der Telekom neue Kunden zu gewinnen....

(auf die Bilder klicken um die Dokumente in voller Größe genießen zu können)

Travel Blog: Day ???

2010-05-22T17:41:00.004+01:00

Hey there, I've been back in Germany for about 6 weeks now and still haven't come around to tell you the rest of my trip. So here it comes:

The last thing I told you is that I flew back from Bangkok to Sydney. There I spend a couple days not doing much except walking around and looking for some geocaches...and I drank a few beers with a friend/colleague of mine who was in Sydney with his girlfriend. After two nights I took the train to the Blue Mountains which are only 2 hours or so from Sydney and are really worth a visit. There are some nice walking trails and beautiful scenery. I spend 2 days there and then went back to Sydney for St. Patrick's day which turned out to be just an OK evening for me.

But then I started a real adventure - hitchhiking. I had never done it before but it looks like I am a natural :)

I prepared a sign saying "Won't kill you" and took the train to a station which was close to the southbound highway. There I set up my sign and my biggest smile and hoped for the best. After 25 minutes a car stopped and gave me a ride. The driver was a guy originally from Samoa with the name of "Heini". He was super nice and took me the 50 something kilometers to the town of Wollongong where he lives. On the way he even stopped at a beautiful lookout to show me the beaches between Sydney and Wollongong.

For my second ride I only waited 6 minutes and for my third only 2,5! Only the fourth and last ride of the day took me a while to find. I first waited for about an hour at a spot that turned out to be not very good. Lots of people liked my sign though and honked or cheered at me. After I moved to a better spot it took me about half an hour to get picked up by Bill - a nice guy I would estimate to be 60+ years old. When he told me that he lived in Jervis Bay I mentioned that unfortunately there is no budget accommodation in the area - otherwise I would have liked to go. A little later he pulled out his cell phone and called his wife to tell her that she should prepare the guest apartment. I was totally surprised! This lovely couple fed me a nice dinner, let me sleep in their guest apartment in the garden and also invited me for breakfast the next morning. To make it perfect Bill even drove me over to Hyams beach after breakfast so that I could enjoy one of the whitest beaches in the world (according to the Lonely Planet). There I took a quick swim and then started hitching again. Again I had 4 rides and ended up in the town of Narooma. You will be suprised to hear what I did there: I walked around! Not really that much to see there but a nice little town. The main attraction seems to be the Australia Rock - a rock with an Australian shaped hole (see pictures).

The next day I wanted to get to Lakes Entrance and I started OK but after my third ride I found myself in the middle of nowhere. There was hardly any traffic and I still had about 150 km to go. It was getting frustrating....there was about a car every 5 minutes or so and none of them stopped. I waited more than 2 hours until finally a couple from Mauritius stopped - thanks to my sign :) Luckily they also wanted to get to Lakes Entrance and could take me all the way.

OK, that's it for today. I will tell you about my last 2 days of hitchhiking, my visit to Wilson's Promontory National Park and my days in Melbourne in my next post.

Travel Blog: Follow Up

2010-04-20T08:00:00.002+01:00

Hey,

just wanted you to know that I am not quite done yet. There's still two weeks of Australia left that I want to tell you about...and of course a few pictures to look at, too. I just haven't come around to write it down yet. I could tell you how busy I am at work and privately...but actually I am just lazy.

Lyrics Snippet #14

2010-03-22T03:44:00.004+01:00

Since I was hitchhiking the last few days the song 'Me and Bobby McGee' came to my mind. I think it's a great song - not because of the lines I quote here but because the rest of the song.

While doing some 'research' on this song I found out that it was written by Kris Kristofferson. I alway thought it was by Janis Joplin...

Can you come up with other songs that relate to hitchhiking?

Busted flat in Baton Rouge

Waitin' for the train

Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans

Bobby thumbed a diesel down

Just before it rained

Rode us all the way to New Orleans

~ "Me and Bobby McGee" - Kim Kristofferson ~

Travel Blog: Day 170

2010-03-22T03:02:00.003+01:00

My train to Chiang Mai ran late making the journey 17 hours instead of 14. Once I got there I explored the city on foot for a couple days. I found some geocaches and also went to the Chiang Mai women’s prison for my first Thai massage. Some of the women (the not too bad ones that will be released within the following 6 months) are given the chance to earn themselves some money by either giving massages or working in the prison’s restaurant. I mostly enjoyed my 1.5 hours massage (about 6 Euro). It hurt only a few times, and then mostly because I am everything but flexible. The following day I rented a scooter and went to the Doi Suthep temple. This place was full of tourists and did therefore not emit the quiet atmosphere one would expect. A few kilometers past the temple was the royal winter palace where I took a stroll through the garden.

My main activity in the Chiang Mai area was then a two day hike through the rain forest, including elephant riding and whitewater rafting. There were 12 people in my group and we were driven into the mountains where we the elephant riding was the first point on the agenda. I did not really enjoy it. The first 5 minutes were interesting but after that I just wanted it to be over. The poor things appeared drugged to me. When we were off the elephants we really started the hike – about 3 hours uphill in 35 degrees and really high humidity. Especially a slightly overweighed American couple had to struggle severely. But we made it to the top where we were shown our little hut containing of a single room sleeping 12 (just mattresses on the floor with a mosquito net for every two). The hut was on the edge of the mountain and also had a big patio from where we had a wonderful view over the valley. We were fed a pretty tasty meal and afterwards played some games with our tour guide and just talked till everybody was tired (which didn’t take long).

The next day after breakfast we started our descent which was a lot easier than the way up (surprise!). After about two hours of walking we arrived at the rafting place and split up in smaller groups to man the boats. Since it was almost the end of the dry season the water in the river was very low and the biggest challenge was not to get stuck. It was still fun but there was hardly any ‘whitewater’. After this we had a short ride in a bamboo float which our rafting guide nicknamed bamboo submarine – luckily I was the one standing in front steering the thing with a long pole while the others had to sit down….the bamboo float floated a few centimeters underneath the water so everybody was basically sitting in a puddle. After that we got fed some dinner and were driven back to Chiang Mai. It was a fun tour with fun people.

The same evening I boarded a plane that took me back to Bangkok where I stayed for another 3 days. Most of my time there I spent reading my book but I also did some geocaching, went to see the Grand Palace and went to the medical/forensic museum at the hospital. The latter was quite interesting…and gross. They had samples of all kinds of human parts floating in formaldehyde. While it was interesting to see how artificial heart valves work, it was shocking to see distorted babies on display. I remember some samples of Siamese twins and a baby with its intestines growing outside of its body. The forensic part of the exhibition showed hundreds of skulls, hearts, livers, lungs and whatnot – each with your choice of burning wounds, stabbing wounds, shooting wounds and so on. You get the picture.

Ok, that is it for today. I flew back from Bangkok to Sydney to continue my Australian adventure but I will tell you about it another day.

Travel Blog: Day 152

2010-03-05T09:17:00.004+01:00

One ~~Night~~ Day in Bangkok

After a rough night on the train that hardly allowed me any sleep, I step onto the platform of Bangkok’s main train station at 5:40am. It is already warm and my shirt gets damp instantly. I find the luggage storage and drop my big backpack. Then off to find some breakfast. The “Dunkin’ Donuts” is still closed but I find another place that serves good cappuccino and chocolate donuts. I eat on the steps outside the train station and start walking at exactly 6:04. I figure I will go to Chinatown first because the Lonely Planet says that there is a market that is busy from 4am to 11am. I decide not to do any temples today because I can’t be bothered to put on long pants. Actually the pants would be OK – I could just store them in my backpack – but according to the LP you need to wear closed-toe shoes. And the thought of wearing my hiking boots all day is not very pleasant to me. I will to the temple stuff on another day.

The main streets are already busy at this hour but the side streets are still pretty much deserted. Just a few street merchants are setting up their stands to serve breakfast to the working population. Besides them there are only a few orange clad monks in the streets and a few stray dogs (and a couple rats). I keep walking to the beginning of the LP Chinatown walking tour. I wipe the sweat of my forehead every few minutes. I actually don’t get lost and find my way on the first try. This is not easy in Bangkok since street signs are scarce and there are dozens of different possibilities of translating the street names from Thai into Latin letters. So the signs do not necessarily match the names on my map.

When I get to Ratchawong Road I don’t dive into Chinatown right away but go into a 7/11 instead. I don’t buy anything – I just want to freeload on their air-condition and cool off a little bit. Ahh, that’s better.

Back out onto the street. Here the streets are a lot busier. The merchants have set up their little booths, offering stuff like plastic bracelets, umbrellas, shoes, Hello Kitty purses etc. They seem to have a very fine collection of about everything I am not particularly interested in. I see people wearing masks to protect them from the exhaust fumes and the smog. And, honestly, this is not the worst idea mankind has ever come up with.

I am still the only non-Asian and feel quite the explorer. I know that this is more attributed to the time than to the place, though. By 7:05 am I am through with my little Chinatown tour and I sit down to get some rest and some water. I also take some notes for this post ;-)

I decide to hit some of the shopping malls next. Maybe I fill find a good deal on a new cell phone. I start walking in the direction of the National Stadium and stop at a little coffee shop – mainly to get out of the heat again. I order an iced green tea and I am delighted to not only find an electrical outlet for my netbook, but also an open wifi. So I settle down for a while to check my mails, post yesterday’s blog and learn that Germany lost against Argentina in a friendly football (!) match. I am tired as hell. I write the beginning of this blog. I don’t really care to go back outside again where the heat is killing me and the heavy traffic is making things worse. I guess the shopping malls open at 10 so I have some time to spare anyway.

I leave the comfortable coolness of the coffees shop and continue walking towards the MBK – supposedly the cheapest place in Bangkok to buy cell phones. And, sure enough, the fourth level of the mall feels like a bazaar for cheap electronics. Except, it is not really that cheap as I am bound to find out. The prices for phones are higher than what I would have to pay in Germany. I almost give up but then approach one more booth where I see my beloved HTC Touch Diamond 2. The price I’m told is way too high but obviously there is a second hand unit. And the price on this one makes me think. I play around with it for a while and cannot find any flaws. So I somehow come up with the money and the thing is mine. The next hour I spend on the internet with my netbook to find the most important software I need on my phone. Amongst others is Glopus, a geocaching software. So I am finally able to pursue my hobby again. When the battery of my netbook is almost empty I decide to move on. There are a few more shopping malls nearby and I wanted to see the glamorous Siam xxx. By the time I get there I am really hungry. I see a Subway’s and decide to check what the sub of the day is. Guess what – tuna! Bad luck because I hate tuna. But behold! My luck is about to change. I come to a place where a fashion show is on. Three not too bad looking girls pose for some yoghurt….and somebody offers me a free cup of this yoghurt. So now I have something for my eyes and my stomach! I keep exploring the mall and come across several car stores. I have no clue how they got those cars to the third level but there are some really nice ones standing around: Jaguar, Lamborghini, Porsche, Lotus, Maserati – you name it. On some of the stores are little pictures telling you not to take photographs. The one on the Lamborghini I discover only after taking a picture. I decide not to delete it ;-)

I also find a bookstore and go looking for Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ because this has been strongly recommended to me. I find it and soon later it’s mine. Looking forward to read it but first I have to finish ‘The Saga of Guns N’ Roses’. It is an interesting story but poorly written. But I am not somebody to leave a book unfinished.

Buy the time I leave the mall it is already 3pm. I decide to go to Patpong, one of the city’s red light districts, since it is on the way to the train station and as an opened minded tourist I feel compelled to see this side of Bangkok, too. I hop on the skytrain for a couple stations and speed along over Bangkok’s congested streets. I am in Patpong in no time. As soon as I get into the area I see a bar that has a Paulaner sign on its wall. I walk over to check out the price – I haven’t had a wheat beer in 5 months now – but am approached by a guy trying to sell me a massage. He wiggles pictures of half naked women in front of me and tells me something about Happy Hour…”only 500 Baht!” (~11 Euro)

I leave it to you to make up your mind what kind of special massage this would be. Just let me tell you that you can get a regular one-hour Thai massage for as little as 200 Baht.

I try to get away from him, telling him that I don’t have enough money (which is true), and totally forget about the wheat beer. I walk down the main road in the neighborhood and it is definitely too early to get some red light atmosphere going. Most people are busy setting up booths for the night market. But I get similar massage offers all along the way. By this time I am actually only looking for something to eat, but the restaurants seem too expensive to me and the street food doesn’t look good enough. I try to convince myself that I am so hungry that I am not hungry anymore. I decide to get some cheap food close to the train station later and head for the park. Then I pass a McDonalds and get weak. Not so much about the food (which is really not good and not cheap incredibly cheap either) but more about the prospect of spending some time in an air conditioned room. So I tell myself that I will just have a snack now. While I eat my Chicken Pepper Burger I see a guy walking past carrying a big insulated backpack that reads ‘McDelivery’. I try to think if I have seen a thing like that ever before and I fail.

After the snack I do head over to the park. I see a few people doing aerobics, people skating and people just chilling out. A family feeds the fish in the pond and those things are big and all over the bread. The pigeons try to get their share, too, and I make a mental note to myself to finally find out the difference between a pigeon and a dove. Some of the pathways in the park feel like jogger’s highways and I, the lazy pedestrian, have to be on my guard. So I lie down in the grass and doze off until some music rips me out of my daydreams at exactly 6pm. I figure it is the national anthem because everybody stands up and looks toward the loud speaker. I have actually seen that happening before at the train station about 12 days before. It is about time for me to head back anyways. Before I leave I remember to take a picture of myself for my ‘A Picture Every Now and Then’ gallery. Have not done that in a few days. I make my way out of the park and this time I hop on the subway. Both the subway and the skytrain are very modern and clean. I usually like to take the subway to get around big cities because it is always easy to figure out - unlike the city buses. Try to figure out the buses in Buenos Aires if you like a challenge! As I pass through a metal detector the thing goes off. No wonder, I have tons of stuff in my backpack. The security guy dutifully asks me to open my backpack. Now, this thing is packed to the brim and has 5 different pockets. I open the first one and take out the book on top of it. He is satisfied with it and lets me go. This guy must have X-ray eyes.

Back at the train station I retrieve my big backpack and go buy some food and a couple of (okay, okay: three) small cans of Chang beer. This is one of the cheapest beers in Thailand and it claims to have 6.4% alcohol. Rumors are that this is only the bottom end of a pretty rough estimate and that nobody really knows the real figure. After this I try to find an electrical outlet to charge my netbook. This is not easy because all the outlets seem to be used to charge somebody’s cell phone. Damn these phones! I finally find an empty one and make myself comfortable on the floor next to it and start writing this post again. A voice from the loud speaker asks all the passengers of train 13 to Chiang Mai to board the train and I move obediently. I find my seat in the train and write the rest. I am tired as hell and my feet are sore. I have blisters on both of them. I definitely did not make the most out of this day. I was planning to go see the forensic science museum. But what the heck, I am on vacation and it was exhausting enough the way it was. The train is moving now. My day in Bangkok is over.

