Halloween Pumpkins

Halloween Pumpkins

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because I get to carve a pumpkin. I absolutely love carving pumpkins. Looking at it from abroad it must seem like a strange and bizarre American pop culture thing to do. Pumpkins here are used primarily for making soup this time of year. The pumpkins used for cooking are much different than the traditional large orange pumpkins Americans are familiar with. European pumpkins are generally shorter, greener, or even slightly brown, squash like really. But the soup from these ugly little things in always goods.

I usually spend way to much time selecting a design for my pumpkin. I get out a pad of paper, and sketch a few ideas, pick one I like, refine it a few times and then start carving. Usually by the time I am done with my sketch my wife is already done carving her pumpkin. This year was of course no exception.

I tried something a little different this year and actually carved my pumpkin on it side. Usually the orange pumpkins we know of for carving lay in the garden on their sides. So I decided to exploit the flat side as a base and carved a skull this time around. I think it turned about pretty good.

First Snow Of The Season

We had the first snow of the year last night. When I woke up this morning everything was covered. I started yesterday afternoon here in Baden and continues to snow this morning. This is the earliest I have seen snow in this region of Switzerland.

Taking Traffic Direction To A Whole New Level

Street Cadet in Action in Bremgarten

I have never seen a culture embrace traffic control the way the Swiss do. I have realized that one of the reasons for the cultural obsession seems to be a program to develop talent from a very young age. They seem to pick out their high performers and really coach them to future success.

One excellent success story is the traffic control man that I see when leaving my office each day. He seems to be in his 50s. He stands duty at a busy intersection just outside my office to assist people in crossing the busy streets. Such positions are not staffed by local police units like in the US, but rather seem to be 'outsourced' to the streets department.

The pride, and grossly over animated gestures of these patrons of the pavement pale in comparison to their counterparts in the US. I'm am thinking of my experiences when I used to commute to work in Chicago and there was a CPD (Chicago police department) officer on each corner. Not so much directing traffic but rather standing on an island in the middle of the street, sometimes blowing a whistle and mostly cussing at taxis and bike messengers.

So, While in a city of 8 million like Chicago a traffic cop might make sense, and Swiss 'traffic cop' in a town of 16,000 directing a few white collar workers crossing a street to get the bus station seems like a bit of an overkill to me as an American.

Regardless, there is a job to be done, unemployment here is low, and our local traffic control staff take their job very seriously. Even if they do appear at times to be dressed like over zealous school crossing guards.

The 25 Hour Day

The 25 Hour Gas Station

Thank God we had an extra hour to sleep last night. I needed it after a late night last night at the Kunsthaus (Art Museum) in Zurich. Last night we went to event at the Art Museum that a friend was DJ-ing at. It was an evening event call the night of illumination and had a couple of special activities for the occasion.

While I think the idea of keeping the Museum open for an evening is a good idea I thought the special events were a bit lame. In one area of the museum they turned off the main lighting and you went through the exhibits with flashlights. As a guest you literally had to point your flashlight at the painting to see what it was. It was cool for about the first 60 seconds, and after the feeling of snooping around the museum like a thief wore off it just got old.

The event lasted until midnight and we just missed the 12:06 train from mainstation so we had to wait around for another hour to catch the next train at 1:06 AM. I didn't get home and in to bed until about 1:45 so it was a late night that made Sunday even tougher.

The good thing about Sunday was that we did get an extra hour for sleep since we set the clocks back. The funny thing was during the day on Sunday we took a trip to Bremgarten for a festival and we walked past a gas station with a type-o on the sign proclaming it was open 25 hours a day (25 h). This was the only day of the year when that could even be remotely considered true so I just had to take a quick snapshot.

Schloss Hallwyl

Schloss Hallwyl

Swiss culture dictates that things must be celebrated with a fest. One needs not have a monumental reason to celebrate something. As long as you have a piece a paper and a pen, it seems you can draw up a little sign plaster it somewhere and people will come to celebrate something with you.

A few weeks back there were a series of chestnut and apple festivals. We had wanted to attend one of the chestnut festivals but most of them were in the Italian region of the country and were a little far for a day trip. Instead we opted for an apple festival at Schloss Hallwyl about an hour by train from Baden.

The festival was small, about 10 to 15 booths selling various organic produce and apple products. There was also a small outdoor cafe setup. Picnic benches if you will with several people serving various grilled items, baked goods, and one of my favorites, Aplener Macaroni (Swiss Mountain Macaroni). I found a recipe here, have not tried this one so can't recommend it but you'll at least have an idea of the ingredients. It is usually served with a side of apple sauce.

The Hallwyl Castle (Schloss) was one of the best preserved castles I have seen in Switzerland. It was really something to see and included the story book moat, and drawbridge. There is a small fee to enter the castle, 12 Francs for adults, itself but I believe you can wander through the courtyard for free. For the kids with your admission the kids can wear a knight costume.

We didn't have time to enter the castle itself but just wandered through the courtyard admiring the vendors.

About a 10 minute hike from the castle is a beatiful lake with trails around the preimeter. We spent an additonal 45 minutes walking along the lake as well. It was really a great place to spend an afternoon and take in the sights. I would highly recommend it for a weekend day trip.

Working From The Hotel

My seminar finished early this afternoon so I made the quick trip to a different hotel for the next couple of days to setup my laptop and do some work. I could have gone to the office but I needed some time alone to get budgets done.

The quick time in the hotel room was very productive and I am glad I made the choice to work from the room.

On strange event did occur though. There was something wrong with the shower so while I was here this afternoon there was some guy in the shower for about an hour and a half monkeying around with the shower. He was using some kind of crazy strong epoxy so now the entire room smells of chemicals.

I hope the fumes didn't affect my budgets, I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

I will meet a fellow participant from the seminar for dinner this evening. He is from Cypress and we were discussing the fact that he didn't leave until tomorrow. We decided it would be fun to meet for dinner. Two non-French speakers is much better than one. I think it will be a good time. I'll go and meet him in a couple of hours. In the mean time I may sneak out for some photography before hand.

Traveling for Business Again

I am traveling for business again this week. I can tell already it will be a very busy week. I had to fly out on Sunday evening for some early morning meetings in Paris.

Last night there was a problem when I arrived at the hotel. I had an e-mail confirm a reservation, but the hotel didn't have the reservation. This seems to be a trend lately. Luckily, they were able to offer a room at a hotel very close by. So dispite a few minutes of stress everything turned out well.

I had wanted to do a little sight seeting while I am here but I fear I won't have much time for that. I appears that my evenings will be consumed by business commitments. Maybe next time.

Hiking Along the Aare River

Bench along the Aare River

The leaves are absolutely spectacular this time of year in Switzerland. It is one of my favorite times of the year. I have been surprised by the weather lately. The clear blue skies on the weekends have been a pleasant blessing. I expect the winter 'cloud' that last from end of October to March to move in any day now and linger over the city for the next couple of months.

But until then it is time to enjoy the outdoors while we can. We took the train one stop to a small town called Brugg and walked from Brugg to Schinznach Bad. The hike took about an hour and a half and was a pleasant, flat trail through the woods. The trail and surrounding scenery reminded me a lot of the landscape in the forest preserves in the area where I grew up around Chicago.

There weren't too many people along the trail which was a surprise given that the weather was so great to be outdoors.

In Schinznach Bad, I looked for a couple resturants recommended by a co-worker. I found the Resturant Zum Bahnhof but I couldn't seem to find White Diamonds. Guess I'll have to check for that one next time I am there.

At War With Iranistan

So what would the world be like if John McCain died and Governer Palin took over?

http://www.palinaspresident.us/

I came across this link from a friends blog at http://www.karmic-dragonfly.com/

Eating Lunch at the Company Cafeteria

I had lunch at the company cafeteria today which reminded me of a movie from 1959 titled Lunchroom Manners. I had first heard the sound track to the move as part of a sound bite in a song by a group called Mr. Bungle. Here is the orginal movie.

The Gardner Visits

Our gardener visited this weekend to tend to our terrace. It was time for a final cleaning before the winter sets in. At least that is they way I'd like to think of it.

This past week our neighbor was cleaning her terrace. Both of our terraces share what appears to be a common gutter if you will. The gutter collects rain from both balconies and directs it to two downspouts. Of course both downspouts are on our side of the terrace.

This gutter is very similar to a house gutter except for the fact that there is a heavy metal grate over the top. And just like a gutter on a house it gets clogged with leaves. So while our neighbor was cleaning her balcony this past week a wad of wet leaves got stuck in our downspout and in her own words it was a catastrophe.

I was not her on Friday when she knocked on our door, informed my wife of the problem, and then showed herself through our apartment to inspect our decidedly atrocious balcony. After she had a closer look she informed my wife that she would be back on Saturday to show us how to clean.

