Weekend Pleasures II

There is something special about soup and childhood memories. I like soup, but soup can be boring as hell, if it is not served as it has to be since I was a child.

First, there have to be manually broken pieces of bread in the plate:



Then the soup has to be poured over the bread:



Surprisingly, I don't like bread soup. With my method, the bread is still crunchy when you eat it. In a bread soup it's just too flabby to be enjoyable. But bread soup is not related to weekends at all - bread soup was served on Thursdays, when I was a child.

Weekend Pleasures I

It's important to start the weekend with the right rhythm. E.g. I like to spend the morning in bed with Toño...



.. reading newspapers.

Upstream Limmat

This Sunday, the city without any problems is going to vote a new parliament, a new executive branch and old mayor and some judges. Also this week, the magazine, which we don't read anymore, published an article, which tells that the Social Democrats are absolutely out and The Green Part is the thing to vote for now:

In Städten ist ein seltsames Phänomen zu beobachten. Jene, die eben noch das Leben in Wohngemeinschaften priesen, gern Bier getrunken haben bis morgens um drei, die immer SP gewählt haben, falls die Afterhourparty nicht bis nach Urnenschliessung dauerte, dieselben wohnen jetzt allein, trinken Tee, werden älter, bürgerlicher - und wählen grün.*

I've already voted a fortnight ago. Lucky for me, I did not vote for neither. One should be ahead of the trend - not with it. There are alternatives!

* In cities a strange phenomenon is to be observed . Those, which just praised the life in shared flats, which drank beer until three in the morning, which always voted for the Social Democrats, if the after hour party lasted not until polling booths had closed, the same live now alone, drink tea, become older, more civil - and vote for the Greens.

Renew Your Gym Membership! Now!

Many thanks to a.t.b. cards.

Arousing Interest In Titles

After reading the last couple of days' Dilberts* [1,2] I can call myself lucky that my caring employer has cancelled the spring course for the IPMA certification. Somehow, I was not looking forward to it anyway. Taking a a glance at the syllabus, I discovered that they too seem to teach how to do things right - when my caring employer is lacking of doing the right things.

But there is an other opportunity that caught my attention. I could gain an Executive MBA in only one semester, because a post degree, I did some years ago, would be fully taken into account. There is no use of an MBA for my job or my ambitions. However, I can't deny that it somehow appealed to me.

Whatever, I was told today twice that "no challenge should be faced without a little charm and a lot of style". Try to put that into an MBA or IPMA certificate.

*I know, my guru detests Dilbert because "He never fights back, or he fights back by being one of those smart-asses at the water cooler [...]".

Coder's Block

I'm nursing a hideous cold with this...



...and this...



But somehow, this cold did not only affect my throat but also my brain. For quite some time I was looking for an algorithm that would improve the correlation of a track while scan application. I knew, what it's supposed to do but I could just not convert this into code. Last night, I was already in bed, reading some papers while Toño was running his chores, when suddenly the solution appeared to me (though, not as dramatic as the mene, mene, tekel, upharsin to Belshazzar). Nevertheless, I managed to get out of bed again to make a note:



This really did the job and solved the problem fast and elegantly with less than 30 lines. After adjusting the filter parameters, I saw that the tracking resolution and stability is now far better than I would have ever imagined.

Resisting The Temptation

Sometimes one has to look or listen twice until one is sure that it's indeed tongue-in-cheek. This morning, just by accident, I came across a web-page of this kind: Maybe you want some sympathy and comfort from your family and friends; or maybe you just want a big traumatic life experience but nothing seems to ever happen to you. Well, according to this web-page, there's someone out there who can make it happen.

If this page is tongue-in-cheek, it's very subtle... bottom line: brilliantly weird. I was going to share the link, but suddenly, hesitated while typing... No, not because I was abruptly overwhelmed by an attack of inertial political correctness. Far from it. I was actually looking for something, which delights both senses and soul. Shamefully, that corner of the web doesn't. Is there anything out there, which fits my profile?

Carrying Coals To Newcastle

... or a dragon to Gomad Mansion™. I know. it's absolutely despicable to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when it's highly appreciated and fitting.

Last evening, we had the pleasure of the Ms. & Mr.Mac's company at Gomad Mansion™. Truly a charming couple, full of wit and repartee, which will celebrate its crystal wedding on Monday. They brought us, apart from some delicious wine, a Dragon Tree:



This is not carrying coals to Newcastle, because Gomad Mansion™ looks like a greenhouse, far from it. But there are already four dragons in the house. This is the one, which I received from my Nepali guide who dragged my old carcass through the Himalayan:



The other three are somewhere on Tigresa's body (I haven't seen all of them).

Dear Ms. & Mr.Mac, It was an absolute pleasure to have you around at the mansion. We have to do this again. Toño knows a lot of delicious Mexican recipes and it can't be bad for me to polish the side-board from time to time.

