Monday, June 18, 2007
Summer Trips
The summer is for vacationing (at least that's the European mentality), so I've scheduled a couple trips around this continent in the summer months.
Sofie found a great deal through ADAC which is like the AAA for Europe. We've (hopefully) booked a BMW 1 series to cruise down to Switzerland in the first weekend of July. If Hertz can't for some reason swing the BMW for us, we'll get a similar car with navigation.
We'll be visiting Sofie's cousin on the border of Switzerland and Germany on Lake Constantine, attending a memorial ceremony for her uncle (who passed away a couple months ago) and then driving through the Alps to Bern for the Swizzeridoo, the international didgeridoo festival.
Should be fun. Always an American dream to tear through the autobahn in a BMW, right?
August 22nd, the USA Men's National Team plays in Sweden in an international friendly, a rematch of the US's first international match 91 years and 2 days prior. It's a quick, cheap flight from Berlin to Göteburg, Sweden. So, a couple Amercians and me are planning to just hop up there for the match and come back in the morning.
July Road Trip to Switzerland.
Sofie found a great deal through ADAC which is like the AAA for Europe. We've (hopefully) booked a BMW 1 series to cruise down to Switzerland in the first weekend of July. If Hertz can't for some reason swing the BMW for us, we'll get a similar car with navigation.
We'll be visiting Sofie's cousin on the border of Switzerland and Germany on Lake Constantine, attending a memorial ceremony for her uncle (who passed away a couple months ago) and then driving through the Alps to Bern for the Swizzeridoo, the international didgeridoo festival.
Should be fun. Always an American dream to tear through the autobahn in a BMW, right?
USA v. Sweden
August 22nd, the USA Men's National Team plays in Sweden in an international friendly, a rematch of the US's first international match 91 years and 2 days prior. It's a quick, cheap flight from Berlin to Göteburg, Sweden. So, a couple Amercians and me are planning to just hop up there for the match and come back in the morning.
Labels: Autobahn, BMW, Germany, Göteburg, Sweden, Switzerland, Swizzeridoo, USA
Saturday, June 16, 2007
future of television
I wrote a long reply to an email from my uncle Mark about answering his query to the future of internet television and thought it was worthy of sharing with everyone:
Ah, internet TV, well it is the way of the future I predict and right now options are just beginning to appear. From what I've seen thus far though, is that with price comes quality. I mean, there's a reason that HBO costs so much extra and that's because the quality of television is so much higher. But there are some options:
Some interesting things are, of course, Apple TV, which allows you to stream downloaded content to your TV from your PC. It also now has built in youtube functionality. It can also be hacked to run a full Mac OS, which makes it the cheapest Mac desktop on the market ;)
Next is iTVN which is what I predict TV will look like in the future. It's TV over your broadband connection
Unfortunately now their selection is kind of limited but they offer some interesting things like a la carte ordering. It's also the cheapest way I've seen to get Setanta Sports.
There's been a ton of buzz about Joost. Unfortunately it's not in public beta yet, so you have to be invited to download the program. It seems to have a big selection, but this runs into the problem I mentioned earlier in that it's not all the major channels/programs you're used to. You kind of have to let go of your traditional view of TV, like CNN, NBC, ABC, etc...the old giants.
And then for the slightly more grey market. If you want to watch some shows or movies (in low-quality) streaming over the internet, theres AllUC.org and TV-links.co.uk. If you want something a little higher quality (and in a little darker grey market) there's bitTorrents. ISOhunt and Pirate Bay are some huge bitTorrent search engines.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I've been doing a lot of searching for this sort of stuff in order to keep up with my american shows...
Ah, internet TV, well it is the way of the future I predict and right now options are just beginning to appear. From what I've seen thus far though, is that with price comes quality. I mean, there's a reason that HBO costs so much extra and that's because the quality of television is so much higher. But there are some options:
Some interesting things are, of course, Apple TV, which allows you to stream downloaded content to your TV from your PC. It also now has built in youtube functionality. It can also be hacked to run a full Mac OS, which makes it the cheapest Mac desktop on the market ;)
Next is iTVN which is what I predict TV will look like in the future. It's TV over your broadband connection
Unfortunately now their selection is kind of limited but they offer some interesting things like a la carte ordering. It's also the cheapest way I've seen to get Setanta Sports.
There's been a ton of buzz about Joost. Unfortunately it's not in public beta yet, so you have to be invited to download the program. It seems to have a big selection, but this runs into the problem I mentioned earlier in that it's not all the major channels/programs you're used to. You kind of have to let go of your traditional view of TV, like CNN, NBC, ABC, etc...the old giants.
*Edit: Since writing this email I got an invite to Joost and checked it out. It's a BEAUTIFUL program with a SLICK user interface and really does come through on everything it promises. Some downfalls are the lack of real quality entertainment and mainstream shows, but I have faith their channel listing will steadily grow (it may also be limited because my IP address is coming from Germany and I think you need different rights to distribute worlwide). The other problem is it only runs on intel-based macs, which mine is a Power PC, so I had to load it up on Sofie's iBook. Maybe it's time to buy a new Mac, eh? If you want an invite, drop me a line and I'll hook it up.
