I'll be Black!

Today Tuesday 4th November, 2008 history is made in the United States of America with the election of Barack Hussein Obama II (47 year old), as the new President, beating Senator John Sidney McCain III (72 year old), to the Whitehouse.


Strange things do happen in the US as Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger, on November 17th, 2003 was appointed 'The Governor' of California, not forgetting the unformidable figure of Ronald Wilson Reagan the first movie star to reach the Whitehouse. Although Arnie the 'Govenator' is married to Maria Owings Shriver a member of the Kennedy family this does not give Austrian born Arnie the right to become President as I'm sure he would have been an ideal candidate.

With the announcement of Barack Obama winning the Presidential campaign, not just the US rejoiced in this monumental achievement, but so did the rest of the world. Having an Afro-American at the helm of the Whitehouse will hopefully be as rewarding as seeing Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela as the first black President of South Africa after 27 years incarceration for his political views.

We still have to wait for the official Inauguration Day before Barack Obama relieves President George Walker Bush of his duties, although a day the world is waiting for with intrepid optimism for the many problems Obama will have to sort out in his 4 year term.

A Rubbish Service

A Rubbish Service: ITV 1 - UK television.

Is this a waste of time?

I watched this and was amazed by what actually happens with our so called green way we are supposed to collect and recycle household waste. As local authorities punish residents for failing to abide by recycling laws, Mark Jordan (ITV reporter), looks into whether the organisations themselves stand up to the same level of scrutiny. The reporter also looks into what becomes of recycled rubbish after it is taken away by refuse collectors. It is unbelievable that household waste that was separated into special bins and taken away by recycle collecting companies (who were awarded the contract from the local council), have been collecting all the different coloured bins (on different days), and sending them all off to India as separated recyclable waste. Such as tin cans, plastics, paper, etc. all to be recycled and used again. But this is not happening; they are all mixed up in the same shipping containers and when they get to India, or wherever they are going, end up in a land filled site, completely useless to anyone. So household waste is travelling 5,000 miles to a new hole in the ground, a complete waste of time, resource and adding to the anti green effect. This was one example of what happens to peoples waste, and to prove this was genuine, the reporter excavated the land fill sites (up to 30 feet deep), and found all UK waste with the UK branded goods. Having found some personal letters, that were supposed to be recycles as pulp for paper, they traced these back to the owner in the UK, who was flabbergasted as to how they ended up in a land fill site in India. All unbelievable, yet just the icing on the cake. So being green, is this really doing a good deed and saving on the environment, when the only thing the refuse collectors are interested in is lining their pockets with the 'green back!'

Mallorca Uncovered!

Having just arrived home from a magical experience in Majorca (as the English would say), this is definately a place worth exploring. I have visited many Spanish islands before but have always kept at arms length from Mallorca as it has always been assoiciated with the 'larger louts' and beach bums, but how nieve I have been. 

Arriving in only 1.5 hours direct for Basel airport the journey was easy and hassle free for me, but not so easy for Bi, as she had to fly from Porto first to Madrid, then change flights and fly on to Palma. The timing was perfect as we arrived within 10 minutes of each other and made our way to the car rental for our pre-booked car for the next 10 days. Not actually the car I planned to have, as I quite fancied the advertised Citroen C2, but ended up with a Ford Ka, which turned out to be ok and great for the small roads and mountains we were to endure and with my pre-loaded maps on my GPS we were all set to explore.

