Philippines (Mindanao) Aug - Part 1

Well, I know its late, but I thought a few people might be interested in hearing about how my trip to the Philippines went, and seeing a few pics....

Most of these pics make it look like I wasn't working very hard - but that's not true - it was a very busy tiring trip. 2 evaluations and a workshop. 3 full-on weeks!!

As this was my first work trip and my first evaluations (the first one my very experienced collegue was with me, the second one not!!) I was slightly nervous about how I would go, but it was great and I learnt a lot.

**** WARNING! BINDY RANT AHEAD!!! ****

I spent a week in an urban project, and a rural one. Both were interesting, but I found the urban one fascinating - for people who are so poor life in a city is far more difficult than in the country - they can't grow their own food, often have no access to land to build a house on and don't have skills to get employment. In this particular project most of the people are squatters or illegal settlers - which is differnt to what we picture as squatters in a Aus, (moving into an empty building with a sleeping bag) but they find unused land (usually government land) and build a (basic) house there. This isn't a choice - there is often simply no other option. The problem then is that as illegal settlers they have no rights over the land, and can be (and are) evicted any time. The project we were visiting is facing the relocation of 6000 families out of the city so that the governemnt can widen the river and build a park. The irony is, it is called THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS MEMORIAL PARK!!!!! For those who don't know what that means - in 2000 the UN and world governments pledged to halve world poverty by 2015 by meeting certain goals - these are the Millenium development goals. The area the people are being relocated from is currently subject to some flooding, but under the government's scheme it will be regualrly flooded - they built the flood walls AROUND the community. In fairness, the government is helping to relocate the people - but they are being relocated far from the city so have no way to make a living (generally they make money by selling things along the streets, or other small type jobs only available in a city) there are no schools ot infrastructure, and its is land established from dredging the river (really safe!!). So to celebrate the effort to reduce poverty 6000 odd families will be placed in a situation that further empoverishes them, and gives their children no chance of education. Additionally the relocation plan will take until 2010 to be completed - unfortunately the river scheme will be completed at the end of this year - so for the next 3 years most families homes will be generally under water!!!! We had a few meeting with a number of government deperatments who were so proudly telling us about this scheme - it was HORRIFYING!!!! The consultant we had with us asked me a few times if I had any questions for the people we were meeting - but it was so awful there was nothing to say.

this is the community that has the flood walls built around it	4000 odd families will be relocated from this side of the river	this side is where the park will go - in front of the wall. The homes behind the wall will be safe, but 2000 families still need to be relocated from this side

Philippines (Mindanao) Aug - Part 2

continued...

What I really loved though was the people!! They were so friendly and welcoming, and despite having no money were clearly people who were proud.




While their homes are simple they had usually made every effort to make them comfortable - with roughly constructed benchseats, tables and so on outside and other simple improvements.




they are amazing dancers and singers - these are kids performances


Out in the rural areas the roads are terrible - in this area they grow pineapples and bannanas for the big companies who pay them almost nothing, and bring their big trucks through and destroy the roads - it was seriously crazy. Our driver was a total legend though. We only got bogged once - which was an great effort!! This is it...

Philippines (Mindinao) Aug - Part 3

continued...

The people are very innovate, and make the most of what they have...

The joke here is that thes people have a balanced life - but in order to keep their balance they have to SMILE.


The scenery was also gorgeous.
This is in the rural area...

This is on a small island we visited. On the way over to this island we caught an ancient ferry, which ended up being quiet scary because it became quiet rough and we weren't sure the ferry would hold out. A huge pod (?) of dolphins was swimming with the boat, but despite taking heaps of pictures I don't get a single picture of a dolphin - just lots of empty ocean!!!

from a sand bar, looking back to the bigger island - with a volcanoe in the background	this is a marker for the sunken cemetry - in the late 1800s a volcanic erruption burried this cemetry, but apparently it makes for a really interesting dive site with all the tomb stones below.
this massive church was also burried by the volcanoe - this is whats left of the roof structure, the rest is underground	and then someone built this chapel inside the remains

Eine Bat-wurst

So, on the way back from Brussels the other night, I had to make "ein Pinkelstop" at one of the many rest stops along the autobahn.

I go into the toilets there - deciding to use the urinal (h8 that word) - and start going about my business. About 1/2 way through, this guy comes in and pulls in beside me (violation of Standards of Bathroom Conduct #1?). Then, rather than peeing, this guy starts having a bit of a bat, in a public toilet, with other people around! (Mother of all SBC violations, right?!?!?)

