News Titbits

Most importantly, Alberto went home back to Spain yesterday. Let's hope his Seat Ibiza got hime there safe and sound, and that the 3 cases of beer arrived without a bottle being opened...

Now onto some more international news.
One of the main leaders of the rebel group FARC in Colombia has made moves towards a peace talk. What with the hostages still being held near Santa Marta, and the continued attempts on the lives of mayoral candidates before the elections, let's just hope this new move is taken seriously by both sides.

Something a bit closer to home now (ie Germany) in that a man has been arrested on suspicion of teaching his dog to do the Nazi salute. It could only happen here. Oh, and the dog's name is Adolf.

Well that's about it for now, although congratulations are in order to the chinese for being the third nation to put a man up in space. In fact, they were meant to be the first nation to put a man and his dog in space, but when the sweet-and-sour-pork packet burst on take-off there was no other option...

Also, congratulations go out to Olgui who has now been excepted on her course in psychology here. As everyone knows, it's very difficult for foreigners to get on these limited-entrance courses, so well done to her !

Better get back to putting variables into my program (yes, it really is that interesting).

As the new governer of california says:

Hasta la vista, baby :)

Back to School

Well, I managed to do it again. It's been over a month since I last posted, but I'm not even going to explain why ! That's because you'll already have read that I went off to Colombia for 3 weeks. Yes, my final continent has at last been conquered, another place to tick off my list...hold on...that's not true. There is really so much of it to see, and if it wasn't for political reasons (hehem, kidnappings) I would have loved to have seen more. I have at least promised that I will return soon and see as much as possible that I missed.

I will not bore you with notes from my diary there, though I will mention a couple of things that will stay with me for a long time. Firstly, arriving with hurricane Florian was a bit of an experience, although the flight itself had already put me a bit on edge (within an hour of taking off from Frankfurt, the air hostess managed to spill orange-juice over my trousers, shirt, and book that I was reading (Noticia de un Secuestro - Garcia Marquez, very apt). We then had someone smoking in the toilets (very safe...).

What amazed me was the variety of the people, food, climate, and how despite all the problems that this country endures, how relaxed, happy and friendly the people were (in fact, I only got called "Gringo" once, and that was by a schoolkid in the library of Bogota). It really is dificult for me to put into words what I experienced there, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed myself a lot, and will definetely return.

Another thing I will remember, is Olga's driving. I don't mean this in any form of bad way, just that she gets very frightened of the big buses (with good reason, I've seen how they drive, and the consequences! It isn't for nothing they're called "Borradores" - erasors). Also when we hit a big hole (and there are numerous to hit in the roads of Barranquilla, in fact, it's harder to find a bit of road which isn't part of a hole!) and the engine caught fire...that was something I won't forget quickly! (see, it had nothing to do with her driving, just that she was driving at the time these things happened).

So all in all, an amazing time, and can't wait to go back (possibly when the weather gets back to normal - 32 degrees Celsius at midnight with 100% humidity requires about 3 showers a day minimum).

Back in Mainz we have a different problem. It's freezing !!! Snow in the south, snow in the north, but here everything looks the same, except we can feel the cold entering our bones. It really has skipped autumn and gone straight into winter. I feel sorry just looking at the new Spaniards thinking of their homes....

What else is new...many people have finally gone back to their home countries, and many more have arrived to start their Erasmus year here in this village, sorry, should that be town?

And finally, as many of you already know, I'm looking for a place to live. I have until the 20th of this month to move out, so if anyone hears of a place, you can use the form on this website to email me. Thanks.

Okay, that's all for now, better get some shopping in before I starve again.

we'll meet again

Birthdays and Goodbyes

This week we have a triple. On Wednesday, Carlitos celebrated his, hehem, all the threes (and I'm not talking three hundred and thirty three). Today (Friday) saw Juanfran edge nearer his third decade, and Saturday is that of Albakra, sorry, Alberto
. Many happy returns, hope you all celebrate accordingly, and afterwards show me the photos :)

Today also saw the lovely, sorry, great friend, Javi head off for his homeland. Not one to miss an opportunity, I accompanied him to the airport to take a last beer before he boarded. Of course that wasn't my only reason for going to the airport (although a good enough one). No, I was to take advantage of Lufthansa's great day-before check-in procedures. That should make tomorrow a lot less stressful for me.

After taking and passing her final exam today, Noelia goes off back to Galicia tomorrow, but this time by bus. So here's wishing her a lot of sleep for the 18 hours or however long it takes to get there. Oh, and how did last night go? ;)

Oh, did I forget to mention where I was going? How silly of me. Tomorrow I will be leaving Germany to head off to a far more beautiful, interesting, and unseen-by-me land. Yes, it's off to Colombia. Wish me luck, and wish the colombians a lot of patience in trying to understand me.

