first cut up some veggies (or better let cut)
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Friday, June 24, 2005
Modernity finally has found its way into Salzburg
Overlooking the old town of Salzburg
Modernity has finally arrived to Salzburg. To explain to foreigners and Viennese people: Salzburg is a provincial town in the northwest of Austria (south of Munch if that helps) which mainly lives from the fact that Mozart once was born there. Mozart also is the main product of this town - from chocolate and liqueur to the summer festival. You can really consume Mozart in any way: the skiing area close to Sazburg is called Amadee and last week another coffee place has been named - absolutely original and new – Mozart´s. Mozart himself of course and completely understandable has fled this mid-size town as soon as he could and throughout his life has preferred to live in Vienna and Prague.
Welcome,
...to the Museum der Moderne
Now I have to acknowledge that besides of music Salzburg has still a lot to offer to the tourist and has even been declared once as the most beautiful city of the world. That of course is a matter of taste but Salzburg is definitely not ugly and even owes some sort of Italian charm with its places, coffees and historic monuments. The old town seems really untouched from those old times although spruced up at its best. This actually may reflect something like the principle of this city. Everything is shiny, conserved but old-fashioned; a city underneath a bell jar where modernity hardly enters: beautiful to visit but boring to live in. No wonder that everything modern like the Zeitfluss music festival or the Guggenheim museum has bee turned down. The latter should have been built inside the Mönchsberg rock but after numerous protests from the provincial people inhabiting this place was finally realized in Bilbao, Spain where it now runs successfully. A huge chance had been missed and the Salzburg people outed themselves not only as traditional and conservative but also as economically stupid (in reality they are arrogant, “What do we need a Guggenheim when we have the Salzburg Music Festival?”).
...offering dangerous contemporary art
....and a great view
But now finally it seems that some modernity has found its way underneath the jar and manifestet itself in form of the Museum der Moderne (Museum of Modernity) that sits- although not inside but at least - on top of the Mönchsberg. A widely visible modern cubus is now sitting on the most prominent spot overlooking the town. And it houses not only a three level platform for modern art exhibitions but also a wonderful terrace with the most breathtaking view over the old town. That’s how it should be: a modern art spot from which you can overlook the beauty of the old and historic art. Go for it! Or better said: go up to it....
Choose yourself
Sunday, June 12, 2005
FRU FRU
„Fruitless“ does not sound as bad as it is. I mean I live most of the time „fruitless“ and I (so far) survived. I think “pastaless” or “wineless” would be way worse. Now I read that “fruitless” has quite terrible consequences: You will go around trying to sexually attract members of your own sex and even start copulating with them. Wait, before you run to the kitchen in order to find some left over banana or an apple let me explain to you that “Fruitless” (Fru) is actually a gene and only when it is mutated causes the described phenotype – in the fly.
As reported in the scientific magazine Cell scientists from the Barry Dickson’s lab at the IMBA in Vienna have inserted the male specific form of FruM into female flies which then displayed typical male courtship behavior although they were morphologically females. What is fascinating is first the sex life of the flies that I would have imagined less exciting and more quick before reading the article: male (or in this case the FruM carrying female) first stamp with their legs, flap their wings and carefully try to lick the female (a sort of fly-kiss). Then they start to sing, well they “play a song” by vibrating their wings (probably “Can’t help flying in love”). Dickson and his coworkers did not specify if they then started to dance a waltz or a salsa (possibly waltzing given they were Viennese flies) but finally the female accepts the male by “exposing her genitals to him”, which he immediately starts licking (would you ever have imagined flies having cunillingus as a foreplay?). Finally they have intercourse; for 20 minutes! Yes I know, you can do the same on a good day when it is rainy outside but try to extrapolate 20 minutes in the lifetime of a fly to that of humans. Paste envy here. Of course the last point was a bit disappointing for the FruM females trying to penetrate other females. But if they were put together with male flies carrying a female Fru version (FruF-these male were passive) it physically worked again and the FruM females went completely crazy for the FruF males (just like normal males go crazy for normal females). This craziness was actually due to the pheromones produced by the FruF males and as researches found out, the Fru gene regulates the response to the pheromones. In other words: just a bit of female smell forced them to do crazy and stupid things like stamping and vibrating their wings. If you are a male – or at least FruM – you may remember moments when the smell of a beautiful woman made you, if not stamp and flap your wings, at least forget about your surrounding and gaze at the pheromone source.
