Adam and Eve said, “Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us
every day. Now we do not see you any more. We are lonesome here, and it is
difficult for us to remember how much you love us.”

And God said, “No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be
with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will
love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish
or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and
will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves.”

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.
And it was a good animal.
And God was pleased.
And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his
tail.

And Adam said, “Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom
and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.”

And God said, “No problem. Because I have created this new animal to be a
reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own
name, and you will call him
DOG.”

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.
And they were comforted.
And God was pleased.
And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said,
“Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen
like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed
taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.”

And God said, “No problem! I will create for them a companion who will be
with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them
of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of
adoration.”

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.
And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat’s eyes,
they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.
And Adam and Eve learned humility.
And they were greatly improved.
And God was pleased.
And Dog was happy.

And Cat didn’t give a darn one way or the other.

Have you ever met someone that you new had no clue about real life, and how you just wish you could smack some sense into them. Well, this is the video clip that portrays them perfectly. The title is enough to give you a basic idea, but it is hilarious.

New Guy in Prison

Ever tried to come off as a big shot and ended up having to stick your foot in your mouth?

The Captain and his Ship

I was watching MTV a while ago, since it is one of two stations we get in English over here, the other being CNN, and they were having a special on the life of Anna Kournikova. Anyways, they were talking about how popular she had become and how guys would be flocking to her tennis match and yelling things out, etc. etc. Then they said that one time when she was about to serve (ie. throwing the ball up), a guy hollered “Anna, will you marry me!!”. Since the crowd is usually dead silent when they serve, Anna was able to hear it, and stopped and caught the ball instead of serving it, then calmly looked over to him and said…”You can’t afford me!” I found it absolutely hilarious and awesome all at the same time.

Apparantely I have been doing something wrong as of late, b/c I seem to keep upsetting the Germans.

Case #1: The Shower Incidents
For those that have been to our place, you know that we have a great pool, sauna and shower indoors for the entire complex to use, and you also know that the show is a thousand times better than ours. For those that didn’t know…now you know. Well, there is the clock that you are supposed to put on the door when entering this area, and it tells the time you are going to be finished using the facilities. So, the other morning, I got down there, and set the clock to 9:30 (little hand on the 9, big hand on the 6). As I’m showering, I hear a voice outside the door! What the heck, I had only been in there for 5-10 minutes, what was going on. I quickly grabbed my towel before the lady opened the door. She proceed to tell me (in German), that my time was up, as the clock outside said I was to be done at 8:30 and not 9:30. Needless to say I was still shocked that she was there, plus I was only in a towel. I told her I would be done shortly, and she said “Guten Bad” (have a good bath), and proceeded to wait outside the door until I was done. As I left, I checked the clock, and the little hand was definitely on the 9, and the big hand on the 6. Apparantely she wanted precise measure like a real clock, therefore the little hand slightly past the 9.

The second shower incident came a couple mornings later. Again, I set the clock (exact this time), and proceeded to the shower room. The only difference was I did not turn on the light in the pool area b/c I wasn’t using it, so might as well save electricity. Well, I finish my shower and proceed to leave, and another lady is just coming in through the door. She goes on to tell me she thought the area wasn’t being used b/c the light in the pool area wasn’t on. What the heck, the clock was on the door outside and was unlocked…meaning someone set the clock and unlocked the door. Apparantely I must have missed the home owners meeting when all of the rules were covered. The funny part is, both ladies thought it was my fault, and felt they were completely justified to come in and take a peek…which is only allowed by Barbie.

Case #2: The Buses
Here’s how it works in Germany…a Bus puts their right blinker on when they are stopping to pick someone up, and their left blinker when they are done and are going to continue going straight. Well, when the right blinker is on, you are allowed to pass, when the left blinker is on, the Bus has the right of way. When I say right of way, I mean RIGHT OF WAY! Two times within the past couple of weeks, I have started to pass a bus (bus’ right blinker was on), and as soon as I am about a quarter of the way through passing, the bus flicks his left blinker on and guns it to try and cut me off. There is absolutely no let’s wait and let the cars that are already passing go by before the Bus starts. The first time it happened I had to slam on my brakes before going directly into the side of the bus. The second time there wasn’t anyone in the oncoming lane, so I veered over there to continue the pass. Of course the bus driver was pissed about this, probably thinking to himself “I am King of Road, No one pass me!” (broken English). Therefore, he actually gunned it even more, coming all the way into the oncoming lane to try and cut me off! Luckily I made it, and he proceeded to start flashing me with his brights. Somehow I think these guys feel that if they get passed it will cause them to show up at their next bus stop at 8:53 instead of 8:52, and we all know how much the Germans like to be punctual.

These articles are a little old, as I forgot to make them live, but still available if you are interested in hearing a different side of Stem Cell then what you normally hear.

Mrs. Bush article

Junkscience Article

So, in case you are a big music fan, and are curious who is #1 Rock Band in Europe…well…it is the “Die Toten Hosen,” which translates as “The Dead Pants.” They seem to be the Metallica of the U.S., and actually have their own show on MTV where they follow them around on their concert tour. Unfortunately it is all in German, so I only catch bits and pieces of what they are saying. Either way, consider yourself informed, and who knows, maybe they’ll be popular in the States one day as some of their songs are in English.