Leaving the airport behind us it only took 15 minutes to get into the centre of Palma our first destination for a couple of days. Our hotel was the Santa Ana, situated on the west side of the the city and right on the beach. Having eventually found a suitable parking place, as there is nothing at the hotel, we made our way to the reception in the 35° midday heat, sweating and looking forward to running into the warm sea to cool down. Cautionary note; when you book a hotel on the internet read the reviews and double check the rooms as they may not be a true representation of the actual hotel. In our case, we looked at various hotels and this seemed to be very nice, and if you get a sea front balcony room it could be very nice, although for us we got one of ten or so back rooms, on the opposite side of the building, with a view of the main road and the very noisy clubs and bars. We did not realize this until we returned to the room and tried to get off to sleep and found the heat in the non air-conditioned room, with no fan, or windows that opened was like a Chinese sweat shop and we just could not sleep. Having opened the balcony door this did not help as only the noise came in and no draft. So we had to resort to opening the front room door to create a through draft that actually worked and the room cooled down enough to be more comfortable, but the street noise did not subside until around 5:30 in the morning, so we were extremely tired in the morning as we had to set the alarm so we could at least get our inclusive breakfast in the only room with air-conditioning before it closed at 10:00. At the reception there was one sympathetic guy and he tried his best to get us a better room but the hotel was over booked already so impossible. The reception was also a joke as the receptionists had one fan for three people and they were sodden with sweat which was quite amusing. It wasn't all doom and gloom and as it was only for 2 nights we knew that the next hotel destination would be completely different, so we just enjoyed the beach, the city and local places of interest and knew we would be off soon......

Having dragged ourselves out of bed we went down to breakfast, which was not too bad and quite a variety of food. Pretty much a self services buffet style, nothing special, but ok and in a nice cool room. After breakfast we decided not to stay at our hotel beach, which was very busy, but to go to another one along the west coast. .......... Photos and more to come.........

Gurnigel

Gurnigel! What am I talking about, you may ask? Not an easy place to find, but like a lot of hidden places in Switzerland you normally have to be recommended by a Swiss person or someone that has been there. Well today the weather looked ok, some clouds and a forecast of rain, but around 10:00 this morning it looked fine, so I thought I would take advantage of this and get out on my bike, yes my motorbike. Not really sure on where to go, but somewhere not too far in case the rain did come, so I thought Gurnigel. I could barely remember how to get there as it has been nearly a year since I was last there. Although I have GPS on my bike, it only helps if you know the name of the destination and I could not remember, but a had a pretty good idea where it was, and I knew once I got there I could save the coordinates and then I would have this listed in my favorites so as not to forget for next time. The ride out was beautiful, as there was hardly any traffic on the road towards Belp, before I turn right and head off up the hills for Riggisberg. I cannot describe how perfect the scenery is as you climb higher and higher, with the mountains off in the distance and the low lands of Belp airport (Bern airport), disappearing as I wind my way through the smaller country roads. The temperature was perfect, around 24' with a slight breeze and lots of sunny spells with a few clouds dotted around the skyline as I motored along in perfect harmony with my Triumph, which was making easy work of the hills as I passed all the cyclists destine for the summit. Having passed Riggisberg I carried on until I found Gurnigel where I stopped for a comfort break, some lunch and to take in the fanatic view of the mountains and lake Thun in the distance. Once refreshed it was time to complete the circuit and return home, just as the rain started although not too heavy, so I made it home just as the heaven opened up and it poured down, but luckily for me I was home dry! One thing I did notice was a Western style ranch, which looked great fun, so I checked it out on the internet and fancy myself as 'John Wayne' so will inquire about a day’s western style horse riding. Looks fun!

La Chasseral

Having a motorbike in Switzerland can be great fun, but with a country that has thousands of wonderful places to visit, it is often a daunting challenge to think where to go. It's therefore good to ask friends, colleagues or native Swiss people for ideas and start from there. Last week I was on my colleagues sail boat on Lake Neuchâtel (biggest all Swiss lake in Switzerland, around 40klm in length), when I spotted a massive Swisscom communications tower on top of a hill and was told this is La Chasseral in the French speaking region.