So like clock work on Saturday morning around 10:00 the doorbell rang and there she was, buckets, brooms, saw, shovels, and knee high rubber boots. As I really do like my neighbor, I let her in and changed into some work clothes and we rolled up our sleeves for some work. We both started at separate ends of the balcony meeting somewhere in the middle. Of course I had not cleaned sufficient, so our neighbor had to double check, and reclean everything that I had done.

Knowing I could never quite match the proper degree of Swiss cleanliness I gave up and just stood around holding a broom, looking busy while she continued. That is when I notice her boots. The boots she was wearing looked like Grey trooper boots. On closer inspection I noticed the emblem on the side had a star and over it it said 'California Highway Patrol.' Oh, my God, my neighbor is a Ponch fan!

After two hours of work she was finished and began to pack up. I asked if she was familar with CHiPs but she had no clue what I was talking about. Either that, or my German was a bit off after two hours of heavy use.

So the balcony is clean, no more catastrophes, and we owe are beloved neighbor a raclette dinner as a thank you.

Walk in the Woods Today

This afternoon we took a walk along the river. The leaves are at their peak now and it was a nice warm afternoon. Indian summer at its best. We walked for about an hour or hour and a half to the next town on the train line and then jumped on the train for a short ride back home.

Tomorrow we are going to try to make it to some kind a apple festival that my wife spotted in a local magazine. It should be about an hour train ride. If the weather is as good as today I expect we'll have a nice time.

Not much else to write about today.

White & Nerdy - Is this the US IT Anthem?

I was reading an article on Weird Al on wired the other day and found my way to one of his newer songs posted on youtube. 'White & Nerdy' could possibly be the anthem for the US IT industry. I have many friends that fit the profile as described by Weird Al.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbVtbc_XzrI

The lyrics are amazing but you have to listen a couple of times to really get all the nuances.

My favorite line in the rap parody, 'My favorite MC is Escher.'

US Bailout - At Least My Money Is Safe

I was reading about the some of the items that were included in the recent US bailout legislation. One item that caught my eye was the increase in the FDIC insurance limit. Instead of the previous insured limit of 100,000 USD, now bank accounts are insured up to 250,000 USD. For those not familiar with the system this means that if your bank should fail, and it is FDIC insured, then the FDIC guarantees your deposits up to their limit. Most banks are FDIC insured.

Knowing the spending habits of Americans and the fact that they love credit cards I wonder how many Americans this change will actually effect. I read a recent New York Times article that said only 1% to 2% of Americans have more than 100,000 USD in the bank.

I do have to give the US the upper hand compared to the Swiss banking system on this topic. For all the hype about the Swiss banking system I think it does not live up to the expectation. One good example is the deposit insurance limit. Where the US is now 250,000 USD, the Swiss system only gaurantees 30,000 CHF (26,000 USD).

Grapes Are Ready

Grapes Just Before Picking

This past Sunday we took a 2 hour stroll through the vineyards not far from our apartment. It is getting colder, but the day was sunny so it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. There were a lot of people out, walking the paths, just enjoying the day. The calm afternoon gave me a bit of time to reflect on the past week, and what came to my mind was a lunch I had with a colleague that just moved here from the US.

We had been e-mailing for several months before his move and I was sharing some thoughts and ideas with him to help answer some of his questions and prepare him for the big move. This week, I finally had a chance to meet him for lunch after he had been here for about 2 weeks.

What was so interesting about the lunch was listening to him talk about all the things that frustrated him or annoyed him about the culture. Things like all the rules, the fact that there are no ceiling lights in apartments when you move in, the fact that the housing market is a difficult thing to manage if you don't have connections, that fact that something that used to cost 2 dollars in the US, now costs 6 or 7 dollars because you are in Switzerland.

I heard a little bit of myself in those comments. Some of the same things I blogged about when I first got here. And to some degree it makes sense. Another American, with the same cultural background, complaining about the same things. And the cycle repeats.

Those same things, that used to drive me nuts now don't bother me. I have just become accustomed to them. At one point, I almost wanted to stop my colleague to tell him he shouldn't complain, that is how it is. But I thought to myself, no, that is part of the adjustment. Talking about and learning to accept the differences. That is the key to adapting to the culture and it just takes a bit of time.

The Fatty Melt - Why I Love America

A burger with Two Grilled Cheese Sandwiches as a Bun

Not sure how I cam across this one, but it is one of the reason I love America, at the same time it is the reason Americans are so overweight. What genius would have thought of combining three lunch meals into 1. Two grilled cheese sandwiches and a hamburger. Now that sounds good.