Spüngli Subverts Swiss Government

A persistent winter smog is damaging my and my fellow confederates' health. Because of this, the authorities highly recommend to use public transport and the speed limit has been reduced to 80 km/h in most parts of the country [see article].

Last week, my dear mother celebrated her birthday. As a good son, I went to visit her and brought some first grade sweets (besides of a homemade apple cake). Of course, I did this by coach and train. On my way, I stopped at Zürich Airport to buy the sweets at Sprüngli.

After the deal was completed, the shop girl mentioned that for the amount of my shopping, I'm entitled to free parking. I was shocked and speechless. The entire nation is suffering and Sprüngli encourages me to increase the burden on my fellow confederates. Shame on them. May their boss choke on a Luxemburgerli.

Beheading Ante Portas?

Now it has even diffused to the press that our company might go to blazes quite soon, as the Handelszeitung wrote this week under the headline: Flaute für die Wunderwaffen (dead calmness for the wonder weapons).

According to this report, our dear mother in Germany will evaluate this summer the option of closing down their Swiss subsidiary (i.e us!) due to lack of customers with the slightest interest in our flashy weapons. This might also split apart an almost historic combination - that is, me (Urs) and Victor, the former boss of my boss in the office next to me.

As you might recall, Ursus and Victor died martyrs back in 303 in Solothurn. They were part of the Theban Legion which was a source of numerous martyrs, among which were Felix and Regula - the patron saints of the town without any problems*. Ursus and Victor managed to escape the martyrdom of Aguanum in 286. Unfortunately, the bloodhounds of emperor Maximian tracked them eventually down and both were beheaded by the sword.

The two saints are usually shown in a suit of armour with banner, sword and shield - and beheaded. Seems like an appropriate symbol of our caring employer to me, if I not doubted our faith.

* as our knobend aka mayor claims.

How We Learn To Love A Union

Swiss labour union UNIA is scoring like hell and starts frightening the establishment. Well done - and they've just celebrated their first birthday. The unusual is that UNIA is applying the techniques of the business they are trying to put on a short leash:

• merger
• tight budget
• distinctive branding
• vigorously concerted campaigns
• cunningly playing the media
• hiring talent
• cutting edges (i.e. sacking employees).

UNIA has positioned itself well and is earning respect. But as we learned, the 21st century embraces not only respect but also love. How can we stop worrying and start learning to love a labour union?

Fair trade transformed itself from hippy thingy to big business. It's time that fair work becomes an issue in Switzerland too. No Sweat and American Apparel have shown that this can be successful. If UNIA would apply such an approach and start exploring into marketing fair work products under their brand, the sky would be the limit of love they can earn.

We Stand Strong!

Die Weltwoche, the filthy rag that has fallen from grace of Gomad Mansion™, is fighting hard. Today, they published a favourable portrait of Tigresa. She was shown as a bright example of the new wave in labour action (Tigresa, did you really use the term Superspannend?).

This was a smart move by Die Weltwoche. Notwithstanding, we will not move - not one inch!

By the way, on January 5, at 10:10 pm, CASH TV will bring a statement of Tigresa regarding the 1000 Swiss Francs job that are supposed to reduced unemployment. Since a month, Tigresa is earning six of them (as Die Weltwoche grassed), but already spent more than half of such a job on job-related traffic tickets (as I just grassed)... It's hard to stand strong while pushing the edge of the envelope.

Eye To Eye With A Tiger

My praised flatmate is a woman of many talents. Her newest assignment is to serve as sparring partner for a presenter of a political television program. This presenter is new in her job and obviously needs some interviewing practice before entering the cage with the incarnated politician. Tear her to pieces, Tigresa!

Ripley's Match

I've loved Match Point, the new movie on lust, love and the lure of money. Especially, Scarlett Johansson's squirm and writhe in the clutches of a revived Tom Ripley keeps my head spinning. Never underestimate Woody Allen.

Don't Mess With My Loyalty

This is again about marketing, I'm sorry. Unfortunately, everyone seems having a go at me marketing wise. It's a solidified commonplaces of established wisdom that it's easier to loose than gaining customers, hence companies should have an emphases on retaining the ones they already have. Loyalty might be an old-fashioned concept. Nevertheless, I stick to it, if I was not treated really badly.

It's commonly known that I'm an ardent Migros shopper. It's this Migros, which dared to make an acid test of my fealty. This morning, I bought a crate of 6 Swiss Eggs. I can't proof, whether they are of Swiss origin, However, I'm still able to count to six:

Tortilla Española

Do you remember, how Rosa (Rossy de Palma) prepared a Tortilla Española for her sister Leo Macias (Marisa Paredes) in Pedro Almodóvar's La flor de mi secreto? Yesterday, Toño made the same for me and Tigresa (in addition to a delicious lentil soup).

