Nothing But Words

• RT @scottspitzer http://tinyurl.com/ydtvddw Scott's pictures of the Perelman Cyclotron look like they're from the set of a sci-fi movie #
• Greenwald's latest reads like an Onion column, but it isn't fiction – http://bit.ly/4qgSnB – sometimes sarcasm can make the point best #
• Maria and I both woke up with sore throats, but so far no other symptoms. We have 10 guests tomorrow for Thanksgiving – we can't get sick! #
• Kai's latest obsession is playing his recorder. We've been listening to him master Mary Had a Little Lamb and Hot Crossed Buns all week. #
• http://twitpic.com/r1q8v – Eidan (and Kai) wish you a Happy Pirate / Marx Bros / Batman / Spiderman Thanksgiving #
• http://twitpic.com/raskb – Our first Thanksgiving with guests. The turkey was so horrifically big we didn't realize we had it upside down #

Use this post for support questions about Deko Boko, Koumpounophobia, or Post-to-Post Links II.

I just posted a minor upgrade to wordpress.org for Koumpounophobia, which fixes a CSS display issue with the dialog editor. Also, Koumpounophobia and Post-to-Post Links II now include Russian translations, thanks to Fatcow. And Deko Boko has a new Italian translation, thanks to Raneri web design.

Update: I’ve written a new Shashin post, so this thread is now closed.

My last Shashin post has about 60 comments, so it’s time for a fresh thread.

I’m back to work on the new version. It’ll include Flickr and Twitpic support, and a WYSIWYG interface for adding photos to posts. I only have at most a few hours a week to work on it though, so look for it around late January.

• http://twitpic.com/pp8zy – Kai & Holland making Roald Dahl's Frobscottle: Kiwis, limes, yogurt, cream soda. We all thought it was revolting #
• I'd genuinely like to hear what the pro-war response is to these 2 Greenwald essays – http://bit.ly/1oU3uZ and http://bit.ly/3bXa7L #
• Excellent interview with Ret. Col. Andrew Bacevich on the futility of the current counterinsurgency orthodoxy http://bit.ly/2e3wHx #
• If you enjoyed the mortgage-backed securities credit crisis,you'll love the looming private equity driven credit crisis http://bit.ly/1TlgbX #
• Ran just to 60th st yesterday. Going all the way from 37th to 69th was too much for my left knee my first time out. Didn't hurt this time. #
• RT @daharon (from Facebook) – for programmers, the difference between academia and business: http://xkcd.com/664/ #
• The old Kai's Candy Co site is now Kai's personal web page: http://www.kaiscandy.com – he made it himself with Google Page Creator #

The shower head broke off in my hand, so I had to take the pipe for it out of the wall to fix it The shower head broke off in my hand, so I had to take the pipe for it out of the wall to fix it19-Nov-2009 10:31SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100

A piece of the shower head pipe was left behind in the wall pipe, so I had to get it out without damaging the threads. I cut about halfway into it in several spots with a hacksaw blade A piece of the shower head pipe was left behind in the wall pipe, so I had to get it out without damaging the threads. I cut about halfway into it in several spots with a hacksaw blade19-Nov-2009 10:34SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 200

After gingerly weakening the metal in a few spots with the hacksaw, I pried it out with needlenose pliers and screwdriver After gingerly weakening the metal in a few spots with the hacksaw, I pried it out with needlenose pliers and screwdriver19-Nov-2009 10:45SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100

I got out all of the old pipe without damaging the threads, then I scrubbed it clean I got out all of the old pipe without damaging the threads, then I scrubbed it clean19-Nov-2009 10:48SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 320

I had a rare evening planned tonight – doing nothing. My plan was foiled when the shower head suddenly broke off in my hand when I tried to adjust it slightly. I couldn’t put off fixing it, because it’s our only shower. A piece of shower head pipe was left behind inside the pipe where it connected in the wall. I was actually lucky that whoever did the original plumbing didn’t do it correctly, because the pipe in the wall wasn’t attached to the framing. I was able to turn it freely where it connected to the tub’s pipes, and pull it out of the wall. So at least I didn’t have to cut a hole in the wall.

The trick was getting the piece of broken shower head pipe out of the wall pipe without damaging the threads. I was able to do it – see the pictures. My neighbor is a plumber – I gave him a call and he happened to have an extra shower head pipe in the back of his truck to replace my broken one, which was especially nice because Home Depot was already closed. So it’s all fixed now – not exactly the relaxing evening I had in mind, but it could have been worse.

Kai and Eidan with their role models at Dino Park13-Aug-2009 18:19SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	I finally had enough of Kai – fed him to the T Rex13-Aug-2009 18:22SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	Kai in the pteradactyl droppings danger zone13-Aug-2009 18:35SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.0080 sec, ISO 100
Eidan and Kai as baby dinosaurs13-Aug-2009 18:37SONY DSC-W55, 4.5, 14.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 320	Eidan in action13-Aug-2009 18:42SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	Another example of Czech’s trying to make Soviet-era concrete housing more cheery13-Aug-2009 19:13SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100
Plzen is where Pilsner beer was created13-Aug-2009 21:30SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 100	Kai at the Pilsner Urquell brewery13-Aug-2009 21:33SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100	Don’t stop for anyone you see under the bridges in Plzen13-Aug-2009 21:50SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.01666666 sec, ISO 100
The Great Synagogue in Plzeň is the second largest in Europe13-Aug-2009 19:29SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	The Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew has the tallest spire in the Czech Republic, and is its 3rd tallest building13-Aug-2009 19:33SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 100	Historical houses (and a street festival) along Plzen’s Square of the Republic. The Square’s history goes back to the 13th century.13-Aug-2009 22:02SONY DSC-W55, 9.0, 10.9mm, 0.0080 sec, ISO 100
We stayed at the Hotel Slovan in Plzen, built in 189313-Aug-2009 22:08SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100	Another fine old hotel building in Plzen13-Aug-2009 22:36SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100	Kai and Eidan enjoying a fountain in Plzen13-Aug-2009 22:30SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100

We departed Munich in the mid-afternoon, and our fast, smooth ride on the German rails abruptly transitioned to slow and bumpy the moment we crossed the border back into the Czech Republic, where the tracks are older. We arrived in Plzeň in the early evening, and – unlike Munich – we successfully navigated the roughly 1 mile walk from the station to our hotel on our own. The Hotel Slovan was both impressive and a bit sad. We only saw a few other guests, and you could tell it was certainly a grand hotel when it was built in the 1890s, but it looked like it did not fare well under communism. It had a bare-bones, 1950s modern-style makeover – probably in the 1950s judging from how worn things looked – which did not sit well with its art nouveau architecture. Its old-fashioned setup – with shared bathrooms and showers on each floor – was fine with me but I imagine it’s not what most tourists are looking for these days.

Finding a dinner suitable for both us and the boys was a bit of a challenge. The streets that night seemed strangely deserted – in an almost Omega Man way – but after wandering for a while we spotted a hole-in-the-wall pizza place with outdoor seating that turned out to be really good.

The next morning we set out for our one day in Plzeň. We ventured by city bus to Dino Park so the boys could have some fun. Kai enjoyed it, but the dinosaurs looked a little too realistic as far as Eidan was concerned, and he kept his distance from all but the smallest ones. Jealous of my bee sting earlier in Prague, Maria got her own bee sting at Dino Park. I think hers hurt more than mine, but it didn’t swell up like mine did.

From there we headed to the Pilsner Urquell factory to see and taste what Plzeň is famous for – Pilsner beer! The food at their restaurant was a big disappointment (although Czech food is not exactly high cuisine, it can be good; unfortunately it can also be really bad…) but there’s no arguing with the quality of the beer. I suppose if the beer is good enough the food doesn’t matter.

