Thoughts

The Hidden World

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“To my mind, most people go through life recoiling from its best parts. They miss the enrichment that just a basic knowledge of the physical world can bring to the most ordinary experiences. It’s like there’s a pulsating, hidden world, governed by ancient laws and principles, underlying everything around us–from the movements of electrical charges to the motions of the planets–and most people are completely unaware of it. To me, that’s a shame.”

Carolyn Porco
Senior Researcher
Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado
from The New York Times (Der Standard)
Taking a Tour of Saturn’s Famous Rings
Monday, October 12, 2009

Austria

Poached Egg with Ham Espuma

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On Friday, driving from Linz to St. Anton am Arlberg, we stopped in Salzburg at Hangar 7. Our intention wasn’t just to see the flying bull fleet; the Carpe Diem Lounge-Café offered us a wonderful breakfast. I found something interesting on the menu that I couldn’t resist: poached egg with ham espuma. I had no idea what to expect and was quite surprised: a bowl filled with a very fluffy foam covering the poached egg. After talking to the waitress and additional research, I am still wondering about the exact preparation of the ham-foam.

North American B-25 Mitchell
North American B-25 Mitchell
Thoughts

Slow Dance

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Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask: How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done,
do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?

You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

Ever told your child,
We’ll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say, “Hi”?

You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It’s like an unopened gift thrown away

Life is no race.
Do take is slower.
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

David L. Weatherford
from “The Four Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss
http://fourhourworkweek.com

Austria

Traunstein

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Traunstein Summit Cross

Today we finally made it and hiked the Traunstein! It has been on my list for a long time! Starting at around 7.30, hiking the Naturfreundesteig trail, we’ve been up at around 1pm (we are not really experienced hikers ;)), having one break. After an extended lunch break and some coffee we hiked down the (easier) trail via Mair Alm.

After all, for the last 30 minutes walking back to our car we experienced a thunderstorm and got pretty soaked. My hiking boots did not really turn out as waterproof ;). It is a wonderful hike but take into account it is one of the more dangerous mountains to climb in the area.

Atlanta, USA

No One Mourns The… Wicked!

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The last of numerous highlights at my south-west trip I decided to be the musical Wicked. I actually never planned to see it. Also I was very skeptical about this production. Anyway, I recognized it is played at the Orpheum Theatre so I just tried my luck. Fortunately, there were some tickets left at the box office.

The stage design and the music where just awesome! I purchased the cast album and the souvenir book during the intermission. Now it is your turn to discover the untold story of the witches of Oz!

Atlanta, USA

1150 Miles in Two Days and the Shuttle that Didn’t Take Off

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Spaceflight is something really fascinating for me ever since childhood. So we decided to drive down to Cape Canaveral for the Space Shuttle Launch STS-119, scheduled for Wednesday, March 11th. Around 30 minutes before we arrived we saw on a highway information panel that the shuttle launch was canceled. What a bad luck!

Launch Pad 38A and the Rising Moon

Anyway, after we checked in at our motel, we drove over to the place in Titusville where we were supposed to watch the shuttle launch. We just arrived in time for an awesome moonrise! After great dinner and some walk in Titusville we headed back to our motel.

Titusville, “Historic Downtown”

Next day we spent pretty much at the Kennedy Space Center. We started our tour at the Rocket Park and got right afterwards on the bus tour to the Shuttle Launch Pads, the Saturn V Center and the ISS Assembly Buildings. We also did the shuttle launch simulator and had a look at the shuttle model at Shuttle Plaza.

Saturn V Stage 2 S-II

Late afternoon program was hanging out on Cocoa Beach. After dinner (and some Starbucks coffee) we started our way back to Atlanta. Basically we drove 1150 miles for a three-minute-thing that didn’t happen. But it was a great trip! We had fun and I am impressed by spaceflight more than ever!

Cocoa Beach

We ended up watching the Shuttle launch this evening on NASA TV.

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