Next post will be from the other side of the atlantic (and a bit further south :)

Cheaper Calls and Dumbest Criminal of the Year Contender

First up, for those of you with landlines in Germany, the page www.billigertelefonieren.de advises which prefix to use to get cheaper calls. Also on this site is announced that the D2 Call-Ya prepaid tariff has an offer on in September and October, whereby if you spend 10 euros in calls, they will give you 5 euros to call free. Check the offer out here.

And for those that thought that criminals were getting cleverer, have a look at this article about a man who stole a GPS tracking device !

Okay, back to the office

A day like no other

Where to start, that is the problem. I woke up on August 30th due to the alarm on my phone. Upon viewing the screen, I noticed it had the words "security failure" written across it. Not good news. Investigating further, I came to the conclusion that the service provider (o2) had cut me off. Admittedly, I had cancelled my contract for the end of the month, but by my calendar, that's midnight on the 31st, not the 29th. Moving on to today, we had to get up extremely early in order to get Olga on her plane to Colombia.

So, with the freezing weather settling in, and therefore having to shut the window at night, we got up at 3.30 this morning. After the usual showering, coffee etc, we needed to get to the Hauptbahnhof (where we had left the luggage the night before) to catch the train to Frankfurt Airport. As the first tram arrives at the station at 5am, and we needed to catch the train at 5.02am, after collecting the luggage, a taxi was required. Due to the reason mentioned above, I no longer had use of my phone. Olga's had run out of credit, so I went to the callbox in the halls of residence. Only takes phonecards, and I only had change. Okay then, over to the military base where there are three phoneboxes, one of which accepts coins. Enter it. Look for number of taxi company. No phonebook. Go into cabin next door. Flick through phonebook, only to discover that the page with taxis in has been ripped out of the book. Great ! Move onto third cabin, find full book, remember taxi number and go back to booth one. Whilst picking up the receiver to dial, my brain starts sending me bad signals which force me to look at the front of the machine, where I see pictures of the coins that are accepted. As the receiver is reaching my ear and I am not hearing a tone, I realise that the pictures of coins I am looking at are of the good old Deutsche Mark. Yes, the only coin-phone in the vicinity is stuck in the pre-euro times.

Back I go, collect our stuff (lucky we had dropped the big bags off at the station the night before) and we start walking towards Berliner Strasse. We stop to look at the bus timetable, on the offchance that one would pass before the first tram. Someone had kindly ripped the timetable off of it's holder. We carry on, only to find that there are no taxis at the next stop. By now it was 4.45am and within seven minutes the tram would be passing us by, but determined to get a taxi and arrive at the station in enough time to get this train, we continue. Pariser Tor. Here we see two taxis (they always come in twos, haven't you noticed?) arriving at the petrol station on the other side of the road. We dare the traffic, and run across the roads to get there. Finally, a ride ! Of course, we forgot that it's a perilous one way system over here, so we had to drive back to Berliner Strasse in order to turn around.

Arriving at the station at 4.53, and therefore 9 minutes to spare, I rushed in to get the luggage out whilst Olga tried to sort out paying a taxi fare of eight euros with a fifty euro note. We had made the train ! All the check-in etc went fine, and so after saying our goodbyes, I went on my way back to Mainz. Arriving at 8am I got the tram straight back home, as I had plenty of things to do today. First thing, speak to the caretaker. Arriving at his office I see a little hand-written sign saying he's just popped out - be right back. Go back to my room to sort a few things out before returning to see him. Okay. Go back to sleep as two and a half hours is not enough for me. At eleven o'clock I wake up. Feeling better, I wonder how it feels to be starting your first school day in Germany. How do I know this was their first school day here? Because I was awoken at eleven o'clock by the familiar sound of children screaming through the windows of the halls of residence, which signals that it's term-time again. Oh, what joy.

Anyway, I get up, and have a little chat with Ruben and Almudena. Whilst I am speaking to them we here a little 'ping' sound. At this point I notice that my glasses are falling off my face. Yes, the screw that holds my glasses together, decided that today was the day it was going to fall out. More than that, because after ten minutes looking for it all over the floor, and still not finding it, we decided it had gone to a better place (or the goblins had got it).

So, what I actually ended up doing was going to the opticions to get a new screw fitted. Before catching the bus to the Mensa to eat lunch, I stopped at our old friend, the turkish call shop, and bought myself a new simcard for my mobile. Which is why I am no longer available on my old number. If I haven't informed you of the new number, please send me an email, and I'll send it to you. Oh, whilst I'm on the subject. As I can no longer access the old simcard, I have also lost a lot of telephone numbers. So if you think I haven't got it (eg if I haven't phoned you in a while) let me know.

What a day !