Travel Blog: Day 151

2010-03-04T02:27:00.005+01:00

At the time of writing this post I am just 5 minutes into my 12 hours train ride from Surat Thani to Bangkok. The ‘good’ trains were full so I am stuck with a 2nd class seat without air condition. I seem to be the only non Thai in the whole railroad car and this train looks even more beaten up than the one I came south on. But this reminds me that I should start at the beginning.

I arrived in Bangkok in the middle of the night and stayed at a hotel close to the airport. The following day I moved into the city, to a place close to the famous Khao San Road. After being shown in the movie 'The Beach', this road became even more popular with backpackers from all over the world. I went there at night and dived into the buzz of street merchants, restaurants, bars and a huge partying crowd. Quite an experience! On my way back to the hotel I even saw a little elephant on the streets of Bangkok. This might be a normal sight for Thais but you sure don’t see that in any European city.

The next day at about 7pm I boarded an overnight train to Surat Thani, to eventually get to the Krabi region. The train looked worse than I imagined but I still had a good time playing 'Phase 10' with some fellow travelers and I actually got some good sleep. Once in Surat Thani it took a bus and a couple of vans to bring me to Ao Nang. That was a long trip to the beach. From Ao Nang you could take a boat over to a place called Railey - a beautiful piece of land featuring two beaches. Since it is cut off from the rest of the mainland by impenetrable rocks it is accessible only by boat. This was my first glimpse of the beach paradise that makes Thailand so popular with travelers. I did some hiking to a lookout point and after that down to a lagoon. The latter part of the hike was actually pretty strenuous and I don’t think it was worth the effort. The lagoon looked good but I thought the water to filthy to swim in. I finished the day with some quality time at the beach and, back in Ao Nang, with a cocktail. I missed the sunset, though.

I came back to Railey the next day to watch some rock climbing. I was only a passive watcher since my toe still hurt and I didn’t want to force my foot into one of the very tight climbing shoes. Talking about shoes – on this day my flip flops finally broke. It was actually a little sad, because they were very comfortable. But I’ve had them a long time – they carried me faithfully through 11 countries – and the sole was so worn, that they actually became death traps when I was walking on wet surfaces. Let’s see if my new ones will be as good as their predecessors.

From Railey it took almost a day’s travel to the island of Ko Phangan. Here I stayed for eight nights. The longest I have spent anywhere on this trip. One reason is that it is really a beautiful place to stay, definitely high quality postcard material. You can relax and snorkel and/or party all night if you feel like it. The beach in Haad Rin would fill up every night with people that want to have a good time. There was a lot of fire shows going on like jugglers etc. But if you wanted to do more than just watch you could participate in the fire limbo dance or the fire rope skipping. I tried the latter and burned myself slightly. It wasn’t my fault though. Some other guy jumped in and messed up and suddenly I had the rope on my neck. I also played a few games of Connect Four with these local kids going around challenging you for money. I only won one out of four games which made me a little angry. Next day I downloaded a few programs and tons of reading material about strategies onto my computer. Too bad these kids didn’t show up the next day because I had really smartened up by then.

Anyway, the other reason why I stayed so long is that one of the famous Full Moon Parties was only a few days away and I decided to go take a look at it. The little town of Haad Rin was definitely packed and the streets were buzzing. I met up with a few other people to have some beers and everybody got painted with those fluorescent colors. What people didn’t know by then was that there was hardly any black light at the beach. It was still fun. I will try to get a picture of what my back looked like. Be patient.

So these parties are huge rave and techno events. And if you know me than you will also know that I despise this kind of music. But with the help of some ethanol in different shapes I managed to have a somewhat good night. But for me once is enough. Make that whole thing a metal show and it would be awesome!

Like the other continents Asia took a toll on my electronic equipment, too. I lost the cell phone I bought in Australia…the third one on this journey to get stolen, break down or get lost. Also some sand somehow made it into my camera so it only works half of the time. And when it does you can hear all kinds of crunching sounds when the lens extends or you use the zoom.

Now, as I said at the beginning, I am on a train back to Bangkok. I will get there at about 5 in the morning and will spend the day exploring the city – I didn’t really see much on my first visit to Bangkok. Then, at about 7:30pm, I will get onto another night train that will take me to Chiang Mai. So beach time is over. Bring on the culture and the trecking!

PS: Book update

'Und morgen in das kuehle Grab' by Mary Higgins Clark (terrible book!)
'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen
'Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less' by Jeffrey Archer
'Sonnenblumenland' by Miriam Sieber

Travel Blog: Day 138

2010-02-17T06:50:00.004+01:00

OK, so nobody else wants a postcard? I put this question at the beginning of this post because I figured that lots of people only read the first few sentences that appear on Facebook…

But now to something completely different…as the world’s best comedy group would have said. I finished my last post telling you about my short trip to the Whitsunday Islands. To make it short: it was incredible! Best thing I have done in Australia! I decided to go on a boat which was almost brand new and had its focus on diving and chilling, rather than one of the big party boats. It was a little more expensive but it surely provided more luxury. When we got on the boat we were all rushed into the common are where some snacks were already waiting for us. There we were given some briefings about the life on board, diving and snorkeling etc. When we got outside onto the deck for the first time I instantly realized that this was going to be a great trip. The crew was caring and entertaining and ‘mom’ always kept us well fed. Honestly, this was the best food I had in quite a while! The boat itself and the other travelers were very nice – and luckily there was only one other German.

On our first day we made our way to Blue Perl Bay on Hayman Island – our first diving site. We only had 3 certified divers on board so all the others (obviously including me) made a little introductory dive there. We started in shallow water where we would get used to breathing under water….and then we were off. Saw lots of fish there (one Nemo) and I felt like being in a huge aquarium. The fish and the corals were way more colorful compared to my first dive in Columbia. This is not to say that there are no good dives sites there, it’s just that in Columbia we dived really close to Santa Marta harbor.

After the dive I went snorkeling discovering still more exciting things about the underwater life in the Great Barrier Reef. Back on board we had some snacks and later dinner. Then we would all gather in the common room to get a little lecture about marine life and were shown the pictures of the day on a big plasma TV. Some things that I remember:

- Turtles eat jelly fish…and get high from that. Remember the turtles in “Finding Nemo”?
- All Clownfish are born as males. There is only one female in every ‘family’. When this one dies the most dominant male turns into a female.
-‘Loser Fish’ (I forgot the real name) stay together with their partner for their whole life. They are always seen swimming in pairs. If one partner dies, the other one dies shortly after. I personally don’t like to call these creatures ‘Loser Fish’…

After the slide show everybody went back outside to enjoy the sunset. When the sun was gone and the stars came out you cannot be surprised to hear that the view was amazing. With no big cities nearby polluting the night sky with their light, you could see a lot more stars that in your average Western European sky. I even spotted four or five shooting stars!

The next day began with breakfast in Tongue Bay where we spotted a few turtles coming up for their morning air. The rest of the day consisted of two more dives and some time on Whitehaven Beach – where all the ‘funny’ pictures were taken. The certified divers went for another dive at night time. Wish I could have joined them.

On the last day I missed out on the diving opportunity for two reasons. I was disappointed of the visibility on the afternoon dive the day before. And I quite possibly had broken my toe slipping on the stairs, so I could not put on my right flipper. I just went snorkeling instead…with only one flipper. Made me feel quite like Nemo with his lucky fin :-)

After that we motor sailed back to Airlie Beach where this great adventure came to a close at around 11am. If you ever go to Australia’s east coast this is something you should definitely do. And if you are into diving spend some extra money on a 3-day trip that takes you to the Outer Reef for one day. I’ve been told the visibility there is way better than close to the Whitsundays.

The day ended for me in a 10 hour night bus to Cairns where I am right now. I wish the busses here in Australia were as good as the ones in South America. I hardly caught any sleep. This is one reason why I am not quite eager to discover the city on foot today, even though I am leaving here again tomorrow. Next time you hear from me I am probably going to be in Thailand!

Travel Blog: Day 134

2010-02-13T08:21:00.002+01:00

Remember I told you about the 7am bus I had to take early on my birthday? Guess what – I missed it. I woke up at 7:49 and hurried over to the bus terminal. Luckily it only cost me 4$ to get me a seat on the next bus. I phoned the hostel in Rainbow Beach to tell them I would come later and was told that I might have to move my Fraser Island trip back one day because I would miss the briefing. I tried to invoke some pity by mentioning that it was my birthday and the lady on the phone told me that we would ‘work something out’.
When I arrived in Rainbow Beach the briefing was just over, but Heidi (the woman from the phone) told me that I just needed to watch a couple of videos on my own and that I would still be able to go to Fraser Island the next day. She later brought me a big muffin with 4 candles stuck on top and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for me. How sweet!
After breakfast the next morning our group (20 people) started checking the equipment and packing it onto two Toyota Landcruisers….under the supervision of Chris, our ‘guide’. Since this was a self-drive-tour, Chris would not come with us but he prepared us as good as possible. After the two cars were packed, he gave the drivers a quick introduction on how to drive a 4WD. Then we were off. I was first to drive in our half of the group (group 1, yeah!) which consisted of a Spanish guy, a French guy, an English guy, an Irish girl, an Israeli girl, two Swedish girls and two Finnish girls…and me, of course. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the ferry and only 10 minutes across to Fraser Island. This is where the fun driving part began. It was quite an experience to master the 4.2 Liter diesel engine and make the Toyota grind through the sand of the never ending beach. The island itself sure is beautiful. But with all respect – after driving along the beach for 2 hours, this part gets boring after a while. Especially because swimming is not allowed due to jelly fish and sharks.
Our first stop was Lake Wabby. A beautiful lake surrounded on three sides by rainforest and on one side by a massive sand dune. Have I mentioned, that Fraser Island is one of the biggest (or THE biggest?) sand islands in the world? Anyways, the water was really warm and enjoyable. Only the thousands of horse flies spoiled the experience somewhat. From Lake Wabby we drove further north to our camping ground, passing the wreck of the ‘Maheno’ – a former cruise ship which was later used for target training by the Royal Australian Air Force. At the campground we put up our tents, prepared dinner (hamburgers) and spent the rest of the night having a good time and consuming quite a bit of goon (cheap Australian wine that comes in 4 liter cardbox boxes) in the course of it. At one point we had a dingo visit us. He came as close as 10 meters. But we were all well instructed about what to do in a situation like this: if a dingo approaches you, you cross your arms in front of you and slowly move backwards. If the dingo still attacks you, you have to fight back aggressively. Since both of these actions sound somehow ridiculous when being attacked by a wild animal, they became a kind of running joke in our group. ‘Our’ dingo moved away without us having to attack him aggressively.
The second day was spent driving along the beach to Indian Head – the only rock formation on the Island – and afterwards to Eurong Resort, where we had lunch. From there an inland track called the ‘washing machine’ took us to our second campground. I was looking forward to be driving on this track but the constant rain made it really hard to spot the potholes. After we arrived at the campground the rain continued for another 2 or 3 hours so most of us just sat in the car waiting. The second evening was not nearly as lively as the first one since almost everybody was still a little hung over.
One the third day we finally got to see the main attraction of the island: Lake McKenzie. This is the perfect white beach and the clear blue water you will see on almost every Fraser Island postcard. This spot is incredibly beautiful. I just wish that we had had more time to spend there. After only a few hours there we had to get going to get back to Rainbow Beach on time.
So this was my trip to Fraser Island. I hope you enjoy the pictures. After the trip I spend another two nights in Rainbow beach before I went farther north to Hervey Bay. Here I spend only one night but was able to see the millions of bats that fly over the village on their nightly trip to Fraser Island. Quite impressive!
After a 13 hour bus ride I arrived in Airlie Beach today where I booked a 2days/2nights sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands starting tomorrow. When this is done I have completed the main things I wanted to do in Australia. I know that there is tons more to do and even in a year you cannot do everything, but I still figured that I initially planned to spend too much time her e. And since there are way too many Germans around here I thought I might as well go see some other country while I am down here. The result of these considerations is that I will fly to Thailand for three weeks to dive into a completely different culture.

Travel Blog: Day 126

2010-02-05T11:18:00.002+01:00

Let’s start this post with a little anecdote: On my flight to Sydney I ordered a beer on the plane as I always do if it’s not before lunch time J The steward gave me the beer and at the same moment told me that this was six dollars. That took me by surprise since beer on all of my other flights on this trip (all companies belonging to the “one world” alliance) was for free. Not wanting to lose my face I gave him a 20 dollar bill. He said he was going to give me my change later. Luckily, a few minutes later a stewardess came by and handed me my 20 back, saying it was OK. I don’t know if my world renowned charm made the difference or if they just didn’t have any change. Anyway – this gave me a taste of what lay ahead of me when it comes to prices in Australia.

My time in Sydney I spent walking around the city (taking tons of pictures of the two main icons: the opera house and the harbor bridge) and on both Manly Beach and Bondi Beach. I also explored the night life in Kings Cross – an area famous for its backpacker hostels and strip joints – and spent evenings drinking wine in Hyde Park.

During my days in Sydney I learned a few things about Australia (incomplete list)

Australia’s mainland was attacked in World War II by Japanese bombers
Australia is trying to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022
Burger King is called “Hungry Jack’s” because there already was some take-away place called “Burger King” before the “real one“ opened its first restaurant

The next stop for me was Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast. Now, I don’t know why this place is called Surfer’s Paradise. In my imagination of paradise there are no high rise buildings casting their shadows onto the beach. Also in ‘my’ paradise there would not nearly be as much rain. To be fair though, the weather there isn’t always as bad as I experienced it. I did get a few hours in the sun and had my first cautious attempts on a body board…you might call it surfing for dummies.

I still had a great time in Surfer’s…but this has nothing to do with the settings…and definitely not with the weather.

OK, so now I am in Brisbane where I walked around the city again and spent some time at the city beach in the South Bank Parklands. I also used the day to organize a tour to Fraser Island. Tomorrow morning I will board a 5-hour bus at 7 in the morning that takes me to Rainbow Beach. There I will meet my 8 fellow travelers that will accompany me on a 3day/2nights tour to Fraser Island. Since there are no paved roads on the island the only means of transportation is by four wheel drive vehicles. Should be fun!

I haven’t written any postcards in a while. If anybody has not received one so far, just give me your address and I will send you one. Remember: I will not bring home any presents or souvenirs whatsoever. So those postcards are all you can get. Go for it!

And last but not least here is my updated book list. Can’t imagine that this would be interesting for any of you but I always wanted to start a list for my own and this seems to be at least a start.

"Book of the Dead" by Patricia Cornwell
"Blutzoll" by Elisabeth Egholm
"The Broken Window" by Jeffery Deaver
"Tomorrow, When the War Began" by John Marsden
"Hollowpoint" by Robert Reuland
"A Deadly Indifference" by Marshall Jevons
"Frameshift" by Robert J. Swayer
"Op-Center" by Tom Clancy

Travel Blog: Day 116

2010-01-26T07:54:00.008+01:00

Since this is my last day in New Zealand (I will be flying to Sydney tomorrow) it is about time to tell you a little bit more about my stay here.

