On this page you will find Atom feed variants for my last 20 posts (Articles and Notes), but also some in the good old RSS 2.0 and the JSON feed format.
A list of all feeds can also be found via my .well-known/feeds endpoint, which I wrote about here. You can find more feeds, including from the people I follow on Fediverse, at rss-is-dead.lol.
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As an alternative, that can be read by humans and machines, here are the posts (articles with excerpt only) in the form of a microformat-based h-feed.
Dry August
The heatwave in Germany is continuing and everyone is suffering. We’re simply not (yet!) prepared for so many days with temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. Thomas’s plants are also suffering from heat stress, even though he’s been watering them as best he can via a drip irrigation system since last year. Anyone who’s seen recent pictures of the River Rhine (current water level at Düsseldorf: 0 cm) will understand that even this has its limits. Every drop of water is precious right now.
I’d like to use these 21 photos to show just how well the Thomas flowers are holding up … and quickly heading back inside to cool off.
Geohashes for my photos
Mathematically shorten GPS coordinates
Almost all my photos contain the coordinates of where the shot was taken in the EXIF metadata of the respective file. For this purpose, my Android smartphone has a built-in GPS receiver, and I equipped my Nikon D500 with a Dawntech di-GPS Eco ProFessional 2 a couple of years ago, although I sometimes forget to switch the thing on and then have to add the location later manually in Lightroom.
Whenever I publish a photo, I always do it first on this website and deliberately include the coordinates (latitude, longitude) of the shot, which are even displayed on a world map on the dedicated photo page:
Puck Surfing
We were recently in Puck, a small town on the Bay of Gdańsk (Poland), to take a closer look at the town and the harbor. It was a lovely walk, and of course, as always, I was magically drawn to the water. I can’t really imagine a vacation without the sea.
At the pier, a few water sports enthusiasts were getting their surfboards ready, and a couple were already out on the water. The wind in this area is apparently always quite brisk, and I found it absolutely fascinating to see how fast one of them was plowing through the water. He turned just before reaching the pier and, a minute later, seemed to be 5 kilometers away. What an amazing feeling that must be. I stood on a board once 45 years ago, but I didn’t make it out of the water. Photography is obviously more my thing.
New European Banknotes
In 2025, the number of people in Germany paying by credit or debit card overtook the number of cash payers for the first time. At first glance, it seems that cash (coins and banknotes) will eventually become completely obsolete here too. I’ve personally noticed this: I pretty much pay for everything via my smartphone now and hardly ever carry any cash with me. It’s so convenient, and when abroad, you don’t even have to go through the hassle of exchanging money.
Many other European countries are already much further along in this process. Sweden, for example, moved almost entirely away from cash nearly 10 years ago … BUT … they are now realising the downsides of a purely digital payment system, such as a lack of financial inclusion, cyberattacks and fading trust in international financial partners … and are turning back the clock! Back to Cash!
It is therefore only logical that, while investing in its own digital euro solutions, the EU is simultaneously addressing the replacement of the ageing euro banknotes. These efforts, which have been underway since 2023 in the form of a design contest, have culminated this year in a shortlist of 10 new designs for the future banknotes, which are to be assessed by the end of the year before a winner is chosen.
Sicily Stills
I’ve already posted most of the following photos in my first post about Sicily, but here they are all again, along with the ones I’m not using as header images. Colours and shapes… you know what I mean ;)
Sicily Scenes
There are insights, vistas, glimpses and perspectives that don’t fit into any particular pattern or category. I like to call them scenes, and as photographs they always have their own charm. Here are a few of them from our trip to the wonderful island of Sicily, as the fifth part of my photo series.
Sicily People
For many years, what interested me most about photography were shapes and colours. People didn’t play a major role, because they didn’t fit the pattern. That has changed in recent years, and I very often press the shutter button when I spot an interesting scene. Not like a street photographer who actively approaches people to get a good shot, but more as a spectator and observer. By-catch. I don’t really know why those photos work always better when I edit them into black-and-white images afterwards. Can anyone explain this to me?
Of course, I came across a few such scenes again on our trip to Sicily, because although we were there quite early in the year for tourists, there’s hardly a corner of the island where you don’t come across people.
Re: CSS is simple, stop making it hard
No ... don't use tables, please
I came across Martijn’s post on Bubbles today and would like to take this opportunity to answer his question from my point if view …
I can already hear you complaining that you shouldn’t use tables for layout. Why exactly?
Sunny July
Flowers in the heat
We’re currently experiencing the second major heatwave in Germany. After the 41 degrees Celsius we had a few weeks ago in June, the 35 degrees now actually feel quite pleasant. Contrary to my usual habit, I didn’t manage to get around to taking photos in Thomas’ Garden in June, so I’m now posting some new photos from July … and I think there are a few lovely ones amongst them.
Sicily Architecture
Sicily is an island where, over the centuries, just about every culture in the Mediterranean has left its mark: Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, etc. We didn’t spend much time exploring the history during our trip in May because it was meant to be a relaxing vacation, not a history lesson, but it’s definitely fascinating, and we’ll certainly return and visit a few more cultural monuments made of stone. We haven’t seen the south yet …
Sicily Views
This is part two of my photographic review of our journey to Sicily in May. Views. And the island has so many of them – and in those two weeks we were only able to see just a few in the north.