The base recipe consists of potatoes, onions and eggs. However, it's highly recommended - especially in cold winters - to enrich it with a wide variety of vegetables:



The critical part is the tossing:



The best comes after the serving:



Talking about food: Our canteen did not make it easy for me this week. They usually cook like teamsters and craftsmen are their main clients and not nerdy engineers. Nonetheless, today I have the hard choice between salmon roulade or coq au vin.

Don't Mess With Starschnitts

Some DJ of Swiss radio station DRS3 are know available as Starschnitt*. This should not be taken lightly, because they can have a severe impact!

My sister used to have a life life-size Mark Spitz in her room, which had been published by BRAVO back in 1972. This image had a major influence on me. As a first grader, I had to have the same kind of Stars and Stripes Speedos as the American swimmer, who won seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympic games.

I'm not wearing the flag of the United States anymore, when I'm going for a swim. Nevertheless, shorts are still out of question. It has to be a pair of Speedos.



* Starschnitt is the German term for a kind of life-size collector's edition jigsaw poster that is an integral part of the major German ten teen mag BRAVO. One has to buy about 16 editions to get the whole celebrity.

Always Troubles with Romeo and Julia

My praised flatmate is walking in Demosthenes' footsteps by leading 105 staffs of the Schauspielhaus through a strike for decent wages.

This reminds me that I once was present when history was being written. I sat in the audience when Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre went on strike on March 9, 1995 for the first time since 1776. The ballet did this to re-install their director Yuri Grigorovich, who had resigned because of president Boris Yeltsin. I doubt that the Schauspielhaus crew would do this when the same happened with Matthias Hartmann.

However, the coincidence is that both theatres had "Romeo and Juliet" on the schedule when the strike began. Only this time, I luckily haven't got a ticket.

On special request, an adaptation in German (January 26, 2006):

Immer Probleme mit Romeo und Julia

Meine geschätzte Mitbewohnerin begibt sich in Demostheneses Fussstapfen, indem sie 105 Mitarbeiter des Schauspielhaus durch einen Steik für anständige Löhne führt.

Dies erinnert mich daran, dass ich einmal anwesend war, als Geschichte geschrieben wurde. Ich sass im Publikum, als das Moskauer Bolshoi Theater am 9. März 1995 zum ersten Mal seit 1776 bestreikt wurde. Das Ballett tat dies, um ihren Direktor Juri Grigorovich wiederzubekommen, der wegen Präsident Boris Jelzin zurückgetreten war. Ich bezweifele, dass die Schauspielhaus Mannschaft dies tun würde, wenn dasselbe Matthias Hartmann geschähe.

Wie auch immer, der Zufall will es, dass beide Theater "Romeo und Julia" auf dem Spielplan hatten, als der Streik anfing. Nur dieses Mal habe ich glücklicherweise keine Karte gehabt.

Out-of-Date

Brands are absolutely out. Lovemarks are the new thing. They are supposed to be better than brands, because they are about Love and Respect. I reckon, my caring employer better sticks to the old-fashioned brand thingy. High respect is already quite an unachievable aim for us.

Marketing For Beginners

It is important to know your customer, I've been told. Especially by magazines and newspapers like io new management and Handelszeitung. Their administration keeps sending my subscriptions offers. They are always accompanied with a bait, such as free petroleum vouchers or a Autobahn Vignette (highway pass). Unfortunately for them, I haven't got a car...

[sequel]

Read My Hand

...if you have to come up with some reasonable initial settings for an αβ filter:

In Addition, I Change The World

I've decided that it is about time to change the world. So far, I've neither a cause nor a plan. But the "to change" decision has been taken.

I have now three main topics, thriving my humble little world:

• making experiences with forbidden fruits
• changing the world
• being deliriously loved up.

¡CHONES!

The colloquial term for underwear (la ropa interior) in Spanish is los calzones. However, in México City they are called chones.

¡Viva México City!

Freshening Up

Today, my beloved Gatín solved a potentially dangerous crises at Gomad Cellar™ by ordering:

• 24 bottles of Schaffhauser AOC Cuvée rot CR 2004
• 6 bottles of Mestizaje 2004
• 6 bottles of Pazo de Señorans, Blanco, 2004
• 6 bottles of Laderas de El Seque, Tinto Cosecha, 2004
• 6 bottles of Vilosell, Tinto, 2004
• 6 bottles of Lanzaga (DOC Rioja), Tinto Cosecha, 2002
• 6 bottles of Cava Raventos i Blanc, Brut Gran Reserva, 2001

It's just to bridge the time gap until the Expovina Primavera.

