Archive for the 'English' Category
London: Flair of a Fast City
I like London, and my reglar litmus-test question is: Would I be able to live here? Yes, I could. It was my first time in London where I was able to get a glimpse of the city, besides just flying in, rushing to a meeting and flying out again. So I found a likening in strolling around the town and getting a sense of the strong flair which this city expels - no doubt. But friends of slowness, beware, this might not be the place for you. My mantra in work is speed-speed-speed, but when it comes to having a good time, then it’s definitely not.
Example: On Friday we had dinner in one of the most praised Japanese restaurants, Nobu. You call them up for a reservation, and before you can speak to someone, an automatic voice let’s you know that if you want to reserve for a table within one month, please hang up. All booked out. You get through and a friendly person takes the reservation for some day far in the future with the clear message that your slot is between 7 to 9 pm, before your table has to be cleared for the next shift. One day before salvation day, Nobu calls you in order to remind you of your reservation as well as the 2 hour slot-policy.
You arrive in time and get greeted by four very pretty ladies in black skirts, out of which one will escort you to your table (obviously looks is a criteria to get that job :-). You haven’t sat down properly, your waiter presents the menu shortly after which he takes the order. The dishes and drinks in the course of the evening will be brought by six different waiters. Precise just in time-production. You have hardly finished your plate, a helping hand from behind will remove it, and 2 minutes later the new course lands in from of you on you. So are the drinks which get refilled constantly and so on. The dishes are fantastic and the service is immaculate, both in terms of courtesy and efficiency. And just in time, at 8.56 pm we stood up from our table and left. Mission accomplished.
However, that’s exactly the point. I love perfectionism, and I was really in awe about the service-processes which function like a Swiss clockwork as well as the quality management for the courteous service. But, and that’s my decisive “but”, what is a rare delight if it happens with a mobile phone operator, tends to become awkward in hospitality. This kind of over-engineering in processes tends to carve out the very soul of what is supposed to be a romantic, relaxed dinner in a hospitable place. So my take on this: If you are looking for “Gemütlichkeit”, London might not be the right place for you; you better go to Munich or Croatia. But at least, no complains, one knows what to expect, so it comes as a bit of a “take it or leave it”-deal.
All in all, I enjoyed London, a highlight was certainly our trip to Wimbledon on Saturday where we got tickets for the area from my friend Christian (“Der Aal”). The atmosphere is truly stunning and one can feel the history of the world’s most important tournament. Likewise, yesterday evening I watched the epic history of Rafa Nadal against Roger Federer in the men’s final which ended at 9.16 pm local time in the 5th set with 9:7!
Old England, I’ll be back. And not to forget metioning: God save the Queen.
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Weekend in London ahead
Although I've come quit a bit around, I have never really seen London properly. I've been there twice during my time at Lycos in 2000/2001, but only two days out of which most of the time I had spent in meetings or in my hotel room. So I am even more delighted to get to see London this weekend "just for fun", especially as I have a "guide" who has been born and brought up there.
What's cool, too, my good old friend Christian from Bangalore (nom de guerre "Der Aal") had been able to organize us some tickets for Wimbledon on Saturday, to get into the compound at least, and get a glimpse on the athmosphere. Apparently there is also the opportunity to spend a fortune on the traditional glass of champagne with strawberries. Let's see … Really looking forward to visit Europe's most diverse metropolitan.
“Sawadee Krap”: City of Angels - City of Smiles
Although its already back more than three weks, just didn’t want to give this post a miss, got really busy after this fabulous short (too short) break. So with help from my ghost writer here goes… :-)
Take-off from Bangalore Airport (Bengaluru) which earlier in the day had its inauguration opening, the flight to Bangkok (=City of Angels) turned out to be the second flight to leave BIALA in a historic moment for me as an avid pilot. Celebrating the inauguration I spontaneously decided to sing my favourite song there because the passage of "Kentucky Fried Chicken" symbolizes through its movement of wings the transformational force which humanity has undergone through the rise of general aviation - LOL
An impressive achievement from this private-public venture. Surprisingly all went relatively smoothly, Thai Airways had to wait for the Indian flight to touch soil on the new runway. Understandably a matter of honour. Finally landed early morning in Bangkok, greeted by a man in a uniform, turned out to be the driver from Mandarin Oriental …
… where later in the evening we got to see this firework from our hotel room with a view on the Chao Praya-River.
Women, such details turn them into little girls :-) The days flew with meeting friends, clubbing, shopping, spa and delicious FOOD.
