GlobalView: Climate Change in Perspective

Educational article on climate change, along with some illustrative data.
GlobalView: Climate Change in Perspective (link)

Also, make sure to watch the following animation from NASA: A Year In The Life Of Earth’s CO2 (link).

That's what I want to do when I grow up

Former President George H.W. Bush Hospitalized in Houston - Bloomberg

The elder Bush, though now wheelchair bound, celebrated his 90th birthday on June 12 with a tandem skydive near his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Crystals and stones

http://sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/crystal-healing-magic-cures-or-just-rocks/

Quick Take on LED Lights

Insight into history and use of LED light bulbs.

LED Lights - QuickTake - Bloomberg

Why your brain loves procrastination

Why your brain loves procrastination - Vox

On Sleep Deprivation

Sleep Deprivation Is Killing You and Your Career

Job Security?

Rise of the Machines: Downfall of the Economy? | Roubini's Edge

It will also benefit highly skilled workers—principally software developers

EU falls behind US as top destination for skilled migrants

EU falls behind US as top destination for skilled migrants - FT.com

The EU has for the first time in more than a decade fallen behind the US as a destination for immigrants

Groundbreaking, or?

Groundbreaking Idea Of Life's Origin - Business Insider

Map of swimming pools in Vienna

The map below shows all the public swimming pools in Vienna

Vienna City Map

 

Cable-less elevators

At last, something really new and useful!

ThyssenKrupp Develops Cable-Free Elevator Propelled by Magnets - Bloomberg

Park Lake or Lake Park, in Austria

Amazing photos

Austrijski park se svakog proljeća pretvara u jezero - Klix.ba

 

Proper Sneezing

A touch of enlightenment in relation to people who try to prevent sneezing in the office.

How To Sneeze Properly - Business Insider

 

Urban farming in Vienna

Bloomberg - Turkeys Can’t Outrun This Food Revolutionary in Vienna http://bloom.bg/1Fqgof6

Video game about life in besieged Sarajevo

This War of Mine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Age pyramid

http://www.economist.com/news/21631911-end-population-pyramid-world-reshaped

The world's favourite country? Germany!

And the world’s favorite country is … Germany?

Old Vienna Maps

Here are links to historical maps of Vienna.

• A good source, in general is at wien.at - historical maps before 1850.
• Wikimedia Commons - Old maps and views of Vienna

Other sources:

• Reading the City: Where is Vienna?
• 1830, inner city

Secrets from the island where people forget to die

Secrets from the island where people forget to die - MarketWatch

The Banalization of Violence

The Banalization of Violence: Retweeting War Crimes | Balkanist

 

Nokia navigation on Android

HERE offline navigation application for Android http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/here-maps-android.html

Distractify - A look into the past

Fantastic view of the past. Colorized black-and-white photos reveal that not much has changed. 

Distractify | 52 Colorized Historical Photos That Give Us A New Look At the Past

EU Roaming charges to be abolished at the end of 2015

The legislation went through the EU Parliament in March.

Legislation abolishing roaming charges goes through European parliament | Money | The Guardian

Another one on sleep

Here is another study on the amount of sleep needed:

This is exactly how much sleep you need - MarketWatch

Men need 7.8 hours per night and women need 7.6 hours, according to a study that tracked 3,760 people over seven years and published in the September issue of the journal Sleep.

and, more importantly

“A simple definition for sufficient sleep is a sleep duration that is followed by a spontaneous awakening and leaves the person feeling refreshed and alert for the day”

Where people want to work

The map shows to which country people want to go to work.
I  guess Australia would not be much different. The destinations would probably be U.S. and U.K.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/in-one-map-the-foreign-country-where-people-want-to-work-2014-10-06?dist=lbeforebell

Dubioza Kolektiv on The Promo Bay

Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv is featured today on The Promo Bay:

Download music, movies, games, software! The Pirate Bay - The galaxy's most resilient BitTorrent site

Track postal packages

TrackItOnline is a site where you can track your postal shipment. Useful when ordering stuff from China.

Sendungsverfolgung auf der ganzen Welt

 

Silicone Caulking the Bathroom

Some handyman tips for caulking the silicone seals at the bathroom tub or a shower. Resources for doing it (right) the first time are below.

To do the work, we need the following:

• silicone tube and a gun
• self-adhesive tape
• Stanley knife
• soapy water
• paper roll

Step 1: Remove existing seal and clean the surface

For removing of the old silicone layer, use a sharp (Stanley) knife. There are also chemicals that help out in this.