So all geared up and GPS system set to La Chasseral as my destination, I was ready to go. Heading off in the direction of Neuchâtel and Biel, I was on my way to explore another region of Switzerland on my list of many. After 30 minutes of riding, passed along Lake Biel to Vingelz and then ascend towards Lamboing. From here I rode around Mont Sujet in a Northwestern direction up to Mét. de Prêles. While one would expect cows to be grazing here, the beasts one sees are actually buffalos. Then follow the asphalted country road (pretty steep and windy), upwards and get to the Chasseral via Mét. du Milieu de Bienne. The views are breathtaking: the Mittelland is bordered by a ring of alpine peaks. If you fancy going further you can then descent to Nods which can either be done on the road or along steep paths, yes getting off the bike and walking and going in the direction of Twann via Prêles, but I was not in any hurry to leave this scenery, and did not want to walk too far in my leather gear as it was still around 20'.

Once at the top and I parked up my bike along with the many others and headed for the Swisscom communications tower which was not a blip on the hill anymore, this was a magnificent Giraffe like creature (from below), laying claim to the highest peak. I then took a walk along the top (very easy and great views in every direction). With the Jura mountain range on one side, and off in the distance more mountains, which you can see on a clear day 100’s of klms. The snow capped mountaion are a beautiful backdrop to the scenery. I thought of an alternative route back home heading towards Le Doubs which is the river that forms the border between France and Switzerland. This is a great area, or go to St. Imier and then to Saignelegier and then down to Goumois. This being a long way round but has to be a terrific ride on a motorbike. Although for me that would have to wait another day as it was already pushing on into the evening and I wanted to get home before dust fell.

My little French came in handy as all the walkers you meet are French speaking and it's amazing what a Bonjour and a smile can bring. :-)

Tour de Gurten

What can you do on a Friday after work? Well stretch your legs and get out from behind your computer and do something less boring. Leave the week behind you and head of for a nice cycle up the Gurten in Bern. The Gurten is around 900 meters and can be very steep in places, such as the bottom section, a part in the middle and the last couple of bends. Great for a nice walk, but a challenge on a bicycle. It's been a while since I last took to my pedal power and actually cycled up a steep hill, actually a year, so today was a mental and physical challenge to see if I could still do it. So dressed in my shorts and a t-shirt, off I ventured, down to the river Aare and then to Wabern to start my hill climb to the top. Having got to the base camp starting point where the cable car starts (which would have been a better idea to take to the top), I quickly engaged the lower gears on my bike, which seemed to run out pretty quickly, leaving me wishing I had more than 24. Luckily for me the road has recently been resurfaced and instead of a rough track there was nice new black ashfelt lining the tree path. 5 minutes into the first section I thought was it the warm Friday evening sun, or am I just getting too fat and lazy to make my legs rotate. Maybe both, but I persevered and at a snail’s pace very slowly climbed up the first section of the hill. By the time I reached the summit of the first section, a bend in the road where it levels out a little, I was sweating like a fat boy, but determined to get to the top without getting off my bike. It was times like this that I wished I was sitting on my motorbike as this would have been an easy climb and no effort for me. The things we do to try and keep fit, but then sitting behind a desk all day, or on a train, plane or taxi, I do need to kick start some fitness and get rid of some of the corporate dinners. Anyway to cut a long hill short, I finally made it to the top, soaking wet and in need of a new pair of legs as these were burnt out. Having rested for 20 minutes, gassing semi paralyzed into the early evening sky, I finally found the energy to go home. Luckily for me I took a drink and an energy bar with me to get me some light refreshment for the journey home. Descending the hill was too easy and within 5 minutes I was at the bottom, which was a bit of a disappointment as it must have taken 30 minutes to get up. I did get the pleasure to pass other tour de Gurten cyclists on their way up, so it wasn't so bad. This also reminded me of a runner I met on another occasion, running up and down the Gurten. He passed me the previous time going up and I never saw him again until I was coming back down later on, so I stopped him and asked how many times he is running up the Gurten. He replied and said ONLY 3 times, up and down in a circuit, running up the road and down the steps by the cable car. Wow I thought; is this guy crazy? He said this was a warm up ready for a run across the Pyrenees later in the year. So when I think of my pathetic one time hill climb in comparison I do need more exercise.