On The Go

My flatmate has already proven again that she is a mover. Right now she's walking in Jim Nolan's footsteps and leads the Schauspielhaus employees into a strike. I hope they will give Elmar Ledergerber a nice grill. He's the vice president of the Schauspielhaus and mayor of Zürich. In addition, he is also an arrogant prick.

I hope that Tigresa will fulfill two tasks:

• decent wages for the Schauspielhaus employees
• an un-re-electable mayor.

Innumerable force of Spirits armed,
That durst dislike his reign, and, me preferring,
His utmost power with adverse power opposed
In dubious battle on the plains of Heaven,
And shook His throne.
from Paradise Lost by John Milton.

On The Move

I've known that my flatmate is a fast mover. However, so far I did not know that she is also an inspiration for yacht designers:

Reframed

I've learned from my guru that continuos re-framing is essential. Today, I obeyed his advice and did it again:

The Party

My caring employer and the powers in charge might me incompetent to organise a party. But the situation is not hopeless, because I still can rely on my beloved Gatín, who knows how to save the world.



Last night after a swim, when we arrived at La Residencia de Toño, Gatín surprised me with selected tapas from one of the finest comestibles shops in town and a delicious bottle of Bollinger to celebrate what my caring employer fails to rejoice.

Disappointed Again

My caring employer does not make it easy for me, because he failed again. It's not only the toilets that are not spotlessly clean, but also the serious lack of professionalism - that is, he does not celebrate success seriously.

Since September 15th, 1999 I was working mainly on the same project. By the end of 2005 two out of six systems passed a major milestones - they were accepted by the customer. I would call this a success (taking into account the great rarity of such an event). What happened? Absolutamente nada!

Finally this morning, I received an e-mail from the project manager containing the filled in signature pages of the acceptance protocols. That just takes the biscuit! I prefer party to paper. Is that so difficult to understand?

Monday Shocker

I know that my caring employer goes through a hard time, but this morning he went a bit too far. So far, I thought that Switzerland can be hailed as a clean country, if not the paragon. A place were things are propre en ordre. The Swiss like things clean and they do everything they can to keep spotless streets, restaurants and offices. Not anymore.

A few minutes ago, I planed to visit the male powder room, when I was confronted with the two most revoltingly stained and messed up toilets in years. I was even too offended to take any pictures as evidence.

This is still Switzerland. The country where Hans Maurer developed the Closomat, the first WC with integrated douche, an icon of wellbeing and scrupulous cleanliness. I'm ashamed for my employer and my country. It goes straight to hell!

Smooth Fruity Weekend

The blender had to work overtime at Gomad Mansion™. The outside temperature was frigging low and a stable low stratus situation put the air pollution figures frigging high. Leaving Gomad Mansion™ was dedicated to grab as much fruits as possible. Such as pineapples, oranges, mandarins, bananas, kiwis, apples, hazelnuts. They all went immediately into the blender:

The Neoliberal Decision

We really had to sit down at Gomad Mansion™ and hash over a sticky issue. Die Weltwoche went from bad to worse since Jürg Wildberger took over as the new chief editor. The magazine is now barely readable. The board at Gomad Mansion™ decided that the subscription for this filthy rag will not be renewed. If we want to read something from the neoliberalism corner then is should at least have a bit of class. Therefore, we decided to switch to The Economist.

This will be our new list of subscriptions at Gomad Mansion™:

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung
• Tages Anzeiger
• Sonntags Zeitung
• Wochenzeitung
• The Economist
• P.S.
• Le Monde Diplomatique
• Vinum
• FraZ
• Attitude
• Bilanz
• Butt
• Fantastic Man
• plädoyer

Maybe , I've missed some... such as the Kirchenbote.

What is there to fear...

Days like today are made for records on the nostop loop. My day somehow determines to let rotate The The's Perfect in the 12" release.



"So I hang an empty smile beneath my empty eyes,
And go out for a walk..."

Hilarius

We Swiss like to do things our way. That's why we have a triple level citizenship (Confederation, canton and community). Every Swiss is a citizen of his/her place/community of origin, his/her canton of origin and the Confederation, in this order: a Swiss citizen is defined as someone who has the citizenship of a Swiss municipalities (art. 37 of the Swiss Federal Constitution). He/she is entered in the family register of his/her place of origin. The place of origin is the place where the family (usually the father) comes from. It is not to be confused with the place of birth. The place of origin can be the same as the place of birth, but this is not necessarily the case.

This system makes naturalisation a tedious and embracing process. On the other hand, it allows special traditions for citizens of a community that are not open for people who just live there. I live in Zürich, but I'm a citizen of Märstetten, which coincidentally happens to be my place of birth.

Märstetten has one of these traditions that is celebrated on Hilarius's day, which is today - and hence is called Hilarius. Today's celebration goes back to the naturalisation of citizen in 1860, who liked to show his appreciation by inviting all (male) citizens to a dinner with sausage, bread and wine. And that how it's still celebrated on January 13th in Märstetten with free Salzisse sausage, bread, a bottle of Bachtobel wine and a wheat flour soup at midnight.

