Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Random Stuff
Happy Newton's day. (Newtons Birthday was the 25th...). Also celebrated on the same day: the birth of the first communist jew or jewish communist roughly 2000 years ago.
On tsunami-news: the german minister of science now wants a tsunami warning system for the mediterranean. The one in the pacific and indean ocean (if working at all) will give people a 10 minute before warning. Assuming the speed of tsunamis is the same in the mediterranean as it is in the pacific and the indian ocean, this will give you a 2 minute before warning (rough and unscientific guess by me). Time enough to kiss your ass goodbye or have a last quick one with your girl-friend (or whatever at hand), not time enough to run.
And I'll be gone till the 5th, as there surprisingly is no work to be done inbetween...
On tsunami-news: the german minister of science now wants a tsunami warning system for the mediterranean. The one in the pacific and indean ocean (if working at all) will give people a 10 minute before warning. Assuming the speed of tsunamis is the same in the mediterranean as it is in the pacific and the indian ocean, this will give you a 2 minute before warning (rough and unscientific guess by me). Time enough to kiss your ass goodbye or have a last quick one with your girl-friend (or whatever at hand), not time enough to run.
And I'll be gone till the 5th, as there surprisingly is no work to be done inbetween...
Friday, December 23, 2005
Bonobos
Just came home from a nice evening with friends. Going with the S-Bahn is always interesting...
Just opposite of me sat a couple, both being at the beginning of their twenties. He sitting there showing off like "I have that big balls and a that huge member, I can't even sit straight", she sitting completely taken by something in her hands, ignoring him. Both having that "I'm so annoyed"-face. No talking. Then he grabs whatever she was holding in her hands, she shouting at him to be careful. Silence. Annoyance. Kissing. More Kissing. He starting to take out his earphones, not paying much interest in her, even while still kissing. She had to get off at the next station, saying "I love you", he mumbling something, then louder "You too". Kisses. She leaving, he completely obsessed by his walkman. Still annoyance on both of their faces.
Then I thought, well, my life sucks. But their life sucks even more, and worse: they don't even know it.
Just opposite of me sat a couple, both being at the beginning of their twenties. He sitting there showing off like "I have that big balls and a that huge member, I can't even sit straight", she sitting completely taken by something in her hands, ignoring him. Both having that "I'm so annoyed"-face. No talking. Then he grabs whatever she was holding in her hands, she shouting at him to be careful. Silence. Annoyance. Kissing. More Kissing. He starting to take out his earphones, not paying much interest in her, even while still kissing. She had to get off at the next station, saying "I love you", he mumbling something, then louder "You too". Kisses. She leaving, he completely obsessed by his walkman. Still annoyance on both of their faces.
Then I thought, well, my life sucks. But their life sucks even more, and worse: they don't even know it.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
A poem is a city
a poem is a city filled with streets and sewers
filled with saints, heroes, beggars, madmen,
filled with banality and booze,
filled with rain and thunder and periods of
drought, a poem is a city at war,
a poem is a city asking a clock why,
a poem is a city burning,
a poem is a city under guns
its barbershops filled with cynical drunks,
a poem is a city where God rides naked
through the streets like Lady Godiva,
where dogs bark at night, and chase away
the flag; a poem is a city of poets,
most of them quite similar
and envious and bitter...
a poem is this city now,
50 miles from nowhere,
9:09 in the morning,
the taste of liquor and cigarettes,
no police, no lovers, walking the streets,
this poem, this city, closing its doors,
barricaded, almost empty,
mournful without tears, aging without pity,
the hardrock mountains,
the ocean like a lavender flame,
a moon destitute of greatness,
a small music from broken windows...
a poem is a city, a poem is a nation,
a poem is the world...
and now I stick this under glass
for the mad editor's scrutiny,
the night is elsewhere
and faint gray ladies stand in line,
dog follows dog to estuary,
the trumpets bring on gallows
as small men rant at things
they cannot do.
--- Charles Bukowski
filled with saints, heroes, beggars, madmen,
filled with banality and booze,
filled with rain and thunder and periods of
drought, a poem is a city at war,
a poem is a city asking a clock why,
a poem is a city burning,
a poem is a city under guns
its barbershops filled with cynical drunks,
a poem is a city where God rides naked
through the streets like Lady Godiva,
where dogs bark at night, and chase away
the flag; a poem is a city of poets,
most of them quite similar
and envious and bitter...
a poem is this city now,
50 miles from nowhere,
9:09 in the morning,
the taste of liquor and cigarettes,
no police, no lovers, walking the streets,
this poem, this city, closing its doors,
barricaded, almost empty,
mournful without tears, aging without pity,
the hardrock mountains,
the ocean like a lavender flame,
a moon destitute of greatness,
a small music from broken windows...
a poem is a city, a poem is a nation,
a poem is the world...
and now I stick this under glass
for the mad editor's scrutiny,
the night is elsewhere
and faint gray ladies stand in line,
dog follows dog to estuary,
the trumpets bring on gallows
as small men rant at things
they cannot do.
--- Charles Bukowski
Monday, December 12, 2005
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Monday, November 28, 2005
Common Sense
Friday I went to a lecture about research managment in chemical industry. Triggered by that I browsed my fathers bookshelf on some stuff about management in general, project management, time management, etc. Disguised as the new fancy shiny multicolored hat XYZ method (highly priced seminars available) are usually things, which I thought of as being completely obvious to anybody. Well, at least thats what I though before I started my PhD some years ago...
It all boils down to some very simple rules: define your goal, define your objectives. Then figure out how to reach these goals and define a route. Check regularly if you are getting closer. If you do, fine. If you don't, re-check the goals, if they are clear enough, re-check your path, if it leads where you want it to lead. When dealing with people, when trying to lead people do the same. Be clear about stuff, if you want person A to do B, tell person A to do B and not let person A figure it our by himself, because most probably he will do C. Treat people as people. Be nice to people. If they fail, do not treat them as idiots, everybody fails sometime.
Please send now an enormous amount of mony to my bank account for this short introduction to the deep and mystic ways of management.
Unfortunately our management did not get these insights until now...
It all boils down to some very simple rules: define your goal, define your objectives. Then figure out how to reach these goals and define a route. Check regularly if you are getting closer. If you do, fine. If you don't, re-check the goals, if they are clear enough, re-check your path, if it leads where you want it to lead. When dealing with people, when trying to lead people do the same. Be clear about stuff, if you want person A to do B, tell person A to do B and not let person A figure it our by himself, because most probably he will do C. Treat people as people. Be nice to people. If they fail, do not treat them as idiots, everybody fails sometime.
Please send now an enormous amount of mony to my bank account for this short introduction to the deep and mystic ways of management.
Unfortunately our management did not get these insights until now...
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Portugal, 1964 part two
Done with scanning slides, now the whole set of pictures of Portugal in 1964 is on Flickr. Does anybody of you know a better idea to scan slides with glass frames than opening the frames and taking the slides out? (Not a good idea, as they are glued in...) Most slide scanners only can handle the thin glassless frames.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Thursday, November 24, 2005
People
I wish I could write... There is an amazing amount of people around here worth being put into a story.
Usually I take breakfast at a portuguese cafe around the corner, where there are the habitual people, sometimes some new people. There is the group of elder portuguese man, usually discussing football or complaining about stuff. Complaining, saying what one should do, but today nobody ever, one really should, if it would be them, they for sure would. And maybe have another bagaço around eleven in the morning.
Two days ago there were two women, I didn't really get what they were, psychologist or astrologist (anyway, same species). They were discussing some computer programs to councel people, you put in some stuff, get a recommendation, edit it and people are supposed to live happily ever after if they follow these recommendations. Telling how you have to put in stuff about love and partners for younger girls, put stuff about the job for middle aged men, about younger girls for older men.
There is the alternatives, pretty common around here in Altona. They try to be really different from the mainstream, starting by dressing differently. But, differently in a very strict dress code, wearing kind of an uniform. All of them look the same, behave the same, talk the same. All of them are very individual.
And sometimes, very seldom, you may actually spot a hamburgian, mostly an elderly couple of them. They speak the local dialect, are conservative and open at the same time, are very anxious to show that they know a couple of words of portuguese, order a badly pronounced galão, talk about the holiday they once had in spain, it wasn't that bad there, people were quite well behaved, it was clean, well, the food was a bit weird, but in generally, yes, it was very clean, not like in Italy (or Yugoslavia or wherever). And the people there were nice as well. Well. Not like at home, but not that bad...
Usually I take breakfast at a portuguese cafe around the corner, where there are the habitual people, sometimes some new people. There is the group of elder portuguese man, usually discussing football or complaining about stuff. Complaining, saying what one should do, but today nobody ever, one really should, if it would be them, they for sure would. And maybe have another bagaço around eleven in the morning.