Check out A Hamburger Today blog for more Hamburger (and heart attack) favorites.

Monet's Garden at Giverny

Water Garden at Giverny

After a long week in Paris for business I had decided to stay the weekend to play a bit of a tourist. Since I have spent a good amount of time in the City center with my wife, she decided that she wanted to take a day trip to Giverny. Giverny is a small town in the country that can be reached by a 45 minute train ride followed by either a short bus trip, or a 3 km bike ride. It is the home to Claude Monet's Garden, most notably his water garden.

I suprised by the size of the gardens. I was also surprised at the fact that much of the garden was still in bloom this late in the season. I had orginally thought it would not be a good time to visit but I was wrong.

The house and accomanying gardens were so large it left me thinking how on earth could an artist aford such a place. After a little reading I learned that he orgininally just rented the place and later purchased the house and gardens after he had become famous and was successful in selling his work.

In later September there were a lot of visitors and a tour bus or two, but I have to believe it was less of a crowd than you might see in peak season. At this time of year the main gardens by the house are still full of color, but the water gardens are not in bloom. The color there was a bit dull, but it was still a beautiful sight to see and I could really imagine how an artist could be so inspired by such a garden in peak season.

As a side trip from Paris I would recommend the trip if you have a day to spend. Transportation to and from Giverny was easy, and there were plenty of things to wander around and enjoy. If you are the type that likes little shops and touristy places Giverny might not be the spot for you. Aside from the Gardens there are only a few other little gift shops, and mostly small hotels and resturants where you can find a nice outdoor table to enjoy a meal and a view of the French countryside. If you enjoy to take a stroll and just take in the scenery it is a perfect place.

My Vote Is Cast For President

This week we received our ballots for the US Presidential election. It was the first time I ever received a ballot in an e-mail. Convenient but also a bit of a farce.

The instructions were strange. After printing you have three documents, an instruction sheet, a ballot, and a piece of paper that has a decree about the authenticity of the vote. You fill in the ballot, and then 'wrap' the other piece of paper around your ballot. You are to sign the outside wrapper and tape it closed for 'security' reasons. According to the instructions if your ballot is not sealed inside the pathetic self made envelop you vote won't be counted. Then you place this whole hodgepodge into another envelope for mailing.

I would like to see the overseas voters be allowed to vote via the internet, but I fear that such a dream is still light years away. As I was one of the first generations to grow up with computers I figure we'll be voting over the internet when my generation has the political clout in Washington. And that is probably 15-20 years away.

For now my ballot is on its way, no time to change it now. For the rest of you out there if you are overseas make sure to get your ballot in the mail soon. Ballots have to be received by 4th November. For those back at home make an effort to get to the polls. This election is important and there is no excuse not to vote if you are a registered voter.

F11 to restore Your Dell PC

After combing the web for the last couple of days looking for a solution to my ailing PC problems I found a solution. And so far it seems to be working. Until a few days ago I was not aware that newer PC's often times have what is called a 'hidden partition' or 'restore partition' that contains information that can be used to fully restore your PC to the same state as when you purchased it. Here is a link to the dell site on the topic.

After a little reading, and a lot of moving of my data to external hard drives I restarted my Dell and tried the little Control + F11 trick that was recommended. The computer immediately began to rebuild itself, and in about an hour I had a fresh, brand new PC, the same as it was when I bought it.

It has been running well over night, no crashes, and now I am in the process of reinstalling all the software that I lost. It will take a lot of time to get things back the way I like them, but I will survive.

Best of all, it saves me from having to deal with the issue of trying to find a PC with an English language operating system. Which after some research really wouldn't have been too difficult.

I did take a look at the Dell Switzerland website to price a couple of PCs. The only downside to the site was that my only language choices were German and French. I went through the customization process and was able to select a English Operating System, so if I was really in a jam I would have been fine. I also then logged into the US dell site to compare prices. They weren't as far off as I had thought. While I would have paid 1200 USD for the PC in Switzerland, I would have paid about 1100 USD from the US dell site.

At one point I was even considering buying a PC in the US, having it shipped to a friend that will be moving here shortly, and then having him bring it over with his things in his move. But, my little investigation proves something that people have already been telling me. Electronics in general are not too far off the American prices in Switzerland.

So to all those Mac lovers out there, my PC is just as easy to fix as your Mac, I just have to remember Crtl + F11.