February 2011

February and things


Hitting February in two days time and I can already note that darkness sets in a little later. I like light! Still having snow and freezing temperatures, but spring will show its face after another six weeks or so.

I started the year with a regular pattern of things to do covering teaching, my German lessons, computer course and my Photoshop course, plus training sessions for my leg and back twice a week, walking group, concerts-opera evenings. And so the pattern continues into February.

I would like to go for a skiing holiday, but I don't want to go on my own. Ian and Birgit will not be inviting me to join them on the Piste again for they are now packing their bags and heading off to Beijing. Wonder if you can ski anywhere near that city?

Instead I decided to save my money for travelling later in the year. It will start with Hannelore and Peter in the south of France in June, then England to see family and friends and possible another US trip later in the year. Let's see what happens. It all depends on health and wealth!

So who has a birthday this month? Sven starts off with his 35th on the 1st February, followed by my oldest and closest friend, Alan who will smile into his 68th on the 3rd. Jens eases into his 41st on the 5th, Dr Pardon will smile into her 63rd on the 18th. Liebe Eleonora with hit 52 on the 22nd (don't forget this one Jan and Andrea :-)) Adrian in London with hit the same age on the 25th and Frau Reimer will still lead you all as she celebrates her 85th on the 27th of the month. Peter with 31 in Australia and Ralf with 47 in Berlin will end the month of celebrations.

Wherever you are - have a wonderful day with your nearest and dearest! Cheers -Prost!!

statistics

My Blog Statistics


Someone recently asked me about how many people viewed my blog and where they came from. My answer was that I didn't know. I had taken a decision not to add counters and things from Google when I started. I still like the idea of privacy on the web - must be showing my age by that comment!

I still hold to that view, but I began to wonder who in fact reads my blog. On my opening page I clearly state that is only for family and friends and anyone can add a comment. Yes, I left the comment section open - I like the idea of an open web as well!

Today I decided to look at the stats section of my blog. I knew the stat counter was there but in all this time have never been interested to look. My nose was clearly itching!  I was surprised by the results.

The total results are of course different from the monthly, weekly and daily stats. For example, I noted that the number of readers in the US has increased lately. Here is the total information of the top ten:-

Germany, United Kingdom, USA, Netherlands, France, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Russia, Canada.  No surprises for me at the first four places, for that is where I knew family and friends to be when I started. The others were a surprise.

France, Japan and South Korea may be students of English who just stumbled onto my blog. Brazil must be Daniel, but who is reading my blog in Russia and Canada. Please contact me and let me know something about yourself.


I also have readers from Austria, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, but they were not in the top ten.

Other statistics may be of interest for the curious. Browsers used were Internet Explorer 48%, Firfox 33%, Safari 10%. Operating Systems were Windows 84%, Mac 11% Other Unix 3%. Mr Gates will be happy about this statistic :-)

There is a lot of text here so let me add a pic, or two. The first is of my Christmas present from Liebe Andrea - its in a bottle! The second is of a violin for I am listing to Shostakovich's 8th String Quartet as I am writing. Nice images to break up the text. Correct Jan?

Ubuntu-Skype

Ubuntu verus Skype

Compatibility problems between Ubuntu and Skype are driving me crazy!  I recently posted about changing the operating system for my 'baby' Asus Eee PC.

I changed to standard Ubuntu then found it too large for my machine, so I changed to Xubuntu and then had problems with Skype for Linux. Solution: change to Ubuntu for Netbooks and then I had other problems of keys not working and other bugs.

So what did I then do? You guessed right. I re-loaded Xubuntu. I like this OS more than the others but again the problem of running Skype on it. It comes with Skype for Linux 2.1.0.81-1ubuntu5, which according to the Skype web page is the latest version. But it doesn't recognise the inbuilt camera, microphone of the Asus and that is all to do with OS compatibility.

 I only use the netbook when I travel so I only need Skype, a writing programme and internet connection for online e-mails. That is all. But the main thing I need when travelling doesn't function with my preferred OS. Grrrrh!

I've already had help and advice from Ines, Stefan and Arno but the matter is still not resolved. Perhaps this week when I meet Stefan for a special 'problem solving' meeting on Thursday morning.

With problems like this I can understand why 'Otto Normal-Verbraucher' just keeps buying Window OS machines.

ET John

ET John

More 'Kunst' from me!  Last Friday my Photoshop gang met as usual and this time we had to select a background. Then to cut opening doors into the ground, out of which someone or something was to emerge. Nice idea!

Being an egoist, I selected myself! But, being an artist 'Kunstler' I decided to play with the image. Here you can see the result. I look like ET!

I then played around with it and added another pic of me. Stefan said it was not as interesting as the original. Having looked at them again, I have to agree with him.  What do you think?


