Low Carb Diets

I recognised a certain trend among some North Americans to follow so called low carb diets. They reduce their "carb intake". I have to admit that I had no clue, what it meant. After having read my daily paper, I checked the internet for background information on low carb diets.

My conclusion: I stick to my diet. Not too much of the good stuff, a lot of sports, few alcohol... Imagine a nice steak with a thick sauce without French fries? Terrible idea. Besides, didn't I learn once that carbohydrates are good because they burn quicker than fat. So, what happens to those people who have almost no body fat? Well, this question is obviously no one, which I would have to bother about ;-) but I am curious.


Torsten

Hm, what do Profilers do in their free time?

I just watched "Mind Hunters" on my laptop. It was not bad. The movie was about profilers at the F.B.I. The scene in the bar was funny. What do you think would a profiler tell about a person who says that his/her occupation is "latin lover" or things like that ;-) ? But honestly, I do not like to watch those movies alone. I had to switch on the lights in my room again. Call me a Warmduscher - wimp, mollycoddle, milksop but otherwise I feel uncomfortable. I prefer movies like Ocean's Eleven /Twelve.

I learnt so many new words today: to misconstrue, insinuating and now these> wimp, mollycoddle, milksop. I also learnt that being polite can have some unwanted connotations (i.e. being insinuating e.g.). But unfortunately there are only very few occasions, when I can be charming in German in Uganda. So, I should definitely improve my English proficiency. I should find someone, with whom I might take some lessons ;-)

Another lesson from this afternoon: If you think you know your running track, you do not know it at all in Uganda! Today, I fell once and I almost stepped into a pothole. Afterwards, I was just looking down on the road. I felt like a young boy. My knee was bleeding - although it did not really hurt (Sic! I am not always a Warmduscher!). However, there was also no one whose attention I could have attracted by breaking out in tears and crying. Just me, my music and this stupid stone I fell over.

Good night, sleep tight and don't let the bug's bite!

Ephraim Kishon is dead

This is sad news.

I love his books, his sense of humour.
His books were the first I took from my father's book shelves.

I think I will buy some at Amazon and fetch them, when I am in Germany over the Easter holidays.

Blogs can be found by search engines?!

I did not know, that blogs can be found by search engines.... Well, why should that not be the case? But I actually did not know it. Whatever made me checking it (probably the fear that certain people might not only check, whether there are murdered girls hidden in my cupboard, but also check out other things), it was easy to find:
1.) Open www.google.com
2.) Enter: search in blogs
3.) Check out the returns... e.g. http://www.blogsearchengine.com/

Knowing this, I will keep it in my mind, when I comment on my nighlife experiences next time. However, I will not delete previous postings, because so far there is nothing I need to cover.

Apropos "cover". Since my mother's birthday is on Good Friday, I will have to fly home for five days - stupid idea, the original idea was quite different: I wanted to go diving on Zanzibar. Anyway, I will have to support the German economy. So, I already checked some internet sites, what I may order. I have to buy on the internet, because I will have only one day - one and a half day for shopping and I need time for shopping. I am worse than any girl.

A wonderful site is http://www.pdamax.de/
If I knew that there was GPS maps for Uganda, I would buy a GPS thing... But for the time being, I will buy some screen protectors to cover my prescious toy from the dust and from scratches.

And of course www.amazon.de Three books are already added to my wish list.

User Manuals and Average Americans

One might think that the average American is dumb. I mean look at their crazy lawsuits. And how would you explain the need to have all those common sense warnings on their products and in their manuals? I do not understand this. It is just ridiculous, look at http://www.mlaw.org/

However, sometimes I appreciate American manuals. At least they are not terribly translated in e.g. German, so there is not artificial language barrier like "Manual German"-German which has to be bridged. But I wonder, when Amercian consumers or more precisely the male part of the American people demand user manuals for the female part. I mean sometimes one simply cannot even guess what they want, like, etc. In this regard, a comprehensive manual written would be condusive.

If drafting such a manual is not feasible, one should consider to deliver women with warning labels:
Mind mood swings!
Do not over-interpret firendly reactions!
Do not touch without permission!
Body shape might change over the years!
...

