Michael Last summer, I had the dubious pleasure of having my meniscus, which I tore playing soccer, surgically repaired. In Figure 2, you can see the total cost of this adventure. The hospital charged a whopping $43,696. However, our health insurance had a deal with the place, so we got a discount of $27,775.55, leaving $15,275.10, which the insurance actually paid. That means everything except for the so-called "Copay," a deductible of $645.35, was charged to me as the patient. What went on there?

Angelika In November 2023, two dubious letters from amazon.de landed in our snail mail mailbox with a postmark from Malta and a letterhead with the Amazon logo, which wasn't even in color. Allegedly, I had ordered something from Amazon, but the direct debit could not be processed, and I now supposedly owed Amazon 101 euros each, which I was requested to promptly transfer to the banking institution HSBC Trinkhaus and Burkhardt.

Angelika Anyone who works at a school like I do enjoys the benefit of generously alotted vacation time, which is a real luxury in the USA. And now that Michael has recently become a freelance programmer and surfer, and is therefore very flexible with his time, we can use my vacations for traveling together.

Angelika Right around the corner from the Anza Borrego Desert is Salton Sea, an oversalted, practically dead lake, behind which tells the story of a major environmental disaster. It's an unreal, fascinating, but also somewhat eerie landscape in the middle of the hot desert. An area that once saw glorious times with major Hollywood artists visiting, and nowadays attracts bohemians with interesting, but often also tragic life stories.

Michael During the Covid lockdowns, we got into the habit of going for a walk every day, and at that time you either couldn't leave the city or had to quickly get a walk in before sunset, so I began to scope out intricate city hiking trails using websites like Google Maps and Komoot.com. San Francisco offers not only the well-known attractions for tourists, and even someone who has lived here for 20 years may not know every hidden staircase, urban hill, or mini-parks with breathtaking views, whether in rustic working-class neighborhoods or luxury districts built with old money.

Michael I still type a lot on the computer, writing articles, creating open-source software, and sending sharp-tongued emails or posts on social media. In my later years, I have also discovered the standing desk for myself. Or, rather, an adjustable desk that moves up or down with a motor, depending on whether I want to sit down or stand up while working.

Michael As for glueing climate activists, you in Germany probably know better than we do here in the USA, but of course, we are also familiar with Greta. That's why I had to laugh when about six months ago, I discovered this wall portrait of her, a so-called 'mural' in the middle of the city, right around the corner from my dentist. The image had something eerie about it, like a doll sitting on a shelf staring at you.