Two days ago there were two women, I didn't really get what they were, psychologist or astrologist (anyway, same species). They were discussing some computer programs to councel people, you put in some stuff, get a recommendation, edit it and people are supposed to live happily ever after if they follow these recommendations. Telling how you have to put in stuff about love and partners for younger girls, put stuff about the job for middle aged men, about younger girls for older men.
There is the alternatives, pretty common around here in Altona. They try to be really different from the mainstream, starting by dressing differently. But, differently in a very strict dress code, wearing kind of an uniform. All of them look the same, behave the same, talk the same. All of them are very individual.
And sometimes, very seldom, you may actually spot a hamburgian, mostly an elderly couple of them. They speak the local dialect, are conservative and open at the same time, are very anxious to show that they know a couple of words of portuguese, order a badly pronounced galão, talk about the holiday they once had in spain, it wasn't that bad there, people were quite well behaved, it was clean, well, the food was a bit weird, but in generally, yes, it was very clean, not like in Italy (or Yugoslavia or wherever). And the people there were nice as well. Well. Not like at home, but not that bad...
Sunday, November 20, 2005
False sense of Duty
I could have been to Lisbon. I could have been to one of the best parties ever. I even was offered that I do not have to pay the entire trip...
Instead I spent my day in the Experimental Hall, labeling exactly four cables and talking two and a half hour with six people about three cables we need. Just to clarify: the cables have plug A on one end, plug B on the other and are of a well defined length. In real life, this would be a matter of one e-mail or at most 10 minutes of conversation, of which 8 would be occupied by asking how is the family. No, we spent more than one complete person-workday on that.
The next time my would-like-to-be-boss tells me that I am urgently needed, I'll tell him to sod off and go on an extended holiday.
Instead I spent my day in the Experimental Hall, labeling exactly four cables and talking two and a half hour with six people about three cables we need. Just to clarify: the cables have plug A on one end, plug B on the other and are of a well defined length. In real life, this would be a matter of one e-mail or at most 10 minutes of conversation, of which 8 would be occupied by asking how is the family. No, we spent more than one complete person-workday on that.
The next time my would-like-to-be-boss tells me that I am urgently needed, I'll tell him to sod off and go on an extended holiday.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
National Shame...
I am not really a modern guy, sometimes I think my value system is so 1980... Having too many doctors in a hospital is a national shame. I thought too few would be a shame, too many a sign of luxury. But, as I said, sometimes I am so 1980...
Monday, November 14, 2005
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Random stuff...
First: I am drunk.
Second: I just don't want to know what the guys at the neighbouring table where talking about:" you know, there is this rock, yeah, this rock is three metres or so, yeah, this rock, on top of this rock there is a lighthouse, yeah, you know, and the locals are doing it for money."
Third: There was an amazing amount of beautiful and nice girls in the bar.
Fourth: The water was 12 degrees, the air 4, and now I am a certified diver and officially certified to spend much more money on courses and even more on equipment.
Fifth: There was an amazing amount of beautiful and nice girls in the bar.
Sixth: I forgot.
Second: I just don't want to know what the guys at the neighbouring table where talking about:" you know, there is this rock, yeah, this rock is three metres or so, yeah, this rock, on top of this rock there is a lighthouse, yeah, you know, and the locals are doing it for money."
Third: There was an amazing amount of beautiful and nice girls in the bar.
Fourth: The water was 12 degrees, the air 4, and now I am a certified diver and officially certified to spend much more money on courses and even more on equipment.
Fifth: There was an amazing amount of beautiful and nice girls in the bar.
Sixth: I forgot.
Friday, November 11, 2005
If you do not hear from me until monday...
... I am either frozen to death or drowned. Tomorrow I have my diving exam in a very very cold lake close to munich, where there is nothing around but woods. In any case: it was nice to have known you ;-)
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Theory...
I have a theory. It for sure is wrong, but I am content with it. A theory why it usually does not work out with the girls, why I usually get to hear that I am a really nice guy, but.
Of course this theory does not apply to neither the female readers of this blog nor the girl friends/wifes/whatever of the male ones. Nor to any people I know not reading this blog. Basically you are all intelligent, nice people, where this theory is completely ridiculous.
OK, so now to the theory: women want idiots. Not real idiots, but guys not capable of living on their own. As I can perfectly live on my own, can cook, do household stuff, well, I even have got a sewing machine (which amazes a lot of girls...), no chance. No way the mother instinct is getting on. I think this is why a girl once said I am not manly enough (she definetly could not have spoken about anatomical details as we never got that far nor is there reason for that, as it does not really count as a detail.) I am just too able to live on my own, I don't need help to survive.
I like this theory because it says basically it's not my fault for being too good, it's just girls being too dumb. And without the above mentioned exceptions, this applies to all girls, just to prevent comments in this direction.
And please, leave me with this small ego-pleasing theory, don't spoil it by saing it's all my fault. I'll get depressed soon enough as I have to go to Hamburg for the next three months to install a stupid detector.
Of course this theory does not apply to neither the female readers of this blog nor the girl friends/wifes/whatever of the male ones. Nor to any people I know not reading this blog. Basically you are all intelligent, nice people, where this theory is completely ridiculous.
OK, so now to the theory: women want idiots. Not real idiots, but guys not capable of living on their own. As I can perfectly live on my own, can cook, do household stuff, well, I even have got a sewing machine (which amazes a lot of girls...), no chance. No way the mother instinct is getting on. I think this is why a girl once said I am not manly enough (she definetly could not have spoken about anatomical details as we never got that far nor is there reason for that, as it does not really count as a detail.) I am just too able to live on my own, I don't need help to survive.
I like this theory because it says basically it's not my fault for being too good, it's just girls being too dumb. And without the above mentioned exceptions, this applies to all girls, just to prevent comments in this direction.
And please, leave me with this small ego-pleasing theory, don't spoil it by saing it's all my fault. I'll get depressed soon enough as I have to go to Hamburg for the next three months to install a stupid detector.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Staying home...
... sometimes turns out to be better than going out. Got phonecalls from a good friend, from my family and from two really nice girls. The alternative would have been to spend the evening with a bunch of physicists (sorry guys, you cannot compete with these two girls...)
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
The youth of today
Since the beginning of mankind people keep on complining about the youth of today. If you would believe in it, we would have had the perfect society around three to four hundred years ago where everybody was intelligent, well educated and so on...
On the other hand: we have not been such naïve, stupid, narcistic idiots. I am the first to admit that I am socially inept, kind of naïve, having a political point of view far from real life, but I am always amazed how dump people can get... (Just returned from the Fresher's Party of our faculty, amazing amount of dump idiots between them, just very few people I would think of being intelligent enough to be in university)
I am getting old, elitist and intolerant. I am loosing confidence in my idea of people...
On the other hand: we have not been such naïve, stupid, narcistic idiots. I am the first to admit that I am socially inept, kind of naïve, having a political point of view far from real life, but I am always amazed how dump people can get... (Just returned from the Fresher's Party of our faculty, amazing amount of dump idiots between them, just very few people I would think of being intelligent enough to be in university)
I am getting old, elitist and intolerant. I am loosing confidence in my idea of people...
Monday, October 24, 2005
Why popular science is evil...
Saturday the Erlangen Night of Science took place. Lots of Institutes, Factories etc where open to the public, showing their research to the interested. So was the physics institute, we got something like 2500 visitors. I was there to stand in front of some posters and explain what we are doing...
Basically you could divide the visitors into two categories. The interested who knew not much about physics and just came by to see what we are doing, and the more interested who read a lot of popular science books and watched a lot of TV science shows. The latter had the worst misconceptions on physics...
Most of the popular science bits explain stuff. Better, they give you the truth about stuff. What the usually fail to mention, all of the pictures they use to explain stuff, are, well, pictures. They are not reality. They are a story to ease the understanding. Which most of the time does not work. Quite often it seems, that these pictures provide a heavy misconception or just add to the confusion. Mostly this happens with pictures which seem to be easy, but the author has missed to mention some iportant point... And what stays in mind is the stuff which did confuse you most, so mostly the wrongest picture or the least understandable misconception.
Also popular science is about spectacular stuff like light waves surpassing the speed of light and therefore seem to violate the theory of relativity. Stuff which has deep philosophical implications. The only problem is: nobody really understands that stuff, not even the proper physicist doing the experiments. They have a theory, which might prove wrong. This is work in progress, a lot might happen. Combine this with people who are bad in communicating, trying to explain that to journalist who do not even know the terminology you end up in stuff like "Einstein was wrong" even when nobody ever said that. Science is not trivial. If everybody could understand it without work, there would be no need for scientists. Of course everybody should know something about it, most people actually have the ability to understand it, but you can't explain string theory in 30 minutes. You can maybe get some ideas across. Unfortunately you have to pass that to the viewer/reader as well (maybe have something like this scrolling along the screen "WARNING: THIS IS NOT THE TRUTH, THIS IS JUST A STORY WHICH MIGHT GIVE YOU AN IDEA...")