Some other letters to the Sunday Vision

Sometimes, I feel uncomfortable, when I read certain letters in the news. Do those people represent readers in general? I hope it is not the case.

Two examples from today's edition of the Sunday Vision:

Does WBS really deserve the number one position?
"LIKE your correspondent in the New Vision of January 11, I am also doubtful about the best TV position into which WBS was voted. The schedules of this television have increasingly included programmes and series with explicit depictions of sexual activity. Even during months when children are on holiday, WBS Television has transmitted programmes during daytime with scenes of violence and nudity. This policy is clearly aimed at softening up the public to accept more material of this nature. This warns us that the digital revolution could provide accessibility to the vulgar and the sensationalist, which will degrade Ugandan culture and undermine social cohesion."
Stephen Siima Jinja

Published on: Sunday, 30th January, 2005
SOURCE: http://www.sundayvision.co.ug/detail.php?mainNewsCategoryId=7&newsCategoryId=131&newsId=415086


Why abolish the death penalty?
" WISH to comment on the proposal to abolish the death penalty by the so-called human rights activists, who to a certain extent lack seriousness in analysing issues. If human rights involves someone’s right to live, then how do they consider someone who was denied a right to live by an armed robber? Abolishing the death penalty will encourage people like these to continue committing the same offences, because they will have all the time in prison to plan an escape and resume their activities. Lastly, if it is to be implemented, have they assessed the situation in Ugandan prisons where those people are going? Is there enough space, food and beddings? Are there more prison staff."
Name withheld

Published on: Sunday, 30th January, 2005
SOURCE: http://www.sundayvision.co.ug/detail.php?mainNewsCategoryId=7&newsCategoryId=131&newsId=415085

And because I do not work very much, I need two computer and three phones. I can never tell, which is actually ringing and sometimes I take the wrong mouse.
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This is my real office. Try to find the windows, which let daylight in. No chance, there is none.

And my bedroom. One pillow for me and one for my dear Dell Axim x50v. Okay, I admit there is not my Axim right now. You can see a book that I am currently reading: Joseph Stiglitz's "Globalization and Its Discontents".
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The door, my bike and my running shoes - you won't believe how much feet can sweat here. so, they are well placed close to the door. Nobody wants to pass them voluntarily ;-)
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The kitchen. I do not use anything but the fridge.
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The living room area.
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My "workplace"...
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My apartment in Kampala

There were complaints that I would not disclose how my apartment looks like. Since I am always at my friends' service, here they are.

Me at the Kabira Country Club on last Saturday.
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Pool of the Kabira Country Club
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Code of Conduct for VIPs and Seatbelts are only in Kampala

When I woke up, I decided that I will not wallow any more!

I started the day with some running, weight lifting, sit-ups and then I enjoyed my breakfast and the newspaper. There are some section which you must read. One of those is the ever amusing "Letters". Today, I would like to share two of those letters with you:

"Put in place code of conduct for VIPs!
SIR— Following the way many of our VIPs behave in public, I suggest a clear-cut code of conduct be put in place, if only to gag those that can never seem to mention anything sensible. Joseph Baalwa
Makerere University"
Published on: Saturday, 29th January, 2005 in The New Vision

Source: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/21/414863


Shall I comment on it? Yes, I should. Had he been thinking, before he wrote this letter?
Who is a VIP? What defines her/him?
What is a "clear-cut code of conduct"?
Who shall gag them?
Who determines what is sensible and what is not?

Well but one of my favourite topics was also dealt with: Seatbelts.

"Seatbelts!
SIR— The traffic police should address the following:

• Most seatbelts in PSVs are poor quality.
• In most cases, they are dusty and dirty.
• Most seatbelts cannot be adjusted to suit the size of passengers.
• Most of them were fixed in lousy ways. They can loosen in the event of a crash.
• Seatbelts are only in Kampala.

