Investigative Journalism

As you all know Linda and I are investigating American life in every detail.
Linda found these American laws, which every citizen has to follow, of course, and I took my camera and explored Michigan and its customs.

I got out of the Oakland University and there it was again. "Drive-Thru", everything here seems to be "Drive-Thru" even the pharmacies.



What about going to the doctor? Does he also test you in your car?
"Please drive to the first counter and I'll check your blood pressure, the doctor will operate you at counter two!"


While these thoughts were "driving through" my mind, I stopped by a festival where the next funny sign appeared.



I took my time and tried to understand the sense of this rule.

The general American rule is as I know: No Alcohol in the public to protect children against bad influences.

That's at least what people explained me and the reason why I wasn't allowed to carry a box of beer over a street to another apartment at the University. By the way it was midnight-- don't the kids have to be in bed by then?!

Anyway this event was during the day and many kids saw their parents drinking, only on festival ground, of course.

What may the kids learn of that?!

1. Drink as much as you can unill you leave this ground:-)
2. I wanna go here again since my parents are much funnier here:-)
3. It's more difficult for people to walk here:-)


Next to this sign I found the reason for this festival. You guys celebrated our German "Oktoberfest".
Bavaria in Detroit, awesome. Americans wearing "Lederhosen" and drinking "Weissbier", really funny!!!





A little later my friend and me stopped at a pub and were looking for something to drink. This bar only allowed 14 glasses of tap water for free, really stingy.


Have you ever seen a person who drinks more than 14 glasses of tap water, which should be around two gallons or more?!

Or do people go there with their pets?!
"One beer for me and 25 glasses of tap water for my horse"?!


Anyway, we ordered from the menu, needed something to eat...

...we were looking for soup...


Please write a comment if you found soup anywhere on this menu...


On our way back home, we found this sign on the back of a truck.




"Support our troops...whenever we go...
No Aid or Comfort...to the enemy-no way"

The truckers support the Army.

How do they do it? Are these trucks mobile prisons? May be there are hundreds of enemy soldiers in these trailers?!
These truckers problably drive a long way to pick the prisoners up-- right?!

Anyway, every country has its own funny signs, customs and laws. All you need to figure them out is investigative foreign joutnalists or as our AutoComers may say:

"Crazy German interns"

By Markus

Legislature experiments

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Since I am a quasi American citizen for four months now, I am more and more getting used to the American Way of life every day:
I don’t get out off my car if it’s not an emergency, I am able to spell the word “hamburger” backwards blindfolded and I even know how the salesperson in the grocery store is doing everyday.

But there are some customs and rules which still sound a little bit weird to me. The following laws are in no way Halloween jokes. Instead it seems, that some of your fellow citizens behave in a really odd way….


Persons may not be drunk on trains.

It is illegal to kill a dog using a decompression chamber.

Cars may not be sold on Sunday

A woman isn't allowed to cut her own hair without her husband's permission.

There is a 3 cent bounty for each starling and 10 cent bounty for each crow killed in any village, township, or city in the state.

It is legal for a robber to file a law suit, if he or she got hurt in your house.

You may not swear in front of women and children.

Any person over the age of 12 may have a license for a handgun as long as he/she has not been convicted of a felony.

There is a law that makes it legal for a farmer to sleep with his pigs, cows, horses, goats, and chickens.

Couples are banned from making love in an automobile unless the act takes place while the vehicle is parked on the couple's own property.

Willfully destroying your old radio is prohibited.

It is illegal for a man to scowl at his wife on Sunday.

It is illegal to let your pig run free in Detroit unless it has a ring in its nose.

It is illegal to paint sparrows to sell them as parakeets.

It is against the law to serenade your girlfriend.

All bathing suits must have been inspected by the head of police.

Smoking while in bed is illegal.

Anyone can keep their cow on Main Street downtown at a cost of 3 cents per day.

Linda

Did you know...?

that business moms are species which really exist...?!

It didn't take me much time to find out that also in the AutoCom group lives such a nice business mom species.



