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I remember, back in 1997 when I was still living in Germany and planning a trip to the UK, that the exchange rate from the “Deutsche Mark (DM)” to the “Great British Pound (GBP)” was 3:1.
So 1 Mark bought me 30 pence!
And, I remember that when the price for a “normal” roll went up to 32 Pfennings, e.g. 10 pence, my parents were devastated. That was very expensive for a roll.
scary roll
Now, for the last few days when I buy rolls it crosses my mind that the rolls here are about the same “number”, e.g. 32-39 pence which makes it about 100 pence, a price increase of round about 300%.
Unfortunately, the Euro now is so strong that for argument sake 39 pence are about 49 Euro cent. If we assume that the Euro was 1:2 to the DM we are back to 1 DM for a roll these days.
Not sure how the inflation developed in the last 10 years. If we assume about 4% on average over 10 years, we would end up with (if I did it right) about 51 Pfennings for a role, e.g. 25 cents or about 28-19 pence.
This still means a price increase of 100%, e.g. I pay double the price for a roll in the UK than I pay in Germany. Of course I do not know how much you pay for a “Broetchen” these days in Germany - please advise and comment! The only reference I found is a year old, 25 cents, locally even 15 cents! That sounds about right.
I am looking forward to some comments on “how much should a roll cost” and “why are rolls more expensive in the UK than in German”? Any other experience of roll prices?
For all economists out there and those who are interested in CPI etc., see Wikipedia for details.
Enjoy your lunch 
I just need to let you know: the bible of DIY arrived today.
Finally!
No more drilling into electric cables, no more messing about when doing anything in the house. Watch me being “Volk the builder” and turning a “house into a home”
This book comes highly recommended!
Collins DIY
My wife and I got the Alan Titchmarsh Book about Gardening. It is very good. So when we woke up this morning after a lovely BBQ with friends, I said “why don’t we go to the gym”. But, she preferred to go into the garden.
And, as I am, I want to do it properly. So step one, we drew up what we needed to dig up:
drawing up a garden
To my surprise things went quicker than expected. So soon, the garden looked like this - please ignore me in the background:
- getting the soil ready
The sign was a present to me, so in case anyone is wondering where it is coming from, I believe whoever gave it to me (and I do not remember who that was) bought it from the city council in Germany. That was over 10 years ago though.
So, instead of the gym, I got a great work out in the garden with much better results, don’t you think?
the plants: lavender, hydrange and a sunflower
the wine and herbs
Have a good sunday.
Volker
Is it only me or…..
I love Saturday mornings. What did I do today? I woke up at 8ish with a tired head. Nice Bordeaux and Cheese Fondue made me very sleepy last night. I got up, showered and first thing: the post office. Aren’t those the pleasures of life where you have to pick up parcels because you weren’t at home during the week and opening hours are during your work time.
Then I got the FT, haven’t read it for a while but wanted to get back into the habit, really enjoying it. Off for a massage, shopping in a far too full supermarket, doing the laundry, tidying the house and - oups - it is almost 3 pm.
What does that mean? Lunch, a quick tidy, some friends for a BBQ and before I know it, it’s Sunday.
So what do I make of weekends these days? To be honest. Our weekends are planned until late September, therefore, I cannot wait until I am there (in September) to have each and every weekend off! Hurray.
When I decide to not invite friends for a weekend or two (sorry guys) and enjoy myself, the house and a weekend off. Times will come.
Anyhow, to make this entry not too boring, I should refresh it with some thoughts on …. wine of course.
The 2005 Cab Sav from California is apparently very good. No surprise I visited (online that is) one of my favourite wine suppliers again…www.kj.com and joined their mailing list. Better keep up to date with the developments.
Kendall Jackson is also using Online PR quite effectively, being featured on YouTub; learn more about combining wine and food here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRMSIPIt-4o
Hello All,
As it is Friday afternoon and we are looking on how to improve our forum on PPC ManagementTherefore, we would encourage you to help us identifying any search engines we have missed out so far and you would like us to add to the forum and our list.
