German WWII Westwall

(click on the pictures and they will enlarge)

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The weather was beautiful again today, so I took the Vespa out to search for more WWII bunkers on the Siegfried Line or as it is called in Germany the Westwall.
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Bunkers 1, 2, and 3 are just under 5 miles from my house as the crow flies. From a distance all three just appear to be mounds of dirt covered with tress and vegetation in the middle of farm fields.
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The really fascinating one was bunker number 2. By climbing through the brambles and vegetation I was able to get the center of it.
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There were several pieces of very rusty, bent steel sitting on the surface. Along side was what appears to be a WWII combat boot.
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I have no idea if this combat boot was from a German soldier or an American. In a way it doesn’t really matter after this length of time. Either way it was just some young man who was hoping to get back to his family and friends after the war. If he didn’t make it through the war alive I hope he is resting in peace.
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Clinical Drug Trials in Humans

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BBC4 aired a very good radio show about the TGN1412 disaster that took place at Northwick Park hospital in north London England when a new monoclonal antibody leukemia drug was tried on humans the first time. This isn't some baby-portion sound bite for intellectually challenged individuals, it takes the BBC around 40 mintues to look into it.
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My Leukemia Doctor in England, Professor Terry Hamblin was one of the people in this radio show because he was one of those experts who was appointed by the British government to the group which looked into the procedure used in this case and also in general looked into the protocols that are used in the testing of new drugs in people in the UK.

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One of the issues they looked at is using the technology of the internet to share far more information than has been shared previously.

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When you have the time you should listen to this radio show. Its really quite interesting.

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LINK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/pip/py6ln/
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The New Dark Ages

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In Germany they have just cancelled the Mozart Opera "Idomeneo" because they were afraid of what the violent Muslims would do.
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Yes, this is the beginning of the New Dark Ages. And there is going to be lots of more of this if we keep being so sensitive to their closed minded fundamentalist religious wishes. Remember the Taliban blowing up that centuries old statue? Well here we go again.
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And keep in mind they weren’t at all worried about upsetting the sensibilities of Christians or the Buddhists. Even though Christ’s severed head would also be shown along with Buddha’s and Mohamed’s.
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German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble called the decision "crazy".
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The German Prime Minister is lady by the name of Angela Merkel.

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She is a physicist who grew up in east Germany under communism. She really understands the consequences of living under a totalitarian regime.

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She said, "We must be careful that we do not flinch out of fear of radicals who are prepared to use violence. Self-censorship for reasons of fear is not acceptable. It should only be allowed when it is done responsibly within a genuine and completely violence-free dialogue of cultures".
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I would describe this as extortion.

And I would call it absolute bullshit.

LINK: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2186167,00.html
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Minor Surgery

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I had a little bump cut out this morning by the surgeon at the out-patient clinic on the 5th floor of the Heerlen, Netherlands hospital. Everything went fine.
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The surgeon was a very attractive female in her early 30’s. My lung doctor is also a nice looking young woman. I find that in general women professionals have to be about twice as well qualified as males to hold the same type of good jobs, so I always prefer having a woman doctor treat me. They also have a much better bed side manner. Plus they are just nicer than men! Especially if they are young, attractive, and sharp intellectually.
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Her helper was a man, probably in his very late 50’s. Gruff and with lots of experience under his belt. A good team.
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Afterwards they let me see it. I guess it was about the size of a nice big pecan. And white meat. I told her about in my youth in West Texas, castrating beef and eating rocky mountain oysters cooked on an open camp fire. I didn’t tell her that I had lived in South Louisiana long enough among the Cajuns to have developed a certain appreciation for the delicacies of road-kill cuisine. I could imagine this little piece of white meat roasted nicely and covered with BBQ sauce and maybe a little Louisiana Hot Sauce. Honest. Kind of weird, sorry, but true nonetheless.
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She said unfortunately it would have to go to the pathologist to make sure it was not cancerous.
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Then I had another interesting experience on the way out. The elevator malfunctioned. So there I was standing in a not-going-anywhere elevator with an older Dutch couple and a young couple. At least there wasn’t any elevator music playing. We waited a few minutes and then finally one of them got on the elevator phone. Within another few minutes the door opened and we were let out.
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What was I thinking? Well, first I thought, “At least I have my Diana Gabaldon book with me. I’ll just read a while.” Then I thought, “Well from my cell phone I can send out e-mails to my friends and family telling them the funny story about being trapped in a Dutch elevator on my way from surgery to the parking garage.”
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Now as long as the imunosuppression of the CLL doesn’t result in an infection or anything like that there should be no problems. And I’m feeling real good so I really don’t think there will be any problems at all.
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Tongeren Belgium

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Tongeren is the oldest city in Belgium and is just filled with archaeological sites.

