Germany Videos

Here is all the best videos I took (from my new camera of all things!!) Lots more photos to come from Munich, Berlin photos are below, but the videos are the funnest…and here’s all of them. Requires Windows Media Player, which most PCs already have, and a high-speed connection

Ride the bus along the Kurfurstendamm in Berlin. Public transport is so awesome, except in Seattle. Berlin buses were the nicest I’ve been on.

Watch German TV. This was a “springer-esque” show — gotta love the announcer guy and the look on the woman’s face at the end!

Watch the Glockenspiel in Munich. I love the crowd’s “ohh, ahh” at the start

More Glockenspiel

Drink with people at the Hofbrauhaus. This was between lunch and dinner, so not much of a crowd, but still really fun!

Hofbrauhaus cheers! Short, but fun as everyone clicks their steins!

Riding the train at 200 KPH. The trains were on-time and comfortable.

My connecting train arriving in Fulda. Or so I thought. This was the wrong train — I got on it by accident. Luckily it was going to Munich as well!

Passing by Wurtzburg on the train. This town looked charming from inside, this video doesn’t do it justice — lots of church spires on the other side of the train (so I couldn’t really shoot those)

A snowy arrival of….something! Obviously some sort of publicity stunt, this was in Munich as I was walking along. Apparently there was some sort of German soccer star there as well — I had no idea. It was funny to watch, though.

What is it? More of this important jewelry unveiling in Munich, complete with TV coverage and motorcycles.

Riding the Munich Subway. The cleanest and nicest system I’ve ever been on (but the Berlin busses were nicer…)

Greetings from M

Hello from the “Secret capital of Germany”! I’m in Bavaria after a long train ride from Berlin. It was good that the train ride was long, because I had a lot of recovering to do from a last-night party in Berlin — more later.

Berlin was BIG and spread-out. Thank GOD Munich is compact — and pedestrian friendly!! My feet thank you, Munich! This is my first real day here, and then I’ve got tomorrow and then I come home. Which actually is not that bad. Munich is so compact I’m covering a lot of ground and still having time to enjoy things.

BTW, hello, SNOW!!!!! Munich got dumped on the day before I got here, and there is about a foot of snow on the ground. It’s still snowing now. I love this — it’s perfect for me and the setting of Bavarian Germany.

Just got back from lunch at the Hoffbrauhaus! I drank 2 liters of really good beer, and am now walking off the buzz. Perhaps now I see why Munich is walkable — ahhhh, this all makes sense now. Nice planning Deutchland!

My last night I’m in a really nice hotel by the airport, so I will be uploading my photos then.

Another interesting note: you#ll see that I make fun of the Torino olympic opening ceremony and it#s music — so 80#s. Well, it must be a Europe thing, because it is ALL OVER THE PLACE here — everwhere I go it#s on the loudspeakers — I’m jazzing-out to ‘Celebrate a good time’ right now in the Internet cafe! How funny!!

Tsch

Greetings from Berlin!

Greetings froma snowy Berlin!! Its about 32 degrees with light snow flurries. Still getting used to the fact that I am actually here. Flights were long, but the UPGRADE was nice!!! Biz class from Chicago to Brussels — yeah baby!!! Nearly did not make my flight to Berlin — Brussels airport is huge!

So I have walked the Kurfurstendamm already today — to keep the blood flowing. Went all the way to the famous KaDeWe department store. It is Berlin

Less than a week + more virtual geekdom

In less than a week I shall be back in Europe!! I’m so looking forward to this trip. This weekend I’m going to pack and wednesday I’m off!

So more virtual aviation geek stuff: Not only am I a virtual pilot for a virtual airline, I’m now a virtual air traffic controller! 🙂 I passed my initial test and I’m now certified for “Tower” for all airports in the Seattle Center area.

http://www.seaartcc.net/ is my home “center.” Next I go for approach control and start vectoring aircrafts all around the sky. HAHAHAHAHA, ahhhhh, the control… 😉

Comfy, are we?

This is my cat Sam. Obviously he’s very comfy in my seat, oblivious that he shall soo be ousted. He thinks it’s his seat. Oh, how wrong he is…

Torino, pumpin’ out the 80’s cool cats!

I just have to say, the Olympics opening ceremonies was hysterical to me. It was nice and spectacular, yadda yadda….but that music — I was dancing in my living room, memories of High School running in my head. How funny is that. What 30’s something musical director did they have?? NOT complaining, I just thought it was funny, and perhaps a little, well, unexpected. It fit the mood perfectly, but you just don’t expect mostly American 80’s tunes pumping out the loudspeakers at an International event. Am I getting so old that the people in-charge of stuff like this are my age??! Ohyyy!

And that NBC guy at the studio — how out of touch was that!? That pinstripe suit, although I’m sure expensive, just seemed so wooden and old. He was wooden. And that interviewer talking about Bode Miller as a “Different kind of CAT…” What the hell is that?! 80’s tunes and an old guy cool CAT.

Hysterical.

Virtual Aviation ROCKS!


I am right now piloting a 757 from SEA to MCO (Orlando for those of you airport code challenged!) I’m just crossing into the NE corner of Wyoming. 3 hours to go!

I am amazed at what the Internet can offer (and I work with it daily!) You see, I’m not just flying flight simulator on my computer alone. I’m connected to VATSIM, a virtual aviation network. Real “virtual” human air traffic controllers are directing my flight, using voice and headsets and virtual radar just like in real life. I’m talking to Denver Center right now. In a few minutes I’ll be handed-off to Kansas City Center, just like in real life. When I get close to Orlando, Orlando Approach Control will decend and “vector” (turn) me onto the final approach course and Orlando Tower will clear me to land. All different virtual, yet real people. I hear them. I talk to them. They see me on their scopes.


I’m a member of Pacific Airways, a virtual airline. I’ve made the rank of Captain recently because of the hours I’ve flown. My Call sign is PAY1837 – “Pacific eighteen thirty seven” is how you’d hear it on the “radio”

I’m an Instrument-rated pilot, and the level of reality this brings just astounds me. What I say, What I do, the rules, etc…are almost completely in sync with what the real world does.

Is this healthy? Debatable. But I’m having fun. So what’s wrong with that, eh?!

below you can see a screenshot of the current VATSIM general status– I’m the airplane in the upper-right, traversing through Denver’s airspace now (The green Circles represent Denver Approach and Tower’s Airspace) GOD I’m a GEEK!!

Happy Groundhog’s Day! IE 7 Blows…

My favorite holiday is today! Buried rodents never get any respect, except today. Let’s give ’em their 15 minutes of fame, shall we?

On another topic, Microsoft released a public preview of Internet Explorer 7.0 Beta. I installed it at home, and am using it to write this blog entry. So far it’s OK at home. But at work it was a disaster. Completely un-useable. I realize it’s not finished, but it was such a turd I immediately uninstalled the thing. Lots of work to do for those Microsofties on the Eastside for sure!

Forta is Coming!

Ben Forta, well known ColdFusion Guru, is coming to MY user group in February!

“So, big deal?” yu may ask. Ohh, but it is! Ben is about the best you can get for your user group, and always puts on a good show.

All the details are on our website: seattlecfug.com. Come one, come all!

Happy New Year!

I traveled down to SF to meet my friend Natalie for New Year’s. No bail was needed so we can consider this a successful trip! We also met-up with some friends I know from an aviation discussion board I frequent on the Internet (http://www.airliners.net/). Was fun to see those folks as well.

And the best of all, I got a new camera!! Wooo-whooo! It even has a movie function, soooooo….. without further delay, here is the first test (Windows Media player required)

Click to see THE FARTING TEDDY BEAR