Anything else you like to ask/find out about PPC, join us in our forum today!
If you have already registered, here is the direct link.
Thanks in advance for your time and have a good weekend.
Volker
I am once again on my way from York to London on the train. The Internet connection is slow. I believe it is double the modem speed we were used to a few years ago, but nowadays we are much more used to a short download/loading time.
It was another day of meetings in our head office in York, the World Language Hub. It was a good day, good news, good decisions and a well worthwhile day. I am not sure if my boss reads this blog, I believe a few colleagues do now and then, but I have to say….if (and of course only if) things develop the way they should, then my choice to join this industry was right.
Whilst I have been working in the industry for over 2 years now, being on the other side (e.g. I moved from the exihibition business to the service provider side) was definitely the right one. So, it is good to sit here today and have my “evening thoughts” and think “I am happy, right choice”. And I am happy!
Maybe I am hard to please, therefore moan a lot, e.g. about the weather, my job, life etc, but deep down, I am very happy with what I have. You, who have followed this blog, it has come a long way to almost a diary with very personal views.
My Buddhist approach to life, see www.balamadana.com, with its blog, paired with my constant drive to improve my work, life and work life and its work life balance, has come a long way too. I trust in myself and my mentors that in a few years time I am going to refer back to this blog entry and say, “these are the days when I just started being who I set out to become”.
If it ever comes true, we shall see.
Enjoy your night, I try to reach out to you whereever you are.
Love and Kindness,
Volker
Ein Sauwetter (pig’s weather) - that is what we would say in Germany. After spending a few days speaking German it is weird to come back and speak 100% English/Scottish 
I was wondering about the weather (as I do) and why it is raining and cold in August in London. When I was a wee boy, I was running around in shorts and T-Shirts from early age and early on in the year. May until early September would be a good summer, sunshine, some rainy days but this year…..
There was a time in June, maybe a few days in July that were amazing hot. And the time in Spain of course. But sitting in the office today, just made it in without getting rained upon, changing from rain to sunshine to rain every hour is just not healthy. It is not autumn yet, although it surely feels like it. Makes me tired too.
Ok, I stop complaining. I did choose to live in the UK but believe that other cities/countries in Europe are not far off. Maybe it is global warming after all?
Maybe not. Maybe it is just normal that every few hundred years we are having a warmer period which results in more flooding, more rain, more bad weather and more moaning
Have a good day.
Volker
PS: for those of you who prefer to spend the rest of the day cuddled up in a blanket in front of the TV with a hot chocolate, maybe this video entertains you for a while:
What would a German garden be without a garden gnome.
Even neighbour’s cat Wilson likes his company.
Garden Gnome and Wilson
You won’t believe this video I found about Twitter at Techcrunch.com.
It is not meant offensive at all, but knowing and understanding German, the German history and then watching this video with those superb sub-titles makes me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh too!
Enjoy your Monday!
Hello All,
What a successful Sunday.
We went off to the Surrey country side to visit the Denbies vineyard. I wrote about the visit to a Kentish vineyard earlier this year. I find it amazing to find good white and rose wines in England and also nice sparkling wines. Denbies is the biggest vineyard in England and is a lovely site.
The restaurant offers a great view over the vineyard and great food too. Overall, definitely worth a Sunday afternoon. If the weather is nice, you can walk over 10 miles around the estate if you would like to.
As a result of our visit, we decided to grow our own wines. We got some planks, a “growing wall” and two wine plants. The results can be seen here:
Vineyard at Ballueder's
Please note the happy wife in the background
Well, I guess it is back to work tomorrow. Have a good one,
Volker
I wanted to add some more restaurant reviews.
This one is for Mello, a restaurant in Beckenham.
We went there last night, four of us, and I have to say, this award winning place is amazing. The interior is not as posh as you would expect it to be. Too much pink for my liking with some nice warm coloured pictures/decoration to brighten it up. The setting is great with crystal glasses.
