Oats Slime?
It’s all about marketing. The kiddies love their porridge in the morning, which is nothing else than oats warmed up in milk, with some cinnamon and brown sugar. Add a splash of maple syrup. Sounds nice? Well in this country they’ve named it Haferschleim, or Oats Slime. No wonder it’s not a raging success. It’d be interesting to look back in history and see who screwed up – perhaps a clever scheme by someone of the likes of Corn Flakes? Suppose we’ll never know. Oats Slime. mmm.
Louisiana: The future of achitecture is green
I wish I had more time to go a bit further into details, but this will have to do. A visit to Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is a once-a-year highlight, the exhibition this year is titled Fremtidens arkitektur er grøn! or “the Future of Architecture ist Green”.
It’s amazing how many parameters define “green” architecture. It’s not just about eco-sustainable building, but there’s also micro and macro. For instance, the climate inside the building should suit us as well as possible: take the sun away, productivity drops up to 50%. Too much heat, same thing. Then, buildings can be “neutral”, for example in terms of emissions. This can be achieved by clever use of using building materials, as well as intelligent cooling and warming systems, but also by incorporating nature. One such example is Vertical Forest:
Then, there’s a macro level: buildings can’t be considered by themselves, but within their environment. Not only can they affect microclimate, but there’s a direct impact on - let’s call it the sociological level.
I particularly liked the notion of “acupuncture”, where some clever master plan is devised to transform entire cities into something more lively and enjoyable than the urban concrete deserts they can be. This acupuncture includes subtle, but decisive changes, such as rebuilding a square. Over time, this acupuncture affects the whole system.
One more interesting aspect is how human dwellings sprawl futher into nature. Rather than trying to change the landscape, these new cities simply make use of what is available. I think this is how new areas of Rotterdam might be developed:
As said, there’s plenty more food for thought, and this exhibition is warmly recommended. Go see it if you can!
Other mentalities
I assume it must come down to a difference in mentalities. Let’s say I was organising a large conference. I’d look up relevant publications, both off- and online and PR pitch them to write about my conference. That’s me. This particular organiser both sent me a mail saying READ THIS and attempted to spam the blog. His origin is from a totally different part of the world (culturally speaking) so perhaps that is how things are done there. And as much as I’d like to support this conference, I simply am not going to do it. nuff said.
Danish Optimism
Back in Denmark, where I’ll be spending this month. It is the country with the happiest people, who also happen to be incredibly laid back, and overly optimistic. Good for the mind.
Tradition
In terms of tradition, my guess is that Bavaria could be seen as being similar to Scotland, at least when it comes to outfits. In any case, it’s a good pretext to get together and have a good time (and some beers too).
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Welcome
Welcome to Irakli West's personal pages on the Web. I am Danish, live close to Munich in Germany, and run FWnetz, an online magazine and training resource for firefighters. In real life, I am Regional Manager Northern Europe for Paratech and currently training to become a specialist in Urban Search and Rescue as well as Heavy Rescue (it's fun, challenging and serves a good purpose)
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