Angelika It's no secret that we're living in an area that's often rattled by earthquakes. Small quakes are quite common, and most of them aren't even noticeable. Every once in a while, however, we get a rumble with magnitude 5 on the Richter scale, and depending on where the epicenter is located, it's not unusual that our house keeps swinging back and forth accordingly.

Angelika On August 18th this year in San Francisco, legions of five-year-olds attended kindergarten for the first time. The summer vacation had ended and a new school year had begun. Although Americans use the German word "kindergarten" for preschool, their concept differs radically from the German education system. In the U.S., kindergarten constitutes the year before first grade, while in Germany, kindergarten is several years of simple and playful daycare for three to five-year-olds. It's not surprising that in the U.S., kindergarten facilities are often located at the preschool buildings. Lately, I've been visiting various preschools as part of my job, where I'm accompanying autistic children to regular kindergartens. I was blown away to see how seriously the young kids are at work cramming facts, instead of enjoying their playtime!

Michael Once every week, I'm playing a pickup game with a team of fellow amateur soccer players. Whoever has time to play can reserve a spot on a dedicated web site, and a volunteer takes care of registering the game for a fee with the Recreation and Parks department of the city of San Francisco. It's always great fun to play, and there's even a video of my goal scoring techniques available on Youtube !

Michael It's fascinating to watch how much progress the U.S. has made in recent years when it comes to baked goods, especially bread. Going back in history, until the 1980ies, American consumers mainly purchased a rubbery substance called Wonder Bread . And even today, if you're touring outside of the major metropolitan areas, all you'll find in the rural supermarket shelves is bouncy synthetic bread, cut in slices and wrapped in plastic bags. In its raw form, without toasting it, it might very well be a dangerous choking hazard.

Michael Sometimes, I think, that everything on the Internet has already been invented, and then someone comes along and creates something so new, unique, and simple that it's surprising that noone has thought of this before.

Angelika Anyone who has ever been on vacation in San Francisco or California knows Highway 1. This world-renowned dream road snakes along the Pacific Ocean shore and offers fantastic views. Highway 1 is quite curvy and not in the best shape, which often leads parts breaking right off in the winter time during heavy rainstorms. On top of that, mud slides from the adjacent steep slopes often force closures during that time.

Angelika We've reported a few times already that rental prices in San Francisco have been exploding lately, rendering the city unaffordable to many people. This has led to some animosity targeting well-off techies, living in San Francisco and working in Silicon Valley, but the problem is complex there's several contributing factors. I personally find that landlords play a major role in this game, a role which is quite often conveniently overlooked.

Michael Despite fierce competition in the package delivery market from private sector companies like UPS and Fedex, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is still in business and offers unbeatable prices on sending letters and packages. Many mail customers appreciate the fact that a standard letter still only costs 49 cents to deliver, regardless if it's just around the corner or if it needs to fly as far as 6,000 miles to Hawaii. I have a hard time believing this kind of legacy deal is sustainable and wouldn't be surprised if USPS ran into financial trouble one day ( Rundbrief 09/2011 ).