Lucas (the French guy) and I picked up our microcamper as planned and started exploring the country. Driving on the left side is not as hard as I thought. Actually it still feels more awkward to cross the street - never really being sure in what direction you have to look. What is a classic though is turning on the windshield wipers when trying to turn on the left turn signal ;-)

I will try not to bore you with too many details so I just outline our journey: we first went into the direction of Coromandel peninsula. From there we made our way south to Rotorua and Taupo and eventually to Wellington where we took the ferry to the south island

. Here we expored the Abel Tasman National Park, made a short trip to the Golden Bay and then from there went south to Fox Glacier. Next stop was Queenstown. Here I left Lucas and made the final trip to Christchurch on my own.

The beauty of the country is really amazing! Wherever you go - you are not going to see anything ugly. New Zealand is definitely a country for outdoor activities and outdoor adventures and I got my share. Started out with a rafting trip in Rotorua where we rafted the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. The next day I went skydiving and the day after bungee jumping. Both those activities were absolutely breathtaking and too short!

Skydiving actually was way less frightening than I thought. I want to think that I was pretty calm the whole time until dropping out of the airplane. From then it's just pure fun! The earth is so far away that it is not scary at all. Jumping down from a 47 meter platform with a rubber rope around your ankles is a different story! But since I did something similar in Venezuela it was not too bad.

Lucas and I were doing a little bit of hiking as well - for example in Tongario National Park where we could see 'Mt. Doom' from Lord of the Rings. In Abel Tasman we rented a kayak for a day. Especially in Abel Tasman we were lucky with the weather. Let me just tell you something about New Zealand weather: it was not as warm as it looks on most of the pictures. For one thing we got quite a lot of rain. But even when it was sunny the temperatures were usually only around 22 Celsius (72 Fahrenheit). And since the ozone layer here is so thin the sun is really burning down intensively. For me it meant that I could only stay in the sun for a few minutes before I had to move into the shade....where I would get cold pretty quick because of the wind and the "low" temperatures. In the three weeks that I stayed in New Zealand I only went into the ocean four times.

So, for me New Zealand was the country of:

green! Everything is green here. Have not been to Ireland yet but it cannot be a lot greener there.
lots of nice people...many of them calling you 'mate'.
cows and sheep. Yes, I saw lots of cows in the land of sheep.
expensive internet access.
beautiful nature.
cars driving on the wrong side.
good and cheap meat in the supermarkets.
roadkill.
volcanos and all kind of thermal activities.
outdoor adventures.
one lane bridges.
polite bus drivers and passengers. At least here in Christchurch almost everybody would thank the driver when getting of the bus. And the driver would answer something like "You're welcome. Have a lovely day."
glaciers in the middle of the rainforest

....and a lot more that I cannot think of right now. I am sure glad I came here for it is a beautiful country (I know I am repeating myself).

Now I am looking forward to exploring Australia!

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #8

2010-01-26T07:52:00.000+01:00

Es ist haeufig einfacher gestossen zu werden, als selbst zu springen.

Travel Blog: Day 99

2010-01-09T04:35:00.005+01:00

Ok, let me just tell you a few things about my long journey to NewZealand. The plane from Santiago to Los Angeles had a stop in Lima at around 2 am in the morning. This made it really difficult to get some decent sleep because they turned on all the lights and even checked all the passports of the passengers who remained on board. But after some more hours I finally arrived in Los Angeles and there I took a couple buses to get to Santa Monica to finally have a good old huge American breakfast :-)Then I just spent the day surfing the net for free at the Apple store and walking the beach. I also had a Erdinger beer at the same place where I had one with my sister almost 5 years ago. Little trip down memory lane.
At about midnight my next plane took me to Brisbane. Another 14 hours flight but I must say that the service by Quantas is really good. I slept a little better this time and arrived in Australia around 8 in the morning. At first I was shocked to see how expensive everything is. This is just so different from South America. A round trip train ticket to downtown Brisbane was 27 $ (Australian dollars and American dollars are almost 1 to 1). And that was hardly a 20 minute ride. In Brisbane I walked around the city for a few hours but couldn't take any pictures - the battery in my camera was dead. But since I will be back here in a few weeks I did not really mind.

Eventually the time came for me to board another plane (yeah!!) to finally get to Auckland, New Zealand, where I arrived at midnight...a time where public transportation was unfortunately not available. But enough complaining.

After I finally found a hostel and got some sleep I spent the next day exploring the city and planning the rest of my time in NZ. When I was sitting down next to the reception to write a note about looking for people to rent a campervan with, a French guy approached me and asked if he could join. So we spent the next few hours trying to find an affordable campervan which is not easy - it is school holidays in NZ and thus high season. We eventually found a 'micro camper' - a station wagon with a mattress in the back. But since this thing was only available from the 10th we decided to rent a regular car for a couple days and head north. We found another guy from Switzerland who wanted to join us on this short trip and hit the road. On our way to Cape Reinga, where the Tasmanian sea and the Pacific ocean clash together, we saw some great landscapes and some nice beaches. But we found out that 2 days for a trip like this is not enough. We did not really have time to explore the 'Bay of Islands' or go swimming. The weather wasn't that good either. It changes really quickly here and the nights were surprisingly cold. It was still a nice trip though but when we get our micro camper tomorrow we will hopefully do less driving and more appreciating :-)

Enjoy the pictures!

Travel Blog: Day 92

2010-01-02T21:39:00.002+01:00

South America - A Summary

So, this is it. I am sitting in an internet cafe in Santiago killing some time until a plane takes me to LA...the first part of my loooong journey to New Zealand.

It feels like it's been more than three months since I arrived in Lima to start my exploration of this continent. And so much has happened. I traveled through Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay (only about 5 hours though...), Argentina and Chile. Since I had been to Columbia and Venezuela in the summer there are really not many countries left down here. But still so much to see. I wish I had had more time because I really feel that I need to spend more time in Brazil, Chile and Bolivia.

I have met tons of wonderful people here, both travelers and locals. The language barrier was a problem though. Of course you can get along with just a little or even with no Spanish but it would have made the experience so much better if I could have been able to communicate with the locals more. But I fear I am repeating myself...

So I have hiked a lot, been on a billion buses for about 200 hours in total, have visited 4 football games, read 13 books, have collected plenty of stamps in my passport and have seen some amazing things, both man made and natural wonders.

The continent has been good to me. People were nice (as mentioned before), transportation and accommodation were never a problem and even the weather was nice - especially in Patagonia. Oh well, I remember some rain in Rio but that was about it.

So now it is half time for me. The end is closer now than the beginning. Have the three previous months changed me in any way? I don't know. I have definitely realized that I should take more advantage of me living in Europe when it comes to travelling. I have a different perspective of distances now and everything in Europe seems so close. But besides that I am not going to get philosophical now. I think I have grown from all the experiences down here but I have not had a life altering sensation. I just feel like my horizon has broadened.

And here is a list in chronological order of things lost/broken/stolen:

1 towel
1 digital camera (Digital Ixus 430)
1 cell phone (HTC Diamond Touch II)
my temper (only once)
my hand
4 cans of beer
3 slices of pizza
1 wallet including about 50 Euro in different currencies, my German ID and a Visa card
1 Flashlight (Fenix E20)
1 empanada
1/2 pack of tomato sauce
1/2 pack of toast
1 bottle of red wine
1 chapstick

Oh, and here is the list of the books I've read recently (don't judge me by the selection):

"Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Wonderful book! Must read!!!)
"The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon
"The Black Echo" by Michael Connelly
"Tannöd" by Andrea Maria Schenkel

Now all there is left to do for me is to wish everybody here a great year 2010! That reminds me: I haven't told you about New Year's eve here in Valpo. To make it short, the streets were packed with thousands of partying people. There was a great vibe in the air. Lots of singing and guitar playing....and the fireworks were great as well. I do have some nice pictures of Valparaiso which I will upload later. I do not want the memory with my precious pictures get close to this virus infected computer here.

Next time I post I will be on a different continent. Cya!

Travel Blog: Day 89

2009-12-31T04:08:00.010+01:00

Sorry that it's been so long - almost three weeks. I was kind of procrastinating. The problem is, that writing a blog post just gets more work the longer you wait.

Well here we go. Last thing I mentioned was that I got to Bariloche. I had some good days there. The area strongly reminded me of the Alps. Lots of snow covered mountains, lakes and lots of swiss or mid-European

architecture. In Bariloche I also met and Argentinia from Mendoza by the name

of Lucas. One day we rented a car and drove around the seven lakes, constantly stopping at all the wonderful viewpoints.

After Bariloche I took a very comfortable 21 hour bus ride to Cordoba. They ha

d warm food, good movies and even wine and whisky. Once in Cordoba I did not really do a lot. Actually I just did not find a lot of things to do. I walked through the city plenty of times. Went to an art museum and ate lots of ice cream. One day I wanted to

go swimming but the minute I stepped out the hostel it started to rain and it didn't stop for the rest of the day. But in Cordoba I met Olli again - the English guy I have mentioned before. We played some cards, cooked with each other (well, most of the times I just ate what he cooked) and had some good time.

My next stop was Mendoza - Argentinia's main wine region. I spend some more money on the hostel because I really wanted to have a pool. It turned out to be a good decision because the weather was really hot (35 Celsius / 95 Fahrenheit). On my first full day I went with some people out to the wine area and rented some bikes. We hit three or four bodegas and tasted some of the local wine.

Most of it was pretty good. We also got a really interesting tour at one of the places. It was just strange to see that the vineyards were not on small hills li

ke they are in Germany. Here they were just flat - like fields.

I also spent Christmas in Mendoza (I am talking about the 24th). I spent most of the day at the pool and at night there was a big BBQ. For me it was a strange setting for Christmas. I did not really get into the mood. The dinner was tasty though and later at night most of the people went to a club. By now I really should have figured out that I am not the club kind of person. In summary the Christmas was pretty weird. I missed family and also (a little suprising) the cold weather. I had a better day on the 26th when Lucas invited me to play football with his friends. We played for three hours and after that we had a great BBQ. It was just a perfect setting with all those nice Argentinian people who invited me into their home and treated me as a honored guest!

On the 27th I took a bus to Chile. The ride went through the Andes and there was some beautiful scenery. Too bad the border crossing took us about 2 hours because every piece of luggage was taken off the bus and put through one of those airport X-ray scanners.

But eventually I arrived safely in Santiago and found my hostel. I had only one full day there but this one was really fun. I met "Baba" at the hostel, a 40 year old German who has been travelling for 20 years. He has been to Santiago several times and knows

the city pretty well. So he played the tour guide for a Brazilian guy, two Australian girls and me. We took a walk through the city, starting in Bellavista - Santiago's bohemian quarter - and continuing through Chinatown until we got to the market area. There are so many different markets in a rather small area: fish market, flower market, vegetable market, meat market....

He then took us to some Chilenian beerhall for drinks and food. We each had a "terremoto" (earthquake) which is white wine with pineapple ice cream and fernet. Half a liter of that makes you really tipsy. So afterwards he took us for some coffee.

But not regular coffee but "café con piernas" or "coffee with legs". He was a little secretive about it and I was quite surprised when he lead us into a place which looked like a strip bar. And that is basically the concept of those places - there are lots of them in downtown Santiago. Except the women that serve you the coffee do not strip...but then they are not wearing a whole lot to begin with anyway. A really strange business idea!

To finish things off we went to a bar which is famous because Bill Clinton once drank a coke there. The half empty glass is still on display - I wonder what they did to it so the coke did not turn green....

The next day I took a bus to Valparaiso where I am at the moment. This is where I will celebrate New Year's tomorrow. I already have taken lots of pictures of this beautiful place but I will save those for my next post. I should have enough time at different airports on my way to New Zealand.

Happy New Year to everybody!

Lyrics Snippet #13

2009-12-10T14:50:00.001+01:00

This song came to my mind fairly often during my time in southern Patagonia:

I see trees of green, red roses too,
I see them bloom, for me and you.
And I think to myself... what a wonderful world.

~ "What a Wonderful World" - Louis Armstrong ~

Travel Blog: Day 69

2009-12-10T04:44:00.008+01:00

Wow, so much has happenend since my last post. I spent a couple more days in Buenos Aires. On Sunday I went to the football game "Boca Juniors vs. Gimnasia La Plata" in the Boca stadium called La Bombonera. The athmosphere was absolutely intense. The supporters only stopped singing during the 15 minutes half time break. Amazing! On Monday night I went to a percussion show called "La Bomba del Tiempo", which was also really entertaining - lots of rhythm!
On Tuesday I wanted to see the Andy Warhol exhibition in the Malba but when I got there I found out that the museum is closed on Tuesdays. So I went for a stroll in the park instead.
The next few days I spend in La Plata visiting a friend of mine who studies there. Had some fun times and explored some of the nice parts of the town.
After that my patagonian adventure started. I took a 15 h bus down to Puerto Madryn from where you can go to the Peninsula Valdes where I actually saw some whales! It was absolutely awe-inspireing to be so close to those giants of the sea. And there I met Olli again - an English guy I travelled with for a while in Bolivia. He, me and Paul - another English guy - afterwards went south to El Calafate to go see the Perito Moreno Glacier. I've never seen a glacier before and this one really is a terrific one to start with. It's a monster, it's huge. Take a look at the pictures, but even the pictures cannot convey the majesty of the thing. And my words don't do it justice. I guess you just have to go see for yourself. The glacier moves about a meter a day, and we are talking about a 30 km long mass of ice with an average height of 74 m above the water. The noises were incredible - like thunder without the lightning. And when a big piece of ice breaks off it is just undescribable. This glacier is one of those things that, the longer you look at it, the less you are able to comprehend it. And taking into acount the beautiful surroundings - snow topped mountains and condors circling above the scenery - it just felt like a picture painted by someone with too much imagination.
The same night the three of us took a bus to El Chalten where we started a three day's hike the next day. Just rented a tent and three sleeping bags and started walking. The scenery was (again) beautiful with the peak of Fitz Roy always towering above everything. After about 4 hours of walking we set up tent and had some dinner. Because at this time of the year it is light until about 22:30 (or 10:30pm) we decided to hike up to the two nearby lagunas (I forgot the name). After some time of exhausting hiking we finally saw the first one - a frozen and snow covered lake. After we climbed another small ledge we saw the other laguna. This one was not frozen at all but looked really cold - a deep blue color with some big chunks of ice floating inside. The whole picture looked so beautiful it was unreal. It looked like it belonged into some fantasy saga. I have to be careful not to repeat myself and to not use the same words over and over to describe the beauty of southern Patagonia.
The next day I hiked with the two others to a nearby glacier but then left to go back to our tent alone. I needed some time to myself to read, write and relax. The third day we started the way back and were rewarded with more beautiful views before we reached El Chalten again where we treated ourselves to a couple of beers.
On the next morning it was time for me to say goodbye to my fellow travelers because they were heading further south to do some more hiking and I was going north to Bariloche. This meant a 2-days bus ride. On the first day our bus broke down so we had to spend 5 hours in the middle of nowhere. But that was not too bad. I played some hackey sack (which I hadn't done in years) and played some other games and thus really got to know some of the other people on the bus. Because of the delay we got to Perito Moreno (the town, not the glacier) at about 2 in the night. Since the hotel still wanted 60 Argentinian Pesos for the night some of us decided to just spend the night partying. I turned out we were lucky because the little town celebrated its 82nd birthday with some live music on the streets. So we joined the locals and had a good time before we hit a nearby bar. When the bar closed down at about 5 in the morning we went to an ATM to get at least a few hours of sleep in a warm place. After about an hour the police showed up and had us move out. It was still a fun night and I was able to sleep a little the next day on the bus to Bariloche. This is where I got yesterday night after another 13 hours on the bus. Today I didn't do much. Just walked around a little and told some people over the internet that I was still alive. As always: Enjoy the pictures!

