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...")
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