Stumblor

Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts

Friday, February 1, 2008

Train of Thought

After the copyright for my addictive apple cider (tentatively titled 'Tobbapple' due to its dangerously high tobacco content) was unfairly revoked by the patent office, I've been looking for something new to which I could focus my inventive aspirations. Not that my inventions are regularly anything more than meals utilising a single, questionable ingredient, but even a vegemite curry manages to give you the feeling that you are boldly cooking where very few idiots have dared to cook before, and that for me makes the debilitating diarrheoa almost worthwhile.

Last night though, I had a flash of inspiration that could very well be the best idea in the history of amazingly incredible ideas.

Consider these facts:


a) Germany has just introduced kite power to their sea going transport ships in an effort to offset both rising oil costs and their overall carbon emissions. Wind powered boats -- how progressive!

b) The earth has four steady jet streams located in the northern and southern hemispheres that are caused by the difference in thermal temperatures between adjacent air masses.

My proposal is this: Create two earth spanning tracks that follow the meandering line of these winds, dragging energy generating units along great distances by using the constant thermal power created by these jet streams, thereby creating a completely renewable energy source via the ground friction.

You heard me. Kite trains.

I've done all the complicated mathematics and physical modeling right here on my abacus and it all checks out, so I'm now focused more on the aesthetic possibilities.


I've prepared an artist's interpretation of what my kite trains might look like:






Pretty huh? And you wouldn't have to restrict yourself to those designs. I imagine that when crossing the Caribbean you'd want something more like this:









There are some drawbacks of course. Certain countries would be forced to bear most of the infrastructure due to the rambling path taken by the thermal winds. I suspect there would be some measure of public outcry initially, with people complaining that the kite trains created an unnecessary eyesore across the formally beautiful landscape.

Not to worry -- I'm confident that most people's concerns would disappear once they copped an eyeful of these bad boys sailing past:









Feel free to steal this idea; I recognise that trans-Atlantic, wind-powered Sesame Street characters solving the current energy crisis is an idea that is bigger than just me. It might be bigger than a lot of things. I'd say it was slightly smaller than a drug-era Elvis wandering drunk around the city of Lilliput, but hey, I'm just guessing.

Me, I'm just a small guy with big ideas, who is merely hanging around for the potential notoriety and the promise of hooking up with sweet babes.



"Hey, aren't you the guy who solved the world's energy crisis with those kites?"

"That's me babe." *wink*

"You asshole. One of your giant Kenny Koala's went berserk during a freak gust of wind and gave my dad a corked leg so bad we had to atomic wedgie him for two weeks just to take his mind off it."

"Sounds horrible. Busy Friday?"

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Dr Glockenspiel Mix 1

The Irish dreamer thinks that mixtapes are the best presents ever. I'm guessing that's because she's never been the proud recipient of a lovingly wrapped hovercraft, you know, specifically. On a ratio that grades fun factor versus the potential for amphibious transportation, mixtapes by their very nature would rate quite low -- but then no-one has ever gotten laid because of their devil-may-care attitude toward giving people vehicles that can tackle any types of terrain. At least as far as I know.

And let's be honest. That's why people make mixtapes. As Nick Hornby pointed out in the book 'High Fidelity', a mixtape is like giving someone a letter using other people's poetry. If that's true, an amateur mixtape full of crappy poetry can be a dangerous thing. Give someone a stinker and your romantic hopes could be dashed forever. After all, the last thing likely to get a potential lover swooning is a 90 minute collection of Lymerick equivalents all relating to that man from Kantucket.

Luckily I have a sciency friend from Germania who is right on the money when it comes to mixtapes. He sent me one the other day that I thought I'd share with you:





Davey,
How are you my friend? I hope everything is okay for you. I have some new girl where I met in my work, do you remember I tell you this story? Here are the songs that make us nostalgia.

1. Sweet Charles - Yes it’s You (mp3)
2. Sparkadia - Morning Light (mp3)
3. Phoenix - Consolation Prizes (mp3)
4. Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks (mp3)
5. The Whitest Boy Alive - Burning (mp3)
6. Kings Of Leon - Fans (mp3)
7. Slow Club - Because We’re Dead (mp3)
8. Ambulance LTD - New English (mp3)
9. Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life (mp3)
10. Sarah McLachlan -Blackbird (mp3)
11. Madeleine Peyroux - Don’t Wait Too Long (mp3)
12. Sondre Leche - The Curse of Being in Love (mp3)
13. Yves Klein Blue - Polka (mp3)
14. The Shins -A Comet Appears (mp3)
15. Soko - I’ll Kill Her (mp3)

(Download complete mixtape here)

I meet this girl when I am singing the first song you see here by Sweet Charles. We are in the lab, and I am making a joke with the words and changing them. I am singing "Yes it's U-235, yes it's U-235" and I am laughing since this is being the periodic table element for Uranium. Hilda, she is coming right over to me and telling me that if I really wanted to make love forever to Uranium, I should choose U-238 since the half-life is being more than 6 times instead of U-235. She is a very funny girl, I like her more than 6 times.

I am happy to receive you in my house next time you are coming to Munich, it's when you want man!

See you soon,
Helmut G.

Friday, November 23, 2007

My Contribution to Political Discussion

Because everyone else is doing it, I've decided to jump on the proverbial band wagon and write lil' somethin' about the imminent election. Incidentally, I'm also going to start smoking, wearing skinny leg jeans, and listening to 'Emo' music -- despite only having vague notions as to what that actually entails.

Below is a conversation I had over email this afternoon with Simon The Questionably Diagnosed Aspergers Sufferer. Simon The Questionably Diagnosed Aspergers Sufferer is a guy I met at Oktoberfest this year. I advantageously stole his friend Malcolm's seat, and then his beer, but somehow managed to lay the charm on so thick that they forgot my indiscretions and let me stay. Even Malcolm didn't seem to mind much when he returned to find a lager swilling, sea shanty singing Australian stealing his, well, everything.

Basically Simon has been diagnosed with Aspergers because he's weird. And smart. He revels in the fact that this somehow vindicates his behavior. I like him because he's got an excuse to be weird.


Me:
Did you make it down to the Australian High Commission to vote this week dude?

Simon:
For the Aussie elections? I'm a New Zealander dude.

Me:
Oh yeah. Sorry. Must have already claimed you along with Crowded House.

Simon:
Yeah. It's usually rather annoying, but we're kinda thankful that you relieved us of Russell Crowe. I guess you're lending your fulsome support to John Howard? He was great as that ginger kid in "Happy Days", but I don't rate his work as a director.

Me:
I voted for Chachi. Not too sure of his fiscal management experience, but that chick he dated was dope.

Simon:
I'd vote for Chachi because he went on to star in "Diagnosis Murder". I've never actually watched the show, but I intend to, once I'm in my 70s.

Rumor has it that his "Happy Days" spin-off "Joanie Loves Chachi" was hugely popular in Korea because - so the story goes - "chachi" is Korean for penis. Seems unlikely though, as it was only shown in Korea on the American Forces Korea Network, in English without subtitles. Moreover, the Korean transliteration for the name Chachi is , which does not mean penis. However the Korean word for "penis" is the similar sounding jaji, which is spelled . It's a shame really, because it's a good story.

Me:
I really hope you've got Wikipedia open right now, weirdo.




So yeah. Happy election everybody. If I wake up and Chachi is in power, you're all getting smacks.