Trophy Atuhaire Mbarara"
Published on: Saturday, 29th January, 2005 in The New Vision

Source: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/21/414862


Well, what shall I say. If I recall the new traffic rules correctly, the traffic police cannot help this poor guy. Cars must have seat belts. Whether they shall also be used remained unclear - at least in the text, that The New Vision printed. However, the person made some good points. The seatbelts in special hire taxis are dusty. It happened to me twice that I arrived with a white shirt plus red shoulders and chest somewhere - This is another reason to use the Yellow Taxi! Secondly, when I consider the size of some Ugandans, I agree that a seatbelt extension might be advisable ;-)

This leads me to other thoughts: Why don't airlines charge according to the passenger's weight? Why do they allow big persons to book Economy class, knowing that the neighbour will suffer?

P.S.: My Axim has now a new ROM. I installed the ROM update before I went to Bubbles yesterday.

As usual...

Well, I should be more carefull, less enthusiastic, less friendly, less gratious and more like an asshole. I should not go into details. However, my female friends were sooo damn right about another representative of their sex. Unfortunately. No. Fortunately. I already spent too much during the acquisition process. If they had told me earlier, I could have avoided those sunk costs.

Men really become blind sometimes. Today I was not blind. I only had two single Bacardi Coke plus six water, so I was pretty conscious when I entered the "scene". I saw it, assessed it, concluded, attended my duties and left the place. In the taxi, I deleted her contact details on my mobile phone and before I started writing this blog, I deleted the contact details on both laptop and PDA. Well, her entry on my Axim had been causing this annoying "unresolved item"-issue and I never knew how to get rid of it. Now, I just have to erase everthing in my mind, which will be the more challenging part.

I will not ask the usual questions: Why does it always happen to me.
I know the answer. Although it is scientifically the wrong approach. However, the empiricism is obvious. It is just as simple as that: Amazingly handsome young ladies, which I like, simply do not go with me! This has been shown in 100% of all previous cases. And as long as the contrary is not evidenced, I will not believe anything else.

I thought about publishing the list of failed attempts, but I decided to delete this list, too. I decided on a clear cut with the past, so that the sample collection can start fresh again and the odds may become more favourable!

Being a Trainer in Uganda...

I give two training per day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is all about the use of the database which we implemented at the central bank. I am supposed to tell the staff members everthing they need to know "to gain full ownership" of the system. This is supposed to be the most important of all in the development business. However, how shall it work, when (almost) nobody shows up?

The training schedule has been know to all participants for days. I send daily reminders etc. Maybe I should go through the ranks and ask management to enforce higher participation rates. But would this be conducive to ownership generation? I doubt it and will call it a day by 17:00h today.

"Ladder 49" at the Marines' House

I just came back from the Marines' House in Kololo. I watched "Ladder 49" with houndred (?) other people. I've never thought that there would be some many people. My American colleages picked me up and we were there very early. The doors were still closed but "CD 02 ..." on the number plate worked and we could get in first without being checked (which was good because I forgot my passport...).

The film was sad. Very sad. Too sad for me. My father was a fire fighter and during those films I always realize that I had been very lucky that nothing happened to him during his duty.

I have to admit that there were times, where I could not be close to him because of... several reasons. But time heals all wounds as a directly translated German saying goes. The longer I am away from home and the more days pass by since that horrible November 1997 the more relaxed I become when I meet him.

And the urge to follow in his footsteps is still there. But unfortunately the Berufsfeuerwehr Frankfurt could not accept my application for medical reasons. I really regret this. Well, but being a banker in Uganda is not too bad at all.

Ah yes, and two rows in front of me sat the lady who wanted to have Gummibärchen from me. But the one who likes chocolate was not there. Schade ;-) Ich hoffe, Sie am Wochenende wieder zu sehen. Sie machte Andeutungen, daß Sie was mit mir am Wochenende unternehmen will. Aber vermutlich bin ich wieder zu optimistisch und werde doch nur wieder enttäuscht sein, weil sie nicht anruft und ich sie dann doch mit irgendjemanden sehe. Also sollte ich mir keinerlei Hoffnungen machen und lieber meine Paper über Schumpeter lesen.

