Martin's Homepage

Hallo!

Thanks for showing in.

This site describes what I am interested in and what I am doing. If something catches your attention and you want to know more or you have similar interests drop me a line.

Have fun browsing.

Martin Köchy

Plant Ecology

I am a PostDoc researcher at Potsdam University, Germany. My research interests are in plant ecology. I have worked on resource use and competition of shrubs in grassland, contribution of atmospheric nitrogen pollution to nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, impact of habitat and environment on leaf litter decomposition, and the distribution of species in a heterogeneous landscape.
Macintosh Computers

A fair time of my day I spend in front of a computer, either for data crunching and writing publications or for fun. I get excited when I can try out new programs (they must be useful, though), program my own HyperCard applications, or change, optimize, and tweak my operating system. Both, at university and at home I am using Macintosh computers by Apple which I find are way more user-friendly than IBM-compatibles.
News

Most people who live abroad find it cumbersome to get daily news from home. Often, if you find a national newspaper on the web, you have to visit the site daily to keep up to date. German News was a free internet news service that was mailing daily news from and about Germany from 1993 to 2008 using transciptions of news broadcasts of various radio stations. Since 1995 the news were also translated into English. Both services were run entirely by volunteers. I was one of the translators (alias: MarK) from the beginning.
Information

I have an odd addicition that expresses itself in collecting all kinds of useful information. Well, useful in my view anyway. I love encyclopaedias, dictionaries, maps, lists, and tables.
Language and dictionaries

Languages are fascinating. It's fun to discover how words in different languages are related, how different languages express the same thing, and how languages affect how their speakers view the world. Apart from German, my mother tongue, I speak English, Swedish, and French. I have great fun with Latin and I have a structural knowledge of Russian, Greek, Finnish, and Hebrew.
Religion, Lutheran Church, and related issues

Religion and science - how does that fit? To me, religion is an alternative way to see and explain the world. Science and religion are not mutually exclusive but serve different purposes. Science answers HOW questions, religion answers WHAT-FOR questions. I am a Christian following the Lutheran tradition and I believe that all religions emphasizing the caring for others are merely a part of a mosaic.
... and more (if there is time)

Apart from dealing with ecology, computers, encyclopaedias, languages, and religion I spend my time with friends or family, singing, baking bread, cooking, riding my motorbike, cycling, reading (SF: Ph.J. Farmer, H. Dominik, S. Lem), listening to (talk-) radio, gardening, collecting plants for my herbarium, some graphic designing, hiking, browsing stationary shops, and travelling.

Past and present memberships

	Sveriges Motorcyclisternas Centralorganisation SMC (Swedish Motorcycle Association)
	Canadian Motorcyclists Association
	MOTO aktiv e.V
	World Wide Fund for Nature
	amnesty international
	Kalmar Nation
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Regina (now merged with Trinity Lutheran Church)
	Evangelische Gemeinde Golm Evangelical Congregation Golm
	Mountain Equipment Coop
	DAAD, DAAD alumni
	Deutsch-Färöischer Freundeskreis German-Faroese Association
Vereinigung Ehemaliger und Freunde des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes
	Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium Wolfenbüttel
	Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft St. Georg St. George's Boy Scouts