Two places to recommend Vertigo at Banyan Tree 61 floors above Bangkok, "vely lomantic".
And thanks to friends an insiders tip, an experience out of this world is the Seafood Market & Restaurant. where you buy all your ingredients from veg to fresh fish and then place everything in your trolley, check-out, sit down and the cook takes everything and prepares your menu. A feast for all senses.
Ah, the couples spa package at Mandarin was a lovely experience but honestly, the local “SERIOUS” Thai massages are still the best!
Guest at SeoFM.com in Munich: SEO-Outsourcing to India
All my 10 years of being a radio-presenter till 2003 slightly re-appeared yesterday night when I was guest at the radio show at SeoFM.com, a weekly online-format of Germany's leading Search-Engine-Optimizers (SEOs) Marcus Tandler (a.k.a. Mediadonis ) and his "partner in crime" Ralf Götz (a.k.a. Fridaynite). It's a one hour talk format which is about the latest development/gossip from the SEO-scene mixed with a lot of infantile jokes - to which I contributed gladly :-) In addition, Mediadonis interviewed my on my business of offshore outsourcing to India for projects revolving around SEO, which could be either building some content-centred apps, some BPO driven tasks for e.g. ad-campains or content-production. Here is the link to the show for time-shifted listening (German language).
So one after the other:
- Sure, surprise, surprise, India is good at software engineering, yet as I have written already on this blog a few times, it's always a number game, hence: If you have 5 people for at least 3 months, it's worth considering. The more and the longer - the better.
- For BPO also big numbers pay off and it always will be much easier, maybe only feasible, if the task is not to a large degree dependant on German language.
- Content-production can work, again in English language. The challenge will be in recruiting and quality assurance, and again, will only pay off with scale.
Mediadonis charmingy titled this show "Rent a Jobkiller", no wonder as I had explained plainly : "My business model rests on two pillars: One is slashing German jobs and increasing unemployment, the other exploiting poor Indians and taking away their future". As there are really people who argue such nonsense with fully conviction, I have made it a virtue to repeat it ironically as often as possible …
10 Years Ahead: Vision from Innovative Market Research
Came along this very interesting observation from Delphi , an "innovative market researcher" from Germany who is looking today at society in 2017. The focus is Germany with a tangible bullet-point list on the various aspect of change, like my favourites
- The retreating state prompts an enhanced self-responsibility of the individual for health, private pensions, continuous education, etc.
- It is about "re-conquering" one’s own sovereignty about when and where to make a decision.
- People start interpreting the gaps and blanks of the retreating state as their own creative spaces: empowerment instead of accepting deficits.
- To reach their goal of a self-determined life, people form situational alliances: cooperation, dialogue and networking are the key principles people will live by.
- The "New Social Responsibility" combines public spirit and self-interest in a win-win-situation.
Other countries in Europe, but also Russia and the United States are displayed here. Not too surprisingly, globalization gets perceived predominantly as a threat where the reaction ranges from patriotism to denial to retreat into the local community. Looking a bit at the comparison between Germany and the other countries, my old joke seems to get confirmed that fortunately Germany in its own shitty state maintains with France and Italy two other countries it can still look down to ;-)
Overall I picked those 5 bullet-points above as I feel they reflect pretty well my own values according to which I try to live in 2008. My disbelief in Vater Staat (=Father Goverment, as a German proverbs tend to say) is tremendously profound and although the strangulation by tax and even more tax, besides other intrusions, are not coming to an end, people with sufficient flexibility will make their own choices about where and how they want to live and follow the old valid principle "You better have a plan for yourself, before someone else has his plan for you".
Life is Beautiful
Oh Dear. It feels like ages since my last post which is not that wrong, that it was almost one month ago. I don't remember that I have been so inactive for such a long period of time. But anyway, the argument "no time" is too simplistic to be pulled out as I am a staunch advocate of the wisdom: "If you have too much to do, then simply do less."
I guess I could go on and on about what I did in the last four weeks. But in case someone asks "what happened?", I would have to respond francly "nothing unusual". It has been a very active, inspiring and beautiful time as I feel overall that life is great at the moment. To start with the small pleasures, I downloaded with iTunes the new Madonna album "Hard Candy" where she did it again, the by far sexiest 50-year old on the planet, particulary with her the songs "4 Minutes" and "Devil".
Sure, travelling was there as usual which is plenty and exciting. San Francisco (picture set) was a blast on the Web 2.0 Expo where I began to consider a relocation for a period of three months or so.
