running to stand still

Fortunately we skipped the short exam yesterday, instead of it we had a guest lecturer from Stiegl (THE beer from Salzburg), in detail the brand manager of the company. He told us a several interesting facts about beer, brand management and other things. But the best thing was that we made some //product testing// at the end of the lecture - you know what that means. //Unfortunately// we don't have many beer-drinkers in our group, so some of us had to consume two or three small beers.

After that a friend of mine and me headed to the petrol station to buy some more beer and chips for the Austrian game against Wales.

What a game ... could somebody tell me why Dospel played for Austria and not for Wales? Well, the other way round we could say that in exchange for Dospel the Welsh goalkeeper Coyne played for Austria and not for his home country. What a blunder! He somehow reminded me of David James, the former teamkeeper from England, who had made nearly the same blunder at the same goal at the same stadium.

After the game (and //some// more beers) we headed towards the Rudolfskai, the main place to go out in the evening. What a surprise, another night at the Shamrock, our favourite Irish pub in Salzburg. I don't wanna talk about the rest .. coming home around 4 am, getting up at 8.30 am, some kind of alcoholamia until lunch. Great fun!

About an hour ago I came back from running - I decided to do something against my tiredness and for my fitness - good decision, now I feel much better. Had to run at a quite high heart rate (my body recognized the alcohol and my lack of sleep), but who cares. Exactly said I ran around a heart rate of 165, which lies within my own //target zone//. You don't know what that is? Be glad, here's another lecture for you:

The heart rate is the number of heart beats per minute, the times per minute that the heart contracts. A target zone is a heart rate range that guides your workout by keeping your intensity level between an upper and lower heart rate limit. There are various target zones that are suggested for an individual to follow that correspond with a specific exercise goal. IE: Improved Fitness Zone 70-80% of Max Heart Rate.

You knew that ... didn't you? Okay, that's it for today, gotta get some food for dinner...

Christian Bale (... and other negligibilities)

Yesterday we went out for a few beers, to meet each other again for the first time after the Easter holidays. Of course we were also talking about the latest movies, and especially about "The Machinist", a great suspense //film noir// movie starring Welsh actor Christian Bale. But he's not just another actor, he's a really great actor. Some guy even meant that he would be the successor of legendary Sean Connery - arrh - and I agree. You don't know him? Okay, here's a little portrait of his carreer.

He was born as Christian Charles Philip Bale on the 30th January 1974 in Haverfordwest, Prembrokeshire, Wales, UK. He made his professional debut opposite British comedian Rowan Atkinson on the London West End stage. He auditioned with 4000 other kids for the coveted role of James Graham in Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. Bale received a special citation for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor from the National Board of Review - an award specially created for his performance in Empire. In the following decade, he has appeared in Shakespeare, dramas and comedies demonstrating a versatility, depth and range that has made him one of the best reviewed actors today and one of the most popular actors on the Internet.

He mainly plays //difficult// characters such as mass murderers, villains or psychos. His most famous movies are as followed:

• American Psycho (2000)
• Shaft (2000)
• Equilibrium (2002)
• El Maquinista (2004)
• Batman Begins (2005 - in theaters soon)

For more information about him, have a look at http://www.imdb.com , the largest movie-database in the world, one of my favourite websites.

But now to something completely different - I'm such an oblivious person, damnit. Easter holidays ended, and I forgot my digisat-smard-card at home in Upper Austria. Well, that means that I cannot watch Premiere Sport for a few days, but furthermore I cannot watch the Austrian programmes neither. It's not the end of the world, but its quite annoying. I promised a colleague of mine to watch Austrian Hockey League's second final on thursday with him (... at my home), but now he (we) can't.

Much worse - I could NOT watch CSI Las Vegas on ORF, no matter if it was a recurrance or not. I really loooove CSI. At the very beginning I disliked it, I didn't even notice it. But some day I was stuck to an episode - don't know when, don't know why, but it's goood.

When you //google// for CSI, you find some interesting webpages:

• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS, 2000) <-- the right one
• CSI - Software für Tragwerksplanung und Bauphysik
• CSI Zürich, das weltgrößte Hallen- und Springturnier
• Homepage del Consejo Superior de Informatica Madrid
• Computer Society of India
• Christian Schools International
• [...]

Well, what can I add. Right - I hate CSI:Miami, this Horatio Kane guy is soo over-prudent. See you soon, gotta write a short exam in a few hours.

Goooooooooooooooool!

It's been quite a long time since I have posted my last blog. Huh-huh. Some seconds ago I was having a telephone call with a person from a company where I probably will absolve my internship at. Internship? Yes, internship! In the course of my studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg every student has to complete an internship in a real company for about five months. But that's not really interesting.

Whats reeeeeeeally interesting: The day before yesterday I was watching a great football game between Ecuador and Paraguay. Ecuador?????? Paraguay?????? Hell yeah, two South-American countries that want to qualify themselves for the World Cup 2006 in Germany. Because of your bad education I will tell you something about these two countries.

History: The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Nine presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996.

Capital: Quito
Population: 13,212,742
Languages: Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Religion: Roman Catholic 95%
International disputes: the continuing civil disorder in Colombia has created a serious refugee crisis in neighboring states, especially Ecuador

History: In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER was overthrown in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held since then.

Capital: Asuncion
Population: 6,191,368
Languages: Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
Legal system: based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite, and other Protestant
International disputes: unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and drug trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations


Aye, seems that I've forgotten something. The game ended with a triumphal victory of Ecuador. After an early arrear of 0-2 they were able to turn the game to a fantastic 5-2 in front of a crowded mass of people in the national stadium of Quito. For all results have a look at http://www.fifa.com

first blog, first chance to mess it all up

Well, as you may recognize, this is my first blog. Until today I was quite doubtful about starting my own one, but boredom and the Easter holidays made me change my mind. "Why is it in English", some might say - well, because I think this is a good opportunity for me to improve my skills in that. Mekko Märtin, some rallye driver from Estonia and part-time English student in Vienna, will surely make jokes about my language skills, but who fking cares :-)

What you see above is a ticket for U2's show in Munich on August 2nd. I didn't buy this ticket on my own behalf, but I was selling it on ebay last week. What an income source. You inform yourself about presale dates, get ready to be stuck in huge data traffic jams and finally hedge yourself a precious ticket for a show of "the best band in the world". About a month ago I already sold a ticket for the band's show in Dublin for more than double of my purchase price. In detail I bought it for 59,90€ and sold it for 172€. I'm sure - some might say that I should f*** off because I'm a lamer, but in this harsh world nowadays everybody has to economically survive, so do I.

Apart from that, I do not really like U2's setlist from their first show in San Diego, where they mixed some early days songs with some of their latest album "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb", or as we U2 fanatics say, "HTDAAB". For example, Bono, The Edge, Larry and Adam did not play "With Or Without You", maybe the best love song of all times, which is a huge disappointment for a romantic person like me. Well, I would like to tell you more about that concert, but it's easier for me if you have a look at http://www.u2tour.de , they provide ppl like me with all the latest information.

Right now it's time for lunch (a bit late isn't it), so I gotta go. See you soon.