civil service or let’s go dancing at the VFW

Memorial Day is a difficult concept to translate to German. There is no precise equivalent but traditions span the divide each with cultural nuances that make the comparison moot, also notwithstanding the existence of Americans’ repackaging of Armistice Day. With reunification, East Germany was bequeathed many West German religious holidays that seem equally inscrutable yet servicable.  It is also approximately my father’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!), who, before the States migrated most holidays to the nearest Monday, grew up with somber birthdays spent at the cemetery.

I can articulate the significance but it is often a challenge to explain the mitigating trappings that most observances have taken on: the beginning, officially, of summer—another day off or the christening of one’s grill and all outdoor equipage. No one remembers it was begun by liberated slaves for openness and reconciliation in the aftermath of the US civil war. Before dismissing us for the long weekend (and early specifically not to interrupt chance for vacation), work hosted a simple yet poignant ceremony, which was not bombasted with the usual patriotism, politics and nationalism. Because the service was attended by the Burgermeister and representatives of the Bundeswehr, the occasion demanded one show not just restraint and respect but also to be simply reverent and circumspect. Instead of being cynical, I thought not only about the people I work with but about both of my grandfathers, who had long, circuitous military careers that brought my family together.  These sorts of realizations and connections make the day off more enjoyed.

eschatology or a peck of pickled peppers

Being somewhat inured to out breaks of food poisoning, being much more common occurrences in the States, the wrath and general indignation to this episode that’s apparently originated with a harvest of Spanish cucumbers is laudable. Such risk coming from the normally innocuous is rightly intolerable. I have a lot of sympathy for the people that have gotten sick, as well as for the farmers and truck-farming industry that has garnered a bad reputation. It is difficult to attribute this out break to simply a quality control issue—although the draconian austerity measures being imposed on the Spanish people may lead to more cutting corners in the future and possibly more farmers entering the marketplace without proper training and experience with organic agriculture, the preferred cultivation method for German consumers—there is moreover the dangers of a monoculture emerging here, I believe. Culling one uniform type of cucumber, instead of a variety, makes the whole crop more susceptible to pests of opportunity—maybe this one robust strain of E. coli (DE) too. Monocultures, uniformity, in the form of designer seeds, I think, has also fuelled the frequency of out breaks in the US, but such cultivars arise even without genetic meddling.  Tastes adapt and call for this standard, and it doesn’t stay a Spanish problem. The flora and fauna in human digestive systems make up a delicate and complicated ecology too, and the bacteria attacks this wildlife preserve rather than going after the host, the game warden, directly. Variety allows for immunity and the strength to overcome the daily onslaught and poaching of our bodies.

offworld

World economies do not need to be a closed-system, profiting rudely on the gullibilities and vanities of others, selling faded dreams, outstanding debt and financial hocus-pocus. Such things are not upwardly infinite. As an instrument to raise people’s standards of living sustainably, promote peace and cooperation, and to keep the engines of progress and development running smoothly, economies and investment opportunities can expand indefinitely and beyond this mundane sphere.

As the brilliant and always insightful Neatorama directs our attention to stellar prospecting and the new wealth possible with mining asteroids (a tiny metallic asteroid with an estimated worth of $20 trillion) alone, the new frontier is just begging for carpet-baggers. It is hard to believe that some clever (just playing by the numbers and the cold, unfeeling math of return on investments) are not already sending out corporate probe droids. Not that the skies should be brought down on us—unlimited resources added to the closed-system that is ecology would be equally devastating. Just has one cannot simply send all the excess carbon-dioxide to Rigel 7 and expect that to fix global warming without consequence, one cannot provide emission-free automobiles to the world’s population without paving over every last space of land or without being buried in our own trash. Still, the business of space exploration and exploitation could be managed well at its inception, putting factories and refineries off-world and maintaining a balance of trade in egress and import. Energy to power all these endeavours would be crucial, and considering all the capital already spent on the debate over the future of household atomics in Europe, Germany should be building a space elevator (Weltraumlift) and a stratospheric lightening rod, a wind sock to harness power from cosmic rays. That aurora alone would go a long way in meeting the world’s growing energy demands.

magic beans

French leadership had been criticized during the past week for courting important Internet entrepreneurs in a summit, ostensibly, to draft the rules for the Internet. One could only speculate what happens behind the scenes, but maybe this injunction, ingratiation was a sly move on the part of the French government, especially ahead of the G8 summit beginning soon.

If what's touted is to be believed, the virtual currency, commodity Bitcoin has the potential to usurp and destabilize traditional fiat markets. I don't understand quite how it works or how it is different from any other Ersatz currency, credit, or collective delusion that gives Nomos value. A lot of abstract probabilities generate more worth for what can be exchanged for real goods and services, and why shouldn't a mint in the virtual æther do the same? This is a new development and I don't think many of the technologically savvy, no matter how jaded or influenced by the kings in their counting houses, can quite yet grasp it either. I will study this. There is scarcity and skill in trading, and there is also oversight and Bitcoins are not the rupies of Hyrule.  Maybe France's interest, hosting both meetings, helps ensure that the old regime remain in power and foregoes this potential competitor.