PS: I finished a few more books:

"The Sum Of All Fears" by Tom Clancy
"A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
"A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
"The Final Reckoning" by Sam Bourne
"Stalin's Ghost" by Martin Cruz Smith

Travel Blog: Day 50

2009-11-21T11:08:00.006+01:00

Update: I fixed the link to the second gallery (Iguazu Falls)

This is just a short one. It is 7:16 in the morning and one of the computers at the hostel in Buenos Aires is "free". I did enjoy Sao Paulo even though the city did not offer much to me except for the interesting architechture. At times it did remind me of NYC, though. It was also a rather expenisive place - one night club we passed required a 300 Reais entrance (ca 117 Euro). I also had the chance to attend another football game. The fans were really giving their best but it somehow could not beat the cheerful athmosphere of the Maracana stadium in Rio.
From Sao Paulo I took the bus to Iguazu and the falls were just amazing. I am not sure if I have used the word before but the falls really made me hold my breath. Especially the "Devil's Throat" seemed to me like a computer animation out of an "end of the world" movie. It was just so massive and unreal. I also went to Paraguay for a few hours to buy some cheap electronics - I really needed a new memory card for my camera. The one I bought seems to work fine but the 2 USB flash drives I bought turned out to be electronic waste. 40 Dollars just went down the drain.
I then took a plane to Buenos Aires today and tried to dive into the night life. The evening (night) was allright but getting back to the hostel really was a pain. It was raining really hard and I was almost out of money. I did meet some locals, though, who helped me find a cash machine and a taxi...
Enjoy the pictures.

Travel Blog: Day 41

2009-11-13T04:06:00.007+01:00

The night in Santiago was great fun. Went to see some live Salsa which was really good. I ended up paying for a bed I did not sleep in, since I got back pretty late and got picked up for my airport transfer at 4:50.
The flight to Rio was uneventful and once there I got on a bus that was supposed to bring me close to my hostel. I had 2 people tell the bus driver to let me out at Rio Sul Shopping Mall - but of course he "forgot". So I got out at Copacabana beach and had only about a 30 minutes walk with all my luggage in a comfy 37 degree Celsius heat (98.6 Fahrenheit). The first night I didn't do much and went to bed early. The next day I spent with 2 Americans and an Englishmen by the name of Neil. We went first to Ipanema beach and walked from there to Copacabana beach where we set up camp. The waves were awesome and after some time of practice I succeeded in a few decent body surfs. But every now and then - when my timing was bad or the wave was just to big - the wave would just wash me away and would play with me like I was a ping pong ball. I didn't know where up or down was and was just tumbling through the water....so much fun!
At night we all went to Lapa where there is a huge street party at the weekends. Because of the absence of public bathrooms the dark side alleys soon started to smell rather unpleasant. It is also pretty dangerous there when it comes to thieves. Three of the people I hung out with that night got some stuff stolen. But it was still a fun night and I got to bed at about 6:30.
On Saturday I again did not do much except going to the Fluminense stadium with Neil to get tickets for the Sunday game against Palmeiras. At night we went the the club "Rio Scenarium" which was a really good but fairly expensive club. For me the night out in Lapa was more fun.
Sunday was then the day of the football game. Neil and I took the subway to Maracana stadium and there the party was in full swing. People were singing and dancing intensively even before they got to the inside of the stadium. And once inside they atmosphere was even better. It was just breathtaking and beautiful. Check out some videos here.
On the next day I decided to finally go see a doctor because the pain in my right hand did not cease. It had been hurting since the Halloween party when I punched a door because the security guard at Loki hostel would not let me look for my lost cell phone. I know it was a stupid thing to do so keep your smart remarks to yourselves ;-)
I did spend almost 5 hours at the hospital and it turned out that the metarcarpal bone ("Mittelhandknochen") of my right pinky was fractured. It only took me 10 days to find that out. Cycling down the Death Road was really painful but then I still thought it was just a very strong contusion. I don't even want to think back to all the times people shook my hand and squeezed really hard. But one remarkable thing is that in Brazil (as well as in Argentina) the public hospitals are for free so I didn't have to pay a single dime. To all my American readers I can only say: "Support Obama! Public healthcare is not a bad thing!".
I was planning to go to the Ilha Grande to hit the beaches but with my nice little cast I figured it wouldn't make much sense. I decided to stay a few more days in Rio instead and go to Sao Paulo from there. In Rio I went up the cable car to the sugar loaf - which at 17 Euro (25 $) is not really a bargain. The view from up there is worth it, though. I was lucky - just when i finished my 'round' a cloud moved in and you couldn't see anything.
Today I took the bus to Sao Paulo. At a mere 7 hours this is only a stone's throw for South American standards. I will take it easy tonight because tomorrow is Friday and I need some energy for the bustling Sao Paolo night life.

Travel Blog: Day 33

2009-11-04T23:51:00.004+01:00

Update: I found the picture CD from the Death Road trip and added some pictures to the second gallery (click on the second picture).

Sorry, but this post is goint to be a long one. So many things have happened since last time...

My little trip to Uyuni was stressful but worthwile. I couldn't really sleep on the nightbus on our way there because the last 3 hours of the ride were on a very rough, unpaved road. We got out in the city of Uyuni at about 7 in the morning and at first I was shocked by the desolateness of the place. It reminded me of Mos Eisley....just without the people and the action. The town was a dead place surrounded by barren lands. It got a little better later on when there were actually some people in the streets. But enough of that. We (Oli, the English guy, and I) booked a tour starting at 10:30 and somehow managed to pass the time until then. When the time arrived we got into a Toyota Landcruiser (Bolivia is totally "Toyota land") together with 4 other tourists and the guide. First we went to the "train cemetery" where you can climb the old train wrecks. After that we headed out into the Salt Flat which is the world's largest with covering more than 10.500 square kilometers. It was quite impressive to be totally surrounded by white...only the mountains at the horizon hinted that it does not go on forever. Basically in the middle of the desert is the "Incahuasi island" - a small mountain covered with lots of really tall cactuses. This was when the battery in my camera went dead. I will try to get my hands on some of the "funny pictures" we took and show them to you later.
On our way back we experienced another highlight. A tire of the Landcruiser blew at about 100 km/h. The driver handled it expertly but the replacement of the tire took a loProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

time since the car jack did not work properly.
Since I definately did not want to spend the night in Uyuni I took another night bus back to La Paz. This time I did succeed in catching some sleep even though it got really cold during the last 3 hours or so.
So I was back in La Paz for Halloween. I actually got a "costume". OK, it was only a wig but I did not feel like spending a lot of money on a costume. I went to a Halloween party at Loki Hostel with 2 guys I had formerly met in Cusco. The party was OK but the downer was that I lost my cell phone. Or got it stolen. Who knows? Tried everything to get it back - in vain. Shit. But cannot help it now.

I tried to set my mind to more pleasant things by going to a Bolivian football game. I paid about 2€ to get a ticket for the game of the year - the local derby between "Bolivar" and "The Strongest". It was quite a good game and Bolivar won it 3:0. The only downside was that they do not sell beer in the stadium :-(

I was wrong when I wrote last time that the "Death Road" descends almost 3000 m...actually it is more like 3600 m. But let's start at the beginning. I really wanted to do the trip with a company called "Pro Downhill" which was recommended to me by several people. I couldn't book the tour with them though, because they were closed on Sunday and on Monday - the Bolivians conveniently shift a bank holiday to Monday if it falls on a Sunday. So I had to book with one of the companies whose office was open on Monday since Tuesday was my last full day in Bolivia. I ended up booking at an agency called "Aka Pacha Travel" which I really cannot recommend. The bikes were basically crap. Worst thing was that the brakes were not as good as you would need on a dangerous road like this. When the road was really steep the bike hardly slowed down if I pulled the rear brake as hard as I could. Also the suspension didn't really work and neither did the gearshift. Well I am glad I survived. The trip was more exhausting than I thought and I can totally understand why some people fall off their bikes - the road is full of rubble and boulders. I came close to falling a couple times, too.
Somehow I cannot find the picture CD fro the trip so you have to be content with the pictures I took. I will try to recover the lost pictures from one of the outher guys on the tour.

Today I flew from La Paz to Santiago where I will spend the night before I head on to Rio tomorrow morning. I will get picked up from the hostel at 4:50 am. Yeah! I did manage to take a short walk though and I hope you enjoy the pictures.

PS: I have finished 4 books so far

Der Schatz im Silbersee by Karl May
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (thanks to Olaf)
Airframe by Michael Crichton
"The Appeal" by John Grisham

It's just not easy to find really good books at the book exchanges in the hostels...

Travel Blog: Day 27

2009-10-29T21:06:00.003+01:00

Ok let's see...what has happened since my last post? In Puno I made a boat tour to the famous floating islands of the Uros. They were really interesting to see but I must say the Lonely Planet was right about the commercialization of the islands. When we left the women sang something in their native language for us (Aymara) before switching to "Vamos a la playa" and in the end the all waved and said in unison "Hasta la vista baby!"

After that we went to the island of Taquile where we hiked a little and learned some stuff about the local culture.

The next day I went to Copacabana - a small village on the Bolivian coast of Lake Titicaca. I spent most of the day reading before I had some Mexican food for dinner. This stuff must have been really bad because it made me sick for the next 4-5 days. That is why I wanted to get the hell out of that place and went directly to La Paz the next day...missing to visit the famous Isla del Sol.

At first I really didn't like La Paz too much but that was partly contributed to the lousy weather and me being sick. When both these conditions got better I actually came to like La Paz. It is really hectic and there is lots of traffic (and thus lots of exhaust fumes) but the setting between the two mountain ranges is spectacular.

Then I met some other travellers that I got along with really well and we decided to spend two days in a small village called Sorata to relax for a few days. We stayed at an eco-lodge called "Altai Oasis". It was a wonderful place with lots of green grass, colorful flowers and an army of animals: 4 dogs - including 2 puppies, geese, chicken, ducks and ducklings, two llamas, kitten, two cows, a sheep, a goat and probably some more that I didn't see.

On our first night we tried to cook some pasta....in a a kind of camping kitchen where you had to make a fire to cook upon. It was great fun even if the result really was not that great :-)

The next day Oliver (England) and I hiked to the cave of San Pedro. It was an easy but amazing walk with ever changing views of the surrounding mountains. The cave was quite impressive, too, but the pictures didn't turn out very well.

After going back to La Paz we went to have dinner at one of the fanciest restaurants in La Paz because it was Joanna's (US) birthday. We had a fabulous meal for less than 10 Euro each.

Tonight I will take the night bus to Uyuni to see the the famous salt flats. Upon my return to La Paz I only have one more thing to do before I fly to Rio de Janeiro: Cycling down the "World's most dangerous road" also known as the "Death Road". This sounds way worse than it actually is because nowadays there is hardly any traffic on the road and the cyclists have it basically to themselves. The amazing thing is that on the 65 km the road descends almost 3000 meters and thus includes several vegetation zones from the altiplano to the rainforest.

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #7

2009-10-28T22:51:00.001+01:00

Der Weg mag ja manchmal das Ziel sein - der Rueckweg hingegen ist es selten.

Travel Blog: Day 17

2009-10-17T22:59:00.006+01:00

The first thing I did after writing the last post was buying a new camera. Got myself a Canon again and so far I am totally happy with it. After relaxing a couple days I started my trip to Machu Picchu. Since I didn't have enough time for one of the four day treks I chose the "easy way", meaning that I would go to Aguas Calientes (the town close to Machu Picchu) by bus and train and would visit the site the next day and return afterwards.

People who want to climb up Waynapicchu need to get up early, because only 400 people are allowed to go up there each day. So I got up at 3:30 and started my hike up to the entrance of Machu Picchu around 3:50. It was still absolutely dark then but by the time I reached the entrance at around 5:10 it was getting light. I was among the first 40 people in line so I got my ticket for Waynapicchu.

Machu Picchu really is a mystical place that somehow radiates a peaceful aura. After the 2 hours tour I had some time to relax before I hiked up Waynapicchu at around 10. It was quite an exhausting way up and I wouldn't recommend it if you are not fit and healthy, but the view from up there is amazing.

I also found two hidden treasures in Machu Picchu - 2 Geocaches ;-)

When I came back to Cusco I checked in at a different hostel because the other one was a little too quiet. I ended up at Loki which some people claim to be among the top 10 hostels in the world. It is a really fun place and I finally got the chance to party a little :-)

So now I am in Puno at the Lake Titicaca and I need to make some plans for the next days. This town is located at an altitude of about 3800 m/12500 feet so I have to take it easy. The air is pretty thin up here.

Some things I experienced so far on my travels:

Local drinks: I've tasted some of the local beers and most of them are quite drinkable. Pisco is a popular liquor made of grapes which is also the main ingredient of a cocktail called "Pisco Sour". Both pure and in a cocktail it tastes pretty good...but I have been told by a Peruvian that the cocktail is for women only (most tourists don't know or don't care).
Coca tea or "mate de coca" is also really popular and is said to have a number of positive effects like reducing the symptoms of altitude sickness, providing energy and suppressing hunger and thirst. You can either buy tea bags or just throw some real coca leaves into hot water.
Only "decocained" tea is allowed to be exported to the USA.
Local cousine: I've already written some time ago that I tried some of the local dishes. In the meantime I had the chance to try some alpaca meat but not any guinea pig so far (Meerschweinchen). The later is rather expensive.
Moon and stars: The moon down here is "the wrong way around", meaning that the waning moon has the shadow on the left side and not on the right side like in the norhtern hemisphere. Also especially in Colca Canyon I was able to see a fantastic starry sky because there was no "light contamination" for miles around.
Traffic: I still haven't figured out the traffic here. The streets are full of taxis (an in Lima minibusses) and they pass each other all the time within the city. I also don't know who has the right of way but it always seems to work out somehow. As a pedastrian you have to be extremely careful as vehicles do not care about pedestrians at all.

As always: click on the picture to get to the gallery.

Travel Blog: Day 11

2009-10-13T14:31:00.004+01:00

Hey there, just arrived in Cusco. But first things first. I left Lima on a nightbus to Arequipa where I spent several days. The bus was amazingly comfortable...if you paid extra for the VIP seats. Considering that I would be on the bus for 15 hours I didn't mind paying a little extra. It was kind of like flying first class (or how I imagine flying first class would be like). They served dinner and breakfast, handed out pillows and blankets and you could recline the seats almost to a horizontal position.

When I arrived in Arequipa I started speaking to a girl that I overheard talk German on her cell phone. She told me she would work some time for an organization that helps the poor children around Arequipa. I kind of sticked with her and the other volunteers for the day and watched them help some of the children with their homework (as you can see in some of the pictures). I would have loved to help more but my Spanish still needs improving.

