The Team

The official 2005 Oktoberfest Research Team at the Hofbrauhaus.

Einfahrt, Chugger, Barleyman.

Wilkommen!

Each in their own way, the travellers have made it. Some got lucky - upgrades to First Class over the pond, fully reclining seats, filet mignon; other got delayed, missed connection, got rebooked on another delayed flight, etc. 15 of us got here, got our hotels, got our fisrt, second and third, ... beers.

Great to see each other, and much time spent catching up with each others stories - over beer und food of course. Some place, like the tents at Weisn (Oktoberfest grounds) are to loud to do much catching up, so are better to enjoy with singing and clapping, and a beer.

Weather has really worked out so far. Light drizzle the first day, but a fine day yesterday. Jane headed off to Salzburg, saw the Eagle's Nest and got snowed on. Sam and Jim trained up to Wurzberg, rented a car and went to the old Dell family town. For others, HofBrauHaus, and an attempt at Wa-Wi - a very large bier garden in the suburbs of Munich.

We took the trip out there, walked in the fine eveniing. Got there and the grounds were closed, the restaurant fully reserved for a group! Very ticked! Take away one mug of their rating!!

Off for now.

Day 1

Thanks for the update.

Here's a shot of the team at the Lowenbrau Tent at the Oktoberfest grounds. We never got a table inside but had a good time anyway.

Today: Off to Englischer Garden and Seehaus.

Hello from Munchen ! ! !

Well, we made it. In spite of delayed flights and cancelled flights, everyone that was scheduled to be here is here; albeit somewhat late. After brief pleasantries, we headed to the Wiesn. Paulaner Tent was closed, so off to Lowenbrau. With 9 people it was tough getting a table inside, so we got one outside. Ordered beers and it started to rain. Oh well, c´est la vie (oops, wrong country).

Anyway, we had beer, then headed to the Hofbrauhaus. After more beer and food, we had a greasy gyro, then decided to seat ourselves at Shakepeares, a great little bar. The evening ended around 3:00AM trying to find food. Not much open at that time. Oh well, more for today (Friday).

Planning on doing something, and then meeting back at the Hofbrauhaus around 3P-4P. Hopefully other research associates will jon. Wear your shirt ! !

Auf Wiedersehen.

The Barbus Clock

The reliable Barbus Clock informs: 18 hrs 50 minutes to go and we will meet in the Hofbrauhaus.
Meeting time is on the clock.

The CLOCK......

We have approximately 0 hours and 14 minutes left until we meet on Thursday, 29 September, at Augustiner Großgaststätte, at 14:00 local time.

When I post this the local time is : 07.15 hrs.
I hope our Grand Oktoberfestian is aware of this and that he realises that we feel trapped now that we have to wait 6 more hours to start the party; let's fine him.

The First Oktoberfestians Head to the Airport

Because of the west coast locale, BarleyMan and Paulaner Girl have the dubious honor of the first ones to begin the trek to Munchen. As of this posting, they are on their way to the airport. Later today they will be followed by Grumpy & Mrs. Grumpy, the newly appointed "Little Einfahrt", Jim, Sam, Chugger and the infamous Einfahrt himself.

Auf Wiedersehen.

The next post will originate from Munchen ! !

Have a Safe Flight

and
see
you
in
Munich

Love,
Schlumberger Lady & Barbus

Better Late Than Never...

While we only have until tomorrow to freely post, it was nice to see one new poster this week (Ludwig II). In addition, I just got a confirmation email on a second new Oktoberfestian registering on the site. While there is still time for posting activity, we wait with baited breath to see if it occurs.

The new registrant, you ask.. "Little John". Sorry, still can't resist.

Ok everyone else, we know you have been lurking and reading but not posting. Tonight is your last chance. Get With It ! ! ! !

Add to the list of items to pack.....

Passport
BDG2M Book(s)
Camera
Pepto & Immodium
BDG2M Researcher Shirt & Card
Newport, KY & Vegas Hofbrauhaus Shirts
Extra Socks (in case of rain)
Lots of Euros

Beer Call 09/27/05

Maybe the final beer call before departure. I had lunch with fellow Oktoberfestian Herr Dell, and we dined on sausage and St. Pauli Girl. While St. Pauli Girl is brewed in "strict accordance with the German Purity Law", it is good at best, but not the best. I would drink it, but I believe it is difficult to drink in mass quantities. We will start that on Thursday.

Sorry for the poor picture. I know it is not up to BarleyMan standards, but it was taken with my cell phone.

Just wondering

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?

If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that one enjoys it?

OK. That was my final stateside post. Tuesday's posting obligation has been met. Next posting from me to come from the city of Munich.

Nano Tech

Nano technology is starting to show some interesting progress. This site has some software tools to help nano designers model their intended creations. Cool things are going to happen in this area over the next decade.

"Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy"

Our news reporting seems to be the latest failure in a series of tragedies from the hurricane(s). While I have been sceptical of mass media for some time, the reports from Katrina seem to have hit new (low) standards in (in)accuracy, hype, shrillness, and echo chamber. The Los Angeles Times is hardly a right-wing paper, but reports on what almost seems like the child's game of "telephone," where one child whispers a sentence in the ear of another who tells it to another child and so on around a big circle. The original sentence is lost in the game as it goes around. The Times-Picayune, a New Orleans regional paper has similar refutals. We've also seen TV interviews that turned out completely falsified.