It has been a while since I have read a book that was as interesting as “Franklin and Winston.” This book is all about the relationship that these two powerful men came to have during World War II, and how each of them had their individual nuances that contributed to, but also took away from the relationship. Jon Meacham, the author, does a great job of giving the reader the sense of how each man interacted not only with each other, but also with their colleagues and family. FDR comes across as the harsh man that doesn’t let you into his circle very easily, and always seems to be holding something back. Churchill on the other hand will pretty much let you know what he thinks, whether it be good or bad, or just some random story that he feels like talking about. Although both men had extreme respect for each other, it was always Churchill who was trying to win the favor of FDR, largely in part b/c Germany was already attacking Britain, and Churchill needed to convince FDR to join the war.

The book also talks about the meeting of the “Big Three,” FDR, Churchill and Stalin, and how FDR made it a point to meet with Stalin alone before they all met together, and how he would consistently make fun of Churchill to win over Stalin’s favor. He apparentely did this b/c he realized that the USA and Russia would be the world powers after the war, and he wanted good relations. Churchill, on the other hand, did not trust Stalin, but he needed him. I am not sure, and the book doesn’t elaborate, but FDR gave Stalin more faith, something that probably contributed to the Cold War.

In the end, Churchill and FDR were good friends, and maintained the highest sense of respect for each other. One interesting story is how when FDR first met Churchill secretly on a ship out at sea, he forced himself to stand to meet him, which was obviously very painful given FDR’s condition. Churchill greatly respected this gesture, and the two became instant friends, although Churchill was more of late night person, and would wear down FDR after a few days together.

Below is probably the most powerful and relevant speech/quote in the book, and it comes from Churchill during a speech he gave at Harvard back on September 6, 1943.

Twice in my lifetime the long arm of destiny has reached across the oceans and involved the entire life and manhood of the United States in a deadly struggle.

There was no use in saying “We don’t want it; we won’t have it; our forebears left Europe to avoid these quarrels; we have founded a new world which has no contact with the old. “There was no use in that. The long arm reaches out remorselessly, and every one’s existence, environment, and outlook undergo a swift and irresistible change. What is the explanation, Mr. President, of these strange facts, and what are the deep laws to which they respond? I will offer you one explanation – there are others, but one will suffice.

The price of greatness is responsibility. If the people of the United States had continued in a mediocre station, struggling with the wilderness, absorbed in their own affairs, and a factor of no consequence in the movement of the world, they might have remained forgotten and undisturbed beyond their protecting oceans: but one cannot rise to be in many ways the leading community in the civilised world without being involved in its problems, without being convulsed by its agonies and inspired by its causes.

If this has been proved in the past, as it has been, it will become indisputable in the future. The people of the United States cannot escape world responsibility. Although we live in a period so tumultuous that little can be predicted, we may be quite sure that this process will be intensified with every forward step the United States make in wealth and in power. Not only are the responsibilities of this great Republic growing, but the world over which they range is itself contracting in relation to our powers of locomotion at a positively alarming rate.

The full speech can be read here: The Price of Greatness is Responsibility.

Overall this book is an exceptional read, especially if you have any interest in FDR, Churchill or WWII. I think it was Jon and Jan that gave this book to me a while ago, and it is a shame it took me so long to read. So thank you to them, and read the book!

So…if you are wondering what it is like to be a triathlete and finally get a warm day to go cycling…this pretty much answers it.

Cycling with Frazz

We finally went skiing in the Alps, and it only took us 2 years to do it! It was both Kristen and mine’s first time, so there was bound to be plenty of sore muscles and butts afterwards. We arrived on Thursday night, with plans to ski on both Friday and Saturday. Thanks to the advice from a friend, we ended up going to Hochfuegen for our skiing adventure, and of course thanks to Barbie for finding a great hotel right at the bottom of slopes 9 and 9a (see link above). We could literally ski down to the lifts from target=”_blank”>right outside our hotel!

Anways, Friday morning came bright and early, and we all bundled up for what we expected to be a somewhat cold day of skiing. However, the sun was out and by lunch we were skiing (or at least trying to) in our t-shirts. Well, I was in a T-Shirt, and Kristen wore overalls. As you can tell from the picture, Kristen had a rougher time than I did learning the whole skiing thing, but after our lessons, she was “snow plowing” her way down the mountain with no problems. For me, it took a little less time, and once I figured out to turn and stop, I was looking for the higher lifts. My strategy was simple…make sharp turns that my speed stayed slow…thus preventing any major accidents. After a while I was flying down the mountain…not really, but the picture is cool so I had to work it into the story somehow.

After our long day of skiing we headed back to the hotel and got some dinner with the plans to ski Saturday until about 1pm, and head out early to beat the traffic. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans and she opened up the skies, and since it was nice and warm, instead of sow we got cold rain. Needless to say we decided to cancel our ski day and headed back to Munich. Apparantely everyone was thinking th e same thing though, since a ride that is supposed to only take 2 hours, actually ended up taking 4 hours! Despite the traffic, our ski weekend was a GREAT SUCCESS! We had the time of our lives, and I am only disappointed that I didn’t get a picture of Barbie skiing…maybe next time I’ll be good enough to ski and carry the camera at the same time!

Skiing in Alps pictures