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It also has one of the nicest Roman museums anywhere, and is one of the few to contain a dodecahedron.

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Well preserved portions of the middle age city wall from the 1200's still exist as do long portions of the Roman wall outside of that from the 2nd century.

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The Moeren Gate is a beautiful entrance to the city through the middle age city wall.

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Octoberfest

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In the early 1970's I lived in Frankfurt, Germany.

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Some very dear friends of mine from El Paso were living in Munich and I visited them a couple of times. Mark and Ann. I attended the Octoberfest there in Munich, and it is incredible. The word awesome has been so overused that it no longer carries any weight, but used properly it would be appropriate.

LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octoberfest

I've been a teetotaller for years now, so sitting around with a bunch of drunks watching them make fools of themselves is not nearly as much fun as it used to be.

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But since there is a little mini-Octoberfest going on a couple of miles from where I live I plan to go by this weekend and check it out. Music in the street, a flea market, clowns. Wow, sounds like fun.

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John Muir

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John Muir was a fascinating man. He was born in Scotland in 1838, emigrated to America in 1849, and ended up being one of the greatest conservationists in the history of the nation.

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He is widely viewed as the father of the conservationist movement. He also created the Sierra Club.
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In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt accompanied Muir to Yosemite. This is what Roosevelt later had to say about John Muir, “No man was more influential than John Muir in preserving the Sierra's integrity. If I were to choose a single Californian to occupy the Hall of Fame, it would be this tenacious Scot who became a Californian during the final forty-six years of his life.
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It was John Muir whose knowledge wedded to zeal led men and governments to establish the National Park Service. Yosemite and Sequoia in California, the Petrified forest and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and the glacier wilderness of Alaska are what they are today largely because of this one man, in whom learning and love were co-equal.
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More than any other, he was the answer to that call which appears on the Courts Building in Sacramento: Give me men to match my mountains.”
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On my last trip to the UK I made sure to visit his birthplace East of Edinburgh in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland and took these pictures of the house that he grew up in.
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This is a link to the wikipedia article about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir

This is a great book:

http://paulgarland.blogspot.com/2006/04/john-muir.html

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Eygelshoven Church

clik on the pictures and they will enlarge

I’ve lived in Eygelshoven for almost 10 years now. My house is sort of on top of a small hill. It takes me 20 – 30 minutes to walk to the bottom of the hill and back. So it is a nice little bit of exercise. I try to do this 4 or 5 times a week.
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Today when I got to the bottom of the hill, which is right in the center of our little village, I decided to take a little detour and take a few pictures of the historic church in the center of town.

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While I was walking around the church taking pictures an old man walked through the church yard. I stopped him to ask about the church, and it turns out that he is the pastor of the church.
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I learned a lot from him. Two thousand years ago the main Roman road from the Roman Imperial city of Cologne going to England ran right past this church, thus going through the center of our village.

This is logical as it would parallel the little river called the Wurm. In the 21st century this little stream is the boundary between Germany and The Netherlands. I guess it is a few hundred yards East of my house.
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The oldest part of the structure is a defensive fortification that the people retreated into in times of invaders. The only way in was via a ladder. This part of the building dates to about 1000 A.D. To keep things in historical perspective, this was the period after the breakdown of the Carolingian Empire. Right about when the first Crusades began.

He told me that some of the bricks used in the construction of the defensive tower date back to the Roman era. Recycled construction material, which was very normal back then.

This made me feel really good because on a prior examination of the church I had thought to myself, “Wow, some of these bricks look just like what the Romans used.” The orange stone in the picture to the left is clearly a terracotta Roman roof tile.
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The choir portion of the church was built in 1509, and in 1517 the Bishop of Liege consecrated the church.
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He told me that on Sunday mornings at 9:00 they hold their services which includes Gregorian chants.

Wowie Zowie!

http://hpgarland.blogspot.com/2006/09/eygelshoven.html-

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To see more pictures of this church click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/yk2773

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Link: http://www.schola-st-johannes.com/

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Carbide Bicycle Lamp

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From the late 1800's to around WW1 early in the 20th century, bicycles were an important form of transport. And here in Europe with the high latitude, and thus the long winter nights, reliable lighting was essential. Clearly this was a safety item.