Viva España

The Euro 2008 Championship draws to a close in Vienna with the final game and a clear winner. A fantastic and exciting final game that kept us on the edge of our seats whilst we waited patiently for the final whistle to blow before Spain was announced as the champions of Europe. A long awaited result, actually 44 years since Spain held the trophy, but they did not care as today was their day and of course they thoroughly deserved it winning all of their games.

The key to success came from their opening 4-1 win against Russia through the hoodoo-laying shoot-out triumph over Italy in the quarter-finals to Sunday night's deserved coronation in Vienna, Spain have bettered all-comers at this EURO, not slipping up once. But what was the key to their success? Was it the artistry of their fluent, fleet-footed midfielders or the goals of final match-winner Fernando Torres and tournament top scorer David Villa? Or the inspirational leadership of veteran coach Luis Aragonés (69 years old), but does it really matter now as Spain rejoyce and the party goes on and on, especially with my buddy Tony who lives in Madrid. Maybe the Germans just lacked some Ballack's........

I am sailing, I am sailing........

There is always a first time for everything and this was my first ever sailing experience and what an experience! Knocking off early on a Friday afternoon is a great way to start the weekend, afterall it's not all work and no play! As you see in the picture, we have just returned after 3 hours on the waves and a force 3-4 is enough for a beginner like me, so I don't think I have my sea legs just yet. In the background you see Rob, my fellow work colleague and skipper of the yatch. I'm not sure about the details of the boat, but it is more than big enough for 1 person to handle so Rob was pleased that I could help (maybe hinder), him on Lac de Neuchâtel, yes the French region of Switzerland. Setting off from Bern, Neuchâtel is about a 45 minute car journey away, but a beautiful part of Switzerland and has a massive lake that would take you all day to try and sail around. Once we arrived Rob gave me clear instructions, safety first of course, the do's and do nots on board. Such as, make sure when your drinking your beer, place it in a secure place when you are 'turning about' otherwise the beer goes everywhere and you end up sitting in a pool of beer and have smelly shorts and a wet ass. So with my life jacket securely fastened, sail covers removed, achor aboard, tigh ropes removed and an adiquate supply of beer, we set off. ....................tbc

Football Challenge (724 Solutions v Swisscom)

