Off again

Ok, I am off again. For my last (?) tour of duty in Sri Lanka.

I will be online again in a few days.

Take care. And see you soon.

I dedicate this one to "A Lady's Life"

A few days ago, "A Lady's Life" (you find her in my favorite blogs) posted a story "Little Indians" which made me laugh a lot. She often post funny and witty stories. That story made me remember one. Here it is.

Two guys (from Europe) emigrated to North America. They were not very successful in what they wanted to do and decided that they go and settle in Indian territory.

They found a good place and built a log cabin. The year went by and autumn came. Our two guys thought that it would be good to chop some wood for the winter.

They started this and after two or three days, they asked themselves about the quantity they need. At this time they saw 2 Indians sitting on a stone watching them.

"Let's go and ask the Indians", one of our men said.

"Hi guys, as you are from here, I am sure that you can tell us how the winter will be".

The Indians responded: "It will be harsh".

So, our men continued to cut trees for another week. And they were tired and went to see the Indians again.

"Will it be a real harsh winter?" they asked. The Indians confirmed that it will be very harsh. After another week, the men felt that this must be it, that they have chopped a lot of wood. But to be sure, they asked the Indians again.

"Ok, it can be harsh, real harsh or an extremely bad winter". The Indians replied that the winter will be extremely bad.

Discouraged by this news and thinking that they would have to cut more wood and get more tired, the men asked the Indians: "But how do you know that the winter will be extremely bad?".

The Indians replied: "Because we see White Man chopping wood since 3 weeks".

I don't like you, I like you

Mac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple.

All names that mean a lot to a lot of people. I am certainly not a big fan of the Apple Empire. I don't like their computers, in particular their notebooks. Though the iTunes is good, I am not so happy with the restrictions Apple imposes. But I did buy an iPod mini with 6 GB a few years ago. And it is good. It is small, I have about 1'400 songs on it. I have never come around to listen to all of them yet. And it lasts for hours before I have to go through the time taking recharge process. Actually, once I read that Apple had a law suit from somebody who claimed that the "running time" was far below of what Apple indicated. I tested and let the iPod run, with medium volume set. It lasted 27 hours. I found this to be good.

I am a gadget freak. And, fortunately for me, my wife is quite understanding. When it comes to mobile communication, in particular for mobile phones, I am a convinced Nokia user. But then Apple created the iPhone. I went to their website and clicked on "View the short video presentation". I did. It lasted for about 40 minutes. And when it was finished I knew: I want an iPhone. I went to the store of my provider and ordered one. They said that I would have to wait for about two month, so many orders they had to fill.

No problem, I was leaving for Sudan anyway to com back about two month later. And when I came, for a 10 days break, my iPhone was there. I started to set it up, I played with it. I was surprised to find that it did not have some basic things a cell phone has. I played more with it and after a few days I told my iPhone: "I don't like you". And I sold it.

And thereafter I lived in peace. Until the moment when Apple came up with something new:

The iPad. Of course, I had to find out about it. I surfed on the net and read everything I could. And I found many good tests, comments or recommendations. And finally the Apple Store Switzerland announced that it is available.

The nice thing is that it weighs 700 grams. It is one centimeter thick. It runs on WI-FI. Which is good because in Switzerland we have such networks all over. Except if I go to my mother. There is no WI-FI. But if you pay 100 dollars more, you get an iPad which works on wireless and 3G. Again, I watched the various videos. And I said to myself: "I want one".

I ordered it. I have received it two days ago. I have set it up. I have not discovered all yet the iPad does.

But this time, I honestly can say: "I like you".

There are quite a few David's around

I am pleased. Because I can follow the FIFA 2010 World Cup whilst I am on leave. At least the preliminary round which lasts two weeks. Three matches a day.

32 teams facing each other. Among them Goliath's. Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal.

And we have some David's.

And, as in history, David's are beating Goliath's:

Mexico did beat France,
Serbia did beat Germany,and

SWITZERLAND DID BEAT SPAIN.

Lufthansa A380 in Tokyo

12th June 2010

A decision to make

In March, when I was home, I made an accident. A stupid one. My fault. And my lovely Citroën Xantia was damaged. Not beyond repair. But I figured that it will cost a bit.

Yesterday, I received an estimate. The body work (the whole front is damaged) and some mechanical work (replacing the radiator) would be around 7'000 dollars. That is quite a bit. But then, my car is a fancy one and I even would call it a luxury model. With great technology. True. But it is 16 years old (but still looks modern and has fancy technology) and it has close to 200'000 kilometers.

The car dealer (a decent man, from a small dealership, not pushy at all) told me that all his customers who had a Xantia were broken hearted when they had to decide to separate from it. He also found that it would not be wise to spend 7'000 dollars on a "old" car, after an accident, as there might be hidden problems to come up.

As we discussed, he asked why would I not consider to buy a new car. And that Citroën (I would not buy another brand) has some good offers. Why not?