But of course we are not flies. First, in humans there seem to be quite some initiative FruM females (the so-called fru-fatale!) as well as some passive FruF males (frufties) and second, if we were like these flies the perfume industry would be even richer. They would distillate those pheromones and put them in small falcons saying Fru de Toilette or Fru for Men! Considering the 20 minutes and the lifetime difference we would not do anything else, but then, just imagine what happens if you accidentally take your girlfriend´s deodorant in the morning. That is actually the other fascinating part of the story. That it takes just one gentic switch to be homosexual, at least in flies. There are still enough people who think homosexuality is a sin or a disease, a perversion that can be fought against. A lot of people see it as something disgusting and they condemn homosexuals (the Nazis simply killed them because homosexuality was against the nature). But it is not hard to understand homosexuals even if you are straight. Just imagine you, I mean your brain, your personality inside a body of the opposite sex. You would be homosexual then but given your personality you would actually feel homosexual if you would mate the –morphologically- other sex. You see!
Ok, I don’t think it is so easy with humans then with flies. They have a very determined behavioral program when it comes to mating (that’s why the researches picked them for their study). It would probably take more then one gene to mutate in men and homosexuality may not completely and exclusively be determined genetically. There was another report this week about insect sex, giving actually the opposite example. Dragon flies determine their ideal mate by their surrounding types of dragon flies. Let’s say if the majority of “draggy” girls have long blond hair, big breasts and mini skirts then the males would literally fly for them. But if they were the minority and thin-breast brown haired would dominate then the male would go for them and leave the blondes aside (that’s the difference to human males). So, in the extreme case, if there would be mostly males around, a male dragon fly would find them most attractive and become a sort of drag-fly. So in this case there is no genetic determination of homosexuality instead it is all behavioral. Again this extreme may not be transferable to humans but it made me think of special cases like the high incidence of homosexuality among catholic priests or homosexual sex in prisons. However, I think human (sexual) behavior is way too complex to be explained by a single simple answer but I think we can learn from such animal models to be more tolerant with other forms of sexuality and to not condemn people for what is their nature.
Monday, May 16, 2005
A Day At The Garden
Monday, May 2nd, Vienna, 30°C, my first day “at home”. As I wake up I find the fridge completely empty. Of course, I just arrived yesterday night. OK, I could have gone to the store but when I looked outside I found the weather to be bright so I decided to have breakfast in the garden. Not really in my private garden but the one in Schönbrunn, the former emperor’s summer residence, just 5 walking minutes from my flat so in a way almost my garden.
At the gate of "my garden"
I used to be there when I lived in Vienna before whenever the weather and my time budget allowed it. I was going there to read the Sunday newspapers or even to study when I was still at University (I remember sitting there with that heavy Stryer). I went there for walks winter and summer with my girlfriends and one relationship even ended there (on a park bench just next the Palmenhaus). Whenever I needed time to think or when I felt like jogging (that is some time ago) I went to Schönbrunn. After my diploma exam I went up the hill to look down from the Gloriette at the city and thought I maybe should go and try live somewhere else. It took me 5 more years before I really left and on my last day I went up there again and looked at “my” Vienna one last time.
Schönbrunn seen from behind the Neptune fountain
I do not really have a preferred spot in the gardens (like I had in the Retiro in Madrid). I mean, I had some preferred spots but they changed over the years. First I liked to sit in front of the roman ruin. That was when I met my long term girlfriend Renate. I remember sitting there with an awful hangover, staring at the ruin and trying hard to remember the name of the girl I have met the day before at one of these student parties. I did not succeed but luckily met her again at another party. For some time I had to sit in the botanical garden because Renate was studying for her botany exam (and I could here her swear from some bush away). Then our relationship ended and they started to renovate the roman ruin (a sort of omen maybe). So I moved to the Palemenhaus but I avoided that bench after my next relationship broke apart there. Then I sat next to a fountain but fighting for a bench on the Rondeau was not easy on good days. I discovered a hidden space in-between high trees which was protected from the wind and where nobody would find me (must have been my autistic period). And there were some other places I occasionally went but they never became my preferred spots. I am actually a bit confused what spot to re-conquer now.
