Archives for August 2010

Chinese buffets ask you to avoid waste

A pair of scales with rice and coins - ©Can Stock Photo Inc. / pisuIt must be a sign of the times, that Chinese buffets have started asking their customers not to waste food.

In case you are not familiar with the concept: Chinese restaurants in Germany offer you a buffet for a set price, from which you can eat as much or as little as you like.  The only thing you usually have to pay extra for are the drinks.

You might think of it as an “all-you-can-eat” type of offer.

Except that some customers take more than they can manage, meaning that food gets left on the plate and thrown away.

This is, of course, a waste and it must be something that is on the increase, as I have now seen two restaurants that have signs up about it.

The first one had a large sign over the buffet asking you politely not to take too much, but to come back as often as you liked.

The second one took a more draconian approach by way of a sign on the door, informing the patrons that they would be charged an extra 2 Euros per 100g of food left over.

Whilst I can understand the principle, I think this may be taking things a bit too far.  Perhaps a quiet word from the waiter might be better?  Or a polite sign at the buffet as in the first restaurant?  Although it is a shame that they even have to resort to such measures at all.

But considering the speed at which some Chinese restaurants clear the plates during the midday rush (resulting in the diners using multiple plates from the buffet), I can see discussions ensuing along the lines of “I was going to eat it, but you took the plate away before I could” to avoid paying the fine.

So whilst I would never myself consider intentionally putting too much food from the buffet onto my plate, I might invest in a pair of pocket scales.  Just in case.

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwells Statue vor dem Parlamentsgebäude - ©Can Stock Photo Inc. / Ant

Oliver Cromwells Statue vor dem Parlamentsgebäude

Oliver Cromwell hat eine besondere Rolle in der Geschichte Englands gespielt. Seine Karriere begann als einfacher Abgeordneter.

König Karl I. regierte in dieser Zeit und da das Unterhaus mit seinen “Vorhaben” nicht einverstanden war bildete sich quasi eine “Opposition”. Diese verfassten eine Beschwerde in der sie die Verfehlungen des Königs und die Forderungen niederschrieben. Daraufhin marschierte Karl I. mit 400 Mann in das Unterhaus ein und wollte die Abgeordneten verhaften. Diese waren jedoch schon geflohen. Oliver Cromwell hatte sich diesen Gegnern angeschlossen.

Das war ein versuchter Staatsstreich und hatte zwei Bürgerkriege ausgelöst. Im ersten Bürgerkrieg wurde Cromwell zum Feldherrn und stellte ein Parlamentsheer, das wesentlich zum Sieg beitrug. Nach dem Sieg im zweiten Bürgerkrieg wurde Karl I. wegen Hochverrats, Verrats und Mordes hingerichtet.

Danach wurde die Republik in England ausgerufen und Oliver Cromwell regierte als Staatsoberhaupt das Commonwealth of England. Einige Zeit später ab dem 16. Dezember 1653 trug er den Titel “Lord Protector” von England. 1657 wiederum bekam er die Königswürde angeboten, die er jedoch abgelehnt hat.

1658 wurde Cromwell krank und starb letztendlich am 3. September 1658.  Sein Nachfolger wurde sein Sohn Richard der sich für die Regierung jedoch nicht eignete und im April 1659 hatte er die Regentschaft aufgegeben und ging nach Paris ins Exil.

Das Parlament hat dann 1660 Karl II. – der Sohn von Karl I. – die Königswürde verliehen.

In einer Umfrage des BBC wurde Oliver Cromwell als zehnter von den 100 wichtigsten Menschen “Greatest Britons” gewählt.

Why the Germans are fussing about Street View

A street in Fuessen, Bavaria - ©iStockphoto.com/trait2lumiereFor several months, one topic has been in the news regularly in Germany: Google Street View.

This has several reasons, but to put it bluntly: Google didn’t ask permission.

Germany has some very strict privacy laws, many of which come as a result of the country’s recent history.  Those residents that lived through the period of the GDR are especially aware of people knowing too much about them.

There are, for example, rules on how photos of people can be used, and until a few years ago, you needed special permission to take an aerial photograph.

But whilst these situations are fairly clear cut and something that every photographer here needs to be aware of, taking a photograph of a building is different.

Many people take the opinion, that you need permission to photograph and then publish pictures of someone’s home.  On the other hand, I know of experts who say that this is not the case.  If taken from a public area, ie. the street, without any form of technical assistance, they say it is not a problem to take that photo and publish it. [Read more…]

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