Jakarta is a city, which has a lot to offer for the discerning gourmet; many places to visit – normally. Since half a year, the life in Jakarta is less sparkling, actually a bit boring. Going out with friends is out of the question, most places are closed and the ones still open are – […]
Category: Urban Survival
Toxic Asbestos in your Bathroom?
The pictures shown here (Figures 1 and 2) come from a study in which we conducted on twelve commercial baby powders and cosmetic formulations available in the shops in Jakarta, Indonesia (March-May 2020). Our initial intention was to analyze the particle size distribution (PSD) of common household articles with a polarizing light microscope for a reference […]
Jakarta – Good News
The picture is a microphotograph of ambient (street-)dust, collected in Jakarta on August 9th, 2020, after major rainfall which ended a spell of ten dry days. The sample material has been washed down and concentrated by the rain and was collected with a tape lift from a specially prepared surface. So, what’s good about it? […]
Covid-19: Jakarta im lock-down
Seit dem 10. April ist Jakarta im lock-down, hier PSBB (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar – Soziale Einschränkungen in großem Mass) genannt. Das bedeutet, dass die Schulen und praktisch alle Geschäfte geschlossen sind, mit Ausnahme der Lebensmittelketten, Apotheken, Heimwerkermärkte(!). Wer kann, der arbeitet von zu Hause (wfh: working from home). Auf den Straßen, draußen, sind Gesichtsmasken […]
Could Jakarta be hit by a Tsunami? – Extremely unlikely!
After the recent tsunami disasters (Aceh, Pangandaran, Palu, Krakatau and other places) voices that are warning of a tsunami threatening Jakarta (eg. in Kompas, December 27th, page 21) or even all of Indonesia are being heard. In short: Jakarta is safe and the all-Indonesia-tsunami is nothing but a hoax.
Why it is so difficult to be Green
Practically everybody with a brain has understood that we all have to do something to save the environment (and the world), yet we don’t make enough effort. Why? Behaving environmentally responsible is not considered to be “cool”. Trying to get someone to avoid plastic bags is like telling your children to eat up their veggies […]
BYOB – Bring Your Own Bottle
Clean drinking Water is important, but it does not have to be packaged! The hot 2018 summer in Europe has taught us new things: People, traveling or going to work in the heat of the city refilled their own water bottles in public or commercial places. Now friendly cafés, shops, hotels and businesses are welcoming […]
Can we roast coffee in a hot-air fryer? – Yes, we can!
Can we roast green coffee in a hot-air fryer, will it taste any good? What is a hot-air fryer anyway? It’s one of these new kitchen devices that promise to fry anything (french fries, chicken wings, etc) and bake (bread, cake) with hot air and with little or no fat at all. These fryers have […]
Big Brother (and others) are watching You
It is disturbing what others know about us. Recently, BBC reported a data leakage of information “… from personal details, the data also contained citizens’ suspected religious affiliations, ethnicities and political biases, such as where they stood on controversial topics like gun control, the right to abortion and stem cell research”. Reportedly, the data cache leaked […]
In search of the perfect bag (part 3)
I found it. Heureka! Well- not really, at least something that comes close to what I want. It’s a pilot bag. It has seventeen-or-so pockets, zippers, loops, and is made of the usual nylon textile material. It’s not perfect but pretty close to what I want. The zippers are a bit rough and feel cheap. […]