The service is friendly and attentive as well as knowledgeable about the wine. Since the four of us could not decide which wine to choose, we just got 2 bottles, 2 for 2.
The Chianti Classico was medium dry (as suggested) and less typical of a Chianti Classico. The Echeverria Merlot was just perfect for a Chilean Merlot; I am quite curious to try the Echeverria Cabernet Sauvignon which I bought in Harrods yesterday. Harrods has a fabulous wine selection, however, for my liking, too much on the Bordeaux/French side of things.
So much about the wine. The pre-starter was a mushroom soup, homemade of course, and absolutely delicious, very creamy.
As chosen starters we had:
- Poached pear & blue cheese salad with rocket leaves & walnut dressing
- Pressed chicken & foie gras terrine with crushed apple & toasted brioche
- Shiitake mushroom & broad beans salad with pan fried quail egg & mushroom dressing
- Tian of Cornish crab, Morecambe bay shrimp with sweet pepper puree, crushed avocado & toasted rye bread
Main courses consisted of:
- Assiette of pork with creamed cabbage, apple puree, prune & Calvados jus
- Pan roast fillet of English beef with creamed spinach, potato rosti & oxtail croquettes
- Pan roast rump of lamb with braised Puy lentils, caramelized onion wild mushroom, aubergine caviar & red wine jus
Absolutely great. The oxtail croquettes were special, something I have never tried before. Then, the lamb was a little bit stringy, so not as tender as suggested. However, the beef and pork were amazing. Nothing to compare it to and nothing else to say but absolutely stunning!
So, overall, an amazing place to take people, to go yourself and treat yourself.
Mello also offers gourmet nights, something surely worthwhile doing.
Average price I would suggest around £50 per person including wine.
Enjoy and let me know if you liked it.
Just to let you know that the spain pictures are online at Picasa.
I am busy this weekend, having my parents for a visit. So here are my favourite pictures from the album:
a) I liked the little old towns in Spain, like Segovia, with the little roads. Cannot think of the German word for “Gasse” but I am sure you see what I mean - Google translates it as “Gasse”
b) Salamanca has one of the most famous (so was I told) squares. The plazas in Spain are great. They offer the opportunity for everyone to come together after the heat at night and have a few vinos and some nice food.
c) Astorga has a nice cathedral/church designed by Gaudi. Gaudi is very famous for his cathedral in Barcelona. Here is a link to Wikipedia from where you find more links if you are interested.
d) There were 3 Angels outside the Gaudi church in Astorga. I really liked their image.
e) Along our way we passed a village called Castrillo de los Polvazares which has been left in its original state. I found a video online from a group called Areaturistica. Information on Wikipedia seem to be only available in Spanish. There is a fantastic shot on Flickr. Amazing!
So anyone who can contribute some content to this in English, please comment!
I believe I read a sign on the roadside saying it either is or will be a World Heritage Site soon. However, looking at the Unesco Website I could only find the following sites that are named world heritage along our way:
- old town of Segovia
- Santiago de Compostela
- old city of Salamanca
- Route of Santiago de Compostela - this might actually include Catrillo de los Polvazares although it is not named in the actual locations. There is a nice video to watch about the pilgrim’s path too.
f) Now, last but not least, a picture of myself I admit the shorts just don’t go with the top but I did not wear that out like it was anyway…., or did I?
Have a great weekend!
Volker
I know, whilst my wife usually handles all the picture uploads….I am sitting at home on holidays, finished my tax return and thought to myself “why not upload a preview of some of our Spain holiday pictures?” - so here we go, more to be seen soon on Picasa.
Also, you find one more picture on our website.
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- Volker on a 70ies dress up
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- aquaduct in Segovia
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- Ballueder after a long day
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- German feelings - a closed Plus in Spain
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- Plaza in Salamanca
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- frog on skull in Salamanca
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- Spanish landscape
As a proud owner of vinyls and a Sony Turntable I was searching for a brush for vinyls yesterday.
