Artificial intelligence

Since one week I am the owner of a Navigation System "Blaupunkt Lucca" for my car. On tuesday I tried it on my weekly geocaching tour. Since those geocaching tours always lead me to places I have never been before, this navi is a big help for me. I do not need to concentrate on finding narrow streets anymore, I don't need to search for filling stations, banks or -in worst case- hospital anymore;-) . I have been a bit suspicious but now found out that geocaching is even more fun and more simple by using a navi.

One funny thing I noticed: There seems to be one street missing in the navi-software and it is a street near my home. The street is there but my navi refuses to let me drive there. It always tells me a long way around the block instead of the direct way of only 100 metres. Usually I do not use the navi to find my way back home (maybe at some saturday nights it will be helpfull ....) but now whenever I have a bad mood and desperately want to know something better, I switch on the navi on my way back home, listen to the stupid advise, insist on my oppinion about the right way and have a good smile knowing that artificial intelligence still did not overcome.

Stadtwald See

Again another of our favourite places to be in Bremen. This lake is public and free to use for everyone.

Situated near the "Buergerpark" and very close to the Bremen University.
It is a very relaxed place there, many people just sit in the grass, play games, have a little picnic or just sleep here. In summer it is more crowded of course because the water is warm enough to swim then....now, at the moment, the water temperature is at 19°C...that is far too cold for swimming.



We like to go there when weekend comes to an end...late sunday afternoon. We bring some food and drink with us, let Jale play in the sand or at the playground and enjoy the last sunshine of the day.



And if anyone likes - there is a nudists beach too if it is that what makes you feel happy and close to nature :-) ;-)

World's most expensive Vodka

ready to have a drink with me??? But please...better not order this one

clipped from www.funforever.net Blackwood Distillers from Scotland have come up with the idea to produce world’s most expensive drink. It first gets ice-filtered, then filtered through Nordic birch charcoal and then passed trhough a sand of crushed diamonds and gems In every bottle you’ll find semi-precious or precious stones, including diamonds, which will make the product price range from $ 70.00 up to $ 1,060,000.00 .

Language test for kids

Yesterday we got a letter from our local school department saying that we must appear there with our daughter for a school test.

First we thought: Hahahaaaa...a funny misunderstanding. Jale is only 4 and will go to school only in 2008 and the school testings will take place only in beginning of 2008.
Then I continued reading all of the letter and found out that it is no joke. There is a fairly new law in germany and it is mainly to test the childrens abilities of speaking german. As an additional information you must know that in germany there are many, many children that come from a migration background...from Turkey, Russia, Armenia etc. During the last years there were a lot of children who could not speak a single word of german language when they first came to school at the age of 6/7 years. Their parents just did not care for that and raised their kids only in their own native language without thinking about how many problems their children would get in daily german life.

So, there will be a small test one year before kids go to school to find out about their speaking abilities and their german language knowledge especially. If it is too bad, they will have to visit a special language course for a year to help them getting along and to provide a fair chance for them in germany,

I have never been a friend a such laws and I have always been suspicious when it came to school things...but this law seems to be a good thing because it protects children from the selfishness of their parents. What do you think??
Is there such a law in other countries??

Quote of the week

All that we are is the result of what we have thought.

Buddha

Buergerpark Bremen

Today I want to introduce Bremens most beautiful park to you. We go there nearly every week to enjoy the peacefull atmosphere and the relaxed people there. It is situated right in the centre of Bremen ... kind of a green lung, with a small zoo, and some playing grounds. You can also rent a rowing boat there or simply enjoy the well-kept, cultivated gardens. I have chosen some photos to give you an idea and I would recommend the website to you. It is also available in english.

Smart Road Sign!

Now wouldn't that put a smile on your face on your way to work?? I would burst out laughing but mainly because I am a bicyclist with a strange kind of humour!

Medical rehabilitation

I mentioned it already to some of you: 4 weeks ago I applied for a medical rehabilitation...and guess what: Now I have the authorization for it. Means that I will stay for 3 weeks in a special clinic where I will get special treatments to just feel better and to help me managing my daily life.
Sounds good?? It is even getting better if you hear where I will be going to: The village is called "Ostseebad Ahrenshoop". It is located directly at the Baltic Sea and it is said that there are large woods and a white sand beach of 10km length. Now doesn't that sound like a good place for a vacation in summer??

If you want, you can have a look at the map that I prepared at google maps... click here

I will leave June 29th, so still 10 weeks to wait for me.