I promptly finished and got the hell out of there, and was damn glad that the autobahn speedlimit was unlimited at that point...

Tschüß,
'Brush

Dunno how, but I did it!

I dunno how, but somehow I managed to deliver a 5 hour training session on our Product, completely in German today. Sure, it probably sounded like crap, but the Customers seemed to follow it, and were happy to have it delivered in crap German instead of good English, because it is easier for them to follow. :)

Now for some stupid pictures I have taken lately on my Palm...

Found this sign on the walk back from Bad Homburg. I love it, but I think it could have done without the "details".

This was painted on the wall in my room in Basel, Switzerland. My room was painted to look like a cave, looking out on Ayers Rock. They couldn't have chosen a better room for me if they tried.

This was outside a shop near where we live. Basically the long and the short of it is, that they purchase gold used to cap teeth, as well as other gold and silver. In the fine print it says that they purchase teeth-gold, even if it still has the teeth attached! EW!

Pity that this one didn't really turn out, but I couldn't get much closer to this guy. Basically he is using a huge blow-torch to kill/burn the weeds that were growing in the cracks of the paving. There has to be a better way, right? But I am sure that the "better way" wouldn't be nearly as much fun!

Tschüß,
'Brush

One man went to mow, went to mow the meadow...

On the weekend, about 8 weeks after it was mowed the last time (rough guess-timate), I decided to mow the lawn. 'Twas also the first time that I have mowed the lawn with an electric mower, that actaully has a cord on it. I have used a battery powered one before, but they are a pain, because you keep having to run to Safeway to buy more batteries! :)

Anyway, the grass was so thick, that every lap I did up and down the back lawn, I had to stop and empty the catcher. I also got some funny looks from the two floors above us, because, up until last year, they had a Mittagsrühe (Midday silence) in our state, and that meant that you couldn't mow your lawns between 13:00 und 15:00...but luckily that doesn't exist anymore. Although, we still aren't allowed to mow them on Sundays...

As it was, the grass wasn't the only thing that was nearly cut short. A couple of times I ran over the cable, and actually cut through to the earth wire at one point. Luckily, thanks to the events of a few weeks ago, I had some electrical tape, so I was able to repair it and keep going. :)

Bel and I also took the opportunity to go to the Laternenfest (Lantern Festival) in Bad Homburg. This festival is held once per year, and they close all the shutters in the local castle, and you can tour through it by candle light. Any excuse for a piss-up, really.

Tschüß,
'Brush

What a shock!

So, after my second weekend of franatic drilling, wiring, screwing (screws), the lights are finally all installed, and ALL WORKING! WHAT A SHOCK!

But that's not the biggest shock. The biggest shock came when I touched a live wire, while trying to wire up one of the lights. Gives you one hell of a jolt, and I am lucky that it was with the back of my finger and not with the front. Anyway, it left me feeling kinda dopey (yes - more than usual) for the rest of the day, but I am feeling better now. :)

And the good news is that our house is starting to resemble one. Things are slowly disappearing off the floor, boxes are getting emptied, and I even vacuumed today! Give it a few more weeks, and it will be like we have been here forever.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Let there be light...pop!

So, this is the tail end of two hell weekends in a row. Last weekend was moving from Darmstadt to Friedrichsdorf, into our new apartment. This week was IKEA shopping, and installation.

The main saga from last weekend was that we had reserved a van from B's work, in order to move our fold-out-couch from Darmstadt to Friedrichsdorf. Problem was that it got broken into the weekend before our move, and therefore had to be repaired. Thus, we were left without a van.
Na ja, so we had a few ppl come and help us move, which was great. Then, after we had sent them all home, we got a call from B's colleague to say that he had a van we could use. Cool! Problem is, the sofa is still on the top floor, and there is nobody left to help us.
So, Belinda and I start off, and try to bring it down ourselves. This ain't any easy task, given the size, the weight, and the extremely narrow stairwell. The sofa nearly had to be balanced on it's end in order to move the bastard down the stairs.
Halfway down, we get a little stuck. Luckily our landlord was at home, and she opened the door so that we could manouver in and out of her apartment with the couch.
We were still having a hell of a time, so this 80yr old lady, who was nearly hospitalised a few days earlier with a blood pressure of 260, helped us get it the rest of the way down the stairs, and finally on it's way to Friedrichsdorf.

