ROOPHLOCH

This is my contribution to ROOPHLOCH 2025. The Remote Outdoor Off-grid PHlogging Challenge is something I heard about from Solderpunk on Gemini. I like the idea of Gemini Protocol and every now and then I explore BBS and a few gemlogs. My own capsule hovers around in a low orbit and rarely gets visited by its owner - I'm not much of a writer, never was.

I'm writing this by hand on my trusty Onyx Boox Nova Air 1 e-ink device with a wacom pen and intend to use the handwriting recognition to paste this into my capsule via SSH.

Right now I'm sitting on top of an old round tower that was part of my hometown's defenses before cannons were invented, overlooking the river Fulda. There's a very bar up here, just a container with a fridge and a fryer and some simple benches and tables but with a great atmosphere. Many years ago this was the place where I wrote my music thesis to become a teacher on the film score of Star Wars IV. Back then I used my palm pilot and a portable keyboard (the best foldable, but alas, with that serial connector which went rendered it obsolete with the next palm PDA model. Battery life of the small b/w screen without network connection was unbeatable and I later did all the layout on my PC back home. SUSE Linux, the good old times.

I've got my new Irish bouzouki and my bodhrán with me because I'll join the local Irish trad session later. I like the music and the fellow players and have been using the sessions as a lesson in humility for the last couple of years. I just can't put in all the time to learn and practise that would make me as proficient as I am in other styles of music. I've always been a quick learner but not necessarily a persevering learn-by-heart musician. I prepare for gigs and read music, both of which is not really what trad sessions are about. In karate the definition of a black belt is this: A white belt that didn't quit. So far, I haven't quit Irish trad music, though it's frustrating sometimes to recognize all the things I'm not able to play or hear. Small steps, intimidating mountain. Definitely not the easy path.

Sunlight slowly fades, there are lines of light bulbs in the trees and bikes crossing the bridge nearby can be seen as red lights following white ones. Ducks prowl the river's surface and behind me some Norwegians learn their first words of German from an opera singer who wants to leave Germany because she says "I've been doing this for eleven years now, it's time to quit". The sky is light blue and pink, a beautiful late summer evening. These are the moments we remember and yearn for during cold, wet winter days when sitting outside isn't much fun. I'll treasure this one, what a glorious evening.

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tags: #roophloch #music #summer

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