Tag Archives: food

#weeklyreview 11/2025

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walking to the office

Managed at least once to walk to the office this week. It’s a 5km walk in one direction. So doing about 10-11km total on such days. That’s good exercise. And indeed it’s been to toll at all now compared to the first time I did this. The weather was cold and air quality this week was really bad. The large deconstruction side on the way certainly contributed quite a bit of dust.

A large green demolition excavator is tearing down a graffiti-covered, partially demolished building. Rubble and debris are scattered on the ground. In the background, there are two cranes and a modern building under construction. A person wearing a white hard hat is standing near a temporary structure, observing the site.

making pasta

Felt for pasta this week. First batch was the simple aglio, olio e peperoncini. Lot’s of garlic of course.

A close-up of a plate of spaghetti aglio e olio, featuring sautéed garlic slices, red chili peppers, and chopped parsley, glistening with olive oil in a dark bowl.

Second thing I tried was a Amatriciana sauce. I remembered that from one of our nearby lunch restaurants. Looked up a recipe and it’s surprisingly simple and fast to make. I could not find the correct meat in the nearby stores – guancale – and had to make do with normal bacon instead. Also seasoned with balsamic vinegar and it came out quite delicious. I like that it’s simple and fast and doesn’t take hours of cooking to extract the umami from the tomato sauce.

Diced pieces of meat sizzling in a pan, coated in a rich, dark sauce.
A close-up of a pan filled with simmering red tomato sauce, with visible chunks of tomatoes and onions. A wooden spatula is placed in the sauce, indicating stirring. Steam is rising from the sauce, suggesting it's being cooked on a stovetop.

Apple Updates

Security updates for macOS and iOS. Some people complained that such updates would re-enable Apple Intelligence for them when they had previously turned it off. Didn’t happen to me. I remained turned off.

A laptop and a smartphone, both displaying the Apple logo with progress bars, are on a desk. The smartphone is connected to the laptop with a cable. A white keyboard and a decorative cat figurine are also visible, along with several wires and monitors in the background.

Considering it pretty useless anyway. And Gruber even called it vaporware.

AI/LLM investigation

My local AI/LLM investigations continue. Still hindered by our corporate security policy which prohibits the use of any USB storage. So I can’t offload stuff to my company payed external USB drives to make room for new LLM models and virtual machines.

I’m trying to evaluation and develop with the LLM stuff in a secure way. Means… I don’t want to use any public APIs or services to not leak any company material to the outside. I don’t trust any of the LLM API providers despite us having a legal framework in place to “securely” use the likes of CoPilot and ChatGPT.

UX hell & Car roof

Realised after about 4 days that I left the car sunroof tilt open. Fortunately it didn’t rain in these 4 days. I don’t understand why VW didn’t implement a notification feature for such cases and the ability to remote close the sun roof. The car does have all the capabilities for sure. It’s connected to the internet – the companion app on my phone clearly tells me that the roof is open and the car is locked. The companion app can send me notifications as it does every once in a while that charging is complete.

The roof can be closed with a long press on the key fob – so remote triggered. So why the heck is it not a feature of the app to get notified that I forgot to close the roof and to close it remotely?

Close-up of a car sunroof slightly ajar, reflecting cloudy sky and surrounding buildings. The roof surface is dusty. Other parked vehicles are visible in the background.

torch

Eventually got myself a little kitchen torch to sear and caramelise stuff 🙂 (Ab)used it to pimp my coffee

A torch is caramelizing sugar on top of a cup of coffee, likely creating a crème brûlée latte, on a wooden table.

Nails and Bacon

On Friday I was invited to a Serrano bacon and wine at a friend’s place. Finally time and reason to get my nails somewhat done again.

A thumb nail painted with vertical rainbow stripes is prominently displayed against a light tiled floor background.

#weeklyreview 10/2025

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Last week was a week of crazily beautiful sundowns. Clear skies and city scenery made for some spectacular photos.

