Arsenal vs. FC Thun

Can you imagine a major football club of international reputation like Arsenal taking on something that sounds rather like a local football society like "FC Thun"? Well, you wouldn't have to imagine - it has become reality. On September the 14th, Arsenal is meeting FC Thun here in London.

"Thuna" ... what's "Thuna"?! Was the first reaction of the Londoners, when they found out. "This is going to be at least 15-nill." However, "Thun is lucky, they have a good draw with Arsenal".

Unfortunately, the Emirates Stadium is still to be completed. Actually it opens in August 2006. The Wankdorf stadium "Stade de Suisse" has actually just been completed recently. (By the way, I don't like the name of the stadium. It's syntactically wrong and supposed to be "Stade de la Suisse") It has been upgraded to a new capacity of more than 30'000 spectators. Not much, compared to the new Arsenal stadium. They decided to extend its capacity to around 60'000 football enthusiasts.

I have never been interested in football or any similar sport. However, I wonder how this bit will turn out. But honestly, I would not bet a single penny on FC Thun - Sorry guys ;)

Hands on deck! The floods are coming!

Being in Britain, I was expecting to face massive amounts of rain and dull weather. Actually the contrary happened. Since I have arrived in London, it had been sunny and warm most of the time. Unlike Switzerland. There have been rains and the last couple of days resulting in landslides and floods all along the Alps. Also my hometown Bern is affected by the Aare flooding over the banks. The blogger community has quickly catched up and published some terrifying images. (Image by gabaglio)

British TV Part I

Another tinkerer at work on the History Channel.
Originally uploaded by christoph b..

Yesterday, I got myself one of those fancy DVB-T receivers in the Apple Store at Regents Street. The Elgato DTT is a pocket sized device to receive digital terrestrial TV. Since cable TV is very common in Switzerland, DVB-T is hardly known over there. The government is planning to complete the introduction of digital terrestrial television in Switzerland in 2008. It's a pity, because DVB-T is really way ahead. You get data transmitted to every emission including the showtimes and the titles of the shows.

Anyway, since yesterday, I have come across all the British programs, you may think of: A gardening show where an awful rotten backyard was turned into a beautyful flower garden, home improvement advices how to paint the walls of your room so they match the curtains and the carpet, World War II history shows about german U-Boots threatening British cruiser, archeologist shows where skulls and old castles get digged out of the ground and of course the famous Antique Road Show, where people bring in their attic contents to get it appraised by professionals. Well, this is about the whole range of TV the UK has to offer, I am a fraid. Unfortunately, better technology doesn't necessary mean better content, too.

Streetparade 2005

Streetparade 2005
Originally uploaded by christoph b..

Yesterday was a big day for Zurich. The Streetparade took place! I have been there a couple of times before, but without actually participating. These kind of crowds are not my folks, acutally.

This year, I visited the Streetparade through the Internet. The "Switch Cam" at "Central" in Zurich is actually one of the most advanced webcams I have ever seen. You can even control it and zoom. Check it out. Maybe you come across another lost raver...

New Generation

Whatever you want to generate - find it here. I just generated a eBay feedback on the eBay Feedback Generator. Very useful indeed:

"The item was great. Quick delivery. Excellent packaging. A+++"

Abb.

Being in business, you come across a lot of abbreviations. So here's a small collection I've come across the recent days. These are the world's markets: EMEA is "European, Middle East and Africa", "LATAM" is "Latin America", "APAC" are the Asian and Pacifics, "NAM" is "North America", "CEE" is "Central East Europe", "GSA" is "Germany Switzerland Austria"

The "MD" is the "Managing Director", the "CEO" is the "Chief Executive Officer", "COO" means "Chief Operational Officer", "CFO" is obviously the "Chief Financial Officer". The "VP" is the "Vice President", "SVP" is the "Senior Vice President" and the "EVP" is the "Executive Vice President".

"FMCG" are "Fast Moving Consumer Goods", "VAT" are "Value Added Taxes", "LTD" means "Private Limited Company by Shares", "GDP" is the "Gross Domestic Product", "PPP" is "Purchase Power Parity". "Q1", "Q2", "Q3" and "Q4" are quartals.

Well but the best abbreviations I've come across during my work in the UK was the "POETS" day. "Piss off early, tomorrow's Saturday".

Why worry about Anglicisms?

Once you live in the United Kingdom, you eventually find out, that words, you thought they were English, effectively aren't. So nobody knows what a "pullover" is, they call it "jumper" over here. If you mention your "beamer", you only get stumped faces. It's a "projector". A "coach" is nothing you sit on. It's actually long haul bus or a train carriage. What the heck do you mean by "handy"? Ah, sorry ... it's a "cellphone". "Monitors" are being used for surveillance. You are probably thinking of a "screen". If you want to pass the security, they won't let you through with a "badge". You would need a "pass". And a "bike" is usually "propelled". Otherwise it would be a push-bike.

No frills rule

If you are an easy going person and not keen on frills, you might catch an easyJet in Basel and get to Luton for not more than 3£ if you're lucky. After that, you would probably take an easyBus for a 6 quid to get to central London and then stay overnight at the easyHotel for another 20£ per night.

easyHotel just opened today and has tiny windowless rooms. But who needs windows and more than 5 square meters? The air quality would probably be better inside anyways.

Let me know, when you're in town. We could have an easy day out.