Basically you could divide the visitors into two categories. The interested who knew not much about physics and just came by to see what we are doing, and the more interested who read a lot of popular science books and watched a lot of TV science shows. The latter had the worst misconceptions on physics...
Most of the popular science bits explain stuff. Better, they give you the truth about stuff. What the usually fail to mention, all of the pictures they use to explain stuff, are, well, pictures. They are not reality. They are a story to ease the understanding. Which most of the time does not work. Quite often it seems, that these pictures provide a heavy misconception or just add to the confusion. Mostly this happens with pictures which seem to be easy, but the author has missed to mention some iportant point... And what stays in mind is the stuff which did confuse you most, so mostly the wrongest picture or the least understandable misconception.
Also popular science is about spectacular stuff like light waves surpassing the speed of light and therefore seem to violate the theory of relativity. Stuff which has deep philosophical implications. The only problem is: nobody really understands that stuff, not even the proper physicist doing the experiments. They have a theory, which might prove wrong. This is work in progress, a lot might happen. Combine this with people who are bad in communicating, trying to explain that to journalist who do not even know the terminology you end up in stuff like "Einstein was wrong" even when nobody ever said that. Science is not trivial. If everybody could understand it without work, there would be no need for scientists. Of course everybody should know something about it, most people actually have the ability to understand it, but you can't explain string theory in 30 minutes. You can maybe get some ideas across. Unfortunately you have to pass that to the viewer/reader as well (maybe have something like this scrolling along the screen "WARNING: THIS IS NOT THE TRUTH, THIS IS JUST A STORY WHICH MIGHT GIVE YOU AN IDEA...")
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Traffic
Dear Erlangen Cyclists:
please use your fucking headlights. In a dark night in a dark road dark clothed cyclists on a dark bike are usually not looking very bright. Please signal when you turn direction, look around you before you turn. Don't jump off randomly of your bike. There might be somebody much faster than you trying to get by you. Use your gears. It really helps when you shift the gears of your shiny 37 gear bike when you go uphill. Just don't be generally idiots.
Dear Erlangen Pedestrians:
bikeways are for bikes. So don't look pissed when a cyclist rings to get you off his ways. Don't run into a bike going at 30 km/h, it hurts.
Der Erlangen Cardrivers (especially Forcheim Car Drivers):
there are cyclists. Yes, you might not know them, but they exist. And they can go pretty fast. If they are coming from a direction you don't expect them, that usually means you don't know the traffic rules of that place, sometimes it is actually allowed to go in both ways. Sometimes they appear although there is a traffic law which states they shouldn't. Don't stop and stare at them. They won't disappear, you will get a heart attack soon if you get angry evertime stuff does not happen as you would expect it and the cyclists will get angry because of you being a narrowminded idiotic Korinthenkacker. Sometimes stuff does not happen as you like it, just go on. That's life.
Return tomorrow for a shiny new post on why popular science books are evil.
please use your fucking headlights. In a dark night in a dark road dark clothed cyclists on a dark bike are usually not looking very bright. Please signal when you turn direction, look around you before you turn. Don't jump off randomly of your bike. There might be somebody much faster than you trying to get by you. Use your gears. It really helps when you shift the gears of your shiny 37 gear bike when you go uphill. Just don't be generally idiots.
Dear Erlangen Pedestrians:
bikeways are for bikes. So don't look pissed when a cyclist rings to get you off his ways. Don't run into a bike going at 30 km/h, it hurts.
Der Erlangen Cardrivers (especially Forcheim Car Drivers):
there are cyclists. Yes, you might not know them, but they exist. And they can go pretty fast. If they are coming from a direction you don't expect them, that usually means you don't know the traffic rules of that place, sometimes it is actually allowed to go in both ways. Sometimes they appear although there is a traffic law which states they shouldn't. Don't stop and stare at them. They won't disappear, you will get a heart attack soon if you get angry evertime stuff does not happen as you would expect it and the cyclists will get angry because of you being a narrowminded idiotic Korinthenkacker. Sometimes stuff does not happen as you like it, just go on. That's life.
Return tomorrow for a shiny new post on why popular science books are evil.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Friday, October 14, 2005
The advantage of being behind...
"The 20th century is a cul-de-sac," says Claudio Prado, Brazil's digital culture czar, in London with Gil. "And the engine of progress doesn't have a reverse gear, so it's hard for the first world to get out of the cul-de-sac." The fact that many Brazilians still live in 18th or 19th-century conditions, he says, means that the country has an opportunity to accelerate into the 21st century without entering the cul-de-sac in the first place.
--- found in an article of The Guardian you should read...
Friday, October 07, 2005
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Homebanking Fun
I tried to get homebanking to work. Tried first linux, then gave up as it didn't seem to find my HBCI-Card. Switched to windows. And the fun started...
First no Java installed. So install Java. Reboot. Then the java applet did not load but I did also not get any error message in Firefox. Tried IE. Got "Your Java is too new". Damn. Downgrade Java, reboot. Not working. Deinstall new Java, which did not happen automatically. Reboot.
Finally I get the Java Applet. Now I need some weird DLL, which I copy from the net (address found on the FAQ of the bank). Then got error message native DLL could not be copied. After various reboots and an hour found the DLL, copied it to system32 dir, and see, it works. That was *really* easy.
Now trying Linux on my laptop...
First no Java installed. So install Java. Reboot. Then the java applet did not load but I did also not get any error message in Firefox. Tried IE. Got "Your Java is too new". Damn. Downgrade Java, reboot. Not working. Deinstall new Java, which did not happen automatically. Reboot.
Finally I get the Java Applet. Now I need some weird DLL, which I copy from the net (address found on the FAQ of the bank). Then got error message native DLL could not be copied. After various reboots and an hour found the DLL, copied it to system32 dir, and see, it works. That was *really* easy.
Now trying Linux on my laptop...
Monday, October 03, 2005
Vedi Napoli e poi muori
Well, it seems I did not get to Bamberg again. Everytime I try to see Bamberg, something happens and I won't go. This time a cold got in the way. Well, I'll try again. Maybe I see it some time...
(In case you wonder about the title, it's an italian wordplay, which was cited by Goethe and lost it's pun in translation...)
(In case you wonder about the title, it's an italian wordplay, which was cited by Goethe and lost it's pun in translation...)
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Spam
I turned on word verification as I got fed up with spam. Sorry if making comments is getting a bit more cumbersome, but I hope you still keep on commenting.
Books...
Today I finally got my photo-books printed from photos I put up on flickr. Well. The photos have not been of very high resolution, but they look much worse printed. The colours are a bit too dark and they are not as homogenious as they should be (especially skies look weird, sometimes you see stripes). Printing them out myself and giving them to a book binder would have produced a better result and been cheaper... So, I am not really convinced, but your milage may vary.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Intelligent Design
Day No. 1:
And the Lord God said, “Let there be light,” and lo, there was light. But then the Lord God said, “Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else I design will look younger?”
“I’m loving that,” said Buddha. “It’s new.”
“You should design a restaurant,” added Allah.
--- Found in The New Yorker
And the Lord God said, “Let there be light,” and lo, there was light. But then the Lord God said, “Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else I design will look younger?”
“I’m loving that,” said Buddha. “It’s new.”
“You should design a restaurant,” added Allah.
--- Found in The New Yorker
Monday, September 19, 2005
Friday, September 16, 2005
Off for the Weekend...
I would like to live in Sweden
When my work is done
Where the snow lies crisp and even
'Neath the midnight sun
Safe and clean and green and modern
Bright and breezy - free and easy
Sweden - Sweden - Sweden - In Sweden
I am gonna live in Sweden
Please don't ask me why
For if I were to give a reason
It would be a lie
Tall and strong and blonde and blue-eyed
Pure and healthy, very wealthy
I'll grow wings and fly to Sweden
When my time is come
Then at last my eyes shall see them
Heroes every one
Ingmar Bergman
Henrik Ibsen
Karin Larrson
Nina Persson
--- Divine Comedy, Sweden
When my work is done
Where the snow lies crisp and even
'Neath the midnight sun
Safe and clean and green and modern
Bright and breezy - free and easy
Sweden - Sweden - Sweden - In Sweden
I am gonna live in Sweden
Please don't ask me why
For if I were to give a reason
It would be a lie
Tall and strong and blonde and blue-eyed
Pure and healthy, very wealthy
I'll grow wings and fly to Sweden
When my time is come
Then at last my eyes shall see them
Heroes every one
Ingmar Bergman
Henrik Ibsen
Karin Larrson
Nina Persson
--- Divine Comedy, Sweden
Smiling Verboten
As of November smiling will be officially verboten in Germany. Everybody caught smiling in public will be shot immedeately. Laughing has been already frowned upon for years and will now be prosecuted with utmost force. Jokes have been banned.