A cityscape at sunset with vibrant hues of purple, pink, and orange filling the sky. Silhouettes of trees and a building are in the foreground, and a prominent tower is visible on the horizon. The building has multiple balconies, some with lights on.
A city street at sunset with vibrant orange and pink hues in the sky. Contrails cross the sky above tall buildings, and the Berlin TV Tower is visible in the distance. Cars and a tram are moving along the wet street, and a bare tree is silhouetted against the colorful sky.
City street at sunset with colorful sky featuring intersecting contrails. The skyline includes tall buildings and a distinctive tower. Traffic lights are visible, and some cars are on the road.

Hacker Stammtisch

Tuesday was this month session of the old nerds. There were animated discussion about a IT cooperative. One friends bugs us since years with that idea. It sounds nice and some of us kinda do have this with our self-hosting efforts at a small and family scale. But I doubt this can take off commercially. If you offer IT services to companies and need to respect SLAs and all the regulatory requirements it quickly becomes involved and expensive. Or someone is being exploited …

Plate of breaded schnitzel topped with a lemon wedge, served with potatoes. A glass of beer and a mug with utensils are in the background, alongside a bowl of salad.

Crocusses

On Friday I used to good whether to have a walk over the nearby cemetery. We can see it from our balcony and I could tell it’s full or crocuses.

A vibrant field of purple crocus flowers with orange centers, growing densely in a lush green meadow. The foreground is in sharp focus, while the background is softly blurred, creating a depth effect.
Close-up of a small patch of flowers featuring a blue blossom in the foreground and light purple crocuses with orange centers in the background, surrounded by green grass and brown undergrowth.
A cluster of blooming purple and white crocus flowers with bright orange stamens, emerging from the sunlit ground amidst dry grass.

Glorious mug

A friend gifted me this glorious golden mug for always bringing tea for our winter swimming group. Isn’t it gorgeous?

A reflective, gold-colored mug held in a hand, filled with frothy beverage, against a blurred outdoor background of grass and trees.

Rust programming

I also continued working on my little Rust program to batch upload images to Pixelfed. Adding support for various options to generate the image descriptions.

I gave up on trying to write the whole thing with help of tools like ChatGTP, Claude or Copilot. It just doesn’t work in my eyes. As soon as stuff gets more complex, one spends more time explaining context and functionality to the tools than writing code. I’m only using some help for short functions and lines that needs fixing or alternatives. But just doing the good old RTFM and reading blog posts with examples and explanations seems still a more effective way to get this moving forward.

It’s not fully done yet, but the code is available in the branch “Ollama” on my repo.

#weeklyreview 07/2025

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Not too much going on in week 06. The highlight certainly was the birthday of our daughter. Finally a real teenager. She had wished for a New York Cheesecake and surely got one.

A cheesecake with a browned top is partially sliced, revealing its creamy interior. A large knife rests beside it on a table. In the background, there is a plate with additional dessert slices.



To celebrate she took a friend over to our house in the countryside and we went to the NaturTherme Templin for the Spa and Sauna. Since we got there early it was empty and I had the first two session of sauna all for myself.

Got some reading done and a total of 4 sauna session.

A partially frozen pond with protruding ice formations surrounded by tall grasses. A wooden bench is visible in the background amid a snowy landscape.
The frozen fountain at the NaturTherme Templin

Monday was again family dinner day and K1 was over for and stayed for a session of Trival Pursuit.

A black and white photo of a Trivial Pursuit board game set up on a table. The game board is divided into colored pie-shaped wedges representing different categories. Game pieces are visible on the board, and a box with cards is open nearby. A person is partially visible, seated at the table.
Two glass jars on a table; one filled with sliced cucumbers and olives, the other with a red paste. A small bowl with a spoon is nearby. In the background, a red armchair and a grey sofa are visible.

Mid week it started to snow seriously in Berlin and by Thursday we had about 15cm of snow. As it was also cold enough the snow stayed and nicely covered the city in a white blanket. That also amazingly quieted down the whole city.