This weekend was IKEA shopping. We had to buy:
1. A bed
2. Wardrobes
3. TV unit
4. Lights (bought them last weekend though)

The wardrobes are in a partially completed state at the moment. The problem here was that we wanted 2 wardrobes that were 100cm wide, and 2 that were 50cm wide. They had the shells for the 50cm ones, but no shelves. They had the shelves for the 100cm, but no shells. Therefore, the 50cm ones are put together, with the hanging rails and stuff, but no shelves.

Then today I decided to install the first set of lights. That's right - in Germany some people take their lights with them when they leave.

Normal AC wiring is what? Green/Yellow, Blue, and Brown. The wires hanging out of our roof were Blue, Brown, Green/Yellow, and 2 sets of Black. But, the brown one wasn't stripped at all, and the adaptor from the last lights (which I had to remove first) was connected with the Green/Yellow, Blue, and one of the Black...so we went with that too.
Bel was all freakin' over this, as it involved drilling some holes in the roof, right next to these live wires...which couldn't be deactivated as they are on the same circuit as the socket for the drill. She was also a little freaked over the fact that there were too many wires...but I said "Don't worry about it!".
Ok, so without much fuss, the lights are installed...

And we give them the first trial run. They function beautifully...for about long enough for us to start celebrating with high-fives, and then POP!

See that char mark? Turns out that the other black wire was live as well, and shorted against the metal casing on the lights. There is this nice weld on the inside of the bracket now. :) So, I pulled the bastards back down, clipped the wire, taped it up (will have to repeat with something that is more insulative that Gaffa Tape next weekend), and all is good again. Maybe Bel's fears of electricity are a little more justified now. :)

Tja, let's see what next weekend holds... :)

Tschüß,
'Brush

Morgen

Morgen wird Belinda wieder hier sein.
Morgen fangen wir an umzuziehen.
Morgen wird das Wetter wieder schlecht.
Morgen-Latte ist nicht, was du denkst, daß es ist... :)

Tomorrow Belinda will be here again.
Tomorrow we start to move house.
Tomorrow the weather will be bad again.
A Morning-Latte is not what you think it is... :)

Ski jumping

So, it's only August, and the ski jumping season has started again. That's right, in 25C temperatures, these freaks are hurling themselves down the hill again, and flying around 120m, before gracefully (mostly) touching down.

So, ski jumping in Summer?? Yep, darn right!

Basically works like this:
- The tracks on the jump ramp are made of ceramic tiles, which usually are iced over in winter...but in Summer, with the application of water, they are just as slippery.
- The jump hill is covered in fake grass, which again is covered in snow in winter, but is also pretty slippery when wet in Summer.
- At the bottom of the landing hill, where they can usually do a nice hockey-stop in their massive skis, there appears to be pine bark chips or something, which helps them to slow down.

It's kinda cool (though warm) watching this - especially watching a guy go down like a sack of crap on landing last night. Luckily they still jump in their full on suits, so he didn't lose any skin or anything...just damaged pride.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Maserati

Currently chillin' in Norway, visiting some Customers. Weather here is a lot better than the first time I was here - this time it is around 25C...a lot more bearable than the -10C that it was then. :)

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I got a lift to my hotel tonight...in a Maserati. YUM!

Tschüss
'Brush

PS: No funny little German sharp-S on the keyboard here...

Off to the Philippines

So today I am off to the Philippines on a work trip...

I will be there three weeks taking part in 2 project evaluations and a workshop. It should be a good trip, but it leaves Brett with all the packing...

I get back from my trip 6am 12 Aug and we are moving that weekend so everything will be packed when I get back.

I probably won't be able to keep you updated while I am travelling, but if I can I will.

Love to all
B

Freakin' stoopid hot!

So, for about the last month running, we have had temperatures of around 30-37C nearly every day. But, the problem is not with the sheer temperature, but with the humidity...it has been roughtly 80% humidicyl, which is just plain oppressive. Luckily we had a fair old thunderstorm today, which helped drop the temp back into the 20s for the evening, but it's going to be stoopid hot again tomorrow, with no end in sight.

One of the real cons with this kind of heat is Germans and their facination with short shorts. And we aren't talking a pretty facination with them either, but quite a disturbing one.
There seems to be a trend for 40-something men to wear cut-off jeans shorts, cut so short that you can nearly see the beans and frank hanging out the bottom. EW! We even saw a chick the other night whos arse cheeks were literally hanging out the bottom of her shorts. Not a pretty sight.