You can have this original, and my other original works of art, for a snippet price of €50,000 per picture! A bargain for they will be worth millions after my death.      Buy now - Gimme yer money!

Xubuntu

Xubuntu

You may recall that I changed the operating system (OS) on my Asus Eee PC a number of times. When I visited family Dickinson last year near Lewes, I loaded Ubuntu on my 'Baby Asus'.

I only use this machine when I am travelling or in the class-room when there is no other machine available. I recently got some messages from Ubuntu warning me that there was not enough space when I wanted to download.

What was the solution to this problem? Yes, you guessed right. It was to replace Ubuntu with its lighter, smaller brother called 'Xubuntu' made for little old net-books like mine.

I borrowed the external drive from the Institute and wasted a lot of time yesterday trying to install it from a disc, then a download to my stick. They didn't work!

Solution to problem = Stefan. I took the machine etc. to our Photoshop session and arrived early. Stefan looked it over and tried what I had done - with no success. Instead he went to one of the computers and downloaded Xubuntu from the web-page, burned to disc and then installed it onto my Baby.


All went well as I learnt how to play around with Berlin Bears in our lesson. At home I downloaded 184 updates for the OS, then had fun loading Adobe so that I could listen to BBC radio over the baby. From the photos, you can see that it works fine!

I only use this machine when I am travelling so it important that radio and skype work when I am on the move. So far I can get the Beeb loud and clear. I'll download Skype tomorrow, when I have more time.

Thanks for your help Stefan and I learnt something more today, in addition to our photoshop lesson.

Berlin Bear

Berlin Bears

A bear is the symbol of Berlin. It is on the Berlin shield. The  O'Dwyer shield has a red lion- as you can see on the right.

In our Photoshop course today, Stefan had prepared a step-by-step lesson on how to put a Berlin bear into a scene in Berlin.

We all did different things with the images prepared by Stefan. Very interesting how we interpret and see the images.

We added different skies to the view from a bridge. I added another sky with a moon to the other cloudy sky scene. Then I added the Berlin Bear - and decided we needed a family, so I added more.

 I did not like the grey colour. I decided to liven up the bears, so we have a number of colours. It was a very interesting session and we revised a number of things.

Another Walk

Another Sunday Walk

Stefan complained last Tuesday, and again today, that I had not updated my blog. He was/is right! Sorry Stefan and others who have looked for news and found 'old' news.

Last weekend the telephone rang to say that the weather was okay for a walk. I met a few other brave walkers and off we went.


We went to an area north of Berlin that I didn't know. We got out at Zepernick just south of Bernau, where I used to work. We then got into a small local train and after some time we got out at a place I didn't know.

We walked along an old canal that went north-south and is no longer used. The east-west Finow canal overtook it in terms of trade and volume of traffic. There is a very long street made up of family houses in a 'ribbon development' built along the canal.



I noted that some of the houses were abandoned and in a state of falling down. I asked my fellow walkers and they thought they had been abandoned after re-unification in 1989-90.

 There was also an interesting shop window of dresses and underwear for kids and mothers. Never seen anything like that before!

So we walked on, and on, and finally reached out destination. It was a town called Liebenwald. It was closed!  We went to a restaurant to find it closed, then to another and another. The same result. We gave up and went to the bus stop. Fortunately we only had to wait 30 minutes for the next bus.

We passed the time in 'meaningless banter', then got on the bus and after another 30 minutes we arrived at a train station in the middle of a field. Another twenty minutes for our train and more 'meaningless banter'.

When the train arrived a women got out just before the platform/road with a flag. There was no barrier so she gently and slowly guided the train to the platform. Amazing!

We slowly made out way back to Berlin and got out at station 'Gesundbrunnen'. The group leader said he knew of a restaurant where we could get good food and not too expensive. The restaurant was closed for a private party! That was it.


We decided it was just not our day for having a meal and went our separate ways home. Even so, I really enjoyed the day and decided to return in summer with my bicycle. The area has lots of walking and cycling paths.

Learning

Still Learning

Yesterday I went to my local Aldi. They had a range of special offers of learning materials for school kids.

If it is okay for a nine year old it is good enough for my learners and for me!

I invested in a couple of teaching-learning books. One is a series of tests in English for 9-10 year olds.




 I have learnt that kids learning books and test books like these are happily accepted by adults. They are written in a simple but informative way.

I bought another one. Just for me. It is book of 166 tests in German. It has an answers section at the back so of course I shall cheat :-) I tried the first two tests over a cuppa coffee this afternoon and realised I could only do the level 1 and 2 tests without looking at the answers. I had to do that for Level 3 :-(

Heike came round and helped me to blow up my training balloon for leg and back practice. I told you about this in a posting below. Just scroll down a couple of posts and you'll find it.

