Tuesday 30 December 2014

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).

Wednesday 24 December 2014

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.

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Crystals and stones

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

Tuesday 16 December 2014

Wednesday 10 December 2014

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

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Map of swimming pools in Vienna

The map below shows all the public swimming pools in Vienna

Vienna City Map

 

Thursday 27 November 2014

Proper Sneezing

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

How To Sneeze Properly - Business Insider

 

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Urban farming in Vienna

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

Sunday 23 November 2014

Age pyramid

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

Thursday 6 November 2014

Old Vienna Maps

Here are links to historical maps of Vienna.

Other sources:

Monday 13 October 2014

Nokia navigation on Android

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

Wednesday 8 October 2014

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”

Tuesday 7 October 2014

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

Thursday 25 September 2014

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

 

Wednesday 24 September 2014

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)

Wednesday 17 September 2014

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

Wednesday 3 September 2014

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.

Tuesday 2 September 2014

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."




Friday 29 August 2014

Thursday 21 August 2014

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


Tuesday 5 August 2014

First eHighway

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

Saturday 2 August 2014

Thursday 24 July 2014

Tuesday 22 July 2014

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


Friday 18 July 2014

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


Tuesday 15 July 2014

Friday 11 July 2014

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'

Tuesday 8 July 2014

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


Tuesday 1 July 2014

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

Wednesday 18 June 2014

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




Friday 13 June 2014

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."

Friday 6 June 2014

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


Friday 30 May 2014

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.


Monday 19 May 2014

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

Tuesday 13 May 2014

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

Sunday 11 May 2014

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


Monday 7 April 2014

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)

Sunday 6 April 2014

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

Friday 4 April 2014

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).

Wednesday 2 April 2014

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




Tuesday 1 April 2014

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"

Friday 28 March 2014

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.

Monday 17 March 2014

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)

Wednesday 12 March 2014

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

Wednesday 26 February 2014

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


Thursday 20 February 2014

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


Wednesday 19 February 2014

Walk helps your brain

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

Friday 7 February 2014

Bosnia heating up

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

http://m.klix.ba/

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Today in history

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

Sunday 2 February 2014

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.


Tuesday 7 January 2014

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

Saturday 4 January 2014

Immune system

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