Geee. I just love this country.
Geee. I just love this country.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Whales Weep Not!
They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains
the hottest blood of all, and the wildest, the most urgent.
All the whales in the wider deeps, hot are they, as they urge
on and on, and dive beneath the icebergs.
The right whales, the sperm-whales, the hammer-heads, the killers
there they blow, there they blow, hot wild white breath out of the sea!
And they rock, and they rock, through the sensual ageless ages
on the depths of the seven seas,
and through the salt they reel with drunk delight
and in the tropics tremble they with love
and roll with massive, strong desire, like gods.
Then the great bull lies up against his bride
in the blue deep of the sea
as mountain pressing on mountain, in the zest of life:
and out of the inward roaring of the inner red ocean of whale blood
the long tip reaches strong, intense, like the maelstrom-tip, and comes to rest
in the clasp and the soft, wild clutch of a she-whale's fathomless body.
And over the bridge of the whale's strong phallus, linking the wonder of whales
the burning archangels under the sea keep passing, back and forth,
keep passing archangels of bliss
from him to her, from her to him, great Cherubim
that wait on whales in mid-ocean, suspended in the waves of the sea
great heaven of whales in the waters, old hierarchies.
And enormous mother whales lie dreaming suckling their whale-tender young
and dreaming with strange whale eyes wide open in the waters of the beginning and the end.
And bull-whales gather their women and whale-calves in a ring
when danger threatens, on the surface of the ceaseless flood
and range themselves like great fierce Seraphim facing the threat
encircling their huddled monsters of love.
and all this happiness in the sea, in the salt
where God is also love, but without words:
and Aphrodite is the wife of whales
most happy, happy she!
and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin
she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea
she is the female tunny-fish, round and happy among the males
and dense with happy blood, dark rainbow bliss in the sea.
--- D.H. Lawrence
Just saw Star Trek IV - The Greenpeace Voyage
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Bad Science
[...] the humanities graduate journalists' parody of science, for which we now have all the ingredients: science is about groundless, incomprehensible, didactic truth statements from scientists, who themselves are socially powerful, arbitrary, unelected authority figures. They are detached from reality: they do work that is either wacky, or dangerous, but either way, everything in science is tenuous, contradictory and, most ridiculously, "hard to understand".
More here. (via 3quarksdaily)
More here. (via 3quarksdaily)
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Friday, September 09, 2005
Cameras
My collection of old cameras keeps on growing...
Build by Lomo (Leningradskoye Optiko Mechanichesckoye Obyedineni) from 1955 to 1980. A copy of a Voigtländer Brilliant. Format 6x6 cm (aka 120). Astonishingly good for a cheap russian copied camera.
Build from 1958 to 1972 by Minox GmbH in Wetzlar. Format 8x11 mm, integrated CdS meter. THE spy camera.
Russian copy of a Leica II with an Industar-22 lens (50mm, f3.5, interchangable, M39). Build from 1948 to 1956 (mine is one of the earlier variants as it has still the old Leica times of 1/20, 1/30, 1/40...)
Lomo Lubitel 2
Build by Lomo (Leningradskoye Optiko Mechanichesckoye Obyedineni) from 1955 to 1980. A copy of a Voigtländer Brilliant. Format 6x6 cm (aka 120). Astonishingly good for a cheap russian copied camera.
Minox B
Build from 1958 to 1972 by Minox GmbH in Wetzlar. Format 8x11 mm, integrated CdS meter. THE spy camera.
Zorki 1b
Russian copy of a Leica II with an Industar-22 lens (50mm, f3.5, interchangable, M39). Build from 1948 to 1956 (mine is one of the earlier variants as it has still the old Leica times of 1/20, 1/30, 1/40...)
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Cochon Bourgois
Just returned from a weekend trip to Budapest, on my way to my second flat in Hamburg, short stop in Erlangen to take a diving lesson (which unfortunately is at the same time as my riding lesson), finding in my letter box my Lufthansa bonus-miles card aside of the status of my stock depot...
"I live above my means but below my standards" -- Oscar Wilde (Not sure, but he would have said something like this...)
"I live above my means but below my standards" -- Oscar Wilde (Not sure, but he would have said something like this...)
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Science and Media
A portuguese newspaper is starting a program to get scientist making an internship in their offices to promote the communication of science to the public. Which is a nice idea. This is what they say why it does not work nicely now:
Translated (badly, but hopefully understandable...):
I am one of the first to rant about the incompetence of scientist to promote their works. There is nothing worse than physicists trying to do publicity about their own work; most of the time the result is boring people to a slow and horrible death. And most of the time there is not even a conscience of having to transmit science to the public (which is dumb and won't understand it anyway...)
But to just blame it on the scientist I think is also wrong. A lot of journalists have passed through the sacred corridors of our physics institute. They have asked questions. They filmed. They did not even try to understand the stuff people tried to explain them. They filmed people in lab coats (nobody actually ever wears them in a phyics institute, there is no need...) standing in front of complicated machinery with lots of Blinkenlights (which has been specially constructed for this filming and serves no purpose whatsoever). They have absolutely no idea how science works.
So, what I would propose is an exchange instead of an internship... Get scientists into the newspapers and get journalists into a university (a science faculty to be precise, as most of them have studied something or other). The only problem: find a university actually crazy enough to do this and find journalists crazy enough to do a thing like this.
A relativa pobreza da comunicação e divulgação da ciência realizada pela comunidade científica e pelas instituições de ciência deve-se em grande parte a um desconhecimento por parte destes profissionais das rotinas, critérios e cultura dos media. Este desconhecimento é gerador de desconfiança, fechamento ou mesmo de mal-entendidos e conflitos que poderiam desaparecer através de um maior contacto entre a comunidade científica e a comunidade dos media.
Translated (badly, but hopefully understandable...):
The relative weakness of communication and divulgation of science done by the scientific community and their institutions is caused to a huge part by a lack of knowledge on the side of these professionals about the routines, criterions and the actual culture of media. This lack of knowledge generates distrust, closedness or even misunderstandings and conflicts which could disappear if a better contact between the scientific community and the media community is established.
I am one of the first to rant about the incompetence of scientist to promote their works. There is nothing worse than physicists trying to do publicity about their own work; most of the time the result is boring people to a slow and horrible death. And most of the time there is not even a conscience of having to transmit science to the public (which is dumb and won't understand it anyway...)
But to just blame it on the scientist I think is also wrong. A lot of journalists have passed through the sacred corridors of our physics institute. They have asked questions. They filmed. They did not even try to understand the stuff people tried to explain them. They filmed people in lab coats (nobody actually ever wears them in a phyics institute, there is no need...) standing in front of complicated machinery with lots of Blinkenlights (which has been specially constructed for this filming and serves no purpose whatsoever). They have absolutely no idea how science works.
So, what I would propose is an exchange instead of an internship... Get scientists into the newspapers and get journalists into a university (a science faculty to be precise, as most of them have studied something or other). The only problem: find a university actually crazy enough to do this and find journalists crazy enough to do a thing like this.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Poetry
Reading a book of poems from Al Andalus (translated into german of course, as unfortunately I do neither speak arabian nor mozarabian nor hebrew...). A time and a place I would like to have been. The names alone sound very poetic: There is Ḥafṣa bint al-Ḥâdjj al Rukûniyya, there's Abû Bakr Yaḥyà bin Aḥmad ibn Baqî al Qurṭubî, there's Shemu'el ben Yosef ha Lewi Ibn Nagrella (who wrote the poem below...) to name but a few...
Mein Freund, nur Schlaf sind alle deine Jahre,
das Gute wie das Üble nur ein Traum.
Verschließ davor die Augen und die Ohren!
Ermanne dich! Es gebe Gott dir Kraft!
Laß ruhn, was dunkel ist in deinem Leben,
in ihm, der alle Dunkelheit versteht!
Schenk ein den edlen Wein, zu süßer Speise
aus schöner Frauenhand mir dargereicht,
ein Wein, so alt wie Adam, doch so jung
wie frisch gepresst aus Noahs erster Rebe!
Sein Duft ist wie der Duft von Zimt und Myrrhe,
sein Anblick Korall un lautres Gold,
wie Wein, den David reine Königinnen
kredenzten oder süße Konkubinen,
Als man den Wein in dunkle Krüge füllte,
erfüllte helles Seitenspiel den Raum.