The other thing that Germans like to do in Summer, is to wear Tivas, or other kinds of sandal things. Now, I don't disagree with this at all, as I like to kick around in my Tivas too. The difference between me and the Germans is that I choose not to wear socks with my Tivas...

Na ja, it certainly is a different world we live in now... :)

Tschüß,
'Brush.

Quick wrap

Greetings from Athens. Stinking hot, bitching tired, dying for food and sleep. Arrived here at 02:00am this morning, and then spent the day on site with a Customer, during the evaluation phase of a big deal. Luckily I had some strong coffee. :)

So, here's a little wrap of the last week or so:

• Mum came to town, and went again, to the south of France (watch out for head-butters...)
  
• Did a bit of touring with Mum, and saw some cool little towns that we wouldn't have seen by ourselves, z.B. Marburg. Will post some pics, unless B has done so already.
  
• Tour de France is on again, and this time I am actually seeing less of it that when I was in Australia. The coverage is live every day, but I kinda have to work, so I miss it all. Kinda miss Phil's commentary too.
  
• Jan Ullrich is out of the tour, as most probably know, but on his website he is still proclaiming his innocence (in German, of course). Read it here.
  
• World Cup is over. I was truly shattered when Italy knocked Germany out of the final, but it was great to see the Germans rally behind their team, and support them and celebrate with them after their win in the 3rd/4th game, just like they had won.
  
• Not happy that the Italians won, simply because they beat Australia and Germany.
  

Ok, that's enough, as I wanna fall asleep while typing this.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Italy

So, a quick update about our trip to Italy with Bel's sister.

The trip roughly went like this:
Darmstadt, Germany -> Innsbruck, Austria -> Venice, Italy -> Florence, Italy -> Innsbruck, Austria -> Darmstadt, Germany
and it was all by car...some 2800kms.

Out of all of it, the concensus was that our favorite part was Innsbruck, which was just supposed to be our little stopover on the way to fun.

I dunno, but it seems that the parts of Italy that we went to were too touristy for our liking, but that is probably because they were the major tourist places. But, I must say, that I did a bloody good job in picking the hotels and B&Bs that we were staying in! :)

Some tips about Italy for you:
1. One day in Venice is enough, in my mind.
2. Most restaurants charge a cover charge, and a service charge.
Usually this is mentioned on the menu in an obvious place, but some hide it near the back, where you don't often look until it is too late.
3. The drive like freakin' idiots!
Many times we saw ppl on a 2 lane road "lane splitting" the whole time (straddling the two lanes), or, you would be overtaking someone coming into a corner, and they would decide that they wanted the "racing line" and nearly squeezed you into a barrier. What makes it worse, is that trucks do it too!

So, here are some pics.


Top of the take off ramp at the ski jump in Innsbruck. Picture doesn't doesn't do it justice. Let's just say, I would wear my brown undies if I had to jump.

Bel and Sus at the top of the Cupola of the Duomo in Florence. You gotta climb this if you get the chance.

Venice at night. I think that this is an awesome pic...even if I do say so myself.

Yes, that is McLeods Daughters on the big screen in Florence. I have now seen this show in 3 countries, in 3 different languages, and it's still SHIT!

Some of the towers of San Gimignano. Once there were 72 of these towers in the city, but now only 15 remain. They were built for security, to see the advancing enemy. But, it turned into a bit of a competition between the rich families, who wanted to have the highest tower in the town.


"Cinderella's Castle", aka Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany.

Bel, Sus, and the horses that pulled the carriage we rode back down from Neuschwanstein.

Tschüß,
'Brush

WIR GEHEN WEITER!!!

Belinda was off on a work trip, so I drove in to Frankfurt to watch the game last night in an Aussie pub. The place was absolutely packed with Aussies, Germans supporting Australia, Yanks supporting Australia, Hollanders supporting Australia, and one poor chick in a Croatian top.

The pub was a sea of green and gold, and rang with chants of "AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OY! OY! OY!" (which I lead...and subsequently lost my voice), singing of Waltzing Matilda, Keh Sahn, and a bunch of other Aussie tracks, and my new favorite "Who let's the Roos out? GUUS! GUUS! GUU-GUUS-GUUS!"

Now, I ain't no big soccer fan, but I didn't think I was going to be able to bear it, watching the first and the second croat goals slam and then trickle home. And then the pressure was even worse when we equalised with 10min to go. I thought I was going to die.