Sex and the City

I have to admit, that I love "Sex and the City". My mobile's ringtone is the "Sex an the City" and whenever I have the chance, I watch it. Yesterday, the Series channel showed it and I had a female visitor, who actually wanted me to repair her laptop. Shall I mention that her laptop was almost perfectly set up? Okay, the DVD was not played by this strange programme, which I have never ever heart of before, but after installing a well know DVD player, the DVD was immediately recognised and she was happy. She was even happier, when her CD-burn software managed to burn a CD. Analyzing the facts, ..., but well I should not do that. I like her but I should think that she is like all other women I have ever "liked": Not interested in me but in things I could do for her.

Well, so I wanted to watch the episode and she kept on talking. I should not complain, women - especially such beautiful ones - rarely talk with me, but, please, not when I watch TV. So, I tried to stop her from interupting me by asking an obviously stupid question: "Do you women really do ..." - which evidently caused her to say "Do never ask this question." - Yeah. But this did not stop her from talking, which did not matter at all in the end, because I already saw the last episode of the last season and everything was okay, when I saw Harry proposing Miranda!!!!

By the way, I put "Sex and the City" into quotation marks - otherwise one would assume that I meant sexual intercourse and New York or the city I am living in now, but this it not what I was up to. I really meant the series. Yes, me being a man (biologically proven, my hair is short and is getting lesser and a Gott zwischen den Beinen - my tribute to Die Ärzte with their song "Piercing"), I confess, I like this series.

Ironically, I regularly refer to this series as "Sex in (sic!) the City" - must be due to a traumatic experience in that wonderful city, when I lost my favourite watch.

My comment on the last episode of the series: It was not the very best. I just started fighting back my tears seven minutes before the end of the episode. I feared it would be earlier (When I saw Roseanne's last episode I was crying the whole time).

Miranda: Well, tough woman. I always knew that she would be a good mother (even for her mother-in-law)

Samantha: Hm, okay. I kind of do not like her.

Charlotte: I am happy with her part's end. I really like her, although she exaggerates sometimes.

Carrie: Mr. Big is her Mr. Right. Yes, of course, but... It is still Mr. Big. I would have preferred Aidan to become her Mr. Right (although I would like to live a life like Mr. Big - what does he do fo his living?), but as long as she is happy and back to New York away from this stupid Petrovsky or Berger...

Most moving scene: When Charlotte and Harry finally learnt that they are going to become parents of a Chinese girl.

Funniest scene: When Mr. Big ran up the stairs to hit the stupid Russian. He should have succedded.

Turning Point: When Carrie lost the diamond necklace and she folds her arms (to protect herself from Petrovsky). If any turning point was necessary in this straight forward plot.

I guess...

... I have learnt how to use "hello" to post pictures now ;-)

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No photo collection of mine would be complete without pictures of mine favourite image ;-)
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three
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two
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one...
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My place in N.Y.... well have a look at the second picture from the room ;-)
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My apartment is on the seventh floor - the two windows left from the stairs.
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Somewhere between Kampala and Jinja...
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And on the last ferry back to Manhattan...
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One of my favourite pictures. Taken 23rd December 2000 on the first ferry to the Statue of Liberty.
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Uganda...

Sometimes, I question my decision to come to this place.

I always wanted to move to New York. I loved to live there! It was just amazing. Wonderful. M. and M. know, why I love this city most, although I lost my favourite watch at that occasion. But dudes, I bought the same again! In Kampala I have not "lost my watch", yet.

We'll see. Maybe I'll find a reason, why I like to be here.

Do not be nice - do not be anybody's fool.

I should not be nice.

There are several reasons, why I should not be nice to other people. First of all, I should have learnt my lessons.