We had just enough time after that for a short visit to the historical center of town. With the tallest church spire in the Czech Republic, Plzeň’s most famous historical building is the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, but the building that stood out for me was the Great Synagogue. It’s the second largest synagogue in Europe, and “the mixture of styles is truly bewildering; from the onion domes of a Russian orthodox church, to the Islamic style ceiling, to the distinctly Indian looking Aron kodesh.” We hustled from there back to the station for our train ride back to Prague. This was the one and only time on our trip where we rode a train that was actually older than a typical US train. But unlike most US trains, it at least ran on time.

The place we stayed at previously in Prague was rented out after we left, but the landlord had another place, away from the tourist part of town, where we could spend the night before catching our early morning flight the next day. We ended up having the best (and cheapest) meal of all our time in Prague that night, in a little neighborhood restaurant. Like any other city, you can eat better and cheaper if you follow the locals instead of the tourists.

We left about 5am for the airport, and got there on time. Everything was going smoothly until a Czech Airlines representative told us our connecting United flight from Zurich to Philadelphia had been canceled. And, by the way, United Airlines doesn’t have anyone in the Prague airport to help you, and we’re not going to help you either. So I called United, and the rep on the phone insisted the flight wasn’t canceled and that everything was fine. We crossed our fingers and got on our flight to Zurich, and discovered when we arrived that our connecting flight was in fact not canceled. We just barely made it though, because we had to leave the security area to get our boarding passes issued, since – due to Czech Airlines mistaken belief that the flight was canceled – they refused to issue them in Prague.

The rest of the journey home went well, and the boys were thrilled to be home again after two months away.

I actually have a few more Prague posts brewing – I couldn’t wait to blog about LegoLand and the rest of the trip, so I skipped ahead. Stay tuned – this travelogue isn’t quite done yet!

• IT buzzword that irritates me most: "thought leader." Falling back on it actually indicates lazy thinking, and it sounds vaguely Orwellian. #
• RT @TheOnion BREAKING: Lou Dobbs Deported From U.S. — CNN Host Living Illegally In Country Since 1961 http://bit.ly/21zgf4 #
• Decided to start exercising again by making it part of my commute. Ran 3.7 mi today, from 37th st to 69th st, then trolley home from there #
• RT @PennCurrent Scroogenomics – Wharton's Joel Waldfogel has a serious problem with irresponsible gift giving. http://bit.ly/27v9Iq #

The New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) in Marienplatz, Munich12-Aug-2009 18:02SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 100	The New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) in Marienplatz, Munich12-Aug-2009 18:03SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100	The Old Town Hall in Marienplatz, Munich12-Aug-2009 18:18SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 100
The west side of the Residence Palace – the original building was severely damaged in WWII, and was rebuilt with most of the original architectural details missing12-Aug-2009 18:36SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100	Eidan in the Apothekenhof courtyard of the Residence Palace12-Aug-2009 18:45SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 100	The Feldherrnhalle in Odeonsplatz, Munich12-Aug-2009 18:59SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 100
The Theatinerkirche church in Odeonsplatz, Munich (this is a clumsy stitch of two photos, as I couldn’t get back far enough to get the whole building in one photo)12-Aug-2009 18:57SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 100	The neoclassical Banqueting Hall wing (Festsaalbau) of the Residence Palace12-Aug-2009 19:02SONY DSC-W55, 3.5, 9.4mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 100	Eidan and Kai in the Hofgarten12-Aug-2009 19:04SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 100
The Temple of Diana in the Hofgarten12-Aug-2009 19:06SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	The Bavarian State Chancellery on the east end of the Hofgarten12-Aug-2009 20:44SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	Not only was there a Vietnamese restaurant in the Munich Central Station, they served pho!12-Aug-2009 17:39SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 250

If there is one thing I could change about our trip this summer, I would have spent more time in Munich. We scheduled it as only a stop-over between Legoland and Plzeň. We arrived in the early evening in the modern and busy Munich Central Station, hungry for dinner. I was about to resign myself to Burger King when I noticed that not only was there a small Vietnamese restaurant, but they served pho! It actually wasn’t bad either (for traveling pho hunters, the restaurant is named Asia and it’s on the ground floor – see the final picture in the set above). We then took a subway to where we thought our hotel was, but it wasn’t there. After wandering around for a while with luggage and kids in tow, trying to find it, we finally surrendered to the idea of taking a cab.

