Carrie Bradshaw for president!

It is time to elect a new president in the United States and I have the perfect candidate! Carrie Bradshaw. She is the right person to lead the United States into a bright new future. She would clean up the prudish mess created by the early pilgrims a few hundres years ago. Shoes and fashion items would replace weaopons as the main income for the American industry. All her speeches would start with “I can’t help but wonder… and for the first time, people would listen to what the president has to say.

As minister of forreign afairs I would recommend Samantha Jones. All the foreign leaders would be easily seduced by her, and “Make love, not war” would become a literal policy. Then we have Miranda Hobbes, she would be perfect for the departement of Justice, cause you know, she is a tough lawer. Charlotte York would be responsible for Art, the White House defenitly needs a bit more color.
So on the 2nd of November 2004 go out there, skip Bush an Kerry, look for an empty space on your voting card and write “Carrie Bradshaw is my girl”

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is coming up and I received a Halloween card yesterday, for the first time of my life! Usually I try to avoid this special day, as it was introduced to our culture a few years ago to increase sales for sweeties and scary costumes. But there is nothing wrong with sending out greetings to all my American readers and of course, the rest of the world.

Have a great time celebrating!

A different point of view

Hello World!

I started to read a book yesterday. It is called "A People´s History of the United States: 1492 - Present" by Howard Zinn. A very interesting book, which shows a different side of America and its history. I just read the first chapter about Christopher Columbus and the early years in the new world. I was shocked to find out that the entire indigenous population was whipped out in the early days of “America”, more then three million people, in the greedy search for gold. I still have more then 700 pages and I wonder how I will think about American history when I finished the book.

But, to make this clear, I will never judge anyone because of the history of their nation. I live in Austria and to a lot of people the first thing that comes up when they hear that I'm from Austria is Nazis and Hitler. I know that this is the past of my country and it shall never be forgotten, but everyone deserves to get a fresh start without prejudices.

To be blond, or not…

I took a break from blogging the past few days to spend some time with a friend in Germany, but now I’m back!

When it comes to hair color, statistic tells us that most men prefer blonde woman. Innocent and yet wild, some would say. I have to admit that I also prefer blond woman, but also natural red ones. About four years ago I had my hair bleached before I went to a trip to Florida. A lot of people I met thought that it was my natural hair color, a few times I was asked if I was Eminem and one time, out of the blue, a woman even kissed me on the cheek and said “I can’t help myself, I love blondes”. It was a very funny experience.

But do woman also prefer men with blond hairs? I did a test, some might remember that I posted a link to my hotornot profile a while ago. My first picture was a new picture from Venice, with my natural dark hair. It started out good, but my rating went down to a disappointing 1,3 (out of 10). I replaced that picture with a four year old picture from Florida. And Bingo, a 8,4 rating for the first week and currently around 7,0. ). I even received a few “Meet me” invitations, something I also wouldn’t get with my “dark hair” picture.

So, after the crowd has spoken, I decided that I will bleach my hair again. I’m going on a two week holiday at the end of November and I will go to the hairdresser and change my look once again shortly before my departure.

Underneath your clothes...

Until this morning I thought that I would never want to hear the song "Underneath your clothes", by Shakira, again. But you know what? I heard it this morning and did not switch the channel like the weeks before. Actually it felt like the sun was shining upon me. I think differently about the song now. Actually its a great song with great memories. It is one of those "first kiss" songs. And what is wrong about a good song and good memories? Life is full of beautiful moments and sometimes we try hard to forget about them. But should we?

If you remember a very beautiful moment in your life, try to keep this memory, even if the person you shared it with turns away. And when there is a cold and rainy day, try and find that memory, nothing else. And smile, cause the world is in your hands.

Is a breast more dangerous to a child then a bullet?

In Austria and Germany it is common to see images of nudity on TV. The biggest newspaper in Austria, the “Neue Kronen Zeitung” has nude picture every day. I think The European society is relaxed about nudity, its no big deal to see breast in a commercials or a nude woman on TV. And why should anyone be offended? After all we are all born naked!

Things are a bit difference in the land of the free, the United States. It seems like nudity is something Americans are not used too, its dirty. It’s no big deal to kill someone around 2:pm on TV, but to see a breast for a few seconds during the Superbowl is a national tragedy.

