iBad Newsy

The iPod craze is going hemeroidal again with the release of both the 'iTunsey Rokr' and the new iPod Nano. Well, since the Rokr is only available in the States, I don't have much to say on that excpet it's not as cool as it needed to be. Nanos? I just might buy one of thoes Nanos.

Also in the offering is the new iTunes. Now, iTunes, I use on a daily basis. Big fan of the, iTunes, i am -- use it all the time on my PC laptop. I now have the new version, and oh how I pine for the old iTunes. This new one, feh. What with its new 'sleaker' look, has some not-so-sleak problems. What happend to my ogg files, can't play them any more. Well they play, techically, but no sound. And once one has started, forget it... crash-bang-boom if you so much as look at the player. Just learn to enjoy the song-lenght moments of silence. Guess Apple must have either changed foulder structure or I'll have to find a new plugin. Also it seems to hog alot more resources, so I get more skipping digital arrrrg! Where I never had a problem with the old iTunes.

Typical Friday Night

What are you doing on a typical Friday night?

Is this a game-show question or what? Ok, sure, I will play along...
[Cut to me]

Me: You want the one-word answer?
(canned laughter/uncomfortable pause)

Game Show Guy: Heh-Heh, sure-sure, heh-heh, go ons and give us a little for instance.

Me: Well, I very rarely ever am home, so my for instance would be come home after a crazy week, and enjoy as much sun as I could. Then I might just chill down into my home zone with some good music, light my two Candles. Read a little, write a little, then call up some friends and see what is going on.

Game Show Guy. Wow, are you wacky or what!
(Applause! Applause!)

[fade out]

Flughaufen Diarys

Not much luck here at the CGN. This time I arrived early to pick up my e-ticket on Lufthansa. However, as it turns out, this is not possible from Köln to Florence. Therefor I needed to purchase the ticket here, not possible on account that I have no credit card. Beat down from the early wake-up, then further pummeled by spending my day sitting at this airport waiting to inform my team of the problem and start working on a solution. First thing I have learned is that I need to verify the tickets further in advance, and be sure of the particulars. Second, I need a credit card—can't seem to earn much wiggle-room without one these days.

This little mistake might end up costing me $400 in missing a day, one that can not be made up. Depressing? Yes, but what can I do at the moment but learn from this experience best I can.

Sam is informed, he is working on his own end of the problem, it sure would help to be more involved on this level of the project. I wonder who is working this? I imagine normally the travel is handled by the client. But since this project was such last-minute, Sam must have had to arrange this himself using Matinz ( ? )

Handy at my side, tick-tock... tick-tock, waiting some solution bringers to arrive at work and deal with this little issue on the Stateside. I imagine Sam will sent me a text message when he knows how I am to proceed. Until then, guess I should figure out every airline offering connections to Florence.

The enclosed spreadsheet list out every possible connection in my general area to either Munich (more connections), Rome (many connections to Florence), or as close to Florence as I can possibly get (Pisa, Tuscany in general). I even found some pretty decent prices, however I don't have the time I need to jack around with prices.

Sam text me back, the Americanos are working out what went wrong on there end, and how to do it right.

Keep getting bit by this credit card issue. Got to have one to travel on business, this is clear.

Ok, problem solved. I need to go home, press Ctrl+Alt+Del and start all over again tomorrow.

For as many beautiful women that live in Köln, they sure are not very well represented at the Airport. Come to think of it, the airport is not really known for it's display of beautiful people, don't know why I find this suprising.

Of note: I am not impressed with Lufthansa. Really, how can e-tickets not be possible to anywhere in this day and age. But then the same could be said for people without credit cards. I should have a credit card from Deutsche Postbank, but not sure what happened to that. I will make a point to check into that today when I go home.

Flowers for My Mom

Long day today. The kind of long that only flying home to the states can be. Stressful enough on it's own merit, unlike other times, mom was going to meet me at the gate. It has been a long time since mom and I have seen each other, and I was pretty nervous about meeting her after all this time. The smart Baden decided he might trump any Bad Son stories by bringing a nice bouquet of flowers. Not the plastic airport/gas station variety, but something that was truly beautiful.

That is not as easy as one might think on an International Flight to Today's US of A.

Lets say by some chance one makes it past the outgoing security. After all, many Europeans travel with flowers.

Also, with a bit of imagination, the flowers might survive transport along todays commercial flying experience.

U.S. Customs. Homeland Security. Department of Agriculture? I just hope the American people remember that once our ancestors traveled with fowers. Or at least give a son the honor of arriving with flowers for his mother.