I Found Nemo at Media Markt

I've been in serious need of a USB drive to replace my last one....let's just say it's from back when a 128 MB thumbdrive was considered large....

But it's not something you ever remember to buy and I hadn't seen any that really said "BUY ME!!!" until I saw this guy. I know clownfish don't really speak, but he got the message across loud and clear

Eccentric Gazillionaire Dreams

What crazy things would you do if you were an eccentric gazillionaire?

A lot of people would have sharks with lasers à la Dr. Evil, or just sharks under the living room floor like Vector from "Despicable Me". After a couple of weeks at the beach, I know what I would do:

I want a reef-sized "aquarium" with lots of Triggerfish.  Some sharks would be cool, too, but I really want Triggerfish. They're not only beautiful, but highly intelligent and seeming to have distinct personalities.

I'd have lots of the cute little blue scaredy-cat Red-Toothed Triggerfish that hide in mini caves....

Red-Toothed Triggerfish

...more Red-Toothed Triggerfish (one of the four has already slid into a hole to hide)...

....adorable little Picasso Triggerfish....

Picasso Triggerfish

...brightly painted Clown Triggerfish.....

Clown Triggerfish...interestingly colored Orange-lined Triggerfish....

Orange-lined Triggerfish

....and of course, the big smart Titans that root around everywhere and just look squeezable.  Wouldn't he be an entertaining pet? 

I took this video while snorkeling through the reef just off our room's beach. He also has an Orange-lined friend there to catch his scraps.

Also there will be rays that I can raise from babies to know me and feed in the morning.  And Herr J wants a pet octopi or two.

Ray hiding in the sandHowever, this requires lots of space and diverse terrain.  Triggerfish need space because they don't play well together (putting it nicely).  The Red-Toothed ones need deeper water and walls with lots holes to hide in, while the Picasso are happy with a small coral formation shallow water. And the rays need a nice shallow sandy area to hang out.

More importantly, as I learned from watching one last week, Triggerfish eat hermit crabs, and hermit crabs are kinda cute. And of course I want to keep both of them.  This is where both the "eccentric" and the "gazillionaire" part are important, because the only solution I see is to get custom manufactured military grade ceramic shells for the hermit crabs to protect them from the Triggerfish. In a wide range of sizes to allow for growth, of course. 

(All of the above pictures are ones I took diving or snorkeling in the Maldives)

I think for now I'll keep diving and will see about Umbra's cool stackable fish condos, but I'm curious to know all of your eccentric gazillionaire dreams.

German Beer, American-style Bottle?

One of the Erdinger Brewery's nine beer offerings is the Erdinger Champ, described on their website as "the cool Weißier."

(I'm not going to even get into how bad the translation is on Erdinger's own English website....it would be a very long post.  Though I may have to write them and let them know how they're really missing the meaning.)

 

However, I think the bottle design may be really cool and innovative.  It's your typical American-style longneck bottle, but according to their website:

"features an integrated opener on the bottom for extra convenience. Simply place one Erdinger Champ on top of another to twist open the bottom bottle. As you can see, it's always best to order two bottles and enjoy Erdinger Champ in company!"

Sure, it's a bit unnecessary in Texas, where most beers are twist-off or you can always find an Aggie whose class ring serves as an emergency beer opener, but it's a cool idea.

The reviews of the beer are pretty bad and as I've never seen it sold or advertised anywhere despite being introduced 10 years ago with a heavy marketing campaign, I doubt it's done very well. In fact it might be a good candidate for a Marketing or Strategy case study about how (not) to position your product....

But my first thought upon seeing this on the Erdinger site was "Is this supposed to be like an American beer?" It may seem minor, but the shape and size of the bottle, plus the fact that it is meant to be drunk from the bottle, are nearly heretical here in southern Bavaria.  There are both a proper glass and a proper way to pour a Weißier.

Erdinger Champ, in its 0.33 mL longneck

Erdinger, in the standard 0.5 mL bottle and glass

As much as I may mock the rules sometimes, we have seen that temperature and pouring method DO actually affect the taste (and probably the glass shape, though we haven't tested those yet).  In reality, most German beers will give you a good beer experience however you pour them, but it is possible to optimize the experience if you want.

 
What is the proper way to pour a Weißier?

Here we have "Brother Helmut" to help us out

And a very non-traditional, but totally accurate mechanical version for all you boys who like toys