This was before battery or generator powered incandecent lighting, and certainly well before LEDs.

The solution was the same type of lantern used by miners. Water was dripped slowly onto calcium carbide. This made acetylene gas, which was burned.
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As I was leaving the flea market in Belgium yesterday I saw an old man with a box of junk. I found this lamp in it. He was asking EUR 12- which is about $15- US. Since this lamp is very easily worth $50 to $75 (if any knowledgable collector were foolish enough to sell it) I jumped on it.
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If you clik on the picture it will enlarge and you can see how incredibly detailed their work was back then.
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If you want to see some more of the carbide bike lamps in my collection scroll down to the bottom of my pictures of the lamps in my collection of European pre-electric lighting: LINK http://tinyurl.com/p7egd
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This link takes you to an older blog entry on the subject from my archives: http://paulgarland.blogspot.com/2006/07/carbide-bicycle-lamps.html
also
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/2070/251712668509679/1600/Bike%20Lamp%20Carbide%20_.jpg


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Hard Times

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The main doctor treating my leukemia is a Dutch hematologist here in Holland. I say treating, he is just doing periodic physical examinations and blood tests. I am still in the watch and wait phase thankfully!
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I've also seen one of the world's top specialists in CLL Dr. Terry Hamblin in England. In fact after he started a blog this event made me begin the process. He is going through some tough times now and needs everyone's thoughts: http://mutated-unmuated.blogspot.com/2006/09/hard-times.html
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Volcanic Glass

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Obsidian is black glass from volcanic origin that is found in many places. It is the most commonly found natural volcanic glass. The black color comes chiefly from magnetite, Fe304.

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It has the unique property that when sharpened it can be sharpened down almost to one molecule thick. This makes it sharper than a razor or the very best surgeon’s knife, and in fact some doctors have actually used obsidian scalpels. Especially when they are having surgery done on themselves.

Researching obsidian a little I see that Wikipedia says that obsidian scalpels are five times sharper than the finest steel scalpels and are in current use in cardiac surgery.

LINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian

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Obsidian has been used by man since the stone age, probably as early as 75,000 B.C. as a cutting tool and in making arrow heads.
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In Russia (Ukraine) there is a location where magma came to the surface and bubbled out over a quartz sand bed. The main ingredient in glass is silicon dioxide, and in this case the sand melted and was transformed into naturally occurring transparent glass. The glass closer to the surface has more bubbles in it. My guess is that it was probably quenched rapidly, maybe by water.

The man I got it from told me that that this glass also has traces of lead in it, which makes it a slightly blue in color. But after getting it home, looking at it under shortwave UV lighting, and doing some research I think he may be wrong. It seems more likely to me that trace amounts of iron are what has caused this blue-green coloration.
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I was really lucky to buy a piece of this natural glass today from a geologist who had a stand at a small flea market in the Belgian contryside. I paid him EUR 0,60 for this piece of glass, which is less than $1- US.

I guess I should have put a ruler next to it to give the picture some scale. Click on the picture and it will enlarge enough to be much more interesting. This piece of natural transparent glass is about 100 mm wide. He had some pieces (which were more expensive) which were maybe 30 cm across and weighed many kilos.

LINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass
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Energy Cost

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I see on the news that El Paso has the highest gasoline prices in Texas at $2.55 per gallon.
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Here gasoline is about 10% cheaper in Germany than in The Nederland. Buying at the very cheapest place unleaded is EUR 1,20 per liter. This converts to $5.77 per gallon or about 2.26 times more expensive. So the cheapest place over here is much more expensive than the most expensive place in Texas. The higher price is all due to taxes.
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I just saw Bill Clinton on TV. He was suggesting that everyone change out their incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. These last 10 times as long. Incandescent bulbs are only 10% efficient, the rest generating heat. Each house could lower their electric bill 40% if they did so. Great President Clinton; good advice.
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But then he bragged about the Mercury SUV he just got, which gets 32 miles per gallon. What a pig car. No way Billy boy, bad advice.

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My Prius got 50 mpg and this 15 year old Fiat I am driving now gets over 40 mpg. For an ex-President who needs to haul around armour plating and a bunch of big Secret Service Dudes that is fine.

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But both for the environment and for our budgets, us normal folks need to go for good fuel economy. And that means hauling less mass around, i.e. small cars. Or small engine mototcycles or 4 cycle motorscooters (50 cc or 125 cc) or sometimes even riding a bicycle, which is both good for you and also the environment/budget.

