Attacks on Afghanistan

US strikes at Afghan targets, and more news (Deutsche Welle Spezial). Although everyone knew this was coming, it is a strange feeling, and I don’t really know how to describe it. The newscaster on the radio sounds different, more tense, and there are extra news announcements between the regular ones.

It all brings back memories of the Gulf War ten years ago, only this time the NATO will be involved as well.

Concentrating on mathematics, physics and pedagogy will be very difficult in the coming weeks. Other things seem much more important.

[Updates will be probably sporadic until the end of November.]

Community

Glad you’re back home, Craig!

Weird dreams

This ostrich (which didn’t make it into my Kenya journal) is for you, Garret. No hairspray! Sweet dreams…

Radtour

And finally, as promised on Sunday, some photos from our little bike tour, including pictures of the Post Tower, an office building that’s being constructed in Bonn. It is going to be 62 m tall and will then be the highest office building in North-Rhine Westphalia. Here’s a webcam where you can see the progress of the Post Tower. (It’s probably on top of the Langer Eugen.)

Diese Woche in der Zeit

Afghanistan: Mathe gegen Taliban. “Damit in Afghanistan Mädchen unterrichtet werden können, bedarf es vieler Schleichwege und Tricks.” Von Sabine Etzold.

AIDS: Segensreiche Mutationen. “Manche Menschen sind immun gegen Aids. Was sie schützt, soll nun ein Medikament werden.” Von Ulrich Bahnsen.

Siehe auch Zeit Schwerpunkt: AIDS.

Technik: Schlüsselloch zum Mittelmeer. “57 Kilometer unter Tage. Die Schweiz baut wieder einmal den längsten Tunnel der Welt.” Von Urs Willmann.

Referrers

Browsing through your referrers can be shocking sometimes. While it’s nice that nine people came to my site during the last 24 hours looking for info on the German Reunification, I find it very disturbing that no less than 44 referrers were from search engine queries about the World Trade Center attacks. Almost all are looking for photos, and too many of them specify they want to see photos of people jumping out of the windows. One even searched for WTC horrible photos, another for photos killed wtc people jump. Yikes, I just found out that I’m number one for both queries. Why?

And what’s wrong with those people? Didn’t they see enough of it on TV? Go away, there are no such photos here!

Reunification Day

Today is Tag der deutschen Einheit, or Reunification Day. Eleven years ago today, the former GDR and FRG were reunified after the wall came down on November 9, 1989. If you are interested in the history behind this day, I wrote about it a year ago. Some of the links don’t work any more, but most of them should still work.

Kenya

Tuesday, October 3, 1995: Last day in Kenya and flight back to Germany.

Internal

I added a link to a print-friendly version of my pages (in the left column).

Music

New York Post: Billy Joel as classical composer.

Link via Garret.

Billy Joel is one of my favourite musicians. He wrote some wonderful songs. I especially like Summer, Highland Falls and Say Goodbye to Hollywood a lot. I have notes for the songs, but they’re too difficult for me to play on the piano. I’m really curious about his classical music, so I think I need to buy the classical album.

I wanted to see him live in concert in 1998 when he was touring together with Elton John (Rocket Man and Piano Man, Face to Face Tour). My parents and I had tickets for the concert in Düsseldorf, but Billy Joel couldn’t perform because he had an inflammation of the vocal cords. Elton John played and sang by himself, and while it was still a great concert (he even did a song or two by Billy Joel), it would have been much more special with both of them. I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to see these two great musicians perform together…

I believe I can fly…

John:

“I remember being really disappointed when I found out that you couldn’t actually fly using a propeller cap. I must have been about seven.”

One of my favourite episodes of Calvin and Hobbes is the one in which Calvin orders a propeller beanie, waits for weeks (an eternity for first-graderes, I’m sure) for it to arrive – and then finds out it doesn’t make him fly.

Kenya

Monday, October 2, 1995: From Mombasa to Nairobi.

Astronomy

A reader pointed out an Astronomy Picture of the Day to me: Moon AND Stars. I think it’s one of the most beautiful photos of the moon I’ve seen so far.

Kenya

Sunday, October 1, 1995: Last day in Momasa.

I also posted a collection of all the links from the travel journal: Links. (The small pictures I’ve been using on the homepage are also collected there.)

Cooking

I posted the recipe for the Southwestern Pork Stew with Corn Bread Topping we cooked on Saturday. That’s where the butternut squash went…

Und weil das Rezept so schön ist, habe ich es auch auf deutsch übersetzt: Mexikanischer Auflauf mit Maisbrotkruste und Butternut-Kürbis drin. Das Rezept stammt aus einem Kochbuch, das ich in den USA gekauft habe: Betty Crocker’s Southwest Cooking. Strenggenommen ist der Auflauf also nicht mexikanisch, sondern aus dem Südwesten der USA. Die Küche dort hat aber einen starken mexikanischen Einschlag.