Goodbye and Hello

7 February 2009BerlinSascha

It’s been a tough day … saying goodbye for good to a friend that has been on my side since almost fifteen years. Only compensated by the fact that I might have gained a new friend that might follow me as long as the old one …

Therefore this post is a tribute to my old Hyundai Lantra 1.5 GLS Airbag Edition as well as welcome to my new Hyundai i30 1.6 Comfort Edition.

During the last fifteen (mainly the last eight) years I have taken my old car from central Sweden to the Mediterranean Sea from France to Czech Republic, through at least nine european countries and drove about 150000 km, without ever having any brakedown (leaving the crashes aside) … even though the old friend lost a mirror I think four times, got crached in by others at least four times and suffered some other pain we don’t want to talk about … also it got its windows smashed in twice, got bottles thrown at it and the bonnet and the roof vandalized.

Man … it’s sad!

On the other hand there’s the new friend … shiny and still smelling of the factory …
We’ll see what it will bring …

Nineteen Eighty-Four

27 January 2009BooksSascha

Just finished reading George Orwells’ classic dystopian novel describing a dark future under a repressive, totalitarian regime.
Looking at today’s increasing surveillance and restrictions on the rights of the individuals, it’s quite interesting to read this story already published in 1949.
Certainly readable, even though not always entertaining just because of the topic it’s about …

Nevermore

19 January 2009Arts, BooksSascha

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`’Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door –
Only this, and nothing more.’

more …

You may ask yourself why? It’s Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th birthday today!

Movie Night 3

18 January 2009MoviesSascha

What a night … yesterday we had another game day in our little foosball league.
With only two matches scheduled (even though one was a very important one, for the league and me … which was a draw btw.) we had lot of time left for movies afterwards … and we pretty much used all of it ;)
We started out with ‘Thank you for smoking’, went on with ‘Kops’ and finished the night (and us) with ‘Heat’.
All of them where great, although only the first one was new for me. It’s about a guy representing the tobacco industry and all the mess that comes around with being in such a position … really nice movie, hereby recommanded! The other two are classics already. A swedish commedy about some police station in the swedish outback that is to be closed
and its appendant officers … fun!
And of course the one and only Heat … the street fight is legendary … hmm … and DeNiro and Pacino did the rest.

SplitBill

15 January 2009World Wide WebSascha

Since I just finished writing a little tool that could be useful for others, Iwill today use my blog for advertising it … after all it’s my blog ;)

SplitBill helps you disentangle the huddle you are in after having had holidays or a party with your friends and/or beloved where everyone payed part of the thing.
Simply enter your ‘shopping list’, meaning the expenses of everyone, and the calculations like ‘who gets what from whom’ and others will be done for you …

It’s the first version, so feedback of any kind is welcome :)
http://www.samedia.de/~splitbill