hard to get a picture without a jogger from behind the gloriette (I was not running)
Anyway, this morning I went straight up to the Gloriette, not so much to greet “my” Vienna again but to have breakfast on the backside of it (the Gloriette now is a coffee place also inside). I was sitting there with a Prosecco (sorry to be so posh but I don’t like coffee) and a nice cake watching dozens of joggers passing by and worrying only a bit about my own shape. What should I tell you, the weather was hot and the Prosecco was little so I needed some refreshment. I just went a few steps down the Gloriette to the Schönbrunnerbad – a public outdoor swimming pool. Not just some, the swimming pool in Vienna, at least for me. It once was closed for 2 years and I remember these summers have been terrible (forcing me to switch to the Stadionbad in the Prater). But now it is re-opened and renovated (including a fitness club, beach volley fields and floodlight for “night swimming”) so I did not hesitate to buy a seasonal ticket which was not very cheap but some investments are indispensable. I was so clever and brought a swimming dress so there was nothing that kept me from my first splash in Vienna. The water was just a bit chilly but given the 30° outside that was OK.
a slash in the pool inside the Schönbrunnerbad
Around 6:30 I had to leave so I walked down the hill to the Neptune fountain and left through the main entrance. Right across the street I met with my friends to play beach volleyball. Thanks to some innovative spirit we have a field reserved there every Monday from April to October. And thanks to the floodlight we can play from 7 pm to until 9:30 (pm). And to our luck there is a buffet right there to have some Radler and beer afterwards. I did not play too much volleyball in Valencia so I was a bit afraid how I would perform. But it was OK for the first time, only that I was a bit slow in the sand. Seemed I had some handicap I did not feel before I left. I really have to get rid of those 10 extra kilos I have gained in Valencia.
Maybe tomorrow I should go jogging in Schönbrunn...
At the gate of "my garden"
I used to be there when I lived in Vienna before whenever the weather and my time budget allowed it. I was going there to read the Sunday newspapers or even to study when I was still at University (I remember sitting there with that heavy Stryer). I went there for walks winter and summer with my girlfriends and one relationship even ended there (on a park bench just next the Palmenhaus). Whenever I needed time to think or when I felt like jogging (that is some time ago) I went to Schönbrunn. After my diploma exam I went up the hill to look down from the Gloriette at the city and thought I maybe should go and try live somewhere else. It took me 5 more years before I really left and on my last day I went up there again and looked at “my” Vienna one last time.
Schönbrunn seen from behind the Neptune fountain
I do not really have a preferred spot in the gardens (like I had in the Retiro in Madrid). I mean, I had some preferred spots but they changed over the years. First I liked to sit in front of the roman ruin. That was when I met my long term girlfriend Renate. I remember sitting there with an awful hangover, staring at the ruin and trying hard to remember the name of the girl I have met the day before at one of these student parties. I did not succeed but luckily met her again at another party. For some time I had to sit in the botanical garden because Renate was studying for her botany exam (and I could here her swear from some bush away). Then our relationship ended and they started to renovate the roman ruin (a sort of omen maybe). So I moved to the Palemenhaus but I avoided that bench after my next relationship broke apart there. Then I sat next to a fountain but fighting for a bench on the Rondeau was not easy on good days. I discovered a hidden space in-between high trees which was protected from the wind and where nobody would find me (must have been my autistic period). And there were some other places I occasionally went but they never became my preferred spots. I am actually a bit confused what spot to re-conquer now.
hard to get a picture without a jogger from behind the gloriette (I was not running)
Anyway, this morning I went straight up to the Gloriette, not so much to greet “my” Vienna again but to have breakfast on the backside of it (the Gloriette now is a coffee place also inside). I was sitting there with a Prosecco (sorry to be so posh but I don’t like coffee) and a nice cake watching dozens of joggers passing by and worrying only a bit about my own shape. What should I tell you, the weather was hot and the Prosecco was little so I needed some refreshment. I just went a few steps down the Gloriette to the Schönbrunnerbad – a public outdoor swimming pool. Not just some, the swimming pool in Vienna, at least for me. It once was closed for 2 years and I remember these summers have been terrible (forcing me to switch to the Stadionbad in the Prater). But now it is re-opened and renovated (including a fitness club, beach volley fields and floodlight for “night swimming”) so I did not hesitate to buy a seasonal ticket which was not very cheap but some investments are indispensable. I was so clever and brought a swimming dress so there was nothing that kept me from my first splash in Vienna. The water was just a bit chilly but given the 30° outside that was OK.