The problem here isn't the bad facts, unchecked rumors, or false stories. They can be almost expected of such a mess and the news reporting system. The problem is that opinions are formed based on such lousy stories and even if the press is later corrected, the opinions formed are already in play. The truth has no chance of catching up with the initial impressions.

I've said it before, but getting facts before forming an opinion is important. Relying on the press for facts is a mistake.

As You Board Your Flight:

Beware of what recently happened in San Francisco....

A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket, instead he opened his trench coat and flashed her. Without missing a beat....she said, "Sir, I need to see your ticket not your stub."

Weather Forecast Getting Better

Looking a little better!

Complainer....

Chugger...

Your hourly clock is cool, but by my calculation, it is a few hours off.

We meet at 1330 on Thursday, GMT-1. It is now 0330, Tuesday, GMT-1. Which is exactly 2 days 10 hours, which is 58 hours, not the 67 hours, 30 minutes being calculated...

Unless of course you are going into hiding for 10 hours... ;-)

My New Derndl Date

Due to unforseen circumstances, Bonnie will not be able to attend so I found a new partner for the trip. I hope you don't mind!

Chugger & Einfahrt are already in Munich?

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/26/MTFH58239_2005-09-26_16-16-52_EIC658247.html

Porn shoot stuns tourists

Sep 26 12:08 PM US/Eastern

BERLIN (Reuters) - Italian vacationers admiring the view from a fairground Ferris wheel at the Munich Oktoberfest got more than they bargained for when a porn shoot suddenly began inside their cabin, authorities said on Friday.
Having settled down to enjoy a leisurely spin on the wheel at the famous beer festival, the group of Italians were quite unprepared for the arrival of two men toting cameras and a woman who started to use a vibrator.
Unable to stop the shoot, the Italians informed local police, who promptly arrested the actress and her crew, a Marketing Director and a General Manager..
"They said they weren't doing it for commercial reasons but that they wanted to see how visitors would react," police said. The three have been charged with public indecency.

All over the World

Friends ?

I Wanted to Photo-Chop This....

but I could not think of any way to improve it. I would like to know, though, how long it will take for Einfahrt's nose to look that.

I Knew It!

That damn weather chart broke the blog! Broke the blog! broke the blog! broke the blog...

Buffalo Theory for Smart Asses

I don´t know what happened, but I believe that the European view of our Blog sometimes shows different images. Here is what we see.
It´s why I´ve asked `does she mean right or left`
To be honest I had to drink a few beers......................... and remebered the wise words Cliff said to Norm in one of the first episodes of Cheers.

`A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive drinking of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. And that is why you always feel smarter after a few beers."

Visits to Oktoberfest - A World Class Event

Reflections on the countdown....

With children, you first start talking about their age in terms of weeks, then months, and eventually you get to x years old.

With Oktoberfest this year, we talked about months to go, then weeks to go, and most recently days to go.

Is it now appropriate to talk about Hours to Go?

introduction of two newbie's

Before you all dash off to Munich, here is a quick introduction of two newbie’s to the Holy Order of October festians.
Name: Richard, married to Agnes, two daughters, 9 and 12. Former NCR. Live in Dayton for a while. Agnes got into the Dayton way of live, picked up line dancing and became bowling champ. Agnes is a teacher and provides a regular income to compensate my entrepreneurial habit to spend money on future business.

Although new to this group, I am an Oktoberfest veteran. Purely by coincidence……, end of September Munich is the center of business meetings. I once convince my USA boss that he should sponsor a table, best marketing dollars ever spend. Actually, in the past 10 years I had the privilege to be in Munich at least 5 times per year. With customers like Siemens, Allianz and Deutsche Telekom there was no way of avoiding the place. This is how I’ve come to love the city and in my mind it is truly one of the nicest cities in Europe. It is the perfect blend where Northern Europe meets the Mediterranean culture. Munich has a lay back, joy of life, attitude but don’t jaywalk. You will be publicly corrected by a 90 year old pensioner.

For Agnes this will be the first visit to Munich. With two kids that need to be stalled, our visit will be confined to a long weekend stay, but for compensation, we will double the beer consumption.

Looking forward to meet you all. Have a good flight and see you on the wiesse.

Ludwig II

The upload, she no work

Pictures can be uploaded, the sequence seems fine, but no link to the resulting picture is placed in the post being composed. Something is broken.

Did Grumpy Break the Blog ? ?

I received an email from Grumpy yesterday stating he had issues trying to upload a picture. I briefly explained the procedure, naturally expecting it to be operator error. Well, I have just tried posting with a picture and it appears to be non-functional. You can select a picture to post and go through the actual motions to upload it, but the html never gets placed into the actual post.

Can someone else verify?

Gute Reise!

Team Members,
Eliska and I (that’s her on the cover and that’s NOT me standing next to her) have had a lot of fun browsing your blog these past several months as you prepare for your big research mission in Munich. Personally, I’ve really enjoyed the back and forth banter, the quick wit and the humorous posts. It’s all in keeping with the spirit of The BDG2M to have a great time and enjoy Munich in every way possible. Most of those ways involve beer, and you folks have broken the code. Yours is truly a league-sanctioned event. Have a great trip, stay safe not sober, and if possible send us back a digital pix or two for the website. Cheers and Prosit!
Fieldführer (Larry) and Fieldfräulein (Eliska)

Beer Call 9/24/05

Hopefully everyone is in training. My beer? 2005 Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen. Good Amber beer, clean crisp taste.

Paulaner girl did not think this bottled brew met her standards. There's no pleasing her! Of course, you knew that. ;-)