Oreo Cookies (Food Comparison Episode 1)

It is time for another edition of food comparison. This episode:

"Oreo Cookies" vs. "BLACK 5"!

"Dipped in Milk, an Extra Delight" it says!

Food Comparison, with Graph [New Feature!]

Okay folks; it's time to institute a new regular feature. Every so often I intend to offer a comparison of a certain food item. Goodness knows it's near impossible to find food which tastes very much the same as back home. In fact, up to now I've only seen three items which even carried the same brand as back home: Coca-Cola soda, Heinz ketchup, and Pringles potato chips. Everything else is stamped with a brand name foreign to me, and their taste is generally equally strange. (Even the salt and pepper tastes different over here, for Pete's sake!)

Cost Analysis of Transportation

It's often been said that the largest beneficiaries of government spending on public transportation in the USA is drivers. That is to say that each time enough money has been invested in public transportation options to pull a single driver and his car off the road, the reduction in road congestion is a stronger benefit to those who remain on it, than to the individual who is now riding the bus/train/bike etc. Why is this?

Modes of Transportation

I've seen people getting around on all sorts of vehicles over here. There're cars, of course, though they're all  condensed in size from what you'll find throughout most of the 'States. The public transportation -trains and buses- run nearly around the clock. Everyone has a bicycle, and many use them. On my morning walk, I see business people glide along in their suits, ready to step into the office immediately upon arrival. Come to think of it, I haven't found one instance of bike shorts yet. The train station is littered with what must be thousands of bikes along the street adjacent to the station's backside, as well as multiple side streets, a large outdoor bike cage, and official underground storage for rent.

A Swiss Bank Account

Due to its world-known stand for political 'neutrality', Switzerland has developed a strong financial business over the last couple-hundred years. In addition, the country's policies on personal privacy have made it (at least allegedly) a hot-bed of dubious transactions. The US government has long held the opinion that an obscene amount of its citizens' money is being hidden in Switzerland for the purpose of evading taxation. In recent years, there have been additional rules and restrictions imposed by agreements between the 'States and Switzerland to prevent such behavior. This would make it difficult for Americans to simply walk in and open an account, as I was about to discover.

Apartment Hunting [Part 3]

The agent was headed out on vacation for a few weeks. His daughter helps him with the business (when not looking after her family), and we arranged to meet in the lobby of my office to go over the contract, which was all in German.

The contract came in a large envelope with several documents inside. They all needed explaining.

Apartment Hunting [Part 2]

Thanks for the participation in my awkwardly-organized poll. Since it began, there have been several developments in the housing situation. Now that we have a final tally to compare with, I can discuss.

To begin with, I should say that I definitely had a favorite of the four places I applied for. Whether that showed up in my description of them, I'm not sure. Also, my opinion may have been biased by the likelihood with which it seemed I would be offered the apartment. It was almost as if I had tried to avoid disappointment in advance by resigning myself to favor the one I was most probably going to get. Of course, it was also the first place I looked at, (#1 on the map), and so these feelings were coupled with the natural reaction to be inclined to wonder what else was out there before settling for the first thing looked at.

Oddly enough, the plan didn't work out so well. To this day, I've not heard back anything from the owners of the first apartment I looked at.