Anyway, mad probs to the Socceroos! Viel Glück! Viel Erfolg! Ich drücke euch ganz ganz die Daumen! :)

Tschüß,
'Brush

Birds

So I had forgotten that my sister is REALLY afraid of birds... not birds at a distance but birds that can flap and fly at your face, and poo on you.

So it was a brilliant plan of ours to take her to a few european cities - where pigeons live EN MASSE.

We both seriuosly had broken skin where her nails had punctured our arms as we had to cross large squares (I think San Marcos in Venice was the worst) or when a lone pigeon seemed to be flying our way.

The strategy in the end was either to edge around the flocks of birds, or for us to be on either side and propell her through...

Susan's usual strategy to avoid large flocks of birds and to never walk where their is poo on the ground so that you too don't get pooed on.

One day in Florence, after finally finding a very rare public toilet, which we of course had to pay for, she failed to follow the second of ther rules... and man did she pay the price...

I have never seen anyone get quite so thoroughly shat on. The loud shriek told us that something had happend, and apparently she felt that something had hit her with force, and she knew imediately what it was...

She had been hit across one boob, across the back of one sholder, on her foot (she was wearing thongs) and on her forhead.

(I am giggling as I write this)

As I attempted to clean her up with a tissue she shrieked at Brett to help her and get the poo of her foot. He responded with 'I can't' and a dry heave...

Considering her fear of birds and being pood on she actually coped really well

After getting her somewhat cleaned up we made our way back to the toilet where we explained to the man that she had just been pooed on so that we could reenter with out repaying. He was highly ammused and let us in. While we were in thrre a friend of his came to vist him and obviuosly got the story beacuse he kept looking at us and laughing, and as we were leaving he told Susan it was good luck ... :-)

but dispite all the warnings we had nothing stollen in Itally, so perhaps it really was good luck.

Es gibt immer Nach- und Vor- teile...

So, the good news is that we have found a new apartment in Friedrichsdorf, and we should be moving in there at the beginning of August. It means that instead of a 1.5hr train ride each-way for Belinda, there will now only be a 5min walk each-way to work. It is also closer to my work, so I will pay a lot less tax on the company car. We will also have a place to store things like bikes, so we can do some riding in the Taunus region, which is really nice for that kinda stuff.

The bad side of things is that we are leaving the apartment that we currently have, with the landlords who are sooooo nice to us. The lady here bakes us cakes, and really looks after us a hell of a lot. And, as Bel found out today, she thinks of us like a son and daughter, and cried a lot when Bel went down to tell her that we had decided to move.
Fortunately, and unfortunately, she already knew, because our relocation service had called her son to let them know, and he had in turn let her know. I wish we could have told them first in person, but at the same time I am glad that we didn't have to, because I reckon that I would have sooked too. Luckily for me, I was driving back from Essen at the time, and then I snuck in really quietly to avoid meeting them on the stairs...is that wrong?

There are always pros and cons...

Tschüß,
'Brush.

Blood Test

I had a blood test today (nothing wrong, just need soem vaccinations for work travel so doc was working out what antibodies I have) and all was done with the German precision and efficiency you would expect. It was basically painless YAY. I always lay down so that I don't fall down but afterwards she said to me 'You look fine, Sit up' and then after about 1 minute sitting, 'You look fine, you can go now'. I think because he english wasn't perfect it sounded gruffer than was meant, and she was right - I was fine, but usually doctors/nurses let me have a little lay there.

The weird part was though, SHE DIDN'T WEAR GLOVES!!!!

I asked a girl I work with if this was normal and she didn't think it was strange, she said the only time she has ever had a doctor actually wear gloves was in Ghana....

Now I don't even remember the last time I had an injection, let alone a blood test where they didn't wear gloves... And this isn't a country where they shy away from latex gloves - you HAVE TO carry some in you car.

...odd...

B

Sorrrrryyyyyyyyyy....

Sorry that we haven't posted in a while, we just spend almost 2 weeks in Italy while my sister is visting so we have been neglectful but we will give you all the goss very soon
B

Darmstädter Schloßgrabenfest

Every year there is a 4 day music festival held in Darmstadt, and it is all centered around the Darmstadt Schloß (castle), or to be more precise, around the Schloßgraben (moat).

We went in a checked out a few bands on the Saturday night, and they were kick-arse! I had never heard of either of them before, but that is the reason that you go to these free festivals - to discover and support new acts.

The first act was "The Capones" out of Munich. These guys are a high-energy stage act that do a mixture between Ska, Hip-hop, Reggae, and a few other styles. They were seriously cool.




