10/31/2015
Entitlement?
Between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Halloween lots of people in costumes, mostly younger children with their parents, tour our neighborhood to ask for candy.
They speak the magic formula "trick or treat", and I offer the bowl with candy saying "take one, whatever you like". Their answer is supposed to be "thank you", then we wish each other "Happy Halloween"; after that they walk to the next house. Business as usual.
This time, however, one approximately seven-year-old girl, dressed up as a purple princess, came with a group of kids and replied to my "take one, whatever you like" with a frown and a "what, only one??". I was slightly amused, so I said "well, then what is the trick you are now going to play on me?"
The look of utter confusion on that little face was priceless!
19:37 Posted in Opinions | Permalink | Comments (0)
10/20/2015
Electrified
Lately I have been driving by some impressive new structures in town. AEP is replacing many older transmission line pylons with these new ones.
They have a smaller footprint on the ground and are (hopefully) less susceptible to storm damage. One question remains, though: why do they still have to be up in the air?
Underground HVDC transmission lines have been around for some time and seem to have advantages. Maybe that's why Bavaria recently passed a law mandating underground installation for all new transmission lines.
06:48 Posted in 08, Making Progress | Permalink | Comments (0)