Tag Archives: Baltic Sea

#weeklyreview 06/2025

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Again a mixed week

Took Monday off to drive a friend to an examiner for his insurance to assess that he’s not capable of working in his job. He’s got severe ME/CFS, can’t sit or stand upright without passing out in a matter of minutes, has the attention span of squirrel before his brain fog kicks in etc. The examination was originally meant to be 2 days of 4 hours examinations each. But it was clear from the start that he’d not be able to do that. The bloody examiner sit’s in a non-accessible building in the south of Berlin. My friends needs a wheelchair to move around. Of course the building neither had an elevator nor a ramp or something. So it took my friend about 25 minutes to rob in his bum up to the 3rd floor. Yeah… because he can’t stand upright and just walk. And he’s also a bit heavy so can’t be easily carried. And our brilliant health system also does not pay for transport and carrying him upstairs anymore. You’d need three persons to move him, but the default staff on official ambulance cars is only two.

Overall a rather humiliating and exhausting experience for him. I’ll just hope that he’ll finally get’s the deserved payout from his insurance.

The good thing was though, that I 4 hours to roam around in Friedenau and was able to give my good friend Boerge as visit in his new home 😀

A black and white image of an ornate, old brick house with intricate architectural details. The building has a steeply pitched roof and multiple windows with decorative frames. A silver car is parked on the street in front of the house, and leafless trees surround the scene, giving a wintery feel.
Black and white photograph of a large historic building with a tall, rectangular tower and a turret. Bare trees line the street in front, with parked cars and a graffiti-covered truck visible. The sky is overcast, adding a dramatic effect.

Tuesday & Wednesday I was fighting with work bureaucrats the get an exemption for using my corporate USB Disks to free off space on my internal hard disk for experiments mit LLM models. I get the need for rules and restrictions etc. But there must be a way to not prevent people from doing their work. There is all this mandatory security training and tools etc. But I think there should be a way for people to somehow prove that they know what they’re doing and get rid of the usual corporate shackles that prevent you from doing stuff and cripple your expensive corporate hardware.

Baltic Sea

For the rest of the week (which was the Berlin winter holiday week for schools) my daughter and me took off to Usedom island. This time we stayed in Świnoujście on the polish side of the isle.

The weather left room for improvement the first two days with grey clouds, cold wind and drizzle. But that’s kind of what we came for. The sea is awesome at any weather and our hotel had a Spa area where we spent time in the pool and sauna 🙂 I also got a fair bit of reading done on my kindle in the sauna. “The dawn of everything” is really good.

We explored the local restaurants and roamed around the city, beach and piers a bit.

On Saturday we took a trip to the German side and payed Gulliver a visit and had good pizza on the pier restaurant in Heringsdorf.