The best place (value for money) and with most accessories available for vinyl fans was “Hard to Find Records“.
vinyl brush
Above is the brush for only £5.95 surely a bargain compared to other brushes. It should arrive before the weekend. Btw, most of the music I like on vinyls are either Reinhard Mey from the 70ies or other classical music, e.g. the Pastorale from Beethoven, see link below.
Now, I wanted to keep you updated on the pedometer successes.
After one week the following results are shown:
Wednesday last week on a trip around an old town in Spain: 15,770 steps.
Thursday last week, another trip around a town in Spain: 13,956 steps.
Friday last week, another trip around a town and the first night of the fiesta: 12,582 steps.
Saturday, 12,243 and Sunday only 8,896 steps - maybe too long of a siesta
It picked up again the next day and even yesterday where I mostly travelled on the plane, I got over 10,000 steps, which is the goal.
Not sure if I keep it up but I believe in London it should not be a problem. The pedometer really is addictive, you look at it, it encourages you to reach the 10,000 steps a day and you feel good about it. Now, all I have to change is eating too much, e.g. 10,000 steps do not burn 10,000 calories
I keep you posted.
Volker
I was thinking of trying out Twitter some day. Not sure.
However, this blog post on Search Engine People blog says it all, doesn’t it?
Volker
Yes, I have been away. Whilst probably not too many people noticed it, I have been to Spain for almost a week. I wrote some blog entries in advance so you ain’t getting bored.
Let me start with Spain.
We flew down with Easyjet to Madrid, hired a car from Hertz (sorry, really recommend Hertz) and drove up to a place called A Coruna from where we flew back last night. Clickair does a fantastic low cost flight from there to Heathrow.
From Madrid we drove up to Segovia, a lovely little town with an amazing aquaduct with a lovely little succulent pig to eat. Nice Rioja wine and a high food bill. Our hotel/hostel, chosen by a good Spanish friend, was decent and good enough for a night. We had a lovely evening in the old city and from there started early morning to Astorga, our 2nd stop.
So, leaving the town of Segovia around 11 in the morning with a slightly heavy head, we drove to Salamanca where, besides a nice cathedral, you can find a frog on a skull at the old university building. Very interesting.
From there we drove north to Astorga and slept in a nice little motel. That place also offered nice steak and Jen ordered “half a cow“, famously a steak the size of the rip of a veal (or whale, I do not remember ). Wow, very lovely, but since we speak little to no Spanish it was difficult to explain we wanted to have it “well done”. However, well done for my wife to finish most of the cow! Here is a picture I found on Flickr which shows about the size of the steak!
The next day we took some back roads with lovely curves from Astorga to Ponferrada and then back on the motorway to A Coruna where we stayed the next 4 days. We had 4 days of fiesta, the big summer fiesta, with our friends and family who live down there and also came over from Scotland. That was absolutely fabulous. Even if I do not clearly remember how I got down the hill one of the nights, but och well, the fiesta was amazing.
So thanks to everyone in A Coruna for our lovely time. Spain is a friendly place with friendly people and great landscapes. Just far too hot for a German. And, too many mosquitos.
Surely we will put some pictures on Picasa soon.
Here is a map of our way: map of Spain trip on Google Maps.
Now, I wanted to write about the summer and my remaining week off. I do that later I guess.
Speak soon,
Volker
Hello,
Since I am writing a blog and I need to write about something and want to write about me, my family and my life, it is worthwhile for me to mention the following today, my granddad would have been 100 years old today!
All his life he wanted to achieve to turn 100 but unfortunately he passed away a few years ago.
My memories are with him today, his wife Charlotte and all my family members who have never reached the age they wanted. And, of course with everyone in my family who has moved on to a better life.
Just recently I wrote on my other blog about losing a loved one. Nothing is as certain when you are born than to actually move on one day. When you might have fulfilled your purpose. Maybe when “a god” decides the time is right.
Also, I heard this poem last month at a funeral. I liked it so much, I think it is worthwhile being mentioned here:
Miss Me, But Let Me Go
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free!