The second group was "Cleave" from Austria. These guys were on Newcomer TV, and were voted by the viewers to play at the Schloßgrabenfest. These guys remind me a little of "Chevelle", and the lead singer has a really powerful but harmonic voice, IMHO. Funny thing is, that he speaks with an Austrian dialect (of German), but when he sings it sounds perfectly American. Kinda weird how singers do that. And, to quote Screws - "I can't understand you. Sing it to me!".




After these guys came the main act for the festival called Juli (July, in English). These are a guitar pop group that are getting heaps of air time here in Germany. I actually like some of their stuff, but I am sure that it is just because all the lyrics are in German. :)
We only listened to a couple of songs before we through in the towel. The crowd was way too big, and way too much pushing and shoving for my likes.

On Sunday I ordered both of the bands' albums over the web. Gotta support the lil' guy.

Tschüß,
'Brush

I am outraged!

An article in The Age has outraged me today.

Dutch pedophiles are launching a political party to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations to 12 from 16 and the legalisation of child pornography and sex with animals <snip> The party said it wanted to cut the legal age for sexual relations to 12 and eventually scrap the limit altogether.
<snip>

The party wants private possession of child pornography to be allowed although it supports the ban on the trade of such materials. It also supports allowing pornography to be broadcast on daytime television, with only violent pornography limited to the late evening.

Toddlers should be given sex education and youths aged 16 and up should be allowed to appear in pornographic films and prostitute themselves. Sex with animals should be allowed although abuse of animals should remain illegal, the NVD said.

The party also said everybody should be allowed to go naked in public and promotes legalising all soft and hard drugs and free train travel for all.

I can't believe that shit! They should be stopped! I mean, honestly, FREE TRAIN TRAVEL FOR ALL? JUST THINK WHAT THAT IS GOING TO DO TO PEOPLE'S TAXES!!!

Tschüß,
'Brush

The Da Vinci "Load"

On Tuesday night, B and I, along with someone from her work and one of their friends, went to see The Da Vinci Code at an "original language" cinema in Frankfurt.

The film itself wasn't too bad, though it didn't contain as much detail as the book. I think this would have been hard to do, given that the book spends a bit of time covering the history of The Knights Templar, etc.

The disappointing part of the film was really the ending, which they changed a fair bit from the book. I won't go into it, but let's just say that they made some really strange decisions, that make absolutely no sense.

But, back to the real part of the story - the film viewing experience.

We rocked up to the cinema, and found seats. The film was due to start at 8:00, but I think the ads started rolling maybe 10min after that...and kept rolling for the next 45 minutes! That's right, 45 minutes of ads and previews! WTF?!?!?! I don't even watch the stupid things at home, so why would I want to pay to see 45mins of these things?

Ok, so bullshit ads are over, and the film begins. It's a good story - particularly for us nerds - and we are really into it by time the film is about half-way through. Then, in the middle of a chase scene, the film suddenly stops, and we have an "intermission". When was the last time you went to a film with an intermission? For me, it was about 10yrs ago, in a dodgy little cinema that they set up in Ocean Grove during Xmas.
The intermission lasted about 10-15mins. Just long enough to spoil the mood, and let all the built up tension drift away. Nice work, idiots!

Maybe next time we will try the cinema in Darmstadt. They don't show films in original language all the time, but surely the experience will be better.

Tschüß
'Brush.

Everybody wave, Europe is watching!

Just letting you know that I am sitting here, on a day of in Germany, watching the Australia vs Greece game live on TV. If you are there, then WHAT ARE YOU DOING READING THIS?!?!? But if you are there, and you happen to be so lame that you are checking this website, then please wave!

Tschüß,
'Brush

Hunger

Three hundred million children are hungry and 18,000 die every day for want of food while the world remains largely ignorant about the magnitude of the problem, the UN's World Food Programme has claimed.

"If the headline in the media tomorrow was 'Forty-five 747s crashed today, everyone on board was killed and oh, by the way, they were all children', the world would be outraged," said James Morris, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

"I genuinely think the public doesn't understand how serious the issue is."

The world produces enough food to feed everyone, with 17 percent more calories per person today than 30 years ago, according to the World Hunger Education Service.

But the distribution is unequal.

extract from a Reuters article.

'Brush licks balls in Belgium...

Screws took this killer photo when we visited the Atomium in Brussels, Belgium. You can find out about the Atomium here.