The article below is eight months old, and when I first read it, I thought it was a joke, but it is very serious…

My Son Deserves an Honest Apology!
Posted Feb. 2, 2004 at www.insightmag.com
By Paul M. Rodriguez
I was ashamed for being a football fan -- and of encouraging my 8-year old son to be one -- halfway through the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVIII.Beyond the hype of "good" football and cool ads, the degradation from smut-filled dancing and foul-mouthed lyrics during the so-called show between halves was made worse by the breast exposure of Janet Jackson during a song about getting a woman naked before the tune was done.My son, an avid football fan, was so embarrassed at the dirty dancing and songs that he asked us to change channels until "the nasty stuff" was over -- like women's dresses being ripped off exposing "their underwear."Despite such filthy displays of "artistic expression," not even he could have been prepared for Jackson's breast to be displayed on national television during a "family evening show" that the Super Bowl is supposed to be."Why did she do that?" he asked his mother and me. "He shouldn't have pulled her clothes off, right?" he asked me about Justin Timberlake's white-trash antics.I'm sure that just as the embarrassment and shock exploded in our living room so too the national blush and, hopefully, outrage exploded in millions of homes at such vulgar displays of classlessness.Whether one believes that MTV -- the group that put on the halftime show -- knew about the undressing of women and the breast-baring of Jackson or whether the NFL and CBS knew about it makes no difference. The artists knew about it and, despite Timberlake's pseudo apology, we think he and Jackson knew what they were doing. Why else would Jackson be wearing a stripper's stock 'n trade over her nipple?Whatever the NFL and CBS were thinking about what the halftime show was to represent, it certainly did not represent the high rollers who attended the football game, and it certainly didn't represent the large numbers of middle-class adults and families with children who were watching the spectacle.It's one thing to have such dirty dancing, crotch-grabbing and foul-mouthed lyrics on pay-per-view TV and/or cable-TV stations such as MTV in the post-"family hour" times. It's certainly quite another to put such trash on knowing that children would be watching.Whether any laws were broken -- and we're hoping there were so fines can be imposed -- is not enough for this father. I want an apology from all involved sent to my 8-year old son. An apology that states clearly that adults were wrong in what they did to him. And a promise that they never will do that again. Never!It's about time that the common denominator that further dumbs down America is rejected. And if it cannot be stemmed from leaders in the entertainment world, the National Football League that prides itself on wholesome family fare, and from families that won't stop buying services and goods from purveyors of inappropriate materials for our young people, then regulators and Congress need to get involved.We're all for free speech and abhor the idea of censors. But we do expect that during the so-called family hours of "public" television -- yes, it's public airwaves folks -- that my home will not be inundated with garbage that my young son 1) does not need to be exposed to and, 2) I do not want him exposed to.It's bad enough now that during the morning shows and evening newscasts that my son is exposed to stories about sexual this and sexual that à la the Kobe Bryant debacle. In turn, my son asks me what one of his favorite basketball players is in trouble for with that woman. It's bad enough that murder and mayhem are the daily feed that permeates local newscasts and we're forced to turn off the television at breakfast and dinner because of the inappropriate stories being broadcast.But damn it, to be coldcocked like we were -- along with millions of others -- during halftime of the NFL's biggest game of the year is too much. No amount of excuses and no amount of apologies ever will be enough because responsible adults should have known such a show was wrong.That said: My son deserves an apology. And every boy and girl who saw the broadcast deserves an apology, too.

I would be interrested in some feedback regarding the article above! So the question is: Is a breast more dangerous then a bullet?

Without a trace?

Google is currently the number 1 search engine on this planet. 80 % are using it and I’m among them. I recently also found out that you can actually become a fortune-teller and scare people with Google.

At work we had a trainee for about three months and I knew very little about her, not much beyond her basics, her phone number, her private Email address and that we where into the same movies. She had a kind of a fancy email-id and I typed it into Google. And to my surprise I found some very interesting details. She not only used that unique pseudonym for her email address, but also in various discussion boards. And guess what – Google searches all the discussion boards and even stores them on their own servers, which means that, if the original source (website) gets deleted, it still can be read with a little help from Google.

For example, this young lady was posting in an online forum about a painful breakup half a year ago. All postings are deleted after three weeks, but I was able to read the full article, six months later! In another forum she was posting about her problems with cellulites (actually, I know she has taken care of that ;-)), again, long gone at the original source, but still viewable by Google users like me! I found more then a dozen entries, sometimes revealing very personal information.