After a decent night’s sleep in our tiny hotel room’s bunk beds, we had just a few hours to explore before our train to Plzeň. We didn’t have a chance to do any tourism research before arriving, and unlike Budapest, we couldn’t get online in our hotel room to do last minute planning. The hotel desk attendant gave us a map and some flyers written in German, and so we set out on our most poorly planned venture yet.

But we actually did well. With so little time available, we decided to take the subway to Marienplatz, and then explore on foot from there. After being suitably dazzled by the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus – I’m not so sure it’s a coincidence that the name for a building full of politicians sounds an awful lot like rat house in English), we headed north to the sprawling Residence Palace. Then we hunted for lunch and a bathroom through Odeonsplatz and the Hofgarten. The day was warm and sunny – the boys got some badly needed running around time in the garden area, and we had a nice lunch in an adjacent outdoor Italian restaurant. After lunch we hurried back to the subway, which got us to the Central Station just in time for our train to Plzeň.

So we got only a small taste of Munich, but it struck both Maria and I as a very pleasant and livable city.

• SEPTA info line said all services were operating normally. Too bad they weren't. Trolley got me to 69th St as usual at 5:45AM, then, no El! #
• Split a cab with a guy going to Penn Hospital – cost about the same as riding the R5. Striking at 3AM is going to cause chaos this morning. #
• With the SEPTA strike going on, it's time for me to once again start pining for the Tokyo trains – http://www.toppa.com/2ebz #
• Allow 10 days to unsubscribe me from unwanted emails? Does someone have to print out a punch card & feed it to the coal-fired spam machine? #
• The wonderful thing about Xubuntu is that each version gets *faster* on old hardware – my 10 year old laptop just keeps getting zippier. #
• When I was a kid my mom thought I'd go into astronomy. Seeing stories like this make me wish I had: http://bit.ly/6QrGH #

Mike with an old friend Mike with an old friend10-Aug-2009 20:44SONY DSC-W55, 3.2, 8.2mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 100	Eidan enjoying the Water Works Eidan enjoying the Water Works10-Aug-2009 21:06SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 100
Kai in downtown Frankfurt, MiniLand Kai in downtown Frankfurt, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 18:15SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100	Neuschwanstein Castle, MiniLand – made from more than 300,000 lego bricks Neuschwanstein Castle, MiniLand – made from more than 300,000 lego bricks11-Aug-2009 18:09SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100

Riding on the German trains

Riding on the German trains12-Aug-2009 21:50SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 1000

After Maria’s students returned to the US, we did some traveling outside of Prague before coming home ourselves. Our first destination was Legoland, in rural Günzburg, Germany. After that we went to Munich, then back to the Czech Republic, to the town of Plzeň (where pilsner beer was created) and finally back to Prague. Maria did an excellent job researching the logistics, and we discovered the wonders of the Bayern ticket: a family of up to five can travel all day on a single 2nd class ticket, on any regional trains throughout Bavaria (and into the Czech Republic as well) for the equivalent of about $40. German trains are a lot like Japanese trains, so 2nd class is downright posh compared to any American train.

The only glitch happened when we arrived late in the day in Günzburg, which is in the middle of nowhere. The train station was small, and there was no one around to ask how to get to our hotel, and there were no cabs. We tried to call the hotel but for some reason we couldn’t connect. The only transportation other than the train was a shuttle bus to Legoland that came every 20 minutes. We decided to go even though it was late, figuring someone there could help us. They did help us, and we got to our hotel in the end, but the price we paid was a total meltdown from Eidan. The park was about to close when we got there – standing outside its amazing gate and not being able to go in was too much for him after spending most of the day on trains.