Dee welcomed me with a prepared workstation, asked me for different information and pointed several things out where I have to be careful:

What do I have keep in mind while buying a car?!

Which downtown areas should I avoid?!

How to eat healthy?!

How do I manage my tax refund? (We're students, that's important:-)

Where can I buy the cheapest antibiotic?


What else does our business mom do every day?




She:

- creates more space on our p-drive to help us put more and more documents on it (and we're damn good at it:-)!

- spoils us with her voice during phone tests at the early mornings: "Gooooood mooorrrrning this is just a test"...

- makes sure that the craftsmen follow the instructions (They shouldn't try not to follow:-)

- is the Virusbuster on our computer stations

- cheers us up with her laugh

- kicks our ....sses if we mess up with our timeslips

- opens her chocolate shop every day

- welcomes us interns with a good morning which checks if her business children are ok or something happened the day before

- lets us try from her delicious food

- crawls on her fours to manage the cable spaghetti in our office


Are you looking for a (business) mom or looking for good chocolate?

Just apply at AutoCom Associates!!!:-)

Linda and Markus

AutoCom Employee of the month for September

It's time again to present you our Employee of the month September.

This month the Jury has to highlight the work of our AutoCom Ladies!

Our female ressources don't just analyze client problems and solve them with a high level of creativity; they don't just put our AutoCom team in a good mood every day and support our management with outstanding ideas and suggestions; no, in edition to all that they are also AutoCom's beauty and glamor.

AutoCom's ladies are the blossom of our company!!!



Although everybody of you ladies is a big asset to the company and you contribute AutoCom with outstanding perfomance one of you did a tremendous job and is going to be the next AutoCom Top Model.

All this happened a few weeks ago...

Bill Jackson, a professionell photographer who supports AutoCom at special events, invited me and the AutoComer of the month September to a little photo shooting.

She was in top form that day and gave Bill every pose he needed.

Linda really hit the stride and everybody was in awe of her charismatic charme.

An unknown observer said about the diva-like Linda:" Ashley Simspon eat your heart out!!!"





Again thank you very much, AutoCom Ladies, for being such nice colleagues and congratulations, Linda Boos, for your tremendous perfomance.

You also awarded another Green Card for Lauren's High-Heel race!

Representing the Jury

Markus

About Tigers and Lions...

The fact that such a Mega-Event like the soccer world championship was nearly ignored by 100 american broadcast stations in their program choice, not only displeases us germans, there is to think about it: Because Americans are - with regard to the television program - crazy about one: sport! What's so fascinating about football, baseball and basketball? What is it what makes the Lions (Football), Tigers (baseball) and Pistons (basketball) so worth seeing that they win the running in the transmitting time against all the soccer teams?
For such a society analysis it needs live examination material … therefore we started sceptically to look to the men with the wood racquet and their fans (or better in the joyfully excited faces). And after we had provided ourselves substantially in the numerous eating and drinking stalls with all necessary, got a place on the tribunes and listened the national anthem, we quickly figured out: The puzzle solution is quite simple!
The Americans are pleasant people who like to take it easy and settle back. Therefore, baseball suits very well to connect their lifetime habits with entertainment sporting. While in our soccer stages perseverance (first of all, vocal), stamina (also with regard to the beverages) and dynamism are asked, the game filled with breaks meets the american's needs very much: Cosily it can be secured in the breaks with a new portion of food and drinks. Then with it one places again in the wide and numerously existing plastic seats to see what's going on on the playing field and to discuss a few moves with the seat neighbor.
While in Germany fans move a lot while trying to achieve a La-Ola-wave and dancing to some club songs, in the game of the US nation there's only a 5-minutes stretching in the half of the playing time. Because, however, the placed Coke could tip over and the proudly carried caps of the supporters could slip, the movement unity is mostly hesitant and meager.
It says something about the vocal support of the fans if we can tell you that Markus (also for the first time in these rows and no tiger's supporter) was the one who cheered the loudest for the Tigers.
Nevertheless, it was a real american experience and a little part of the US-culture is now sure to us … :) !

Linda