The next time I met her, I showed her all the search results about her. She was completely shocked. Actually she blushed when she discovered the cellulites entry ;-). But the point is that she made very personal information about herself viewable to everyone who simply knew her email-address. My advice to her was to either stop writing about personal stuff she does not want everyone to know or use different identities in every discussion forum she posts. That way its almost impossible to search Google for certain pseudonyms. To use a search engine like Google or Yahoo is something everyone can do! It’s easy and takes about 5 seconds.

Bottom line: She was a bit mad at me for searching Google, so now she is seeking revenge. And she already found 700 entries at Google about me…

But I am sure I never posted anything about my problems with Cellulites!

Be a part of if

I use Amazon a couple of times a month, I have a Geocities Account, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, hotornot.com and of course Blogger, I’m member in a few discussion-forums and since about 20 hours I’m proud member of Ebay.
Yeah – I joined eBay! To friends this might come as a surprise, as I’m someone who is using the Internet very extensively. But until yesterday I wasn’t part of that fast growing community that buys and sells everything, from pure garbage to cars and planes, 24 hours a day. My first eBay experience goes back about six months or so. It was my duty to buy a wedding present, an “olive tree sponsorship”, for about 40 euros (about half the normal price). Sponsorship means that the owner receives about 20 % of the yearly harvest of an olive-tree, at least two liters or so. A very neat idea by the way if you are looking for a present ;-)! It was a very intense fight the last 4 minutes or so to actually win the bid, but I made the deal.
Now I have my very own account! I haven’t used it yet, but I doubt it will take long before I find something interesting to spend my worthy money on. After all, Christmas is coming up in about two months.

Ebay-User out there be aware, Gio is in the house and the fight – or should I say bid is on!

Her very first time...

I recently introduces my cousin to blogging and last weekend I helpded her to start her own blog.

She wrote her very first article today and I think its really funny Click here ;-)

Power to the people

Germany, the big neighbor to Austria, is going trough some tough times these days, economically speaking. Germany, or “Kingdom in debts“ as I like to call it, used to be an economic wonder for half a century, raising from the ashes after World War II. But right now its bad news for the Germans, day in day out. Virtually all the big companies want to cut back costs or relocate their factories to Eastern Europe or Asia and thousands of people fear to loose their jobs. Not that Austria, my home country, is doing well, it’s a general problem among western countries right now, but it seems to me that Germany is facing the toughest problems.

Just recently, Opel, owned by General Motors and one of the major car manufactures in Germany announced that it wants to cut back thousands of jobs in their factory in Bochum. Workers have been on strike for a couple of days now to fight for their jobs and a lot of people are supporting these workers. But what if not the workers would go on strike, but all the Germans would refuse to buy cars manufactured by Opel if they cut back those jobs? Germany is a huge market, and I doubt that Opel can afford to loose this key market. Consumers don’t realize that they are the one in charge. If you don’t buy a certain product, the producers will have to rethink the strategy, or disappear….
But to be honest, I think the problem is greed in everyone of us. We want to pay as little for as much quality as possible. If everyone is willing to pay a certain price for a certain product, let’s say a car that is manufactured in Germany, no company will have to cut back jobs or move to another country.

It’s beginning to look like…

… Christmas! I know, it’s October the 17th and I’m talking about Christmas. But I’m not insane; in fact I’m sad that Christmas is already a topic for this blog. I went to IKEA in Salzburg on Friday and they already started to put up Christmas decoration, they even had a huge Christmas tree at the entrance. Then I went to Munich on Saturday, and again, Christmas all over the place. Candles, gifts, decoration! I think I’m going nuts!

Well, now I’m back in Austria and guess what – it is snowing right now! For the first time of the year! Not that unusual for Austria around this time of the year, but hey, not today!

I’m going to cut this short, hope you all out there are having a good time, I will put on some Caribbean music and enjoy a bubble bath now!

Fire dance in Salzburg 

Salzburg, Mozart and a few surprises...