Miss me a little, but not for long,
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love we once shared,
Miss me, but let me go!
For this a journey we all must take,
And each must go alone;
It's all a part of the master's plan
A step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick of heart
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds,
Miss me, but let me go.
Robyn Rancman
Have a peaceful day.
Love and Kindness
Volker
Hello,
My office mate recommended me this free and easy to understand SEO book. It is easy to understand, so far anyway. I started reading it but due to my time commitment, I do not read as much as I would like. Also, I am still reading about time management, maybe in order to read more books in the future.
So, highly recommended by someone who really knows SEO!
And, for everyone interested in multilingual SEO and international Search, visit the Multilingual Search Forum!
Enjoy.
Volker
Thought I wanted to write about my USB gadgets for quite some time. Now, Friday afternoon, I want to mention my USB Gadget I got a while back.
As a fan of air fresheners, aroma therapy and any kind of incense, I got myself an USB stick looking device in which you can fill your aroma therapy oil. It looks like a cotton bud end on the USB stick that gets heated through the current out of the USB connection from underneath and results in the aroma oil getting diffused. Clever idea but not really working for me. Not intense enough and not really getting the effect of being relaxed at work with it
So, definitely a bad-buy!
Have a good weekend.
Volker
- USB Aromatherapy
For those of you who do not know yet, I am actually a chess player.
When I was 5 my granddad taught me how to play and when I was 10 or 12 I got 3rd place in the regional championships. That was the time I beat my granddad in chess and he did not like to play with me anymore. I believe he must have been way in his 80ies by then.
Anyhow, interesting article on chess here in the Psychology Today. So it has nothing to do with logic if you are a good chess player?
Since chess is very time intensive, I started playing online chess at the IECC. I have been a member for good 5 or 6 years now and every time I get back to my initial ranking of 1000, I drop rapidly again. Maybe I am just too logic about it?
This post is related to a few different topics.
First things first. Like so many out there it is time for me to shed some weight after I initially lost a few kilos prior to my wedding. See post last year.
We now have this excellent book about weight loss, the weight loss bible which we ordered at Amazon UK.
Reading this book I needed to get a pedometer. Really, I am obsessed to make my 10,000 steps a day. To do that, supposedly, is as good as moderate exercise. No more gym, just walking, up the escalators of the tube, down the stairs, around the park, up the stairs in the office, no more lifts…
So, before I thought which one to buy, I found one at Google….actually, Matt Cutt was blogging about an Omron Pedometer that comes with a software! Wow, I thought. If the guys from Google use it, then I should have one (no, I am not obsessed with Matt’s blog but like reading about his gadgets!).
A quick look to Amazon UK gave me this result. None available with Software. Never mind, I thought, why not order it from Germany? Amazon Germany gives you this result. No way to spend almost double than what Matt spent. So, why not order it at Amazon US? Even if it takes a week, with the Dollar being that weak, or the pound that strong, why not save some money and learn patience. But, they would not ship it outside the US.
At the end I went for the smaller version, without the software. It will be fine for a while. If I like it and make my 10,000 steps every day and need the software, I am sure I could get it at eBay - there was one last week
Summary: Amazon sells a product in the US that they would not ship to the UK but they do sell it in Germany. Odd? I just do not understand that. But, I am happy with it and made my first steps.
Why? Easy enough. Royal Mail seemed to have been too lazy to find our company on the digital company registry at our office this morning. I was in from 8 am awaiting my pedometer but no sign of it at 11. So, I went down to the receptionist who found a note saying “we could not deliver, you were out, dated 8:35″. No way, I said. Need to have my pedometer (I was almost crying, running up the stairs but did not count them).
After a few minutes on the phone to Royal Mail I made my way over to their post office by bus and walked the 2 miles back. Brilliant exercise for a lunch break and my first 2,500 steps. Only 7,500 more to go. And that was only half a day.