After removing the silicone, rub the surface with a scrubbing powder and a brush.

Step 2: Apply the new silicone layer

Before applying the silicone, you can put a self-adhesive tape around the seam. This will result in straight lines once the tape is removed.

You can use a finger or a plastic piece to spread and smooth-out the silicone. Dipping the finger into soapy water (link) will prevent silicone from sticking onto the finger, helping make the surface smooth.

Resources:

• Tommy's Trade Secrets - How to Silicone a Bath (link)
• The Secrets to Caulking a Shower (link)
• The family handyman (link)

Ode to former times

One Man's Mission: To Redeem the Yugo - WSJ

‘If you look at all the Eastern bloc cars of the time, the Yugo was always considered the best.’ —Phil Dust

German A1

RESULTS SHEET

Dear Alen Siljak,

On September 3, 2014, 11:47 am you took the Deutsch Welle placement test at the of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). You attempted 30 of the 30 questions which took a total of 16:33 minutes.

Your overall result is 87%.

EVALUATION:

80% - 100%

Excellent! You have not only achieved the CEFR A1 competence level. You are already well on the way to the next level A2. If you would like to continue improving your German, you should enroll for a course that is already working towards A2.

This results sheet is intended to help you find a suitable course. We recommend you take this information with you when you approach a language school.

Is Toyota finally bringing fuel-cell-powered cars to the masses?

Toyota plots ‘society-changing’ fuel-cell car for the masses - MarketWatch: "Toyota unveiled the concept version of its first fuel-cell mass offering — the FCV — over the summer. The company plans to launch it domestically sometime before the current fiscal year ends in March of next year, and in the U.S. and Europe by the summer of 2015."

Rain measurement

Useful to know before a rainy-day hike:



Rain measurement - CumulusWiki

Bilderberg 2015 Location Confirmed: Austria rothschild family bilderberger group | Bilderberg Watch

Come to daddy! :)



Bilderberg 2015 Location Confirmed: Austria rothschild family bilderberger group | Bilderberg Watch

Kleine Pestizidbomben aus dem Supermarkt: Pfirsiche und Nektarinen | Greenpeace

Good. We don't have to eat fruit any more cause it's not healthy.



Kleine Pestizidbomben aus dem Supermarkt: Pfirsiche und Nektarinen | Greenpeace

Joachim de Posada: Don't eat the marshmallow!

Another insight on success! The most important ingredient.



Joachim de Posada: Don't eat the marshmallow! - YouTube

Memory is not memory!

A very insightful talk on our belief about human memory.



Elizabeth Loftus: The fiction of memory - YouTube

Diabetes could be cured!

Something really significant. Advance in knowledge might finally help cure diabetes.



Diabetes could be cured as scientists find cause of disease - Telegraph

First eHighway

http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/siemens-baut-in-kalifornien-autobahn-fuer-elektrische-lkw-a-984646.html

Seven-minutes exercise

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2013/05000/HIGH_INTENSITY_CIRCUIT_TRAINING_USING_BODY_WEIGHT_.5.aspx

Benefits of jogging

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2014/08/01/run-5-minutes-a-day-live-3-years-longer/?mod=MW_story_featstor

AngularJS eBook for .NET Developers - henriquat.re

Not sure if I already had a link for this but here is a(nother) book on AngularJS for .Net developers:



AngularJS eBook for .NET Developers - henriquat.re

Toyota reveals fuel-cell vehicle sedan

Fuel-cell-powered cars getting on the road!



Toyota reveals fuel-cell vehicle sedan - MarketWatch

Sugar content

http://istokpavlovic.com/istina-o-seceru/

10 countries where people smoke the most

Really interesting line-up:



10 countries where people smoke the most - Slide Show - MarketWatch

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 interactive seat map

All the passengers from the Flight 17



Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 interactive seat map - WSJ.com

Why Seven Hours of Sleep Might Be Better Than Eight - WSJ

Latest findings on number of hours of sleep needed.
And, some practical advice on finding it:

Experts say people should be able to figure out their optimal amount of sleep in a trial of three days to a week, ideally while on vacation. Don't use an alarm clock. Go to sleep when you get tired. Avoid too much caffeine or alcohol. And stay off electronic devices a couple of hours before going to bed. During the trial, track your sleep with a diary or a device that records your actual sleep time. If you feel refreshed and awake during the day, you've probably discovered your optimal sleep time.