A hazy offshore oil rig is visible on the horizon, set against a gray, overcast sky. In the foreground, gentle waves ripple across the ocean, and a small red structure, possibly a lighthouse or buoy, sits on a distant breakwater.
A large apartment building with rounded balconies on one end, featuring multiple stories and a uniform facade. The building is situated along a street lined with parked cars and bare trees. A bicycle path sign is visible, and the sky is overcast.
Black and white image of numerous seashells scattered across sandy ground, with some grass visible along the edges.
A bottle of Tsingtao beer and a filled glass placed on a bar table. The background features dim lighting with decorative string lights and blurred restaurant elements.
Black and white photo of a solitary lighthouse with windmill-style blades, positioned at the end of a stone jetty, extending into a calm sea.
A black and white image of a lighthouse tower. The tower is white with a dark stone base, featuring a small plaque and a door accessed by stone steps. The lighthouse stands on a concrete platform by the sea, with a faint view of the horizon line in the background.
A black-and-white photograph shows a solitary figure walking away on a sandy path towards the ocean, flanked by grassy dunes and fenced with wire. The sky is overcast, and the path leads to the beach.
A pile of assorted seashells scattered on a sandy surface, creating a textured and natural pattern. The image is in black and white, emphasizing the contrast between the shells and the sand.
A black and white image depicting a narrow, rocky path leading to a small, white lighthouse with windmill-like blades. The lighthouse stands at the edge of a calm sea under a cloudy sky. A lone figure is visible on the path near the lighthouse.
A narrow, rocky pier leads to a white windmill-like structure at the end, extending into a calm sea under a cloudy sky.
Seagulls gathered on a sandy beach near the water's edge. The ocean is calm with gentle waves under a cloudy sky. A distant breakwater with a red and green lighthouse is visible on the right.
Pathway leading to a beach, flanked by sand dunes with grass and wire fencing. Overcast sky and two people walking in the distance near the waterline.
Moai statue on a grassy hillside under a cloudy sky, with a chain fence surrounding it.
A glass mug filled with hot chocolate on a silver tray with a lace doily. In the background, there's a blurred glass of whipped cream-topped beverage. The tray also has a small white plate with a piece of biscuit.
A pepperoni pizza sits on a white plate atop a wooden table. Additional pizza is partially visible in the background. Beside the first pizza, there are salt and pepper shakers.
A bottle of Asahi beer and a glass with amber liquid are on a dark, marbled table. Next to them is a bottle of Acqua Panna water. In the background, two people are partially visible, one holding a glass. A white napkin is in the foreground.
A person wearing a white sweatshirt cuts a large, cheese-covered pizza with a knife. The pizza, with a golden crust, is on a white plate on a wooden table.
A slice of cheesecake dusted with powdered sugar, accompanied by a dollop of whipped cream sprinkled with chocolate shavings, and a small metal pitcher of chocolate sauce. It is served on a white square plate on a marbled tabletop.
Nighttime view of a lively outdoor plaza with illuminated restaurant terraces and string lights. The plaza features modern architecture, with curved buildings and a tiled walkway. A few people are walking in the foreground, adding life to the scene.
A plate of roasted meat topped with arugula, served with roasted vegetables and a small dish of mustard sauce. A bottle of water and a plate of fries are visible in the background, all set on a geometric-patterned table.
A vibrant parrot with red and blue plumage perched on a natural wooden branch, surrounded by a subtle, blurred background of a birdcage.
A vibrant green parrot with an orange beak perches on a branch, set against a blurred indoor background.

In the afternoon the sun finally came out and people were flocking to the beach for a walk. We saw the TF Line ferries coming in and eventually had really good Sushi at the Hilton Hotel Sushi Bar and Grill.

A bowl of ramen with various toppings, including mushrooms and fish cake, is garnished with a tempura shrimp on skewers. The bowl is set against a dark, textured background with a side dish and napkin nearby.
A bowl of ramen with sliced beef, mushrooms, leafy greens, an egg topped with sesame seeds, and narutomaki. It is on a dark textured table with a neatly folded napkin and a small dish with a piece of sushi beside it.
A platter on a dark marble table featuring assorted sushi, including sashimi, rolls, and nigiri, garnished with an orchid, ginger, and wasabi. Accompanied by a glass of clear liquid, a carafe, an empty bowl, a glass of amber beverage, and a dish with a white napkin.
A serene beach scene at sunset, with the sun low in the sky casting long shadows on the sandy shore. Several people are walking and enjoying the view near the water’s edge. The sky is a mix of soft oranges and blues, with a few scattered clouds. Buildings and a crane are visible in the distant background.
A scenic coastal view showing a narrow path leading to a white windmill-like lighthouse. People are walking along the path, and the calm sea surrounds them under a clear sky with a faint streak of clouds.
A large TT-Line ferry named "Huckleberry Finn" is in the water, illuminated by the setting sun. The vessel is white with blue and yellow accents, and features prominent smokestacks on top. A bird is seen flying nearby over the calm sea.
A sandy beach in the foreground with calm ocean waves. In the distance, an offshore oil rig is visible alongside two ships. The sky is clear and blue, creating a serene maritime scene.
Long shadows of two people on a sandy beach with people walking near the water in the background. The sky is clear and the sea is calm.

Overall a rather relaxing four days at the Baltic Sea.

But there was not a single node on the whole Baltic Sea. I was carrying my T-Echo the whole time to check for any nearby radios. Nothing, nada, zilch.

#weeklyreview 01/2025

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Silvester

early afternoon we’ve got the admittedly slightly crazy idea to watch the official fireworks at Binz on Rügen island. So we hit the road to be there by 6 pm and watched it with hundreds of other people at the beach of the Baltic Sea.