The next two days I walked around Arequipa and visited the beautiful Monasterio Santa Catalina. I also got to see "Juanita", an Inca girl that was sacrificed by the Incas about 500 years ago in order to appease the mountain god.

After that I went on a 3 day trip to the Colca Canyon where we did some serious hiking through breathtaking landscapes. We even saw several condors. So after seeing the smallest bird in the Monasterio the day before (a humming bird) I got to see the largest one just the day after.

I have not yet any picutures to show you of the canyon because my camera broke the day before the trip. I will try to get a new one today.

Enjoy the pictures!

Travel Blog: Day 6

2009-10-08T16:29:00.002+01:00

Just a short one today...since I need to get some breakfast now. I started a "A Picture a Day" gallery (another good idea I just stole from somebody else).
Here is the link.

I am still trying to figure out whether it's time to shave or not - what do you think?

Travel Blog: Day 4

2009-10-06T17:41:00.006+01:00

So this is the fourth day of my trip. I arrived safely in Lima in the late afternoon of Oct 3rd. The 12 hour flight really wasn't funny and Iberia really did not impress me. I got picked up at the airport by a cab that brought me to my hostel. The cab driver spoke pretty good English and so we talked about football (or"soccer"for my American readers), Peru, beer and the local cuisine. At the hostel I met some other nice travellers and had the chance to try the local beer as well as pisco - the local licor.

On the next day I started exploring the vicinity. The district the hostel is located at is called Miraflores and it seems to be where all the tourists and rich people live. Everythings is really clean and has a strong American or western influence. I strolled along the coast up to the LarcoMall which is build directly into the cliffs and helped myself to plenty of local food at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I was brave and tried some of the local dishes. Most of them were actually pretty good...but neither do I know the names of the dishes nor do I know their ingredients.

Later on I visited the pre-inca pyramid of Huaca Pucclana. Quite impressive to see a site like this in the middle of a city. I also made contact with some naked dogs. Apparently the only peruvian dog race is the "Peruvian Hairless Dog". Interestingly many of the "normal"dogs in Miraflores wear clothes...

Yesterday I did some more cultural stuff: visting the museum "Raffael Larco Herrera" , the cathedral and the Monasterio de San Francisco. At the latter I got a private tour as I was the only participant of the English tour. I saw thousands and thousands of bones in the catacombs of the monastery. Sadly you weren't allowed to take pictures. The bones you see in the pictures were in the cathdral. At night I went with two fellow travelers from Israel to the district of Barranco, which is famous for its bohemian and romantic athmosphere. We ended up in a club that had some really good live jazz music.

What else is there to tell? Lima is colder than I thought. Considering some of my future travel destinations I might not have packed enough warm clothes.

Today I am just taking it slowly and I will hop on a 15 hours bus to Arequipa in the afternoon.

Enjoy the pictures....click on the one in this post and you will be directed to the gallery.

Travel Blog: Day 1

2009-10-03T10:19:00.002+01:00

The day of departure has finally arrived. I am writing these lines at the Madrid airport while waiting for my connecting flight to Lima.
I have made reservations for a hostel in Lima for three nights and have arranged to be picked up at the airport. I do not have any more plans right now. Just want to get over the jetlag and explore the city. I will keep you updated about where I am going after that.

Gedanken zur Wahl

2009-09-28T10:26:00.001+01:00

Nun, wer das hier liest ist ja sicherlich mit den Ergebnissen unserer schönen Bundestagswahl vertraut. Kann nicht sagen, dass sie mich vom Hocker reißen...aber dafür kann ich mich jetzt mal vier Jahre entspannt zurücklehnen und aus Oppositionssicht wieder hemmungslos über alles schimpfen, was von der Regierung verzapft wird. Für mich persönlich ist das Ergebnis vielleicht auch gar nicht so schlecht. Ich werde mir jetzt erstmal überlegen müssen, was ich mit dem ganzen Geld anfange, dass mir durch die bevorstehenden Steuererleichterungen zusätzlich zur Verfügung steht. Vielleicht lass ich mir ja ein Sprungbrett in meinen Geldspeicher einbauen.

Aber mal im Ernst, sollte es Herr Westerwelle wirklich schaffen, ein einfacheres und "gerechteres" Steuersystem einzuführen, dann gebührt ihm mein größter Respekt. Die Chancen dafür schätze ich allerdings ziemlich gering ein. Zu groß ist die Lobby der Steuerberater und der Profiteuere des jetztigen Systems. Zudem lässt sich so etwas von der Opposition immer ziemlich einfach als ungerecht hinstellen und wird dadurch unpopulär (Stichwort: Nachtzuschläge, Freibeträge für Übungsleiter, Pendlerpauschale etc.).

Wenn ich mir eine Besetzung des zukünftigen Kabinetts aussuchen könnte, so würde ich gern Westerwelle als Finanzminister sehen. Dann wäre ich mal gespannt, wie es mit den Steuersenkungsplänen aussähe. Aber Westerwelle wird sich ja mit ziemlicher Sicherheit den "relaxten" Posten des Außenministers sichern. Dort kann man immer glänzen ohne innenpolitisch irgendwas unpopuläres durchsetzuen zu müssen. Aber auf den zukünftigen Finanzminister bin ich trotzdem gespannt. Irgendein Depp muss sich finden lassen, der sich da zum Affen macht und die ganze Prügel einsteckt....und auch kein gesteigertes Interess an einer erfolgreichen Fortsetzung seiner politischen Karriere hat.

Zum Schluss noch einmal zu den nackten Zahlen: CDU und FDP vereinen auf sich 48,4 Prozent der abgegebenen, gültigen Stimmen. Ich finde es daher unpassend, wenn in den entsprechenden Medien von einer "deutlichen Mehrheit" gesprochen wird. Berücksichtigt man zudem noch die Wahlbeteiligung, so kommen die beiden Parteien auf knapp 35% aller möglichen Stimmen. Das bedeutet, dass wir alle die nächsten vier Jahre von einer Koalition regiert werden, die nur von etwa einem Drittel der Wahlberechtigten gewählt wurde. Das zeigt doch ziemlich deutlich, wie wichtig es ist wählen zu gehen!

Ich frage mich...

2009-09-16T13:42:00.002+01:00

ob Jürgen Trittin in seiner Kindheit wohl sehr unter seinem Namen zu leiden hatte....

Lyrics Snippet #12

2009-09-15T10:37:00.002+01:00

Today I listened to Marilyn Manson for the first time in ages. In his song "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" Manson expresses a rather negative weltanschauung.
I don't think his lyrics are very deep though...when it comes to Manson it is all about the show. But he does put on a hell of a show - the concert in Cologne in 1998 was one of the most entertaining I have ever attended.
Some of his songs really have a certain beat/groove/feel/oomph/energy/whatever to it that makes me want to jump up and down...and...well...into other people ;-)

Everybody's someone else's nigger
I know you are so am I
I wasn't born with enough middle fingers
I don't need to choose a side

~ "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" - Marilyn Manson ~

Travel Blog: Day -23

2009-09-10T15:43:00.001+01:00

Finally some good news! After a lot of major and minor misfortunes it was about time!

A few days ago I decided on which three people I would like to live in my apartment and they have been waiting for me to get everything arranged.
But over the last days it looked like my landlord would not agree to me renting the apartment to three students. Rather suprisingly today I got the go and I am now only waiting for the three contracts to fly in. In a matter of days all should be settlted...

Only about 3 weeks left until take off.

Travel Blog: Day -31

2009-09-02T13:16:00.003+01:00

No good news from my apartment. By now it looks like I will only get people to rent single rooms. I know my landlord will not be happy about it and chances are that I am not allowed to do this at all.
Yesterday two girls took a look at my place and seemed really interested. I had a good feeling about them, too. Got a message from them today that they unexpectedly got an offer for a dorm room so they are going for this (cheaper) option.

I now advertised in the local newspaper - the ad will be published on Friday. I just hope there are some people who are just as desperately looking for a place as I am looking for somebody to rent it to.

Travel Blog: Day -35

2009-08-29T15:18:00.002+01:00

I guess most (all?) of the few people who read this blog already know about my travelling plans.
I have decided to take 6 months off and travel around South America, New Zealand and Australia.

My flights are booked and the general route has been laid out. I will work out the details along the way.

October 3rd: Flight from Frankfurt to Lima, Peru (via Madrid, Spain)
Somehow make my way to La Paz, Bolivia
November 4th: Flight from La Paz to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Via Santiago, Chile)
Travel southward to Buenos Aires, Argentina (maybe Uruguay...if there is time...), then further south to explore Patagonia. Then on to Santiago
January 3rd: Flight from Santiago to Auckland, New Zealand (via Los Angeles, USA and Brisbane, Australia)
Travel southward to Christchurch
January 27th: Flight from Christchurch to Sydney, Australia
February 1st: Flight from Sydney to Brisbane
Move along Australia's east coast up to Cairns
March 24th: Flight from Cairns to Melbourne
March 29th: Flight from Melbourne to Frankfurt (via Singapore)

I still have some things to get straightened out before I leave. The most pressing issue is my apartment...haven't found anybody to rent it. Got lots of inquiries for single rooms but not for the whole thing. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Updates will appear here on a regular basis.

Lyrics Snippet #11

2009-08-11T15:51:00.005+01:00

Today I present you a little piece by Phil Ochs - a songwriter I actually stumbled across when reading Stephen King's "Hert in Atlantis" where his song "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (video) was mentioned several times.

If you are into 60s and 70s folk/protest music you should check out some of his songs:

Bullets Of Mexico
Links on the Chain
Talking Cuban Crisis
One More Parade
The Men Behind the Guns

Those I like best from the few I know (hardly more than a dozen) so there probably are lots of others worth listening to.

For I marched to the battles of the German trench
In a war that was bound to end all wars
Oh I must have killed a million men
And now they want me back again
But I ain't marchin' anymore

~ "I Ain't Marching Anymore" - Phil Ochs ~

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #7

2009-07-03T21:34:00.000+01:00

Fotos sind nur ein erbärmlicher Versuch die Wirklichkeit einzufangen.

Where is my vote?

2009-06-23T06:34:00.002+01:00

Werbung oder keine Werbung? Das ist hier die Frage...

2009-06-18T10:23:00.001+01:00

Seit einiger Zeit prangt an meinem Briefkasten ein "Stopp! Keine Werbung"-Aufkleber. Vereinzelt verirrt sich zwar manchmal ein Flyer von einem Pizza-Schuppen oder einiger freiberuflicher Kistenschlepper im Briefkasten, aber im Großen und Ganzen erzielt der Aufkleber die gewünschte Wirkung.
Ein Klientel, das diesen Aufkleber jedoch geflissentlich ignoriert, sind die politischen Parteien. Zur Europawahl und den gleichzeitig durchgeführten Kommunalwahlen hatte ich jede Menge Wahlwerbung im Briefkasten. Und kaum denkt man, damit sei jetzt erstmal Schluss, finden sich schon wieder einige Pamphlete dort - der bevorstehenden Stichwahl zum Ortsvorsteher sei Dank.
Dabei scheint die Sache klar zu sein. Das Bundesverfassungsgericht urteilte 1988 (BGH vom 20.12.1988, Aktenzeichen VI ZR 182/88), dass solche Aufkleber beachtet werden müssen.
Auch ein Rundbrief der GRIBS (Grüne und Alternative in den Räten Bayerns) befasst sich mit dem Thema und kommt zu folgendem Ergebnis:

Wahlwerbung
"Bitte keine Werbung einwerfen !"
Werden solche oder ähnliche Aufkleber auf Briefkästen ignoriert, kann dies Unterlassungsbegehren mit z.T. nicht unerheblichen Rechtsanwaltsgebühren für die betreffenden Untergliederungen mit sich bringen.
Wenn sich auf einem Briefkasten ein werbeabwehrender Aufkleber befindet, muss dies auch bei der Verteilung von Wahlkampfzeitungen oder sonstiger Parteiwerbung respektiert werden. Trotz der besonderen rechtlichen Stellung von Parteien ist Wahlwerbung nach aktueller Rechtsprechung grundsätzlich wie gewöhnliche Werbung zu behandeln. „Dem Recht der Parteien, ihrer politischen Tätigkeit ungehindert nachgehen zu können, entspricht keine Pflicht der Bürgers, sich von den Parteien informieren lassen zu müssen.“ (NJW 2002, Heft 5, S. 380) Die Übersendung von Werbematerial trotz eines erklärten entgegenstehenden Willens stellt eine Besitz- bzw. Eigentumsstörung und darüber hinaus eine Störung des allgemeinen Persönlichkeitsrechts dar.
Wenn werbungsabwehrende Aufkleber missachtet werden, hat der oder die Betroffene zivilrechtliche Abwehr- und Unterlassungsansprüche. Dies kann im Einzelfall nicht unerhebliche Rechtsanwaltsgebühren für den Störer - also die Parteigliederung - zur Folge haben.

Für die hobbymäßigen Stressmacher und Beschwerdebriefschreiber unter euch also ein gefundenes Fressen.

PS: Generell finde ich es nicht schlecht, dass die Bürger über die politischen Programme der Parteien informiert werden, aber auch Parteien stehen eben nicht über dem Gesetz. Und zumindest die Informationen zur bevorstehenden Stichwahl waren bei mir überflüssig - ich hatte meine Stimme bereits am Tag zuvor per Briefwahl abgegeben.

Lyrics Snippet #10

2009-06-15T22:17:00.006+01:00

Here's another song that deals with the Northern Ireland conflict: "Zombie" by The Cranberries (watch the video on youtube here). I remember listening to this song again and again when I was around the age of 15. It always sent a shiver down my spine - and still does.

It's the same old theme since nineteen-sixteen.
In your head, in your head they're still fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are dying...

~ "Zombie" - The Cranberries ~

Lyrics Snippet #9

2009-06-04T22:40:00.001+01:00

After the overwhelming response to my last "Lyrics Snippet" post I just feel obliged to keep writing to keep all of you satisfied and entertained. No, but really, this may sound a little harsh. I would be lying if I said I wouldn't care...but still....f*ck it. If this whole thing doesn't change anything for anybody else it still has affected the way I listen to songs. Exactly six days ago I was in Mannheim listening to some band at the Mannheim city festival. When they played "Sunday Bloody Sunday" I thought this would be a good song to write about here. Wikipedia tells me that this song is about the "Bloody Sunday" - January 30th 1972. On this day a demonstration for civil rights took place in the town of Derry. Thirteen people were shot by British military...
Check the rest out for youselves...

And the battles just begun
Theres many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

~ Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2 ~

Wahlen leicht gemacht

2009-06-01T11:27:00.001+01:00

Auf dem Foto erkennt man meine Briefwahlunterlagen für die bevorstehenden Kommunal- und Europawahlen: 2 Merkblätter, 2 Wahlzettel, 6 Stimmzettel und 4 Umschläge. Einfacher gehts kaum, oder?

Lyrics Snippet #8

2009-05-27T10:48:00.000+01:00

Today I turn to a rather trivial topic. Tonight Manchester will play Barcelona in the Champions League Final. Reason enough for me to create a little post about the reference to athletes in songs. Right now I can think of three and I invite everybody who reads this to contribute to the list. I know there are hundreds - if not thousands - more.
Valid are only songs that are not especially dedicated to an athlete or sports in general (like "Three Lions"...beautiful song by the way).