Life Is Just Sooo Good With Me

Yesterday, I got extremely lucky, because I learned that I will get 2 tickets for sold out concerts:

• Depeche Mode on the 28th March 2006
• Robbie Williams on the 24th August 2006.

It's good to have friends, who have friends... OK, for one of those tickets, I'll still have to kiss some feet. Nevertheless, my eyes are sparkling like diamonds in champagne.

Untimely Outdated

I know that I can be quite old fashioned. Nevertheless, I reckon that my friend Georgyboy acted a bit premature by reserving a place for his child at a crèche before his girlfriend has even conceived. Or do I just have difficulties, handling pathological optimists?

Cocinar con Chilo

Passion has found a its Garden of Eden at Cocinar con Chilo. This is the new joined blog by Toño aka Gatín and Gomad aka Osín.

This spanking new online journal is named after Chilo, one of Toño's bonny sisters. Chilo lives in La Huacana, México and is widely known and appreciated as an ardent cook. We hope that she will share her erudition with us. That is why we named that blog after Chilo and dedicated it to passionate cooking.

So brush up your Spanish and join us on our journey to mastery.

Impossible Yoga

I'm not sure if Madge is still doing it, but everybody seems still doing this Yoga thing. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from my praised flatmate, who tried to delude me into a beginners class. I have to admit that I pondered the idea of me joining this class. However, suddenly I discovered that the lady, who will be giving this class, was citing Lord of the Rings. Sorry, there are certain lines I won't cross.

Reassurance

It is quite reassuring when you're in a lonely place but get the confirmation that this is or you are pretty normal.



Although, everybody keeps saying: "I was born when you kissed me, I died when you left me, I lived while you loved me."

Wet New Year

I tend to steer clear of New Year resolutions (although I stopped smoking on a New Year, but I was bored of it anyway). Maybe I have to consider one this year, even though with a bit of a delay.

Yesterday, My beloved Gatín and myself went to the pool for the first time this year. Surprisingly, the warm-up double kilometres went pretty well. The other surprise was that the Zürcher Sportamt for once did not further restrict the opening hours, but widened them significantly. It is now possible to do a pre-work swim.

Should this (the pre-work swim) be my delayed New Year resolution because it's doomed to fail anyway?

At The Edge Again

I used to be an innovator or at least an early adopter, who tried to avoid to belong to the majority or even being a laggard. Whatever, I'm becoming older and maybe because of that loosing the grip of the edge of things.

That's what I thought until I've read an article by the BCC, which reminded me that I'm obviously unconsciously ahead of a trend: Mexican Wine.

Mexico is neither really a wine country nor a coffee country. Although both are part of Mexico's cornucopia. It's easier to get a beer or a tequila. If coffee is served, it's most likely made out of Nescafe. If you order wine in a restaurant you have to choose the vino tinto - that is, the only red wine available in the house. After the order, the staff usually spends the next fifteen minutes searching for the bottle opener and cleaning the dusty wine glasses. However, Mexican's wine makers are being kissed awake by the prince and things are emerging rapidly.

If you want to be among the innovators then you should look out for the wines of the Bodega LA CETTO or the Bodega de Monte Xanic. Both are highly recommended by my beloved Gatín, who is the expert in the family.

Read BBC article in English or Español.

Hairy Discovery

Expat Traveller has written about weird things about herself, among which is her affinity to shaved male bodies, especially of swimmers, bikers and triathletes. Her words reminded me of a discovery I made recently:

But first I have to admit that I was a bit lacy lately or too busy doing other things and neglected the trimming of my bodily hair. This slackness made it possible that I found out something weird about myself too (the only thing, really): I love to look at my arm hair wiggling in the current after the turn while gliding under the water before I resurface. *blush*

Maybe I will never trim them again.

It’s The Lime, Stupid

Even though I like fruits (no pun intended), I could never understand the fuss people make about Papaya, until I was told in México that one should not eat this fruit without having dribbled some drops of lime juice over it. The enrichment in taste after this simple procedure is amazing. I highly recommend to enjoy Papaya only in the combination with Lime!

Brought Up To Date

Coming home from México, I had to learn that my praised flatmate...

• is in hormonal disorder
• is afraid to sleep at home due to the fear of a wooer's jealous (maybe not so) former sweetheart with a Sicilian background
• was again on television.