Suffice to say, that this thing was designed and built in the 50s for the World Fair. These balls are 59 feet in diameter, and would rival the biggest ones that Freddy ever got near. :) The top sphere houses a restaurant that can hold in the order of 140 ppl. Whoever came up with this idea really had balls! :)

Nice work on the pic, Screwsy. There will be more pics and a report on Belgium to follow l8r.

Tschüß,
'Brush.

PS: For those of you interested in chemistry - it is actually supposed to be an Iron molecule, rather than a mode of an atom (please no-one respond and say molecules are made up of atoms so its the same thing...) B

A Slot is a Slott is a Schloß...

So, flying in and out of Sweden is a pain in the arse. It seems that I am cursed to have all of my flights out of this airport (and some of them in bound) delayed. The only flight that has been on time, this trip, is the one from Germany to Sweden, but then Sweden to Norway, Norway to Sweden, and now Sweden to Germany have all been delayed...so this is coming to you from the lounge in the airport in Sweden.

The hotel that I stayed in here was Hässelby Slott (Slott, like Schloß in German, and Slot in Danish, means "Castle"). But to say I stayed in the Castle would be wrong - I stayed in an annex building. Also, the Castle is more a pretty European castle, rather than a "nights in shining armour" style puppy. But, either way, it still dates back to the 1600s.



Unfortunately, the room that I stayed in was by no means "stately". In fact, walking into this room reminded me of walking into the Kapooka Army Barracks many years ago (minus one hot chick...). It had all the mod cons of the rooms in the Army Barracks too...but it did at least add a TV into the poorly furnished, minimalist mix. It was a big change from the hotel I had in Denmark, where the "sitting room" was nearly as big as our lounge room in Darmstadt. But, the room wasn't the worst of it...

Tuesday night I am hungry (kinda), and wanting (kinda) some dinner. So, I head over to the restaurant in a wing attached to the Castle. I walk in and ask the waitress for "a table for one". She kinda looks at me, says "one moment" and walks away. She walks back and forward past me a few time, going into the kitchen, leaving the restaurant to go to the bar, and then back into the kitchen. Turns out that she was looking for someone who spoke English.

Finally we find someone, and she comes out of the kitchen (with the other waitress in tow). She says "Can I help you?", and I repeat my request for "a table for one, please".
Now, one expects the normal response of "follow me", or even "where would you like to sit"...but instead I got "tonight we have fish". Um...ok..."That sounds good". "Would you like the 3 course meal?". (Quick recap - we are still standing at the door to the restaurant.) "No, I'll just have the main. I had a big lunch". And finally I get "Where would you like to sit?".
So, we go to the back of the "restaurant", and I sit down. No menu on the table, and at no point does a menu come. 5 mins later, after ordering an apple juice, the fish comes. After the fish I get some coffee, and finally the bill.

Now, don't get me wrong, the fish was fantastic. But it was kinda strange to never receive a menu, and to be in a restaurant that only has one dish. Add to that, that the first time I got to see what any of this cost was when I received the bill. Very very strange. Are all Swedish restaurants like this? No bloody wonder that the Vikings went marauding! They had heard of these fabled "menu" things, and restaurants that "gave you a choice", and they had to go find out for themselves.

Anyway, at least I get to go home tonight, and I get my car back tomorrow! :)

Tschüß,
'Brush.

PS: Just uploaded this now, and thought I should add that we were put into a holding pattern for 30mins above Frankfurt. :(

København

That, by the way, is the Danish spelling of Copenhagen, and hence the real and correct spelling. For those who speak German, the ø symbol is roughly equivalent to ö, or in English, half way between o and e.

So, the lead up to the weekend wasn't so great (see a few posts earlier), but the weekend in København was a lot of fun...we even got to see Mary!



I dunno, but in the conversations I had with her and Kronprins Frederik, they came across as a little..I dunno...a little "fake" maybe?!? (Ok, I confess, that is a wax model of her in the Louis Tussaud Wax Museum, next to Tivoli Gardens). Did you know that she earned something like $5M last year? And who says that Tasmanians will amount to nothing!?!?! :P

We also visited the Freiheit (?) Museum, which documents the Danish resitance to the Germans during the second world war. This "resistance" is kinda interesting, considering the King decided not to oppose the Nazi forces, and let them come into Denmark, in an attempt to save Denmark from the war. This gave birth to an underground resistance movement, which involved itself in acts of sabotage etc.
Anyway, here a 2 pics that I took...one for Sprocket (that's a real enigma machine), and one for Damo (that's a real SS uniform). Sorry about the flash, but they were behind glass:



There's also this really cool concept of "City Bikes" in København. These "free" bikes can be found in numerous places around the city, and, for a deposit of 20Kr into the locking mechanism, you can unlock them and ride them around the city all day and night. Bel and I used these to go from our hotel to the movies and back one night, and to visit some "alternative" colony thing the next day. Really cool idea, IMHO. Melbourne could benefit from something like this.