Demolition site of a tall building in a snowy urban area. The building shows exposed floors and debris, with a construction excavator in action. Nearby trees and the ground are covered in snow, and the area is fenced off.
View from below of a tall tree with bare branches covered in snow against an overcast sky.
A snowy courtyard is surrounded by buildings and trees. The ground is covered in snow with visible footprints leading to a small playground featuring a slide and a seesaw. One of the buildings is illuminated, casting light onto the snow. Trees in the background are frosted with snow, and a faintly lit tower is visible through the trees.
Snow-covered balcony with a plant pot in the foreground, adorned with fairy lights. In the background, a snowy landscape features a modern building, a small purple structure, and trees.
Snow-covered urban street at dusk, illuminated by warm streetlights. Parked vehicles, including a red van, line the side, while snow blankets the sidewalks and trees. Buildings flank the street, and the sky is a deep blue.
A snowy urban scene with a tall building in the background, surrounded by leafless trees covered in snow. The street is lined with parked cars and trucks, and the ground is blanketed in snow.
A snow-covered urban street at night, with parked cars and scooters along the sidewalk. Streetlights illuminate the scene, casting shadows on the snow. Bare trees line the street and a person can be seen walking in the distance. The buildings appear to be multi-story residential apartments.
A small snowman with stick arms stands in a snow-covered yard, set against a backdrop of snow-laden bushes and a tree.
A black and white image of a snowy urban scene with an electric scooter covered in snow, parked near a building entrance. Snow blankets the ground and surrounding shrubbery, while a modern building is visible in the background.
A round, colorful mural-covered fountain in a snowy urban setting, with a tall, glass-fronted building in the background under a partly cloudy blue sky.
Sign for Alexanderplatz U-Bahn station with rainbow stripes in a snowy urban setting, surrounded by tall buildings.

Friday my best friend Sam was back from her long trip to Australia and we had breakfast together. Sooo good to have her back.

#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 05/2025

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Pretty nice run on Sunday with a friend. The little pond in the forrest was still frozen. Swans on the lake showed us their lift-off skills. And finally some cranes were screeching in the flooded meadows of the other village.

Went swimming right after the run and it was …. freaking cold. Water hat around 2ºC. My Apple Watch decided that that’s too cold to operated and turned off. Fortunately only after I finished the swim and the recording of the session.

A frozen lake with a thin layer of ice, surrounded by leafless branches in the foreground and a forest of evergreen and bare trees in the background. Overcast sky above.

Beers with a friend

Sunday evening I went out for beers with a new friend. US American, teacher of art. Was a lovely evening and we had lots of fun talking about the good old early days of desktop publishing. Turns out he’s one of the people who have used Aldus PageMaker in the early/mid 1990s before it was bought by Adobe and layed the foundations for Adobe InDesign.

Dinner

Monday evening the oldest kid came over for dinner and we made roasted potatoes and broccoli/cauliflower casserole. Looks like we’re making these dinners a regular thing now. Nice 🙂

A glass baking dish with roasting potatoes is in the foreground on an oven rack. Next to it, a metal tray contains a broccoli/cauliflower casserole. The oven is closed, with a warm light illuminating the food.

BBQ Ribs

Wednesday was finally time for another session at Chicago Williams BBQ with the colleagues. Still some of the best ribs I ever had.

A plate of glazed ribs is placed on a lined metal tray, accompanied by a small cup filled with mashed potatoes and a spoon. Nearby, there are condiments, a drink container, and a plate with a partially eaten dish. The setting is a wooden table, suggesting a casual dining environment.

The little pond

We have a little pond in the forest we own. On Saturday we went checking whether it had gained some water in the last weeks of substantial rain. And it did. Back in autumn last year it was almost completely dried up and only a few puddles and mud at the ground. But now it looks like a pond again. It’s only about 50cm deep water at the moment. But the surrounding deer and boars like it.

A small pond surrounded by dry grass and leafless trees on an overcast day. Tree reflections are visible on the calm water, and a forest is seen in the background.
A tranquil pond reflecting the surrounding forest with tall, leafless trees. Grassy tufts emerge from the water's surface, and the sky above is lightly clouded.
A tranquil pond reflects the surrounding winter landscape, with bare trees and patches of dry grasses. Fallen logs and branches partially submerged in the water add texture to the serene scene. The background features a mix of evergreen and leafless deciduous trees under a cloudy sky.

Let’s hope it get still some more before they dry season starts.