Jerimoth sang: "So sei er eingelagert,
im Siegelfaß verschlossen aufbewahrt
dem, der mit weiser Hand den Kelch ergreift
und Rebensaft mit reinem Herzen trinkt;
dem, der den Spruch des Predigers befolgt
und nach dem Tod die Rechenschaft bedenkt."
--- Shemu'el ben Yosef ha Lewi Ibn Nagrella
Mein Freund, nur Schlaf sind alle deine Jahre,
das Gute wie das Üble nur ein Traum.
Verschließ davor die Augen und die Ohren!
Ermanne dich! Es gebe Gott dir Kraft!
Laß ruhn, was dunkel ist in deinem Leben,
in ihm, der alle Dunkelheit versteht!
Schenk ein den edlen Wein, zu süßer Speise
aus schöner Frauenhand mir dargereicht,
ein Wein, so alt wie Adam, doch so jung
wie frisch gepresst aus Noahs erster Rebe!
Sein Duft ist wie der Duft von Zimt und Myrrhe,
sein Anblick Korall un lautres Gold,
wie Wein, den David reine Königinnen
kredenzten oder süße Konkubinen,
Als man den Wein in dunkle Krüge füllte,
erfüllte helles Seitenspiel den Raum.
Jerimoth sang: "So sei er eingelagert,
im Siegelfaß verschlossen aufbewahrt
dem, der mit weiser Hand den Kelch ergreift
und Rebensaft mit reinem Herzen trinkt;
dem, der den Spruch des Predigers befolgt
und nach dem Tod die Rechenschaft bedenkt."
--- Shemu'el ben Yosef ha Lewi Ibn Nagrella
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Friday, August 26, 2005
Des Nouvelles du Bon Dieu
Chêre Écrivain,
why are all the characters in The Story based on such a small number of prototypes? Why do all dialogues contain so few content? Why does nobody actually communicate with each other? Why are the individual storys so badly written? Is consistency asked too much of a character?
Overall, I know much better writers than You. Try harder next time.
A disappointed character.
why are all the characters in The Story based on such a small number of prototypes? Why do all dialogues contain so few content? Why does nobody actually communicate with each other? Why are the individual storys so badly written? Is consistency asked too much of a character?
Overall, I know much better writers than You. Try harder next time.
A disappointed character.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
If it only be warmer...
Found this If they only would be situated in somewhere warmer climates... (and would have a language which actually one could have the hope to learn some day)
Monday, August 22, 2005
News
Interesting to see the news coverage about the portuguese forest fires. They appear here in germany just before the sports news, but still with pictures and videos, even interviews with people who lost everything. That's more than the hunger catastrophes in Mali and elswhere in the Sahel get...
They mention numbers (for example that in Pampilhosa da Serra 30.000 hectars out of 39.000 hectars in total burned down), they mention that it is really dry (the driest year since 1945), they mention that a lot of these fires are caused by people (either voluntarily or by carelessness). What they fail to mention is: most of portuguese forests is eucalyptus, planted there, not being a native tree of the region. Which grows really fast and is therefore the favourite tree for paper industry. But it also burns. Really fast. It's reproduction is based on burning down the forest.
If it isn't eucalyptus, then there is pines, also not really a native tree, but dominant before the eucalyptus, since all the oaks went to the bottom of the atlantic in form of ships. Which also burn quite good (the pines, not the oaks on the bottom of the sea, of course). This combined with a lack of forest care, ignorant politicians, underpaid fireman with not enough equipment, people who snip their burning cigarettes out of the car window while driving through dry woods etc. leads to the country burning down every year.
Of course this is a simplistic view. But it is already more complex than the "fires caused by extreme dryness" which they try to sell in the news...
And, as germany right now is blessed by papal visits and aproaching a new election, we have other things to care about than a country just next door burning down, not to speak of millions of people dying of hunger in the Sahel.
[Update] Interesting numbers: Numbers of planes equipped for putting out fires: France 11, Greece 10, Italy 16, Portugal 0 (yes, that's a zero). Instead of buying them from Canadair (which are kind of monopolists...), a portuguese minister wants europe to develop it's own. Yeah. So spent billions of euros and a couple of years to get an all european one instead of extinguishing fires with some foreign planes.
BTW: The fires have now reached the outskirts of Coimbra...
[Update 2] A Canadair Bombardier 415 Firefighting plane costs something like 35 Million Canadian Dollars... Development took three years from program start to first delivery. Make your own figures about developping a european version (involving a burocracy of european dimensions instead of just the Bombardier R&D Department).
They mention numbers (for example that in Pampilhosa da Serra 30.000 hectars out of 39.000 hectars in total burned down), they mention that it is really dry (the driest year since 1945), they mention that a lot of these fires are caused by people (either voluntarily or by carelessness). What they fail to mention is: most of portuguese forests is eucalyptus, planted there, not being a native tree of the region. Which grows really fast and is therefore the favourite tree for paper industry. But it also burns. Really fast. It's reproduction is based on burning down the forest.
If it isn't eucalyptus, then there is pines, also not really a native tree, but dominant before the eucalyptus, since all the oaks went to the bottom of the atlantic in form of ships. Which also burn quite good (the pines, not the oaks on the bottom of the sea, of course). This combined with a lack of forest care, ignorant politicians, underpaid fireman with not enough equipment, people who snip their burning cigarettes out of the car window while driving through dry woods etc. leads to the country burning down every year.
Of course this is a simplistic view. But it is already more complex than the "fires caused by extreme dryness" which they try to sell in the news...
And, as germany right now is blessed by papal visits and aproaching a new election, we have other things to care about than a country just next door burning down, not to speak of millions of people dying of hunger in the Sahel.
[Update] Interesting numbers: Numbers of planes equipped for putting out fires: France 11, Greece 10, Italy 16, Portugal 0 (yes, that's a zero). Instead of buying them from Canadair (which are kind of monopolists...), a portuguese minister wants europe to develop it's own. Yeah. So spent billions of euros and a couple of years to get an all european one instead of extinguishing fires with some foreign planes.
BTW: The fires have now reached the outskirts of Coimbra...
[Update 2] A Canadair Bombardier 415 Firefighting plane costs something like 35 Million Canadian Dollars... Development took three years from program start to first delivery. Make your own figures about developping a european version (involving a burocracy of european dimensions instead of just the Bombardier R&D Department).
Friday, August 19, 2005
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Viva il Papa
Catholisism has some tendency to like suffering. Not only praying to a medieval instrument of torture and worshipping images of martyrs portrayed in various ways of dying cruely... No, as the pope is in germany, as there is the catholic world youth thing in Cologne, humanity has to suffer as well. German Soul. Xavier Naidooooo and Söhne Mannheims all over. What have we done to deserve this? Is this already purgatory?
Trying to stuff things in my ears...
Trying to stuff things in my ears...
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Back again...
Back from the Azores, still in Portugal...
I put up some photos of the trip to São Miguel and Faial to Flickr.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Monday, July 18, 2005
Travelling...
I'll be off for the next four weeks. First a conference in Lisbon, then two weeks of holiday (plus a couple of days travelling back and forth). I definitely am carrying too much high tech around; I spent the whole afternoon finding chargers, charging batteries, finding SIM-cards, copying music to my iPod, peparing my laptop...
But, despite all this gadgets, I won't read mail the next four weeks. I will only be reachable by the selected few which have my portuguese mobile number. I most probably won't blog. See you in four weeks.
But, despite all this gadgets, I won't read mail the next four weeks. I will only be reachable by the selected few which have my portuguese mobile number. I most probably won't blog. See you in four weeks.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Signs of getting old
- We haven't been like that when we were in their age...
- Just not funny...
- Thanks, I think four beers is enough...
- No, I think I'll rather go home...
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Wrong expectations
I just wanted to go o a lecture and have one little beer at the good bye party for the prof. Been the last one to leave...
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Monday, July 04, 2005
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Verdad Global
Espresando lo que es, donde es, como es
Cada vez la vista se me nubla.
Camino oscuro, cada vez inseguo
Ai, camaroncito duro salame de este apuro
Dia a dia pienso quien fui, quien soy quien seré
Analizza mi prosa como juego de ajedrez.
Paso a paso todo es mas real
Trato de comunicarte mi verdad global
Sintiendo cosas que obstaculizan mis neuronas
Autoestima es el piso repito
Nada mas de pensarlo me erizo
Estoy en un hueco y le pido a dios que me ayude
a poner los piesen el piso para llegar
Aburrimiento que tengo yo, fatal, fatal sta mal ej, ej.
--- Madera Limpia
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Finding my place in the world...
Originally I started my browser to post something melancholic about the lack of visions and the search for Ideas. Then I got distracted by Google Maps... (Thanks Markus...)
So. Here I work when in Hamburg. This is my flat in Hamburg. The blueish white blurry spots in the upper right is where I work in Erlangen.
