DrW

Interesting topic. For me, college was actually the time where it was easiest for me to make friends; usually, I am not very social. Of course, the circumstances in Germany where I grew up are different from the US. It is assumed that when you have finished high school (which, due to differences in the school system, applies to about 30-40% of all kids), you know enough about all general subjects. Thus, e.g. when you study biochemistry (as I did), you have classes in biology (botany, zoology), math, physics, and (mostly) chemistry and biochemistry, but not in languages, history, or ballroom dancing. All of the chemistry, biochemistry, and physics classes had labs, where you have more contact with your classmates. All together, with about 10 biochemistry and 40 chemistry majors in my class, this means that you are permanently around the same group of people. Thus, forming social bonds was nearly automatic. One other relevant difference between the US and Germany is the drinking age. In Germany, when you start college/university at 18, you are allowed to drink alcohol in public. Thus, when you finish your zoology lab at 6 pm after having dissected a frog, and some classmates ask you to join them for a beer in a close-by pub, the answer is easy.

Well, you guessed wrong. We have state inspections in Texas. The problem seems to be more on the enforcement side. You need a current state inspection for the annual re-registration. However, when you walk over a random parking lot, I would guess that 10-20 % of the vehicles have an expired registration - sometimes by a year or more.

Dedicated to the brave Ukranians...

A plug for the local boy: In the 7th round the Bills will select what later turns out to be the steal of the draft - Erik Ezukanma (Texas Tech). Seriously, after the 2020 season he might have been a 2nd/3rd round pick. Last season he was not quite as successful due to injury and the atrocious play of the TTU QBs. He has good hands for contested catches and fights for YACs.

This reminds me of a statement in an article about preserved Santa Fe steam locomotives: "There are two surviving AT&SF 2-8-2 "Mikado" type locomotives. These two locomotives (numbers 3167 and 4076) were lost in a flood in 1952 and are now sunk in the Kaw River in Topeka, KS." https://www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase.php?country=USA&wheel=2-8-2&railroad=atsf

What about the other half of JA after the split, Hot Tuna? First a traditional... and then something from their heavier phase...

My favorite JA song (well, a tie with "White Rabbit"). I always liked them when they were a bit more experimental. Grace on vocals, Jorma on guitar, and Nicky Hopkins on piano (reminiscent of his piano parts in "She's a rainbow" by the Rolling Stones) are the highlights.

To promote the Austin, TX scene (both our kids are UT)... And as I have a special place in my heart for everything that does not have the standard 4/4 time signature...

The pre-Buckingham/Nicks Fleetwood Mac versions were so much better. Here are even earlier examples of the Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green... (Youtube does not allow embedding of this video.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8v_OC3zWCM

According to the LyricsFreak web site, the "doups" are vocals; they transcribe them as "uh". Oh Sees – C Lyrics [Verse 1] First you can see above the burning boat (Uh, uh, uh) I squint my eyes but I still don't know (Uh, uh, uh) I've been smelling fear on you (Uh, uh, uh) Burning buildings, morning dew (Uh, uh, uh)

Drama in the backyard yesterday. A Northern Harrier had caught a Starling. Sorry for the bad pic - I did not want to get closer and perhaps scare it away.

I had posted two live concerts of Thee Oh Sees a couple of weeks ago. A while ago they changed their name to Oh Sees, and the sound turned a bit away from their earlier garage rock days. If you watch the following clip, I have one question. In the second song (with the simple title "C"), after every line that John Dwyer sings, there is the refrain "doup...doup...doup". Who is singing the "doups"? No other band member seems to have a mike for vocals and none of them seems to move their lips.

I am still watching out for 22:22.

1. 1990. After getting my PhD in Germany, I went to Rochester in September 1990 as postdoc. Every Monday the whole lab was very excited about "football" and "the Bills". The first football game I watched on TV left me utterly confused. Over the course of the season I began to understand more. The first game I remember was - unfortunately - 2. Super Bowl XXV 3. Don Beebe hustling down Leon Lett. 4. Frank Reich/Josh Allen 5. The nickname my postdoctoral mentor in Rochester gave me. My last name starts with W, the rest should be obvious.

Using Associate Professor Marilyn Y Byrd in the Department of Human Resources of the University of Oklahoma as source of information might be a bit of a stretch. She does not have much of a standing in the scientific community, as evidenced by the fact that (according to Web of Science) her work has been cited a total of 44 times by other researchers. I do not know about the situation in the field of human resources, but in my research area (biochemistry) this number would fail to give you an interview for an Assistant Professor position.

Agree completely. Normally bobsledding is decided by tenths or even hundredths of seconds. Remember the 2018 Olympics, where there was a tie for the gold medal in the two-man event. And here in 2022 is Friedrich winning by half a second, and one and a half seconds ahead of third place.

This one from ~2 years later has better video and is in color, but is shot just from a single camera angle. It often gives you a good shot at both drummers. One of them looks as if he were Josh Allen's older brother (and he is wearing shorts). .

That is the right attitude. Words of the German luge coach Norbert Loch after the win in the luge relay: “That’s a great performance. And now, beer. We earned it.” As a German myself, I have developed the hypothesis that we are good in any sport where you can sit on your behind. In the winter olympics, we are good in luge and bobsleigh. In the summer olympics, our best results are in equestrian, rowing, kayaking, and track cycling.

Not necessarily "near death", but certainly "close to severe injuries": February 2000, we were still living in Rochester. One Sunday afternoon, wife and I had been to Mendon Ponds Park for some sledding with our 11 months old son. Took the I-390 back to the city. Roads were slippery, traffic was pretty dense for a Sunday. At one point, about 300 feet ahead, a state trooper car that seemed to be parked in the emergency lane was suddenly accelerating into the traffic, activating lights and siren while barging into the right lane. Panic ensued, and most cars hit the brakes hard, which was not a good idea considering the road conditions. While cars were spinning to the left and to the right, I just steered my "yank tank" (a Pontiac Safari station wagon) straight ahead through the chaos, without getting hit. Newspaper reports the next day mentioned damaged cars, but no severe injuries or deaths.

There should be no doubt that (American) football, and specifically the NFL, is gaining international appeal. Reuters estimated that of the 160 million viewers of the 2020 Super Bowl nearly 40 million were from outside of the US. And Germany seems to be the best place for going to Continental Europe. NFL Europe generally had the largest attendance in games played in Germany, and in the last years of NFL Europe 5 of the 6 teams were located in Germany. Furthermore, there is now a new, NFL-independent "European League of Football" (ELF). Of the 12 teams, 7 are based in Germany.

I guess you mean Winter Olympic gold medal. I can remember some rowing golds at summer games.

Should be 2:22 AM. For most of the world 2:22 PM is 14:22.

"At least I will not have to buy new ties. The Giants' colors are pretty close to those of the Bills."

Unfortunately, we will probably have to wait until 2025 to see a Harbaugh (Ravens) vs. Harbaugh (Vikings) match. There is a possibility that they will meet in the 17th game in 2023

I know something about birds and can tell you that the identification is correct. In common kingfishers the lower mandible (lower part of the bill) is black in males and orange in females.