Walking the city

Today was such a lovely sunny sunday in Vienna. I took my cameras and walked through the city. The digital ones are already online at my flickr site.
The analog ones will follow as soon as the film is full and I found a lab here in Vienna to develop the negatives. I started my tour at the Schottentor along the "Ring" avenue to the opera. Then to the "Naschmarkt" and via Stiegengasse, Neubaugasse and Kirchengasse back to Schottentor. Enjoy the photos. So far from now. It is your turn.

Adventures in Vienna

Some might start thinking I am not working here, but be sure I do and hopefully within next days I am able to tell you more about e-voting and our competence center. I am still trying to understand the whole thing. But today was a really adventurous morning, I drove SMART for the first, these little egg-like city cars from Daimler-Chrysler. Really fun and damn fast the one I drove. And the other first time was driving in Vienna, which is a bit strange because of this Ring-Street system, which you only can go one way, but you get used it and it was a very necessary office duty as we needed new coffee beans from nespresso. So far from now, have a good day. I am going to get a freshly made nespresso.

Vienna, Melange and E-Voting

After four hours in a train I arrived in Vienna. What a lovely city. It was raining and cold, but even under this conditions this city is amazing. And after my first melange in a very modern cafe at the Museumsquartier the sun showed up and made a wonderful saturday.
I am here for working on a topic called e-voting at the competence center for e-voting. It is a rising topic on the political and technological agenda. Estonia (Euronews) yesterday allowed e-voting over the internet for the first time in a nation wide election and the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Austria are thinking about a allowing the use of e-voting. I am still trying to understand the basics about e-voting. In my perspective it means voting by transmitting the vote via the internet from a computer which is placed somewhere.
There is a big discussion going on especially about the safety and the security of the voting principles, such as anonymity and privacy of the vote, but on the other hand auditability is required, too. Currently the Netherlands are facing a big negative media feedback regarding internet. I will keep you updated within the next days and weeks about the development of e-voting and my further impressions of Vienna. In between you can check out my pics on flickr.com
Talk to you soon.

The Gettysburg Address

Dear all,
today I would like to provide you the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. It is not only an amazing and very important document for democracy and nation-building, it is a masterpiece of public communication, around 250 words and everything is said. Thank you, Yoel, for telling me about it.

The Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863.

Four score and seven years ago our father brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing wether that nation, or any nation conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have to come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - that governement of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Sources:
The Gettysburg Address and Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler

Oh wie ist das schön...

Oh wie ist das schön, oh wie ist das schön, so was hat man lange nicht gesehen, so schöööön. Oh wie ist das schön, oh wie ist das schön...

Germany is the WORLD CHAMPION 2007 in Handball. Congratulations to the team and Heiner Brand, the coach. After two weeks of close heartbeat games project 2007 was finished a few minutes ago.
We won against Poland in a great game. Congratulations to Poland for the Silver Medal and to Denmark for the Bronze Medal.
Thank you team and thank you fans for this wonderful WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP again.
A great atmosphere, a great spirit and a never expected result.

Wonderful.

Addititon to the contract issue with t-mobile

After a few weeks, we finally received the code and now it is simlock free. :-) and Manolo is happy again. I am now back with my old phone from Nokia. Back to working mobile communication

it is unfair, but there is a solution

After a few phone calls on Monday evening, T-Mobile agreed to providing me the unlock code for my mobile phone. The only condition is that the sales person in the store has to sign a paper in which he admits a mistake in the consultation. I was wondering, if someone would ever do so. But surprise, yesterday I got the signature of him under a text saying he did the mistake.
So, my anger and irritatio because of such a way of doing business disappeared. One side not, against the public and especially the media opinion, I think T-Mobile's customer service by phone is the best one I ever experienced.
Thank you guys, at the call center for being patient and problem solving oriented.