my2cents

The Economist, May 1st issue, page 71, “America’s labour market, Something’s not working”:

“A quarter of mortgage borrowers owe more than their houses are worth.”

<swallowing hard>..my dear…

Two recent “incidents” triggered my real interested in protecting whales and dolphins:

• I watched The Cove, 2010 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, a movie about the annual killing of dolphins in a National Park at Taji, Wakayama, in Japan
• I stumbled upon online petitions against killing whales and dolphins on the Faroe Islands as a ritual to prove adult hood

Both left me somewhat shocked. Learning about how so called human beings slaughter animals without real need for food makes me want to puke! I hardly find words to describe my rage.

Some links concerning the Faroe Island killings:

• The facts: http://www.wdcs.org/stop/killing_trade/story_details.php?select=496
• The pictures: http://climatechange.thinkaboutit.eu/think2/post/950_whales_and_dolphins_killed-_ok_in_the_denish_traditions/
• http://getsatisfaction.com/wwf/topics/how_to_report_animal_abuse_to_wwf_i_have_received_email_from_friend_where_there_are_bulk_of_dolphins_been
• http://www.politicalarticles.net/blog/2009/10/11/denmarks-gruesome-festival-mass-killing-of-whales-and-dolphins-to-prove-adulthood/

• Samurai
  If you judge a Japanese restaurants by the number of Japanese who frequent the place this was the clear favorite a few years ago. Samurai was considered an in-sider tip back then. Located next to a striptease club in one of the red-light areas it wasn’t mainstream yet. Since then the number of Japanese guests in the restaurant has declined since the word has spread that you get reasonably price truly authentic sushi and sashimi – most guests are Europeans nowadays.
  My wife and I think that the quality of the food and the care with which the components are arranged on the plates have slightly decreased over the years. However, we can still highly recommend it.
  Reservation almost required for dinner, the place is always full.
• Sala of Tokyo
  The food is good and if you manage to get a table in the quite back room (ask for it if you make a reservation) the atmosphere is nice. It’s a little on the pricy side but it’s justified for many dishes. We wouldn’t recommend paying the extra surcharge to have wagyū meat instead of the regular beef. It’s not worth it.
  We didn’t like many of the rich snobbish other guests. The Swiss owner lacked Japanese hospitality.
• Fujiya
  Next on our list.
• Yooji’s
  Certainly not the most authentic place in Zurich but the sushi is ok. If you go with a group of four we’d recommend to get the big sushi plate for all to share. Friendly staff.
• ISHI
  Too stylish and modern to be authentic. Since they don’t even have Japanese staff we never bothered trying. Heard some horrible stories from friends.
• oKara
• isakaYa
• Ginger
• Takano
  Open-air sukiyaki on the  terrace apparently -> we have to try in summer.
• Ooki
  Ramen shop close to Stauffacher. Tiny restaurant – have dinner early or make a reservation. The place has its own charm, definitely worth a try. The menu is small but the food is really delicious. A few types of ramen and gyoza (must have), that’s all.
• Blue Note
  No website (domain parking)
  Stockerstrasse 45
  8002 Zürich
  Tel: +41 44 202 17 17
• Satori Sushi House

The article the quote below was taken from a story about the serious issues Toyota seems to have with its jamming accelerators.

Some owners of recalled Toyotas are now saying they are afraid to drive them. “I live only a half mile from the office and I drive there,” said Elaine Byrnes, a Camry owner in Los Angeles. “If I had to go farther, I wouldn’t consider it.”

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=544543&f=19

I lived in California for a year. So, I know what sort of attitude Americans have towards their cars but this was too much – definitely too much.

The story unfolded like this in my mind:

Some owners of recalled Toyotas are now saying they are afraid to drive them.

“Yes, that’s understandable. Toyota really has a problem. But what do you do? You depend on your cars, don’t you.”

“I live only a half mile from the office…”

“Ohh, well, then there’s no problem, is there? You could walk or take the bike.”
I even did the math quickly: an average adult walks about 5km (3.1 miles) in an hour. Hence, a half mile takes you a little over 10 minutes.

“…and I drive there,” said Elaine Byrnes, a Camry owner in Los Angeles.

“Seriously? What a waste!”

“If I had to go farther, I wouldn’t consider it.”

“What? That reasoning makes no sense at all. That most certainly qualifies for being one of the dumbest justifications for someones actions I’ve heard in a long while.”

As much as I love America, stories like this make me wonder if this planet has a future.

As I’m a very liberal mind my heart jumped when I came across the following quote today:

“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have.”

A quick Internet investigation lead me to a page that claims that the above quote isn’t by Thomas Jefferson but from Gerald Ford.