The place Pedro lives (and a lot of my friends as well).
A place which does not exaclty look like San Francisco. One of the sites Lord Byron declared to be the most romantic place on earth.
Little green dots where I want to spend my holiday on.
And I now stop, else I spend the whole night looking at satellite images...
So. Here I work when in Hamburg. This is my flat in Hamburg. The blueish white blurry spots in the upper right is where I work in Erlangen.
The place Pedro lives (and a lot of my friends as well).
A place which does not exaclty look like San Francisco. One of the sites Lord Byron declared to be the most romantic place on earth.
Little green dots where I want to spend my holiday on.
And I now stop, else I spend the whole night looking at satellite images...
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein...
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Mit Kumpanen abends vor der Sonne sitzen
Und von Dingen Reden, die wir gleich verstehn,
Harmlos und ganz einfach meinen Tag ausschwitzen
Und nach Mädchen gucken, die vorübergehn.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Und nicht immer diese hellen Schnäpse saufen,
Nicht von Dingen reden, die nur mich angehn,
Mir nicht für zwei Gläser Bier Verständnis kaufen,
Nicht mit jenen streiten, die am Tresen stehn.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Bei 'nem herben roten oder leichten weißen
Um 'ne Runde spielen, nach der keiner fragt,
Ein paar Witze über den Verlierer reißen,
Der ganz einfach nur darüber lacht.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Nicht um ein paar Zehntel Skat mit Hirschbock spielen,
Wo man gierig Geld in seine Taschen wischt,
Nicht dem Nachbarn heimlich in die Karten schielen,
Ihn nicht schlagen, wenn er sich zwei Asse mischt.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Mit Kumpanen lachend ein paar Lieder singen,
Die sich um Trinken, Mädchen und um Liebe drehn,
Nebenbei ein bisschen reden von den Dingen,
Die am Tag in einer kleinen Stadt geschehn.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Nicht ab Mitternacht Frau Wirtins Verse grölen,
Kein Soldatenlied und nicht den Tag des Herrn,
Nicht vom Mittelabschnitt irgendwas erzählen
und auch nichts von Hungerpest in Hongkong hörn.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Auf dem Nachhauseweg wie Kinder darauf achten,
Dass man beim Bürgersteig nicht auf die Ritzen tritt,
Und im Bett dran denken, wie die Mädchen lachten
Und im Schlaf noch lachen über meinen Schritt.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein.
Franz-Josef Degenhardt
Mit Kumpanen abends vor der Sonne sitzen
Und von Dingen Reden, die wir gleich verstehn,
Harmlos und ganz einfach meinen Tag ausschwitzen
Und nach Mädchen gucken, die vorübergehn.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Und nicht immer diese hellen Schnäpse saufen,
Nicht von Dingen reden, die nur mich angehn,
Mir nicht für zwei Gläser Bier Verständnis kaufen,
Nicht mit jenen streiten, die am Tresen stehn.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Bei 'nem herben roten oder leichten weißen
Um 'ne Runde spielen, nach der keiner fragt,
Ein paar Witze über den Verlierer reißen,
Der ganz einfach nur darüber lacht.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Nicht um ein paar Zehntel Skat mit Hirschbock spielen,
Wo man gierig Geld in seine Taschen wischt,
Nicht dem Nachbarn heimlich in die Karten schielen,
Ihn nicht schlagen, wenn er sich zwei Asse mischt.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Mit Kumpanen lachend ein paar Lieder singen,
Die sich um Trinken, Mädchen und um Liebe drehn,
Nebenbei ein bisschen reden von den Dingen,
Die am Tag in einer kleinen Stadt geschehn.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Nicht ab Mitternacht Frau Wirtins Verse grölen,
Kein Soldatenlied und nicht den Tag des Herrn,
Nicht vom Mittelabschnitt irgendwas erzählen
und auch nichts von Hungerpest in Hongkong hörn.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein,
Auf dem Nachhauseweg wie Kinder darauf achten,
Dass man beim Bürgersteig nicht auf die Ritzen tritt,
Und im Bett dran denken, wie die Mädchen lachten
Und im Schlaf noch lachen über meinen Schritt.
Ich möchte Weintrinker sein.
Franz-Josef Degenhardt
Hiking in the Alps
Been hiking in the Alps this weekend. Today finally my legs are not hurting anymore...
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
New Template...
Changed the template for the blog, couldn't see the old one anymore. It was a bit too dark anyway. Feel free to comment, especially if you find any bugs or can't read something...
Smashing windows
I just love windows...
I tried to work a bit again on the department's website, checking how it looks in internet explorer. Everything is validated, it looks nice on Linux, it looks nice on a Mac. In windows, it looks crap. Placings are wrong, transparency in the pictures etc does not work and so on and so on. Trying to look at some other website my computer claims that my Network Card has restricted connectivity (badly translated to "Konnektivität") and cannot access the internet. It did show the MSN page though. So, after installing a "Small home and company network", changing the default "Show all my data to everybody" to "Piss off", rebooting, etc, I was able to look at other websites. Just to figure out that the one I was looking for to copy some stuff uses some non-standard-dirty-tricks which make all validation go boink. Internet explorer just ignores any standards and forces you to do shitty pages. Unfortunately it's 95% Market share.
Went home then. Tried to boot windows at my home PC. The TFT complained signal out of range, and went dark. After some meddling around I could boot into the failsafe mode. Where you cannot change the screen settings. Nice. So I looked at the graphics-card-manufacturers website. There it said: if your TFT does not display anything go to System->Settings and click... Makes you wonder if somebody actually read that stuff after they wrote it.
Then I tried to delete the driver. Which worked. For a couple of seconds. Then the "New Hardware found" thing popped up and gone was my monitor. Fucking automatisms... Messed around with the registry, tried reinstalling the video driver while in failsafe mode, nothing. Gave up.
AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!
I tried to work a bit again on the department's website, checking how it looks in internet explorer. Everything is validated, it looks nice on Linux, it looks nice on a Mac. In windows, it looks crap. Placings are wrong, transparency in the pictures etc does not work and so on and so on. Trying to look at some other website my computer claims that my Network Card has restricted connectivity (badly translated to "Konnektivität") and cannot access the internet. It did show the MSN page though. So, after installing a "Small home and company network", changing the default "Show all my data to everybody" to "Piss off", rebooting, etc, I was able to look at other websites. Just to figure out that the one I was looking for to copy some stuff uses some non-standard-dirty-tricks which make all validation go boink. Internet explorer just ignores any standards and forces you to do shitty pages. Unfortunately it's 95% Market share.
Went home then. Tried to boot windows at my home PC. The TFT complained signal out of range, and went dark. After some meddling around I could boot into the failsafe mode. Where you cannot change the screen settings. Nice. So I looked at the graphics-card-manufacturers website. There it said: if your TFT does not display anything go to System->Settings and click... Makes you wonder if somebody actually read that stuff after they wrote it.
Then I tried to delete the driver. Which worked. For a couple of seconds. Then the "New Hardware found" thing popped up and gone was my monitor. Fucking automatisms... Messed around with the registry, tried reinstalling the video driver while in failsafe mode, nothing. Gave up.
AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!
Paper is some amazing material...
If you want to do it yourself, get the layout here. It took about 4 hours of cutting and about half an hour of folding the thing up.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Maybe I am not the right person to complain about it, as I am also quite convinced about my opinions, wrong as they may be. But some of my collegues annoy me by being right, no matter what's the subject and how off they are (or by completely missing my point)...
At least I do not answer the question "Why should it?" with "Because I say it does!". Usually I try to make up an explanation or at least try to confuse people with weird stories...
At least I do not answer the question "Why should it?" with "Because I say it does!". Usually I try to make up an explanation or at least try to confuse people with weird stories...
Doing my tax declaration is as fun as last year. I have some stocks, so I got from my bank lots of paperwork, including also 5 pages of "Fill in this value in this field in the tax-form". I have to copy that stuff into my tax declaration. Why don't they just send it directly (preferrably electronically) to the Tax office? You don't have more privacy the way they do it now, as the tax office can check with the bank (without noticing anybody, without needing a permission from anybody) about all your data the bank has (even shoe size...). The data for taxes already subtractad from my salary are also sent electronically to the tax office by my employer. I still have to fill all that stuff into that stupid form.
I do my tax declaration electronically, using software provided by the tax office. The data are sent electronically to the tax office. Then I have to print the stuff out and mail it to the tax office. Digital signature still years away.
The Tax program also provides helpful tips: for the field labeled
I do my tax declaration electronically, using software provided by the tax office. The data are sent electronically to the tax office. Then I have to print the stuff out and mail it to the tax office. Digital signature still years away.