Final summary: If I keep on walking, missing mail and use my lunch breaks, 10,000 steps should be easy enough done.
I keep you posted, after I had my glass of wine, celebrating my pedometer (so I do not lose my weight too quickly).
Have a good night,
Volker
At the SMX Show in Munich, reluctantly of course, I gathered one of those toys from Google. A USB powered man who is now sitting in front or in between my plant at work. Just in front of the WebCertain sign which I need to screw onto the door. Now I have another office mate, I call him Mr. G
Mr. G
Years ago you would have said that Google would be a new search engine.
Nowadays, you say that Cuil might be the new Google. See article here.
Danny Sullivan has reported on it on Search Engine Land, and the BBC thought it was worthwhile mentioning it too. So, of course, I have to mention it also.
Without going into technical details, but understanding that search engines are used because of the relevancy of the results and not because of the amount of pages indexed, it is interesting to search for myself.
Searching for “Volker Ballueder” returns no picture of myself but one of my wife and one of an unknown woman. Random, not even latest articles are displayed with no indication why. E.g. is it the rank of the site, the amount of hits? Even Exalead seems to return better results in the UK.
Cuil writes what they think matters in their About Us Page. It sounds interesting, and maybe, yes maybe we are close to getting competition to Google.
Lets wait and see.
Volker
Yes, before I go back to work, I need to raise a question.
I bought a pack of KP “Baked & Seasoned large peanuts”, sea salt & black pepper flavoured. Not too nice but nice enough for a hot afternoon in the office.
For years I noticed one thing about peanuts packs. If you hold the bag the right way around, e.g. that you can see the writing, then they pinpoint you to the upper right corner to open the pack. But, I never manage.
If I turn it upside down and try the upper left corner, e.g. diagonal across, I never had any problems opening a pack. Ergo, from my experience, I would say when they produce peanuts packs they must put them in upside down and back to front before a machine creates the opening, or the little cut that helps you opening it.
My question now: Why? What is your experience?
Now, today on my lunch break I managed to catch the sheep I was smelling the other day.
Proof that a) I was not lying and b) that it was not a goat. I think at least it is a sheep.
Sheep in London
Finally, we managed to put some pictures of our house online.
My most favourite one is this:
Hello,
I need to update you on the latest developments.
Friday night we had a great Thai Style BBQ with good friends. Carrying on until late at night we had lovely Chicken Satay and Fish (Sea Bass and Trout) nicely flavoured with Thai spices. Afterwards we enjoyed some nice Highland Single Malts.
Our whole weekend was under the theme - and still is - of “living with nice food” so we took off to London Borough Market. They have their own website too. My brother used to live in London and pointed me to the market for the white aspargus. One of the few places in London/Britain you can buy white asparagus. Quite dear but worthwhile. It happens quite a lot that you actually sit in the tube and someone comes up to you, seeing the white asparagus through the clear poly bag, and says “Hallo, na, auch wegen dem weissen Spargel auf dem London Borough Market gewesen.” - Yes, typically German (translates into “you have been to London Borough Market for the white asparagus too”). There is where you meet Germans!
Yesterday we went to LBM and got some olives, nice focaccia bread, some spread for it, nice cheese, some prawns and sat down last night to eat that with a nice bottle of Kendall Jackson VINTNERS RESERVE Zinfandel. An evening could not be much better, finishing it off with some Balblair Highland Single Malt we got at the Whisky Exchange at the London Borough Market. It is one of the few if not the only shop where people sell a lot of whiskies and have the knowledge to advise you. And, it is much easier adding to your collection than flying up North. The last few times we were up in Scotland the distillieries we wanted to visit were shut.
To finalise my weekend and my London recommendation. We went for lunch to a restaurant we have not been for a while. I thought it was Maroccan but actually it is a Turkish restaurant. Again, more of a tourist trap but close to the South Bank it is a nice place to have some meze and nice oriental food. Walking down the River and then across to Westminster is a treat. Still, as mentioned before, it makes me love London so much! I by now can imagine living in our wee house for a good whiley and enjoying and discovering London more and more.
