after_alex

This week I’m in Germany. Heidelberg, to be exact. And the SAP headquarters in Walldorf. But I’d never thought I’d come here to witness the biggest storm Europe has seen in years.

So far, several people have been killed in Germany alone. Doors fell on babies and the elderly, trees crushed drivers. It got so bad that the DB train company has shut down all trains in Germany, and now commuters are stranded everywhere. Thank God I picked up my rental car today.

Waves crash against the lighthouse of the port of IJmuiden in the Netherlands Jan. 18, 2007. Gale-force winds and heavy rains hit the Netherlands.

What a mess. Who’da known. It got so bad that my colleagues had to abandon work early to try to catch the public transportation before it shut down…and corporate headquarters requested a vacancy of all company buildings as a “risk management” measure. It was quite creepy however, for most of the day myself and other colleagues were working while the wind whistled through the hallways. Interesting. At the SAP headquarters in Germany, offices actually have windows that you open and close (a strange practice for a Californian like myself to understand – i.e. how do they practice internal office climate control here?…hmm. different people, different ways). But the wind blows through like an SAP ghost hunting for its lost metadata.

A picture taken 18 January 2007 of huge waves in the port of Wimereux, northern France. Rain and violent winds gusting up to 140 kph (87 mph) … AFP PHOTO PHILIPPE HUGUEN

In the US, I suppose this storm would actually be considered a hurricane – with nearly 200 km/h winds in some parts. But good thing Heidelberg is in the Rhine Valley (according to Andreas Wendlberger, my SAP intellectual adviser), and that means we’re sort of protected from the harshest of conditions. THat’s a good thing. But it is pretty bad for some. I suppose the worst for me so far is that internet connection at the hotel is slow. Connection must be spotty cuz of the telecommunications problems right now.

A tree has crashed on a house in Frankfurt, central Germany, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007, when heavy storms propelled by trough ‘Kyrill’ hit Germany on Thursday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

But no matter. Tomorrow, I go into work as usual…this time driving myself. Hopefully there will be no 18-wheeler Benz trucks blowing around on the Autobahn.

A truck travelling on the autobahn in Thuringia was blown over sideways by the wind gusts.

Well…hope my weekend plans aren’t spoiled yet. Going to the famous Porsche and Mercedes museums in Stuttgart later!

Aw, the tides have turned, according to the New York Times. Apparently, GM’s complaining that American congressmen and senators have been bought out by Toyota and foreign carmakers, and that the “Big Three” no longer have their same clout over Washington DC as they used to.

“Tough luck” is what Robert Lutz (GM’s vice chairman) called it. And in my opinion, that’s their bad. These days I don’t think people care whether or not a foreign car company is buying up the political capital of the American heartland. Who cares. If they make better cars, let them do it, right? I suppose the real sad part is that carmakers really can buy out politicians in this day and age. But the bright reality of it is that Toyota, Honda, and other foreign carmakers indeed benefit the American middle-class – with manufacturing plants, jobs, sourcing contracts, etc. Oh well, not like the “Big Three” are really “American” companies anymore either. Chrysler is owned by Daimler Chrysler (i.e. Daimler Benz), so to hell with it. Eventually Ford and GM will have to sell out to foreign competitors as well. Ah, the glories of globalization…