Antarktis

On Saturday our little village society organised a film evening by a German Astro particle scientist about Antarctica. He had been there several times to carry out Neutrino detection experiments. He also showed us some films of the Antarctica Film Festival and we learned that the German Neumayer Station III is one of the most modern on the continent.

#weeklyreview 52/2024

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Spotify is evil

I watched most parts of the documentary “The Playlist” about Spotify on Netflix. And the founder Daniel Ek doesn’t come across as someone I’d want as a friend. Their customer support sucks and now I read this article about how they betray real artists with their own fake artists.

As a user I still like the simplicity a single app for all my listening desires brings. I also like the idea of paying per use. Means I don’t have buy an album upfront but rather pay for the times I’m listening to tracks. I don’t know the economics of this model and whether it could ever work out as artists hope it would.

But it looks like something needs to change to make this whole setup enjoyable again.

Smarter, not harder

Renewable energy sources are the future and many countries pushing to reach their goals in building out these sources. But the planning approaches are not yet adopted to actual use. A new study shows that a more fine grained planning approach can improve the actual use of the generated energy and thus avoid the need for costly storage solutions.

Christmas – too much food

Oh there was too much food involved on Christmas. We had a duck and cooked it on low temperature (80° C) for several hours. Red cabbage was prepared a day ahead. Roast potatoes as a side and fruit salad, Tiramisu and Mohnpielen as dessert. The duck came out good this year. Crispy on the outside, tender inside.

A roasted duck in a black pan is on a table with a red and white checkered tablecloth. Surrounding it are a dish of golden roasted potatoes, a bowl of red cabbage, and empty place settings with glasses and plates.
A close-up of a crystal glass with geometric patterns, containing ice cubes and amber liquid, placed on a red and white checkered tablecloth.
A plate of food featuring roast beef topped with gravy, two boiled potatoes, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and red cabbage. There is a bottle of non-alcoholic drink in the background and a fork and spoon set on a table with a decorative napkin.
A close-up of a bottle opener with a green handle resting on top of a bottle labeled "0.0% Alkohol." The background features a table setting with a water bottle, cork coasters, and a colorful cloth.
A bottle of Botucal rum and a glass of whiskey with ice are placed on a red and white checkered tablecloth. The background features a bookshelf, framed artwork on the wall, and festive decorations, suggesting a cozy indoor setting.

Shrinking

Was binge watching “Shriking” on AppleTV+ over the holidays. Really lovely show. I like the characters and the acting. One thing that stroke me as a bit too much is, that almost all of the characters where a bit too quick-witted. I mean I love snappy comments and catchy dialogues. But I think this show has taken it a bit too far. Nobody I’ve met so far is that quick and fluent. Especially not in that density of characters. You might have one or two friends which are quick-witted. But all your friends & family? C’mon.

Still a nice show though. And the final episode… I think I’ve got something in my eye watching that. Bill Lawrence certainly is a wizard of his trade.

Bike Ride

After all that food I had to do at least some exercise. As I also got a brand new bike helmet from Santa, I took my crappy bike for spin in the countryside. 30 km in 90 min across gravel and roads. My favorite songs on the headphones. Can hardly get any better than this.

A black-and-white image showing the view from a cyclist's perspective, focusing on the handlebars and road ahead. The cyclist's hands grip the handlebars, and the blurry motion suggests movement on a smooth, empty path.
A long, wet road stretches into the distance, flanked by barren trees and grassy fields under an overcast sky.
A black and white image of a car driving on a wet, winding road flanked by leafless trees, under an overcast sky. The road's reflective surface highlights the vehicle's taillights in motion.

Open Stage

On Saturday we attended the last open stage event in the MKC Templin. As always it was good music and interesting artists. This time it ranged from solo singers from Norway, renaissance tunes, handpan + flute, Rock’n’Roll to German Rap and songwriter music. Always amazed of the bandwidth they manage to bring on stage.

This time I particularly like that there was a “FCK AFD” sticker prominently placed on the Laptop on the stage. The AFD threatened the MKC in Templin with defunding because they were not allowed to rent the venue for their party shit.

