Hi-Tech Clothes

Germans take their free time activities very seriously.  Their hours spent on cars, sports, or any hobby are focused and dedicated.  Combine this with their appreciation for technology, and you get some great products.

In this case, it's the lowly sock that they have elevated to a sophisticated tool (well, relatively speaking of course).  I bought these for the hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro, and wore them recently with Frau A on a winter walk through the snow to the monastery at Andechs.

Check 'em out below.  They are fitted for right and left feet (and have the R and L to let you know which is which) and of course have the latest heat-trapping, moisture-wicking materials and specially designed knit pattern (including tiny strands of silver to keep feet smelling nicer).  But the icing on the cake is integrated rubber beads woven into the inside of the top of the sock. 

Why? 

Well, winter hiking is common here, so these are designed so that you can pull the socks over your long underwear and the rubber beads cling and help them stay up -- maximizing heat retention and preventing bunching in your [naturally, also high-tech] hiking boots.

Easter Eggs (not chocolate... software)

Don't misunderstand:  I realize Jesus hasn't been born yet this year (Christmas is over a week away) and it sounds like I'm already trying to crucify him (Easter).  I'm not.  The term "easter egg" here refers to a hidden message or function in media that takes an undocumented trick to reveal.  The Hallelujah Chorus in an HP lab machine made me remember these, and of course they can be found on YouTube.

Here are some of the classics from the bit-heads at Microsoft:

It's old (looks really dated now) but was so neat at the time.  Microsoft Word 2.0 (released in 1990 for Windows 3.1 !) crushes the WordPerfect monster.  Yes, there actually was a time where then was a real competitor to Word.

Many easter eggs are a means for the programming team to release steam and feel like they're getting extra credit for all the hard work.  Gotta keep it hidden from the boss, though.  Internet Explorer 4.0 (released in 1997) had a basic easter egg that scrolled their names.

1997 must have been a good year for easter eggs.  In Excel 97 (a.k.a., Version 8.0), the programmers included some frame code from the Microsoft Flight Simulator!  If you fly the right direction you would see a monument with their names scrolling on it (shown in the video).  Check out the process to activate this -- it's insanely random.

Coming into the 21st century, you have to raise your game.  So the programmers releasing Excel 2000 (oddly enough, in late 1999) wrote and hid a knock-off of the classic video game Spy Hunter and paved their names on the road.  Now we're talking.  What a way to immortalize your work.  Bonus points for having to use Excel and Internet Explorer to release the surprise.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has "taken measures to eliminate undocumented features from their products" in recent years, and the easter egg harvest has been lean.  At least we have the Google pranks/hoaxes and Google Doodles (time and context changes to their corporate logo on the search page).

Interestingly, when I was a software development manager at CSC Conculting, sometimes our client partners would ask us up to put something in the program.  Of course, we never wrote an easter egg...

Hallelujah Handels

I love this kind of stuff:  a "flash mob" sings the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah in a shopping mall food court.  Even better -- some bystanders (bysitters?) join in!  And the sound quality is excellent given the circumstances.  Thank you America... this probably never would be organized in Germany.  Wish I could have been there.

Letting the-nerd-within loose again:  a more, um, clinical version can be found in the HP 3314A Function Generator and Frequency Synthesizer.  It seems that one of the equipment's internal test functions, coded by the developing engineers, plays the Hallelujah Chorus (unfortunately monophonically, but I'll bet very accurately).  What is the 3314A?  You don't know???  I thought everyone uses a variable symmetry, phase-locking, low-distortion waveform generator!

And to wrap things up, two of the all time great "performance art" videos (not Christmas-related):

Hammer Time Mob Dance

and  Frozen Grand Central Station (from ImprovEverywhere, check out more vids on their website)

Bored, Educated Germans Build the Ultimate Scarecrow

"Achtung! Achtung! Bitte fliegen Sie weiter"

"Attention, attention. Please fly somewhere else."

Strangely polite....

No more loose batteries?

I've been using rechargable batteries lately. Between the Wii controllers, my translator, and new flash for my camera, I'm eating up loads of batteries.

But, for our trip, I grabbed a pack of batteries in case the flash needed them, instead of bringing yet another electrical device.

Usually when you open a pack of batterie, they open in the middle and then the others all fall out in the drawer. The Germans have invented an innovative and simple solution for this....just open the package for the batteries you need, and leave the others closed. Simple, and efficient!

I Found Nemo at Media Markt

I've been in serious need of a USB drive to replace my last one....let's just say it's from back when a 128 MB thumbdrive was considered large....

But it's not something you ever remember to buy and I hadn't seen any that really said "BUY ME!!!" until I saw this guy. I know clownfish don't really speak, but he got the message across loud and clear

German Beer, American-style Bottle?

One of the Erdinger Brewery's nine beer offerings is the Erdinger Champ, described on their website as "the cool Weißier."

(I'm not going to even get into how bad the translation is on Erdinger's own English website....it would be a very long post.  Though I may have to write them and let them know how they're really missing the meaning.)

 

However, I think the bottle design may be really cool and innovative.  It's your typical American-style longneck bottle, but according to their website:

"features an integrated opener on the bottom for extra convenience. Simply place one Erdinger Champ on top of another to twist open the bottom bottle. As you can see, it's always best to order two bottles and enjoy Erdinger Champ in company!"

Sure, it's a bit unnecessary in Texas, where most beers are twist-off or you can always find an Aggie whose class ring serves as an emergency beer opener, but it's a cool idea.

The reviews of the beer are pretty bad and as I've never seen it sold or advertised anywhere despite being introduced 10 years ago with a heavy marketing campaign, I doubt it's done very well. In fact it might be a good candidate for a Marketing or Strategy case study about how (not) to position your product....

But my first thought upon seeing this on the Erdinger site was "Is this supposed to be like an American beer?" It may seem minor, but the shape and size of the bottle, plus the fact that it is meant to be drunk from the bottle, are nearly heretical here in southern Bavaria.  There are both a proper glass and a proper way to pour a Weißier.

Erdinger Champ, in its 0.33 mL longneck

Erdinger, in the standard 0.5 mL bottle and glass

As much as I may mock the rules sometimes, we have seen that temperature and pouring method DO actually affect the taste (and probably the glass shape, though we haven't tested those yet).  In reality, most German beers will give you a good beer experience however you pour them, but it is possible to optimize the experience if you want.

 
What is the proper way to pour a Weißier?

Here we have "Brother Helmut" to help us out

And a very non-traditional, but totally accurate mechanical version for all you boys who like toys