okay, i think i'm getting the hang of empire avenue now

When I joined Empire Avenue a month ago, I thought it was nothing more than HSX for your friends on Facebook and Twitter.  And it could be, if that's how you approach it.  But I've since come to see that it's more than that.  It's a way to place a value on posts and interactions on these sites and others.  And that has made it far more interesting to me.

Others have written far more detailed posts than I could about it, about the strategy behind it, about the new frontier.  You can find them through your favorite search engine.

If you're already on there, come find me.  http://www.e-av.me/ONETAKE

 

 

baker baker

In January, Chris and I went to Las Vegas.  I attended the Consumer Electronics Show. Chris tagged along and got to spend a few days on the town.

I took these photos in Baker, which is on the way to Las Vegas.  It's in the middle of the desert.

This is a signpost that shows how far you are from everything:

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And this is supposed to be the world's tallest thermometer:

Img_2732

 

Stuck in German mode

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The transition back hasn't happened as quickly as I thought it would. I still marvel at all the stuff in the stores that's in English. I was in a bookstore today and instead of wondering how long it would take me to get through a novel with Google Translate, I was wondering how many novels I could buy and read - realistically - by the end of the year. And at dinner, at our favorite Japanese restaurant, I was still saying "entschuldigung" instead of 「すみません」

 

 

 

Things I've learned in my 11 weeks here (part 2)

(continued from part 1 )

7.  [Looking back at the first post, I now think this should have been #1]  Google Translate is extremely helpful. Hence the importance of mobile data (item #6).  I really don't remember how we did this when I was a kid.  Bulky dictionaries and phrasebooks, probably.

8.  Public transit here is very good, on the whole.  Trains run on schedule most of the time.  Buses... your mileage may vary.  Still better than my experience has been with buses in the U.S. though.

9. Monthly pass for public transit can be a good deal. It was for me.

10.  "die Rechnung" = the bill

11. Service charge is included, but most people round up the amount when they pay. Some give an extra Euro or three.

12. "How much is it" = "Wie viel kosten"  (A friendly barista at the Einstein's near Kochstraße told me that)

13. If the TV says it's picking up analog TV channels, it's probably connected to analog cable or satellite.  Over-the-air transmission went all-digital some time ago (2008?)

 

 

Things I've learned in my 11 weeks here (part 1)

I wanted to get some of this written down before I forgot about them. (Warning: Random list ahead.)

1. False cognates are tricky buggers. I've caught myself about to say "actually" instead of "currently" a few times since we arrived here. In English.

2. It's not bad weather that makes people fall ill. It's inappropriate/unsuitable clothing. At least that's what they say here. And to a certain extent it's true.

3. Bouché was a botanist who introduced greenhouses to the Prussian royal court. He came from a family of botanists and entomologists. (I can only imagine what dinner conversation during the holidays was like.)

4. There's more than one of everything in Berlin. C. and I joke about it, but it's more true than we thought. Two towers: the radio tower in the west, the TV tower in the east. Before the Hauptbahnhof there were two stations: Zoo in the west and Ostbahnhof in the east. Until last year, there were two airports: Tegel in the west and Tempelhof in the east. And so on...

5. "zu mitnehmen" = to go. Very useful phrase

6. Data packages on prepaid SIM cards:  O2 has decent wireless coverage in most parts of the city and the prepaid UMTS data plan worked well for me. I started with the 1GB package for €15/month then dropped to the 200MB pack for €10/month when I didn't wind up using all 1GB. Beyond the package limit they cap the transfer rate to GPRS speed, so it's still (barely) usable.

I also received more than one recommendation for Blau prepaid in response to queries about wireless data so I figured I would mention them here. Don't know what the specifics are but I suppose one could check their web site blau.de

Useful link: http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=177316