Letzte Woche, wurde Frankreich als Gastgeber dafür kritisiert, einen Internetgipfel zu haben, um anscheinend die "Regeln" für das Internet zu machen. Keiner weiß, was hinter den Kulissen geschieht, aber diese Anbiederung war vielleicht hinsichtlich des G8 Gipfels sehr listig. Die virtuelle Währung, Bitcoin, angeblich hat das Potential um traditionellen Austausch zu destabilisieren. Ich verstehe nicht, wie es arbeitet, oder andere wie jede allgemeine Wahnvorstellung des Geldes. Wahrscheinlichkeiten erzeugen echt Wert. Warum sollte eine virtuelle Minze nicht dasselbe tun? Das ist eine neue Entwicklung, und ich denke nicht, dass die Technocrati es völlig auch verstehen. Ich will lernen. Bitcoins sind nicht Spiel-Geld von der Legend of Zelda, weil es Kontrolle und eine begrenzten Angebot gibt. Vielleicht als Gastgeber für beide Gipfeln, kann Frankreich Regeln behandeln die Konkurrenz aufzuhören.

hitchhikers' guide to germany

Bad Karma, our fair city, is reportedly to be one of Germany's model communities for development and promotion of electric mobility. One has not yet seen much evidence of this, however, except for the odd three-wheeled capsules jetting silently about town. Not to disparage good intentions or anyone's handiwork, but even if those electric, single-passenger cars look endearing like go-karts that someone's dad helped them build, there is still I imagine a lot of resources and energy (more than the savings) put into making them. One just has another fleet of mostly idle and surplus vehicles in the end, I realized, after listening to one installment of a series on personal mobility that Bayern Rundfunk and ARD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland or Das Erste) are producing: of some 83 million private automobiles in Germany, most are used less than an hour per day. This fact inspired some internet entrepreneurs to launch a platform to promote pooling cars locally instead of more consumption. The site is like a bulletin board that only facilitates connecting people, ad hoc, and the insurance liability. Neighbours can then find each other, negotiate terms and schedules on their own. Using wisely what we already have, even if it is not the best and most efficient, goes hand in hand, I think, with rolling out the new and improved.

Bad Karma, unserer schönen Stadt, wird eine von Deutschlands Mustergemeinschaften zur Beförderung und Entwicklung der Mobilitat sein. Es deutet allerdings wenig darauf hin, außer die dreirädrigen Kapseln die um die Straßen laufen. Ich will nicht jemandes Absichten oder Entwicklungen verunglimpfen, aber doch obwohl die Autos sehen wie Kartsport von jemandes Heimwerkstatt, sind sie noch energieintensiv. Infolgedessen hat man bloß müßigere Autos. Ich dachte an diese Tatsachen nach dem Hören einer Episode des BR-5 und ARD Co-Produktion einer Serie auf der Mobilitat: die Mehrheit von Autos wird nur eine Stunde pro Tag getrieben. Diese Tatsache regte einige Internetunternehmer an, eine Plattform zu starten, lokal Car-Sharing statt mehr Verbrauchs zu fördern. Die Website verbindet Leute und hilft mit der Versicherungsverbindlichkeit. Nachbarn finden einander und machen ihre eigenen Verträge. Eine sinnvolle Nutzung der vorhandenen Ressourcen geht Hand in Hand mit der dynamischen technologischen Entwicklung.

pumpspeicherkraftwerke and urban-cozy

Apparently there is an offensive on, as Spiegel International (in English) reports, of radical knitters bent on outfitting their environs with yarn. Though now is not quite the season to dress a utility pole with a comfy and hand-made sweater, this creative expression of graffiti artists is pretty enchanting.

Additionally there was news of plans to capture the kinetic energy of fair-weather sources, solar and wind, and store it as potential energy. This project (auch auf englisch) is being studied in the abandoned mines of the Harz region, where we recently saw some of the expansive feats of engineering designed to harness nature. This idea, which has been applied elsewhere, allows excess power generated by the sun or turbines to be stored by transferring it to a pump system that fills a reservoir at a higher elevation, then acting on the same principle as a turbine spun by the onslaught of water at a dam.
Anscheinend gibt es eine Kampagne der radikalen Strickerin-Begabung beim Ausstatten ihrer Umgebung mit dem Garn, als Spiegel Internationale Berichte (auf englisch). Jetzt ist nicht das Wetter, um eine Straßenlampe in einen Wolle-Pullover anzukleiden, aber diese Graffitikunst ist sehr bestechend.

Zusätzlich es gab Nachrichten über Pläne, die kinetische Energie von Schönwetterquellen, Sonnen- und Wind zu gewinnen, und es als potenzielle Energie zu erhalten. Diese Projekt (auch berichtete auf englisch), wird in den aufgegebenen Bergwerke des Harz studiert, wo wir kürzlich besuchten. Die Idee, im betrieb anderweitig, erlaubt Überschussmacht erzeugt durch die Sonne oder Windturbinen, versorgt zu werden, es einem Pumpe-System übertragend, das ein Reservoir an einer höheren Erhebung füllt, dann demselben Grundsatz wie eine Turbine gesponnen durch den Fluss von Wasser an einem Damm oder Stausee folgend.