Very cool website

Onitsuka Tiger recently launched a unique site which displays a mosaic shoe made of tiny images and image links to something Japanese on the web today. By clicking on tiles, visitors are then taken to one of the 150 Japan related websites crawled by the site spider. The links are updated every hour, and compose everytime a different shoe model which changes in the color palette according to the content linked.

The top ten worst URL titles

A friend of mine sent this to me.

The top 10 unintentionally worst company URL
Everyone knows that if you are going to operate a business in today’s
world you need a domain name. It is advisable to look at the domain name selected as other see it and not just as you think it looks.:

1. A site called ‘Who Represents’ where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name is ...
www.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at
www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at
www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
www.therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company…
www.powergenitalia.com

6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always
www.ipanywhere.com

8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is
www.cummingfirst.com

9. Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their
whacky website:
www.speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at
www.gotahoe.com

Spring has arrived

The house is baking in the nice spring sun



It is time to get that patio furniture oiled up



Wow, the flowers are coming out



Yes indeed, it is the spring

A fun weekend of workouts

I ended up getting quite a few workouts in this weekend with a lot of time on the bike and a couple hours of running. But what stuck out most were intolerant locals.
During saturday's run a golfer threatened us "to shoot a golfball at us", and on Sunday during the ride someone thew a soda bottle at us, someone else yelled "pussy" and another person yelled "get off the road."

Nice.

Are these intolerant people allowed to vote? Well, George got elected somehow.

Aaah memories

Here is a pic of me during the 2006 Ironman in Kona, Hawaii ready to hand out Litespeed titanium salt and pepper shakers. Aaah, those were the days.

A new adventure

I am getting into a new adventure, but what might seem very scary for some, can of course also be looked at as an opportunity for something great.

Here is the logo of my new guerrilla and viral marketing company:




I'll be my own boss, wow. :-)

The Guerrilla Communication site will be ready soon.

Bike racing in Belgium

This weekend I was supporting our DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed team at the famous Het Volk bike race and it was an amazing experience. The fans following the sport are very enthusiastic and know quite a bit about the sport and the riders. The weather wasn't so great, but lots of fans turned out anyway to cheer on the riders. The pic below shows me at the Eikenberg waiting for the peloton to arrive and meanwhile enjoying a Belgian bratwurst for lunch. :-)

Gent is stunning

I have been very busy with a business trip the last 10 days and was thus not able to blog that much. But I got to see and experience all kinds of interesting places and foods. One place that really stuck out is Gent, it is a very attractive town.

Those crazy Germans

The float below was seen during a Rosenmontag carnival parade in Duesseldorf, Germany. Who is getting spanked here? :-)




The most traditional carnival (Fasnet) though is in the Southwest of Germany where I grew up. My favorite one and most likely the one with the most tradition is in Rottweil, Germany where my dad grew up.

Here are a few impressions of masks and costumes of the big Rosenmontag 8am parade in Rottweil:

Big Daddy

Today I ran the Big Daddy trail on Lookout Mountain and I consider it one of the best trail runs in the Chattanooga area and quite possibly one of the toughest ones. Depending on where you start it is anywhere from 11 to 13 miles and you pretty much have to be a local to find it.
Today's cool temps were nice but the partially frozen ground with a very thin layer of snow made it a bit treacherous at times. Today was also one of the first times that I ran it by myself, usually I try to run with at least one other person.
Now it is time for a nap.

I like Savannah, GA

I went to Savannah, GA for the weekend and from what I have seen it seems very cool. The Waterfront is great and there are all kinds of unique restaurants and stores.

Here are a few impressions:

Who owns the mailbox?

I paid for my mailbox and thus it should be up to me to decide who can put mail in it. But it is apparently against the law for UPS, DHL or FedEx to utilize personal mailboxes, and we are not just talking packages here. If they for example missed you at your house for a delivery that can't be released without a signature, they can't leave the notice in your box. Nor can they leave a copy of a shipping slip in there. That makes no sense to me.

It is my mailbox, on my property and I should decide who gets to put their grabby hands in there, not the government.

Aqua Teen Boston bombs

Pictured here is one of the devices placed by the Aqua Teen Cartoon "terrorists". I can really appreciate that officials are taking all kinds of threats serious, but those "devices" have been apparently there for quite some time. By lunchtime officials were notified by web savy folks that these items are part of a marketing campaign and even Journalist alleded to that fact. But the city of Boston was not able to admit a judgement error and as late as 5pm still had a serious press conference.

Is it so hard to say "Oops we mad a mistake."

Hello Joost™ and good bye Television

I just applied to become a Beta tester for Joost™ . Joost™ might be a new term for you today, but it'll be a household name before too long. Joost™ is a new way of watching TV on the internet, which uses new and established technologies to provide the best of both the internet and TV worlds. The idea is to making it as TV-like as possible, with programmes, channels and ads. Consumers will also be able to see some things that will enhance the TV experience: searching for programmes and channels, for example, as well as social features like chat. There are many more new features to come!

Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the brains behind Kazaa and Skype are behind Joost™ and have worked with the world's best engineers, web gurus and media visionaries to get the project on its feet.

Can't wait to try it.

Little cutiepie

This little cutiepie here is one of my three new housemates :-)

May I have one?

Ever since the new apple i-phone was introduced it seems to keep popping up in my head. It is quite sad that I am such a gadget guy.

Impressions from the Costa Rica Trip

I went with Amy to Costa Rica for eight days and we had an amazing time there. Below are a few images of our trip.

Getting ready for the 4 hour flight from Atlanta to Costa Rica.



Just outside the Vulcano Lodge in La Fortuna



Heading out into the rain forrest to hike down to a waterfall



Wow, it is a jungle out there



The area is truly stunning and there are several waterfalls



Some of the bridges required a bit of self confidence



Enjoying a nice meal of central American cuisine



We took a horse tour to the Vulcano early on the second day



Our guide was very patient and pointed out lots of animals including a Tucan



During a break of driving around Lake Arenal on day 3



We even got to enjoy a good German meal on our trip



We kept pushing higher and higher and tough gravel roads to get to Monteverde and the most stunning rain forrest



Arriving at our Lodge in Monteverde our blue Peugeot 206 was the only non SUV



Dressed up to go on the most amazing zipline tour early on day 4



Some of the Selvatura ziplines were very long with a spectacular view



Checking out a massive insect collection in the Selvatura Park in Santa Elena



We also got to enjoy a beautiful hummingbird garden in Selvatura



On the 5th day on the way to the beach we saw a great rainbow



Our bungalow in Tamarindo



Amy enjoying fresh coconut juice on the beach



The beach in Tamarindo was not very busy at all



Yes, that is a very beautiful beach



Amy had ventured out to a great rock at another beach in Tamarindo



And the waves came crashing down on her :-)



On the 6th day we headed to Jaco Beach and saw all kinds of traffic



Looking down from a bridge to where lots of crocodiles hang out



Yeah, these guys look like they would bite



Our hotel in Jaco Beach was only half a block from the beach and had great food



The beach in Playa Jaco was very quiet too and temps were quite hot



No matter where you looked the beaches were not too busy



On the 7th day we headed to San Jose and on the way Amy made friends with an Iguana



Leaf cutting ants seem to be everywhere and they are amazing



Some trees seem to make us look quite small



The last night we stayed at theGrand Hotel in downtown San Jose



Eventually every trip must come to an end and we await our flight to Atlanta



One last look past our plane to the stunning Costa Rican landscape