As the Euro 2008 Championship drew to a close in Vienna with the final game and clear winners Spain, 724 Solutions and Swisscom were engaging in their own football (soccer for our American colleagues), challenge. A long awaited game, which spawned from an original idea that was bantered around since last summer, became a reality on Wednesday 25th June in Ebikon, a small village near picturesque Luzern. For many of our team this was the first time we have kicked a ball let alone played a ‘competitive’ game. The day was blisteringly hot, around 31’C (88’F), as we stood in the sauna room, changing into our nice new 724 sponsored football kit, courtesy of John Sims. Not actually a sauna room, but the heat in this wooden clubhouse changing room was stifling, but it was merely a teaser for the measure of the heat we were to endure on the pitch. The prospect of the upcoming 35 minutes each-way game was starting to make us sweat. But with the coaching and guidance from our own FIFA certified coach, Stewart Rout, we were ready and Stewart duly led us onto the pitch for our pregame warm up session. Having performed a few stretches and a little knock about with the ball, we were pumped up and ready to take on the might of Swisscom. Having won the coin toss, we got into our team formation ready for the kick-off under the watchful eye of an unbiased club referee - a neutral Swiss guy, of course... Stewart, also our team captain, carried out the formalities of shaking hands with Stefan Kohler - Swisscom’s captain, and the referee and so the game began. The 724 Solutions Team: Left top - Nick Keates, Thomas Kreis, James Moffat, Lukasz Strzepka, Gavin Cattell, Philippe Jost, John Sims (CEO), Joe Keaney. Left Bottom: Marcos Garcia, Davide Restivo, Jorge Rubio, Tomasz Maslewski, Markus Bircher, Stewart Rout. A well-practiced pass from Joe Keaney to James Moffat and we were underway for an enduring first half. It wasn’t long into the game that we realized that we were now on the back foot as Swisscom seemed to come at us from all angles. We fended them off well for 10 minutes, but the Swisscom pressure was relentless. Was this down to match fitness, the hot blistering sun, the lack of team practice, or were we just being out played? As we defended hard, our back four; Marcos Garcia, Tomasz Maslewski, John Sims and Lukasz Strzepka, just seemed to be outnumbered in trying to protect our novice goalkeeper, Jorge Rubio, from Hanspeter Obrist’s shot, which found its way into the back of the net. Swisscom leads 1 – 0. Having re-grouped, we were not going to let one goal stop us from turning this around and coming back. Although with Joe and James upfront, the delivery of through balls did not enable us to capitalize on our attack and we were left chasing the game. Our midfield players; Davide Restivo, Stewart Rout, Philippe Jost and Markus Bircher were subjected to an onslaught of attack and once again Jorge was under extreme pressure as the second goal by Stefan Schillings hit the back of the net. Down 2 – 0, we were glad to stop for a much-needed half time break, to re-strategize our positions on how to break Swisscom down. The second half produced more chances and we made a few substitutions bringing on Nick Keates as a defender, Gavin Cattell and Thomas Kreis as midfield players. We pushed forward time and time again, but kept getting flagged up for being off-side (dubious Swiss decisions), although managed to force some corners and shots at goal. The pressure finally led to a penalty being awarded for a Swisscom handball; Stewart Rout stepped up to the spot and took aim. Was it the pressures of being 2 goals down, or was he playing "customer football" and trying to let Swisscom win? He struck it well, but shot wide of the post! He did, however, later make amends by scoring a wonderful goal by putting the ball through the legs of the Swisscom goalkeeper. In the end, it was only a consolation goal as the full time whistle blew and Swisscom earned the victory.

From the top left: Reto Ammann, Matthias Rohrer, Stefan Schillings, Gabriel Schläpfer , Andy Muggli, Markus Wehrli, Hanspeter Obrist, Kusi Habegger. Bottom row from the left; Beat Zihlmann, Seppi Zurkirchen, Ernst von Büren, Stefan Kohler, Cyril Zanoni, and Thomas Joss.