a slash in the pool inside the Schönbrunnerbad
Around 6:30 I had to leave so I walked down the hill to the Neptune fountain and left through the main entrance. Right across the street I met with my friends to play beach volleyball. Thanks to some innovative spirit we have a field reserved there every Monday from April to October. And thanks to the floodlight we can play from 7 pm to until 9:30 (pm). And to our luck there is a buffet right there to have some Radler and beer afterwards. I did not play too much volleyball in Valencia so I was a bit afraid how I would perform. But it was OK for the first time, only that I was a bit slow in the sand. Seemed I had some handicap I did not feel before I left. I really have to get rid of those 10 extra kilos I have gained in Valencia.
Maybe tomorrow I should go jogging in Schönbrunn...
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Only the good leave young
When I went to the internet cafe one day after my arrival here I found a nice message from one of my – I have to say now: former – colleagues. Marilo, short for Maria Dolores (and not Maria Lourdes as I have thought; sorry) sent me best wishes and asked me if I wished she kept my gym bag or if they should leave it at the gym (Marilo works out in the same gym I did). It would not be me if I hadn’t forgotten something and it is somehow ironic that it is Marilo who has do deal with it in this case. She is in fact a very organized person whereas I live in my “creative chaos”. Actually Marilo and I shared some fights over non washed gel plates and other items but despite that I really appreciated Marilo a lot. She has been an excellent colleague and - to my belief - is a very good scientist. She just got a very difficult project which may discourage you but she attacks it quite bravely.
In her email she wrote me another, more important novelty. Marisol, short for Maria Soledad, has decided to leave the lab and science in general. Now Marisol was an excellent colleague too and a good scientist as well. It somehow hurts to see the good ones leave. But I understand and I respect her choice. How many times have I thought to leave science and the lab for good? Maybe it is a nasty project that does not want to move on, maybe it is a nasty supervisor stressing you out or – on the other extreme – leaving you all alone without any guidance or help. And maybe it is that you realize that the science system (not science per se) is just not compatible with your personality and your expectations. In any case you feel unhappy but the decision what to do about it is all but easy.
When I think back, I had a very tricky project during my PhD thesis and I was considering some times to just throw my lab coat on the floor and walk out. I think sometimes it is wise to not get disencouraged by such difficulties (an example how you can deal with it is shown on http://kiko.triatletes.net/blog/en/biology/doing%20clown). As it happened to me, I got a good deal of support from my supervisor who understood my problems and then all of a sudden I got a technical tool in my hands that made the project move on and we managed to published it. But what if the problem is less your project but your boss? If he comes to the lab wearing a leather suit and holding a leash in his hand or if he gives you the feeling you and your project are completely unimportant to him? Well, you may consider changing the lab and the boss, before getting out of science at all.
But maybe it is really science that sucks, and then changing labs and projects will not help. Of course the life of a scientist is never an easy one which makes it hard to analyze what it is exactly the reason for your distress. I think most of us scientist have are familiar with that. When we decided to study science and become researchers we were all fascinated by the topic, and we still are. But we find ourselves trapped in a system that has little to do with our initial believe and enthusiasm. Lab work can be hard, boring and frustrating but I think this is the least problem and most of us deal with it. But the big problem is that you start science because you believe you can contribute something to our society: to achieve deeper understanding of nature or maybe a little piece of something that someday eventually may lead to the cure of – let’s say - cancer. But when you are inside the system you quickly learn that it is not always about finding the truth or novelty but often merely about publishing papers, irrespective of how accurate and how important the findings are.
I don’t know what was the reason in Marisol´s case but I found her step very courageous and I hope she finds a vocation she gets happy with. Me? What can I say, I just started my new job here in Vienna and although beginning never is easy I will see if I can manage to get at least a part of my ideas to work. If not, I will have to think about some changes just like Marisol did.
P.S.: if you are also considering changing your job or even your career, before you do so check out http://www.jobhuntersbible.com or http://change.monster.com/
In her email she wrote me another, more important novelty. Marisol, short for Maria Soledad, has decided to leave the lab and science in general. Now Marisol was an excellent colleague too and a good scientist as well. It somehow hurts to see the good ones leave. But I understand and I respect her choice. How many times have I thought to leave science and the lab for good? Maybe it is a nasty project that does not want to move on, maybe it is a nasty supervisor stressing you out or – on the other extreme – leaving you all alone without any guidance or help. And maybe it is that you realize that the science system (not science per se) is just not compatible with your personality and your expectations. In any case you feel unhappy but the decision what to do about it is all but easy.
When I think back, I had a very tricky project during my PhD thesis and I was considering some times to just throw my lab coat on the floor and walk out. I think sometimes it is wise to not get disencouraged by such difficulties (an example how you can deal with it is shown on http://kiko.triatletes.net/blog/en/biology/doing%20clown). As it happened to me, I got a good deal of support from my supervisor who understood my problems and then all of a sudden I got a technical tool in my hands that made the project move on and we managed to published it. But what if the problem is less your project but your boss? If he comes to the lab wearing a leather suit and holding a leash in his hand or if he gives you the feeling you and your project are completely unimportant to him? Well, you may consider changing the lab and the boss, before getting out of science at all.
But maybe it is really science that sucks, and then changing labs and projects will not help. Of course the life of a scientist is never an easy one which makes it hard to analyze what it is exactly the reason for your distress. I think most of us scientist have are familiar with that. When we decided to study science and become researchers we were all fascinated by the topic, and we still are. But we find ourselves trapped in a system that has little to do with our initial believe and enthusiasm. Lab work can be hard, boring and frustrating but I think this is the least problem and most of us deal with it. But the big problem is that you start science because you believe you can contribute something to our society: to achieve deeper understanding of nature or maybe a little piece of something that someday eventually may lead to the cure of – let’s say - cancer. But when you are inside the system you quickly learn that it is not always about finding the truth or novelty but often merely about publishing papers, irrespective of how accurate and how important the findings are.
I don’t know what was the reason in Marisol´s case but I found her step very courageous and I hope she finds a vocation she gets happy with. Me? What can I say, I just started my new job here in Vienna and although beginning never is easy I will see if I can manage to get at least a part of my ideas to work. If not, I will have to think about some changes just like Marisol did.
P.S.: if you are also considering changing your job or even your career, before you do so check out http://www.jobhuntersbible.com or http://change.monster.com/
Monday, May 02, 2005
On Economic Pessimism
When I finally arrived at my flat in Vienna after a 2.350 km drive from Valencia (spread over some days; post coming soon) I found the Harold’s Tribune waiting at my doorstep. I appreciate that service and although I had absolutely nothing in my fridge I could at least enjoy the newspaper the next morning. “In Europe, economic pessimism takes hold” read the title heading. Shit, thought I, I drove the wrong direction. Seriously, I have no clue about economics (therefore it is one thing I cannot be pessimistic about) but I learned that the overall growth rate in Germany is 1 %, 1,2 % in Italy and “only” 2,8 % in Britain. So that’s great, I thought: at least it’s growing. But I must be completely ignorant because those growth expectations were described as quite bad and that all is, as I also learned, because we sluggish consumers don’t consume enough. Shame on us!
Angelica Torres, an economic spokeswoman for the EU, was cited in the article encouraging people to “start buying a bit more than they have been doing”. Dear Angelica, I really try my best but unfortunately my account is quite blank. Now a French chief economist (whatever that is) has the solution for me: European banks should loosen borrowing rules “to help consumers buy more”, he suggested. Wonderful! And when we are completely indebted we get two or three jobs to be able to pay the money back. But then we cannot spend anything anymore and the growth rate will fall again, or do we lend more money from another bank in order to pay back and buy even more? Or are we then so indebted that we don’t see our way out anymore and when we loose one of our three jobs we just drive a bullet through our heads? Or don’t we ever pay the money back, just like they do? I am sorry; I really have no idea about economics.
