I am now an even older fart: 41 is the current count. Next year it will be 42 - a very special number for me and a billion other Douglas Adams freaks.

This is slowly becoming a seasonal thing: a new year a new iPod. Here is my excuse for buying a new one: four gigabyte was too tiny for my favorite tunes. Plus it helped to satisfy my technolust and stopped me from buying anything more expensive.

Overall the new iPod interface sucks. I still would prefer the simple old black and white screen with a super simple menu. I don’t need all that extra smart and shiny coverflow and graphic gimmickry. The inside of my pants have no eyes and I just need to see a list of what’s on the playlist. No more, no less.

Apple is currently diminishing the iPod’s greatest appeal: simplicity. Every new version tries to add some unnecessary bells & whistles.

Crap.

What is the last thing you need on a business trip? Dental problems in the middle of the night. When I was in Stuttgart last week one of my wisdom teeth decided to fuck up. Brilliant. Thank the Gods for the intranets: I found a clinic that provides dental services at midnight with a few clicks. I spent a few days on drugs until I was back in Munich and getting a “date” with my own beloved dentist.

I really do love this guy. He is in his 50’s, very funny and relaxed. His speciality is telling nasty jokes while your mouth is stuffed with cotton, instruments and his fingers. Try laughing now biiaaaatch!

All ends well, that drills well.

Look at me! After a strangely warm winter spring turns out to be a cold bitch. I am freezing - send chocolate and hot woman … NOW!

Depending on my clients & projects I get to travel and stay at some cheap ass hotels. Here in Germany there is a chain called Etap, which is very cheap & frugal. I liked that Spartan lifestyle. I don’t need no telephone, bible or fancy images on the wall. Give me a nice quiet and clean room, a hot shower and wireless LAN and I am happy.

Motel-One is a new contender in the field and a good one. Still very cheap (€55) per night and very nice rooms. Feels like living in an High-End-Ikea showroom. The colours are fancy and a bit arty-farty, but it’s also very minimalist.

Breakfast is acceptable and digestible - not as bad as at the Etap-Hotels. Most of all I love the WiFi at Motel-One - which is free in the Lobby, but costs you some extra Euros if you want some in the comfort of your room. Since I am a lecher and love surfing butt naked I choose the later option …

I don’t mind being sick - usually I simply sleep my fever and any nasty bugs I have ‘away’. But the one thing I really hate is my brain being ’slimmed’ and made unusable. It just is terrible if you can’t read a book or simply relax - instead your brain runs in circles and can’t think strait.

Very annoying! Can I have please a backup brain for such moments?

I am currently fighting a nasty flu - so my blogging is currently stopped because of slime, fever and general unpleasantness in my brain. Will continue after my chemical surge has eradicated the virus extremists and their sympathizers!

Where I live there are three great museums just around the corner - the so called Pinakotheks. And today - sunday - you can get in for free. Nice!

Usually I don’t care about the other visitors - I am not much of a people watcher. My ears are protected by some good music against the general chatter and noise. Give me art or give me death.

But today an old lady caught my eye. She slowly made her way through the gallery, heavily relying on her walking stick. But she always seemed to know where she wanted to go, seeking out some old paintings she seemed very fond off. Walking around was hard work for her, she often paused and sat down to catch her breath. But once she reached ‘her’ painting all the effort was worth it. Her eyes widened and she caressed the image with her glance like an old friend.

I was very touched by her love and passion for art. The old paintings seemed to recharge her spirit and give her timeless joy. Her posture changed - almost like some weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

I am pretty sure this kind of joy is special for her - since it was hard work to get through the Pinakothek with it’s huge rooms and many stairs. She didn’t do it for ‘fun’ or ‘entertainment’ - such pleasures are easier consume by switching on the telly.

I just hope that I have the same passion and stamina to get my weekly dose of art when I am an old fart. Art is able to give us joy, beauty and ecstasy that can lift our spirits and touch our soul although our minds and bodies are already on the way out …

A new year - and 364 shiny new days to go! Somehow I don’t really connect with all these strange festivals and old religious festivals like Christmas. But it is important to celebrate the passage of time - to set personal milestones to measure what has happened in one’s life.

