Pick-A-Day

March 2024
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Archives

Democrats Abroad, Germany: Annoying Freaks

Anybody who knows me knows that I have practically no patience for stupidity.

This brings me to the subject of the US State Department and the German chapter of the Democrats Abroad. Both have elements of stupidity—the former amusingly so, the later annoyingly so.

It all started innocently enough when I checked one of my […]

Disconnected

The attack at the US Consulate in Istanbul got me thinking last night.

Generally speaking I try to avoid official US Embassies and Consulates whilst traveling as they generally do not make me feel especially safe. There’s always tons of paranoid security afraid of photography, loitering, and human beings in general.

As the most accessible […]

A Good Surprise!

As an American living abroad I lack something that fellow citizens take for granted.

(Relatively) easy contact with the US Government is difficult: my postmen (and there are multiple ones on a daily basis) do not work for the US Postal Service, the men in blue (or green) wear badges labeled POLIZEI, and the men […]

Berlin in a Nutshell

My business in Berlin was finished in surprising short order; where I had expected an hour or more, it took 20 minutes from entrance to exit.

I had all of Friday and Saturday laying at my feet, and everything Berlin has to offer. Despite the cold weather which made walking unpleasant, I walked a lot. […]

Frankfurt’s #1 Newsstand

Want to make money in Frankfurt?

Own the newsstand down the block from the US Consulate.

Why?

The US Consulate won’t let in electronics, so I had to pay the newsstand to watch my mobile for 2€.

I was glad when I was done with the Consulate. I didn’t feel safe there.

On the one […]

Consoling Consoles

Ah… Today was an interesting day.

Every single time I thought I was getting ahead, and in fact was, I would get more work. There were a couple of times I had managed to clear my desk completely of work related to the journal I manage, only to receive more work related to it 15 […]