The Tax program also provides helpful tips: for the field labeled
Summe der für 2004 festzusetzenden (anteiligen) Gewerbesteuer-Messbeträge i.S.d. §35 EStG der Betriebe lt. Zeilen 3 bis 8 u. 26 (ohne Gewerbesteuer-Messbeträge, die auf nach §5a ermittelte Gewinne oder Gewinne i.S.d. §18 Abs 4 UmwStG entfallen) - Berechnung auf einem Gesonderten Blatt -(Don't ask for a translation, I have not yet found out what that means, and I always thought I can speak german...), OK, so for that field it provides the help: "Fill in if you can apply for stuff from §35 EStG!" Thanks. Helped immensely.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Humanity keeps on being interesting. There is people closing in to their 30-ies being as naïve as a 14 year old, there is people in their early twenties being as old as close to their 40-ies. And sometimes the latter behave like the further and vice versa. But, in general, it's amazing how simple they are...
Most of my wrong understanding of people seems to be overestimating them...
Most of my wrong understanding of people seems to be overestimating them...
Thursday, June 02, 2005
A wonderful Photo-Essay about farmers in Kazakhstan on whose lands the debris of Russian rockets is falling down...
In other news: my blog is getting close to 5000 visits. Thanks to all :-) Send me a screenshot of the counter if you are number 5000 and win a free guest post (or a beer, whatever you prefer).
As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
When they've tortured and scared you for 20 odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
Keep you doped wit religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
Working Class Hero --- John Lennon
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
When they've tortured and scared you for 20 odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
Keep you doped wit religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
Working Class Hero --- John Lennon
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 30, 2005
This is one of the classical situations where you can only loose...
You're walking home from the bar, having had some beer, so you are already walking more relaxed than you should. At the far end of the street you see the siluette of a really hot girl, walking towards you. She get's closer, a really hot blonde, wow, is she hot. You start to realize it feels a bit windy down there. Damn, the zipper is open. You are confused. What do I do, do I close it, showing her that it was open? Do I hope she does not realize it and just walk past her? Whoaaaa. HELP! OK, just pretend everything is fine, hope that she does not see that you are wearing the most ugly shorts beneath, smile, do not be emberassed, behave normal. Damned. She has a big grin on her face. She saw it. Even after you tried to pull your shirt over it. Sinking into the ground. AAARGHHHHH. YOU LOOSE.
You're walking home from the bar, having had some beer, so you are already walking more relaxed than you should. At the far end of the street you see the siluette of a really hot girl, walking towards you. She get's closer, a really hot blonde, wow, is she hot. You start to realize it feels a bit windy down there. Damn, the zipper is open. You are confused. What do I do, do I close it, showing her that it was open? Do I hope she does not realize it and just walk past her? Whoaaaa. HELP! OK, just pretend everything is fine, hope that she does not see that you are wearing the most ugly shorts beneath, smile, do not be emberassed, behave normal. Damned. She has a big grin on her face. She saw it. Even after you tried to pull your shirt over it. Sinking into the ground. AAARGHHHHH. YOU LOOSE.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Friday, May 27, 2005
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
I would like to say: I do not know what I did wrong the last eight years... But unfortunately I kow. Tonight I danced away with a hot hungarian engineer and with a hot sports student, tomorrow I hopefully will meet a hot biologist. Something is different this Bergkirchweih. Maybe I'm turning human...
Monday, May 16, 2005
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Friday, May 13, 2005
Found on the Website of O Publico
It's mine. Hands, lots of hands, are trying to get the first Stein of beer distributed at the opening of the Bergkirchweih in Erlangen (Germany). Inhabitants and tourists celebrate the 250th anniversary of tihs traditional festival.(Very loose translation by me...)
[Edit] Sorry for the spelling errors...
Monday, May 09, 2005
I just like bars where they play songs like Paracetamoxyfrusebendroneomycin
(More info about the album here, more about the bar on Cogumelos Aporcalhados).
(More info about the album here, more about the bar on Cogumelos Aporcalhados).
Friday, May 06, 2005
Dear people who are not yet born,
if you read this post somewhere in the google archive after google has taken over the world organisation, or if you read this in a handritten note somebody made just shortly before the internet broke down: please ask your friendly neighbourhood mad scientist to borrow you his/her time machine and set the coordinates to here...
if you read this post somewhere in the google archive after google has taken over the world organisation, or if you read this in a handritten note somebody made just shortly before the internet broke down: please ask your friendly neighbourhood mad scientist to borrow you his/her time machine and set the coordinates to here...
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Just talked to one of our coordinators (we have a big bunch of them, actually we have more coordinators than people who actually do work...). So, the last two weeks we recabled the whole detector, changing the paths where the cables are running. We shorted some of the cables, glued front plates to some of our electronic boards, took data, analised the data, discussed how to procedd, tried to figure out how to beat the noise down, programmed a bit (This might not sound like a lot of work, but it keeps you busy for some time...). That only being the stuff relevant to the detector. I also had stuff to do for general university business, like attending faculty board, writing the minutes for that, meetings with various people, tutoring, etc.
Comment from our coordinator: "So nothing was done the last two weeks." Well, not really. We just hung around and did nothing...
There are people who work more, and yes, I could have done a bit more, as there was still a significant amount of time I spent for hanging around with friends and doing stuff I did not really need to do. But you might get my point...
Comment from our coordinator: "So nothing was done the last two weeks." Well, not really. We just hung around and did nothing...
There are people who work more, and yes, I could have done a bit more, as there was still a significant amount of time I spent for hanging around with friends and doing stuff I did not really need to do. But you might get my point...
Monday, May 02, 2005
Sunday, May 01, 2005
There are some problems if you get old...
I just chatted quite a long time with a really nice girl, she's something like nineteen or twenty. As I am getting quite old now, I also start being hard of hearing. So I turned always my ear towards her. Which looked a bit like I was staring at her breasts (they were something to stare at though...). Not quite the best impression to make...
[Edit] Well, maybe it's not because of old age. Maybe it has something to do with aclohol. Which is a shaky theory, because I only had too much beer and cocktails, not much too much beer and cocktails. And some of the beer would not really qualify as beer. I also remember most of the evening...
I just chatted quite a long time with a really nice girl, she's something like nineteen or twenty. As I am getting quite old now, I also start being hard of hearing. So I turned always my ear towards her. Which looked a bit like I was staring at her breasts (they were something to stare at though...). Not quite the best impression to make...
[Edit] Well, maybe it's not because of old age. Maybe it has something to do with aclohol. Which is a shaky theory, because I only had too much beer and cocktails, not much too much beer and cocktails. And some of the beer would not really qualify as beer. I also remember most of the evening...
Friday, April 29, 2005
Time Management for Anarchists: The Movie. If you want to do a revolution, organise yourself. Organisam-se! Organisam-se!
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Back in Erlangen after a bit more than a week of fun in the pit in Hamburg. Being in at the experiment makes me definitively more aggressive, wise-assy, annoyed and dump. Hope to recover soon, I'll be here in Erlangen for a whole month.
Today was faculty board. I not only was volunteered for writing the notes, I also volunteered voluntarily (all on my own) for making a redesigning proposal of the departments website. I always thought of it as not usable, ugly and generally bad. Then I saw this.
Physicists invented the web. And as usual the got interested by someting else and left the first attempts of making websites untouched. It seems that all physics departments in Germany have webpages which suck.
Now take a look at this.... No comments on why we are considered mediocre.
Today was faculty board. I not only was volunteered for writing the notes, I also volunteered voluntarily (all on my own) for making a redesigning proposal of the departments website. I always thought of it as not usable, ugly and generally bad. Then I saw this.
Physicists invented the web. And as usual the got interested by someting else and left the first attempts of making websites untouched. It seems that all physics departments in Germany have webpages which suck.
Now take a look at this.... No comments on why we are considered mediocre.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Friday, April 15, 2005
Yesterday 70 years ago Emmy Noether died. And nobody knows it. Too busy with the Einstein-Year. Sad...
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Just another reason to live in Italy. Although I would not have thought of italians to win by that...
Sunday, April 10, 2005
The last couple of weeks in Hamburg haven't been too bad. I did work a lot, but I also started to get along much better with my fellow collegues and sometimes got convinced, that they know what they are doing. Having returned to Erlangen and just getting digest of what they do via mail, I am back thinking that they have absolutely no clue about what they are doing.
Either I got used to that back in HH, they did not behave that stupid when I have been around, or I also got stupid while being there. I think the latter. Working in a big research center makes you dumb, you do not think really about what you are doing, everything is only taken so far, that it just nearly works, nobody really understands his stuff. Mediocrity is the goal...