Steppin' into the jam and I'm slammin' like Shaquille
Mad boy grips the microphone
Wit' a fistful of steel

~ "Fistful of Steel" - Rage Against The Machine ~

________________

See I've Got Heart Like John Starks
Hitting Mad Sparks
Pass Me The Mic
And I'll Be Rocking The Whole Park

~ "Get it Together" - Beastie Boys ~

________________

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away

~ "Mrs. Robinson" - Simon and Garfunkel ~

Flash Mob gefällig?

2009-05-22T14:02:00.002+01:00

Habe gerade durch Zufall gesehen, dass am Montag 18:00 Uhr in Ludwigshafen ein Flash-Mob geplant ist (guckst du hier). Mal sehen ob ich es schaffe, daran teilzunehmen. Immerhin könnte ich dann Punkt 66 auf meiner Liste der "101 Dinge, die man getan haben sollte, bevor das Leben vorbei ist" streichen.

Ich kann es nicht mehr hören!

2009-05-20T18:00:00.000+01:00

Muss denn in jeder, aber auch wirklich jeder Meldung über die Zukunft von Opel die Floskel "tragfähiges Konzept" verwendet werden?
Und bin ich eigentlich der einzige, den das stört?

Lyrics Snippet #7

2009-05-19T10:33:00.003+01:00

Just a short one today:

If ignorance is bliss, then knock the smile off my face

~ "Settle for Nothing" - Rage Against the Machine ~

PS: For a better understanding of RATM lyrics I recommend the "Lyrical References" section in the RATM FAQ

Lyrics Snippet #6

2009-05-13T14:59:00.003+01:00

One of the best-known songs of the great depression is probably "Brother, can you spare a dime", which was written in 1931 by E.Y. Harburg (music by Jay Gorney). This song has been recorded by dozens of artists and also appeared in a Simpsons episode :-)

Interestingly, 8 years later Harburg wrote one of the most hopeful songs of the era - "(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow".

BTW: Don't think I just know all this stuff...looked it all up on wikipedia.

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

"Brother, can you spare a dime" - Music by Jay Gorney, Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg

Lyrics Snippet #5

2009-05-07T23:21:00.003+01:00

So, now to a different topic. Considering the current economic crisis I find it appropriate to share a couple of lyrics snippets from songs about the great depression.

The first one is from Springsteens "Ghost of Tom Joad" which is basically a song about John Steinbeck's book "Grapes of Wrath". Reading the book surely helps to understand the song...maybe it is even necessary. But really, if you haven't read it yet, go ahead and do it. In my opinion it's an eye-opening masterpiece.

There's also a version of this song by Rage Against the Machine which is...uhm...slightly more "dynamic". Remember, RATM songs are best served at high volume :-)

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

~ "The Ghost of Tom Joad" - Bruce Springsteen ~

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #6

2009-05-05T06:43:00.000+01:00

Versuche nicht, dein Glück an dem Glück Anderer zu messen. Jeder muss sein eigenes Glück finden.

Lyrics Snippet #4

2009-04-29T20:51:00.002+01:00

One thing I want to make very clear: No, I am not suicidal. OK, now that this is out of the way I will present the last (very short) song snippet out of my "suicide cycle":

"I was me, but now he's gone"

~ "Fade to Black" - Metallica ~

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #5

2009-04-29T08:25:00.001+01:00

Wie passt es eigentlich zusammen, dass sich Arbeitswochen endlos hinzuziehen scheinen, aber die Monate und Jahre nur so an einem vorbeifliegen?

Lyrics Snippet #3

2009-04-27T07:24:00.002+01:00

Alright, since I started with the suicide topic I can as well stick to it. I have at least a couple more along those lines.
Today's snippet is from a band I really like called "K's Choice". The song (click to listen) is about an old woman trying to kill herself by getting on the highway in her wheelchair. This is what she said when a young woman (the first-person narrator) tries to "save" her:

She said, "Girl you're so naive
and you're too young to understand
I am now chasing my husband Stan
A pale man in a black suit came to take him
in trade for a cup of tea
A pale man came to take him away from me"

~ "Old Woman" - K's Choice ~

Lyrics Snippet #2

2009-04-24T14:11:00.000+01:00

Today's lyrics snippet is from the song "Suicide is Painless" which was the title song for the TV show "M.A.S.H." (and the movie as well). I always enjoyed watching that show...because it was funny, sarcastical, cynical and touching.

It's hard to pick only a part of the song, since all the stanzas are pretty good. I went for the last one:

A brave man once requested me
to answer questions that are key
is it to be or not to be
and I replied 'oh why ask me?'

'Cause suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.

"Suicide is Painless" - Music by Johnny Mandel, Lyrics by Mike Altman

Lyrics Snippet #1

2009-04-22T09:49:00.000+01:00

Today I will start a new category on this blog. First difference is - as you will have probably noticed - that posts of this category will be written in English. I do that to multiply my already huge number of active readers :-)

As I have written before (in German) I am not sure where to go with this blog. What I am trying to do now, is supposed to be an easy way for me to come up with new posts on a regular basis...without investing too much time.

So I decided to present interesting pieces of song lyrics. That's it. Not more. The fact that there are so many good songs around makes it easy to find something to put on here. Alone the songs by Rage Against The Machine provide an endless pool of noteworthy lyrics...whicht probably has something to do with the fact that Tom Morello graduated from Harvard University with honors as a Political Science major.

Ok, here goes the first one:

AIDS is killing the entire African nation
And a vaccine is still supposedly under preparation
But these governments, they don`t mind the procrastination.
They say we`ll kill them off, take their land and go there for vacation

~ "Darkness" - Rage Against The Machine ~

Politischer Aktivist...in der kleinstmöglichen Form

2009-04-20T22:24:00.004+01:00

Gestern war ein besonderer Tag für mich. Ich habe das erste Mal wirklich etwas getan um die Politik im Land zu beeinflussen....abgesehen von (häufig sinnlosen) Diskussionen...wie z.B. zuletzt über die unsäglichen Kommentare der CDU, CSU und FDP zum Wahlprogramm der SPD:
So wird der Vorschlag des 300-Euro-Steuerbonus z.B. von CSU-Generalsekretär Alexander Dobrindt als Mogelpackung bezeichnet, da die betroffenen ja eventuell auf eine viel höhere Steuerrückerstattung verzichten würden. Was für ein schwachsinniges Argument.
Genauso geht mir auf den Sack, wie mein Spezi CDU-Generalsekretär Ronald Pofalla wieder vor lauter Verzweifelung versucht, die Bevölkerung mit der Behauptung zu verängstigen, das Wahlprogramm sei die Plattform zur Zusammenarbeit mit der Linkspartei. Interessanterweise schließt die SPD eine Zusammenarbeit mit der Linkspartei explizit aus...was nicht unbedingt etwas bedeuten muss, aber es könnte ja mal erwähnt werden. Das Problem ist, dass diese unqualifizierten Behauptungen es in die Nachrichten und auch in die Köpfe der Menschen schaffen und Pofalla damit sogar erreichen wird was er will.
Im SWR Contra Tagesgespräch vom 20.04.09 sagt er dann noch wörtlich:

"Steuererhöhungen wird es mit uns nicht geben"
"Die SPD will Steuern erhöhen, wir wollen Steuern senken"

Die Tatsache, dass die SPD nur den Spitzensteuersatz erhöhen möchte und dabei aber den Eingangssteuersatz von 14 auf 10 Prozent senken möchte, wird natürlich verschwiegen. Auch die Äußerungen des baden-würtembergischen Ministerpräsidenten Öttinger, der wiederum die Steuersenkungspläne der SPD ablehnt und der Meinung ist, dass solche erst in 2012 finanzierbar seien, passen hier nicht ins Bild.
Eins möchte ich hier noch mal klar stellen. Ich bin zwar tendenziell eher der SPD zugewandt, aber mir geht es hier nicht darum das Wahlprogramm der SPD zu verteidigen, sondern die dreiste Verdrehung der Tatsachen durch die anderen Parteien zu ächten. Auch die SPD ist in dieser Hinsicht keinen Deut besser...leider ist die Politik in unserem schönen, Bild-Zeitung-dominierten Land nun einmal so.
Meine Meinung zum eigentlichen Inhalt des SPD-Wahlprogramms werde ich vielleicht später in einem gesonderten Post kundtun.

Aber eigentlich wollte ich ja auf etwas ganz anderes hinaus. Ich habe nun endlich mal nicht nur gejammert, sonder auch etwas getan....und mich dabei in finanzielle Unkosten gestürzt. Unglaubliche 55 Cent hat mich die Briefmarke gekostet, die dafür sorgt, dass meine Unterstützungsunterschrift an ihrem Bestimmungsort ankommt und hoffentlich dazu beiträgt, dass die Piratenpartei Deutschland zur Bundestagswahl zugelassen wird. Wer sich auch beteiligen möchte, der findet alle notwendigen Infos auf http://ich.waehlepiraten.de
Es lohnt sich übrigens das Parteiprogramm durchzulesen - es ist besser als der etwas irreführende Parteiname vermuten lässt. Momentan sind sie zwar noch sehr spezialisiert, aber das muss ja nichts Schlechtes sein. Besser als sich zu allem eine Meinung "auszudenken". Die Grünen haben damals ja auch fast ausschließlich mit Umweltpolitik angefangen (Achtung: ungeprüfte Aussage).
Ob ich die Piraten wählen werde weiß ich noch nicht, aber ich finde sie sollte zumindest wählbar sein.

Warum.....

2009-04-18T19:31:00.001+01:00

...heißt eigentlich gerade das alkoholfreie Jever "Jever Fun"???

Hier mal was Positives

2009-04-16T09:26:00.001+01:00

Ich finde, in einer Zeit lauter schlechter Nachrichten sollte man auch mal die Guten betonen. Zwar gab es auch gestern wieder jede Menge negativer Meldungen zu diversen Unternehmen oder ganzen Wirtschaftszweigen, aber in den letzten Tagen konnte man zwischen dem Morast der Krisenberichte auch das ein oder andere Blümchen entdecken.
So sieht der Halbleitergigant Intel die "schwerste Zeit überstanden" und der Chiphersteller Infineon verkürzt die Kurzarbeit (und das im positiven Sinne).
Außerdem überraschte Goldman Sachs mit einem starken ersten Quartal und Milliardengewinnen - sogar 13% höher als im Vorjahreszeitraum.
Auch der amerikanische Notenbankchef Bernanke sieht erste Anzeichen für das Ende des Abschwungs.

Das sind zwar alles nur Tropfen auf den heißen Stein, aber besser als nichts. In meinen Augen ist die negative Grundstimmung ohnehin eine der Ursachen der aktuellen Krise.

[Update]
Auch gestern gab es wieder einige gute Zahlen...unter anderem von JP Morgan, Nokia und Google.

Script: Dateipfad in die Zwischenablage (Update)

2009-04-02T13:20:00.003+01:00

"And now to something completely different"...wie man bei Monty Python sagen würde. Heute geht's mal um was Praktisches, nämlich die tägliche Arbeit mit dem Computer. Ich habe mir vor einige Zeit ein kleines Script zusammengeklaut und zusammengebastelt, dass es ermöglicht, den vollen Netzwerkpfad zu einer Datei in die Zwischenablage zu speichern. Wozu man das braucht? Nun, z.B. im beruflichen Umfeld möchte man gern Links auf Dateien verschicken, die sich auf einem Netzlaufwerk befinden. Blöderweise hat jeder das Laufwerk auf einem anderen Buchstaben gemappt, so dass der Empfänger u.U. mit dem Link nichts anfangen kann. Das Script liefert aber den sogenannten "UNC-Pfad", dass heißt komplett mit Servernamen etc, so dass das Mapping keine Rolle spielt.

Auch in anderen Situationen kann das Script nützlich sein. Manchmal möchte man z.B. eine Datei aus einer Anwendung heraus öffnen, muss dann aber umständlich zum richtigen Pfad auf der Festplatte navigieren, obwohl man daneben vielleicht schon ein Explorer-Fenster "an der richtigen Stelle" geöffnet hat. Auch hier einfach den Pfad ins Clipboard kopieren und direkt in das Feld "Dateiname" des "Datei öffnen"-Dialogs der Anwendung eintragen.

Das hier erhältliche Archiv besteht aus zwei Dateien. Zum einen gibt es das eigentliche Script ("unc-pfad.vbs") und zum anderen eine Registry-Datei ("registry.reg") mit der man einen Eintrag im Kontextmenü generieren kann (siehe Screenshot). Diese Datei muss man jedoch vor der einmaligen Ausführung anpassen - hier ist nämlich der Pfad zum Script eingetragen.

Auch ohne Registry-Eintrag lässt sich das Script jedoch elegant nutzen. Man kann z.B. eine Verknüpfung in der Schnellstartleiste der Taskbar erstellen. Dann muss man eine Datei nur per Drag&Drop auf die Verknüpfung ziehen und schon hat man den Pfad in der Zwischenablage.

Das Ganze läuft bei mir unter WinXP. Nehme an, dass es auch unter Win2000 laufen würde. Bei Vista bin ich mir nicht sicher. Zum Erstellen des Eintrages im Kontextmenü benötigt man übrigens Admin-Rechte.

Wäre sehr an Rückmeldungen und Anregungen interessiert.

Update:
Die jetzt erhältliche Version sollte nun auch unter Vista laufen. Wundert euch übrigens nicht über die Abfrage des Internet Explorers, ob ihr den Zugriff auf die Zwischenablage zulassen möchtet. Das Schreiben in die Zwischenablage muss nun mal den Umweg über den IE gehen. Ihr könnt allerdings eure Sicherheitseinstellungen im IE anpassen. Der Punkt heißt "Programmatischen Zugriff auf die Zwischenablage erlauben" (oder so ähnlich) und befindet sich im "Scripting"-Abschnitt.
Letzter Hinweis: wenn ihr die Registry-Datei anpasst, um das Script in euer Kontext-Menü einzubinden, dann achtet darauf die Backslashes im Pfad zu verdoppeln - so wie im Beispiel schon erkennbar ist.

Schon ne ganze....

2009-02-26T13:55:00.003+01:00

....Weile her, seit ich das letzte Mal ein paar Worte hier verloren habe. Aber vielleicht ist das ja auch das Gebot der Stunde. In Zeiten wie diesen sollte man seine Worte beisammen halten - wer weiß wann es wieder neue gibt.

Angewandte Mathematik

2009-01-05T14:57:00.001+01:00

Als ich neulich mit der S-Bahn fuhr kam mir der Gedanke, dass mein Hinterteil ein prima Beispiel für eine Ableitung ist. Während die S-Bahn beschleunigt, spüre ich einen Druck in eine Richtung. Hält sie konstant eine Geschwindigkeit, so spüre ich weder einen Druck nach vorne noch nach hinten. Beim Bremsen...na ihr wisst schon. Anschaulicher kann Mathematik nicht sein....und ein Blog-Eintrag auch nicht sinnloser.

Ach ja, Frohes Neues!