A friend of mine started learning and practicing “nuad boran“, traditional Thai massage, a while ago. In order to get the best possible courses and the most authentic teachers she spent a few weeks in Thailand twice.

I had the pleasure of serving as one of her “practice objects” i.e. she needed human dummies on which she could practice her new techniques. I was immediately fascinated and impressed. It can give you so much more and it feels so much more complete than an ordinary massage.

Meanwhile she opened her own massage business. Check her out: http://www.mynuad.ch/

Once a year or so my wife and I take a day off to go shopping in Konstanz. Usually we start this day by having a small breakfast in the train’s restaurant car on the way from Zurich to Germany.

Once in Konstanz one shop we always spend a considerable amout of time in is Jeans-in. In fact, for my wife this shop is the top reason for even going to Konstanz. The jeans expertise of that one sales girl is amazing. She only has to give your body a quick glance to pick several jeans models that fit you.

This time we discovered that they started selling Kuyichi jeans. And they sell it big times. Kuyichi is cool not only because of their style and quality but because they’re organic and the company sets high standards in terms of sustainability. We like “green” stuff…because it’s the only option for our planet’s future.

One shop we only recently discovered is Cha Cha. They’ve got pretty cool stuff, especially for women. It’s there that we learned about the Swiss brand Alprausch. My wife bought one of their cardigan-style vests and I also picked a stylish Skunkfunk top.

It’s not that The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni provides any new aspects to team building….wait, there’s more…it’s not that Lencioni provides any new aspects, yet it’s the clarity and simplicity with which the material is presented that makes this book a must-read. And no, I don’t mean a must-read for the manager caste. In fact, I truly believe that any member of a team no matter what role she fulfills will find the material worthwhile.

I read 3/4 of the book in one evening. It’s an easy read because the story revolves around a fictitious yet realistic case of a CEO and her dysfunctional team. I found myself constantly relating the events in the story to my own experiences at work.

The strategies presented in the book appeal to me so strongly because it all seems common sense. It’s not rocket science – at least not on paper. Yet, imperfect as we are, we seem to constantly fall back to behavioral patterns that only bring misery.
I’m a big fan of agile development and Scrum in particular. It’s easy to build a bridge between Scrum and Lencioni’s methods. I guess I love them for the same reason.

In a previous post I wrote about a situation I witnessed where kids were being shoved back and forth between mon/dad on weekends. Earlier I also once wrote that I listen to American country music more and more. The below lyrics from the song “Every other weekend” by Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney combine both subjects in a tragic way:

(Reba)
Every Other Friday
It’s toys and clothes and backpacks
Is everybody in?
Ok lets go see dad
Same time in the same spot
Corner of the same old parking lot
Half the hugs and kisses
There are always sad
We trade a couple words and looks and kids again
Every Other Weekend

(Kenny)
Every Other Weekend
Very few exceptions
I pick up the love we made in both my arms
It’s movies on the sofa
Grilled cheese and cut the crust off
“But that’s not the way mom makes it daddy” breaks my heart
I miss everything I use to have with her again
Every Other Weekend

(Kenny)
But I can’t tell her I love her

(Reba)
I can’t tell him I love him

(Kenny)
Cause there’s too many questions and

(Both)
Ears in the car

(Reba)
So I don’t tell him I miss him

(Kenny)
I don’t tell her I need her

(Both)
She’s(He’s) over me, that’s where we are

(Kenny)
So we’re as close as we might ever be again

(Both)
Every Other Weekend

(Reba)
Every Other Saturday
First thing in the mornin’
I turn the TV on to make the quiet go away
I know why, but I don’t know why
We ever let this happen
Fallin’ for forever was a big mistake
There’s so much not to do, and all day not to do it in
Every Other Weekend

(Kenny)
Every Other Sunday
I empty out my backseat
While my children hug their mother in the parking lot
We don’t touch
We don’t talk much
Maybe goodbye to each other
Then she drives away with every piece of heart I’ve got
I reconvince myself we did the right thing
Every Other Weekend

(Kenny)
So I can’t tell her I love her

(Reba)
I can’t tell him I love him

(Kenny)
Cause there’s too many questions and

(Both)
Ears in the car

(Reba)
So I don’t tell him I miss him

(Kenny)
I don’t tell her I need her

(Both)
She’s(He’s) over me, that’s where we are

(Kenny)
So we’re as close as we might ever be again

(Both)
Every Other Weekend

(Kenny)
Yeah for fifteen minutes we’re a family again

(Reba)
God I wish that he was still with me again

(Both)
Every Other Weekend