Society seems to have taken the collective decision to go all ‘aaah, fuck it’. Governments worldwide are dropping even the simplest covid protective measures, like social distancing, reduced participants to (indoor) events. There’s no more testing anywhere, and even the masking in indoor public areas is pretty much down the drain. I don’t understand thisContinue reading “Loser by choice”
Monthly Archives: April 2022
The stars aligned
The first day after an extended leave always is going to be a tough day. Ideally you catch up with all of the team members, and talk through everyone’s individual projects and what happened during the absence. Although all members of my team know their stuff, and know it well, the PhDs I currently superviseContinue reading “The stars aligned”
Up next: holiday
After a good month of seeing beautiful places, and spending time with the family, you’d think I’d be all relaxed. Quite the contrary. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few weeks, it’s that raising and entertaining two kids all day, every day, is bloody exhausting. You’d hope to come back rested, butContinue reading “Up next: holiday”
A night out
This morning I had the wonderful idea to camp at a sheep and alpaca farm somewhere here in Bavaria, about an hour and a half from home. We were already close by, and looking for a place to stay. Our calls to the farm remained unanswered. The farmer was probably also having an Easter brunch,Continue reading “A night out”
I wasn’t even looking…
Can you believe this? I just spent a full month in Croatia, a country known among herpetologists to be an excellent country for field herpetology trips, because of its relatively high species richness in comparison to the rest of Europe, but also because of the ease of finding herpetiles in spring. A full month, andContinue reading “I wasn’t even looking…”
Celebrating ‘absolutely nothing’ in style
I gave myself some presents yesterday to celebrate absolutely nothing at all but me – and only me. Every once in a while you should be allowed to do so, and do so in your own unique way. In my book that means the best thing I can do is buy snakes. This particular batchContinue reading “Celebrating ‘absolutely nothing’ in style”
The wait
Waiting, waiting, waiting. As I’m sitting here waiting, without much else to do, I might as well churn out a post, and finish my blog for the day early. I’m probably in the least inspiring area I could imagine: a roadside parking lot close to some horrible business hotels close to the Munich Messe Eventcenter.Continue reading “The wait”
Why say more?
If you thought last month’s posts were rather boring, this one may be the new low. After a quick espresso doppio we drove from northern Italy to Austria over Passo Monte Croce Carnico. On the highest point, we found the old border office, and several other buildings – supposedly a museum and a restaurant –Continue reading “Why say more?”
I used to love the turtles
We only did some minor sightseeing today. Not much to write home about, but here I am. After a big breakfast at a local restaurant, we walked some in a huge riverbed belonging to the Tagliamento river. Judging by the size of it, maybe once or twice a year, this will guide enormous amounts ofContinue reading “I used to love the turtles”
Castle on the hill
The thing we saw today… was it even a castle? Probably not – more like a miniature citadel – but it was built on top of a hill, so it’s not a complete lie. Today we were making our way up towards Slovenia and Italy, but on our way I saw a sign pointing upContinue reading “Castle on the hill”
Robin Heinen 