http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/index/ en sherry@sherryneal.com Copyright 2008 2008-03-19T14:45:01+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/ausgang_city/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/ausgang_city/#When:14:45:01Z Michael’s friend Jesse came to visit from L.A. a couple of weeks ago. He was instructed to take the ICE Bahn from the Frankfurt airport to Mannheim main train station, which is the next stop from the airport. He exited, as instructed, but sent a panicked SMS: “I got off the train, but I’m at the wrong stop. I’m in Ausgang City!” Ausgang means “exit” in German. He was in the right city, by the way. Travel 2008-03-19T14:45:01+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/daylight_savings_time_today_not_in_the_eu/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/daylight_savings_time_today_not_in_the_eu/#When:21:47:00Z Ah, yes. It is that most dreaded time of the year. I have a hard enough time waking up in the morning without having DST shaving off another precious hour of sleep. Reminds me of a very screwy day about five years ago. I caught some random twitterings about DST and started to panic about not being prepared at all to wake up an hour early. As it turns out, Germany will observe DST on March 30. So, for the next 21 days, we will be 5 hours ahead of the east coast (EST) and 8 hours ahead of pacific standard time (PST). I will relish the next 21 days. I think DST is kind of stupid (except, of course, when it works in my favor in the fall), so I started doing some research on the history of it and why it exists today. If you have the patience to deal with this website (I barely did. Do yourself a favor and hit the Pages link once you are there. Don’t incorporate technology just because you think it is clever, especially when it’s not very usable!), you can learn some interesting stuff about DST. For instance, the clock changes at 2 AM in the US because “it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.” Early churchgoers? Whatever. In any case, in Europe the official changeover time is 1 AM. I can’t find the history/reason on that, but it would be interesting to know what this isn’t standardized. DST was first conceived of by Benjamin Franklin. What an overachiever. The bifocals, the furnace stove, the odometer, and countless other inventions just weren’t enough. He first wrote about DST in 1784, but the concept didn’t gain footing until 1907 when Londoner William Willett wrote ”A Waste of Daylight” and spent a lot of time and effort lobbying for DST. Germany and Austria were the first to implement DST in 1916, followed by several other countries—the US got on board a full two years later and made it law. It was so unpopular that it was repealed in 1919, but saw the light of day [hah—get it?] again during WWII in 1942 -45 when it was known officially as “War Time”. After that, observing DST was a regional thing so much confusion arose from lack of standardization. Only as late as 1986, did DST get more under control after legislation was passed that mandated “Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. began at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of April and ended at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October.” Before DST, there was Standard Time which was implement in England in 1840 and was known as London time. In the US, this concept of standardized time didn’t take hold until 1883, mostly driven by the transportation industry, which was similar to how England adopted the concept (in both cases, the railways were a huge factor for Standard Time and the concept of Time Zones). “Prior to that, time of day was a local matter, and most cities and towns used some form of local solar time, maintained by a well-known clock (on a church steeple, for example, or in a jeweler’s window).” Amazing! Especially since the first pocket watch was invented in 1504 by German Peter Henlein. 2008-03-09T21:47:00+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/lazarus/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/lazarus/#When:08:20:00Z After three months of sherryneal.com being offline (our community Web server in Athens, GA officially closed its doors in December) and even more months of silence, Sher’s Drivel is back up! I discovered Blogger at the Web2000 conference in San Francisco and thus began my inception to blogging. It was fairly limiting for a Web geek, so I starting messing around with other blog software. I’ve broken up with my long-term boyfriend, Movable Type. We’ve been dating since 2003 and that’s a long time for an Internet romance! We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the years, and I think it’s time for me to move on. I flirted with WordPress for awhile and that was a fun time, but I wanted more. So, I’ve decided to use Expression Engine after looking at what people I admire in the Web design community use and reading what reviews I have been able to glean off by googling “WordPress vs Expression Engine” and the like. The install process was a breeze, especially due to the fact that there is a video tutorial to guide you through the process. The only frustration I’ve had so far was finding where I could import my MT blog entries—which took some considerable poking around. In MT and WP, this was very easy to find. However, once I found it [Admin > Utilities > Import Utilities > Movable Type Import Utility], it was just too easy to bring my old drivel back from the dead. The images that I had to accompany my blog entries didn’t carry over, but I hope to resolve that after I get some data off of Dignan (the now retired Web server). The theme you are looking at now is the default theme and I’ll be looking to customize that in the coming weeks. Even though I haven’t been