What a lovley Friday! I took off the day, to spend it with my cousin Felicitas in Salzburg. Salzburg, arguable the most famous sight of Austria, with the birthplace of Mozart and the infamous family Trapp and the Sound of Music. At first it looked like a rainy day, but when we arrived in Salzburg the sun started to shine and my cousin went to her class at the University while I was exploring the city on my own. We went shopping with a friend of Felicitas in the afternoon, but the main purpose to come to Salzburg was to go to a festival called “Salzburger Oktoberfest” for graduates with some friends. At first we went to the wrong place, but we where able to find the right one, a fantastic restaurant with a senic view in the historic district. There was an obgliatory speech at the beginning, but fortunatley it did not take very long and the buffet was opend. And it was quiet a buffet! I was very impressed by the band, which had an amazing programm with music from all around the world. Felicitas was engaged with business and sience talk, while I was busy making new friends. Around 11 pm they had a very hot “fire dance” show and after that to cool down “Mozart liquer” on the rocks. Mozart liquer is like Baileys, just Austrian, and of course – better. I actually never had a Bailys kiss, but I doubt that it can top a Mozart Liquer kiss! Around midnight it was time for a Bavarian tradition, “Weisswurst”. Normaly a tasty breakfast to start the day, (served with sweet mustard and pretzles) it marked the end of a lovley evening. At least the formal part… I wrote about the Muenchner Oktoberfest a while ago and now that I compare these two events, I have to admit that Salzburg knows how to celebrate too.
Thanks Felicitas ;-) for the wonderful Salzburg experience!

Bush vs. Kerry, and who the hell is Ralph Nader

This is going to be my first „political entry” to this blog. In a couple of weeks USA will vote, either to keep Bush or to replace him. It’s a very intense fight between Bush and John F. Kerry and some people in Europe don’t even know that there is a third option, Ralph Nader. Everybody is sure that it’s either Bush or Kerry. I think the reason for that is because Republicans and Democrats have the money to buy enough media time to get their “message” to the people and Nader doesn’t.

In Europe everybody I’m talking to is hoping for a Kerry-victory, even tough they know very little about this men and the Democrats. Watching Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 911” doesn’t make an expert on the political situation in the United States! Not that I would support Bush, but I feel like the European media is suggesting that Kerry is the only right decision for Americans to make.

Most of the Europeans think that they are different(or even better) then the American society, that we don’t get manipulated as easy by the media etc.. But I think that’s wrong. Most of us are just like Americans, believing the things we read in newspapers or the internet, hear on the radio or watch on TV.

I guess I just keep listening to all the sources and try to get my own opinion!

If you read this and live in the states the only thing I would say is: Go out there and vote!

Liquids... 

Aqua Dome - or the story of having a good time at work…

The last two days of “work” have been a real pleasure! I was in Tyrol in a village called Laengenfeld. A brand new spa resort named “Aqua Dome” was built there at the cost of 75 Million Euro and was officially opened up about two weeks ago. The entire complex was constructed under the supervision of a Feng Shui Expert. My hotel room was very inspiring, with a huge bed and a scenic view and I got a lot of ideas for my own (hopefully soon to be) flat.
Our office was invited to Laengenfeld for a presentation of the latest version of the travel-information-network Tiscover. Tiscover is an online network (like Expedia) were you can book vacations, search for events and sights and get detailed information for planning your holidays. Currently Tiscover is available in six countries and the company I work for is the official partner of Tiscover in Upper Austria.
On the first day we did not had much to do, beside going for a swim and trying all the opportunities the “Aqua Dome” had to offer. The Sauna area was amazing but most of the time I enjoyed myself in one of the outdoor pools. A very interesting part of the Aqua Dome is a huge tower with three “experience” to choose from, warm summer rain, fog and cold waterfall. The cold waterfall is good for people like me, who can’t stand the idea of diving into a pool of cold water after Sauna…
The first official part was the dinner. I met a lot of people who I knew only from talking on the phone, which was very nice. After dinner we all went to the cocktail bar and continued to share stories about difficult clients and software problems. Short version of that evening: I had lots of red wine and five cocktails and a real terrible hangover the next day… But I did manage to get up at 7 am and go for swim…
The second day was almost like a normal work day. We got a peek at the new corporate design and the new software. It was kind of hard to follow as I was still recovering from the previous evening…
The only “downside” for these two days was that we where five people and had to share one car, for the entire 4,5 hour ride to Laengenfeld and back home.

25 going on 30

Yesterday I watched the movie “13 going on 30” with Jennifer Garner. In this movie, a young teenager on her 13th birthday whishes that she becomes 30. And with some “wish-dust” and Hollywood magic, she reaches that goal within the first 15 minutes of the movie. She falls asleep as a girl of 1987 and wakes up as a thirty year old, successful and hot woman working for a fashion magazine in the year 2004. Despite her adult body, she still feels and acts like a 13 year old girl, just everyone else around her has changed and grown up on. Pretty soon she realizes that not everything turns out the way she was hopping for… I’ve seen a couple of similar films, but “13 going on 30” is actually a very funny movie with some very nice twists and of course the obligatory happy ending. Tailor made for girls and woman from 13 to 30 I guess. So why am I, a 25 year old man watching the movie? I think Jennifer Garner is an absolutely hot woman, that’s why!