Bahnprivatisierung

2008-11-18T10:53:00.001+01:00

In den letzten Tagen und Wochen gab es ja nur wenige gute Nachrichten. Mir fallen da spontan nur die positive Entwicklung des 1.FC Köln, die Wahl Obamas zum nächsten US-Präsidenten und der verschobene Börsengang der Bahn ein.
Letzteres hat noch Potential nach oben, nämlich wenn der Börsengang komplett abgesagt werden sollte. Mal im Ernst: Wer hat etwas von dieser Privatisierung - wem nützt es? Meiner Meinung nach, sollte die Hauptaufgabe der Bahn sein, im bundesdeutschen Raum für den Transport von Personen und Gütern zu sorgen. Und zwar in einer angemessenen Zeit, zu einem angemessenen Preis und mit angemessenen Service und Komfort. Außerdem fehlen noch Pünktlichkeit uns Sicherheit.
Warum muss die DB zur ordnungsgemäßen Erfüllung dieser Aufgaben zum internationalen Spediteur werden? Mich interessiert nicht, ob man von Chile aus Güter nach Vietnam mit der deutschen Bahn schicken kann.
Zudem ist die deutsche Bahn momentan profitabel - zumindest der Teil der privatisiert werden soll. Die defizitären Teile sollen ja in Staatshand bleiben. Warum sollte man nun ein profitables Unternehmen veräußern und damit auf zukünftige Gewinne und vor allem auf Einfluss verzichten sollen? Also wem nützt die ganze Geschichte? In erster Linie mal den Bahnvorständen, die sich ihre Anstrengungen mit kräftigen Bonuszahlungen belohnen lassen wollten. Einen weiteren Nutznießer kann ich nicht erkennen. Ich glaube jedenfalls nicht, dass der Börsengang positive Effekte auf die Bahnkunden oder die Bahnmitarbeiter hätte.

Zonk bei "18"

2008-11-10T08:30:00.000+01:00

Es gibt beim Skat Kartenkonstellationen, da kann keiner der drei Spieler gewinnen. Wer es dennoch versucht und leichtfertigerweise "18" sagt, der hat dann sozusagen den Zonk gezogen.
So ähnlich war es auch mit den Ergebnissen der Hessenwahl. Die Einzige, die wirklich versucht hat, aus der vom Wähler vorgegebenen Konstellation etwas zu machen und eine regierungsfähige Mehrheit zu formen, ist nun kläglich gescheitert. Über den "Wortbruch" Ypsilantis lässt sich ja ewig diskutieren - er wurde von der CDU jedenfalls geschickt bundesweit polemisiert. Dabei rücken andere Wahlversprechen, wie zum Beispiel das "Nein" der CDU zur Mehrwertsteuererhöhung im Wahlkampf zur 05'er Bundestagswahl in den Hintergrund.
Jedenfalls waren Frau Ypsilanti, und mit ihr die Fraktionenen der SPD, Grünen und Linken gewillt, der vom Grundgesetzt vorgegebenen Aufgabe der Mehrheitsfindung nachzukommen. Die CDU und die FDP haben sich in dieser Beziehung vornehm zurückgehalten und lieber bundesweit die SPD attackiert. Sie standen wohl eher auf dem Standpunkt: "Wir lassen den Wähler so lange wählen, bis etwas herauskommt das uns passt". Und so ist es jetzt ja auch gekommen....

CDU und der Antisemitismus

2008-11-01T10:43:00.003+01:00

Eigentlich wollten alle Parteien, die im Bundestag vertreten sind, anlässlich des 70. Jahrestages der Reichsprogromnacht eine gemeinsame Erklärung gegen Antisemitismus abgeben. Sozusagen eine Anti-Antisemitismus-Erklärung.
Nun will die CDU aber nicht, dass sich die Linke daran beteiligt, und betreibt somit eigentlich eine Anti-Anti-Antisemitismus-Politik. Die Vorsilben darf der geneigte Leser paarweise herausstreichen und sich dann anschauen was übrig bleibt...

Letztes Jahr im Sommer

2008-08-16T10:06:00.003+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xgL5H89z2E

Sommerpause

2008-08-11T22:09:00.002+01:00

...kein Text...

Zur Einstimmung...

2008-06-29T12:28:00.003+01:00

...auf das heutige EM-Finale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd4oF4dZg9Q

Weiß gar nicht, ob das das offizielle Video von Grönemeyer ist, aber es ist auf jeden Fall klasse. Echt eine gelungene Mischung aus Profi-Fußball und Amateur-Bereich. Wer da nicht sofort Lust auf Fußball bekommt, dem ist nicht mehr zu helfen.

Note to self....

2008-06-26T14:53:00.002+01:00

...beim nächsten Jahreswechsel mit Böllern und Raketen eindecken...es gibt immer wieder Gelegenheiten wo diese Verwendung finden können....hoffentlich ist die nächste Gelegenheit schon der kommende Sonntag.

Daddeln für lau

2008-06-17T13:45:00.000+01:00

Für alle, die ab und zu zwischendurch mal was am Rechner daddeln möchten, aber keine Lust haben dafür Geld auszugeben, könnte folgende Liste interessant sein:

"Daddelspaß für lau"

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #4

2008-06-12T07:17:00.000+01:00

Merke: Manchmal gilt, wer nicht schön ist muss leiden.

Stufenweiser Aufstieg

2008-05-29T07:36:00.001+01:00

So, ab heute ist es nun auch beim Kicker amtlich: der 1. Fc Köln ist wieder erstklassig. Die Meldung über den Transfer des Bremers Womé war die erste Meldung zum Verein, die in der Kategorie "1. Bundesliga" veröffentlicht wurde.

Kommt es mir nur so vor....

2008-05-19T09:56:00.001+01:00

...oder fahren die Deutschen in Anbetracht der steigenden Benzinpreise schon langsamer? Vor einigen Tagen fuhr ich ein kurzes Stück Autobahn auf dem das Tempolimit fast durchgehend 130 km/h war. Laut Navi fuhr ich 129 km/h....und war sowohl auf dem Hin- als auch auf dem Rückweg weit und breit der Schnellste. Wenn die Entwicklung so weiter geht, erübrigt sich die Diskussion um ein generelles Tempolimit auf deutschen Autobahnen.

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #3

2008-05-14T07:56:00.000+01:00

Wer sich die Alarmzeit im Wecker stellt, sollte den Alarm anschließend auch aktivieren.

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #2

2008-05-13T15:14:00.000+01:00

Kochen macht mehr Spaß wenn man Hunger hat.

Pseudophilosophischer Gedanke des Tages #1

2008-05-06T14:36:00.001+01:00

Eigentlich schaut man - falls man nicht gerade als Tourist in New York unterwegs ist - viel zu selten nach oben.

Olympia-Boykott?

2008-04-18T15:56:00.001+01:00

So, da ich ja gebeten wurde, mal etwas Ernsthaftes zu schreiben: hier mal meine Meinung zu einem eventuellem Olympia-Boykott.
Als die olympischen Spiele 2008 an Peking vergeben wurden, waren die Tibeter kein Stück besser dran als heute. Auch war das chinesische Regime nicht weniger repressiv gegenüber den "eigenen" Bürgern als heute. Jetzt über einen Boykott nachzudenken halte ich daher für scheinheilig. Man hätte die Spiele von vornherein nicht an China vergeben dürfen.

Danke Roda,...

2008-03-27T12:27:00.000+01:00

... für dieses Tor .

Kölle, Kölle

2008-03-25T11:10:00.000+01:00

Als Köln-affiner Sportbegeisterter hat man sich an den Spruch gewöhnt, der mir auch gestern wieder aus tausenden Mannheimer Kehlen entgegendonnerte: "Kölle, Kölle, die Scheiße vom Dom!" Diese Verunglimpfung ist sicherlich nicht nett, nein eigentlich geradezu vulgär, obszön und - wie ich finde - auch vollkommen unbegründet. Unbeachtet dessen ruft dieser "Gesang" nur noch ein müdes Lächeln bei mir hervor. Aber was wollen mir die Mannheimer damit eigentlich sagen? Schauen wir uns des Spruch doch einmal genauer an. Er ist recht übersichtlich, besteht er doch nur aus sechs Wörtern, wobei eines davon auch noch als Wiederholung zweifache Verwendung findet. "Kölle, Kölle" - warum diese Dopplung? Ist ein "Kölle" noch nicht beschreibend genug? Ich denke jedoch, dass ich mich nicht zu weit aus dem Fenster lehne, wenn ich behaupte, dass die Wiederholung einzig dem Versmaß, bzw. dem Rhythmus geschuldet ist. Schauen wir also weiter..."die Scheiße". Tja, nun gut. Was soll man dazu sagen. Interessant wäre allerdings schon, wer denn genau gemeint ist. Sind es die Kölner Bewohner, die Kölner Anhänger, vielleicht auch nur der Verein oder eventuell sogar die Stadt selbst? Eine Frage, die ich wirklich nicht beantworten kann. Auch die zusätzliche Detaillierung "vom Dom" hilft mir dabei nicht weiter. Ohnehin gibt mir dieser Zusatz Rätsel auf. Mächte man damit einfach nur die
Stadt Köln genauer spezifizieren, oder soll es etwa den Grund für die wüste Beschimpfung darstellen? Ist die Stadt "Scheiße" WEIL sie einen so prächtigen Dom hat. Dieses Meisterwerk gotischer Baukunst, dass sogar in mir als Nicht-Christen so etwas wie Ehrfurcht erweckt? Nein, das kann ich mir eigentlich nicht vorstellen.
Also zurück zur These, dass es sich einfach um eine Ortsangabe handelt. Da es in meinen Augen nur ein "Kölle" gibt, ist dieser Zusatz inhaltlich also eigentlich unnötig, genau wie das doppelte "Kölle". Bliebe noch "Kölle, die Scheiße". Wie man es auch dreht und wendet, es ist nicht nachvollziehbar und wird eigentlich nur noch plumper.
Und das Ende vom Lied? Die Haie schlagen die Adler mit 4:3 in der ersten Verlängerung und die "Scheiße" fährt glücklich nach Hause.

PS: "Mannheim, Mannheim, die Scheiße vom Rhein" würde sich wenigstens reimen, auch wenn ich mich von solchen Pauschalbeleidigungen distanziere.

2008-03-22T21:54:00.004+01:00

Ich möchte allen, die das lesen, frohe Ostern wünschen. Ob gläubig oder nicht - ein viertägiges Wochenende kommt nicht alle Tage. Also genießt die kurze Erholung.
Wir haben mal die alte Kunst des Ostereierbemalens wieder auferstehen lassen. Die Ergebnisse unseres kreativen Schaffens habt Ihr sicherlich schon vor dem Lesen dieses Textes in Augenschein genommen. Könnt ja mal posten, welches Meisterwerk Euch am besten gefällt.

Teufelchens Hölle

2008-03-03T22:04:00.002+01:00

Wow, seit Dezember kein Post mehr von mir. Auf den Mangel an Themen kann ich es wahrlich nicht schieben: ob Brand in Ludwigshafen, Steuersünderskandal oder die Debatte in der SPD bezüglich "Becks Öffnung nach Links"...es gäbe wirklich genug worüber man schreiben könnte. Naja, dann muss ich es halt auf Zeit- oder Lustmangel schieben.

Wenigstens gibt es noch andere Leute die nicht so faul sind wie ich. Eine mir bekannte Person hat vor kurzem ein neues Blog gestartet, indem sie ihre Erfahrungen mit Bauernfängereien und Kundenverarsche niederschreibt: "Die Hölle des Teufelchens"

Heimtückisches Weihnachten

2007-12-20T14:23:00.001+01:00

Es ist schon erstaunlich...eigentlich steht der Termin für Weihnachten nun ja schon eine ganze Weile lang fest - sogar der Termin für nächstes Jahr ist meines Wissens nach schon fixiert - und trotzdem schafft es dieses hinterhältige Grüppchen von Feiertagen immer wieder sich von hinten an mich heranzuschleichen und plötzlich vor mir in den Weg zu springen und mich somit völlig unvorbereitet zu treffen. Zugegeben, inzwischen habe auch ich alle notwenigen Vorbereitungen getroffen, aber vor zwei Wochen sah das noch ganz anders aus.

In diesem Sinne wünsche ich all meinen (beiden) Lesern ein frohes Fest!

Die Pendlerpauschale

2007-11-03T11:08:00.000+01:00

Mein Dank geht an die SPD, die mich mal wieder mit einem - diesmal interessanterem - Thema versorgt. Die Pendlerpauschale soll zukünftig wieder ab dem ersten Kilometer gezahlt werden. Und da man damit Wählerstimmen fangen kann, und man sich von der SPD nicht den Schneid abkaufen lassen will, reiht sich auch die CDU in den Reigen derer ein, die die Pendlerpauschale wieder "zurückreformieren" wollen.
Meine Meinung dazu: die Pendlerpauschale sollte komplett gestrichen werden. Dies hat zwei Gründe. Zum einen ist für mich das Konzept der Pendlerpauschale fragwürdig. Warum soll der Staat die Fahrt zur Arbeit subventionieren? Es gibt sicherlich Menschen, die einen langen Arbeitsweg in Kauf nehmen müssen und nicht die Möglichkeit haben näher an ihren Arbeitsplatz zu ziehen. Aber es gibt auch Arbeitnehmer, die sich ein Häuschen im Grünen zulegen und für den länger gewordenen Arbeitsweg dann Geld vom Staat zurückverlangen. Wenn überhaupt, dann ist es Aufgabe des Arbeitgebers die Arbeit bzw. die Entlohnung entsprechend zu gestalten. Außerdem ist die Pauschale momentan nicht von den tatsächlichen Kosten des Pendlers abhängig. Jemand, der jeden Tag 50 km mit der Bahn zur Arbeit fährt und dafür nur 25 Euro im Monat für seine Monatskarte ausgibt, bekommt genausoviel wie derjenige der die gleiche Strecke mit dem Auto zurücklegen muss und mehr als 200 Euro Sprit im Monat bezahlt. Auch bei Fahrgemeinschaften wird praktisch mehrfach "abkassiert".

Der zweite Grund für die Streichung der Pendlerpauschale ist die notwendige Reform des kompletten Steuersystems. Auch wenn ich es sonst nicht so mit der CDU halte bin ich doch angetan von den Vorschlägen des Friedrich Merz. Einfach alle Arten von Steuererleichterungen und -schlupflöchern abschaffen und dafür den Steuersatz deutlich senken. Davon würden fraglos alle profitieren - bis auf ein paar sehr Wohlhabende die zu Unrecht zu wenig Steuern gezahlt haben. Das Problem ist mal wieder, dass nicht alle exakt gleich viel profitieren würden. Und da geht dann der Streit schon los, da sich in Deutschland jeder, der weniger besser gestellt wird als andere, sich schon benachteiligt fühlt. Und daher wird dieser schöne Traum wohl nie in Erfüllung gehen.