We looked at different models. And I finally liked the Citroën Nemo. It is smaller than what I had, but it has plenty of space (which we need often as we carry around things). We priced it and it would cost 13'000 dollars. And with this, the dealer would also get rid of the Xantia. Which is good. Because if you want to "garbage" a car without buying a new one, it will cost you about 1'000 dollars.

So, I was quite pleased and told the dealer that I will give him an answer in two days. Because I have to think. And decide. And I decided. The answer is no. I will not buy a new car.

Several reasons. I am retired. Ok, right now not really much. I have to live, basically, on retirement benefits. What I am earning now is just butter for the spinach. I can have a more or less decent life on the benefits. But to have a car, just to have it and not driving it, costs about 2'000 dollars per year. If I drive it, you can count about 500 dollars per month of car expenses. That is reason number one.

How much do I need a car? When I am at home and I have to go somewhere around here, I can use the public transport. Either bus or train. At good prices and efficient service. And if I need a car to go further (like to the Southern part of Switzerland) I can rent a car. From Avis. Where I am the holder of an "Avis Preferred" card. With special rates. And should I need a car urgently, like that, on the spot, there is my son's car. As he is in Dubai, he does not need it. He kept it so that when he is at home, he can move. That is reason number two.

And then my age. This year I will be 68 years old. Ok, you know about my young mind. But the paper age is here. And soon the authorities might make driving restrictions. That you should make a medical every year. Or be accompanied by somebody younger. Or only drive from 10 PM to 4 AM to avoid the risk of being on the road. And then, who knows, I might become gaga soon and unfit to drive a car. So, I don't think that an investment of 13'000 dollars is worthwhile. That is reason number three.

So, I have 3 good reason not to buy a car anymore. And I decided that I will not. I have enough possibilities to be mobile without owning a car. And if things, in view of my age, become really bad I still have a solution:

My wife will push me around in a wheelchair.

At last

Max Göldi, one of the two Swiss that were held hostage for almost two years in Libya by the authorities (the other one, Rachid Hamdani, came back a few month ago) has arrived in Switzerland this morning at 1 AM.

Our Minister of Foreign Affairs brought him back. She went to Libya on Saturday, accompagnied by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I am pleased that Mrs Calmy-Rey took him home. Because she has guts. She is excellent. Spain and Germany have been mediating in this affair and we owe them a lot. And it shows that Switzerland can count on friends. This is our Foreign Ministers doing.

Madame Calmy-Rey, congratulations for your succesful mission. Max Göldi, welcome back home.

What happened?

So many things.

When you work in harsh conditions (basic living conditions, not much possibilities to relax and change your mind from work which is demanding and many other things), you profit from R+R. Rest and relief. A weeks off, to recover. Every 6 weeks. Just to get out. And to come back with your batteries fully charged.

As my mission is extended until the end of August, I started to make my plans for R+R when I came back from my leave end of March. I would have been entitled to two R+R cycles. But when I saw the work that would needed to be done, I decided to take only one R+R. That was a mistake. It meant that I had to be on the spot for 11 weeks before I would take some rest.

The thing was that last year we had to take care of 300'000 people. This year it is the same. But last year, they were all at the same place. And this year, one year after the end of the war, the people are moving back to their places of origin. Scattered in a huge area in Northern Sri Lanka. And we have to see that they get their food. Before, we distributed it in 8 distribution points. Now, they get their food in 160 distribution points. And it has to work. Because the vultures (journalists) are there to report any "bad" thing.

I could write a book on this. But let me be simple. My team and I were on the road all the time from early morning to late evening. Driving for 3 hours to a village to check if school feeding is working ok. And then 2 more hours to another location to see if a distribution point is having enough stocks and that records are kept well. The roads are bumpy and our Toyota Landcruiser, though comfortable, did not give us much comfort. And it is enervating if it take 3 hours to make 30 kilometers.

So, in the evening, when I came back, I just wanted to rest. I looked at my computer and said: "No, today I don't switch it on". And this explains why I have not been around very much. But now, I am at home. I have sorted out my "pendings" and I have a weekend ahead where I will catch up with you "guys".

And to reassure you. I was really worn out. But that has nothing to do with my age. My younger colleagues, both international and national, were as worn out as I.

It is important to take the R+R after 6 weeks. One really needs it when working in crisis situations.

Famous last words: When I go back, I will stay for 10 weeks before the next break. This is called poor planing.

Jazz on the 5th, Nr. 25

Quincy Jones is a giant in the music world: In recent years, he organised with Michael Jackson the recording of the famous "We are the world" with a huge number of artist gathered together. He also has been co-producer of the Montreux Jazz Festival. In the early Sixties when he was young (and me too), he had a big band. A good one. Here you see him with a tune I like very much and which I have as one of my ringing tones for my mobile phone: "Moanin". And the great Clark Terry plays a solo.

Sooo tired

You have noticed it, I am sure. I have not been around much these days.

I am so tired. Worn out. A lot of work, a lot of visitors. On the road all the time. Two hours to go somewhere, do the work, two hours to drive back. It takes its toll. But I enjoyed it and did a lot of good work.

And in 4 days, I will enjoy my whisky with some ice. I will fly home. For a break of 3 weeks. I need it.