Naja, now I have no excuse to say I can't practice at home. At least Kerstin, my new trainer, will be happy when I see her on Friday morning!

Sunday walk

A light Sunday walk

I joined a few other 'oldies' on a walk today. I got confirmation that it was going to take place only last Friday. Even so only four turned up. It rained earlier so that must have put a few Sunday walkers off the idea!

Regional train to Potsdam-Sanssouci station. This was specially built for the last German Kaiser and was called the Kaiserbahnhof. After the end of the monarchy it was Bahnhof Wildpark and now it is Bahnhof Potsdam-Sanssouci.

I took a photo of the station sign. Behind it is the Kaiser's old waiting room. It is now used as a training centre by the Deutsche Bahn.




Our host used to work for the railways, and was born in the area, so I learnt a lot I could not have by just walking, or cycling in the area on my own. I want to take Sarah, then Lee Ann to Potsdam.  Maybe even Andrew and the 'lads', in early June, when they are over. Todays walk will help me orientate what is where, when I am with them.

We walked over the road and come to the corner fence of Park Sanssouci. There we found the new-old gates. There are identical ones on the north side of the park.  The gates are a replica of the originals. No one seemed to know where the original ones went.




Opposite these gates is a large building in the 'Prussian-Italalian' style. The Kaiser had a flair for this fusion of architectural styles apparently. His architect was a Herr Persious and designed all the buildings I photographed today.

I found some interesting statues at the rear of the building. It was originally the post office for the Kaiser when he was in residence in Park Sanssouci. Nice to have a private post office!

The entry to the Wild-Park takes you past another interesting building. It has battlements in the old fortress style. Strange, someone must have thought it was imposing. It is now a kind of super vets! I also liked the statue outside the entrance. Perhaps the pets brought by their owners like being greeted by the relaxing stag.

And so we set off through the park. The way was not too bad. Melting snow and slush, but we were wearing the right clothes. We stopped for a coffee break under a very large umbrella shaped shelter to which six tracks led.

The Kaiser used to wait under the shelter while his gamekeepers hunted deer etc to run across the tracks so he could shoot them - the animals and not the gamekeepers! We just sipped coffee.

Marching further, we arrived at another building also in the 'Prussian-Italian' style. It was built to house the gamekeepers and their families, and is now used as a training centre for potential gamekeepers.  After  walking further we arrived at our destination.

This is the real reason for people to meet and have a walk. It is the restaurant at the end of the walk. Traditional food, and beer, was on the menu of a family run 'Gaststätte'. Delicious! Lots of talk about the two major topics at any 'oldie' meeting. First is health, second is the grandchildren!

A really nice day. I needed to get out of my neighborhood and see other bits of the area. And I learnt  more about my adopted city and its interesting area.

Helga Head

Helga's Head


On the left you can see  a photo of my breakfast table and wall. At the start of January I removed my framed picture and added a calendar of work made at my Friday Photoshop Gang.

I added a nice photo of some of the gang taken by Stefan at Schröder's Summer Grill Party.

You may remember seeing my last work of art in December.  It was of Helga from our Friday Photoshop group. I put her into the picture photographing a statue of Confucius, posted it to this blog and added that I wanted to make some changes.

Yesterday, I had the chance at our first Photoshop Gang meeting since the holiday break. We had a long coffee, cake, and chat session before going to the computers and working on what we wanted to do. My choice was the last one in December.

Without help from Stefan, I would never have managed it. We all agreed to have a period of revision during this course. I wanted to bring together Confucius' head and Helga's head and arms with her camera in an elongated spiral.


It took me ages to find the right tools in the programme, then discover they did not provide what I wanted. Even so, I was able to experiment and you can see the result (above right).

Still not happy but it shows that I have a lot to learn, and re-learn from earlier lessons!

BBC Berlin

BBC Berlin Mystery

Yes, the BBC wanted to save money. On the 1 December 2010, they stopped broadcasting on the long used FM wavelength and on their website they said "We have moved to FM 94.8."  Rubbish...all you get is some stupid German station sending out pop songs in English from the 1970s-1980s.

At a Photoshop session in mid-December 2010, Susan asked me if I could get BBC on the radio. I said "No." She said that everyone she had asked said the same thing. Mmmmh ......what is going on Beeb?

I had to resort to bringing a laptop into the kitchen to go onto the internet and link onto Beeb World Service. And the web page still said it broadcast on FM 94.8 in Berlin. All the people I know in Berlin said the BBC were mad, dreaming, liars, didn't know what they were talking about etc.

At New Year, I met Milady Teresa who works for Deutsche Welle = a German equivalent to the  BBC. She said she had not been able to get the station since the 1 December 2010. But she had access to 'Techie People', and had asked them what was going on.