The next two days were great, and the four of us had a blast – check out the pictures!. This is the first theme park I’ve visited that I really got into, probably because of all the time I spent as a kid playing with legos (score one more successful brainwashing by the lego marketers ). The highlight for me was Captain Nick’s Splash Battle simply because, after more than 10 years together, I got to see a look on Maria’s face I’d never seen before: bloodlust and the thrill of battle. The highlight for Kai was the Bionicle Power Builder ride (he went on it twice), where you get to program your own ride on a touchscreen before climbing aboard a gigantic robotic arm that spins and rotates you according to your programmed instructions. And Eidan pretty much loved all the attractions that involved him getting soaked. Overall though, the most impressive part of the park is MiniLand, featuring large, highly detailed lego scale models of landmarks from all over Europe.

At the entrance to Legoland in Günzburg, Germany12-Aug-2009 00:25SONY DSC-W55, 10.0, 12.4mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100	Kai trying to pull the sword from the stone, in Knights’ Kingdom10-Aug-2009 19:21SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	Kai and Eidan in the belly of the beast10-Aug-2009 19:52SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100
The Bionicle Power Builder ride. You program the ride you want, then strap yourself into a robot arm10-Aug-2009 18:29SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 320	Eidan at driving school10-Aug-2009 19:40SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100	Mike with an old friend10-Aug-2009 20:44SONY DSC-W55, 3.2, 8.2mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 100
Mike and Kai enjoying the wave racers . People on the perimeter can shoot at you with water cannons as you spin around10-Aug-2009 21:00SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 100	Eidan enjoying the Water Works10-Aug-2009 21:06SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 100	Maria, Eidan and Kai in Captain Nick’s Splash Battle. I blasted them with water from the shoreline.10-Aug-2009 22:14SONY DSC-W55, 4.5, 14.3mm, 0.0080 sec, ISO 100
Mike and Eidan on the Safari Tour10-Aug-2009 22:33SONY DSC-W55, 4.5, 14.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 160	An elephant in the Safari Tour10-Aug-2009 22:33SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	Zebras on the Safari Tour10-Aug-2009 22:33SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.01666666 sec, ISO 100
LegoLand Atlantis10-Aug-2009 21:56SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 1000	Kai races his creation in the Build and Test Center11-Aug-2009 00:59SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100	The Allianz Arena – the largest Lego creation in the world – 5 meters across, 1 meter high, 1.5 tons11-Aug-2009 02:19SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100
The Allianz Arena – the larget lego creation in the world – 5 meters across, 1 meter high, 1.5 tons12-Aug-2009 03:03	Berlin, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 17:29SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 100	Berlin, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 18:00SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 100
Berlin, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 17:59SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 100	Berlin, MiniLand – that’s Merkel and Obama on the red carpet11-Aug-2009 19:51SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 100	Venice, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 18:17SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 100
Venice, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 18:17SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100	A halfpipe just outside of Venice, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 17:58SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100	Munich Airport, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 18:05SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100
Munich Airport, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 22:08	Neuschwanstein Castle, MiniLand – made from more than 300,000 lego bricks11-Aug-2009 18:09SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100	Kai in downtown Frankfurt, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 18:15SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100
Switzerland, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 19:55SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0080 sec, ISO 100	Netherlands, MiniLand11-Aug-2009 19:52SONY DSC-W55, 2.8, 6.3mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 100	Eidan with Bob the Builder (Bob der Baumeister)11-Aug-2009 18:31SONY DSC-W55, 7.1, 6.3mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 100
Eidan in the Duplo water park11-Aug-2009 20:22SONY DSC-W55, 5.2, 18.9mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 100	Eidan in Duplo land11-Aug-2009 20:53SONY DSC-W55, 4.0, 10.9mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 100	Kai with the little sister he never had12-Aug-2009 00:09SONY DSC-W55, 4.0, 12.4mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 100