spontaneous poetry

A fellow passenger wore a light green scarf over a dark green top which bore the inscription "Fight the grey!". I could not resist to compose a poem and hand it to her. Then I got out my laptop and here's the poem for you:

Now I have to say
that in light of the day
you're fighting the grey
in a very good way!

Yes, it can be seen
as it always has been
the color of the keen
is a beautiful green.


This post is dedicated to L., queen of green, and Anja, the fashionable train passenger.

Postscript: Another passenger didn't find her suitcase, because there were a lot of like ones. All black cube-shaped things with wheels and a handle. I suggested the obvious solution: paint it green! (In defense of the passengers I have to add, that some of the suit cases already wore tiny colored ribbons on their handles.)

is there anybody else out there who doesn't like Christmas presents?

I mean, I am not against the concept of Christmas as a family holiday per se. After all, there are so many things a family could do together: prepare meals together, bake cookies, play games, do handicrafts, make photo collages from the past year, or photo slide shows or photo books, go on a trip. make music together, or recite poetry. make travel plans by reading travel guides about a country or region and then synthesizing family member's “places to see” into a joint trip plan, doing puzzles, making pottery, draw or paint together, play role games, (or board games, or Wii games), go skiing (if you live in the northern hemisphere), go the beach (if you live in the southern hemisphere), ...
Psychological studies show clearly that fun activities bring much more happiness than any material things. Shared activities are best for forging social bonds.

So why all those gifts? Why don't we just have fun together? Preferably in a creative way...


(Incidentally, since I am not biking in winter and spend quite a bit of time in public transit, I have started to learn poetry again. Now I know a couple of really great poems, but I haven't found anybody yet, who'd care to listen...)

This has me add a bullet point to my last post:

• make a Kindle-ebook of my favorite poems.

Google-Karte mit Bauprojekten des Schöneberger Grünzuges

Die Rote Insel wird grün auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen


Gelb = neue Straße
Blau = existierende Radrouten
Rot = Projekte im Bau oder geplant
Grün = Rad-/Skate-Route im Bau (Südteil) bzw. geplant (Nordteil)

random things I'd like to do

• Fix Ubuntu Bug No. 96705
• publish the tree-balancing algorithm I invented in 2003
• organize a visit at the Schweinfurt plant for bicycle hub gears (world renowned since 1902)
• write a series of blog articles about how bicycle hub gears work (more detailed than other sources I know, but more general than the related patents that I've read)
• make a 3D model of Paris République métro station with all the nested tunnels and then make a 3D model of a redesigned station with transparent halls.... like it would be build in modern times if there was lots of money. (I imagine that such a model put on the web would draw some attention in France, even though it's absolutely unrealistic that the station will ever be completely rebuild in such a way.)
• write a cool Android app that does something useful and uses better UI concepts than the state of the art