But speaking of turning 30... In two months I will turn 26, so 30 is not that far away at all. I wonder what I will be like when I’m thirty. Five years ago 30 seemed like an eternity away, but now people that are actually around 30 are just like me. I can’t tell the difference and when I’m talking to people that are around 30 it’s just like I’m talking to someone of my age. Until very recently I thought I would have kids when I’m 30, but now I don’t know about that. My plans for the next four years have changed. I want to go to Antarctica, as I want to visit all continents before I turn 30 and I want to work and live in a different country for some time, maybe England or the States.

Well, I think I know around Dezember 2008!

Saturday morning

I’m listening to Keane’s “Somewhere only we know” right now, just checked my emails and it’s raining outside. Hopefully the weather clears up a bit and I can do some hiking. Yesterday I had my second medical appointment for this week, two moles where removed from my back. It took about 15 minutes to get the doctor to cut it out and close the wound with a few stitches. The area was sedated and I did not feel anything. But why I’m writing all this? After all, this Blog is part of a website about Cyber exorcism, about ghosts and demons that inhabit computers and shouldn't I be writing about that? To be honest, there is not enough to write about that topic every day... This blog works also as my diary and for my friends to keep track about what I'm doing. I’m not some freak who sits in front of the computer all the time; I think I have a normal life, just like everyone else. Of course, “normal life” is a point of view. Some people say that I’m strange, because I don’t go out a lot, but others tell me that I’m cool, because I travel a lot. Well, to party hard and travel a lot at the same time is impossible for me, as I don’t earn that much. I want to see the world so I have to cut something else, which in my case, means spending 50 – 100 bucks a weekend to get pissed. I figure I spend as much money for trips around the world per year as others spend on going out, smoking and having a good time every weekend.

The untold story of the nasty tailor.

In about a month I plan on leaving Europe of the second time this year. My first trip this year took me to Mexico with my former girlfriend, but the more I think about it, the more I want to go to Thailand again and have some time of my own. I spend nine wonderful weeks there in the year 2001 and if I can get a cheap flight, I would like to go there again. I had a great time and met a lot of interesting people. Yesterday I read my diary that I published online about my first trip to Thailand and I was shocked about how many little stories and details, that I still remember very well, where left out back then.

This is one of these stories I’m going to share with you:

Thailand is famous for its tailor made cloths, the cloths are very cheap and if you find a good tailor you also get good quality. A friend of mine recommended a tailor close to the main railway station to me and I decided to get a new suite, a coat and a few new shirts.

I had to go there a few times, to try the cloths, and to make suggestions on how I want them to be made. On two of these meetings I was accompanied by girls for an second opinion. The girls where quit good looking and one of the salesmen noticed them. When I arrived at the tailor alone to pick up my cloths, the salesmen, a young men from Nepal, asked me on how to hit on western girls. He was a bit smaller than me, but always dressed very nicely and a smile on his face. To keep it short, a guy who shouldn’t have troubles to get in touch in girls at all. He asked me where he could meet western girls like I had with me the last time. I laughed and told him that Bangkok is full of them and they usually stay at Khao San Road, the place all the Backpackers stay.

He kept asking and wanted me to take him to Khao San Road and the backpacker places and introduce him to western woman. I tried to change the subject, but he would keep asking. He told me that he did not have any friends and that he feels lonely all the time and hadn’t been with a girl since he arrived in Thailand three years ago. Then the whole conversation turned nasty when he confessed that his dream was to have sex with western girls. Well, actually he said that he wanted to “f**k” them and that he would take me to places where I could meet Thai woman in exchange. I got very angry and yelled at him, told him that he did not had any respect for woman and that he should learn how to behave and that it was no wonder that he wasn’t with a girl. It was one of the rare occasions I my life where I was actually really angry. I told him to get my cloths and left the store.

Hot or not?