Geocaching 17.04.07

Since I had the opportunity to leave work already at 4.00 pm, I decided to relax a bit and go out for some geocaching. That was a good decision. I had an approximate plan of which caches to search for and it worked out well. In the end I found 6 caches and had a very relaxing end enjoying time. The tour led me to nice places that I haven't seen before and would have never been able to discover without geocaching.
After I made an FTF (First to find, means none has found this cache before) at Syker Burgwall, the next target was a cache named " In Between Waters" and I expected the target area to be somehow muddy and swampy. And so it was. I really had to watch my steps to not slip and fall into the muddy waters. It was fun and a very idyllic place. The cache was hidden in an old tree and it was quickly found.
I reached the last point of my tour at appr. 7.00 pm. The coordinates pointed directly
to a small hill of maybe 20 metres height. To reach that hill I had to cross some 500 metres of grassland with grass of appr. 50cm height. After I made the first steps towards the hill, there were 3 deers crossing my way...they were very close to me...maybe some 50 metres only and they seemed to be in panic. Some more steps and a rabbit jumped out of the grass, running away from me. Then there were about 3 ducks who left there nest in the grass and flew away panically.
That was the point when I finally realized that I was disturbing them here. I was like a "gate-crasher" for them...I had no invitation to enter there shelter places. I left the grass and took another way up the hill. The way was hard and longer but after reaching the cache, I had a marvellous view. The sun was just downing, I sat down and asked myself why I was so selfish. Thinking only about my target and my wish to reach the cache without thinking about all the wild animals that have older rights here and have there places for shelter here.

From now on, I will be more carefull and more respectfull to nature and its "inhabitants".

Geocaching - Mein 120. Cache

Heute konnte ich schon um 16.00h Feierabend machen und hab die Möglichkeit genutzt und bin ein wenig cachen gegangen. Das war eine gute Entscheidung. Ich hatte einen ungefähren Plan welche caches ich besuchen wollte und es klappte alles recht gut. Am Ende hatte ich 6 caches gefunden und einen sehr entspannten Feierabend verbracht. Ich habe einige schöne Plätze kennengelernt die ich ohne geocaching wohl nie entdeckt hätte.

Nachdem ich einen FTF am Syker Burgwall hatte, war das nächste Ziel ein cache namens "Hache-Zwischen den Wassern" und ich hatte schon so meine Befürchtungen das es hier ziemlich matschig und schlammig zugehen würde.So war es dann auch. Ich musste schon ziemlich auf meine Schritte achtgeben um nicht auszurutschen und im schlammigen Wasser zu landen. Es war schön und ein sehr ruhiger und idyllischer Platz dort. Hatte ich so nicht erwartet. Der Cache war in einem alten Baum versteckt und schnell gefunden.
Den letzten Punkt meiner Tour (Weyher Berg, mein 120. Cache) hab ich gg. 19.00h erreicht. Die Koordinaten zeigten auf einen kleinen Hügel von etwa 20 Metern Höhe. Um den Hügel zu erreichen musste ich eine Wiese etwa 500m überqueren - das wilde Gras stand dort etwa 50 cm hoch. Nachdem ich die ersten Schritte Richtung Cache gemacht hatte,kreuzten 3 Rehe meine Weg..die waren mir echt nah...vielleicht 50 meter entfernt...und die sahen ziemlich gehetzt aus. Noch ein paar Schritte weiter und ein Kaninchen sprang aus der Wiese und rannte schnell weg von mir. Dann waren da noch 3 wohl brütende Enten die in Panik ihre Nester verließen. Das war der Punkt an dem ich endlich begriff das ich hier ein Störenfried war. Ich war hier in fremde "Wohnungen" eingedrungen...ohne Einladung. Ich hab die Wiese dann verlassen und einen anderen Weg Richtung Hügel genommen. Der Weg war weiter und beschwerlicher aber nachdem ich den Cache erreicht hatte, hatte ich einen tollen Blick auf die umliegenden Wiesen. Die Sonne ging gerade unter und ich hab mich erstmal hingesetzt, alles genossen und mich gefragt wieso ich hier so sehr auf mich selbst und meine Ziele fixiert war. Dieses ist ein Zufluchtsort für die Tiere und ich hab mich entsprechend zurück zu halten. In Zukunft werd ich solchen Plätzen mit mehr Respekt begegnen.

Osterwiese, Bremen

On April 12th we have been to the "Osterwiese" in Bremen. Osterwiese is a fun-fair with carousels, fun and a lot of food and drinks. We spent about 2 hours there but it was hard to convince Jale of the fact that those carousels won't be open all night for 4-5 year old kids.