A dimly lit stage with blue curtains, equipped with musical instruments like microphones, a keyboard, drums, and guitars. The stage is framed by red curtains, and the audience is seated in the foreground. A small paper sign on the stage front notes a date: 08.02.25.
A person is playing a handpan drum mounted on a stand during a performance. Sheet music is on a stand nearby, and a toy lion is visible in the foreground. The background features a blue curtain and stage equipment.
A stage with two people during a live performance. One person is seated, playing a keyboard, while the other stands singing into a microphone. The stage is lit with purple and blue lights, and musical instruments like guitars and a drum set are visible. A large, colorful plush toy and a lantern are placed on the stage. A small audience is seated in front, and there's a sign on the stage with a date.
A laptop covered in various stickers is resting on a keyboard stand in front of red curtains. The stickers include logos, text, and graphics. Cables are visible around the keyboard.

#weeklyreview 51/2024

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pushing through the last work week of 2024. Almost finished the project I’m working on with just a few things left to be pushed into 2025.

In general I conclude that I personally find it much harder to work solo on a project than to tandem with a partner. That being said, this is true for project and program management work, not necessarily on technical tasks.

While technical work is mostly solving a particular technical problem that you can approach by various solo techniques: reading documentation, trial and error, experimenting etc.

With project management and program management there are also well known patterns but they require certain structures in the organization to exist. If theses structures do not exist, you have to get creative to compensate. Often this involves talking to people, explain stuff, get feedback and drive conclusions and decisions.

All this I find easier when I have a peer that I can work and reflect with. Mutual encouragement, reflection and support.

This book should have been a blog post

I was reading “Thinking fast and slow” by Daniel Kahneman. I truly interesting book about his research on the inner workings of human thinking.

But for me it’s rather repetitive and thus I decided to put it down for the time being. I didn’t made much progress lately on it. And while talking to a good friend about the book he had the same issue and said “This book should have been a blog post”. Don’t get me wrong. It’s very important work and eventually earned Kahneman a Nobel prize award. But I need to move on for the moment and read something else. I might finish this one later.

My next book is “The dawn of everything” by David Graeber and David Wengrow.

A breathtakingly ambitious retelling of the earliest human societies offers a new understanding of world history

A bright red, repurposed phone booth filled with books, serving as a mini library situated in a quiet outdoor setting with houses in the background.

Dinner with friends – again

On Tuesday I had the privilege of another dinner at my friends house. Together with another friend of hers we enjoyed Mac & Cheese and good conversations.

Although I had to really focus to understand the English accent of the other guy. It sounded familiar but I couldn’t initially tell why. Later I learned he’s from Manchester. That’s also where the Oasis brothers Gallagher come from. And their accent is also almost incomprehensible

View of a city street with historical buildings, including a dome and prominent television tower in the background. The road is wet, suggesting recent rain, and has a marked bike lane. There are streetlights, a few pedestrians, and vehicles on the road. The sky is cloudy, adding a moody atmosphere.
A city street scene featuring the Berlin TV Tower in the background, a historical building with a green dome in the foreground, and street lamps lining the road. People and vehicles are visible along the street, creating an urban atmosphere.

Christmas shopping

On Thursday I did some last bits of Christmas shopping at the Dussmann Kulturkaufhaus. That’s always a treasure chest of magic. One always gets out with more than originally planned. Kind of like the IKEA for cultural goods.

A calendar page displayed in a store, featuring an illustrated outdoor scene with a wooden table and chairs under a tree. Sunlight filters through the foliage, casting shadows on the ground. The illustration is titled "Daheim" and is created by Kat Menschik for 2025.

Village advent events

On Friday it was our turn for this years living advent calendar in our village community. This year instead of being a host ourselves we joined forces with a few people from our village and organized the public event at the weather hut in our village. We brought hot wine , beer, cake, curly kale, dim sum and other stuff. Had a fire pit and luck with the weather.

Overall a very lovely evening with delicious food and good company. Good to see this community effort and spirit growing the third year in a row now.

Over all we had more people hosting events this advent and more people attending. People who hadn’t hosted in previous years and also an bunch of first time attendees.