Anyway, here are a few more random pics of København, including a duck, a palace, the Changing of the Guard, and a boat.



We did actually see the statue of the Little Mermaid (nothing like the one in the cartoon...this one had her boobies out on public display...not something that Disney would want little kids seeing), but it wasn't impressive enough to photograph, IMHO.

Anyway, if you get the chance to go to København, I would recommend it. It is a busy mix of old and new, with a very "foreigner" friendly atmosphere. Just remember to pack a jacket.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Willkommen in Deutschland!

Heute morgen habe ich einen Anruf von Ben & Tansy bekommen. Sie haben endlich in Deutschland angekommen, und bleiben für ein paar Tage in München, bevor sie fahren überall in Europa (oder etwas wie das). Willkommen in Deutschland Benny, und willkommen zu Hause Tansy!!! Wir werden uns bald sehen, und ich freue mich auf das! :)

Bis bald!
'Brush.

Park it at work, so it will be safe...

First, let me say that I have the summer tyres on the car now, which includes the nice alloy wheels...and here is a pic that Screws took.



It was very nice of Screws to take the photo from this side of the car...and here's why.

Oh yeah, I quickly want to remind everyone that I do love her...

So, a few weeks back I was in Denmark for the week that lead into a long weekend. Bel and I had the idea that she could come and meet me in Denmark, and we could spend the weekend in Copenhagen. Good idea, right?

Anyway, we had decided that Bel would take the car to work on Friday, and then park it at my work, before catching a train to the airport. That way the car would be safe, and I could pick up the car easily when we got back. Good plan, right?

On Thursday, Bel called me to say that someone at her work said that we could park the car at a park-and-ride a bit closer to the airport. I didn't want to do this, because I didn't want the car to get damaged, so we decided to stick with the park-at-my-work-plan. Better choice, right?

So, Friday afternoon I am back at my hotel. I call Bel to check how she is going, and she is sounding a little flustered (she was lost in the carpark, frustrated at the nav system that took her a stupid way, and was thinking she was running late).
While I am trying to direct her to where she needs to go, I hear a *crunch*, followed by "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!", and then "I've hit something".

Let me paint a picture for you. The Tiefgarage has cream-coloured walls, and big fuck-off cream-coloured cement pilons. I also find that the roads in the Tiefgarage are a little tight, and you can see many scuff marks on the walls from where people have hit them while turning corners etc.

Turns out, that while we were talking, Bel had overshot at turn that she needed to take on the bottom level of the carpark, and was backing up to it, attempting to do a quick 3-point turn. (She is dictating this to me...Your Honour.) During the attempt, she backed my baby into one of these poles.

Now, people that know me, and how much I love my cars, would probably think that I would have gone spare at this point in time...and to be honest, I myself thought that I would have...but suprisingly enough, I didn't. When something like this happens to someone you care about, you are a long way away, and they are upset, then the last thing you give a shit about it a hunk of metal that gets you to work and back (albeit, a lovely, stylish, black beast of a hunk of metal...).

So, the car is now in the shop getting fixed, and we have a bullshit Hyundai Getz as a replacement (though, we have driven said Getz at 160kmph+ on the Autobahn...).

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a pic of the car where the dint was...which is probably a good thing. :)

Tschüß,
'Brush.

From Belinda - I would like to emphasise that I looked before reversing but did not see the poles as they are the _exact_ same coulour as the walls so I thought there was nothing there. And Brett didn't get mad at me at all (though there have been many jokes made) he was very good even though his baby was hurt (the car, not me)... B

Long time, no post

Hi all,

Whoa, it has been a while since I posted last - sorry. It has been for good reason though - I have barely been home for the last month. I had a week in Amsterdam, then a few days back home, then off to Zürich, then a week in Denmark, then back to Zürich again, and finally a week of vacation with Screws here.

Bel and I spent a weekend in Copenhagen, so I will make a posting with a few pics from that.

I will also make a posting with some pics from when Screws was "in da House".

Anyway, sorry for the delay, and the weeks of silence.

Bis bald,
'Brush