I understand pretty well why the valley is such a hotbed for innovation on the web, and the fact that the smartest people are around, is just half the answer. The other half lies in the openness in approaching and talking to others, without any arrogance or judgement, and looking forward to a good conversation. I remember being at a party when a young guy started to talk to me in a very friendly way, when I got told that it had been Mark Mullenberg, the founder of Wordpress, a blogging software with almost 60 mn users, one of them being me just typing this post into "his" application.
Then I happened to be in my Croatian home in Rovinj for the annual get-together with my best-best friends which I have known for more than 20 years since we went to school together. (Guido is missing on the pic; he's the photographer :-)
It's over and over an overwhelming experience to feel this trust and bonding as we grow older together. Not to withhold that when we are together in this constellation over a few days, all efforts of our parents for good manners just start to fade and we behave like 15-year old idiots in puberty, like right in the time when we me for the first time. And from the bottom of our hearts not a lot seems to have changed …
Rovinj's magic is able to capture everyone instantly; one day we chartered a Cessna 172 to inspect the scenario from above; here the overflight of the fisehmen's village with a little left turn above the peninsula.
Some more pictures from Rovinj, the flight, along with short video clips, are here on this Flickr-set. The next days to come will be rewarding, too. On Wednesday, I will be in Hamburg for an EO-party hosted by Thomas from Gimahot, Thursday with LH 754 from Frankfurt to Bangalore and 20 hours later for an extended weekend with my girlfriend to Bangkok, one of my most favourite cities.
Had to mention this fact with "my girlfriend" to avoid misinterpretation of my intentions there … ;-)
Visiting Vatsalya-Orphanage in Bangalore
Something I really don’t want to miss out on reporting was my visit to Bangalore’s Vatsalya Orphanage last Saturday. Thanks to my neighbour Shashi who is like a sister to me, takes care of my house when I am travelling and likewise of me when I am at home in Bangalore, has been involved for years into charity work for this place. The entire “Abhaya Ashram” of the compound has been handed over by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1948 then under the title of “Association for moral and social hygiene” - so says the inscript carved in stone at the entry.
I bow my head in deepest respect for all the work which Shashi and the other volunteers are putting into making this place a little oasis for those who would otherwise be forgotten and left behind. The place is neat, in good shape and very well run which is a challenge by itself: hiring some full-time staff, refurbishing things which need it most and constantly trying to find donors for funding.
I got such a very warm welcome by the around 50 children who were waiting in excitement for the “Uncle from Germany”, sitting row by row on mattresses. Many questions which I had to answer from “What do people eat in Germany” to “Why are you so tall”? I spend a good there, at some point solving some algebra equations with them (they really got all of them right). It was indeed for me very touching seeing all these bright, curious and energetic kids in front of me who certainly did not have the best start in the past, but thanks to Vatsalya could look into a brighter future.
Here is the bedroom of the children where they start their day really early at 5.30 am. And I could tell that they made a very robust and disciplined impression without missing out on giving them as much love as such a setting allows for. (Here are, by the way, a few more pictures on Flickr.)
My words in Vatsalya’s guestbook started with: “Where there is caring, there is hope”. Yet “caring” should not just remain an abstract metaphor on paper, but ought to translate into an obligation for myself to make a difference. For instance, reasonable money can pay for many clothes, books or desks in the classroom. And spending time there means equally doing a favour to the children as it doing a favour to myself for staying grounded to the realities of life and receiving these small little gestures that money can’t buy.
Bonvu.com: Smart Service for European Shoppers in the U.S.
The frenzy in Europe is all around because of the low Dollar. I heard of people flying to New York to go shopping for designer clothes which could be less than 60 % compared to European price levels. Sure, seeing Big Apple for a weekend as an experience itself is worth a trip. (I will be in San Francisco myself in 3 weeks for the Web 2.0 Expo and I am just considering getting myself an Apple iPhone . so here we are … )
Yet who is really just into getting stuff cheaper does not have to travel to the U.S. necessarily. What I like at eBay from the very beginning, even before it got traction in the German market with its German site, was that it made the world definitely flatter. You could see products on their flagship .com-site, bid for them and if you were lucky, win. Yet, it became pretty clear that there were a few hick-ups: First. many dealers did not ship to an address outside of the U.S. and made that pretty clear from the beginning. For second, buying an exciting article in the "long tail" for $8.37 and then paying for shipping to Europe (provided the dealer would do it) some $60, not to mention the hassle with customs declaration, made the whole procedure thoroughly unrewarding.
