Welcome to my personal website
For some time now, I've observed a troubling trend among people I know - even close friends - where many are becoming increasingly grumpy and irritable. This phenomenon has led me to wonder: what's driving this shift in temperament, particularly among older men? While discussing this observation with younger people, a friend mentioned Pick's Disease, a form of frontotemporal dementia that affects the brain and typically strikes people under 65 …
Somehow the time of wheat harvest has been always a melancholic moment for me. It always strikes me, how fast the first half of the year has passed. Even many crops and fruits are not in their harvesting season yet in Central Northern Europe, the grains start this season of closing down the year early. Of course, this is disproportionate, because there are still 5 months to go for the new year …
In the mid 90s, I did my PhD in Essen, a city in the Rhine-Ruhr-Area (Germany). Back then, I was working on man made precipitation modifications in urban areas. Honestly, back then I did not know really what an “urban area” looks like, and I thought this conglomerate of smaller towns, growing together to one urban cluster could have impacts on the atmospheric boundary layer that modify rainfall patterns. Actually, it does. But that’s a different topic. Earlier this week, …
In April 1960 a group independent Dutch electronics retailers brought a 1 kW AM offshore pirate radio station on air, broadcasting from the a former lightship Borkum Riff. They intended to boost sales of radio appliances by offering an alternative programme to the official Dutch radio and selling airtime to advertisers. VRON, Vrije Radio Omroep Nederland (Free Radio Station Netherlands) was born, which later became “Radio Veronica” named after the poem "Het Zwarte Schaap Veronica" (The Black Sheep Veronica) …
Some time ago, I went to Ottawa by train. But now, I decided to go by car again and visit friends on the weekend. We were actually neighbors back in Beijing in 北京東湖別墅 and have not seen each other for more than a decade. It’s always great, when you can catch up after more than 10 years and it feels like, “just yesterday”. This time in Ottawa, I was for there for leisure and I really enjoyed the historical views (given the short modern history), and just to see how life is in town. It’s a very pleasant city and easy to get around. It’s now summer of course, when living is easy …
I just returned from a study trip to the United States, which I helped organizing for the MBA Programme of the Hong Kong University Business School. We studied the success factors of tech clusters in and around the Boston/Cambridge area, explored the startup environment in New England, debated the current US-China trade relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and also got quite some insight into the current struggles between the US federal government and Harvard University …
There were a few nice events since returning to Toronto: Eugene Onegin directed by Robert Carsen performed by the Canadian Opera Company for example. Even, I am more and more bored by love stories - as they are so predictable - this was a well done interpretation. But the biggest heartbreak I had, was Eddie, the dog, …
I am maintaining a journal in the format of noting down the days in a tabular way, having always the same day on one page, just for the current year. Like this, I see what happened exactly that day the years before. Such has a capacity of 5 years. There are also versions with 10 years, but then the daily space for writing gets quite compressed. This is a very nice way of keeping a journal. Now I realized that exactly a year ago, I packed a “Movecube” which is an OSB box available in different sizes …
This week I am leading a study tour of Hong Kong University MBA students and we all met up in Helsinki. I enjoy these trips, not just because we visit interesting companies and institutions, but also it is extremely rewarding to make a contribution to these very smart, interested and open minded students. All this would not be possible of course, without hosts and guest speakers …
Tim Hortens is more than just a doughnut place for every Canadian. It is a community center and has a place in Canadian identity. The first “restaurant” being started in May 1964 Hamilton (Ontario) at the crossing Ottawa Street North and Dunsmure Road by the the ice hockey player Miles Gilbert “Tim” Hortens, playing for the Toronto Maple Leaves, and his partner Jim Charade to provide an income in off season. Hortens later played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, …
Arriving in Toronto at the beginning of the week, spring wasn’t that advanced. But also here the snow melted away within a week and I took the chance catching up with my favorite hangouts: the Norma Ridley Lounge at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Toronto Reference Library. The Lounge is in The Grange, which was the first home of the gallery, in a Georgian manor. It also has also a small and cosy library. The reference library of Toronto though, …
When Wilhelm Kattwinkel visites the Olduvai Gorge in 1911 to research sleeping sickness , he observed humanoid archeological remains, in 1913 identified by the German Geologist to be probably the “cradle of mankind”. I visited Germany, also for a different purpose, but now sitting at Frankfurt Airport waiting for my flight out, I am convinced, I discovered “the cradle of Teletubbies” …
My last means of transportation in Germany is running on fossile fuel. It’s a red Vespa Primavera, and it’s a fast and furious little machine. I had an intense week in Germany, which ended with a scenic ride along the Rhine River and crossing it eventually by ferry. Among other things to manage, I have sent personal effects and furniture by sea freight, first forwarded to Frankfurt, further to Berlin and from there to some exit port. There is only an estimate, when they will arrive. It highly depends on how smooth the land transport to the port will go …
Toronto’s Streetcar 501 QUEEN is the world’s longest streetcar line. It spans Toronto’s East and West by reaching from Neville Park Loop to Humber Loop, and taking the 24.8 km (15.4 miles) ride along Queen Street is a good way to get an impression of the city along this profile. Today I did it, starting from the East, passing through The Beaches first, which is the nice and lively residential area we live. From Leslieville …
As you may have read in the news, the German automotive industry is under unprecedented pressure. It is the result of a mix of internal factors, changing geopolitics, new technologies, new competitors and last but not least a dysfunctional German government. Volkswagen Group, the company I have been associated with for decades, has been hit exceptionally hard. It is not the first crisis we see in the company, …
Since returning to Toronto, I have experienced some highlights. For instance, we celebrated a birthday dinner at the 360 Degree Restaurant in the CN Tower. We were advised to go early to enjoy the view starting in daylight, and it was a fantastic recommendation. The most impressive sight was the view of Billy Bishop Airport from the top. This regional airport serves routes to Canadian destinations as well as cities like Boston and New York …
Luckily Chinese Airlines continue flying over Russia, and so I was able to take the short cut from Toronto over the North Pole to Hong Kong. It is interesting watching the flight map, diving into Asia from that perspective. Still the 12 hour time difference, made me a little trouble this time. Then I also caught a fever and still had to flag pole over Macao due to a delayed visa process ...