And

Five healthy adults were placed in what the researchers called Stone Age-like conditions in Germany for more than two months—without electricity, clocks or running water. Participants fell asleep about two hours earlier and got on average 1.5 hours more sleep than was estimated in their normal lives, the study said.

Their average amount of sleep per night: 7.2 hours.

Why Seven Hours of Sleep Might Be Better Than Eight - WSJ

What's stopping solar's assault on diesel? | Business Spectator

"... with the marginal cost of generation from diesel power systems hovering around $250-$400/MWh and PV systems being able to be installed for an effective cost of between $200-$240/MWh (low penetration and excluding storage), it must be assumed that there are some other, non-cost related underlying structural barriers that are preventing or delaying the deployment of renewables."

What's stopping solar's assault on diesel? | Business Spectator

Netherlands Held Liable for 300 Deaths in Srebrenica Massacre - NYTimes.com

Netherlands Held Liable for 300 Deaths in Srebrenica Massacre - NYTimes.com

Kako do čistog vazduha u sopstvenom stanu (VIDEO) - Vesti

Interesting video on how to improve the quality of air in an apartment.



Kako do čistog vazduha u sopstvenom stanu (VIDEO)

Nikola Tesla: Kako proceniti čoveka

Nikola Tesla: Kako proceniti čoveka: "



Naše vrline i naši promašaji su neodvojivi, kao sila i materija. Kada se odvoje, nema više čoveka.



Neka budućnost kaže istinu, procenite svakoga čoveka prema njegovom radu i zaslugama. Sadašnjost je njihova, ali budućnost je moja, za koju sam tako naporno radio.



Čovek mora vežbati u umerenost i nadzor svojih čula i sklonosti u bilo kojem pogledu, da bi tako održao sebe mladim u telu i razumu. Suzdržavanje mi nije uvek bilo po ukusu, ali su moja iskustva velika nagrada.



Čovek je rođen da radi, da trpi i da se bori. Ko tako ne čini, mora propasti.



Učio sam tuce jezika, proučavao literature i umetnost proveo svoje najbolje godine u bibliotekama čitajući sve što bi mi došlo pod ruku i osetio sam da sam traćio vreme, ali ubrzo sam shvatio da je to bilo najbolje što sam ikada učinio.



Od svih ’sila trenja’, ona koja najviše usporava ljudski napredak je neznanje, ono što Buda naziva ’najveće zlo u svetu’.



Najvažniji produkt stvaralačkog uma je izum. Njegov je krajnji cilj ovladavanje uma prirodom i iskorištavanje njezinih sila za potrebe čovečanstva.



 Ako pokušam nastaviti prekinuti tok misli,osećam pravu duhovnu mučninu,nehotice tada prelazim na drugi posao,iznenađen svežinom uma i lakoćom kojom svladavam prepreke koje su mi pre kvarile račune. I redovno  nalazim odgovore na teška pitanja uz najmanji napor.



Ako ne znate kako, promatrajte pojave prirode, ona će vam dati jasne odgovore i inspiraciju."



'via Blog this'

The lie that started the First World War - Telegraph

In regards to the 100 years of the events in Sarajevo that started the first world war, or The Great War, as it is sometimes called.



The lie that started the First World War - Telegraph

Vocabulary.com - Learn Words - English Dictionary

card-based English-word quiz



Vocabulary.com - Learn Words - English Dictionary

Electric Motorcycles

From what these guys say, this seems to be *it*. No vibrations, no noise, instant torque, no gear shifting. What else would you want with a bike?
There's also no oiling, no spark plugs, no powertrain maintenance, no clutch and gearbox. Well, that's almost all that used to represent a motorcycle. Now, the only thing that's left is the ride.

It's just better

Availability:

• Zero Motorcycles, available in Europe (link); Austria (link)

Advantages in Austria

• No road tax

LAPD's electric motorbikes

Does this mean electric motorbikes are ready for prime time?

cost: $13,000
0-60mph in 4.8 seconds
max speed: 95mph (~150km/h)
recharge time: 8 hours
average range: 117 miles (~188km)
average cost to recharge: $1.50 (vs $17.00 gas)

Video

A case for ditching gas

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/7/1/energy-markets/saying-goodbye-gas

Zapošljavanje medicinskih radnika u Njemačkoj - Program njemačke vlade "Triple Win" - BUKA Magazin www.6yka.com

One more article on job market in Germany. This time it is about medical profession where, by the end of the decade, there will be 220,000 open positions.