Been back for our own little Sylvester dinner with cheese fondue by 10:30 pm. Fortunately it was relatively quite in our village and we were in bed right after the mandatory cheers at 12 o’clock:D

Nighttime beach scene with people walking along the sand. In the background, illuminated buildings and a lit-up pier create a vibrant atmosphere. A carousel and colorful lights add a festive feel, and the sky is overcast.
Silhouetted figures watch a large, colorful fireworks display in the night sky above a waterfront. Bright orange and blue fireworks illuminate the scene against the dark background.
People are watching a fireworks display at night. Bright, colorful fireworks explode in the sky, illuminating the scene. The silhouettes of spectators stand on the beach in the foreground.
A bustling evening scene shows a crowd gathered in front of a well-lit building labeled "Strandschloss." The area is adorned with streetlights and a decorated, lit-up Christmas tree, suggesting a festive atmosphere. People are warmly dressed, indicating cold weather.

Back to (school) business

Heading back to Berlin on 1st as the rest of the week was officially no holiday for the school kids. Slightly stupid if you ask me to get back to school for just 2 days. I bet many kids and even teachers were probably not showing up because of holiday induced “illness”.

Bots talking to bots

Looks like Meta is going to allow A.I. bots on their platforms to appear as “normal” user accounts. What could possibly go wrong?

On 27 December, Meta’s vice-president of product for generative AI, Connor Hayes, told the Financial Times that a new set of AI products would allow users to create AI bots that “exist on our platforms… in the same way that accounts do”. The bots, he explained, would “have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content”. Before long, it is probable that much of what is posted on Facebook and Instagram (and perhaps to a certain extent WhatsApp) will not have been written by a human being. Bots talking to bots, sharing AI glurge, and upvoting is “where we see all of this going”, Hayes told the FT.

Source: https://www.newstatesman.com/business/2025/01/mark-zuckerbergs-fake-internet-empire

3D Printing resumed

I was neglecting my 3D printer for several month now. But today I needed a frame for a pop filter for a microphone. Found a model on printables, sliced it and spend about 1 hour debugging the networking of the RaspberryPi running Mainsail & Klipper.

But finally the printer just delivered without any issues. No calibration or other maintenance needed.

A 3D printer in action, laying down a white filament on a circular shape on a PEI-coated print bed. Various wires are visible around the print head, and the printer's mechanical components are highlighted.
A 3D-printed circular frame with a small handle-like extension is placed on a 3D printer's build platform. The surface reflects light, showing minor scratches, and the printer's control pad is visible in the background.

Subskription tracking

My friend Boerge pointed me to a software to track ones subscriptions. Of course is installed it as a self-hosting service. Recently introduced another friend to it and she seems to like it. In the wake of that I created a little introductory video.

Service overview

Also related to that friend starting to use one of my self-hosted services, I thought it’s about time to create an overview of all the services I do self-host. Mostly for myself, because I sometimes forget that I have a certain services and then I can’t always remember the URLs …

I wanted this to be a static site as it’s really just a simple overview. So I decided to look into HUGO CMS again. Which is a static site generator CMS.

The result can be found here: https://www.explain-it.org/

It’s still work in progress, but I’m happy with the start.

A webpage titled "Explain IT" displays six project cards, each featuring an image, title, brief description, and a date. The projects include tools and services like Solidtime, Matrix/Element, Tandoor, KitchenOwl, PlantUML, and Teammapper. Navigation links for “Deutsch” and “English” are visible on the left, and "About" and "Contact" links are on the right.

#weeklyreview 32/24

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Vacation – Part Two

This week we’ve been at our annual family vacation on Rügen island. This is a family tradition since more than 20 years. Various members of the family (mostly my in-law sisters families) rent appartments in the most eastern peninsula of Rügen and spend week there at the beach with the whole family. The kids play together and we have our standard repertoire of activities. There is the Rügen market in Thiessow. A local crafts and food market. And of course the obligatory visit to the Stoertebeker Festspiele. That is an open air stage play about a german pirate legend from the medieval.

This was again really relaxing since we don’t have to explore new stuff but can just enjoy what we already know. Weather was perfect. Not too warm, but warm enough to spend the days at the beach if we wanted.

