The Adventures of Lorie and Brian Groth

While in Dublin for a couple of days of work, we were able to squeeze in a short visit to the Guinness brewery and museum, called the Guinness Storehouse.

We did the Guinness Connoisseur Experience, which includes a bit of a history lesson and tasting 4 different types of beers. We also got to learn how to pour a proper pint.

The museum is set up a bit for Christmas too, but we didn’t have time to go through it all. Although, we have seen that part before.

See the video of me pouring a pint, or at least the first half, because it has to sit a bit before filling the glass: https://youtube.com/shorts/EAX6d-YJriE?si=nyae9LQ8Z46PDqwb

I think we saw 6 or 7 markets in Cologne and another in Aachen, which is about an hour train ride from Cologne. They each have a different look, and each market has their own unique mug for their various type of gluhwine (mulled wine). Most of the foods are the same though.

One exception was this guy with melting cheese. There were lots of other cheese options (we had a few) like raclette, which is usually a half round of cheese with the flat top melted onto bread. This guy was just doing it different (see the photo), probably with a different type of cheese. I didn’t try; one can only eat so much cheese and bread in a day.

My favorite market was the one with gnomes taking a chair lift up a roof, so I have a daytime and nighttime photo of that.

She is happy anywhere she can chase down and kill a stick or ball. Regardless of weather!

I helped train about 1000 Salesforce employees the day before Dreamforce, which is a big annual Salesforce conference. The topic was all about our AI offerings, Agentforce. I took the stage that day quite a few times since most of the day was for everyone to get hands-on experience with the products and that’s what I help with. Sometimes I share the stage with others and sometimes we don’t even plan it; it’s a combination of intense and loose all day.

Then during the week I gave product demonstrations to customers and discussed what they could build for their own companies.

One evening a few of us got free headshots at a party and I attended one of the concerts at the event too, although I think I enjoyed seeing a few robots more.

This is an image of our dashboard as the car is charging. Here’s what the charging details mean, courtesy of ChatGPT:

🔌 Charging Info (12/32 A)

12 A → This is the current amperage actually being drawn from the charging station to charge your car’s battery. 32 A → This is the maximum available amperage that the charging station (or your car’s onboard charger) can deliver.

⚡ Why It Is Not Using the Full 32A

Charger limitation → Some charging stations automatically regulate current depending on grid load.

🔄 How It Relates to Charging Speed

Your display shows 32 km/h charging speed → This is how much driving range you gain per hour of charging at the current draw (12A). If you allowed it to pull the full 32A, the charging speed would be much higher (closer to 80–90 km/h, depending on conditions).

✅ In short:

Your Volvo C40 is capable of charging at up to 32 amps, but right now it’s only drawing 12 amps, which limits the charging speed.

⚡ What “3~” Means

The tilde symbol ~ stands for AC (alternating current). The number 3 before it means your Volvo is using three-phase AC electricity.

So “3~” = three-phase alternating current.

🔄 Why This Matters

Single-phase vs. three-phase: In many homes, single-phase (1~) is common. Three-phase (3~) provides higher power capacity and faster charging, especially in Europe. Charging speed: With 3-phase, the car can pull more power evenly across the phases, which increases efficiency and allows higher amperage without overloading one line. That’s why your C40 can accept up to 32A on 3-phase AC, giving much faster charging than single-phase.

✅ In short:

The 3~ tells you your Volvo is connected to a three-phase AC supply, which is ideal for getting the maximum possible charging speed at home or at public AC chargers.

12/32 A → Currently pulling 12 amps, with a max capacity of 32A. 3~ → Charging on 3-phase AC. Voltage (assumption) → In the Netherlands and most of Europe, each phase is 230 V (line-to-neutral). For 3-phase EV charging, the effective voltage used in the formula is √3 × 230 V ≈ 400 V.

⚡ Formula for AC Charging Power

For three-phase AC charging:

P \, (kW) = \sqrt{3} \times V \times I / 1000

Where:

√3 ≈ 1.732 V = 230 V (per phase, line-to-neutral) I = Current in amps (here, 12 A)

🔢 Calculation

P = 1.732 \times 230 \times 12 / 1000

P \approx 4.8 \, kW

🚗 What This Means

At 12 A, 3-phase, your Volvo is charging at ≈ 4.8 kW. If it pulled the full 32 A, the calculation would be:

P = 1.732 \times 230 \times 32 / 1000 \approx 12.7 \, kW

So your car could be charging at up to ~12.7 kW on that charger, but it’s currently limited to ~4.8 kW.

✅ Summary:

The number 3~ means you’re on 3-phase AC. At 12A, that equals ~4.8 kW charging power. If the car allowed the full 32A, it could reach ~12.7 kW.

The Formula One races come to our beach town this weekend. See https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2025/netherlands

If someone rides their bicycle from Amsterdam or Harlem, they will be treated to a pit stop along the bike path, sponsored by the Dutch bicycle company called Gazelle.

They have Coke, water, and gear to fix your bicycle. We visited it with Piper the night before it opened. It’s powered by a solar generator, and most of the roads in the area are closed too, in an effort to control neighborhood car traffic.

I’m able to walk to this nature preserve where the deer are safe to eat and wander. So, a friend and I went for about a 2-hour hike today to see our neighboring wildlife.

Can you tell that were were hanging out by the canals today?

This was a work trip and I wasn’t able to visit friends, but I walked around the neighborhood a bit. I was near Times Square in the Garment District, hence the statue of a guy at a sewing machine and the big button and thread artwork.

Heading home, I had time to kill at JFK, so I hung out in the Delta lounge and someone offered to shine my shoes for free. So, I took the opportunity and chatted with the guy for 10 minutes or so as he made my shoes look like new.