And then for the slightly more grey market. If you want to watch some shows or movies (in low-quality) streaming over the internet, theres AllUC.org and TV-links.co.uk. If you want something a little higher quality (and in a little darker grey market) there's bitTorrents. ISOhunt and Pirate Bay are some huge bitTorrent search engines.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I've been doing a lot of searching for this sort of stuff in order to keep up with my american shows...
Labels: Apple, bittorrents, itvn, Joost, TV
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Congrats USA
Just quickly, I want to congratulate the USA Men's National Soccer Team on reaching the Quarterfinals of the Gold Cup. Well done lads. Keep it up!
The Todcast - Episode 8
Ok, this is the first episode post-hard-drive-crash so forgive the poor quality and limited content as I try and recover my webcam drivers and lost files. I also lost Final Cut Pro so I may need to make a new intro.
This episode was recorded a few weeks back, but chronicles Stephan and my experiences getting into, enjoying, and drunkenly leaving a G. Love and Special Sauce Concert in Berlin. This was Stephan's first time seeing G. Love and he was blown away. Every other day he tells me what an amazing show it was. (this was my 3rd time and..well..likewise)
To download episode Acht Eight, ctrl+click here.
PS- I say a couple naughty words in this one. Sorry Mom.
This episode was recorded a few weeks back, but chronicles Stephan and my experiences getting into, enjoying, and drunkenly leaving a G. Love and Special Sauce Concert in Berlin. This was Stephan's first time seeing G. Love and he was blown away. Every other day he tells me what an amazing show it was. (this was my 3rd time and..well..likewise)
To download episode Acht Eight, ctrl+click here.
PS- I say a couple naughty words in this one. Sorry Mom.
Labels: Berlin, G. Love, Germany, live music, special sauce, todcast
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Darby
Nate, a fellow American expatriate and Chelsea supporter, has invented a great drink with a classic name. You can order it especially at our local English-speaking dive, Hairy Mary's:
The Darby
2 oz. Maker's Mark Bourbon
Ginger Ale
1/2 Lime, squeezed and placed in glass.
Ice cubes (if you can find them in Europe in the Summer)
Simple, yet effective, and damned tasty. It's basically a bourbon highball, but the key ingredient is the half lime.
The Darby
2 oz. Maker's Mark Bourbon
Ginger Ale
1/2 Lime, squeezed and placed in glass.
Ice cubes (if you can find them in Europe in the Summer)
Simple, yet effective, and damned tasty. It's basically a bourbon highball, but the key ingredient is the half lime.
Labels: bourbon, darby, drinks, hairy marys
Hard Drive
Hey everyone.
My computer's back, with a blank hard drive. Yes, that means I lost everything that was not backed up onto my external (THANK YOU DAD FOR THAT FOR CHRISTMAS!!! What incredible foresight).
So, it's taking me a bit to really figure out what I lost. I do know that most my photos from the beginning of 2007 and a lot of my music is gone. That means if you have some photos I took or basically anything that documents my whereabouts and activities in the early part of 2007 I'd love to have 'em. (Guess I really should take Jason's advice and open up a flickr account, huh?)
I do have some videos recorded from the weeks before/during/after The Great Hard Drive Crash of 2007 (as I like to call it) so I'll be making some small podcasts out of those. Although, along with my data I lost all my programs, including Final Cut Pro, Flash and my webcam drivers so it's making this a little difficult.
Alright, stay tuned, and help me out if you can!
My computer's back, with a blank hard drive. Yes, that means I lost everything that was not backed up onto my external (THANK YOU DAD FOR THAT FOR CHRISTMAS!!! What incredible foresight).
So, it's taking me a bit to really figure out what I lost. I do know that most my photos from the beginning of 2007 and a lot of my music is gone. That means if you have some photos I took or basically anything that documents my whereabouts and activities in the early part of 2007 I'd love to have 'em. (Guess I really should take Jason's advice and open up a flickr account, huh?)
I do have some videos recorded from the weeks before/during/after The Great Hard Drive Crash of 2007 (as I like to call it) so I'll be making some small podcasts out of those. Although, along with my data I lost all my programs, including Final Cut Pro, Flash and my webcam drivers so it's making this a little difficult.
Alright, stay tuned, and help me out if you can!
Labels: flickr, hard drive, photos, programs
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Culture Shock Moment
German guys sit down to pee. All of them. Honest.
Stephan and I have come to the hypothesis that it has something to do with the design of most German toilets. They have a shelf that sometimes makes a mess with a strong stream from a distance but if you have another idea let me know. It's a mystery.
Stephan and I have come to the hypothesis that it has something to do with the design of most German toilets. They have a shelf that sometimes makes a mess with a strong stream from a distance but if you have another idea let me know. It's a mystery.
Labels: Germany, toilets, travel