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Not big Mercury SUVs. Give me a break Bill. You're a lot smarter than that.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/101/2016/1600/vespa%2003.jpg
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Eygelshoven

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When they were renovating the middle age church in the center of our village they found a Roman mile marker stone hidden away in the basement.

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There are neolithic and paleolithic settlements all around here.

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There are also lots of 2,000 year old Roman settlements and villas. And a nice little stream called the Wurm runs through Eygelshoven.

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No doubt a Roman road ran through town too.

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Probably this old middle age Christian church was built on the site of a far older pagan church. That is quite normal.
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I bought this old post card of the village church in an antiques sale.
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I was walking past the church today and noticed this guy. So I took a picture of him. I have no idea who this fellow is, but he sure is spooky looking!

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Oops, Hold the phone. My pagan tendencies are showing. I'll bet that is a representation of the carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth.
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Double Eagle

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I collect old things that have the Double Eagle symbol which was used by the rulers of the Roman Empire.

Various kings and cities in Germany have also used this symbol.
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So it was a real treat to find this oil lamp from the late 1800's at an antiques sale today, and even better at the giveaway price of EUR 6- (less than $10-). This oil lamp was made by T. Seyppel & Co. in Brussels, Belgium. The flame spreader says patented 1886.

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The first composite picture is some of the stuff from my own personal collection.

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The second picture is of various ones I have seen here and there. In this second composite picture, the third picture from the left is of the middle age city wall in the imperial city of Aachen, Germany. The wall was constructed in the late 1200's, but the double eagle symbol in the picture dates from 1690.

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(if you click on the pics they will enlarge)

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Autumnal Equinox

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As the summer comes to an end the days get shorter and shorter. And today the length of the day exactly equals the length of the night. Well sort of. LINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumnal_equinox
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The sun is directly over the equator on this date. In the northern hemisphere this is the beginning of the fall season astronomically. But for a meteorologist autumn is considered to be the entire months of September, October, and November.
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A beautiful time of the year. But clearly different than spring. This is the time of ending and closing down. The Spring season is the time of rebirth and new growth.
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The picture is done in watercolor and pen and is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam about 200 km or 124 miles North of here. Supposedly this is "A typically Dutch landscape: stormy weather, driving rain, lashing waves, a lock, and water flooding over the dike into the polder below. In apparent desperation, the man on the lock has joined his hands in prayer, and elsewhere cattle are being driven up onto the dike."
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Well, the Dutch do indeed like to complain about the weather and the rain. And to a boy from the desert who has lived here for more than a decade I have to say, Everything sure is green here. But other than that I do agree with them; much of the time the weather here really sucks.
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Hurricane Approaching

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This makes two times that I have watched a hurricane come in.
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In August 1992 Hurricane Andrew hit the US. It was only the third category 5 hurricane to ever hit America, and is still the second worst in terms of damage caused. At the time I was living in South Louisiana a few miles from the gulf coast. My house was less then 25 feet above sea level and my back yard looked right onto a bayou. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Andrew
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Before Andrew hit the weather was warm and beautiful. Blue skies. Then some fine wisps of clouds. Then the wind began to pick up a little, and soon it was completely overcast. Less than 24 hours later in the middle of the night we took an absolute direct hit from the eye. It was a real thrill for a boy that grew up in the desert. I promise you.
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Today is late September 2006. Fourteen years later. And the remnants of Hurricane Gordon are headed this way. It has made it clear back across the Atlantic. On the news I see that it is already raining like crazy in Ireland.
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I own a little piece of land over here in Holland which I used to graze our two horses on. It takes me a couple of hours to mow it using the riding lawn mower. This afternoon it was warm. T-shirt warm. Blue sky. Incredibly nice for this time of year. By the time I finished mowing the field some wisps of clouds were beginning to show up from the Southwest. An hour later it was still blue skies to the northeast but completely overcast here. One hour after that it is totally overcast. I can hear the wind blowing a little outside now.
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Neato!
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Update the next day, Saturday Morning. Well it is still overcast. But the wind is dead calm, the barometer is actually rising rather than falling, and so far we have not even had one drop of rain. So far I would call this "Myth Busted." At least it was nice to remember living in Louisiana.
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Richard Hammond

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I used to think Jeremy Clarkson was funny. I don't anymore. I've come to the conclusion that he is both arrogant and a bit of a bully.
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I still watch Top Gear, but I am getting more and more concerned about it.
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The old fat man Clarkson thinks it is funny to put down Richard Hammond about his height. James May has ten times the class of the old guy. Yet he is put down constantly just because he is well educated and intelligent.