Zapošljavanje medicinskih radnika u Njemačkoj - Program njemačke vlade "Triple Win" - BUKA Magazin www.6yka.com

Švedska- zemlja čiji građani preziru korupciju, a vole plaćati porez

Sweden - one of the best social environments in the world at the moment.



Švedska- zemlja čiji građani preziru korupciju, a vole plaćati porez - BUKA Magazin www.6yka.com: " švedsko društvo njeguje sekularno-racionalne vrijednosti i 99% ljudi nikada ne ide u crkvu."

Study says Earth on brink of mass extinction event

Study says Earth on brink of mass extinction event

Chart: Pricing of solar power

The chart below displays an amazing decline of the cost of solar energy. In about 30 years, the cost per Watt has fallen 100 times.

While it is already a viable alternative, there are further growth opportunities for the industry in the years ahead.

What will the nations go to war for once the oil has been made next to irrelevant?

Daily chart: Pricing sunshine | The Economist

BBC - Capital - Is it Zen, or just the art of getting things done?

Amazing how this is one and the same. ;)



BBC - Capital - Is it Zen, or just the art of getting things done?



GTD boils down to something like this:

"1) Adopt a reliable capture method (Evernote, voice memos, a Moleskin notebook, etc) to get thoughts out of your head.
2) Distill them to actionable items and next steps (“send receipts to Finance”, “call a kick-off meeting for an office-wide re-org”) on your daily to-do list.
3) Dedicate yourself to multiple reviews in which you put these action items into the right buckets (“must be done today”, “phone calls when I’m on the train”).
4) Do the things on the list, when you have time, prioritising as you go."

What is Thorium?

What is nuclear? / Thorium As Nuclear Fuel: the good and the bad: "because both the Th-U and the U-Pu fuel cycles will last us well into the tens of thousands of years, which is about as long as modern history."

Fuel Cells as energy storage

Hydrogen Fuel Finally Graduating From Lab to City Streets - Bloomberg: "The shift to hydrogen is inevitable, and it’s happening faster than we expected,"

and

Cars that run on hydrogen can typically go more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) on a tank of the gas and then must be refilled. 

Near-term  forecasts:

“In three to five years you will see that become more prevalent,” Beckman said. “Wind and solar can make hydrogen cheap when the grid doesn’t need the power.”

Will supercapacitors replace batteries?

Some links on the topic are below.

As batteries show no considerable sign of progress, the answer may lie in a different type of technology.

Storage Wars: Batteries vs. Supercapacitors | BERC

Well, after seeing this

it seems that these two have complementary roles. Ultracapacitors for quick charge/discharge (like starting a car or braking) and batteries for the long and slow charge/discharge (regular drive/overnight charge).

Europe Faces Green Power Curbs to Stop Grids Overloading

Good news or bad?!

There’s so much power available on windy and sunny days in Germany and Austria that the number of hours producers had to pay consumers to use it doubled in the first five months of 2014

Europe Faces Green Power Curbs to Stop Grids Overloading: Energy - Bloomberg

Vienna city plan (STEP 05)

The last city plan for Vienna, called STEP 05, includes 13 target zones for development. These are areas identified for further development of the city urban area.

Publications available for download: Shop Stadtentwicklung und Verkehr - Produkt-Katalog

Target zone Donaufeld - link

Model for the target zone Donaufeld - link. Publications with more details are available for download.

Under this plan, around 8000 new apartments will be built in the area of Donaufeld. There would be a green stripe with the bicycle track and a new park/green area. Tram 25 would go through the middle and the bus line 33A would extend towards Kagran/Kagraner Platz.

Landslide after the flooding

http://www.klix.ba/vijesti/bih/jezivo-kliziste-u-sericima-domove-ljudi-u-sekundi-pretvara-u-prah/140519012

YouTube:
Klizište u Šerićima kod Zenice: http://youtu.be/GSnDva1Mt2U

Another myth busted: antioxidants not that useful

Bloomberg - Red Wine Antioxidant Fails to Lengthen Lives in Study http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-13/red-wine-antioxidant-fails-to-lengthen-lives-in-study.html

Changing Continent: European Parliament Elections 2014

The current polarization of powers in Europe does not look too good. Extremes on both right and left seem to be squeezing out the centrist party seats in the European Parliament.

