Lego Star Wars: The complete Saga

My two boys just love this game. I'm not sure how many of you have children, or for that matter play games yourself (this ones great for adults too) but this game is recommended. I am so impressed with the puzzles and game play. We are playing it on our Wii and there is a coordination factor to take into consideration.

If you're looking for a great gift to place under the tree for the whole family, this is the one. If you don't have the Wii, I love it and you should have a look.

I hope I helped with your Christmas shopping a teensy bit.

All hail Lego !

Chris

Whats The Status?

I haven’t been a posting machine this week and will try and step the pace up soon. The new job is good but has a steep learning curve. I have been honing my German and have spent the last few days translating technical documents from German to English.

Being a native English speaker saps your energy when working in a pure German environment. Don’t get me wrong, I no longer have to translate when speaking the language. I do think, and sometimes even dream in German. But in the technology environment there are literally thousands of technical terms you need to know and know well. I’m in management and attend many senior level meetings, and that’s when the jargon starts flying.

There are so many abbreviations for hundreds of departments, (the firm employs 240,000 worldwide) applications, tools and more. Not only do the abbreviations fly around, but country codes and other things too. Fact is, no matter how knowledgeable you are you’ll have to learn the structure, processes and procedures of the company first. You learn these and learn them fast; you’ll survive, and be successful.

Now I tend to have a knack for this kind of thing and can traverse my way around big organizations rather well. So if I miss a few posts, don’t despair. Once I get settled here in my new job I plan to try and get back to the regular three to four posts a week.

To all you loyal readers out there, Thanks. Thanks for the nice mails and thanks for hanging out with me in my little spot on the web.

Chris

Barrelhouse Jazz party at the Frankfurt Alte Oper

Tonight’s the night! The Barrelhouse Jazz Band is in Frankfurt for their gala party in the beautiful Alte Oper, and we have tickets!

Susi and I have a baby sitter and we’re going to spend all night, and into the morning, listening to international jazz, swing and Blues.

The Barrelhouse (The Feature band) will open up the evening in the Alte Oper. The Frankfurt Alte Oper is an acoustic wonder. It’s all wood and eye candy. It seats thousands and every seat has a wonderful view of the stage. All the above make for a warm delightful atmosphere.

See pictures and more of the Alte Oper below:

http://www.alteoper.de/_en/indexstart.html

Later, into the wee hours, there will be jam sessions on all the floors and in the foyer. These exciting and informal sessions go strong into the early morning and feature the best names in the European jazz scene and some greats from the US also.

Just a note; the Barrelhouse received the key to the city if New Orleans and are one of the most respected German jazz groups in Europe. They have more than 20 Cd’s out and have been on the scene for many years.

See details at link below:

http://www.barrelhouse-jazzband.de/

I’ll continue tomorrow. I’ve got to run now, wrote this on the fly. Got to hit the shower and head off to Frankfurt.

Chris

Soccer, (Fussball) The World’s Favorite Sport

I was at my boys soccer tournament today. It was great! I spent most of my time yelling and walking the field with the other dads (and moms). Here in Germany they take their soccer serious. We started at 13:00 and ended at 16:30. Three and a half hours of pure soccer excitement. My boys played four games throughout the day and it was so exciting, painful and fulfilling. They won one, lost one and tied for two.

My oldest, Emanuel is very good. The coach had him play in all four games without pulling him. He played two different positions. He did great! They asked us if he could play in a higher league. Sadly, he has music lessons at the same time of the F league. The times change after winter though. So next summer he’ll be in with the big boys. (can you tell I’m proud)

My little one, Alexander played well too. He is only four, so our expectations are within reason. He is playing as well as his older brother at that age though and is learning fast.

Overall it was a nice day and great sport for my sons.

All Hail Soccer!

Go Lindheim !

e-Bay Exploits and Surprises

I have been using e-Bay since its inception and find it one of the best inventions on the planet.

I have now reached 179 items sold and have lost count of all the things I’ve purchased. I have worked hard to maintain my %100 satisfaction rating and am surprised at the gall of some folks.

I have been selling my High-end audio kit lately (with my kids- it’s in danger) and decided to sell it one piece at a time. The whole set is five pieces with two speakers extra. Some of it is from The US and is 120 volts. I recently put a piece in e-Bay with a clear description, and of course included the fact that the piece is from the US and is 120 volt - 60 Hz. I was very happy with the progress and some of the bidders double checked about the voltage. Living in Germany the German power infrastructure is all 220 volt. I did mention to all asking bidders that I have a step-down transformer that changes the voltage to fit the German system.

Well, low and behold, the last bidder and winner of the piece drops me a note, after his very high bid, asking if the piece is 120 volt. I of course answer quickly, that as mentioned in the sales blurb, yes, the piece is from the US and is 120v. The guy answers with “Oh, then I don’t want it.” I, being friendly and careful of my incredible e-Bay status of %100 satisfied transactions, inform him that I do have a transformer, and if he pays shipping, I’ll throw it in. The turd writes back rudely, “I don’t want it.” (like I tried to cheat him)

So, what do you do?

Turn him in to e-Bay and wait forever for my money and let them beat him up
Give up and re-post the piece
Verbally abuse this guy and then let e-Bay kick his rear
Nothing

Jazz and trains, what more can you ask for

In Maintal - Bischofheim they were celebrating the 150th year of their train depot. I took the boys and we had a blast. They had lots of steam engines and modern trains and all were accessible. And best of all there was Jazz. The Barrelhouse Jazz Band was there and they were great! Jazz, blues and swing, they played it all. Good fun and good music.

Chris