Not Actually A Christmas Tree

I'm back from México. It was my first trip to Hispanoamérica, and hence a personal discovery of a continent. My beloved Gatín introduced me to bright colours, extensive family grids, open-hearted hospitality and a cuisine full of tasty surprises. Travelling in Christmas season brought also some close encounters with Mexican Christmas habits, e.g. one could hardly walk five steps without stepping on a Nativity Scene. A bit special, however, was the lighting of the Christmas Eve dinner:

Holding Up The Walk-in Flag

It's a virtue to be a good citizen and this year I'm early on the good citizen track by having already ordered the Photo of the Swiss Federal Council 2006:

¡feliz navidad y un próspero año nuevo!

Tomorrow, I'm embarking to Mexico to meet Gatín's family and commemorating the birth of Jesus in a climate that is bit more propitious for my rheumatism.



I dare to cite Kaag by saying "give every day the chance to be a Christmas day".

Cookie Bitching

A colleague of mine has once called me the cookie bitch of my family. According to his theory, every family has one. It is the person, which makes the Christmas cookies. Whatever, this weekend it was again time for cookie bitching at Gomad Mansion™. The process is very simple. One takes this:



...and turns it into this:



This year, my bitching could be limited to the absolute minimum, because Gatín took over the cutting of the cinnamon and chocolate stars. He is much more patient than I am when it comes to handling delicate matters.

Almost Like Common People

Roe used to be the food of the poor. I once heard that in Basel it had to be prohibited by law to serve roe to the attendants every day. Sweet Chestnuts had been a cheep but nutritious food for the poor too, since they were introduced by the Romans into Ticino. Nowadays, both have turned into culinary frills (you will agree if you ever had a saddle of venison with chestnuts).

My beloved Migros has now brought this delicacy to my breakfast table by choosing it as the third flavour of their winter season yogurt collection:

Beware Of Being LONLEY

The The The song on DRS3 the other day brought back a frightening memory. It must have been in 1993, right after The The's Lonely Planet Tour passed Switzerland, when I made the mistake to show up at work with the tour T-shirt, which had very big LONLEY written all over the front. As soon as our late secretary caught sight of me, she grasped me and did not stop hugging me for at least five minutes, while she kept saying "everything will be all right".

La Belle Hélène

In 11 days we can celebrate the 141st anniversary of the premier of Jacques Offenbach's operetta La Belle Hélène at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris. I could not wait until then and tasted already the new Migros winter season yoghurt Pear and Caramel:



This yoghurt tastes like the desert that has been named after La Belle Hélène to promote the operetta back in 1864. It combines the delicious sweetness of caramel with the aromatic acidity of the pear.

A Hug For A Kiss

I've never quite understood what the xxxxx or ooooo at the bottom of a letter or card means until I dared to ask an Anglo-Saxon:

xxxxx: kisses
ooooo: hugs

:-$

Made My Day

DRS3 does not make it easy for me, because they like to play complete bollocks, such as Dire Straits and Florian Ast. Never mind, yesterday DRS3 somehow perfectly hit the vibes of the day by playing This Is The Day by The The.

THIS IS THE DAY

Well, you didn't wake up this morning because you didn't go to bed
You were watching the whites of your eyes turn red
The calendar on your wall is ticking the days off
You've been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you've changed
All the money in the world couldn't buy back those days

You pull back your curtains
And the sun burns into your eyes
You watch a plane flying
Across a clear blue sky
This is the day
Your life will surely change
This is the day
When things fall into place

You could've done anything If you'd wanted
And all your friends and family think that you're lucky
But the side of you they'll never see
Is when you're left alone with the memories
That hold your life together ... like glue

You pull back your curtains
And the sun burns into your eyes
You watch a plane flying
Across a clear blue sky
This is the day
Your life will surely change
This is the day
When things fall into place

This is the day your life will surely change
This is the day your life will surely change
This is the day your life will surely change
This is the day your life will surely change

See the clip.

In a Vortex of Seasonal Emotions

Love can have an influence on habitats. Switzerland has a bipolar shopping world, which is dominated by Coop and Migros. Gatín used to buy at Coop while I'm an ardent Migros shopper. Nevertheless, Gatín discovered Migros new winter season Yoghurts before I did and brought some home. This morning, I tasted the Apfelstrudel flavour.



Apfelstrudel (Apple strudel) is a traditional Austrian pastry, which consists of an oblong strudel pastry jacket with a filling of chopped apples, sugar, cinnamon, raisins and bread crumbs. The art of preparation is in making the pastry very thin and elastic. A single layer should be so thin you could read a newspaper through it. The filled Apfelstrudel is baked in an oven and can be served warm, usually sprinkled with icing sugar. The traditional way to serve it is with vanilla custard.



Much to my surprise, this yoghurt really tasted like real Apfelstrudel. This seems like another victory for the artificial flavour industry!

Unfortunately, I prefer Apfelstrudel in the time between lunch and midnight and I use to eat yoghurts for breakfast. Hence, this flavour does not fit at all into my unconscious pattern of behaviour.

