Joep and Vladka’s Weblog

I have two requests. The first one is for the Czech pharmaceutics. Can anybody tell me how much tablets I should take from the picture below? They always take the doctor receipt and a pencil scrawl is all you get. For the pharmaceutical industry I would expect a printed label or something similar so it is clear how much medicine you should take.

The second request is for the Czech Sdružené inkaso plateb obyvatelstva (SIPO). This is a typical Czech pre-printed transaction form on which several payments can be combined. The goal is to eliminate the individual transaction costs. Some banks in the Czech republic offer costless transactions now so this eliminates the need for this but that’s a different story. My point is that this SIPO form is dropped without any envelope in your mailbox just as can be seen below. All personal data can be seen by the postman. A bit more attention to privacy like with the payroll slip would be great.

I use to commute every day by train. I like the train. It is much cheaper than by car and sometimes even faster. No need to find a nearby parking place and on my way I can quietly read a book, although quietly….

Squeaking brakes
Some trains really make a lot of noise when stopping at the station. Recently I have measured a noise level of over 100 dB. The squeaking seems to make no sense because it won’t help the train to stop faster isn’t it?

Regionova, a new train with a lot of noise

Some years ago they started to use a new diesel engine train called “regionova“. This train seems to be perfect. Good chairs, a lot of space for your legs and very friendly for families with strollers or disabled people. However there is one thing that annoys me a lot about these trains. They really make a lot of noise and especially while braking. The brakes generate an annoying noise of up to 110 db. This lowers the travelling comfort a lot. While braking the train looks like an old coffee mill. Talking or listening to music is not even possible in this train. And guess what. This train is a modernized version of the much older 810 series made by Škoda Vagonka between 1975 and 1982. This train is even being used on the same track and surprisingly makes less noise. The noise level does not exceed the 90dB level both during driving and braking. It is a pity they did not take more care about passenger comfort during the modernization of this train.