Either I got used to that back in HH, they did not behave that stupid when I have been around, or I also got stupid while being there. I think the latter. Working in a big research center makes you dumb, you do not think really about what you are doing, everything is only taken so far, that it just nearly works, nobody really understands his stuff. Mediocrity is the goal...
Saturday, April 09, 2005
LA SEÑORA ORIANA.
A DULCINEA DEL TOBOSO.
Soneto
¡Oh, quien tuviera, hermosa Dulcinea,
Por más comodidad y más reposo,
A Miraflores puesto en el Toboso,
Y trocara su Londres con tu aldea!
¡Oh, quien de tus deseos y librea
Alma y cuerpo adornara, y del famoso
Caballero, que hiciste venturoso,
Mirara alguna desigual pelea!
¡Oh, quién tan castamente se escapara
Del señor Amadis, como tú hiciste
Del comedido hidalgo Don Quijote!
Que así envidiada fuera, y no envidiara,
Y fuera alegre el tiempo que fue triste,
Y gozara los gustos sin escote.
-- Cervantes, Don Quijote de la Mancha
A DULCINEA DEL TOBOSO.
Soneto
¡Oh, quien tuviera, hermosa Dulcinea,
Por más comodidad y más reposo,
A Miraflores puesto en el Toboso,
Y trocara su Londres con tu aldea!
¡Oh, quien de tus deseos y librea
Alma y cuerpo adornara, y del famoso
Caballero, que hiciste venturoso,
Mirara alguna desigual pelea!
¡Oh, quién tan castamente se escapara
Del señor Amadis, como tú hiciste
Del comedido hidalgo Don Quijote!
Que así envidiada fuera, y no envidiara,
Y fuera alegre el tiempo que fue triste,
Y gozara los gustos sin escote.
-- Cervantes, Don Quijote de la Mancha
Sure you can sing and whistle communist anthems about abolishing private property. But first you have to pay the copyright fee...
Friday, April 08, 2005
Been back in Erlangen since about a week. Something is missing, the thrill is gone. I started cycling again, I started riding, I've met a lot of good friends, I've met new people, life is much better than in Hamburg. But something is missing for it to be as much fun as in the good old days. When I meet new people, most of them are students and I feel like the nice and funny old granddad, but not like one of them (not mentioning the odds of meeting a potential girlfriend). When I meet some of my friends they turn out to be old as well or less interesting than I remembered.
The city is full of ignorant idiotic kids, the university is full of them as well. Erlangen has now a lot of arrogant elitist clubs, lots of self-focussed suits running around. But on the other hand, all the good pubs still exist, you still meet the same nice people there and it is nice there. There are still some islands, some retreats of the people and things I like.
Maybe it is time to move on, to leave all that behind, to just stay with the memories and not mix it with the time now. Finish my PhD and go somewhere. I start to like Kryptikmo's idea to go and shake hands with a gorilla...
The city is full of ignorant idiotic kids, the university is full of them as well. Erlangen has now a lot of arrogant elitist clubs, lots of self-focussed suits running around. But on the other hand, all the good pubs still exist, you still meet the same nice people there and it is nice there. There are still some islands, some retreats of the people and things I like.
Maybe it is time to move on, to leave all that behind, to just stay with the memories and not mix it with the time now. Finish my PhD and go somewhere. I start to like Kryptikmo's idea to go and shake hands with a gorilla...
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Smoothly slides open to reveal the cunningly hidden camera.
Unique red glow display screen exudes mystery and excitement.
Complete your look with the stylish protective carrying bags and straps.
Stand out like a flame in the darkness with the unique rotator (no number keys, only select, send, end, and 2 soft keys).
Did you guess? It's a phone.
Unique red glow display screen exudes mystery and excitement.
Complete your look with the stylish protective carrying bags and straps.
Stand out like a flame in the darkness with the unique rotator (no number keys, only select, send, end, and 2 soft keys).
Did you guess? It's a phone.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END. At least if you believe the IFO Index. There is a nice view from over the ocean on the IFO index on slate.
They found it. It took them at least 4 hours to find that and correct it (a collegue of mine found it around 15:00, I checked around 19:00 it was still the wrong version...). And still this graphic is crap. You do not get any more information from the graphic than you would have got from the table. You have always to go back and forth between table and graphic to figure out which coulor is which party. Can you tell if the light green section is bigger than the pink one? If yes, by how much? You cannot think about the data from the graph alone, you need a table beside it. If you have a table, you don't need the graph, as it does not enlighten you in any way. It is just a blob of colour on the page. And if you need a blob of coulor, than just put up an ad, at least you get money for it.
A table would have presented the same information in an as easy way, you can easily tell that 49.6% is something like a bit less than half of the whole (which, by the way, you cannot tell from the graph). OK, this argument is a bit flawed, as it took Spiegel more than 4 hours to find the error...
Chartjunk.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Hey, I'm getting famous, somebody from nokia has visited my blog. Lucky me that I have not posted anything bad about my mobile :-) (Which happens to crash everytime I use bluetooth and which has basically no Linux support. But it still is the best mobile around...)
Funny to see the old posts and how some things have changed. Or have they?
Funny to see the old posts and how some things have changed. Or have they?
Monday, April 04, 2005
Although it looked like it's never going to happen and although my bosses are still not really aware of it, I am back in Erlangen... Let's see how long I can stay without the detector blowing up or the project getting at a standstill because nobody is around who has a clue (right now I have a competent substitute, but he will be in Hamburg for only a few days. The next possible substitute is not yet aware of having the responsibility about the whole detector. I have warned him that everything will be on him and he should shout NO as soon as possible, but he thought that was a joke...)
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Bloody blogger ate my post! So try again...
I just love intellectual TV. Just watching Arte, showing something about a couple of tree-hugging goths making porn movies to safe the rainforest. Who work together with a couple of plastic-fetishist pine-apple-provo-pogo activists. As a statement against conservatism.
I went for diner with a good friend of mine, a nice girl, who leads a completely boring normal life. She works in a hospital, her boyfriend in a bank, they go together on package-holidays, they are just normal. (Don't get me wrong, I really like her a lot, I think she is intelligent, good looking, all that. There was a time I would have liked to share a larger part of my life with her...) What a contrast...
To be honest: I think the eco-goths and the plastic-fetishists are nuts. I wouldn't be able to be in the same room with them for more than a couple of minutes without feeling the urge to kick somebody...
I just love intellectual TV. Just watching Arte, showing something about a couple of tree-hugging goths making porn movies to safe the rainforest. Who work together with a couple of plastic-fetishist pine-apple-provo-pogo activists. As a statement against conservatism.
I went for diner with a good friend of mine, a nice girl, who leads a completely boring normal life. She works in a hospital, her boyfriend in a bank, they go together on package-holidays, they are just normal. (Don't get me wrong, I really like her a lot, I think she is intelligent, good looking, all that. There was a time I would have liked to share a larger part of my life with her...) What a contrast...
To be honest: I think the eco-goths and the plastic-fetishists are nuts. I wouldn't be able to be in the same room with them for more than a couple of minutes without feeling the urge to kick somebody...
Friday, March 25, 2005
They're showing the airport movies again on TV! Oh, what great movies they made back then. And using innovative cutting techniques as well!
Why don't they make an airport movie now? Back then, the first was made when the Boeing 707 was new, then for each new aircraft there was a new movie showing the safety of them, until Airport 80 - The Concorde. They should make an Airport 2005 - The A380 now.
Cast: the usual airport cast, if no longer alive, take somebody else. But lot's of stewardesses in miniskirts, please.
Story: doesn't matter, as long as it involves a whole load of pregnant, deaf-mute, 9-year old girls with heart diseases, who have to visit their old sick parents in soviet russia. And stewardesses in miniskirts. And you need Lee Majors abseiling from a Jet-Helicopter. You need the old guy with the cigar ranting about his time back then in the airforce, when people got sucked out of airplane windows every five minutes. Everything needs to happen during a snow storm. Did I already mention stewardesses in miniskirts? Some of them might have random affairs with other members of the flight crew. As long as they have miniskirts...
The transparency feature of the newer x-windows is just amazing...
Just installed three nifty applications I think I will love a lot: F-Spot, an image organiser which helped me already discover that I have something like 8000 photographies on my computer; Tomboy, a note keeping program with wiki like functionality and finally, beagle, which seems to be a really powerful search tool...
The rest: I have spent the week programing hardware with commands like vme_A24D32_write(crate, address, buffer); more than 1500 lines of it. It is as fun as it sounds...
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
OK, so we have a online library. That is nice. We have actually two of them, one is the online-online library, one is the offline-online library. There is a third one from the CERNLIBS. We not only use the same name for the library but also the library calls are the same, just that they do completely different things. These libs are spread around the system, nobody knows which is where. And we are using automount, so that you only see half of the directories. And all software is written by madmen. I think I just go and shoot myself.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
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