But maybe I have to change. As Nature reports in its latest issue, the North Atlantic's natural heating system, which brings clement weather to western Europe, is showing signs of decline. This means there will be much more winter in Europe, and hence, maybe much more of this Apfelstrudel yoghurt.

Brainchilling

My way back from Malaysia was full of reading. First, I finished Tolstoy's War and Peace in the restored original version, which I started reading in August 2004. Then I opened Jamie O'Neill's first published novel Disturbance, which turned out to be a real page-turner. I interrupted my reading only for a massage, the boarding and a nap. I managed to finish it five minutes before the plane touched down in Zürich this morning.

In the back of my mind, I knew, I was fiddling with something close to a madness. I had a notion to tamper with the jigsaw. Just, say, a quarter of a quarter of a corner of it. The idea was outrageous. Disrupting all that beautiful symmetry. My fingers tingled with the mere conception.

Ho Let His Hair Down

This week we passed the acceptance test of the first patrol vessel in a project that I joined six years ago. When Ho, our head of the local team, started his work here at the ship yard, he arrived with a crewcut. From that day on he stopped cutting his hair until the day, we passed the test:

Plunging Bird's Nests

The bird flue scare is also taking heavy toll on traders of bird's nest in Malaysia. Prices have plunged by up to 35%. However, the price of top-grade bird's nest "harvested" from caves is holding up at RM 12000 per kg (over CHF 4000).

Huge Tumble Turnover

I've been practicing front crawl for quite some time, however, I've never managed to do a proper Tumble Turn. Finally last Friday, I started practicing. The first attempts were horrible and included:

• water in the nose
• breathlessness
• giddiness.

In the course of the weekend, I made over 200 tumble turns. The movement is still far from perfect, but at least I got rid off the above problems. Nevertheless, I'm still not quite able to do the following in a swift and harmonic movement:

• Swim to the wall quickly
• Forward somersault when you see the "T" on the bottom of the pool
• Tuck your head in tight
• Put your feet on the wall approx. 0.5 m under the surface
• Stretch arms out before you push away from the wall
• After a brief gliding phase, start with either a flutter kick or a butterfly kick before surfacing no more than 15 m from the wall.

As you can see, there is no "T" on the bottom of the pool. But I don't think that's the problem...

Chlausfitten

The Christmas gift bringer in Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein is the Christkind (Christ Child). This has originally been invented by Martin Luther. However, this relieved St. Nicolas (Santa Claus) from this task and we assigned him a new one. His feast day is December 6, presumably the date of his death. On this day, St. Nicolas is handing out presents on a per-behavior basis to the children. But he threatens to put bad children in a sack and take them back to the Black Forest.

My friend Sirpa is celebrating this day in another way. She allows the ladies of her fitness class to bring their partners along. I just made her the flyer for this year's Chlausfitten:

Jackson's Wedding

Mr. Jackson Lim Jan Shin & Miss Chee Su San are solemnizing their Sacrament of Holy Matrimony today. We from Gomad Mansion™ are sending our warmest congratulations to you both and wish you a lifetime of happiness and prosperity.

I will deliver the official present from the ON Zürich Office first thing next week to Malaysia:



We will provide our lovebirds the perfect Champagne for the occasion: Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs 1995 by Taittinger.

We can be grateful that there are archetypes, monuments, and values, to which one can still adhere. The 95 Comtes de Champagne is one of those. Even more mature, creamy and lascivious than we were used, fresher, more aromatic and complex, incomprehensible, finally at the acme.

Our Simple Life

Although we're literally swimming in money at Gomad Mansion™, we still know how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life:

In Bed With Mammon

It's cold and rainy outside. Nevertheless, my face brightened up while reading the stocks section in bed this morning:



One of my mutual funds has passed through the 50% earning level this year. This gives plenty of cash that can be used for worshipping Bacchus and Dionysus.

Foiling Fear

Terror does not only brighten up my résumé. It is also a great motivator in design, as an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art shows:

SAFE: Design Takes On Risk, presents more than 300 contemporary products and prototypes designed to protect body and mind from dangerous or stressful circumstances, respond to emergencies, ensure clarity of information, and provide a sense of comfort and security. These objects address the spectrum of human fears and worries, from the most mundane to the most exceptional, from the dread of darkness and loneliness to the threat of earthquakes and terrorist attacks.

Becoming an Expert

I had to fly abroad to attend a task force meeting with representatives of a government agency to discuss options and means to protect their naval forces against asymmetric threats. Moi, who can hardly tell the difference between a gun and a toaster*, had to talk about the effectiveness of guns and ammunitions against terrorists and their potential collateral damage. I somehow wiggled my ass through and can now at least add a new line to my résumé: Expert on asymmetric threats and counter-terrorism.

* both are loaded, charged and eject something really hot.