Bonvu.com seems to narrow that gap by offering a solution to exactly that. You get an a shipping-address in the U.S. (Bonvu's logistic centre), you can have you items inspected (including a picture which is sent to you), being stored for a while, getting bundled with other incoming shipments (huge benefit), made ready for customs clearance and finally being sent in one shipment to your home address in Europe. Great, isn't it. Of course the company takes a fee for that service, but looking at their ratecard , the prices are absolutely reasonable.
I really like this sort of service, because a similar concept similar brought me 4 years ago to India. There is still so much potential to not just do such a service between the U.S. and Europe, but also between many other countries. And there is absolutely no reason why free people in a free world should support the artificial windfall profits of fat corporates based on inexplicable price differentiation.
Mega-T.I.I.: “10 cm Hitler”-Fireworks
Trust that this is a category leader in my collection of T.I.I. (=This is India). Check the pics out, they are no fake. It’s a product to purchase in a regular shop, especially for festivals like Diwali where whole India is being blown up in controlled micro-explosions. And yes, it’s called “Hitler”, and to not make a mistake who stands behind as the godfather of the name, here’s Hitler’s picture, too.
The backside is equally enlightening. It names the company “Standard Fireworks (P) Limited” in Sivakasi, a town south-west of Madura in the state Tamil Nadu. According to Wikipedia, Sivakasi is famous for its fireworks-factories, more than 300 in number. Given that dense competitive landscape, there seem to be no strings attached to differentiate oneself “creatively” from the rest of the pack.
After more than four years in India, I no longer get really flabbergasted by such encounters. My interpretation of this name-choice is that it is certainly an allegory of Hitler’s war machine and its penetrating power to be transferred to the fireworks. Yet, there is a small relief looking at the seal on the backside again: The exact name of the product is in fact “10 cm Hitler” which might inadvertently point to true size of the prick - before he gets blown up.
Cockpit-Videos from my Flying in Bavaria (Germany)
Today I got a bit of video footage which was taken approximately one month ago when I was flying with a my good old school-friend Guido. Him, his wife and their little daughter whom I had visited last year in Luzern (Switzerland) moved back to Munich. And when I happened to be there briefly in February, too, we went for a ride with a Grob 115 which I charted from Augsburg Airport's Schwabenflug, an excellent flight-school and highly recommendable service-company. Guido luckily took his high-end video camera with him, my role that day was to act as "pilot in command".
The best to come are certainly the video-takes from within the cockpit, yet first due to legal regulations, I had to fly three take-offs and landings on my own because I hadn't done so within the required limit of the preceding three months. Hence, Guido was confined to the visitor's terrace from where he filmed the last of my three landings of that beautiful low-wing aircraft. One can see quite well that flaps fully extracted and coming in at a relatively steep gliding angle. This was due to an unexpected instruction from ATC to cut short the downwind and enter earlier as planned into the base and final. Hence at least some sort of excuse for the brakes which I hit a bit too hard as one can easily hear ;-)
Our route took us on a direct way from Augsburg to the little picturesque airstrip of Leutkirch-Unterzeil within 40 minutes. We were taxiing to the holding point, and upon entering Runway 07, throttle on maximum power, soft push on the right pedal to counter the torque-effect, rotation speed at 65 knots and there we go. Climb up with 75 knots.
After reaching our cruising altitude at 4,500 feet we had a relaxed and calm flight where Guido switched on the camera once again west of Memmingen with a quite nice view on the Alpes.
I can't deny that it always has a very particular charm land on a small airstrip compared to a big airport. For one, the workload on the pilot is way less in terms of rigid procedures, communication with the tower etc. which overall provides this unique sense of freedom which flying in its essence is meant to be. Here, we are turning from the base into the final approach of Runway 24. In order to not appear complacent, one can see that I slightly "overshot" to the right which I had to bring back on track for the entry, yet there was ample time and space to do so in a gentle manner.
After having a coffee in the world-legendary "Propellerstüble" on the airport, we took our seats, fastened the harnessed, closed the canopy and after taxiing to the point where we had touched down 20 minutes before we took-off back towards Augsburg.
Homing towards our departure point of the day which was equally our destination, one can tell well the difference in size of the two airports. Augsburg with it 1,200 meter runway looks really like a big airport which one can easily spot from the distance and have a good alignment into a long-final till the safe touch-down.
All in all, it was a fantastic flight, especially as we were so lucky with the weather and the visibility. And even more we were blessed that Guido had his camera with him so that we are able to share that memorable experience here.
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