*Thanks to xtine for sending this lovely old German blast from the past.*

This seems to be another freak season. Like last year we have no snow so far. It’s pretty cold and extremely foggy. I am wondering if January will be like last year: sunny and dry, so I can sit on my balcony in a t-shirt and enjoy "winter" …

To everybody else: keep shoveling!

This blog started just four months ago in September - since than it has been a regular pleasure to write on an almost daily basis. First I recycled many old favorite postings from previous three reincarnations of the orangeblog. But since November it was mostly new material.

Thanks to Edosan, who helped to reboot my brain after my one year blogging abstinence. Other long time supporters include RichMc, Judi, Leonardo, Andrew, staticbrain, mrbalihai, blogotronic, moon, Jolene, Dave, mo and zoee.

Via StumbleUpon I have made many new friends and regular readers: like Judefa, Lisabal, Mayamoi, anotsoperfectstranger, zichi, neugen, xtine, Shelly41, Jackanapes, lucecorner … (hope I haven’t forgotten anyone?). Plus some new reader and commentators like trang. I am sure there are some other regular  visitors out there who haven’t commented - so I don’t know you by name yet - also thanks to you …

It is an old tradition here in Germany that someone dresses up as St. Nikolaus and his scary companion Krampus bring gifts to the kids.

This is actually a pretty scary thing - I have seen grown woman and man weep and sacred to death when facing (a student dressed up as) St. Nikolaus.

I also still remember that evening as well. All the other kids ran away and were nowhere to be seen while I had to hold St. Nikolaus staff and  listen to what he had to say about my ‘performance’ since his last checkin.

When he left and the other kids appeared again they got some presents too - which I thought was pretty unfair since I alone had faced the red giant …

Warning: fat whining ahead.

I must be one of the few guys on this planet who likes to shop. Today I decided to prepare my wardrobe for another bloody winter: warm socks, warm trousers and a new winter jacket.

So I went to my usual sources for elephant outfits. I am a fat guy, not American übersize, but still too fat. So I have to go and buy at least XXXL to fit into.

The reason why most fat people look terrible in their fat clothes is not just their size, but because most oversized stuff looks awful. Instead of smart designs that offer some decent looks and maybe hide the visual clues of fattienes you get horribly ugly stuff. I especially despise brightly coloured threads and wastelines that makes it easy to spot my fattiest lifestyle from a hundred miles away. Thank you so much!

Today I raided at least five big department stores with with special fattiest sections, who offered everything from supercheap to superexpensive, from no-name products to established brands.

All in all, very disappointing and EXPENSIVE. I don’t mind paying 200+ Euros for a decent jacket, but not not 300 Euros and beyond. Especially if it has your brand’s name stitched on my chest or even worse my back. And because it is plus sized you have to pay extra compared to the normal sizes - that’s what I call the fatty tax.

Once again my last resort was the Army surplus shop. A black jacket, two extremely colourful trousers and six T-shirts for €160. All elephant size, all in that distinct military look.

When I have to wear ugly stuff - at least I want it cheap and durable. Fuck designer clothes if they also look ugly and only want to promote themselves for many Euros.

Anyone out there who want to pay a liposuction for xmas for me?

Some of you may know my eternal dislike for all the foggy seasons like Winter, Spring and Autumn. All the other seasons are ok.

Having one building site in front of your windows is annoying. Having two guys with jackhammers drilling your brains out from the early morning on is insane. Murder will be done … soon …

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Welcome to my new old blog.
So after a year of a self imposed blog diet I am back to experience the pleasures and horrors of the blogschmerz. I’ll never say never again when it comes to closing and reopening blogs.

This is basically a contiunation of the orangeguru and orangeblog. Both old domains have been hijacked by some SEO guys, so I had to reinvent some other orange thingy.

I guess I need some time to get back into it - as well as redesigning the blog, adding some new feature, building a new blogroll and reposting some old goodies as well. The WordPress image features have completely changed since I quit - so I have to find a better way to handle eye candy.

A big thanks to Ed - who has been a big inspiration and supporter. He endured many of my stupid questions without ever sending any mail bombs or the department of blogland security. Thanks Ed!

Let the Blogging begin - and thanks for visiting!