However it was perfect weather, especially for a ride with the big wheel in some 52 metres height. It was such a fantastic view up there with a low and warm wind . We were not sure if Jale wouldn't maybe cry because she might be afraid of the height...but all she said was: "why is this going so slow??"

After the big wheel, she drove with several roundabouts and finally rode on a real horse. This seemed to have been the most fascinating and impressive thing for her. She continously kept talking about that on our way home.



Is it true that all girls love horses?? And why is that?? Any explanation?? Anyone?? Please tell me....

Quote of the week

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Hot Hot Hot...

The weekend has been hot hot hot. We had some 25°C, sun and blue sky all the weekend. Unbelievable. We rarely prepared any dishes in the kitchen but did as much as we could outside to not miss any sunshine at all. And even at nights when it comes to "Winnis time" it was still warm at 17°C.

By the way...this is what I see first when I leave the house.

A summer dream in spring...I enjoyed it so much!

And if that wasn't enough good news, our daughter learnt how to ride the bicycle. She only tried it twice before and had serious probs with her balance and also with stopping and getting off her bicycle. Yesterday...all over sudden she managed to do it by herself. I couldn't believe it when I saw her driving circles.

Needless to mention how proud the bicycle driving father is of his little big girl now.

Ways of transportation

Some of you may know that I work for a forwarding company. We transport goods. Now you will understand why I loved the photos on this clip that I found on the web.

Don't worry, the site is safe and checked.

The Way Children See Things!

I just stumbled over some funny words of children. They are not from our daughter...but they could have been. I could not resist to laugh out loud at this:

NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a
Woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark
naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the

back seat, "Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt!

---

MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker
room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing
towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then

asked, ! ! ! "What's the matter haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"

---

DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her
dad putting on his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit."
"And why not, darling?" "You know that it always gives you a headache the

next morning."

Geocaching - Mein 110. Cache

Mein 110. Cache war Pestruper Gräberfeld im Rahmen eines ausgiebigen Wildeshausen Cachetages. Bin am morgen um 7.00h von zuhause weg und hab auf dem Weg nach Wildeshausen 2 BAB caches mitgenommen. In Wildeshausen hab ich dann "Hunte Stomschnellen" gefunden. Das war ein schöner Cache. Ne einigermaßen große Dose in einer Metallhalterung unter einer Fußgängerbrücke. Das Heben und Verstecken war garnicht mal so leicht da von 4 Seiten Muggelalarm!! Dann bin ich zur Arbeit gefahren und hab die 2 BAB Caches in südlicher Richtung dabei gefunden. Nach der Arbeit dann wieder los über Dünsen zu "Reckumer Steine" und anschließend den tollen Rundgang am "Pestruper Gräberfeld" gemacht. Sehr beeindruckende Tour dort.

Easter bugs

Easter was nice and quiet. But look what you see on this pic:



Did our daughter get smaller?? Or do we have any monster bugs, chairs and flowers in our shopping mall??

The Frog Test....

A little game for all of you. Easy to do, easy to finish????

My dear friend Jessie sent me this link. A very easy game to test your intelligence quotient. I still did not find out how I can see how high/low my IQ is, but since it took me quite a while to solve it, I am afraid that my IQ must be lower then my age...

Here is the link for the few of you who speak english

Thanks a lot to Jessie..that was real fun in between!!!

Number Puzzle - I need HELP

Can someone help me please??? There must be some smarties amongst you!!!

I need to solve this japanese number puzzle to find out the coordinates of another hidden cache at geocaching. I don't know what the name/type of the puzzle is and of course I don't know how to solve it, but it would be great if somebody could give me a hint or could even solve that puzzle for me.

I need the numbers that would stand for the letters A - J !!!!!!!! HHEEEEELLLLLLP!!!

Happy Easter

After nearly 2 weeks of illness of me and my family, we are on our ways of getting well again. And that is a perfect schedule because today will be my last day of working. Normally in germany we are free of work on "Good Friday" before Easter, and we are free on the following "Easter Monday" too. Since I have so many overtime hours, I decided to add thursday to my free days and so I will be free for 5 days in a row.

Means: 5 days free, 4 days work, 3 days free...nice schedule isn't it??
Easter sunday, all of our family members will meet at my sisters place to have a meeting with a relaxed brunch together and I think that is the right way of how to treat bank holidays.

So, I wish you all HAPPY EASTER with a lot of love and peace, easter eggs and everything you wish for yourself!!!!!!!!!