Goodbye Lou and hello Sobig Virus

Tuesday saw Lou, Lourdes, "paso de vosotros" leave for her home, Madrid. We will all miss her a lot, but let's hope that we can meet up again soon.
Whilst some of us are now leaving, we also have a few arrivals, namely the families of Alberto and Jordi are visiting for a few days before returning to Valencia with their sons later on.

After the chaos caused by the "msblast" virus, you would assume people would be protected from another outbreak. Oh no, now the "Sobig" virus has been doing it's rounds and in the space of a week has become the most virulent virus ever. So protect yourselves now (download latest virus definitions from your AV vendor).

Nothing else very urgent at the moment...

Quickie

The attack on the microsoft update servers, due to start today, did not go quite as planned. The website targeted (an old address) was taken down beforehand. However, the increased network activity effects were seen, as I can verify at 00:45 this morning the Uni Mainz/Hechtsheim connection to the internet no longer worked (which is why I had to finish updating my site this morning). Of course, when America finally wakes up it will probably get worse...

Talking about updating, the useful sites and friend's sites pages have been updated, so give them a look.

Hey-ho and off to work I go...

Doing Nothing, Best Buys and Virus Alert

A new craze has hit Europe after making it's way through America, called "flash mobbing". This is when groups, organised through the internet receive an email telling them to do a particularly pointless thing at a certain time soon afterwards. This information is then disseminated by mobiles and text messages so that, for example, groups of about 200 people went to a bookstore in Rome asking about "Pinnochio 2 - The Vendetta" (doesn't exist) and to Macy's in New York asking for a "love rug" for a "suburban commune". Check out the following websites for more info: cheesebikini, flashmob.com, and an article by the telegraph.

Ever wanted to be mister handyman? Well, with the help of the German supermarket chain Plus and their special offers for screwdriver sets, you can :)

Now time for an important virus warning. The msblast virus seems to be affecting a large amount of home, as well as business users, and since it isn't distributed by email, rather anonomously though the computers network ports, it is a lot more difficult to stop. So here's what you have to do to prevent/get rid of it (for a full explanation, read this page at symantec.com) :

1) Firstly, you should install the latest microsoft patch (Windows 2000, or Windows XP, if your windows is not the english version, remember to select the correct language, or the update won't work) which prevents this virus from entering your system any more.

2) Reboot the computer.

3) Download the symantec fixblast tool (to desktop is a good place).

4) Close all running programs (like messenger clients, Word etc.).

5) If you have Windows XP, right-click on the "My Computer" desktop icon, and select "properties". Now click on the tab labelled "System Restore". Tick the box that says "Turn off System Restore" and then on the "Apply" button. When asked if that is really what you want to do, say "Yes".

6) Run the Fixblast.exe program (double click on the desktop icon if that's where you downloaded it to) and select "Start" for it to start checking your computer.

7) When this has finished, restart the computer.

8) Run Fixblast again (as in step 6) to check that the virus is fully removed.

9) If you have WinXP, turn on System Restore, following the same method as in Step 5.

After completing all this, update your virus signatures and install a firewall to help prevent other viruses of this nature entering again.

Remember to practice Safe Surfing.

News, news and more news

First up, safety in airports. You would think that we are now over-cautious with the safety controls that are in place, but as this article from the BBC shows, knives are still able to be smuggled through airport security. Makes you feel really safe, doesn't it.

France, always one for flouting the rules when it feels like it, has decided to allow excess water from it's nuclear plants to leak into the rivers at higher temperatures, ignoring any possible impacts it may have on the environment. Of course, they could have done like the swiss and just cut output during this hard time, but they had to do it their way. Ok, it's not fair always picking on the french, I know, so I would also like to point out that Germany too has taken to using the same method.

For those of you that like to stay up late (or those that can't get to sleep because of this ridiculous heatwave we're having) tonight at about 2-3am you should be able to see the meteor shower of Perseids.

Amongst the latest lot to leave for their home countries, are Pau, Nuria, Giulia, Carmen, David, and Juanfran. Best wishes go out for whatever they go on to do with their lives.

That's it for now

Heatwave, Monkeys and Virus Warning

As most of Europe suffers under the effects of the sun, the UK seems to be looking more like the med. It's not all good news, however, apart from Germany sweating without the help of air conditioning, the UK has used the hot weather as an excuse for slowing down the trains. We can never win.

Next up in the news, is a virus warning, although it doesn't seem to be so advanced, it hasn't stopped people from contracting it (not literally people, their computers...) As ever, the advice is to keep your virus program up to date, and to patch this critical vulnerability in Windows.

