Aqua Alta

I love Venice!

Since I visited it I watch every documentary about the hazards of future floods. Seems like the current flood is almost what they expected and need MOSE for. If it will finally be quick enough...

Adrian Michaels of The Telegraph has the most usefuls tips if you happen to be stuck in Venice during Aqua Alta

and here is the official weather and tide forecast for Venice. Even though it's dangerous - I wish I was there!

By the way, this is what St. Mark's looks like during low tide:

So ein Wetter wie heute hatten wir noch nie!

... sagte die Eintagsfliege.

Heute ist -wie vorhergesagt - das Wetter umgeschlagen und es regnet nun, nachdem es vorher rekord-heiß war.

Dieser Blog-Eintrag ist so etwas wie eine familiäre Erinnerung: Nach der folgenden Bauernregel Grünt die Esche vor der Eiche, hält der Sommer große Bleiche. Grünt die Eiche vor der Esche, hält der Sommer große Wäsche müßte es in diesem Sommer besonders naß werden, denn die Eichen in Norddeutschland (= Bereich zwischen Schaumburg und Nienburg) sind schon grün während die Eschen noch winter-kahl dastehen.

Also: Wir lesen uns in zwei bis drei Monaten wieder!

ps: 1958 gab es in (Nord-) Deutschland einen Sommer ganz ohne Regen, dieses Jahr soll es aber auch laut Hundertjährigem Kalender eher nass werden...

Define "hot" for German measures:

Note: Measurement in Celsius.

Too hot for serious thinkin'

... so instead I scored!

You scored as Arwen of Rivendell. Arwen of Rivendell 77% Frodo Baggins 76% Saruman the White 70% Peregrin Took (Pippin) 67% Eowyn of Rohan 67% Gandalf the Grey 63% Legolas 56% Boromir 50% Aragorn 50% Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) 50% Galadriel 47% Gollum 37% Samwise Gamgee 33% Gimli 23% Which Lord of the Rings character are you most like? created with QuizFarm.com

My newest gadget: ClimatePrediction

I was already addicted to SETI in the classic version of that software - back when I was administering the computers at the students' governement at University. One of my successors was pretty successful with it in the end. Folding@home was not running this stable - but I really admire and support the new BOINC software - and it's newest project with shared computer power: ClimatePrediction.Net. The definite pro of this calculation project and how it works on the computer: The screen saver shows a moving earth and it's weather. Very pacifying.

I don't even exactly remember where I stepped over it, in question it was SpOn.

If the Alster freezes over...

The Alster is what most people get first of Hamburg, quicker than the river Elbe. Because the Alster is the lake/river in the heart of the city. The Elbe marks a southern border between the places where people work the dirty jobs in the harbour or live the simple life on small farms, and the city in the North. The Alster is always beautiful, and for recreation purposes only. Even in the winter. It has to be -10 C for almost two weeks or even colder for at least a week to let the Alster freeze over. Last time that happened in the winter 1997/98. So while most of the people in Germany are cold and miserable (maybe except of their kids) most people in Hamburg wait whether the Alster will now freeze over or not. Last time half of the population of the city were on the ice - a spontaneous fun fair spread out, little cabins for sausages and mulled wine were build up over night - and I had a cold and was forbidden to go out. So - if we already have to suffer from a russian cold - this time I'm hoping for the thick ice on the alster...