Since we were just warmed up and starting to feel our legs, we offered Swisscom a rematch as we were confident that we could get the better of them. After some negotiation, the details of the rematch were agreed. With our confidence high and a reformation of the team, we set out to do the job properly once and for all. For our spectators – several people from the Lenzburg office attended to cheer us on - this was a fantastic and exciting final game that kept them on the edge of their seats whilst they waited patiently for 724 to redeem themselves. With John Sims and Stewart Rout now playing up front, Joe back in defense and James adding strength to the midfield, we showed them the art of a truly international team of foreign players. Unfortunately, on the back of some semi-professionals in the Swisscom team, they once again broke through our defense to claim the first goal. While weaker mortals may have buckled under this disappointment, our confidence was still high and we were determined to quickly right our ship. Pushing forward on our right flanks, James and Lukasz dazzled the Swisscom midfield and forced them back. The one-two passing paid off as James went clear on goal only to be brought down, but not before releasing the ball which was in intercepted by a Swisscom’s defenders hand. With the screams of hand ball, the dubious Swiss referee had no choice but to blow his whistle awarding 724 a penalty kick. Stewart, still having flashbacks to his nightmare miss in the first game, designated James to take the kick. James placed the ball on the spot, thought to himself, don’t bl**dy miss, and then drove the ball beautifully into the corner of the net. At last we were back on level terms and still stood a chance of winning. As we entered the last 10 minutes of time, we continued to forge forward, collectively as a team on a mission to victory. Remembering all the hours of training Stewart had taught us, we finally started playing as one, breaking through the Swisscom midfield and laying off a beautiful forward pass to John. With great dexterity, and control, he made a pass that even David Beckham would be proud of toward Stewart, who had now taken up a position on the right hand side. The pass was inch perfect and landed just in front of Stewart, which enabled him to carry his run forward. At the speed of a high performance system, Stewart rounded the defense and blasted the ball on a semi volley towards the goal, completely stifling the goal keeper. Then came the raptures of the crowd, cheerleaders and fellow players, this was a most magnificent goal and by far the best of the day. Victory at last and 724 redeemed. Was the key to success, the lessons learned about their competition and breaking their game, or was it the artistry of their fluent, midfielders, defense, the novice goalkeeper or was it the final match-winning goal from Stewart, the tournament’s top scorer? Or maybe the inspirational leadership of veteran player, John Sims, but does it really matter now as 724 rejoiced and the party goes on. The game was followed by dinner, a medallion ceremony and speeches from Stefan Kohler our host and sponsor and James Moffat on behalf of 724. We are very grateful to Swisscom for making the arrangements for the game, in particular Stefan Schillings who facilitated the entire day’s activities. All in all, a fantastic day of great team & partnership building. We await next year’s challenge!

Just face it!

Talk about getting spammed, well if you, like me, have been introduced to on-line community groups, such as facebook, then don't despair as there is life outside in the real world.

I had never heard of facebook about a year ago, until my little sister sent me an invitation. So like you and many millions of others I thought, well this may be fun. But after many months of people connecting to me and growing my social group, let alone all the other people that seemed to be my extended friends and family connected to me I found that I was being spammed all day and night. Every time a friend, family member, or someone on my buddy list had an update I was informed.

Well after applying all the filters to stop the shit load of notifications, I decided this is not for me. Basically I was sick of the stupid crappy jokes, the flowers in my garden, the fish in my aquarium, the YouTube videos, the stuff on my fun wall, my super wall and much, much more, I thought does anyone do any work, or do they just sit behind their desk spamming all their friends.

Anyway, I don't actively take part anymore, although I must admit my profile is still there, but I did get wondering how many other social communities are there out there and how many times do you have to replicate all the crap with everyone. So I just added up all the Business ones I'm trying not to use and all the social ones and here is my list. Oh, if you are on more than 3 Business and Social groups then like me you are a sad bastard and you need to get a life. Buy a motorbike like I did and get out of the house before you make your computer your best friend. See previous story about me turning into my computer.

So here is the list I'm kind of on, Business; LinkedIn, Plaxo (or is it now called Plaxo Plus?), NotchUp, Naymz, Blue Chip Experts, Open Business Group and I'm sure more, I just can't remember there names and on the Social Network side; facebook, English Forum (Swiss Website full of pretentious Brits who seem to have nothing better to do than ridicule all new joiners who can not navigate around their precious site), Hyves, Friends Reunited, Friendster and many more.

Sorry for being a bit grumpy about all of these but enough already, give me a break. They even try to make it easy for you to populate your new site with a few simple clicks and you can send all of your personal info to the new social groups. So if you are worried about big brother watching you, well you have volunteered all this information, not just once but several times. Oh I did also forget the Yahoo, Google, MSN and otter communities. Wow, do we have enough time in the day to even reply to these, or maybe we should post a note to say 'closed gone fishing!' as this looks like more fun..

I'm terrible!

I have promised to start this year off and write my blog on a regular basis as I have many requests, but I have always found a good excuse, and as you see my last entry was January 28th, so it's time to catch up. I'm not sure where I will start, but I have a load of topics inside my head that need to be extracted and put to paper.

I'm as high as a kite!

Have you ever been up in a small light aircraft, soring around the skies?