"Don't work, just sell your soul" or "terror theme park for managers"

A 24 year old british guy wanted to sell his soul on ebay [EN] in order to make money without really working for it. While reading this I really had to look in my calendar twice just to make sure that I didn't miss April 1st. Damn, it's January 30th! But this article was not enough.
The other topic that hit my eye is about the World Economic Forum in Davos. There the UNO provides a kind of special entertainment for managers: a terror theme park where the managers can get a slight feeling of being taken hostage, walking through a (simulated) mine field or living in a tent for refugees. I think it is macabre seeing those people e.g. sitting in a tent for refugees - wealthy, well-dressed and healthy people voluntarily playing refugees for some minutes. On the other side there are poor, haggard and often ill people who are really refugees. They are sitting in the same tents for weeks, months or even years with no alternative. For me that's embarrassing. And sometimes I ask myself, how crazy the world will get at all. How about you? What do you think about these news, especially the second one?

A little bit of art

Normally I am not that interested in art. Standing for hours in front of one single canvas or artefact and discussing the intention of the artist would be too much for me. And except of Keith Haring I do not know a single name of an artist; except of "le centre pompidou" I've never been to a museum of art voluntarily.
By chance, I found the Museum of Broken Relationships. This is some kind of art which is very concrete. A kind of weird museum or weird sense of art, somebody may think. But in my point of view there are simply no exhausting interpretations needed. It's all about broken relationships. Everybody (or nearly everybody) knows about that - and that's all. Don't ask me about the deeper sense of this posting. ;-) Just wanted to share with you. Opinions are always welcome!

Ein Winternachmittag auf dem Höchsten

Angestiftet durch einen Kollegen, der letzthin frühmorgens auf dem Höchsten eine geniale Winterstimmung eingefangen hat, bin ich heute dem zähen Nachmittagsnebel der Gehrenbergstadt entflohen um ein wenig Sonne zu tanken.
Trotz kurzer Anfahrt (ca. 15km) dauerte es - dank schmaler Strassen und einem kleinen Verfahrer - ein Weilchen, bis ich den dortigen Wanderparkplatz erreichte. Da man (bzw. frau) ja bekanntlich nie auslernt, folgte ich zunächst ein Weilchen dem schwäbisch-alemannischen Mundartweg. Das ein oder andere Schmunzeln konnte ich mir dort nicht verkneifen - eine Mutter lief den gleichen Wegabschnitt und las ihren beiden kleineren Kindern die jeweiligen Tafeln in breitestem Schwäbisch vor. Die Kinder fanden das so klasse, dass ihr Lachen richtig ansteckte.
Gut gelaunt beschloss ich, mich als nächstes im Aussichtspavillon so richtig durchpusten zu lassen. Von dort aus kann man den Blick über das schier unendliche Bergpanorama schweifen lassen. Leider ist dieser Punkt auch sehr exponiert, sodass man unweigerlich "vom Winde verweht" wird. Doch die Wintersonne gleich all dies mehr als aus.
Die Zeit dort oben verging wie im Fluge und eines ist sicher: trübe Wintertage nahe des Sees müssen nicht mehr sein :-). Und wer weiß, vielleicht schaffe ich es im Sommer sogar mal mit dem Rad dort hinauf. Der Radfahrer welcher heute dort an mir vorbeifuhr, er hatte jedenfalls meinen vollsten Respekt. Diesen Berg hinaufgefahren und dann noch in der Kälte des Winters. Bewundernswert!

Origami Wombat

As I really adore wombats I have to share this really cute "how to make an origami wombat" instruction with you (and don't call me crazy - I already know I am ;-)).
If there's anyone out there who tried it out - tell me. :-) I didn't because I am too impatient this noon. Had a lot of strong french pressed coffee this morning (perhaps a bit too much).

buying coffee for the french press

I'll start the new year with some funny stuff for you: the adventure of buying coffee for a french press . :o)
As a software developer I need a lot of strong coffee. So I just got a french press for christmas. As I will have a party with some friends (mostly coworkers i.e. software developers ;-)) I went to the local supermarket today in order to get the right coffee powder for the party. Easy undertaking I thought. Far from it! Most of the powdered coffee is extra fine. It is designated for a normal coffee machine with a paper filter system. So I had a closer look at the coffee shelves, saw the whole coffee beans from Tchibo - and their coffee mill. Here one can choose between fine grinded coffee or coarse crushed beans right for the french press. So far so good. I put the beans into the machine, put the bag below the whole where the coffee powder was expected to come out and read the security instructions: "don't hold the bag with your hands while the machine is running". Okay, I thought and pushed the green button. The machine started rumbling, milling and... shaking. Before I could fix the bag with my hands (ignoring the instructions) half of the powdered coffee was already on the floor and the coffee machine. And what was worst: the coarse crushed coffee looked nearly the same as fine grinded filter coffee. Thanks Tchibo! Next time I'll buy the already fine grinded organic coffee I originally wanted to buy. No mess and a clear conscience!