Yesterday I got my first votes from www.hotornot.com , a website my cousin introduced me recently. Currently I'm a 6,2 (out of ten), which means I'm hotter than 58% of men on this site. If you want to see my picture, which was taken in Venice a couple of weeks ago, and vote for me (wink wink) - Click here

Things you don’t want to hear from a doctor…

I’m having some problems with my lungs for a while now and today I finally had an appointment with a doctor. Before I was even asked about any symptoms three blood samples where taken. A few more tests followed before I met the doctor. I explained the symptoms, usual chit-chat about my medical record and he did some more tests. The ultrasonic test was cool as I could see my own heartbeat. Not so cool was the “Oops” when the doctor looked at my Electrocardiogram. Seems like I have some “extra heart beats”, which require more tests. I don't know what my heartbeat has to do with my lungs, but I should know more in a couple of days. At least the doctor told me that I don’t have to be worried. A few more heartbeats won't hurt, no heartbeat, that would be something to worry about ;-)!

Listen to the Radio…

One of my favorite songs right now is Robbie Williams “Radio”. It contains the line “Listen to the Radio”. Well, that’s what some of the friends of my brother did last Saturday. But what they heard had some very serious consequences. News had it that on Saturday a thirty year old man from my village had an accident with a small bus and that there where several people badly wounded.

My brother is actually around 30 years old and on Saturday it was his job to take me and some other people to Vienna with a small bus. After the friends of my brother heard the news they called my father about what was going on. He didn’t knew anything about an accident and tried to reach my brother, who wouldn’t pick up the phone.

My dad decided to ask my uncle, who had been in contact with us, if he’d knew anything. When my father left the house, police was outside and he was in complete shock. He asked the policemen if they had came because of the accident. But the police was just doing and casual traffic control. So he went to my uncle and found out that we had arrived in Vienna safely.

The police contacted hospitals in Vienna to find my brother, but they weren’t successful. My parents had a very horrible day and a sleepless night without knowing what had happened to my brother and it wasn’t until 9 am the next day that my parents could reach him. He had just switched of his cell phone and went to a partie with some friends… What a coincident that my brother forgot his cell phone at home in the first place and we had to make a U-Turn to pick it up.! It also turned out that the accident did not take place in Vienna at all, but in a complete different part of Austria.

So there you have it, someone starts a rumor without knowing the details and everything goes downhill. I’m happy that nothing happened to my brother.

An der blauen Donau...

Me, and my two lovely cousins on the cruise ship.

The blue Danube…

What a nice weekend! I, my cousin and her family went to Vienna on Saturday to go on a river cruise from Vienna to Passau on the river danube. We arrived about two hours prior to the departure, which is very unusual for us, normally we are always the one who show up at the very last moment. Since there was enough time I went for a walk and had a Cappuccino in small restaurant. The worst cappuccino in my entire life I have to admit. Pure garbage and heavily overpriced, even if it would have been drinkable! And I’ve had a lot of bad tasting cappuccino.

But that was about the only flaw for the entire weekend. The “Amadeus Rhapsody” was a nice ship with comfortable cabins and a big Jacuzzi on the upper deck. We had sunny weather most of the time and even the thunderstorm in the late afternoon on Saturday was beautiful to watch. The dinner was delicious and very “pretty”, although, it could have been a bit more. I lost about seven kilograms the past four weeks and 75 kilograms is not my dream-weight.

It takes about 24 hours to get from Vienna to Passau by boat, and we arrived in Passau around 1:pm in the afternoon. My father and my uncle picked us up and we went to a “Biergarten” where I had a huge “Wiener Schnitzel”. So right now I'm up to 76 kilograms, I hope it stays that way ;-)!

My father, the new car and the gismos

My parents own a small taxi company, and two days ago they got a new car. Neither my mom or my father have used it yet. Usually a new car is something they try immediately. But this time my brother was the first one to test it.

About two years ago my father and I went to a car show. They had a brand new car with a lot of gimmicks, and my father did not feel comfortable doing a test drive with the car. I laughed at him and said that in ten years we are going to have cars he would not know how to handle because of all the gizmos! So what’s so different about the new car? At first – you don’t need a key, this car comes with a chip card which is about the size of a credit card. You can keep this chip card in your pocket and just push a “Start” button. If you want to shut the car, you press that button again. It does not have a hand break, it’s all automatic. The entire cockpit looks more like a space-ship with all different kinds of buttons rather then the cars my parents were used to. There is feature which adjusts everything, from your seat to the mirrors and your favorite radio station to your special needs. But what if you don’t know how to adjust everything in the first place, its almost like using a computer, something my father has never done before! Of course my father will learn to drive this car, but for the first time he will need to read the description that came with that car. I’m afraid he is a victim of modern times. He is not the only one out there having problems to keep up with all those little inventions. People who design and build cars should be aware that not everything they add will make things easier. Sometimes the key to make things better is to keep them the way everyone is used to.