On Saturday the final event took place in the neighboring village with self baked bread and self baked Stollen. Rather delicious.

People gather around a warm fire in a barrel at night, in front of a wooden pavilion with lit interior. The scene has a cozy, social atmosphere, with people dressed for cool weather.
A tray of sliced, baked dishes topped with cheese and vegetables is placed on a wooden table with a striped napkin beside it. The setting appears to be an outdoor gathering with people standing nearby, and a drink container is visible on another table in the background.
A group of people are gathered outdoors at night, illuminated by string lights and a nearby pavilion. They appear to be socializing near a fire pit, with a bicycle and a tree visible in the foreground. The scene has an autumnal feel, with fallen leaves covering the ground.
A bicycle parked against a tree is adorned with glowing string lights wrapped around its rear wheel. The ground is covered in dry leaves, and a cable reel is visible nearby, suggesting an outdoor setting at night.
A campfire burns brightly at night, with logs arranged in a pyramid shape. The flames are a mix of yellow, orange, and hints of blue, casting an ambient glow. The ground is covered with leaves and ash, and there's a small candle lit in a glass holder on the right side.
A nighttime outdoor scene with a lit bonfire in the foreground surrounded by grass and leaves. In the background, a group of people stand near the entrance of a half-timbered house adorned with string lights and decorations.

#weeklyreview 50/2024

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gyming too hard

Went a bit too long on the rowing machine and bruised my bum. Probably also due to improper wardrobe (sitting on a seam or something). So rest of the week was more stepper, strength and gymnastics

Close-up of a Concept2 PM5 monitor displaying rowing exercise data, including distance, time, and stroke rate, positioned against a blurred window background.
Display screen of a Concept2 rowing machine showing a time of 1 hour, 7 seconds, a distance of 12,593 meters, a pace of 2:10 per 500 meters, and a stroke rate of 23 strokes per minute.

Shell history tool

Found a tool that help managing the shell command history slightly better: atuin.sh

The tool provides sort of a GUI for browsing and search the command history. You can see stats for individual commands and also sync your shell history across machines if you feel fancy. The syncing can be done either via atuin main server (E2E encrypted), or via a self-hosted backend.

A terminal window displaying a command-line interface for Atuin v18.3.0 with the options "Search" and "Inspect" at the top. The interface shows a list of Python script commands related to "jira-query.py" with parameters and timestamps. A command is being typed at the bottom.
Terminal window displaying Atuin v18.3.0, showing a command history inspector with the command "python jira-query.py" and associated statistics. Includes exit code distribution, runs per day, and duration over time in bar charts, alongside session details and command duration information.

Banana!

More fruit dehydration fun. I tried Bananas and they come out crips and delicious after about 12hrs and 50º C.

A green container filled with dried banana chips on a wooden surface. The container is open, revealing the slices neatly arranged inside.
A round, transparent food dehydrator sits on a wooden surface, containing sliced fruits, including bananas, layered inside. The dehydrator's design features several stackable trays for drying the contents.
A wooden table displays a variety of dried fruits. There's a large glass jar filled with dried apple slices, a green plastic bowl with dried banana chips, and a black plate with several long dried banana slices. A dehydrator is partially visible in the background.

Christmas concert at school

The annual Christmas concert of K2s school took place on Wednesday. Of course kiddo only told me one day before. Fortunately I didn’t had any meetings that day. So I could attend and witness the progress the kids made – or made not 😉

Let’s be frank … sometimes the music can only be loved by parents. Some kids simply just don’t practice enough or don’t like to play at all. But hey, that’s OK. At least they tried and improve over time. Most of the performances were actually good and impressive. Especially the string instruments (violin and such) are really difficult to play. Even more stunning that they manage to get something reasonable out after just half a year with their instruments.

Farewell

Thursday I attended yet another farewell dinner for a dear friend who’s leaving for Australia for a few month. Awesome people and delicious food. Can’t put in words.