blogging in months, I feel that I’ve been in a small way due to Twitter, which is really difficult to explain in a way that doesn’t make it sound silly, so I’ll refer you to Stephanie Sullivan’s excellent write up. I’ve also recently created a Facebook account, after months of badgering from my friend Glenn [who needs to blog more because he is so smart and writes very well]. He’s also been trying to get me turned on to Google Apps for months on end and a handful of other cool technology, but sometimes I’m slow to react. So, now that I’m back, what can you expect? Definitely more mundane drivel about my life as an American Expat living in Germany, but I’d also like to focus on some of the passions I have in life, which are: travel, gastronomy, photography, and music. I’m exploring the possibility of doing some vblogging, but first I need a camcorder and somewhere to host these videos (You Tube seems like the obvious choice, but I know there’s more out there to explore). Any suggestions on HD cams and video hosting is much appreciated, as I’m new to that game. For now, I’m off to watch the video tutorial on customizing this thang. 2008-03-08T08:20:00+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/getting_started/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/getting_started/#When:18:39:51Z Thank you for choosing ExpressionEngine! This entry contains helpful resources to help you get the most from ExpressionEngine and the EllisLab Community. Technical Support: All tech support is handled through our Community forums. Our staff and the community respond to issues in a timely manner. Please review the Getting Help section of the User Guide before posting in the forums. Learning resources: Getting Started Guide Quick Start Tutorial Video Tutorials Additional Support Resources: ExpressionEngine User Guide Knowledge Base ExpressionEngine Wiki If you need to hire a web developer consider our Professionals Network. You can also place an ad on our Job Board if you prefer that professionals find you. Love ExpressionEngine?  Help spread the word and make some spare change with our Affiliates program. See you on the boards, The EllisLab Team Blogging 2008-03-07T18:39:51+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/having_problems_with_movable_type/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/having_problems_with_movable_type/#When:22:32:48Z Yep, the blog is jacked up. Enjoy this craptastic template while I get things in order... 2007-11-11T22:32:48+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/stopp_klingen/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/stopp_klingen/#When:01:53:52Z At our old apartment building in Mannheim, we had to educate the little kids in the building about Halloween and the benefits thereof. Apparently, our new neighborhood kids (the whole freaking mess of them) are very savvy about the tradition, perhaps due to this being more of a family neighborhood with plenty of American ex-pats around. As I write, my doorbell is going off (and will proably continue to do so for the rest of the evening) and I have totally given up on schlepping three flights of stairs to answer it, because this year, I am totally unprepared. No candy! I want to say to these kids: "Okay, the next thing you need to know about this American tradition is that if my porch light is off that means no goodies. Move on..." At least they are costumed though. I remember when I lived in England, the Brits just walked around in street clothes ringing doorbells. Lame. That means a penny for you. Another thing I've noticed, when I was answering the door, is that the kids are extremely polite. "Es tut mir leid, ich habe keine fuer dich" I say (Sorry, I don't have anything for you). To which they cheerfully respond: "Kein problem, haben Sie eine schoene Abend noch!" (No problem, have a good evening!). I am definitely not going to let them in on the other Halloween tradition of rolling a person's house for having no candy! 2007-11-01T01:53:52+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/police_has_rescheduled_for_mannheim/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/police_has_rescheduled_for_mannheim/#When:13:21:57Z I just read yesterday on the SAP Arena site that the Police has rescheduled for June 5, 2008 and that we'll have pre-order rights for tickets. Dusseldorf has been rescheduled for June 8. More later...gotta git to work. 2007-10-25T13:21:57+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/fck_the_police/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/fck_the_police/#When:00:58:00Z So, long time no see new entry. We've been up to our ears in moving/house building details in the last few months. Good news: the moving frenzy is Ovah, the house is built, and we are completely moved in. Martha, our friend from Athens, came to visit for two weeks a just two days after we were into the new place. When she left, Christian and I felt like we lost a roommate! The bad news: the week we were scheduled to move, Nic had an incident. I woke up early to take him for a walk because Christian was away on business. Nic got out of his bed and walked a few steps, but suddenly crouched down and froze as if he was incapable of walking. I thought he had a stroke. Obviously, I freaked out. It was 6:15 in the morning and the vet wasn't open until 9 AM, Christian was out of town, and our 80 lb furball couldn't walk! Long story short -- he didn't have a stroke, but he has idiopathic vestibular disease. So, it's not that he was incapable of walking -- he didn't want to because he was completely dizzy and couldn't orient himself! In short, the prognosis is very good and he has seemed to recover in the last two weeks by about 95%. I have high hopes that he will continue to improve. The only thing that kind of sucks -- for