The original Google search algorithm, PageRank, assigned a weight to websites to determine their importance. The more frequently a page was viewed, the more likely it was to appear in a Google search. Over time, this method has evolved into a more complex system, likely influenced by financial incentives and amplified by techniques ranging from search engine optimization to the amplification of semantic clusters through clickbait. Despite these changes, the algorithm worked well for me until I moved to North America ...
In 1979/’80 I was thrown out of Catholic religious studies in my high school for the offense of marking major oil and gas fields in the back part of the school bible, where there were maps of the holy land. Soon kids joined me in the school library during these hours. Their offence was, that they had been displaced by terror from a cradle of civilization into a run down 5th tier city in Germany called Neuwied ...
After some time packed with logistics in Europe, I am resurfacing in Toronto. Nothing against Europe. I really cherish the cultural richness and complexity, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. But no place there is as relaxed and friendly as Canada. It appears to be hard wired, somehow. Recently, I was downtown Toronto, waiting for the streetcar (tramway) at Church station …
In 2021 I decided to spend more time in the Netherlands and took a part time teaching position at Tilburg University. Immediately the question of housing came up. Tilburg in itself is a small university town and it is fair to say it has a housing crisis, which I did not want to add to. So when thinking through options, I started to look for boats. And this is how a three year semi-holiday in the Netherlands started …
The Charles River (Quinobequin) separates Boston from Cambridge Massachusetts and, given the number and quality of Universities on its banks, is dubbed “the most educated river”. There are Harvard, MIT, Boston University and many more. I have been to Boston before to visit the office of my former employer, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) …
Toronto offers once a year the opportunity to enter a large number of sites and buildings in Doors Open Toronto. This time it was the weekend of May 25th-26th. The sheer number of buildings listed is overwhelming. But there was one I had in focus, because I caught myself already a few times pressing my nose to the windows …
We assembled a group of MBA students from the University of Hong Kong in Helsinki, which became our starting point for a study trip in the Finland and Estonia. Again this was a great group: curious, disciplined and open minded …
On December 2nd and 3rd 1989 Michael Gorbatchev and George H.W. Bush met on the Soviet ship TS Maksim Gorkiy south of Malta, mooring in the Bay of Marsaxlokk. The sea was choppy, which brought the meeting the name “Seasickness Summit”. It is often described as one of the most important summits since the Yalta Conference in 1945, …
Last week, I had the chance to present the industrial and economic facets of Germany to MBA students from The University of Hong Kong. Our journey began in Berlin, then proceeded to Wolfsburg, Dortmund, Duisburg, Hannover, and concluded back in Berlin. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our hosts …
Moving to Canada on relatively short notice made me lift my boat out of the water in the Netherlands. This will allow me to do some maintenance work, which is more difficult in the water. Moving the vessel to New Orleans and going up the Mississippi may be an option. So far, this is only an idea…
Life is easy in Canada. Sure, moving to a new place across an ocean has it’s challenges. But Toronto is a good place to settle. It’s a vast land, and there is not much infrastructure. So one of the next tasks will be to find a good 4x4. But the main challenge lies not in Canada, but still back in Europe. There is a boat to store and potentially transport over to the new world …
It’s finally getting chilly in Toronto, and I decided to get shoes for my dog. Not so much because of the cold but more because of the defrosting agents on the paths. This morning, while walking along the Northern side of Lake Ontario, I heard some comments on the Index of Economic Freedom provided annually by the Heritage Foundation (click here) …
After a few weeks in Ontario, I flew from Toronto via San Francisco to Hong Kong, where I am currently waiting for the landfall of Typhoon TAPAH. I abandoned my plan for a hike in the New Territories, as heavy rain bands are already touching the city on the periphery of the cyclone. Last week, I had the chance to go for a hike on Lamma Island and revisit my previous home turf. I also took the opportunity to climb Mount Stenhouse on the island's southern part and enjoyed the view over the South China Sea …