Skydiving Interlaken!

It all started with an email to friends in Geneva for a weekend trip to Interlaken. We ended up with 17 folks renting out a hostel and doing extreme activities. Interlaken is known for it's outdoor fun.

Doug and I take a jump out of a heli into the Swiss Alps. The town is called Interlaken. As you will notice, the lakes are 2 different colors. One is filled by the glaciers (Blue) and the other isn't (Blue green).

How to Recreate the 'Big Bang' 101

Today there is a lot of energy flying around Geneva and I'm not talking about the ski season coming up. Its time to send some particles flying and letting them collide into what would be a 25 year long project to reproduce the 'Big Bang' (On a much smaller scale of course).

This summer, in the most expensive machine on earth ($9 Billion) Large Hadron Collider, scientists at CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory, will be smashing atoms at full power to monitor debris in the hopes of learning more about the origins and workings of the universe.



The device is located deep beneath the border of France and Switzerland (Just outside Geneva), firing protons around a 27-kilometer (17-mile) tunnel at over 11000 times a second. Today they kicked off the first particle beam running counterclockwise and then clockwise. It will still be about a month before beams traveling in opposite directions are brought together in collisions that some skeptics fear could create micro "black holes" and endanger the planet. The results are hoping to teach them more about "dark matter," antimatter and possibly hidden dimensions of space and time.

These are great conversation pieces. I try not to talk about work with friends that I've made from CERN. They usually go into tangents that leave me looking like deer in headlights.

You may have not known, but the internet was created at CERN, not by Al Gore.

Below is an overview of cern:


They also have a rap about the project that is getting a lot of hits on youtube.
CERN RAP

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

Matt from Connecticut, at 31 years old quit his job to travel. The people from stride gum saw his dancing video and asked if he wanted to take a paid trip around the world. The only thing he has to do is dance.

Can't say much for Matt's dancing skills, but this guy went to some amazing places.
14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands.



http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

Where frogs are eaten

Paris is only a 3 hour train ride or a 1 hour flight, so finally I made this short trip to see some family visiting there. It was an extremely short weekend with so much to see, looks like another trip is in order.

Pictures include:

• Outside Notre Dame Cathedral
• Outside the Louvre
• Arch De Triumph - In 1806, Napolean, the French emperor who conquered most of Europe at the beginning of the 19th century, decided to build a very big arch of triumph which stands at the top of the Champs-Elysées. The purpose: To gather his Army and have them walk through the arch in front of cheering Parisians after a victorious war… The only problem, the event never happened because Napolean was defeated at Waterloo. What would make a ruler like Napolean bring on this kind of inspiration?

• Pompidou Modern Art Museum - Jamie and I checked out an exhibit on modern architecture then scoped the works by, Picasso, Matisse, Pollock, Dali, and many more. I'm actually becoming a fan of modern/contemporary art, because seeing the main man Jesus and Mary all the time is becoming a little redundant.

• The Pantheon - Is now a burial place for famous French heroes. Includes Geneva born, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's tomb. His most popular work is 'The Social Contract', which was a major influence during the time of the French Revolution.

• The Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart) - Fantastic views where Claire and I overlooked the city.

Sharing is Caring

Ever give some random stranger your keys to your car and said 'have a go! I'll find another'. Ok, this may sound a little ridiculous, but trading a bike is common in the larger cities around Europe. It is an idea that began spreading in 1995 from Copenhagen, Denmark to all around the world today. Use the bike, you can leave the bike at any bike lot and pick another one up somewhere else.

There is a big bike movement in Paris with the 2007 launch of Velib', the bike sharing program.
"With 10,500 bikes at the end of 2007, expanding to 20,600 in 2008, an even 1,000,000 bikes for 2009. This would surely make Paris the most bike-friendly city in Europe and the world. Parisians are elated by this possibility, however, the citizens of Copenhagen and Amsterdam which are traditionally Europe’s most bike-friendly large cities are revolting."
Source: http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/

I am a big fan of the bike. Geneva has bike lanes that is always faster than the car traffic. You can even take it on the trains if you want to venture off and explore another town, vineyard or onto a trail in the alps. You will most likely shed a couple belt sizes as well. Best of all... it doesn't take from your wallet.

Small World

I have two roommates here in Geneva. Early this year, one decided to depart to Budapest for career advancement leaving a vacant spot in our apartment. Una and I began the the tedious process for finding a new roommate to fill the spot. Of course we are very picky, interviewing almost 2 people a night for 2-3 weeks. Finding a place to rent in Geneva is extremely difficult (1% vacant), so the renter (Una and I) can take the time to choose someone that fits the best. We wanted to make it into a talent contest like American Idol, but moving the furniture every nite would be such a pain. Finally we found Simon. He is originally from Ireland, which explains him having no problem with a couple glasses of wine for the interview. He installs golf courses around Europe and works for a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Pretty ironic, because I just moved from Scottsdale.

A few months ago I was walking home from the gym and hear a distinguished french accent I immediately recognized from way-back. I say 'hey Karim', he turns around with a shocked look on his face and a smile. I met him 13 years ago my freshmen year at the University of Arizona. Karim lived in the same dorm on the same floor. We both started talking about our funny moments, and shared experiences. Numbers were exchanged, so we can further laugh about ourselves, the people we know and the quirkiness of being college freshmen.

Karim gives me a ring to plan and meet up. We begin talking about a friend we had in common- Andrew. Andrew was a good friend of mine my freshman year. He lived in the dorm right next to me and was commonly stopping in to say hi or called upon for venturing out on the town. I ask Karim about Andrew and he mentions that he heard that Andrew may be moving to Morocco. I ask Karim to get me Andrew's information, which he didn't have, but knew who to get it from and would get back to me.

Simon and I were playing a golf tournament and talking about work. He was looking for a manager for one of the golf courses in Morocco and had someone in mind. He never said a name. I recalled, Karim mentioned that Andrew was moving to Morocco. It dawns on me...is there a possibility that my friend Andrew could be the same guy Simon (my new roommate) was talking about?

Naw, nej, na... nein, nope, non, naw.......NOOOO WAY!!

Two weeks pass while Simon is out of town.
Upon return, I nonchalantly ask him 'Do you know Andrew Rebman?'
Simon replied: 'Yeah, he called me today. I need to give him a call back. Why? How do you know him?'
Me: 'Oh, I've just heard of the guy. Tell him I said hi.'

It's things like this that makes the world feel extremely small. This is not even 6 degress of separation, more like one degree. We are all connected in one way or another.

What is: 6 degrees of Separation

You can also see karma come into play. We are constantly creating "seeds" though friendships, relations, and actions. Those seeds can and will follow us later, even if you are on the other side of the world. A friendship that was in the past or in the now will be somehow connected in the future. You can not escape karma. Live today and make friends today, because that is the tomorrow no matter where you are. I'm sure everyone has a story of these situations.


John Donne puts it into perspective with his work "no man is an island".

No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee.

It means that we are all impacted by each other...and whatever happens to someone else, affects each of us as well. If you think about this. It is true in a number of ways, in individual relationships, in families, in social circles, and wider and wider in impacts. Information is communicated around the world creating a large network for connecting people in ways not previously available, by means of world news, blogs, skype, youtube, facebook, messenger, sms, email or even actions, where presidential candidates go overseas to speak in foreign countries. Because we are all connected in one way or another and issues are not as isolated as they used to be, people are not as isolated as we used to be. Your actions, your decisions, your vote, your choices, your treatment of other people, all have an effect.

When someone asks me, 'Are you ever homesick?'. Yes, of course, but there isn't anyone I can't get in touch with immediately over the phone and internet. This blog is an example of including family and friends in my life. We may not be next to each other chatting, laughing, enjoying the presence of one's company but we are sharing little experiences, making the world a little smaller than it was before.

"no man is an island"

Daddio feeling the jive of Montreux Jazz Festival

Founded in 1967, the Montreux Jazz Festival has established itself as one of the biggest and best-loved music festivals in Europe. Each year musicians, bands and music fans from around the world descend on the beautiful mountain town of Montreux on the banks of Lake Geneva for the annual Jazz Festival. Only an hour train, situated at the foot of the Alps, Montreux is a truly great location for an event that in the past has attracted such music greats as Miles Davis, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan. The festival has multiple concerts every day and is 15 days long! We celebrated this 4th of July with an Erika Badu concert that was truely amazing. Also caught a little Paul Simon a few days later. America, spreading the love for jazz and music around the world. "I'm more interested in what I discover than what I invent." Paul Simon

Obamafest 2008

Last night presidental candidate Barak Obama gave a speech in Berlin with almost 250000 people in attendance. It is obvously in a location where they oppose the war in Iraq and coincides with his plan of immediate withdrawl which makes him popular. Germany refused to send any troops and is adamantly against the war, as with most of Europe as with most of the world. This is all something we all know. What you don't see living in the states is that Europeans want to like America again. They show a general interest in US politics and often know as much if not more about our country than most Americans. I believe Traveling abroad as an American would be more enjoyable without the stigma of the war over our heads. Would any presidental candidate from another country ever get 250000 people in the US. Never. Actions speak louder than words and showing up to support what they believe in, their voice is heard. It just doesn't count, cuz they aren't voting.

Evian is not just water

Simon (New roommate) and I decided to join a golf club that does small tournaments around France and Switzerland. Here is the beautiful Evian Masters golf course. Yes, this is where the water comes from. It is about a 45 min drive from Geneva. The fairways are tight and the ball tends to bounce and roll towards the water. Simon, installs golf couses for a living and says "it's also because the grass grows towards the lake, so the ball goes along the grain". Whatever, just hit the ball.