My pouch of nail polish was quite popular this year. Eventually almost every body had their nails painted and decorated by my daughter. Even our middle son painted his nails voluntarily. I call that a success 😉

There is a whole thread on Mastodon (thread view) about this vacation

#weeklyreview 32/23

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Sunday – Driving to the Baltic Sea

Our yearly family vacation time has arrived. Since about 20 years we‘re spending a week during the summer at the Baltic Sea on Rügen island. That’s the largest German island and a popular place for vacation just laying on the beach.

Looks this year it will be slightly different. The weather is somewhat off this year. It‘s raining heavily and is also quite stormy. Temperature seems to be as low as a 14,5° C during the day.

Usually we‘d be just baking in the sun or slowly cooking in the shade of our beach tent. Apparently not so this year. Weather forecast looks like rain and storm the whole week. Maybe a bit better towards the next weekend.

As a frequent reader you might have already figured that weather doesn’t bother me 🙂 The more weather, the better.

As a first call to action after arrival I got my trusty bright yellow rain jacket out a took a walk on the beach. Lovely weather!

Me being really excited about the weather

Monday – too many people

It’s still raining quite heavily and still stormy. That didn’t stop us from going jogging and swimming this morning. My little tough cookie K3 and I had a nice run on the beach and hopped into the too warm Baltic Sea after that. As the wind had changed direction during the night the beach was now in lee and thus the water was much quieter and save to swim in.

We entertained the idea of finally giving the Ozeaneum in Stralsund a visit. That’s quite a drive from were our apartment is, but due to the weather there wasn’t really anything better we could possibly due over here anyway.

Bad idea as it turned out. Looks like too many people had the same idea. That’s bad enough to get off the peninsula we’re at with many people trying to do the same. But apparently most of them also had the idea to go to Stralsund. I can’t explain otherwise why the city was so crowded. We circled around the Ozeaneum place a few times. But there wasn’t any parking spot closer than at least 2km away. That distance usually wouldn’t stop us. But at heavy rain we considered this too much.

Instead we drove back an payed a visit to Binz to get us some famous “Franzbrötchen” and visited the Seebrücke.

Defective by design

In the recent weeks more and more people wrote about the very bad idea that is Googles “Web Environment Integrity“ (WEI). It’s an attempt by Google to convince websites to query a special API (of course provided by Google) whether the requesting browsing client is OK (according to googles idea of “OK”) to serve.

Greg Farough wrote an in depth article why this is destroying the very idea of an open internet:

Compared to its staggering potential effects, the technical means through which WEI will accomplish its ends is relatively simple. Before serving a web page, a server can ask a third-party “verification” service to make sure that the user’s browsing environment has not been “tampered” with. A translation of the policy’s terminology will help us here: this Google-owned server will be asked to make sure that the browser does not deviate in any way from Google’s accepted browser configuration, precluding any meaningful use of the four freedoms. It is not far-fetched to imagine a future in which sites simply refuse to serve pages to users running free browsers or free operating systems. If WEI isn’t stopped now, that future will come sooner than we think.

Greg Farough – https://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/web_environment_integrity_is_an_all_out_attack_on_free_internet

402 – Payment required

ChatGPT bot blocked from scraping my websites as training material. Thanks for the hint and code to Franz.

Wednesday – long walks

First thing in the morning was 6 km jogging barefoot on the beach. As usual, I overdid this slightly as I got some blisters under my feet from running. That wouldn’t be too much of a problem if we hadn’t planned to walk in the beach to the next village for lunch. That was also two times a roughly 5 km walk and didn’t make those blisters smaller.

I guess no more jogging this vacation then.

Thursday- Karls Erdbeerhof

Also a Tradition when we’re here: going to Karl’s Erdbeerhof. That’s a barn/farm style kids amusement park themed around strawberries. They have a large barn building turned into a restaurant, indoor playground and shopping area. They build their own sweets and manufacture them right in front of your eyes. In the outside area are a whole bunch of kids attractions like slides, climbing thingies, petting zoo etc.

I like that as it’s a local brand that has built it’s credibility over several years now. They managed to expand the concept and opened up more of these facilities in the north of Germany and even one close to Berlin. Kids love it their and their stuff is very friendly ( something unheard of in Germany).