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And encouraging improperly trained drivers to drive some piece of crap car around a track so fast that it almost overturns is just not cool. And making them feel bad if their friend did the lap faster than they did.

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When you are a teenager you go through this phase. It is hormonal. But with maturity one outgrows this phase. At one time I drove a Corvette. But eventually I grew wise enough to drive a Toyota Prius. Doing stupid, foolhardy things hardly makes one a hero. Click on the picture at the bottom right about "Old Bold Pilots."

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Doing something for the good of mankind can make you a hero. Or fighting evil and injustice.
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This whole idea that it somehow makes you heroic if you drive your car or motorcycle faster than the law permits, and if you abuse the environment by driving a very fuel inefficient car, and generally act like an ignorant jerk just no longer holds water.

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LINK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6096521,00.html

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Juarez Femicides

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The the last decade or so more than 500 young women have been abducted and brutally murdered by some lunatic(s) in the Juarez area.
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Although numerous suspects are in custody, activists and families of victims believe the Mexican authorities have not solved most of the crimes. And the killings continue.
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Not good.
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LINK: http://tinyurl.com/jspsj

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Lot Coding of Food for Human Consumption

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The spinach e-coli problem in America at the moment shows the importance of keeping good records regarding the origin of all foodstuffs and their ingredients.

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Traceability.

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I was boiling a couple of eggs for breakfast this morning and I realized, "Hey the lady that sold me these eggs in the market said they were Organic. But they are not, they are only free range."

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Pretty good system of lot coding and traceability.

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Hurricane Gordon

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Hurricane Gordon has made it back clear across the Atlantic Ocean.

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By the time it reaches us later this week it will have weakened enough that it will only be some strong winds and heavy rain.

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Anyone who knew Gordon Brown (and I don't mean the Scottish one that is the nemesis of Tony Blair) remembers him well and as a really stong, tough guy. This hurricane is living up to his name.

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LINK: http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20060920021906823

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Bindi's Tribute to her Dad

This is the full text of what Bindi Irvin said about her father Steve.

My daddy was my hero.
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He was always there for me when I needed him.
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He listened to me and taught me so many things. But most of all, he was fun.
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I know that daddy had an important job. He was working to change the world so everyone would love wildlife like he did.
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He built a hospital to help animals, and he bought lots of land to give animals a safe place to live.
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He took me and my brother and my mum with him all the time. We filmed together; caught crocodiles together; and loved being in the bush together.
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I don’t want daddy’s passion to ever end. I want to help endangered wildlife just like he did.
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I have the best daddy in the whole world; and I will miss him every day.
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When I see a crocodile, I will always think of him, and I know that daddy made this zoo so everyone could come and learn to love all the animals.
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Daddy made this place his whole life. Now it’s our turn to help daddy.
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Thank you.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5362266.stm
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Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7505807414132444251&q=steve+irwin+tribute

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Steve's Favorite Song, "True Blue": http://www.malleeboy.com/music/true_blue_21.html
http://www.johnwilliamson.com.au/music/true_blue_21.ram-
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Crikey Beautiful but being a little Naughty

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I got to my doctor’s appointment today about 30 minutes early. I had my Diana Gabaldon book with me in case of delays.

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But before going inside I decided to take a short walk.

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The parking lot borders on a small patch of forest. I have seen this little forest from the parking lot many times, but I have never wandered inside.

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Today I did. I was really very pleasantly surprised to find less than about 20 yards from where I parked a nice little lake.
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And a gaggle of very aggressive wild geese honking and rushing towards me.

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I thought to myself, "Well Crikey! Look at her. What a beauty. But she is being a little bit naughty." Minus the deadly barb through my chest I sort of felt like I was Steve Irwin interacting with the wildlife.

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(I'm not being rude about Steve. Honest. He was the greatest. And I think about him...)
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I soon realized that in fact they were not being aggressive but instead very overtly friendly. I guess lots of people come in there and feed them, so they came in mass towards me hoping for a little hand out.

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Once they realized I wasn’t going to feed them they just completely ignored me and settled in pigging out on the grass. They got within maybe 10 feet of me and just were not the least bit concerned about me.
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One of them was obviously quite old and rather arthritic. Walked slowly and with an obvious limp, but was still getting around and still part of the group.
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