Rankings galore

If you are competitively minded, you will certainly be interested in the Economist's rankings repository. There you'll find a number of interesting rankings, from MBAs to operational risk. Eminently quotable ...

File Vault trouble?

I'm a bit paranoid about security, that's why I use File Vault on my laptop to protect sensitive (client) information. However, that might have nasty side effects, as I think I've uncovered. Let me quote my posting on Apple's discussion forums:

When travelling abroad, I've repeatedly encountered very serious system instabilities, involving the loss of application preferences, keychains and other vital system information. This was always easily recovered by restoring the backup back home. But naturally, the home backup is not really handy on the move ...
I think I've narrowed the cause of these instabilities now down to a combination of using File Vault and changing the time zone from the account that is protected by File Vault. Is anyone unfortunate enough to be able to confirm this, and might any expert out there have an idea about a plausible explanation and fix for this? Thank you very much!
Incidentally, the workaround (short of not changing the time zone) is changing the time zone in a user account that is not protected by File Vault.

I hope someone can comment on that. Meanwhile, don't try to replicate this on the move, and be sure to have a working backup!

A rising star?

Definitely! Having just touched down at Bangkok after a very pleasant flight from Seoul, I must say that Asiana is going to give the Singapore Airlines etc a run for their (much more) money! The A330-300 is very well laid out, the staff extremely polite & friendly (expect the experience to begin with a coordinated "all hands" reception bow while taxiing) and the food is good. So it's a thumbs up all around, followed by the pleasant surprise of being expected by two ground staff who whisked yours truly to the Thai Orchid Lounge on one of those obnoxious scooters to wait for the connecting flight.

First things first

The first thing to get in Singapore is an umbrella. Remember - it'll be cheaper when the sun shines! The first thing in Seoul is to make sure your mobile phone works with CDMA. You'll need it because apparently, they don't really have addresses in Korea. If you get a little local map together with your appointment message, then that's not just a nice gesture, but a bare essential!

Cheers from Seoul

So, my short trip to Singapore is history. The first impression of the place is one of a more formal version of California - which I like a lot! The formality certainly has to do with the echoes reverberating from British rule. I actually stayed in one of them - very recommendable! Being able to do your laps before breakfast in an olympic size outdoors pool in the heart of downtown Singapore is just great. Funny how the locals think you're crazy if you're swimming when it rains because they think it's "chilly": at about 30 degrees!

People seem to be extremely ambitious and business-minded. And when they're working in service, they're incredibly efficient and friendly. Smiles left, right and centre, which is a great change from Europe. Singapore, I'll be back. With less rain next time, hopefully! And maybe a bit better comprehension of Singlish, which I was occasionally struggling with.

My first trip on hallowed SIA turned out to be a little bit of a disappointment. Sure, the staff were just perfect, fully in line with what I said before, even in the eye candy department. But taken altogether, I think SIA Business doesn't deserve the premium it commands. Admittedly, my expectations were set by the trip down to Singapore on Swiss First, which may be considered as unfair. But somehow I got the impression that many people feel that SIA's business class is better than many firsts. That's far from true for Swiss' - I slept like a log!

Bobby

It's a sad day. Just hours before my departure to the hitherto longest trip of my life, we had to decide to put down Bobby, our 16 years old dog. An open ulcer was just too much for her - and us. You were a great dog, Bobby, and you've instructed your successor well!

And now, I'll leave for Singapore until 30 August, and onwards to Seoul, for presentations in each city. I'll return on 7 September. Until then, my mobile phone gets diverted to the voicemail directly, which gets forwarded to my email, so don't worry if you cannot catch me immediately. More later ...

The best things in life ...

are free, they say. And they are probably right, as I am glad to confirm while listening to the second compilation of the Colonious Monk Collective. This is German rap at its best - full of funk, jazz and soul, just the way we like it.

Complete satisfaction at Stucki's

It's been almost three years that I've been there last, but apparently I need to go again very soon! Especially now that the best chef that I've ever encountered has received a glowing review in the Financial Times ("faultless"), which alludes to the rumour that the restaurant will soon obtain its second Michelin star. This will invariably hike the price tag, so ...

Anarchist!!! ... Cleaner!!!

This is cool! Katharina Zaugg, my former cleaner is becoming an outright star! She is an ethnology graduate and has her own operation, complete with cleaning school, publishing house (she has already published three books) and performances (where she is known to dance with brooms!). Today, she's had a big show on national public radio DRS 2 - you can listen in on it here. I guess I should have taken an equity stake in the early days ...

As we may think

Vannevar Bush's July 1945 essay As we may think is a breathtaking piece of futurology. Have a look!