OK, besides us nasty costumers, sitting on our oh so easily earned money, reluctant to throw it out the window in order to help the economy and unwilling to subscribe our entire lives to the banks in order to forever become slaves of the national growth rates, so besides us cockroaches, the article also cited high oil prices and low-cost manufacturers in Asia as part of the problem (the problem of the lousy 2,8 % growth expectation, just to remember you). Well, you could also call it the Iraq war and the neoliberal exploitation nicknamed globalization but I may be naïf again. And isn’t the European Union all about economics? Isn’t that what they always tell us? We need all that regulations and we need all the uncontrolled transportation all across Europe for the good of our economy. And now it grows a ridiculous 1 to 2,8 percent? Gosh!
While I drove through France, Italy and Austria I must have passed a thousand trucks. I was reflecting on how life has been before, when there were fewer trucks on the road. I mean I don’t know exactly because some 20 years ago I didn’t drive but I just suppose there were quite fewer trucks on the European highways. Then, when I stopped in Villach I went to the groceries and bought a box of strawberries from Huelva, Spain. I was surprised (probably because I did not expect it) that there were at least as sweet as the one’s I bought on the market of Valencia one week before. Then I thought, well, that would not have been possible 20 years ago and honestly, I really enjoyed the strawberries. But then, reflecting again as I took over another pile of trucks I wondered if we were less happy 20 ago just because we couldn’t buy Spanish strawberries (and Irish butter, and Belgian beer, and French Water, and so on). I don’t think so and I remember that I was eating apples instead of strawberries and it was just fine (as was the tap water). And then I thought, since we did not spend our money on strawberries from Huelva and Perrier from France, that means our economy must have had an awful growth rate back then. So, how did we actually make it until now?
Jess, I should definitely learn something about economics
Angelica Torres, an economic spokeswoman for the EU, was cited in the article encouraging people to “start buying a bit more than they have been doing”. Dear Angelica, I really try my best but unfortunately my account is quite blank. Now a French chief economist (whatever that is) has the solution for me: European banks should loosen borrowing rules “to help consumers buy more”, he suggested. Wonderful! And when we are completely indebted we get two or three jobs to be able to pay the money back. But then we cannot spend anything anymore and the growth rate will fall again, or do we lend more money from another bank in order to pay back and buy even more? Or are we then so indebted that we don’t see our way out anymore and when we loose one of our three jobs we just drive a bullet through our heads? Or don’t we ever pay the money back, just like they do? I am sorry; I really have no idea about economics.
OK, besides us nasty costumers, sitting on our oh so easily earned money, reluctant to throw it out the window in order to help the economy and unwilling to subscribe our entire lives to the banks in order to forever become slaves of the national growth rates, so besides us cockroaches, the article also cited high oil prices and low-cost manufacturers in Asia as part of the problem (the problem of the lousy 2,8 % growth expectation, just to remember you). Well, you could also call it the Iraq war and the neoliberal exploitation nicknamed globalization but I may be naïf again. And isn’t the European Union all about economics? Isn’t that what they always tell us? We need all that regulations and we need all the uncontrolled transportation all across Europe for the good of our economy. And now it grows a ridiculous 1 to 2,8 percent? Gosh!
While I drove through France, Italy and Austria I must have passed a thousand trucks. I was reflecting on how life has been before, when there were fewer trucks on the road. I mean I don’t know exactly because some 20 years ago I didn’t drive but I just suppose there were quite fewer trucks on the European highways. Then, when I stopped in Villach I went to the groceries and bought a box of strawberries from Huelva, Spain. I was surprised (probably because I did not expect it) that there were at least as sweet as the one’s I bought on the market of Valencia one week before. Then I thought, well, that would not have been possible 20 years ago and honestly, I really enjoyed the strawberries. But then, reflecting again as I took over another pile of trucks I wondered if we were less happy 20 ago just because we couldn’t buy Spanish strawberries (and Irish butter, and Belgian beer, and French Water, and so on). I don’t think so and I remember that I was eating apples instead of strawberries and it was just fine (as was the tap water). And then I thought, since we did not spend our money on strawberries from Huelva and Perrier from France, that means our economy must have had an awful growth rate back then. So, how did we actually make it until now?
Jess, I should definitely learn something about economics
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