Women’s PGA tour is playing there this week from July 24th - 27th.

Check the picks:

Looking 2 Fly?

With the gas prices rising, so are costs for flights. I added some links on the right pane of this blog for easy reference in the future. Book it!

http://www.farecompare.com/
http://farecast.live.com/
http://beta.itasoftware.com
http://www.kayak.com/
http://www.mobissimo.com

Geneva Tied for # 2 for Best Place to Live

This article ranks the cities with the best qualities of life. Geneva #2 baby!

Business Week's Best Places to Live 2008

Geneva ranks high, but it also mentions that the survey doesn't take into account nightlife. Geneva would rank further down in that poll, without a doubt. Some of the clubs here are definitely not worth the price. A few weekends ago, we went out on the town at one of these fancy night clubs. Asked for 2 Heinekin beers and 2 bottle waters, which resulted in a 80CHF or $80 tab. Don't know what I was thinking, because tap water here is the same stuff they bottle up for Evian water. Paying $25 a beer is not my style either.

"Who's round is it now?"

Little trip in May

The pictures below are from a weekend trip:
-Annecy, which is about a 40 min drive from Geneva. It is a small town along a lake in the French Alps.
-The castle pics are in Avignon, which has the 14th century gothic Popes Palace and its famous bridge completed in 1185. That bridge used to be the only bridge over the Rhone River.

Ride around Annecy lake

Great view:
(Warning: Filming while biking should only be done by trained professionals.)

The Desk Strike

It was moving day in the office and I was transferring rooms to another side of the building. This new office is larger and shared with 4 other people. Walking into the office, I noticed that the desk was not where I wanted it to be. Immediately I walk over to my desk and turn it (90 degrees) the direction I wanted it to be. It really was missing the feng shui feel that the previous position was missing. Later that afternoon, an office architect (French guy) walks into the office and see's my doing. He pulls out a clipboard and proceeded to show me the layout of the desks. They created this diagram weeks before and previously decided where my desk was going to be. I suggested he take a pen and draw my desk in the new position, easy. All this talk about the desk made us hungry, so we decided to take a lunch break.

The next day, we received an email from the desk architect stating that they are postponing the installation of our phones in our office. Yes, because I moved my desk to my liking, they are on strike. Now, not only do I not have a phone, but my 3 colleagues don't either. The office move was at a stand still. Since I didn't have a phone, I couldn't do work. That means...time for a coffee break. Surprisingly, the movers were having a coffee too. I'm starting to like the way this works. Well eventually I got my phone, it only involved a bunch of emails, coffee breaks, and convincing them to get everything back in order. My desk is exactly where I want it too. I don't think this would have happened in the states.

Yes, the French love their labor disputes and when they put their mind to it, they can Strike like nobody’s business. But what I really love about a good French strike is that sometimes other unions go on strike just to show support for the unions that are going on strike. You don't even have to be on strike to go to a stike. How sweet is that? French news on TV commonly has updates on the latest strike of the week. Last month, even illegal immigrants went on strike in Paris. Illegal Immigrant Strike in Paris

I got my poster and markers in my back pocket. Wanna join?

PuckerUp!

Greetings have never been my place of expertise, but I'm practicing every day and getting better. The custom here in Switzerland is to give 3 kisses on the cheek to the opposite sex when you greet and say your goodbyes. First off, my apologies to those girls I created awkward moments on. Upon arrival to Switzerland, every person I met was greeted with a hand shake. Hey, it was what I was used to and mostly automatic. The straightforward handshake was working well most of the time until I received some strange responses.

One particular time I put out my hand out for a shake and she just looked at it. She leaned in, so I presumed it was going to be a hug, at the same time she was trying to do three kisses to me. We were tangled in inelegance and I confused the hell out her. It must have looked like a strange African dance and we were stuck in it together.

At first this was very uncomfortable and I didn't know what to do. Another fun moment was when I gave only one kiss on the cheek and pulled away. She was expecting two more, and her head was leaning in waiting. She recognized my decision for one and she smoothly pulled her head back. What seemed like minutes later...I decided to give her the remaining two. Hey, I owed it to her for hanging out there earlier. She had an expression on her face- 'I thought this greeting was finished'. Well, not in my mind, so I lunged in, similar to a fish out of water. She kept me waiting (another minute), then helped me finish this ritual. Talk about a long awkward greeting.

This makes it quite a task if you have to say hi or bye to 10+ people. With different cultures mix together, these mistakes are common. Seeing another American always causes problems, do we hug, shake or 3 kiss? There is really no correct answer, just pick one and dive in. Learning the hard way is sometimes the best way, keeps me updating this blog.
x-x-x

France has much more complex kissing rules, based on region (1-5).
See link for region: French Kiss