Feuerzangenbowle

On Friday I was invited for a traditional German christmas event of “Feuerzangenbowle“. For this you have a pot of red wine with spices and you soak a cone of sugar with high percentage Rum and set that on fire. The fire will melt the sugar and let it drip into the spicy wine. Making for a spectacular “Glühwein” 😉

A cozy indoor setting featuring a fondue pot with a person dipping bread into it. The table is set with various bowls and dishes, and decorative candles add a warm glow. In the background, a window is adorned with plants and curtains.
A festive table scene featuring a brass pot heated by a small candle. A hand pours liquid over a sugar cone held by tongs above the pot. The table is adorned with various bowls of snacks and dishes. In the background, decorative candles and a potted plant add a cozy ambiance.
A person is adding liquid to a flaming dish with a ladle in a dimly lit room. Candles and an aloe plant are visible in the background, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

#weeklyreview 49/2024

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More Gymming

totally enjoying to be back in the gym. Of course over exercising according to my fitness apps. But it’s so good to use and feel the body work.

A display screen on a Bluefin Fitness exercise machine shows user data, including an exercise time of 39:13 minutes, distance of 20.02 km, calorie burn of 1029.6 kcal, average speed of 30.6 km/h, and average wattage of 128 W.
Treadmill display showing exercise data, including a 30-minute duration, distance of 17.22 km, 817.3 kcal burned, average speed of 34.4 km/h, and average power of 132 watts. The control panel features illuminated start, pause, and stop buttons.
A person in a bright yellow jacket and black cap takes a selfie in a mirrored elevator. They are wearing headphones and holding a smartphone, with a backpack on one shoulder. The elevator's metallic walls and button panel are visible.

It was also raining quite a bit this week so that I had to dress up properly to not arrive completely soaked in the office. But you know I like weather 🙂

grey beard gathering

This month hacker gathering was smaller than usual. But nevertheless fun. Learned about TypeScript and an Intel 8080 hardware debugger.

BnB crew Christmas party

Our famous Beer’n’Burger crew met to cheat on the burgers and have goose instead at the Prater Garten restaurant. Awesome as always and delicious.

A group of people seated at a table, sharing a meal. The table is laden with a large dish of roasted meat garnished with red berries, a bowl of yellow dumplings, glass mugs of beer, and a bowl of gravy. There are also various condiments and utensils visible.
A small Santa Claus figure wrapped in red foil stands on a wooden table, surrounded by keys and a white mug with a graphic design.
A plate featuring a roasted duck leg, potato dumpling with gravy, sliced cooked red cabbage, and a baked apple filled with red berries. There’s also a half-full glass of dark beer, condiments, and a red foil-wrapped chocolate figure in the background.

Farewell party

On Friday evening we had the farewell party of my best friend. She’s leaving for Australia for a few week. It was just mind blowing 😉

Event Hoppping

On Saturday we went event hopping. There was of course the living advent calendar in the village that we attended. Also visited an exhibition opening in the MKC in Templin and eventually joined the open studio of the lovely Silke Schmidt where I took the selfie with my spirit animal :D.

A man with a beard, wearing a beanie and colorful scarf, is smiling next to a large polar bear sculpture.

new gadget

Got a new gadget from one of the villagers for free. A food dehydrator 🙂

Wanted to get one for quite a while already but never committed to buy one. Now I can make my own dried fruits and maybe even dried meat

A food dehydrator with sliced apples arranged on the transparent drying trays, set on a workbench surrounded by tools and wires.

#weeklyreview 48/2024

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Started the Sunday with a run through the rainy forest. Thought my running partner would bail out due to the rain, but he didn’t. That’s why I like partners in crime with sports activities. I would have not have run that morning as it was really too wet. But cancelling a commitment to a friend – no way.

View of a person walking on a grassy surface, wearing black shorts and gray running shoes.
running on the wet ground
A misty field stretches into the distance, bordered by a dense forest under an overcast sky. The ground is a mix of green and brown grass, with a narrow path visible on the left. A few buildings are faintly visible at the forest edge in the distance.
misty fields in the forst
A misty landscape showing a grassy field with a light dusting of snow, bordered by dense pine trees under an overcast sky.
misty fields in the forst
View of a person’s legs wearing athletic shoes with black and green socks, standing on a gray cobblestone pavement. A metal chair leg is partially visible in the top corner.
ready to go

And of course we went swimming afterwards. The week was rather cold and even had a bit of snow. The lake cooled down to 4 – 6ºC

Finally the gym is open

After almost half a year of renovation, the gym in the office is finally open again. I know I’m spoiled, but I did miss my almost daily training sessions.

