alex robinson

So much for the sun… It was a good two days!

Well, given that temperatures have been particularly low lately, and ther’s no end in sight, one might wonder how anyone survives the winter here in northern Germany. The trick is a balanced mixture of hefeweizen, potatoes and meat (optional), apfelstruedel and some good German atmosphere. So we headed to the Restaurant Markthalle in Kreuzberg for just that recipe…

Yesterday was the first day with any sunshine at all since 15 days ago. Apparently that’s a record, although it seemed kinda like par for the course to me…

Thanks to the iPhone, maybe I’ll actually update this blog once in a while?

Here are pics from my latest trip back to Fort Collins, CO (this time with Fontina along! )

Well, the time has changed, so it’s actually light out until a reasonable hour. The sun has been shining almost continuously, and I don’t have to wear a jacket outside anymore. Plus there are little buds appearing on all the trees outside. No blooming yet, but the pressure’s building. Reminds me I should probably invest in some allergy medicine soon!

Here are just a few pics, not all related to Spring – but all related to me!

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  Slow cookin!

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  In all its glory.

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  Delicious.

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  This was a protest of bailout money for banks. “Work is shit”, “Tear down capitalism” - productive messages.

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  Activism

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  Visiting the Dr Pong - the ping pong bar

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  Visits from afar.

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  I've been hard at work...

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  But at least we have nice breaks.

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  Riding through Tiergarten

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  Out for coffee

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  Sunset at 7:35pm!

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  More coffee, or was it ice cream?

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  Watching mating rituals of exotic ducks

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  Blue skys

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  On the way home from work

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  Buds! Green!

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  I like nice weather :)

So tomorrow I won’t be heading to Potsdam.

Apparently a 250kg American bomb from the 2nd World War has been found near Potsdam Hauptbahnhof, and the whole area will be evacuated while they figure out how to get rid of it. Although from what I understand, this has happened enough times not to be too surprised by it.

It does make you sit back and think though.

Here’s the story (in German): http://www.potsdam.de/cms/beitrag/10051047/31478/

We recently had the privilege of attending the Climate Change Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was the scientific run-up to the COP-15 meeting in December, where politicians will work towards a global climate accord. The conference was really interesting and even made me feel somewhat optimistic about how we can positively influence the future.
We also had a chance to visit some colleagues at the Center for Ice and Climate of the University of Copenhagen. This is where some of the original work on the Greenland ice cores was carried out, and they even have many of the samples in a basement freezer at a mild -24 °C (-11 °F). Originally, in the 70s, they hand-built machines for separating and analyzing isotopes contained in the cores. And today they have some very high-tech, high precision devices. But they still crank out samples on the tried-and-true older machines.
Of course, being in Copenhagen also meant catching up with Aaron and Chrisitine. We had some great burritos, complete with fresh taco sauce actually imported from Colorado! All in all, life looks pretty good up North – if just a tad cold this time of year.

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  Introductory folk recorder performance - I didn't even know there was such a thing!

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  Some odd activities in the forum

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  A beacon

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  Astounded!

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  The walk to the conference hall - complete with barbed wire. Do you think the politicians will stroll this way too in December??

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  Look at my complementary hippy wicker bag!

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  Listening to Lord Nicholas Stern present the dire economic outlook of our planet.

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  1st one on the right - that's the Prime Minister of Denmark. 2nd from the left, that's my advisor arguing with him!

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  Downtown Copenhagen post-conference. Check out the solar-powered, public trash compactor!

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  If you smile, it doesn't feel so cold.

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  Inspecting the compactor.

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  The kids in Copenhagen were big on their snowsuits. He's ready for anything.

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  In the Center for Ice and Climate, with Christo and Vasilieos explaining isotopes

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  That black thing in crushes the ice to let gas out, but at freezing temperatures, so that no ice actually melts and reacts with the gas!

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  The original, badass machine which helped produce the NorthGrip record we all know and love.

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  Heading into the ice freezer

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  Arriving at Aaron and Christine's for dinner.

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  Great hosts. Notice the fresh guac :).

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  A well-framed shot. Well done, Aaron.

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  There he is.

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  Nothin like a neighborly visit across the North Sea.

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  Look at the candy bus! Yum.

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  Grandma downin' some morning brew around 10am on Saturday. And why the hell not?

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  Christiania architecture

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  On our way to the ballet at the New Danish Opera House (ie space ship) - accessible only by water taxi. It made one feel somewhat privileged.

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  Those walkways take you to the orbish concert hall

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  Inside...

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  The Opera House by morning fog.

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  Good to be back in Copenhagen.

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  Living the dream.

Well, in the spirit of the season, here are a few random pictures from the past couple of months. Although, I’ll be hoping the sun will pop out a bit more often now that Spring has officially begun.

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  Foggy January morning downtown

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  Don't you always want your pineapples to be extra sweaty??

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  Enjoying the performance 200th Birthday of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy - did you know that, among other things, he wrote the wedding march?

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  “Greek wine instead of German rain” - is this targeted advertising, or what?

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  Snowy surprise in February. Notice the creative snow plow job.

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  A break for sunshine at work at PIK.

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  Strolling in the secret park we just found two blocks from the house!

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  Late March hail surprise!

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  Complete with afternoon sunshine :).

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  Me, looking smug it seems.

I recently attended the International Climate Change Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was the precursor to the big political conference COP-15, which will happen in December at the same venue, and at which (hopefully), a new global climate accord will be reached.

You can watch some of the plenary sessions at their website [www.climatecongress.ku.dk] and see the six key messages that were produced as an update the the 2007 IPCC report. I would particularly check out the closing session, where the Prime Minister of Denmark and several scientists tried to communicate with each other. However all plenary sessions were quite interesting. Note: to watch videos, you need Microsoft Internet Explorer.

One interesting talk was about media coverage on climate change. From some recent statistics, it looks clear that disinformation campaigns run by conservative think-tanks employ pretty effective strategies to get their message across. Interestingly, I think if you asked anyone at the conference, they would agree that since pre-industrial times, the Earth is warmer by around 0.7°C – with little room for debate.

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