The last situation, in which I realized that it is not good to be nice, was during a wonderful dinner with an even more amazingly handsome young lady: We were sitting there talking and eating and then this waiter came and asked me whether I would have a second for him. I said yes and he went. The lady then taught me a lesson (of course, her English was much better and more colloquial, but I cannot copy that - if she ever reads this, she may correct me):
She: "Do you know, waht he wants"
Me: "Probably, money."
She: "How do you know?"
Me: "Ugandans always ask me for favours, money and so on."
She: "And you give?"
Me: "Not always, but mostly."
Then she called him and asked him, what he wanted - sad story but it boiled down, that he wanted money. She taught him a lesson first and then me. You probably guess, that I was not supposed to give him anything unless he did his job extraordinally well. A point of view, which I obviously shared because I am a member of the German liberal party... Or shall I say, I should share. I do not know, but I always feel bad, when I am asked for "favours".

To sum it up:
I paid half of the driver's licence for a night guard - without ever seen his licence. Besides, I know that I paid more than you have to spend for a driver's licence...
I paid the term school fee for another night guard - knowing that the papers he showed me, are not proving anything he told me...
I could continue, but then I might also sum up what I spend...waisted (?). Whatever.

There is also this fellow student, who once told me to be less nice to everybody followed by the saying: "Everybody's darling is anybody's fool."

Living in a village

This place is like a village.

Last Friday I bumped into a private cocktail party. I knew the man who threw that party and he came over and invited me to join them - well I felt uncomfortable and did not really wanted to join their party (30th brithday of the wife [two children]), but I did. Then I met this person, which I had been seeing so many times before and he asked, whether it might be that we had met before. Of course, we did. I guess every expatriate has met each other before, here.

However, the bad side of the coin is that you may also meet those persons that you prefer not to see (for different reasons). But howshould one want to try avoid meeting them? Not going out. Turning around. Going to other places. No, just face it. This is probably the best solution. Did I say this? Now, I am still brave, but I guess, it will feel terrible when it will happen on Tuesday (Wednesday is a holiday) or on Friday.

Besides, people come and go - so time migh work in your favour - or it does not - just depends on how you would like to look at this.

You shall not look for Mr/Ms Right.

Who came up with this stupid advice?

The underlying meaning is clear. You should be yourself and not act as someone else or someone your think somoeone expects you to be like.

Just concluded that, when I listened to a friend. How shall you switch it off? Where is the switch saying "Do not search / Do search"?

PDAs as a substitute to women?

Well, PDAs are definitely good complements to women. Honestly how should any man possibly keep track of all those little hints given by women as regards to presents etc.

But, what about having a PDA as a substitute to a woman? Obviously, there are certain restictions, e.g. sexual intercourse would hardly be possible. Although depending on the model different user interfaces are offered. Sorry, could not resist to push it into this direction ;-)

Nevertheless, let's look at some facts:

1.) The acquisition of it costs time.
2.) Finding the RIGHT one is hard.
3.) Acquisition costs are usually high and it usually ends up in sunk costs.
4.) Maintenance is also costly, if you want to keep it up to date and yourself happy.
5.) The older the relationship, the more there is the temptation to replace it with a new one.
6.) You spend most of your time, playing around with it.
7.) Or you spend your time having troubles with it.
8.) The newer the relationship, the you need to get used to each other.
9.) The longer the relationship, the more you take everything for granted.
10.) Men can talk a lot about it. But hardly ever talk with them (I like this one most).
11.) If you like it, you do not want to be without it.
12.) If you messed up everything, a soft- or hard-reset is possible.

There are probably more reasons, which I could come up with, but even now: Isn't it odd, that there is so much similiarity? Well, maybe I would change my mind, if I would take other categories into consideration...

Maybe, I will change my mind in due time. Probably. And then you may find that your PDA serves as a perfect date/wedding/birthday planner - depending on the stage of the other relationship...

I wanted to be prepared, therefore, I already added a special category for the calendar and the task list, which takes care of the other type of relationship. Just in case ;-)

A perfect Sunday morning...

... is a morning, when you wake up because the sun shines on your head, it is before 8:00 a.m. and go running.

I love it!

But I do not like it that I still sweat although I stopped running an hour ago, drank 750ml water, had a warm shower, emptied the other half of the bottle, and even had a cold shower... Anyway, there is no one, who could complain about the smell ;-)

Women and / or PDAs

Today was a wonderful day. I managed to get an gmail-account, set it up for my lovely toy (an Dell Axim X50v with 1GB SanDisk CF and 512 MB Toshiba SD...). Then a friend invited me to a country club, which I had never been to before, so I went there after I finished my morning schedule.