It is interesting to see the sentiment across European countries.



Changing Continent: European Parliament Elections 2014 - WSJ.com

Highrise made of wood?

Interesting article on the art of building with wood.



Holz-Hochhäuser: Gebäude aus Holz so stabil wie Stahlbeton - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Foreign driving licence in Austria / EU

Here are some of the relevant information for foreign drivers in certain countries of the EU.

Austria: International driving licence required if the foreign licence is not in German. According to Verkehrsamt, a licence in compliance with the Convention on Road Traffic is also valid.

• Driving Licence, help.gv.at (link)
• Conversion of foreign licences, Verkehrsamt (link). List of authorized doctors (link).

Czech Republic: Foreign licence accepted if satisfies the Convention on Road Traffic.

• Is my license valid in the CR? Ministry of Interior (link)

Beer as health benefit

To reduce the health risk of barbecuing meat, simply add beer!
And, since beer is an antioxidant, it is recommended for health purposes.

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21600085-reduce-health-risk-barbecuing-meat-just-add-beer-marriage-made

Should the United Nations Wage War to Keep Peace?

A colorful story of Congo.

Should the United Nations Wage War to Keep Peace?

The story of Congo is related to mysterious death of Dag Hammarskjöld, the Swedish Secretary-General of the United Nations. (link)
More on The Hammarskjöld Commission web site (link). The Commission has recently reopened the investigation into Hammarskjöld's death. See Report from September 2013 (link).

How to write clearly

Just came across a nice set of hints on how to write clearly, published by the European Commission.

See link

The reason Internet gets banned

Ah, finally I found the stuff that caused the Turkish Prime Minister to ban two of the probably most popular Internet sites - Twitter and YouTube.



Here Is The YouTube "Start A False Flag War With Syria" Leaked Recording That Erdogan Wanted Banned | Zero Hedge

You can now read 75.4% of all real German articles

Progress with Duolingo seems dramatic.
"You can now read 75.4% of all real German articles"

Electric scooters in Austria

Here is a distributor for electric bikes and scooters in Austria: Start
And the price list for the actual range of scooters is here.

United Nations Blue

I never knew this was a special color - United Nations Blue

Iran, resources

Here are some useful resources when researching a tourist trip to Iran:

• Travel Guide, Wiki Travel (link)
• Irpedia (link) 
• Weather, Lonely Planet (link)

Favourite Dilbert Comics

Here are some of the best Dilbert comics I keep using as references:

• Use incompetence to achieve goals; (link) keyword: eliminate witnesses

Do it like a software developer - FT.com

Do it like a software developer - FT.com

Paco de Lucia died today

On February 26, 2014, famous guitarist Paco de Lucia died. It was a pleasure seeing him at the end of the last year during his concert in Vienna. Farewell.



BBC News - Spanish Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia dies at 66

Vitamin supplements are waste of money, say scientists

Just saw an advertisement for a talk on dietary supplements and decided to save an hour or so by doing a quick search online. From what I found, it really seems that



Vitamin supplements are waste of money, say scientists | Life and style | theguardian.com

Walk helps your brain

http://m.klix.ba/lifestyle/zdravlje/setnja-pospjesuje-rast-hipokampusa/140218098

Bosnia heating up

After years of politicians neglecting the needs of the people, it is time to turn the tables.

http://m.klix.ba/

Today in history

http://m.dw.de/english/mobile.KBD-4384.html

BBC Two - Make Me a German

Here is an interesting documentary from BBC, introducing average German lifestyle from a perspective of a British.



BBC Two - Make Me a German

You can watch the episode on YouTube here.

The struggle with the river: Vienna and the Danube from 1500 to the present | Environment and Society Portal

The article below contains historical maps of the flow of river Danube in and around Vienna, ranging from 1500's to today.



The struggle with the river: Vienna and the Danube from 1500 to the present | Environment and Society Portal:

The Major Rule for Eating Fruit

The Major Rule for Eating Fruit:



'via Blog this'

What if... Yugoslavia joined the EU?

http://www.klix.ba/biznis/eurozona/istrazivanje-eu-bi-bila-snaznija-da-je-u-clanstvo-usla-bivsa-jugoslavija/131221023

Immune system

http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/wellbeing-meditation.aspx