The short answer is that in order to save money, BBC  World Service moved to a cheap wavelength shared with pop music stations, and then broadcast from the 1 December. Of course you can't hear it for the other stations are more powerful and 'blast it off' the wavelength. Teresa told me this happened a lot in the USA and it seemed as if the Beeb were learning cheap-scate methods from the 'Old Colony'.

I knew that the 'new' coalition government in London had stopped funding to the BBC for its World Service programmes/broadcasts, via the Foreign Office grant, as one of its first measures but given the result, they really should have closed it down. No-one listens to it via radio now!

I must be the exception. Yesterday, I bought a Medion Radio Sender at Aldi for €14,90. Why? Because it has a special function of a 'Fine Tuner'. I played around with it for ages then Bingo! I got the Beeb in Berlin over 94.85 and not the advertised 94.80.


But only in one place in my kitchen, and with lots of interference including Shhhhwwwwwisssshhhhh whenever I move. I can only hear it if I sit still and do not move! Isn't new technology wonderful? I now wonder if the BBC has gone back to the 1930s to reinvent broadcasting for the future. It seems so!

Training 2011

Training 2011

I changed my Keep Fit/Training/Wellness, or whatever you want to call it. I did not renew my contract at the end of 2010 with the Wellness Club. Instead I went to Orange Fit, which is two stops from my old training centre.

It was a recommendation. Actually, price played a big part. It is half the price of my old training club. Even I must start to save now!  Last Tuesday I went for a general introduction, and a session, with a trainer who had more muscles on his chest and arms than I thought anyone could have!

Nice and friendly people. I got an invite to attend Kirstin's course, 'Back and Leg Movement for Seniors'. I went last Friday and enjoyed it. I was one of seven 'oldies' and was able to handle all of the training movements.

She told me about a special offer at two supermarket chains for big blow-up balls and rubber bands for stretching. I went to Aldi (which you all know -- they are in the UK and in the USA) and bought one of each.

Now I only need Frau Dr. Birgit to come over and help me to blow up my ball. I can't work it out and have unsuccessfully tried. I swear I followed all the printed directions. Why don't they just make it simple and draw a couple of basic diagrams?

I have a 'Gutschein' for January, which means I can go there whenever I want for free, but at the end of the month I have to agree a contract if I want to continue. I have already decided I will continue - but they don't know it yet :-)

January 2011

January 2011 and things!

I have really enjoyed the period up to Christmas 2010 and the New Year. A nice mixture of activity and relaxation, good conversation, good food and good wine! What else could one want?

I got some nice cards, presents and telephone calls from people who mean a lot to me. Thanks to each and all of you!

As we prepare for the first working day of the year, we know that prices of many things here will rise, the S-Bahn will be even worse, and the dumb ones will talk loudly into their 'Handy' (Mobile Phone) about rubbish, much to the annoyance of fellow travelers. Welcome to the old-new year in Berlin :-)

Who has a birthday this month?  Peter in Canterbury will be 52 on the 5th, Daniel in Brazil will be 26 on the 9th, Hannelore hits 68 in the south of France on the 12th, Harald in Berlin will celebrate his 47th on the 21st,  Peter von Longlegs will be 27 on the 24th, Paul in New Zealand will celebrate his 26th with new business  partners on the 27th and Larissa in Bernau ends the month with her 48th on the 20 January.
Happy Birthday to one and all!!

I shall close this entry into the first month of a new year with a special photo. It is for all you dog owners and dog lovers out there. Here I am particularly thinking about Fran and Geoff, with Danny and Rosie, and Barbara with her Marley. Don't you wish your dogs were as well trained as these in my photo?

camera and books

 An ex-camera and books

As we moved towards the New Year, I got the 'itch' to start with something 'new'.





I've been fairly active over the holiday season visiting people, and enjoying the snow from the window of a train, or S-Bahn, or bus. I've also enjoyed quiet periods at home.




The 'new' bug bit when I was at home. It started with changes when Jan was here, and then moved to clearing out things I have not used in the last twelve months. I am giving away all my collection of English learning cassettes this week.

I sorted out my books and threw many away. I sorted out my bookshelves (see photo) and found 30 books I have not yet read (see photo). I'm reading three at the moment but clearly need to increase my reading speed :-)



I also decided to hammer a camera. A great feeling. Try it! I have already hammered laptops and posted to this blog. Remember? This time it was a Polaroid I found at the back of a cupboard. Interesting to find out what was behind the plastic casing.



Very much technology of the 1960s, but surprising to see how many parts the thing had. Then I began to wonder about the brain of the person who thought up this thing. Now most of us use digital cameras and never think about this older 'new' technology.


I was interested to see the link between plastic, metal and basic electronic circuits. Just think, in a few years we shall have to go to a museum to see such things! Don't forget that you saw it for free here!