I do not why, but there was this urge to play around with the PDA (instead of reading further papers on Schumpeter). So I enabled WLan and I discovered that I could browse the internet. Moreover, even the set up for the Gmail worked fine. And all that at the swimming pool of the Kabira Country Club in Kampala, Uganda!

I was so happy, that I immediately took pictures and sent them to my friends and family! Well the responses were not so happy. In Germany there was snow etc and I was enjoying 30C, sun and blue sky at a wonderful place.

Well, this one could have been more beatiful. But things did not work out as envisaged. But I still have my PDA, which needs a lot of care and attention and a place on the second pillow in my bed - otherwise I would not hear the ring tones in the morning... I am no pervert! ;-)

Interestingly, I found a nice quote one of my favourite internet sites (www.aximsite.com - what else...):

If you love something, let it free.
If it comes back to you it's yours,
if it doesn't it never was!

I do not why, but whenever I like a girl, there is no happy end. It happened twice that I brought stuff from Germany (once only three bags of Gummibärchen and the second time round about 3kg of Milka and Kinder Chocolate) and every time I ended up with just handing over parts of it (does anybody want to have some chocolate, there are 2,5kg left...).

I used to believe in the following: When you like (love) someone, then the only thing you want is their happiness. Even if that person is happier with someone else. But the other statement captures more and I will follow it:

If you love something, let it free.
If it comes back to you it's yours,
if it doesn't it never was!

It is better, it somehow starts before you are hurt. You see, wait and conclude. Having said that, I will conclude this.

If anybody is interested in knowing how you can have your emails von Gmail on your laptop, i.e. Outlook and on your PDA, I could tell. THe secret is, you need two email accounts, because Gmail does not allow IMAP (yet) and Windows Mobile 2003 cannot leave emails on the server.

And if anybody out there could tell me where I might find a library or bookstore with some books by Schumpeter, I would appreciate that and invite you for a beer at Bubbles next Friday.

Meetings and Work Ethics

It is amazing. This special monthly meeting, which should take place last Friday, then last Monday, then today, was again postponed. This time without giving an alternative date. It beats the hell out of me. I am really no fan of meetings, but they are sometimes necessary as this is. Otherwise, there is nothing written, which I learnt is of utmost importance.

Moreover, how come that documents are changed after they were signed off, although most Ugandans a Christians and most even born-again Christians. Do they separate their "normal" life from the life in office? Or why does it not translates into their work ethics. This confuses me.
And did I miss the part in the Bible, which approves selfish behaviour?

But I am just back for approximately two weeks, so I will get used to it (again).

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Mzungu

There is slight misunderstanding regarding the meaning of the often heart "mzungu" on the streets of Uganda. Literally, it just means "person who has been coming around". Well, that it is often used to address white people, lead to the translation "white person".

Start

Well, Hm. Wie starte ich? Auf Englisch, Deutsch? Well, since I am in an English speaking country I should consider English. Aber die Muttersprache ignorieren? Immerhin, die Sprache der Dichter und Denker, oder? However, in a globalized world, English is a must.

Mal sehen, ich werde mich wohl spontan leiten lassen. And I will start in English. Besides, I used the genitive "s" - so this is meant to be in English.

I am in Uganda. It is the Pearl of Africa. I cannot really judge this, but others who should be able to do this, have confirmed it. Therefore, I believe it. I just like it. Especially today. It is a wonderful sunny day. A holiday, a Muslim holiday, which depends on the moon. Most colleagues made fund of the moon dependence. It is strange, indeed. However, the determination of Easter is also not trivial... Just take this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computus

The reason for today's holiday is described in the Bible, by the way: Abraham was asked to sacrisfice his son and then God allowed him to grill a sheep instead (1 Moses 22 with its climax in 1 Mose 22:12) - and today the New Zealanders make a big business with exporting sheep to Muslim countries.