Recently a study was published by Stanford University in Washington that advises us to starve on our long distance holiday trips, if we want avoid jet lag or at least dampen the effects of the time lag on our body. The study was performed in mice. The researchers found out that not only light, the rhythm of day and night is timing our gene clock, but also hunger. While chronobiology is a compex thing the Stanford experiment is looking for a simple way out. Genetically modified mice that lack the major clock gene seem that they are steered primarily by hunger. If they that are kept hungry stay up longer than their wild breed controls. Thus, they suggest that hunger is the second meter pulsing our body’s clock. If there is any shortage in food, the scientists state the shortened day-night-cycle increases their chance of surivival. At least this is the conclusion they draw from their experiments in mice.

A longer time awake makes survival more likely. Do you agree? And the next conclusion, and that seems rather rigorous and arbitrary to me, is: Hunger is a concept against jet lag. Give it a try. If it does not help your jet lag symptoms, it may help you to loose wait

Norbert war kürzlich in Hamburg und hat ein russisches U-Boot besucht. Das erinnerte mich natürlich wieder an Umberto Maturana und seine Geschichte vom U-Boot-Kapitän. Es war für mich eines der Beispiele, das so schnell und einfach deutlich macht, wie Sichtweisen vom Standpunkt des Beobachters abhängen. Die Geschichte erzählt sich in etwa so: Ein Beobachter steht am Ufer eines Fjords, das zerklüftet und gefährlich durch seine Untiefen das Durchqueren schier unmöglich erscheinen lässt. Nun beobachtet unser Beobachter aber ein U-Boot, das äußerst wendig und geschickt alle Hindernisse der Natur problemlos wendig um- und durchschifft. Unser Beobachter hat das Glück den Kapitän des Schiffes nach seiner beeindruckenden Fahrt durch das Fjord zu treffen.
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Fritz Oelberg a good friend since many years will cover the Viennaman 2008 on May 31 for us. Here a family portrait from our online conference. Somteimes work can be fun:-)

The great success of the Vienna City Triathlon and the large amount of positive feedback have led the organizers to move the location of the half-distance Viennaman Triathlon to Vienna´s Donauinsel beyond the Reichsbrücke bridge. The UNO City as a background and the infrastructure of the island are a very appealing location for an event of this kind. Nicole Leder, close to Biestmilch since 2002, is going to race in Vienna. Here a shot of our online conference. Sometimes work is fun. Viennaman will be part of the MACCA reportage we are currently preparing for our site.

I just got a phone call from home that Stefan got elected one of the ten best designers worldwide, wow! Those who pass by here on a regular basis know that I love to drop by at TED talks, so I just did and I found Stefan talking there. It is a good occasion to post his talk, I think. The Sagmeister and our family have always been close. Stefan is the youngest Sagmeister son, and I am 7 years older, I have always been out with the older guys, of course ;-)… For those who don’t know who the heck this guy is: Stefan was born in Bregenz, Austria in 1962. Renowned for the album covers he created for the likes of Lou Reed, Talking Heads and the Rolling Stones, New York City-dwelling designer Stefan Sagmeister invariably has a slightly different way of looking at things, quoted from the TED page.