A Lake In Our Backyard

At the end of July, Gatín and I made a trek through the new parks in our area. This afternoon we had a brief look into the future. Almost in the backyard of Gomad Mansion™ there is a new park being built. The whole area under development is called Glattpark and the actual park Opfikerpark. This is probably just to confuse people. Whatever, the important thing is that they are building a lake. It will be 550 m long and fill an area of 13 hectares. The opening will be in about a year. The builders even made a view point to look at the huge construction site:

Bridges of Gomad County

There is a new bridge between two older bridges just in front of Gomad Mansion™ spanning over the Katzenbach (cat creek).



For years there has been the threat that a new road will be built here. I interpret this red span as a sign that we will be spared the noise and pestilential vapours of cars.

My Optimistic Tomato Plant

I always thought that plants are somehow closer to mother nature. But my tomato plant seems just not to care that there will be fog, mist and storm in due course. It's still producing blossoms. There is the end of the world as it knows it (and it feels fine):

Twilight

November is ante portas. The most melancholy month of the year will bring fog, mist and storm. However, when I finally managed to drag my old carcass out of bed this morning, I somehow liked the foretaste of what is to come:

Maladroits

Do you have people in the office that play absentmindedly with their tie like David Brent does?



I have and I just can't take them seriously.

Apple Geometry

Herbert does not like it, when I'm disappointed. Obviously, yesterday's apple had been picked a week ago. Laying around does benefit this cultivar. So this morning, Herbert brought me a freshly picked specimen of his apples. I'm pleased to tell that the flavour and texture were much better.

The apple was huge (height: 80 mm, diameter: 79 mm). Usually apples loose flavour with dimension, because the major part of it is right under the skin. An apple is, roughly speaking, a ball-shaped object.

Volume of a ball:

Surface of a ball:

If we increase the dimension of a ball or apple, the surface growths with a much smaller rate than the volume. Hence, dimension does not benefit flavour - generally speaking.

A Polished Apple Without Apple-Polishing

I'm on a very low level with neither influence nor power. Nevertheless, this morning, I received this lovely looking apple from my colleague Herbert:



It grew in Herbert's garden next to the mirabelle tree. Unfortunately, Herbert does not know the cultivar. However, it was even worse that the taste could not keep up with the look. The apple's acidity was appealing, but its texture was far too ligneous. The mirebells, which I received from Herbert last year, were far better.

Pour être égoïste ou la choucroute

Supply of influenza vaccine is drying out fast here in Switzerland in the face of the approaching bird flu. Although, the vaccine can only help against the ordinary flu version. It's seems that the supply will soon be limited to the ones who actually need it (elderly or seriously ill or working with either).

But I don't mind, because I got my shot on Monday. Hehe. However, if you didn't get yours, there is still some hope. The solution is called Sauerkraut! Already James Cook used it as an effective remedy against amebiasis, scurvy and other deficiency diseases. Raw sauerkraut is an extremely healthful food and an excellent source of lactobacilli (more so than yoghurt), Vitamin C and other nutrients. Some people think it can even replace Tamiflu.

Sauerkraut is made by cutting fresh cabbage into fine strips and packing it tightly into an airtight container while mixing in a certain amount of salt. Traditionally, a stoneware crock is used and the seal is created with a piece of wet linen cloth, a board and a heavy stone. The fermentation vessel is kept at 23°C for three days, then left in cooler temperatures for eight weeks. Other vegetables, berries, spices and/or wine can be added.

Interspecific Vine

On Saturday, Gatín and I visited the Kartause Ittingen, which used to be a Carthusian monastery for several centuries. Monasteries are the ideal place for a autumnal sojourn and it was really delightful.

We used the opportunity to have dinner at the place and taste one of the Charterhouse's wines. There was one on the list called Maréchal Foch. Neither of used has ever heard of this variety. However, it was a pleasant experience.

Of course we asked the waiter about the origin of the wine. He told us that it's an old vine originated in the region of Burgundy. On Sunday, Gatín also asked his boss, who said that it's an interspecific vine cross, cultivated by a Swiss vine research institute. Two absolutely different answers ask for further investigation:

Maréchal Foch aka Kuhlmann 188.2 was developed in Alsace, France at the beginning of the twentieth century by hybridizer Eugène Kuhlmann (1858-1932). It is believed to be a cross of Goldriesling (itself a cross of Riesling and Courtiller Musque) with a Vitis riparia - Vitis rupestris cross. It ripens early and is very prone to bird injury and is resistant to fungal diseases.

Paradise

While taking this still life of random objects at Gomad Mansion™, I remembered my favourite Chinese joke:

If Eve had been Chinese, we would still live in the Garden of Eden, because a Chinese Eve would have chosen the snake.

A Question Of Style

It's definitely a blatant example of bad style, when one buys a scent because one likes the advert. However, how is the case if one not actually likes the advert, but fancies the bloke in it?