On the Outside...

...looking in.
Cripes, I had to show you this. The crows are arguing overhead and hopping around on the roof. They sound like a bunch of horses, and I thought birds were light.

They've become bolder this year since Flicka went over the rainbow bridge, sensing that there is no more indignant Sheltie barking at them, chasing after them. I miss my Flicka every day, especially when the crows start with their racket on my roof.

Gotta get a cat!

Finally Rain, Fog, Cool Air...

... bliss!

I am not an outside person. Not in the summer. This year, every time I sat outside (in the shade), drink on the table, book in my lap, wasps drove me back inside. Bugs love me. Anything that flies dive-bombs into my neck or face, spiders rappel into my hair. I have emptied my wasp trap at least 4 times, full of dead wasps, 40 to 50 each time.

Living at a beach doesn't oblige me to plunk myself onto the sand at low tide and bake in the sun like so many do. Most, who stay in the full sun for hours, don't have even the smallest beach umbrella to protect their children or dog from the rays and heat.

I take Spring and Fall over Summer every time, then the beach is at its best, hosting a few brisk walkers and their dogs, thousands of birds, crisp, clear air, and temparatures that invite to work outside.

I love a good reason to stay inside and putter. It was a toss up today of either going down Island to shop or finally preparing one of my computers for sale. I said to myself, if I find the discarded faceplate to cover up the hole in the old computer within 5 minutes, I'll move the CD-RW drive over to my new computer. Well, I found the faceplate and the drive has been moved.

The old DELL makes a great computer for a student. I'll advertise it next week.

This...

... annoys me!

More and more often I see items that are marketed as of Swiss origin, marked with the Red Cross symbol, or recently, in a movie, a first aid kit marked with the Swiss Flag.

In that movie, people were running for their lives in a submarine which was about to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Two sailors conduct an intense conversation in a narrow passage, in front of the first aid kit, which was painted red with a white cross. It wasn't a Swiss submarine, they don't have any, it was an American one. Sheesh, didn't they have better research in that movie budget?

I buy a certain kind of smoked sausage, it's black, hard, tastes like a fine salami. The products is sold as a Swiss sausage... and is marked with the red cross symbol.

Not everyone knows that the Swiss flag is a white cross on a red background. But I think you would have to be an alien from outer space or a small child not to know the symbol of the 'Red Cross'. Just in case you are such an alien... surprise, it is a red cross.

My body is back...

... my head and heart aren't.

It's been a while. I'm drifting really. Am back at work but find it very hard to focus. It was probably a good thing that I had to rebuild my work machine because the //localhost/ didn't work. While I was away a new webserver was installed, as well as a new firewall... Oh hell, installed they are, but working as they should they ain't, I have to use my computer as a test server for a while. Anyway, it took a week to indentify and try to fix the resulting problems. In the end I capitulated and started to rebuild.

I can just see my friends' eyes glaze over, so I'll stop with the techie talk. I'll probably get another blog going with a focus on that subject.

The reason why I haven't posted accounts of my vacation was that I focussed completely on my family and my brother. It is even now difficult to talk about my trip, because I am holding the visit, the good and sad times we had together, so close, I don't want to share it yet. It's like "if I talk about it the distance gets bigger... and that I probably saw my brother for the last time becomes real and final".

For now I'll say that the visit was was a great gift. I have a ton of pictures and short videos, backed up several times on CDs. I came away with an enormous pride in my big brother who is fighting his illness so bravely. I am so very greatful that I had these two visits with him... that I had the chance to get to know him better. Better late than never. I love you bro (as if he would understand English... :-))


My home town, Binningen, at sunset and the Town Hall of Basel. Am just now selecting a few pictures for printing. Here is another revelation: Regardless of how you take the pictures, conventionally or digitally, they still have to be organized and processed... Oh, well!