Groundhog Day

"Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause
it's cooooold out there today....... Thats right, woodchuck-chuckers -
it's GROUNDHOG DAY! "
Well, unfortunately, Phil did see his shadow, so that means 6 more
weeks of winter wonderland. And just to prove the pont, it started
snowing here this afternoon. Just a dusting, but enough to get the
streets slick again. I can't wait for a white Easter!

The end justifies the means ................... NOT!
I am just reading in the German newspaper that the German government is
thinking of buying a CD with data about people who evaded taxes.
The rumor is that the CD is 2.5 million Euros and the data on it could
possible yield up to 100 million Euros in back taxes. Nothing wrong with
it, wright? Problem is that the data was illegally obtained, so basically they
are buying stolen goods. They claim this is the right choice because they
would catch a bunch of tax evaders. Mmmmm. So the end justifies the means?
Sorry, but I can't follow that logic at all.

State of the Union

While Obama is telling his tales on the State of the Union speech, I decided
to write a blog update. I am really not that interested in politics at the
moment. For some reason it is all blah to me. It seems like the Dems can't
get their act together on anything and the Reps really don't offer any
alternatives. Us vs. them is the credo of the year and it looks like common
sense just doesn't count anymore. So, I am tuning out
Obamas speech or the following rebuttal that will follow.

So, it has been a couple of weeks since I came back from Germany and it is
still freaking cold here. Last weekend it was in the low 40s and one thought
spring was here. Not so fast, back in the teens today. Yippieh!!!!

Last week I had a chance to go the
Detroit Auto show. I haven't been to an
auto show in ages, so I figured it
should be fun. And it was. Since
I went after work, it wasn't very
crowded with no waiting to sit in
the cars. From the German side I
still like the Audis, I sat in a A5, S4,
and TTS. All very nice, with the S4 probably my favorite.
On the American side I was
hoping to get a closer look at the
Chevy Volt, but there only had
one on display with no chance
to get close or take a seat.
Too bad. Ford had probably
the most interactive display and
Chrysler/Fiat took top honors
in visual presentation.
They also had a special display
for electric cars, but they all
had a funky design mostly suitable
for running around the city only. That's why I like the idea of the Volt.
It is not the ultimate car, but it will move the electric car into
a new direction. Fun times.

It was also time for my annual trip to the Bollywood theater.
I went with some friends to see this Indian movie
'3 Idiots'. It's basically a comedy about 3 friends
in college. Besides the obvious jokes about the
life in engineering school, love story, and the
customary singing and dancing, the movie also
stroke a more serious tone at times, with one of
the main character questioning the educational
system, or showing the pressure students can
be exposed to. Overall, I thought it was a well made movie, with good
acting and a good storyline. My main complaint with Bollywood movies
is the length. With 3 hours running, including intermission, it is just
toooo long. You could easily move the story along at a better pace and
keep the running time under 2 hours. I give it 3 stars.

And, last but not least. Apple
announced the launch of the
IPAD today. It looks like a blown
up IPod touch. I don't know.
Unless they come up with some
surprises on the software,
I can not see myself buying one.
Maybe in a year or so,
when they added a camera and an OS that can run more than
one app at a time. Sorry Apple, I don't see much innovation here,
but I will check it out when it shows up in the stores. :)

Winter Wonderland ........... no more

It's been a week in Germany now and Christmas is approaching fast.
But, it probably won't be a white Christmas. Last week, with temperatures
in the teens and a nice coat of white powder covering everything, it was
quite fun to walk the city. But now, everything has turned into slush or
disappeared altogether, so we will probably have a green Christmas
after all. Ah well, I guess we have to get used to climate change.
Other than that, the trip has been quite fun so far. I visited friends and
family and we already had our annual 'Doppelkopf' get together, although
the winner could not be determined, due to alcohol related calculation
errors. Doesn't matter really.
I will spend Christmas here in Warburg, and then head down to
Donaueschingen to visit Thomas, Michaela, and Soeren. It's a long way
down, since Donaueschingen sits at the corner of the Black Forrest.
It'll make for a long train ride for sure.

Travel can be easy at times

Traveling can be easy at times and this trip certainly qualifies.
When I got to my seat in the plane I realized that NWA obviously doesn't
believe in seating families together. Kids were crying, mothers in panic
because the offspring would sit a row away. It all worked out and in the
end I ended up with an empty seat next to me. Alright! The flight was
boring as usual, the food was subpar, but at least they had individual
TV's so I could choose the movie to watch.
We landed in Frankfurt on time and I got lucky to catch a train to
Warburg with only a couple of minutes of wait. I had to switch trains
in Kassel and about 30min before the connecting train. So, I stopped in
a bakery and treated myself to a Mohnstrietzel and a coffee. Ahhhhh good.
All in all, I was at my Mom's just in time for lunch. Overall a pretty
good trip. I still wish they would finally invent 'beaming' technology,
so I wouldn't have to spend a day traveling.
But, I am here now and it is time to relax and enjoy my vacation.

On the road again.

It's just about Christmas time and that usually means that I am
blogging from an airport, on my way to Germany.
I am sitting here at Detroit airport, all checked in and waiting for
my flight. I just noticed, that I really didn't do much traveling this year.
Usually, I would fly at least a 3-4 times a year, but this year, the trip to
Mexico was basically it.
I finished my Japanese lunch, Miso soup and Agadashi Tofu, and there
is nothing else to do than wait........ And write a blog entry of course.
The weather looks travelable, light snow and grey skies. Since it is
a direct flight to Frankfurt, I won't have to worry about catching
a connection. CNN is blasting in the background, mostly stuff that
is not newsworthy. I am still thinking that I have forgotten something
or what to do at work. It will probably take a couple of days and some
German beer to forget all that and go into vacation mode.

Back on track.....

I read that the CERN particle collider is back on-line and ready to
create tiny black holes. I found this cool animation to show what is
going to happen, when the earth is consumed by a black hole.
We'll see what will happen. Maybe we all get transformed into a whole
new universe.

Off again - on again - off again

I just read that GM has decided
to keep Opel. Not a real big
surprise. I thought they were close
to call off the deal with Magna
months ago, but they didn't want
to embarrass the German
government close to the election.
The terms of the sale didn't make much sense
for GM in the first place. They'd give up the brand
that actually has a compact car line and they also
would have transferred technology and market share
to a Russian manufacturer.
But, the way this story is going, GM can change their mind again.
It seems the GM board is picking flowers over this:
"Keep Opel - Sell Opel - Keep Opel - Sell Opel - Keep Opel"
I am interested in the story mostly, because I come from an
'Opel' family and I also work with GM here in the States.

Movie Update:
I saw "Law Abiding Citizen". Typical 'Father-is-on-a-revenge-killing-spree-
because-his family-got-killed". Nothing special, really, and the plot and motive
had a bunch of logical errors, so I'll give it 2.5/5 stars.