Month: December 2025
Business-Bytes 1 – 5
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BUSINESS-BYTES IS TAKING A HOLIDAY BREAK!
In the past few weeks I’ve been publishing around one “Business Byte” per week in LinkedIn – essentially, a very short post to explain something cool and important about the business world that new college graduates might not know. (Well, since I teach college graduates, I can confirm, a lot of what we take for granted in the business world is quite new to them.)
Amazingly, I’ve gotten over 30K views so far!
If you’d like to look at them during the holiday season, here’s a list!
BB 05 – Dealing with executives from different generations
BB04 – Chats and Emails
BB03 – Editing PowerPoints in a Group
BB02 – Name your files professionally
BB01 – Get a good bound notebook
Red things in Terragona
Did I capture a UFO over Biel?
I was trying out my new Tamron 18x400mm telephoto lens on my seagull Marvin, and his friend, perched on their usual perch, a base station across from my apartment:
That’s Marvin on the left. Anyway, I took another snap about 1 second later, and I saw this – which as you can see, also caught the attention of Marvin and his buddy:
As you can see a strange white ball in the sky. Here is what it looks like when I zoomed in:
What I find amazing: I would have never seen this little white dot if it weren’t for my telephoto lens. So it makes me stop to think: all those videos that shows UFOs that the US Navy and US Air Force has recorded – maybe they are very same as the case here – without a telephoto lense, you just cannot see them?
Rolex Trees – 2
The factory of Rolex in Biel always does a good job with Christmas lights:
Sleeping Trees in Bern
Rolex Trees
The Rolex manufacturing plant in Biel always does a good job with lighted trees during the holiday season:
Then and Now – Büren an der Aare – Holzbrücke Büren an der Aare
THEN (1925):
NOW:
NOW (COLOR):
COMMENTS:
(1) There is documentation of a wooden bridge here since 1251!
(2) The current incarnation of the bridge was 1991. Apparently the previous bridge was destroyed by arson in 1989.
Alte Papierfabrik Biberist – 2
Alte Papierfabrik Biberist
ChatGPT had the following to say about this place:
The paper factory in Biberist (just outside Solothurn) operated for over 150 years and supplied Switzerland with printing paper, packaging material, and later high-quality specialty papers. At its peak, it employed several hundred workers and shaped the entire region.
Shut down in 2011 — and slowly reborn
After the factory closed, the huge site didn’t vanish. Instead, it entered a long-term transformation into a new district for:
• guided industrial-heritage tours
• artist studios and creative spaces
• cultural events
• small tech and production companies
• exhibitions about the paper-making process
Visitors can now walk through parts of the old plant, see original machines, and get a sense of the enormous energy and water systems required to run a mill of this scale.
Bundeshaus
Amazing how time flies – 2
Continuing the series, here’s a current lifetime snapshop of my scientific articles:
I guess I was never too keen on having a huge number of citations for any particular article – it makes me much more proud to see the staying power of some of these; that is, over 30 years have gone by since I started publishing, and over 20 years have gone by since I stopped – and still at least a handful of people find my little contributions to be useful enough to cite!
The water’s reflection in Soloturn
I can’t honest remember if this is the river Aare or the river Reust – but it doesn’t really matter because almost all rivers in Switzerland are named either the Aare or the Reust! Anway, it was taking one fall day in Solothurn:
Heiliggeistkirche
Einsiedelei in der Verenaschlucht in Solothurn
ChatGPT had to say this about the place:
• It sits at the far end of the Verenaschlucht, a narrow, shaded gorge just outside Solothurn, known for its mossy bridges, water channels, and quiet hiking paths.
• The small complex includes the St. Verena Chapel, the St. Martin Chapel, and the hermit’s living quarters.
• For centuries, the site has maintained a tradition of having a resident hermit or caretaker — historically a religious hermit, today more of a spiritual custodian.
• Even now, one person still lives there, tending the site, ringing the bell, keeping candles lit, and caring for the visitors who come for reflection or prayer.
• The place blends nature and spirituality — water trickles through the gorge, candles flicker in the stone niches, and it feels almost outside of time.
Then and Now – Bern – Heiliggeistkirche
THEN (1814):
NOW:
NOW (COLOR):
The Swiss White House
Actually called the Bundeshaus, this is where the Swiss government meets. As with most things in Switzerland that look old, it only looks old. The building was completed in the latter part of the 19th century.