It was truly impressive – and a first for me – to come face to face not just with one, but two active volcanoes: Etna and Stromboli. Unforgettable moments in the presence of natures raw, uncontrollable power, which makes one feel rather humble.
My oh-so-beloved sea did the rest to fill up my camera’s memory card. For me, a coastline marks the boundary between two completely different worlds, and my longing for the sea is probably driven by my curiosity about what lies beyond or beneath what is unknown to me. Besides, there is nothing more beautiful than the blue of the sea.
Sicily
I only take photos occasionally, even though it’s one of my great passions. Vacations are, of course, the perfect opportunity for this, although I have to make some compromises here too, because no woman who isn’t keen on photography will tolerate waiting for hours for the right moment in the long run. I’ve reached a tacit agreement with my better half that I’ll always lag a little behind on our trips. She turns round every now and then to see where I am.
TownSquare - Chatting with Strangers
New Web Widget for Blog Interactions
You stroll around a traditional market in town, stop at a stall and have a look at what’s on offer. You’re never alone, as others are doing the same. Unless you’re in a hurry and you like people, it’s quite common to strike up a casual conversation with other stall-goers or even the stallholder. “The stand is quite busy.” “The product is rather expensive, though.” “It’s hot today, but it’s finally supposed to rain this afternoon.” Conversations that we usually forget quite quickly, but which make us social beings.
One problem with the traditional internet, on the other hand, is that you usually ‘surf’ the web on your own. Reading a blog post is a passive activity, and contact with the blogger, if possible at all, is asynchronous. Social networks are somewhat different in this regard, but the platforms usually operate in a silo, acting in their own interests – with all the associated excesses – and outside the confines of your own blog. The latter can be mitigated somewhat, for example, by using tools such as Mentions United to bring platform interactions ‘home’, but these interactions are still asynchronous and merely link content to comments, likes and the like.
Miniatur Wunderland, Hamburg @ 2026-06-04
Visiting Germany's most popular attraction ... again
Many, many years ago, my darling and I planned a long weekend in Hamburg, including a sightseeing bus tour, a harbor cruise, and all the other things you typically do in Germany’s northernmost metro area when you’re there together for the first time.
Since even as a grown man, I can hardly shake off my inner child, I suggested visiting the famous Miniatur Wunderland (Wikipedia) in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt, and she didn’t mind, even though she seemed skeptical at first. Girls just don’t usually play with model trains, but what Gerrit and Frederik Braun, the founders of Miniatur Wunderland, have built there in the space of a 150-year-old warehouse has since become famous far beyond the borders of Hamburg, so she let herself be persuaded.
Now we’re both die-hard fans of this XXXXXL model train layout (biggest in the world!), because what sets it apart from others isn’t just the size, but also the attention to detail and the humor of its builders, who are also too stubborn to give up when something seems technically impossible. Just think of the 10 years it took to develop real Formula 1 races with miniature race cars in the Monaco section.
We try to visit Hamburg once a year, and this year, combining our trip with the Linkin Park concert made it the perfect opportunity for our fifth (or sixth?) visit to Miniatur Wunderland. I’ve taken lots and lots of photos of the exhibit in the past, but I’ve never posted them here before — until now.
Hamburg Views
Monochrome Beauty of the North
The first settlement, known as Hammaburg, dates back to the 8th century AD. What developed over the following 1,200 years is what we know today as Germany’s second-largest city: Hamburg.
My partner and I go there for two or three days every year because we simply love the city, the harbor, the nearby sea, and the city’s vibe, as well as the Miniatur Wunderland located there, which is a once-a-year fixture on our travel calendar.
There’s never enough time to wander around the city and take photos, but I snapped a few this time as well…
Linkin Park, Hamburg @ 2026-06-03
From Zero World Tour
It’s been 25 years since I first heard Chester Bennington growling into a microphone, and ever since then I’ve been a fan of both hard rock and crossover. My goodness, what gems these guys from Linkin Park delivered in the 2000s. “Crawling” isn’t just on my all-time best playlist, but I can sing along to it at any time (or so I like to think ;)
Of course, I too was saddened in 2017 when the news of Chester’s tragic death broke, knowing for certain that there would never be any new music from this extraordinary group, because their music was – and still is – defined by his incredible voice.
When Mike Shinoda announced in 2024 that Emily Armstrong would be taking Chester’s place in the band and that new material was on the way, I was sceptical at first… but the guys – and now the lady too – have proven me wrong. The NEW Linkin Park are brilliant, and Emily brings a fresh, positive touch to the mix.
So I just had to get tickets for myself and my girl for one of the concerts on their tour in Germany, and we chose Hamburg… at the stadium with around 50,000 other fans. If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right … … and it was just awesome!
Blooming Velmede
The mother of my sunshine has a beautiful garden behind her house, right by the river Ruhr, which her son tends with great passion. There are quite a few gorgeous flowers in bloom at the moment and it’s simply lovely. I had to made some photos, even with my crappy smartphone. Here are a few shots. Enjoy.
There are many Mastodon instances out there.
Tell me yours and I will redirect you to the share dialog of your server: