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Introduction

St. Georgen

Travel. General thoughts

: Karel Capek's 1925 Letters from England Oh my goodness, this is pretty amazing: Karel Capek’s 1925 Letters from England start off with …

: Night ride A night ride back home from Ladenburg over over the weir in Heidelberg, after meeting up with …

: A different kind of noise Had a pleasant stroll along the river in Neckargemünd during a lunchtime break in our Musikfreunde …

: I commuted A return to commuting with the S-Bahn and the Brompton raised a smile, despite the gloomy, drizzly …

: I cycled Somehow, I managed a 50 km cycle today, over two stints: to work, and back. I definitely struggle on …

: I ran Somehow, I managed a 7 km run today, with only the last km being more of a walk than a run. I found …

: Trashing the 20th Century Tony Judt talking to Timothy Snyder in Thinking the Twentieth Century This, in my view, is the …

: Finally, ten days after our Bachchor concert of Brahms’s Song of Destiny and the Nänie on …

: A chance discussion with a friend visiting for the weekend with his family led to me reaching for …

: Tuning out the noise Last night I wanted to enjoy an evening G&T with my wife. She’d been back for a day …

: What goes up must come down Thermal management in the autumn is tricky, but rewarding when out on the old Panasonic again

: Offsite Last week I was at an offsite business workshop, where the key players gathered to hammer out the …

: A new phone, a reset A new mobile phone is a good opportunity for a reset of our digital lives, too. Naturally, the whole …

: Just ride Great to get out on the old Panasonic road bike again, along the Neckar by Ladenburg. Definitely …

: Micro break. Micro.blog broke down for me last week, on the 7th of September, something to do with SSL …

: A quote that speaks to me rather profoundly, from this article by war reporter Lindsey Hilsum in the …

: Post post holiday I ended up taking a break from posting during the holiday, though not from reading, writing (well, …

: Friday evening, and… holiday! Managed to get most of my work tasks closed and relayed on, so …

: In my previous post I wrote: It’s the last Thursday evening before my vacation. I have time, …

: It’s the last Thursday evening before my vacation. I have time, but I’m just surfing. …

: It’s always a bit of a mixed feeling watching amazing artists and athletes doing their thing …

: The way we’re pointing is the way we’re going (slowly, with fitness and root-induced …

: That’s where I’m headed! Heidelberg Handschuhsheim, Weißer Stein…

: I can’t remember when I last went for a cruise on the longboard, but it was great to find that …

: Dramatic skies over Nordstetten as the overnight storm cleared, and I cleared my head during a …

: Most effective cycling Great to see the Global Cycling Network (GCN) - predominantly a sports bike channel in the past - …

: I suppose it’s fair to say that I live in quite a nice place… Waiting at the Alte …

: Visited the Generalprobe for the War Requiem this morning with my daughter: it’s such an …

: I did try going to tonight’s rehearsal for the War Requiem, but gave up - it’s simply …

: Rehearsal for Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem last night: what a piece, but also what a noise. …

: Winding down from orchestra So: Our Espagna series of concerts is done and dusted, Bolero is behind me and I can let my …

: Waiting backstage for the start of our third of four concerts, this time in Eppelheim

: First weekend of concerts done, in Offenbach an der Queich, and in Bad Rappenau. Bolero seems to be …

: Back from MAN via a 6am flight, following yesterday's 7:30am (CET) flight from FRA, trains to Stoke, …

: Learning to cope: following yesterday’s episode with the smoker at the station, I had the same …

: I’m rubbish at such situations: sat on a bench waiting for my connecting train. A man sits at …

: It took me longer than I should admit to get into the chilly water, but it was great to be at the …

: Waiting in Waldhof…

: So good to start feeling normally strong again these couple of weeks after my latest COVID …

: The frogs in the Mannheim public training gardens are going mad, what a chorus!

: I really need to figure out how to keep calm (enough) for the trombone solo in Bolero. Hopefully …

: Goodness, life is brutal at all levels, what with bacteria weaponising deactivated viruses All the …

: Fun commute by train this morning: getting interviewed by fellow passengers about the Brompton in …

: Enjoying a quiet break from orchestra rehearsal this evening in Heidelberg

: I always enjoy the cycle to Simon and Bearns in the Bahnstadt, this time to pick up some coffee for …

: RIP Tom Parry I’d already donated to the GoFundMe campaign for Gemma Parry, wife of my old schoolmate Tom …

: Mask on to prevent as much as possible my COVID virus from wafting over to others, baseball cap on …

: The Neckar has returned to its banks at last, as have the fishermen

: A very pleasant evening stroll though Wieblingen as I recover from COVID

: Following yesterday’s post on my blogging reset, I’m starting the process of …

: Back to blogging (part... 'n') Really starting to think of creating my own, eponymous, domain, following my prior experience with …

: Caught Covid again, most likely during the travel and flight back from the UK during the Pentecost …

: In training I’m currently in training to play that beast of a trombone solo in Ravel’s Bolero with …

: PV recycling This feels important: a relatively clean way to recycle PV cells that’s under development at …

: Effective Altruism: Eff-Al good? I enjoyed reading this article on Wired the other day on the downsides to that apparent silicon …

: "S" "U" EVs We’ve been looking at switching from our 2015 Toyota Avensis estate to an EV for a while now, …

: Post | Brexit Every Christmas, Easter and family birthday, as I list out the contents of a parcel on what feels …

: Post Brexit Every Christmas, Easter and family birthday, as I list out the contents of a parcel on what feels …

: Dropping Drafts I’m a pretty good sketcher of words and ideas, but a terrible completer of posts: making sure …

: Dropping drafts I’m a pretty good sketcher of words and ideas, but a terrible completer of posts: making sure …

: A Christmas Oratorio to make a Graun man cry Well, the pun will: this enjoyable concert with the Bachchor Heidelberg last night, singing the …

: OP1-4PO is up on Soundcloud - no drums, but still got rhythm, I think… …

: Real swimmers don't smile I went swimming today with my daughter, happy to be back home after a week-long training course …

: OP1-3PO My new OP1-field track is up, after a bit of a break with orchestra and choir: this way to OP1-3PO …

: Orchestrated III, choired and tired Last Friday we played our thankfully final Musikfreunde concert of the season, and on Saturday …

: Orchestrated II Last night was the second and final of our Heidelberg concerts, like the night before in the …

: Orchestrated I Last night I took part in the first of two concerts with the [Musikfreunde Heidelberg](Programme – …

: Misery mode I drove to work at my new job for the first time on Monday and it was indeed around 15 minutes …

: Consciously, conscientiously, exploring consciousness I’m currently reading “Galileo’s Error” by Philip Goff, basically an …

: Saturday the first day of an orchestra rehearsal weekend - effective for us brass, lots to refine in …

: OP1-2PO My second OP1-field track is up on SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/halledr/o… Some decent chords, …

: Waiting Now that I have gained a few weeks' experience in commuting to work by bike and train, I am …

: Simply creating, creating simply Uploaded my first track to SoundCloud in an absolute age: wanting to simplify my music making, and …

: Out for a short walk at lunchtime, I noticed a dog on a lead, snuffling and rummaging in the long …

: Notes from a long weekend Last Thursday was the Ascension bank holiday in Germany and on Friday I had a company-enforced …

: Just to say: it was lovely heading into Mannheim with my eldest daughter to try some more …

: Job week three and counting Things are beginning to pick up now in my third week at work. I’m still a long way from being …

: Curmudgeonly at the Street Food Festival Went to the Heidelberg Street Food Festival today with the family. I didn’t think much of it: …

: Trombone goalies Orchestra rehearsal today (Saturday) - this season, there’s not much for the trombones to do, …

: Dune seen on the small screen Just finished watching Villeneuve’s version of Dune on Amazon Prime. I now understand what I …

: So nearly no longer Inbetween Back in February I posted about the challenges of being between jobs. Now, following a sequence of …

: Inbetween The last day at work before the holidays back in December 2022 was also my last day of work at the …

: Waves of heat HeatThere's been a heatwave and very little rain these last couple of weeks. The press that I read …

: My own personal brain drain Now that I’ve completed my first full week back at work, I can confirm the suspicion I raised in my …

: The Prevention Paradox of Brexit? For a while during the initial phases of the first lockdown, there was some discussion about the …

: 2021 2+0+2+1 = 5 2+0 = 2*1... it's a symmetrical year! 2*0*... OK, I don't need to go further than that. …

: Brexit and populism From View from the EU: Britain ‘taken over by gamblers, liars, clowns and their …

: The Brexit trade deal vote and Labour's seemingly intractable position Labour had a seemingly impossible decision to make regarding the Brexit trade deal vote in the House …

: My state of blogging 2020 into 2021 I’ve had this Diversions Manifold blog for coming up to a decade now and, as is typical for most …

: Here Be... Stuff Stuff. Is that the best word I could come up with to start my philosophically tinged blog on the …

: The Brexit FMEA The Brexit pre-mortem: BFMEA Of all the engineering tools that I have encountered, the one that …

: ABQP: Brexit as an automotive project ABQP: Advanced Brexit Quality Planning It is surely doing the British Civil Service an injustice …

: The unvalidated state The unvalidated state Well, that all went somewhat awry, didn’t it? I must confess that I was …

: Bremain Perspectives A note to my friends and contacts in the UK Don't leave me stranded on the Continent...! If there …

: Resurrecting Byword, Resurrecting Blogging A title? A blog post? I’m an inveterate tinkerer with a seemingly innate inability to forget the …

: The Pleasure of Concentration I finally - probably not for the last time - started reading Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony …

: Swimming in the rain This morning, another relaxed, family- and work-free morning, I pottered about getting up, making …

: Rosetta and her multifaceted stone Comet on 3rd August 2014 - ESA via Ars Technica Well, it's a stone of a few kilometers girth - but …

: Danzemos! (and the other, upside-down exclamation mark before it): a rhythmical, lyrical semester of music This has been an interesting semester of music with the Musikfreunde Heidelberg Symphony Orchesta. …

: On finding my voice A short and not excessively dramatic story of loss and gain Some seemingly random and certainly …

: Musikfreunde: Russian Romantics without a hint of snow Another semester of orchestral music has drawn to a close with Saturday night's concert of the …

: Wikileaks - a history? Staatsfeind Wikileaks - "Wikileaks - Enemy of the State" - published in January 2011 by two …

: Spectroscopic sensibilities - The Secret of Scent and rediscovering my nose Writing about smelling things makes me feel remarkably uneasy. It seems to be more acceptable …

: Random Ambivalent Listenings The “Albums of the Year” articles are trickling in, including this one from the Guardian …

: Looking at things to drive in 2CV hub - reminds me of the Tintin books! The other museum- Oh. Sorry, I'll have to start that …

: Looking sideways Travel often doesn’t happen quickly enough, even if you’re travelling fast. Often …

: Looking at things to listen to Timing in music, comedy and writing is of the essence, so it is ironic that I should appear to be …

: Excuses manifold This blog looks to be in grave danger of becoming an orphan; no writer to care for it, only the …

: Engineering Things Done Phew, what a day! What a lot of days! Things are pretty mad at the moment and have me racing from …

: On Staying Engineer originally posted on one of my several now defunct blogs, called On Engineering, on the 12th …

: Shanghai and indirectly back again... I’m writing this on the plane from Shanghai to Bangkok (fortunately for you, I'm editing it several …

: Socks: an addendum I wrote in my post concerning socks the other day that I didn’t like my Sealskinz waterproof …

: The subtle tyrrany of the sock logo Like so much in life, there's not, superficially, much to say about socks. They, by and large - and …

: Hit or miss: fun on the mountain bike Mountain biking (an all to rare occurrence for me these days) is not a purely physical exercise; the …

: Variations on the theme of Rock-a-bye baby One of the lullabies that I sing to our daughters has, by necessity, developed over the years. When …

: Bruckner's Marvellous Eighth In the spirit of catching up on some drafts, I felt I had to get this one out sooner rather than …

: My blogging state of the union I think, after more than 18 months of maintaining this online presence, I can now confirm that …

: Heidelberg is not in China, and neither am I Shanghai. From words-chinese.com So, after a totally manic Monday, racing around Bürgeramts, HR …

: Somewhere between Heidelberg and Shanghai I'm in a strange sort of limbo this Sunday evening. On Friday I was directed to go to China this …

: Daydreaming and winning Source: Getty Images via BBC I'm certainly succumbing to the elation surrounding Bradley Wiggins' …

: The Musikfreunde and me: Ravel, Grieg and co keep us together It’s the end of another series of concerts with the Musikfreunde Heidelberg Symphony …

: Figuring auf Deutsch Arithmetic, from University Department of Computer Science Years ago, Dad bought a lovely little …

: A holiday refresh A dramatic day in Hannover After what seems like an age, I've been on holiday. And after what seems …

: The Long Way Round My cycle to work takes only eight to ten minutes. Usually I need it to be that short in order to get …

: The joys, the noise - and the silence - of cross-country skiing Stopping for a minute recently from our cross-country skiing in the middle of a snowy Black Forest …

: Mixing the senses There was an article in the Economist this week that strongly resonated with me. It concerned the …

: Thinking is hard to do, doing makes it hard to think If there is one principal criticism I would have of my job at the moment, it would be that I do very …

: On Engineering On somewhat of a spur of the moment thought over the Christmas holidays, I ended up starting a blog …

: Farewell to 2011 This isn't a deeply thought-through review of 2011, merely a list of a few personal highlights from …

: Hej då, Saab Cars Saab cars went into bankruptcy just before Christmas. There is tons about it on the web, so I don't …

: Pass. Partout I mentioned that I am home for Christmas. This means that I am at my parents' house with my own …

: Delicious by design Back at my parents' house over Christmas, I was (watch out, this is going to get exciting) doing the …

: Pass. Port. Last week I was on a business trip to Genoa. I was there to represent the Technology department in …

: St. Martin One of the lovliest traditions that I have come across is the Sankt-Martins-Umzug. Last night (13th …

: Sport and children - a fidgety mix Sport, whether played in a team or singly, is essentially a selfish pursuit. I want to get fit, I …

: Morning people I’m not a morning person. It’ll be a recurring theme of mine, especially, I suspect, …

: Noise and quiet On Saturday we decided to cycle into town. Our three year-old (coming on four) had her new bike, our …

: Musing on Maastricht Yesterday I was in Maastricht for lunch. I felt no urge to blog about it; which itself is good cause …

: Boarding time 04.10.2011 I'm in Frankfurt airport awaiting my flight to Munich and then on to Naples of which I …

: Impressions of Napoli 05.10.2011 Put short, Naples could easily be described as a characature of Italy. Take for example …

: Thoughts on a plane 04.10.2011 Thoughts on a plane - I am of course referring to the prosaic (but amazing) technical …

: The wonderful world of the PPAP There is an intriguing little phrase I came across in a trombone technique book that hovers in a …

: Frog, Toad and bureaucracy The other night I was reading my 3 year-old a bed-time story from one of our favourite series of …

: From home to work I returned to work yesterday after two months off on paternity leave following Emily’s birth …

: Repetition Music purists will tell you that electronic notation in general, and copy-paste in particular, is …

: Caffeine Caffeine doesn't taste of anything. Extracted, it's a tasteless, dull white powder that has some …

: Learning to love Dvorak in Heidelberg I play trombone with the Musikfreunde Symphony orchestra in Heidelberg. We rehearse and perform …

: My Marathon A few days ago I took part in my third BASF Firmencup at the Hockenheim Ring. It was my best so far, …

: Energy considerations My stance on energy is an open one: I am for a mix of available technologies. Oil will remain a key …

: I wish...(trombone version) I wish... somebody had taught me how to breath much earlier; how important the body is to playing; …

: A Night flight and a right fright My business trips are now rare in comparison to how things were a few years ago. I count myself …

: Blogging from a mobile phone Blogging is an art form. Examples abound of it being produced spectacularly well and spectacularly …

: A relevant poem I came across this poem whilst researching for Diversions Manifold (research meaning the desparate …

: An Introduction I to do too many things without devoting sufficient time to any one of them to become particularly …