Hands On Trips

Unusual title, but you'll soon see the links.

First things first, a big "Happy Birthday" goes out to Jordi today, who has actually decided to celebrate it by buying some new sunglasses. Yes, he's gone off to Italy accompanied by the ever-friendly Albé (saludos a tu padre). Here's hoping he gets to taste some home-made pasta...

Yesterday, it was also the birthday of Gem (brother's fiancée), of course being a lady, I won't even attempt to mention her age :)

Someone else who's gone away is Olga. She's gone back to her homeland Colombia to soak up the sun and forget about the upcoming World Cup here in Germany.

Speaking of Colombia, one has to be careful there nowadays. As a cyclist found out when he groped a woman in the street. He is now spending the next four years in prison for his troubles.

Now, the news you have all been waiting for. There is scientific proof that a having sex increases your lifespan. The bad news - you have to be a zambian mole rat for that to be true.

The US is not well known for it's religious tolerance. However, in a supreme court ruling, a brazilian church that uses hallucinogenic tea in it's rituals has been granted permission to keep on doing so, despite the FBI previously banning it.

Another news story from that local hub of activity - Darmstadt. A local resident complained to police that the drugs he just bought from his dealer were not good quality, and wanted his money back. Of course, police decided to arrest him for possessing the drugs anyway, and even let the dealer go...

Well, for the moment it's all Helau, seeing as we're into the carnival weekend in Mainz. Yes, people dressed up in funny costumes and drunkards all over the place (and I'm not just talking about the student bars).

So wrap up warm and don't let any strangers in...

Perfectly Poured Beer and the Return of Mussolini

Not so far away from here, at the technical uni of Darmstadt (Alarm!), students have just handed in their seminar practical application. And it's interesting ! Yes, no longer do you need to spend hours trying (and failing) to pour your Hefeweizen beer into it's long glass, without creating too much head, or not getting all the yeast out of the bottle. These students have produced a machine that does it for you ! Talking about all this beer makes me thirsty, but still in pain from that wisdom tooth being taken out last monday, there's no way I'm going to be seeing one of those soon. Not like this other guy, who drank everything out of the fridge...

Whilst investigating a bit about the old Hefeweizen, I came across a site that shocked me to the core. No, not someone that doesn't like beer, much worse. Someone has published a recipe for my special beer pancakes, that I was renowned for whilst living in the Wohnheim Hechtsheim !! Now I have to go and prove that I invented them first...

Any of you unlucky in love, and think that a mobile phone ringtone can't change that? (it can, you try playing the Crazy Frog tune on it, and you'll see all the members of the opposite sex clambering to get away from you). Well, a woman has invented Pherotones - tunes that make you attractive to anyone you want. And they're pretty specific ringtones too (check out the variety), for guys and gals, so try them out (and send me the photos if they worked).

The US has decided that it was about time it's troops got to learn how to interact with the Iraqi people whilst they're spending in their country. About time too, you may say, as not all people can speak english (some might argue that most americans can't speak it either, but that's a subject for another time). Anyway, what better method to teach the soldiers than to program them a scenario game, where gestures are used, and explained why they were chosen over other more usual (and western) ones. Great! you might think, but hang on, you don't think they programmed the game from scratch do you? No, of course not, they used the engine from another game. And what game would that be? Why, the well known shoot-em-up Unreal Tournament. Makes me feel all safe inside...

And now on to Italy. Yes the land of cornettos, pizza and pasta. So what's happening there then? Well, as the election campaign gets under way, the current bun, sorry president, has decided to forge links with the Mussolini party and two other neo-fascist parties. Good to know he doesn't try to hide his ideals...
On top of that, the supreme court there has decided that the rape of a young girl (14) was less serious because she was already "sexually active". It just beggers belief.

To end on a good note, I will be offering my services (no, not those sort) of company for the 15th March and 15/16th April in Madrid, where I'll be stopping over from my next holiday to Colombia . So anybody around at that time, get in contact and I'll try to meet up for a quick (or long) beer or two or three. Oh, and the tapas :)

Mmmmm, food...

Sales and Football

No sooner is it reported that Jordi's abode is being extended, then he jumps over board and head off for the lowlands. In so doing ideas start forming in his mind...could it be that he's off to Toulouse...or is it just a diversion whilst he really concentrates his efforts in Brussels...tune in next week to find out more.

For those of you in the centre of the centre (Madrid), you might be interested to know that Air Madrid has offers on at the moment for return fares to Rome, Milan, Paris, London and Frankfurt for 27 Euros (excluding taxes). So get your skates on and go travelling (that means you too, Lou).

A Peruvian football team has been wondering recently, why sales of their shirts have gone through the roof. Could it be the lovely green color? Or their cheap price? Well, actually it's because of the name of the team: Deportiva Wanka. If you're not sure what that means, check out an english slang dictionary.

That's it for now...

The foolish man built his house upon the sand

You all know how the song goes, so join in !
Okay, don't then.

So this week has seen Jordi get busy making cups of tea (well, seeing as it's Spain, probably coffee, or a beer) for the builders who are now taking his house apart. Hopefully he still has a roof to protect him from the...sun (you thought, I was going to say rain, didn't you?).

Paolo has in the meantime gone down to Nuremberg to show off his gaming skills, but like a boomerang he'll be coming back on monday.

Mar is getting impatient and wanting to give birth now (has it got anything to do with the winter sales that are finishing in a few days?).

Now something for those of you looking to sing hallelujas in bed. Just read the article, I'll say no more.

We've all heard of those big american companies letting their list of customer's credit card numbers fall into dubious hands. However, none have been quite as stupid as the case of the Boston Globe (newspaper).
As the papers are delivered in bundles, to stop them getting wet or dirty, they are wrapped in old paper. You wouldn't guess what was printed on the other side of this rough paper, would you?...

And continuing the theme of stupidness, we have the case of a dealer who's home was robbed of a quantity of drugs. He then went and reported it to the police. The robber was arrested, but so was the dealer. Doh !

Some of you might have heard about Google's censoring in China. Did you really understand it though? Try this test, first look up Tiananmen on google.com.
And now try it on Google China. Scary.

Apart from those titbits, nothing else clambours from my mind to be mentioned, so may you have a relaxing weekend.