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When do I have to bring out the trash? We here in the nice city of Bad Homburg have 4 different trash collections (not counting the “special” collections like garden waste etc.): So you see its complicated. And we have to bring the waste bin to the edge of the street for collection on the evening before (and take it back after it has been emptied). I am using HomeAssistant for my home automation, so the idea was to use that as a reminder when to move which of the bins to the street. Part 1 – setting up HomeAssistant… Read more: ePaper Tags as Trash Reminders and more

Some pictures deserve a bit more attention then just posting them to Instagram or Twitter with a few keywords added. This woodpecker feeding its young is such a picture. We were on a walk on a Klompenpad near Arnhem in the Netherlands when we heard loud bird noises. The noises came from quite nearby and did not move. We looked around for a bird on a branch or on a tree and saw nothing. Then finally a small head appeared inside a hole in a dead tree: We stepped away a bit and waited. The woodpecker looked out of the… Read more: Woodpecker – its feeding time

Second posting in my “new home network” series. Before you plan what you going to build, always do an inventory what you have. On the left side of the picture above you see my current physical setup. A few things to point out: our house has a cellar, a ground floor (living room and kitchen), first floor is for sleeping, top floor is my office we bought an existing house, running cables was difficult. I put in a new CAT6 cable from top to bottom, there was a cable from the basement into the living room (but with 4 wires… Read more: New home network: Current setup

I have a new spare time (yes, I do have some spare time now and then) project: Re-building my home network so it runs IPv6 only. Yes. No legacy IP. Devices only get an IPv6 address. If they want to communicate with a device on the internet which is IPv4 only, a technique called NAT64 (and DNS64) needs to be used. My current firewall (actually I have two firewalls) – an Ubiquity Security Gateway – cannot do that. The USG feels like abandonware anyway – no real software update for a year now. So time to get rid of it.… Read more: New project: IPv6 only home network

Because of the ongoing pandemic the sale of fireworks in German was forbidden last year. So at least it no longer felt like being under attack around midnight when the new year began. To be clear: I have nothing against fireworks. If people want to (literally) burn their money to attract attention I am all for it. I rather spend my money on gear instead seing it going up in smoke. Also, I am busy enjoying myself and taking photos – so no time for fireworks. My setup this time was a little bit different than last time I did… Read more: 2022: Fireworks to start the new year

This picture shows the border between Austria and Germany going right through a village. On the very left side you can read the name on a sign “Grenzkontrollstelle Grossgmain” (so the picture was taken from the Austrian side). In the middle of the picture you can see a signpost with the emblem of Bavaria (the Bavarian part of the village is called “Bayerisch Gmain“). Both border stations are in use and you had to show your id card to each station if you wanted to cross the border. That all went away when Europe finally got their act together and… Read more: 1955: When Europe still had borders

Event and meaning of a lot of these old photos have been forgotten, including this one. But there are some conclusion I can draw from the content or persons pictured. The inn named “Enztallust” is located in Enzklösterle, about 2 hours (at that time) from where my father lived. The man with the tie in the door I have seen on other pictures before, it is a colleague of my father, so my guess (!) is that this was some work outing. The inn itself burned down in 1972 and was rebuilt as Enztalhotel and still exists today. The car… Read more: 1953: Enztallust

In 1973, 7 years old, I got my very first own camera for Christmas. It was a plastic, fixed focus camera, with cassette type films and magnesium one-time flashbulbs from Porst. I guess this is one of the first photos I took. Some details about the photo: The tree is standing in our living room, so my model railway must have been set up some place else Lots of tinsel on the tree

Christmas 1965, this was before I was born so no gifts for me in that picture. Lots of details to discover in this picture: Photograph of my mother on the wall right behind the tree Real candles on the tree. They were replaced by electrical ones after I was born (guess why). Lots of books on the shelves. Most of the books still exist in a box on the attic. Also two crime novels on the gift table: “Gelächter in der Nacht” by Victor Gunn and “Glocken des Todes” by Ernst Hall. No idea if they were good. A “Pur-Schaumer”… Read more: 1965: Christmas tree and gifts

As you know in Germany you get your Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. This photo shows some presents from 1950. Some of these tree ornaments still exist! Let’s have a look at some presents in detail: Fruits and nuts (and some cookies). This shows me the picture was arranged – usually you have the cookies on the table and not under the tree. Sarotti Mokka-Schokolade “Die feine Schokolade” – from the brand only the first three letters can be seen “Loh….”, but on the side you can read “Lohmann” (the company does not exist anymore, but the brand name does)… Read more: 1950: Christmas presents

Another picture of the Märklin model railway I got as a Christmas present as a child. I remember it being so big, but looking at the picture it was rather small (it got a little bit bigger over the years though). I had three trains to play with: A steam train (with “real” steam – well, it was oil you put into a condenser and which looked like steam then). A freight train (you can see it on the right) A motor coach (not sure about the English word – in German it’s called “Triebwagen”). You can see it on… Read more: 1970: Model Railway

I guess this was the best Christmas present I got as a child ever – a model railway (Märklin H0). The first time I got it it was built in secrecy by my parents, the last time it was built by myself some times in the late 70s. It usually stood from December until end of January and took up quite some space in our living room. On this picture I am 4.5 years old. A few details from the picture: the number 10 visible means railroad switch 10, all were controlled by buttons on a control panel on the… Read more: 1970: Best Christmas present ever

Again Weickert shopping center in Neustadt a.d. Weinstr. – taken some time pre-Christmas, most likely in December. The illuminated “W” on the roof can be seen and also quite a lot of Christmas lights.

From the chain of lightbulbs and the writing my guess is that this photo was taken some time before Christmas in December. You see shopping center Weickert in Neustadt a.d.Weinstr. – and it looks like they had everything. Some of the writing translated: “Food department with self service” “Use our elevator and escalator” “Buy something good, gift something nice, buy at Weickert” “…toy department in the lower basement”

This photo was taken in spring or early summer 1953. No idea what they were celebrating. Dog owners parade? Best looking goat? Location is Speyerer Straße – on the right you can see my Grandparents house.