Petronas Towers by Night 2
Originally uploaded by magnusvk.

Many modern high-rise buildings are very similar to each other. It is all about the glass and the steel and can get very impersonal at times. The Petronas Towers, on the other hand, are very distinctive, beautiful buildings. Despite being designed by an Argentine-American architect, they incorporate many elements of Islamic art. Not only does this show that the architect actually engaged with the surroundings of the building he was designing — Malaysia is a Muslim country — but it also gives these towers a look that is simultaneously very modern and very local. It is always good to see examples of non-westernized modernity and these towers are an icon of that thinking.

I love the Petronas Towers and could not pass up the opportunity for this photo-op picture. The only pity is that Kuala Lumpur was covered in a constant smoggy haze when we were there. Apart from seeing these architectural masterpieces, I honestly did not enjoy the city too much.

Read more about the Petronas Towers at Wikipedia.
See all of my pictures of the Petronas Towers.

I recently had a client apply for a credit card. She is a homemaker, with no personal income. The house she lives in is in her husband’s name. She would have asked for a $3,000 credit line, just to pay miscellaneous expenses and to establish some credit on her own. So the computer is told that her household income is $150,000; her mortgage/rent payment is zero. The fact is that her husband’s mortgage payment is $7,000 a month (which he got with a no income verification loan). She had a good credit score, but limited credit since she has only lived in this country for the last three years. The system gave her an approval for a $26,000 line of credit!

The Worst Is Yet To Come: Anonymous Banker Weighs In On The Coming Credit Card Debacle – Executive Suite Blog – NYTimes.com.

It is insanely easy to get credit even in Germany. But this is just crazy. No wonder we are in such deep trouble.

The United States wrote history on Tuesday, electing the first black president in the nation’s history and — more importantly — electing someone who is promising to become a truly great president. I have been wondering, though: the guy must have some weakness. In my experience, most successful people are highly eccentric in one way or the other. Some manage to hide it, some don’t even bother.

Take Bill Clinton, for example. He is a political genius and was a great president but — as we all found out — he is also a sex addict. George W. Bush was an alcoholic, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer was a regular at a high-profile escort service, John Edwards cheats on his wife while she is battling cancer, Joschka Fischer was constantly oscillating between being obese and running marathons. The list goes on and on — and while these are all politicians, you could probably add successful businessmen, entrepreneurs and journalists, just that you don’t usually find out about them because nobody bothers to dig up the dirt.

Barack Obama, though, seems above all that. At least on paper, he’s perfect. He is athletic, good-looking, intelligent, religious, a family man, loves his wife, adores his daughters. He is patient, well-adjusted, listens to advice, but able to take decisions and stick with them. Sure, he used to smoke but his wife asked him to stop and because he loves her so much and has a will as strong as steel, he quit. Oh, and yeah, he is the best speaker the world has seen in years. What is wrong with the guy? He simply cannot be that perfect.

I am seriously curious: what will it be? Will he dump his wife and start an affair with Paris Hilton? Suddenly become obese? Become a coke-head? Or is he really perfect?

In September, we went on a road trip to and through Spain. I did not blog much about it (I was too busy enjoying myself…) but it was quite a trip. I just loved it. And I fell in the love with the very idea of a road trip. Constantly driving, seeing the different aspects of a country through your car window. It is a really great way to travel.

I just put together a little map showing our trip:
View Larger Map

It’s at the very limit of what Google Maps can manage but it does give you an idea of what we’ve seen while traveling 6,500km (about 4,000mi) around Europe. Absolutely recommended.

I really like YouTube Comment Snob. It automatically hides all comments that don’t meet certain criteria for correct spelling. It’s amazing how many useless, annoying and downright stupid comments you can avoid using a criterion as seemingly unrelated as spelling. I just wish I had such a filter for all sites that allow comments — too much useless junk in there that causes you to miss the occasional insightful remark.