Archive for the 'Cool places' Category

Iceland vacation

Saturday, November 11th, 2023

From August 26 to September 8 this year, Laura and I went on a little adventure to Iceland. First we spent a few days with my dad and his partner Marion exploring the area around Reykjavik, then Laura and I went on a 6-day horse riding tour on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Finally, we drove South […]

Germany Trip

Tuesday, October 31st, 2017

In September, I went on a 10-day Trip back to Germany to visit family and friends. It had been a couple of years and it was time to go back an re-connect. I flew into Frankfurt via JFK and arrived on a crisp Friday morning. I picked up my rental car and drove to Bensheim […]

More winter weather

Monday, February 15th, 2016

The last few days have been pretty chilly around here. Sunday morning it was a brisk 15 Deg. F (-10 °C) and the waterfall at the little fishpond was almost frozen. Kühl war es hier die letzten Tage – minus 10 °C am Sonntag morgen. Sunday night it snowed and Monday we had freezing rain. […]

Fifa say Hell will host 2026 World Cup

Friday, November 14th, 2014

Breaking News from the Telegraph’s Alan Tyers: Hell will host the 2026 football World Cup after a Fifa report found “no reason” to overturn the controversial underworld destination’s successful bid. A 666-page report seen by The Telegraph concluded that Fifa had acted ethically in awarding its showpiece tournament, and suggested Lucifer be compensated with “a […]

Mystery solved: how the sailing stones move

Wednesday, August 27th, 2014

The sailing stones of Death Valley were one of natures curious and vexing riddles. How do the stones move to leave their distinctive trails? I wrote about this phenomenon a few years ago. Now I found the answer in this YT video published today:

Angelique Magnifique

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo – or Angélique Kidjo – is one Africa’s greatest voices and my favorite singer. Last night we had the great fortune to experience her and her band live at Durham’s Hayti Heritage Center. Plus … a guest appearance of none other than Branford Marsalis. Yes, that Branford Marsalis. […]

Paris – days 3 and 4

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013

Last week, Laura and I returned to Paris for the first time in 20 years. Laura flew out during the previous week for work and I followed her on Saturday for a few days of fun in the City of Light. After exploring the city over the weekend (see here), Monday’s primary focus was the […]

Paris – days 1 and 2

Monday, December 2nd, 2013

Last week, Laura and I returned to Paris for the first time in 20 years. Laura flew out during the previous week for work and I followed her on Saturday for a few days of fun in the City of Light. Saturday evening, we met with several folks from her work for a dinner cruise […]

The Tastiest Town in the South

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013

… is Durham, North Carolina, according to the magazine Southern Living: Part of what makes Bull City compelling is the confluence of old and new: Its foodie future is gradually wiping out its tobacco past, yet remnants of the town’s first industry provide a backdrop for its current scene. Both the American Tobacco Historic District […]

Offroading on the moon

Friday, December 14th, 2012

Amazing footage from Apollo 16

The fastest sailboat in the world

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

On Nov. 16, 2012, Vestas Sailrocket II became the fastest sailboat in  the world, when skipper Paul Larsen raced it along a 500 Meter stretch in Walvis Bay, Namibia, at an average speed of 59.23 knots (109.6 KpH or 68.1 MpH) and top speeds of 63 knots. (Subject to WSSRC ratification) Check out the video:

Ghosts

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Michael Glawogger’s film “Ghosts” on AlJazeera is a fascinating portrait of the sulfur miners at Kawah Ijen – an active volcano in East Java, Indonesia. It’s a quiet film with authentic voices and eerie, haunting images of men scraping sulfur from the smoking mouth of the volcano and carrying their heavy baskets out of the […]

Durham is Siriously cool

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

Yesterday I went on a bit  about how I think how cool Durham is. Little did I know that Durham is in fact Apple-cool. World-series level. Two fine Durham business establishments make a cameo appearance in the World-series Apple ad for the new jesus-phone. The ad features a new voice assistant called Siri and the […]

Durham is cool

Friday, October 21st, 2011

This afternoon was one of those Durham-is-cool moments. When I got off work and I was waiting for Julia, I saw that they were unloading a truckload of vintage Porsches from a truck parked across the street. One of the cars was an original 1950s Type 550 Porsche Spyder – worth about $1 Million! DSA was just […]

St. Paddy’s at Dain’s Place

Friday, March 18th, 2011

Ah … the Irish. What can I say – they know how to party. Dain Phelan and Zack Wheeler yesterday at Dain’s Place in Durham: I don’t much care for catholic saints, but David Plotz’ story about Ireland’s patron saint is pretty interesting: According to Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, Paddy’s […]

The Sailing Stones of Death Valley

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

This is beautiful mystery of nature: on a dry lake bed in Death Valley in California, rocks are moving around and no one knows exactly how or why. The rocks leave tracks in the dirt and they appear to move sometimes at speeds faster than a human walking. Yet, no one has ever seen one […]

The 2009 Doughman

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Last Saturday I participated in the second edition of the Doughman – but not in the competition this time around. Instead I helped document the World’s premier Quadrathlon  as one of four volunteer videographers. Due to our trip to Togo I was a bit late with the registration, and by the time I got serous […]

Beach blogging

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Right now I am in Atlantic Beach, on the North Carolina coast. I am sitting on the deck of a friend’s beach house with a drink, waiting for the last load of laundry and the dish washer to get done, so I can pack our stuff and head back to Durham. I can hear the […]

Country living in Bahama, NC!

Sunday, July 8th, 2007

FOR SALE: SECLUDED COUNTRY HOME WITH BIKETRAIL Two-bedroom secluded brick ranch with biketrail/walking path and large basement in Bahama (20 minutes North of Duke Campus). The single-track trail is a .33 mile figure eight on the 2.5 acres wooded lot. The trail runs through the forest, crosses the creek and climbs a nice hill.  The […]

Beach pictures

Tuesday, January 16th, 2007

Here are some more pictures from our weekend at the beach January 14/15! Sunday morning was gloriously warm and sunny; in the afternoon clouds rolled in, which made the light for our trip to Cape Lookout quite interesting.