Oups, my wife just made me breakfast. nice Orkney cheese, so I better go. I added a map so you can see how we walked….a worthwhile walk in London. Unfortunately it is not as accurate as I was hoping. But maybe it gives you an idea.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Volker
I tried uploading this last night from my blackberry. But unfortunately “the machine” has some problems. Need to look into that.
Here is our garden, freshly cut grass with stripes. And some “road kill”, neighbour’s cat’s toy
freshly cut grass - I hope you can see the stripes
left overs from Wilson (neighbours' cat)
Hello,
Today on my way to Waitrose I smelled some “pee” - hmm, I thought that is not really right. Sure, you are in the middle of London on your lunch break to get a nice salad and sit in the sun (I wish) and then you smell this odour…
So, a la Sherlock Holmes (other side of London) I investigated and notices something that looks like pigs or goats. Did not get a proper shot of them so decided to google it (no, it is not optimised for “pigs London WC1″ but the park around the corner is online: Coram’s Field.
The website does not only explain the smell but also what good London does for its citizens. All I can say to is: Back Boris - and become his fan on Facebook !
Have a good day.
I could not find a software for the blackberry where I can write blog content offline, edit it and then upload it - anyone any ideas/suggestions?
This is a test: writing online through the t-mobile web browser on my Blackberry Curve.
Shall see how that goes.
Good night, am almost home!
No, do not worry A. - I am not about to leave my great job with you.
Matt Cutts wrote in his blog about a site he recommended reading where you find lots of ideas of start-ups. Definitely worthwhile reading.
Maybe no. 5 would be good for me? Just kidding!
5. Enterprise software 2.0. Enterprise software companies sell bad software for huge amounts of money. They get away with it for a variety of reasons that link together to form a sort of protective wall. But the software world is changing. I suspect that if you study different parts of the enterprise software business (not just what the software does, but more importantly, how it’s sold) you’ll find parts that could be picked off by startups.
One way to start is to make things for smaller companies, because they can’t afford the overpriced stuff made for big ones. They’re also easier to sell to.
Enjoy your day!
Dieses ist mehr fuer die deutsche Fraktion - for the Germans mainly.
My confession: Since I was about 10 years old I copied tapes from my auntie or bought cassettes (if anyone remembers what they look like) or nowadays I transfer my CDs to MP3 for my phone. Yes, I still do not have an ipod and I am not sure if my phone just does the same job for me.
Reinhard Mey is a German “Liedermacher” - text writer, chansonist, folklore musician? Not sure if you can or would like to translate it. His songs, mey favourite ones are from the 70ies and 80ies, covering everyday life and life like it used to be in the good old days. Songs like “Musik von Hand gemacht” / “music made by hand” - meaning not using electronical guitars and any additional help, are showing that sometimes the good old fashioned way of making music and relating back to the basics are the way forward.
Not many people understand that for me, listening to Reinhard Mey, makes me feel relaxed and taken to another world of my own. A world where I can think of the good old times, no stress, no blackberry, no tube, no overcrowding.
My love goes that far that I bought my most favourite albums on Vinyl, getting the right feel for the music.
You might think I am mad, and maybe I am, but, even Volker is a fan of something - passion for Ballueder
Have a good day.
Hello,
I liked the header at Lesley’s blog and copied the idea. Sorry
What you think?
Scary, aye?
Have a good day!
Volker
Even if I do not have an i-phone yet….
The coolest application I have seen so far is the ibeer
Cheers!
Allen, author from “Getting things done” ( see earlier post) mentions in his book that things clutter your mind, your “RAM” so to speak. E.g. if you start thinking about things and the thoughts clutter your mind, you cannot focus on the task you are aiming to do.
Therefore, he suggests to get it out off your head. I said that a few years ago (when I was in primary school): every night when I could not sleep and all sort of thoughts kept me awake, I got a pen and paper and placed it next to my bed. I wrote on it all kind of things that went through my head. If I woke up at 4 am and had a thought, that is where it went. I decluttered my brain, my RAM.
