Airline Game

(Robotic voice)~Would you like to play a game?
(You)~Sure
(RV)~Great, let's practice first. From what source is the seat filler that Continental Airline uses procured from?
(You)~Slate Rock and Gravel Company
(RV)~Great, one question left, are you ready?
(You)~ Yup
(RV)~What cultural icon worked at this quarry (no Google searches please, like the German trains, your integrity is appreciated)?
(You)~...
(RV)~Wow, you are awesome. How about one more? Name at least three principles you have learned at Duquesne that would help Continental operate as if its head was not lodged in a proverbial spot?
(You)~...

(RV)~Splendid. I hope you had as much fun playing this game as I did.

Robot

Not all are what they seem to be!

This was written by me several days ago but I had saved it first and forgot to post it.

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Last night (March 11, 2008), Torsten from oikos Koln (a student organization similar to Net Impact) spoke about his organization and the role they intend to play in educating future managers about incorporating sustainability issues. One statement by him that caught everyone's attention was the suggestion that in Germany, many still see these ideas as "liberal/left" ideas and hence may resist adopting them.

As Tom Nist pointed out, most of us were under the impression that sustainability movement is well to the left of center here in the U.S. but was a mainstream idea in continental Europe. I am not sure if this reflects the inherent resistance to the "push" to adopt programs such as Green Dot or legislation such as WEEE. Does this mean that in the absence of such a regulatory regime, Europeans may adopt practices similar to ours? I don't think so, but the picture seems much more layered and complex than what we assume it is.

Your comments?

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Guten Abend von Köln! We are finally here after feeling the effects of old Mother Nature in Pittsburgh on Saturday before we left. The first group of nine people got out a little late, but they took an unplanned side trip to Albany instead of going straight to Newark. They made it to Newark after a bumpy and sometimes harrowing puddle-jump, but they missed the connection to Köln.

The second group of 18 never made it out of the Burgh on Saturday, at least by air. Our flight was cancelled, and we set off for Newark in three minivans because there was no way to get to the East Coast until at least Tuesday. After driving through a white-out in Somerset, we stopped for the night in beautiful Carlisle. After an authentic German breakfast (see below, Waffel Haus), we drove to Newark on Sunday to meet up with the other group for the evening flight overseas.

All has been going as planned since we arrived in Köln. Many of us feasted on Meters and Liters at the Sion Brewery on Monday night, and that made up for a lot of our travel troubles. (Yes, the three of us ate that meter of sausage before us.) Today was an equally-good day with our day-long visit to Bayer and our dinner at the organic brewery, but I will leave that story to someone else.

Tschüß!

--Matt

An Epiphany

I got here are all the people talk funny, there is some sort of strange dialect with an emphasis on the wrong syLLable. Its all new to me, people don't know how to drive, the signs are confusing and the food is different with coleslaw and fries on top of thier sandwiches...

WAIT A MINUTE! I'm in Pittsburgh.

I hope that in Germany this whole traveling and getting acclimated thing will get easier. Two long naps and I will be back in the Rhineland. See you there;)

Ok - In English, does anybody know what this blog is for?

Was geht hier weiter?