Friday – Beach Day

Finally the weather was good enough to spent the day on the beach just chillin as we usually do during this summer vacation.

The Baltic Sea was very calm and I took a little swim straight out from the beach. Just about 200m out and then turned around to get back to the beach. The kind guys from the DLRG (German lifeguards) payed me a visit with their shiny read boat to check whether everything is OK. Apparently I was a little too far out of the formal swimming zone for their taste.

I thanked them for checking and confirmed I’m just happily paddling along back to the beach.

Earlier the day we hiked up the little hill and on top of the pilot tower to take the obligatory pictures from atop over the peninsula.

Saturday – Choo choo

Weather was good enough before lunch for beach. Wind direction has turned a bit so that we had a light breeze from the sea. Took a swim, this time properly with my buoy and parallel to the beach. No visit from the lifeguards 😉

In the afternoon kiddo and me too the traditional steam engine train from Göhren to Binz and back. Always a bit of an adventure for the steam engine nerd. The air was rather smokey and reminded me of the winters in GDR time.

#weeklyreview 05/23

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phew, this week was … slightly turbulent at the beginning.

  • f**ed up the hotel booking for the baltic sea and basically booked two hotels. Fortunately at different times. So we changed plans quickly and went earlier to Binz to not let those booked rooms expire while we had already payed them.
  • renovated the kids room and gave one wall a nice green color. Kid is happy
  • Baltic Sea at Binz was good. I like all wheather and we almost had all sorts of weather. Mostly stormy and cold. Sometimes rainy and icy. But also patches of Sun and an awesome sunrise on the last day
  • Spend a lot of time reading in and out the sauna (my kindle is sauna proven)
  • Finished the last book of the Trisolaris series: Death’s End
  • Started a new book: “Die Illusion der Vernunft“
  • Against my habits I was not swimming in the baltic sea. While I don’t mind the temperature I would need to be able to swim before I get cold. Since the beach is very shallow, I’d have to walk about 50 m into the sea before I could swim. Thats too much for me.
  • I did however went swimming on Sunday again back in our little village lake. We had to break the ice to get into the patch of free water. Water had about 1ºC.
a beech tree forest in the winter. The path is covered with the brown beech leaves.
picture of the moon with a clear white halo. Some trees can be seen in the lower right corner
A seagull standing on the shore. the baltic sea in the background. In the foreground some rubble from clamshells.
Some shells close-up on the beach
Some shells close-up with the beach blurry in the background
a red brick wall stretching into the baltic sea. The wall is partially covered with grafiti
the moon over the baltic sea behind some faint clouds. It reflects in the water and puddles on the shore.
view from a bridge back onto the beach of Binz city. The Kurhotel is illuminated in the night.
an old Nazi brick wall in the baltic sea.
an very orange/yellow sunrise across the beach on the baltic sea. In the distance the black silhouettes of the cost.
beach of the baltic sea with a long shadow of a person.
a sand sculpture showing 4 stacked hearts in front of an large hotel.
a metallic fire cauldron on the beach. Already filled with some large pieces of wood. Parts of the Binz Kurhotel in the background
View over the shore of the baltic sea. IN the distance some tents and the coastal forest.
bridge on the baltic sea looking back at the city of Binz. The flying flags on the bridge indicate that its rather windy.
a hand holding a small plastic back with waste picked up on the sandy beach. About to drop it into a round metal trash bin.
A person casting a long shadow on the sandy beach of the baltic sea
view from the high coast to the sea and further coast line in the distance.
Some globes scattered on a beet of dry gras. the globes are illuminated as its dark night.
signpost on the sea bridge in Binz. Reading "Seebad Binz". The bridge leads back towards the city and some illuminated buildings can be seen.

Baltic Sea

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I love simple things. I don’t necessarily need some fancy place for vacation. Ideally the vacation place has lots of nature and not so many people.

A good nearby compromise is the Baltic Sea on Rügen island. The island itself is pretty crowded and popular. But it also has some remote corners that are still rather simple and down to earth. One of those places is Thiessow in the east peninsula. We go there since many years. The beach is quite long so everyone gets their space. There are a few kiosks where you can buy ice cream, fries, pizza and most importantly Crêpe. What more do you need to relax?