And, it helps to do that in your daily work life. You write your ACTIONS down, not your thoughts. Your actions have to form some kind of to-do list that you then can transform into “products” or “results”. Or, have 2 lists, one for Actions and one for random thoughts - depends on the industry.
I keep you posted.
Have a lovely day, sunny here in London.
Volker
Tonight, after a very successful day at work, we did some DIY - then again we did not.
My wife got curtains and our living room really looks stunning now. However, we wanted to get some pictures on the wall but after my experience of drilling through a cable, I will get myself a wire detector. I believe that 21 pounds will be well spent and I can use my DIY skills without worrying about getting an electric shock or getting someone to fix things.
We will shortly post more pictures on www.ballueder.co.uk where we have links to pictures, profiles and everything concerning our life. Very cheesy text I admit.
Have a good night, speak tomorrow.
Volker
What I love about coming home?
You unpack your stuff, you open the windows, you get a cosy jumper and sit on the patio in your garden.
What you need:
- Kettle Chips Red Thai Curry Flavour
- a nice candle (Thanks Bev)
- Alamos Malbec from Argentina (Majestics really optimised their PPC campaign, well done)
- Broadband and a laptop (need to get the router closer to the patio!)
And the ability to chill out.
You know when I mentioned that I go to a particular place everytime I am fed up with London. Everytime I think about the mortgage, the credit crunch and what happens - I enjoy myself in and around our home.
Just this weekend made me think there are certain things I need to change - healthier living, better food, better work life balance. But, there are certain things I do not want to change - enjoy a glass of wine with a nice cigar, Moods Filter.
I think enjoying life will become more and more important for me over the next few years. And, I believe that the time I have to do that is less every year due to work commitment.
We shall see. I will keep you posted and log off for a chilled out evening.
Volker
I keep saying that for months….I wanted to write something about my most favourite places in London.
First of all, I have been living in London for almost 4 years, a little bit outside, about 20 minutes to Victoria on the train. After the first few months London got to me and I thought of leaving this city. I mentioned before that this feeling went and then I started loving London. With my most favourite place being around 6 pm (depending on the season), just when the sun disappears (can you tell it was autumn), I like to sit in the little hexagonal shaped pub diagonal across from St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. A good pint with a good friend and I forget all my sorrows.
Anyhow, today I want to speak about Sushi in London. There are many places, like the chains of Wasabi, Itsu, Yo Sushi - but there is one little place in Soho N. introduced me to a few years back:
The best bit is downstairs where you sit on the floor with your legs going “into the floor”. Imagine a low table, about 3-5 inches off the ground and you sit on the floor/cushion and put your legs in a hole underneath the table. Their “all you can eat” plate with 8 different choices of Asian food (chicken, prawns, spring rolls, mushrooms) and their huge plate with sushi that you can re-order until you cannot eat no more. It is just fabulous! Not too expensive, depending on how much wine you drink. Normally for 2 people you get enough food not having to re-order.
My other favourite Sushi place in London is “Moshi Moshi Sushi” - the restaurant I have been was in Liverpool Street. Again N. showed me around and we watched the trains going past below us. That is a nice little place with amazing food. The wine selection is better too. You can choose to sit on the conveyor belt or on a table, might even be considered romantic corners. Definitely a must go for any sushi lover in London. Even found some pictures on Flickr of it.
That is all about Sushi now in London. Any comments or any places I might have missed?
I notice that more and more people contact me about what I write here. So I would encourage you all to leave a comment too and of course, please link to my site.
Getting Things done is the title of a new book I started reading this week.
getting things done
I have read many management books and many time management books. cb consulting offers
sitting upright
August 20, 2008 in cb consulting, health, motivation, personal | Tags: alexander technique, back pain, comment on back pain, how do you solve your back problems | | No comments
Anyone ever heard of the Alexander technique for back pain?
Have a look and let me know what you think!