Pollen count: Allergies acting up

Here is the pollen count for April 15:

Irritant	Grains per cubic meter	Level	Guide
Fungus	2201	High	0 - 900 LOW 900 - 2000 MODERATE 2000 - 25000 HIGH > 25000 VERY HIGH
Oak	23	Moderate	0 - 15 LOW 15 - 90 MODERATE 90 - 1500 HIGH >1500 VERY HIGH
Maple	124	High	0 - 15 LOW 15 - 90 MODERATE 90 - 1500 HIGH >1500 VERY HIGH
Hackberry	47	Moderate	0 - 15 LOW 15 - 90 MODERATE 90 - 1500 HIGH >1500 VERY HIGH
Mulberry	31	Moderate	0 - 15 LOW 15 - 90 MODERATE 90 - 1500 HIGH >1500 VERY HIGH
Grass	70	High	0 - 5 LOW 5 - 20 MODERATE 20 - 200 HIGH >200 VERY HIGH
TOTAL	2496	High pollen day

Is it still winter?

I can't believe how cold it has been recently. While I was in Vienna on my last trip, returning on March 17, there were a few days when it snowed! Even in the last week I was there, the high temperatures were generally around 1-2C (low 30s F), just barely above freezing.

Then when I do get back to Dallas, which had extremely warm temperatures while I was away (even as high as 34C/93F), except for one day, the highest temperature so far on days I've been back has been around 13-14C (57F). Even now, the temperature is about 5C (42F) in the early afternoon with the average high this time of year should be around 21C (70F)!

Ugh! This doesn't really help my motiviation for exercising.

Voltage, schmoltage...

Argh! For the second time, I have ruined my electric razor by plugging it in to recharge but forgetting to switch it to 240V... You would have thought that I would have learned after the first time..

What the...

Michael recommended the book/movie "What the Bleep Do We Know!?"

For photography tips, he suggested that it makes the picture more interesting if you take the picture from a view which is not normally seen. For example, take a picture from your normal height is rather "boring" because you always see things from that vantage point. However, taking a picture from an extremely low viewpoint may make the picture more interesting.

In addition, when framing the picture, the interesting part of the picture should be on the outer third of the frame. This is known as the Golden Cut. Here is an interesting article about the Golden Cut.

Hint: Do not go to the police if you want to complain about bad marijuana

From All Headline News:
Man Reports Dealer To Police for "Bad Marijuana"

February 20, 2006 2:09 p.m. EST

Yvonne Lee - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Berlin, Germany (AHN) - A German man tried to get a dealer to refund $475 in what he claimed was "bad marijuana. When that didn't work, he asked the police for help.

Police in the town of Darmstadt charged the 52-year-old man with violating drug possession laws.

They seized the 200 grams of marijuana he brought with him to the police station, reports Reuters, citing an article in Sunday's Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"It is un-usable," the man said to police in an effort to gain their assistance in getting his money back.

Most German states will allow a person to have up to 30 grams of marijuana for private use before it becomes illegal.

All's well that ends well?

Friday was not such a good travel day, but it could have been worse. I normally have to wake up around 4:30 am, so I can leave the hotel around 5:20 am to get to the airport in time for a 7:00 am flight. I actually woke up a few minutes before 4:30 am, and I was trying to think should I try to get a few more minutes or sleep or should I just wake up. I ended up falling asleep, but then I woke up one minute before the alarm clock was supposed to go off... But then I noticed I had not turned the alarm clock on!!! Needless to say, it would have been terrible if I had overslept. I either set the alarm time but forgot to turn the alarm on, or when I previously woke up, I turned the alarm off... Anyway, then my reserved transportation to the airport did not show up... The front desk then called a taxi for me... The taxi then arrived but just as he was pulling out, he was saying there is a 10 euro surcharge for taking me to the airport... What..??? So I had him take me back, and we talked it over with the front desk, and the front desk also agreed this was BS, so they called for another taxi. I then got another taxi, and I ASSUMED he wouldn't be charging me the 10 euro surcharge, but when I got to the airport, he asked for 10 euro more than the meter. Sigh. This guy also took me the long way to the airport, heading into the city instead of taking the most direct route. However, as it turned out, it was not significantly different, and he didn't speak English that well anyway. I asked for his business card but he said he had none. Hmmm...

Even though I didn't get to the airport as early as I wanted, fortunately, there was not a long line at the Swiss counter, so I was able to check-in quickly. In the end, all's well that ends well, but the problem was the transportation was mainly because the transportation desk at the hotel did not set up the transportation properly for me, so I'm sure I'll be giving some feedback to the hotel.

Update: February 28. I finally wrote to the Hilton Vienna Danube to complain about the fact that I did reserve airport transportation and noone showed up. We'll see if they respond.

I must not be having much luck in traveling these days. On my trip to Vienna on February 28, I noticed I was in row 39. I hate being in the back. When I checked in, I told him I know I want to change my seats to something as close to the front as possible. Apparently, he thought I was joking because he did not do anything. When I did ask him again, he basically said that I should check at the gate. Ugh. OK, so I go to the lounge and ask if they can move me closer, and she was able to get me to row 20. At least that is 19 rows better... Anyway, when in Zurich, at the airport lounge there, she noticed they lifted the wrong ticket at Dallas. Instead of lifting the Dallas to Zurich ticket, they lifted the Zurich to Vienna ticket. So now, I did not have a ticket to Vienna anymore. Actually, I was fortunate she noticed because if it would have been discovered at the gate.. Or worse yet, if they would have continued to lift the wrong ticket on the next portion and then discover on my trip back to Dallas that I had no ticket, it would have been a confusing mess. Anyway, this was all caused by the first guy who stapled the boarding pass to the wrong ticket. I think I'll avoid him in the future...

It was cold!

When I arrived in Vienna on this trip, the highs were in the lower 20s (approximately -6C) with the wind chill must colder. However, it was warm compared to the previous couple of days where the highs did not get out of the single digits!

The Danube was actually frozen over. Well, the hotel is on the Danube and on half the side closest to the hotel, it was frozen over. It looked like the river on the other side was still flowing.

If only I had my camera! I did have my phone which has a camera, but it is quite an old phone and the resolution is not that good. In fact, you have to e-mail pics which are saved on the camera. Ugh! See! I do need a new phone!

On the last couple of days, there was a heat wave... with the highs getting above freezing! And I forgot to bring my swim suit!