him and us -- is that our new place is 4 stories, whereas our apartment was only one floor. Nic is having trouble going down the stairs, so Christian pretty much has to carry him down. If you have suggestions for how to make the situation more manageable, we are all ears. [Many thanks to Laura, who correctly diagnosed Nic's condition from the across the pond and to Michael, who helped me carry Nic [read: he carried him] to the Vet more than once and helped out so much during the recovery phase. We're lucky to have such great friends!] Last but not least... The Police... I can't even look at their photos on The Police fan club site without a string of obscenities crossing my mind or lips. They canceled the Mannheim show (yeah, the one I had awesome tickets to) in addition to other dates (see Sting's site for reference -- look in October 2007). Martha and I found out while we were in Amsterdam for a long weekend. I have to admit that when Christian told me over the phone, I thought he was joking. Unfortunately, it was no joke. I am extremely pissed for several reasons: They will not rebook the show Even if they did, I doubt I could get tickets right next to the stage again All other shows are sold out I was looking forward to this SO much There wasn't really even a word of regret from the band. So, yeah. F*ck the Police. 2007-10-17T00:58:00+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/where_the_streets_have_names/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/where_the_streets_have_names/#When:01:44:22Z I've noticed that the Germans have a tendency to name streets after historical figures. Where we are currently in Mannheim, there's Bach Strasse, Franz Liszt Strasse [composers, natch], Albrecht Dürer Strasse [artist], ... American street names are boring. Main Street. Broad Street. First Street. Second Avenue. Or they are named after the developer's kids: Amy Street. Julia Drive. Bleh. Worst case is some developer that used to take acid and thinks he's some kind of Ginsberg -- Blue Stars Way and crap like that. Some neighborhoods near where I lived in Columbia, Maryland went a little extravagant [read: apeshit] and named entire developments after the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (Hobbit's Glenn) or the works of Oliver Wendell Holmes (Dorsey's Search) [more about Columbia street names]. We currently live on Otto Beck Strasse. A fine question. I don't fucking know either. I've been researching that very question since I moved here. I can't find jack about him. So, the next best thing is to improvise the truth. In other words, make shit up that sounds interesting. Christian thinks he used to be mayor of Mannheim. Y-A-W-N. I say Otto Beck founded the Beck's beer empire. Yep, we live in party central. Cheers, matey! We're moving to Lessingstrasse. Apparently Lessing was a famous conehead. Look at that noggin! It's huge! It's like a planetoid! [Name that film for extra credit]. Evidently , Lessing also was a famous author in the 1700's who wrote "Nathan the Wise". I've picked up a copy of it [in English] and I'm going to read it to see if Nathan was so wise because he had a big old head like Gotthold Lessing. I can't. Get over. The size. Of his head! Can you take your eyes off it? Seriously! Germany 2007-07-25T01:44:22+01:00 http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/our_house_in_the_middle_of_our_street/ http://www.sherryneal.com/index.php/site/our_house_in_the_middle_of_our_street/#When:05:24:58Z We have bought a rowhouse! I don't know if it was weeks ago, last week, or a couple of days ago. That's how crazy it's been for Christian and me lately. I can tell you we've been looking for over a year. We've seen lots of great towns in our search -- like Schriesheim [official site]: a picturesque place two towns north of Heidelberg. It's popular for its wine vineyards and castle. We seriously considered buying this great house there that had a window view of the castle -- the house, formerly a Pfarrhaus [I can't for the life of me remember what that translates to in English at this hour] was built in something like 1610. The owner remarked that the stairs were older than the United States. But it is a historical landmark, and that meant scary Euro signs to us (in the form of renovations and such). So, we didn't buy it. And we were quite serious about a 200 year-old farmhouse in another town about 35-minutes away from where we live now, but it sold while we were in South Africa. Even though we had our hearts set on a really interesting old place, we started looking at new houses. What is important to the both of us is location. We kept on getting drawn back to the same place over the last year: Schwetzingen. It has a very cool downtown area and not as many (by far) tourists as neighboring Heidelberg. It has a very nice palace with wonderful grounds and we're only 10 minutes away to it and the downtown area by foot. We're totally freaked out and excited at the same time. The house is brand new -- we have to pick the flooring, rearrange walls, and all that fun stuff. The thing I've discovered is that sometimes there are just too many freaking choices. A huge thanks goes out to our architect friend, Erin, who patiently helped us choose tiles and wood, gave advice on removing walls, and tirelessly helped me through my noob questions, especially the irritating ones where I could not articulate words beyond "that thingy that holds the stuff". Thanks also to our pals who spent a lot of time looking at house furniture mags and sending them on to us. The most fun (and aggravating) part of the process for me so far was to select my dream kitchen. More in detail on that, the rowhouse, and street names in future posts... In the meantime, here's to two of the world's newest debtors! Germany 2007-07-24T05:24:58+01:00