Tempo 130

2007-10-30T10:33:00.000+01:00

Soso, die SPD hat auf ihrem Hamburger Parteitag ein Tempolimit von 130 vorgeschlagen. Was spricht nun dafür und was dagegen? Pro: Spritverbrauch und Umweltbelastung würden sinken und der Verkehr besser fließen. Das Autofahren wäre entspannter und es würde womöglich auch ein Umdenken bei der Motorisierung einsetzen. Außerdem gilt in vielen Bereichen auch heute schon ein ständiges oder zeitweises Tempolimit und eine Durchschnittsgeschwindigeit von 130 km/h ist heutzutage auch schon utopisch.
Kontra: Die deutschen Autobauer werfen immer wieder ein, dass das Prädikat "Made in Germany" bzw. "Tested on German Autobahn" Schaden nehmen und der Absatz im Ausland entsprechend zurückgehen würde. Wieviel an dieser These dran ist mag ich nicht beurteilen. Eine unverhältnismäßige Gängelung der Bürger und eine unnötige Reduzierung des Reisetempos kann ich jedenfalls nicht erkennen. Insgesamt spricht viel für, und nur wenig gegen ein Tempolimit. Meiner Meinung nach sollte dann aber auch das Rechtsüberholen erlaubt werden.
Ärgerlich an der ganzen Diskussion finde ich die Stellungnahme von Frau Merkel - "Mit mir wird es das nicht geben!"
Hier merkte man doch, dass es ihr eigentlich überhauptnicht um die Sache, sonder nur um Stimmenfang geht. Insgesamt habe ich in den letzten Monaten das Gefühl, dass Frau Merkel sich in wichtigen Fragen doch eher bedeckt hält um erstmal die Stimmung im Volk abzuwarten und sich dann populistisch zu äußern.

Ich weiß, dass dieser Kommentar hier eher langweilig und nicht besonders durchdacht ist...wollte nur mal wieder irgendwas posten, damit das Blog nicht zu sehr verwaist. Irgendwann läuft mir bestimmt auch wieder ein spannendes Thema über den Weg.

Terror und die Innenminister

2007-07-17T07:40:00.000+01:00

So, ich versuche mal meine wirren Gedanken zum Thema Terrorabwehr zu ordnen. Erstens: was genau stellt die gezielte Tötung von Terroristen dar? Einige Mitmenschen sprechen dabei kritisch vom staatlich legitimierten Mord. Ich bin jeodch geneigt den Ausführungen eines Heise-Lesers zu folgen. Dieser weist darauf hin, dass die judikative Säule unseres Drei-Gewalten-Systems in diesem Prozess gar nich eingebunden sei und somit kein legitimierter Mord vorliege. Vielmehr sei es einfach nur Terror.
Dazu auch ein interessantes Zitat von Benjamin Franklin: "Wer Freiheit für Sicherheit aufgibt, hat beides nicht verdient."
Ich bin der idealistischen Meinung, dass Terrorabwehr hauptsächlich durch intelligente und umsichtige Innen- und Außenpolitik stattfinden muss. Diese Formulierung enthält zwar noch keine konkreten Forderungen oder Umsetzungsvorschläge - aber wenn unser Innenminister nicht fähig ist solche zu formulieren, dann muss ich mich nicht minderbemittelt fühlen wenn mir das auch nicht gelingt.
Unser grandioser Innenminister führt mich dann auch zum letzten Punkt meiner Überlegungen: Ist es das Amt, das die Menschen verkommen lässt oder muss man bestimmte menschen- bzw. verfassungsfeindliche "Qualitäten" mitbringen um Innenminister zu werden? Schon Schäubles Vorgänger hat die eine oder andere durchaus zweifelhafte Maßnahme umgesetzt, die Datenschützer und Menschenrechtler (gibt es das Wort eigentlich?) durchaus bedenklich stimmten.
Die Tatsache, dass Schily in den Aufsichtsräten zweier Biometrie-Unternehmen sitzt, lässt wenigstens noch den Schluss der persönlichen Vorteilsnahme zu. Es mag zwar obszön klingen, aber irgendwie wäre das beruhigend. Welche anderen Erklärungen gibt es denn sonst noch? Etwa, dass jeder frischgekührte Innenminister erst mal in einen sagenumwobenen, berüchtigten Raum im Innenministerium geführt wird, wo er stundenlang gefesselt und geknebelt wird und seine Augen mit Klammern weit aufgerissen gehalten werden während ihm ewig die wahnwitzigsten Terrorszenarien auf Großleinwand vorgespielt werden? Also eine Gehirnwäsche ala Burgess in "Clockwork Orange" (sehr schön dargestellt in der brillianten Verfilmung von Stanley Kubrick)???
Eine weitere Erklärung für das Verhalten des aktuellen Innenministers und seines Vorgängers wäre jedoch weitaus erschreckender: Die beiden haben Informationen, die dem gesunden Menschenverstand nahelegen, dass die von ihnen geforderten und teilweise umgesetzten Maßnahmen tatsächlich notwendig und sinnvoll sind. Da sind mir doch alle anderen niedrigen Beweggründe weitaus lieber...und in meinen Augen auch deutlich wahrscheinlicher.

Ach ja, der eine oder andere mag es vielleicht schon mitbekommen haben: Zeichensetzung ist nicht meine Stärke. Wer Kommas vermisst, kann sich hier ein paar nehmen
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Schadenersatz bei Straftaten

2007-06-11T21:11:00.000+01:00

Nun ist das Urteil also gesprochen. Die Studentin, die 2003 eine Bombendrohung an den Düsseldorfer Flughafen abgesetzt hat muss 207.000 Euro Schadenersatz zahlen.
Dass sie für die finanziellen Folgen unmittelbar verantwortlich ist steht außer Frage. Mir gehen dabei jedoch noch einige andere Gedanken durch den Kopf.
Hätte sie damals ihrem Freund einfach einen Ziegelstein übergebraten und ihn ins Jenseits geschickt, wäre sie bei Auslegung als Totschlag und bei guter Führung wahrscheinlich nach < 10 Jahren wieder frei. Zwar muss sie nach der Bombendrohung nicht hinter Gittern (sie erhielt zwei Jahre auf Bewährung) - an den Schulden wird sie jedoch deutlich länger als 10 Jahre zu knabbern haben. Es sei denn es findet sich ein wohlhabener Spender oder Ehemann.
Überhaupt habe ich bei Mord oder Totschlag noch nie etwas von Schadenersatz gehört - nur bei Unfällen.

Doping und kein Ende

2007-05-24T20:14:00.001+01:00

Für jeden nicht mehr aktiven Radprofi gehört es inzwischen zum guten Ton seine Doping-Eskapaden zuzugeben. Ob Dietz, Henn, Bölts oder nun auch Aldag - alle geben inzwischen die Einnahme nicht erlaubter leistungssteigender Mittel zu. Eine wirkliche Überraschung wäre es heutzutage eigentlich, wenn man einen Spitzen-Fahrer fände, der nicht gedopt ist...
Also was gibt es für Wege aus der Radsportkrise? Mein Vorschlag: Wenn sich das Doping angscheinend nicht in den Griff bekommen lässt, dann muss man es halt zum Zugpferd der Sportart ausbauen. So wie die Formel 1 immer eine technische Spielwiese für die Automobilbranche war, in der neue Technologien erprobt und wirklicher Fortschritt erreicht werden konnte, so muss der Radsport von der Pharmaindustrie getrieben werden. Die Teams heißen dann eben nicht mehr "Gerolsteiner" oder "Telekom", sondern "Bayer", "Pfizer", "Novartis" und "Merck". Alle können tüfteln was das Zeug hält um die effektivsten Dopingmittel zu entwickeln. Auf dem Siegerpodest in L'Alpe d'Huez müssten dann fairerweise allerdings die Ärzte geehrt werden - die Fahrer sind dann ohnehin Nebensache...

Wunderwerke der Technik

2007-05-21T07:19:00.000+01:00

Ich habe gestern ganz erstaunliche Informationen über neue Errungenschaften im Automobilbau erhalten. Der technische Fortschritt ist anscheinend nicht aufzuhalten und schon viel weiter als ich es mir erträumt hatte.
Als ich gestern nach dem Spiel FCK - Köln mit dem Pendelbus zum Parkplatz fuhr, war ich "Ohrenzeuge" eines Gesprächs zwischen zwei kleinen Jungs. Der eine fragte den anderen, wieviel PS denn der Golf seines Papas hätte. Dieser, mit der Materie wohl nicht ganz so vertraut, stammelte ein bisschen vor sich hin, bis er im Brustton der Überzeugung antwortete: "830!"
Der verdutzte Fragesteller war von der Antwort sichtlich geschockt und antwortet nach einigen Momenten Bedenkzeit jedoch schlagkräftig: "Unser Fiat hat 1000 .............. und 9 Millionen PS!".
Merke: In der Pfalz fahren die leistungsstärksten Autos.

Spammer-Kauderwelsch

2007-05-09T10:11:00.000+01:00

Um Spamfilter zu umgehen (im speziellen sogenannte Bayes-Filter) verzieren Spammer ihre Mails immer öfter mit belanglosem Kauderwelsch. Ich finde diese Sprachfetzen manchmal sogar recht amüsant. Erst heute erhielt ich eine Mail, die nach dem eigentlichen Inhalt (irgendeine glohrreiche Aktienkursprognose für einen Penny-Stock) noch folgenden Anhang enthielt:

Sunday, August 20th, 2006. Sunday, April 22nd, 2007.
Wednesday, October 4th, 2006.
Woran ich die letzen Wochen gearbeitet habe.
Saturday, August 19th, 2006. Heute tut mir noch alles weh.
Germans that are basically a self-appointed police force.
Wednesday, November 1st, 2006.
Ich hatte meinen Marathon an diesem Tag schon hinter mir.
Ne Ahnung, wie schwierig es ist, dort. Labern erlaubt, Schreiben nicht.
Sunday, October 29th, 2006.
Wird ja auch mal wieder Zeit. Posted in Das Jetzt, Unterwegs mit Herrn S.
Tuesday, June 28th, 2005.
Garantiert nicht in Versuchung.
Zu irgendetwas.
Demonstration der rechtskonservativen Partei PP.
Nass ist, kann man sich auch richtig einsauen. Monday, November 6th, 2006.
Aktuell finden die Werke Picassos ihre Publikum im Prado. They are honest and blunt.
Meine Waschmaschine wird sich bedanken.
Aber erst mal wieder anstehen.
Friday, December 29th, 2006.
Sunday, November 26th, 2006. Wir sind einfach drauf los gelaufen und.
Nass ist, kann man sich auch richtig einsauen. Das sieht gut aus.
Sunday, July 31st, 2005. Freundin sagt, ich sei frauenfeindlich und sie sei
emanzipiert.
Tuesday, August 16th, 2005.
Lassen Sie die Stachelhecke stehen, so kommen Sie.
NYblog lesen, eher wissen. Die verstehen halt nicht den tieferen Sinn dahinter. Und
damit Frau des 21.
Labern erlaubt, Schreiben nicht. Posted in Das Jetzt, Unterwegs mit Herrn S.
Naja lesen weher weniger .
Posted in Das Jetzt, Unterwegs mit Herrn S. Friday, August 26th, 2005.

Einige Worte zur Mindestlohndebatte...

2007-05-04T18:02:00.000+01:00

sind Mindestlöhne nun gut oder schlecht? Helfen sie den Arbeitnehmern oder schaden sie der Wirtschaft? Wird das, was in anderen europäischen Ländern funktioniert hat auch bei uns funktionieren? Fragen über Fragen....Wenn man sich jedoch mal die Realität anschaut wird schnell deutlich, dass wir Mindestlöhne benötigen. Wenn Menschen einen Vollzeitjob haben, also 40 Stunden die Woche arbeiten, und am Monatsende mit 800 Euro nach Hause gehen, so muss man doch mit dem Kopf schütteln. Das reicht nicht zum Leben und am Ende muss der Staat wieder Geld dazuschießen. Das Lohnniveau bei Zeitarbeitsfirmen liegt in Berlin momentan bie 6,42 Euro brutto. Offensichtlich versagen hier die Kräfte des Marktes - die Arbeitgeber haben eine so starke Marktstellung, dass sie die Löhne fast allein festlegen können. Wie sich das im Extremfall entwickeln kann zeigt uns die Geschichte, wie auch im Buch "Früchte des Zorns" wunderbar von John Steinbeck geschildert.

Ist teure Kunst ihren Preis wert?

2007-05-04T17:51:00.000+01:00

Heute in der Kantine fiel mein Blick auf einen Kunstdruck von Van Gogh ("Sternennacht über der Rhone"). Wie schon oft fragte ich mich auch diesmal wieder, ob dieses Gemälde genau so wertvoll wäre wenn es ein absolut unbekannter Maler gemalt hätte. Die Antwort muss wohl "Nein" lauten. Folglich bemisst sich der Wert eines Gegenstandes nicht nur nach der eigentlichen Beschaffenheit und Qualität, sondern zu einem großen Teil nach dem Urheber. Das passt dann wieder ganz gut zur "Markengeilheit" einiger Menschen....

Ehrenkodex oder was....?

2007-05-02T21:58:00.001+01:00

Vor wenigen Minuten endete das Champions-League-Halbfinalspiel zwischen Milan und ManU. Zu einer Szene möchte ich doch noch meinen Senf dazugeben. Ca. 10 Minuten vor Spielende führt Milan mit 3:0. Gattuso hatte gerade für eine längere Verletzungsunterbrechung gesorgt und die Engländer spielten den Ball auch brav zurück zu den Italienern (zugegeben, einige der Milan-Spieler sind gar keine Italiener...). Kurz darauf bleibt Kaka mit einem Wadenkrampf liegen und ein mailänder Spieler spielt den Ball ins aus. ManU läuft natürlich die Zeit weg, und das wissen Milans Spieler ganz genau. Dass die Italiener auf Kommando mit schmerzverzerrtem Gesicht zu Boden sinken können ist nicht erst seit gestern bekannt - dass das nun auch für Brasilianer gilt war mir jedoch neu. Also bleibt dieser 25-jährige, in seiner vollsten Manneskraft stehende Weltklassespieler ca 2-3 Minuten auf dem Rasen liegen und lässt sich behandeln. Anschließend werfen die Engländer den Ball nicht etwa zu den Italienern zurück, sondern behalten ihn in den eigenen Reihen und versuchen noch das Wunder zu schaffen. Bei der nächsten Spielunterbrechung springt Gattuso einem Engländer an die Gurgel, da er den Ball nicht zurück zu Milan gespielt hat...sogar der Kommentator hat dafür Verständnis und faselt etwas von Ehrenkodex unter Fußballern. Ich hingegen habe die Welt nicht mehr verstanden....wenn Kaka irgendwie in einem Zweikampf verletzt worden wäre - OK, aber nur weil er angeblich nicht fit genug zum Fußballspielen ist und wegen eines konditionsmangelbedingten Wadenkrampfes die Uhr für sein Team runterspielen will, also da ist in meinen Augen ManU nun wirklich nicht verpflichtet den Betrügern auch noch den Ball zurückzugeben. Möchte noch klar stellen, dass ich keineswegs ManU-Fan bin. In meinen Augen spielten da Pest gegen Cholera, aber die verwendeten Mittel waren in eingen Szenen schon sehr zweifelhaft. Oder was meint ihr?