Did three days in a row this week plus running in the evening with a friend. That doesn’t compensate for the laziness the last couple of months, but it’s a start.

Close-up of a Life Fitness exercise machine dashboard inside a gym, displaying workout data like distance and time. The background shows a rainy cityscape through a large window.
Display screen of a Bluefin Fitness exercise machine showing workout statistics: exercise time of 24:10 minutes, distance of 13.87 km, 1000.1 kcal burned, average speed of 34.4 km/h, and average wattage of 202 W. The screen also has options for playing media files, and there is a blurred window view in the background.

HERE Winter Party

On thursday we had our office winter party. That was fun and I met some colleagues and friends from Eindhoven as well 🙂

A lively nightclub scene with people dancing and mingling under dim lighting. In the foreground, a glowing red sphere with the number "43" is prominently displayed, adding a distinct focal point. The background shows a busy bar area with decorative elements and ambient lighting.

Angela Merkel

On Tuesday there was a book signing event at the Dussmann Kulturkaufhaus with Angela Merkel. She would be signing her Memoir called “Freiheit”. I showed up one hour earlier to get a spot in the line and a chance to get the book signed. It was a bit chaotic on site. There were queues in the ground and first floor. I tried to find the end to enter the queue. But turned out both queues had turned into a circle with no end or beginning. Asking the staff didn’t help. They were unaware and unorganised at this point in time. But slowly realising that they had to step in. So the just split the queue in the lower flow and guided the ever growing number of people to start forming a queue outside. So I had to wait a bit outside the entrance the queue was quickly growing around the block.

I waited about 1,5hrs in the queue and signing had started meanwhile. But the queue barely moved 4 meters. Eventually a store manager came outside and announced that the people waiting outside will not make it as there are far too many people waiting. Apparently more than 500 people had queued inside already and there was probably the same amount waiting outside. Merkel only was scheduled for 1,5hrs.

So I left without a signature. Will have to catch up with here somewhere in the 😉

A person holds a book titled "Angela Merkel: Freiheit" with a photograph of Angela Merkel on the cover. The book has a blue background, and the person holding it has colorful nail art.

Cooking

made a “proper” pasta bolognese from scratch. mmmhhh , that was good.

Chopped carrots and onions being sautéed in a pan with a wooden spoon.
A skillet on a stovetop contains browned ground meat being sautéed. A wooden spatula rests in the pan, and a bottle is pouring liquid onto the meat.
A pan filled with a rich, chunky meat sauce, possibly a Bolognese, simmering on a stovetop. The sauce contains visible bits of ground meat, onions, and various vegetables, all combined in a reddish tomato base.
A skillet filled with a rich, red tomato-based sauce, containing ground meat, sliced garlic, and chopped red chili peppers. A wooden spatula rests inside the pan.
A plate of spaghetti topped with a rich, chunky meat sauce, garnished with grated cheese.

Christmas tree

On Saturday we had our traditional Christmas tree decoration in the village. As every year, the people of the village gathered around the tree that was donated by of the villagers. We brought some snacks, cakes, bbq, hot and cold drinks etc. and were enjoying to community event.

Our village even managed to have Santa Claus for the children again this year (there was a dispute between the man that used to organise this the last years, and so the former Santa was cancelled this year. Big drama in the village).

A person dressed as Santa Claus stands on a residential street, wearing a red suit and hat with a white beard. They are holding a large green sack adorned with a Santa face. In the background, there are houses with brick roofs and a garden area.
A person wearing a plaid shirt and a bear hat decorates an outdoor Christmas tree with glowing string lights and ornaments. It's early evening, with a darkening sky and trees in the background, giving a festive and cozy atmosphere.
A person dressed in a Santa Claus costume walks down a muddy, rural path lined with trees and puddles. A red-roofed building and a fenced area are visible on the left. The sky is partly cloudy, and the scene conveys a rustic, outdoor setting.