As more and more firms are moving abroad in order to reduce costs of labour, an Iowian firm has found a different method. They hire monkeys. Yes (this goes out especially to Griff) whilst we have all thought that the guy at the other end of the helpline was some form of primate, now we have the proof. This shows us two things; labour is very cheap indeed hiring chimps instead of humans, and that Visual Basic is in fact just a language written for apes.

bysie bye

BBQs, leaving, and photos

Well, the semester has ended, the temperatures have reached record levels and most of the Erasmus students are slowly making their ways home. Which means there ar elaving parties nearly every night, and what better way to celebrate than to have a barbie :) Unfortunately, it does become a bit repetitive after a while, up to the point where I can't see another sausage nor burger for a month !!!

Finally found time to put up the photos from Argentina that Fernand and Joan sent a while back, which can be found under Photos->Others->Fernando and Joan. Also, Alberto's photos from the meal at Olga's are now available to see, Photos->Meals->Olga Cena.

Well, that's it for now, more news later on.

Bits and Bobs

Before anything else, it has to be mentioned that Kutre Concierto 3 will go ahead in the Vegis tonight at 9.30pm. Be there or be square.

On to the news. For all those culinary enthusiasts out there, it is now being claimed that Lasagne is in fact British. The recipe was found in the first ever cookbook, found in the British Museum. Of course, there is the small matter of defining what is lasagne first.

A spurge of online search-engine games has manifested itself, meaning that when you get bored at work or at uni you can have a go at typing in various word combinations to the Google site, and hitting the button "I'm feeling lucky". Some of the current favourites are "weapons of mass destruction", and "french military victories".

Enough fun for today

Scam update

First warning goes out to AOL users who are particularly being targeted by a porn trojan.

Next up is an interesting story about the methods of credit card thieves.

And finally, for those london folk, a telephone scam has been discovered that involves paying lots of money to listen to cheesy elevator-music. Great.

Be Aware

Newsnight

First up, we welcome Roberto the Italian back to Mainz. After completing his degree in Italy he has now returned to rub it in for those who have yet to complete theirs :)

No doubt everyone has become aware of the comradeship going on between the Italian and German members of the European Parliament. Well, the latest shot was fired by the Germans, and is detailed here.

A new way to stop that unstoppable menace that is SPAM, or unsolicitated emails, has been found by the Internet Research Task Force. It has to be read.

Now for the serious stuff:
Bad news for Bangladesh, as a ferry carrying over 750 people sank, with about 400 currently missing.
Good news for a man from Arkansas who awoke after a lengthy 19-year coma. Apparently, he is now trying to catch up on what has happened.

As it becomes apparent that various mis-truths (not going to be sued here, thank you very much) were fed to the public as regards the reasons for war in Iraq, Tony Blair stands defiant (alone) that the proof will materialise as quickly as you can say "rehash me a ten-year-old thesis and pretend it's from a reliable source".
Also, that tear-jerking story of the female US soldier shot and stabbed in Iraq, and then heroically rescued (Saving Private Ryan, anyone?) by the american military turns out to be as far from the truth as The White House is from finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

A couple of IT bites now; consumers up to their eyebrows (for want of a more explicit expression) with paying too much to the music industry monoloths, are getting together and organising a revolt. Join in the fun.
Information about a replacment for the humble barcode has been released (inadvertantly) showing that it is yet another method to control the population. Read about this new invasion of privacy here.

That about it for now, tomorrow is the summer party of the nuclear physics institute, and seeing as we're in Germany, the beer starts flowing from 11am !!!
Friday also sees Carlitos, Lobelto, Makek (el croata), Alberto, Pepe, Eme, Pau, David, Bruno, Natalia, Consuelo, Mirian, Helene (la francesa), Ana, Maria, Pili, Tere and Susi head off to Berlin for the much-acclaimed Love Parade.

Can't wait for the photos :)

Graduation, Breadmaking and Parties

Another trip to the UK, this time it was for the graduation of Douglas, my lesser half, sorry, my brother :)
This was attended after a six hour journey from London up to Durham (near the border with Scotland). The kindest way to talk about the weather up north is to say that it didn't snow...although I'm sure it tried. I admit, maybe I should have warned Olga of the temperatures up there so that she would have been able to bring something more than summer clothes, but it was amusing :) So, a big posh meal at a hotel that night, followed by the ceremony in the morning in Durham Cathedral, and then packing up all Dug's belongings into the trailer to bring home with us (along with five of us in the car). Getting home at half past one in the morning, my parents then had to leave for france the next morning, and Olga and I set off for London (I assume Douglas has now woken up).
In the Canary Wharf area of the capital we met up with Nick, who managed to take an extra long lunch-break in order to eat with us. We met up with Joe (Colombian from Mainz) and went shopping along Oxford Street. Rushing for the plane, we arrived at City Airport half an hour before take-off, and within ten minutes we were in the plane for Frankfurt, exceptionally efficient in my opinion, especially considering the palava in Frankfurt airport on the way out (after the usual bag scan and walking through the beep machine, they then scan the bag again and do a very intimate body search. If it wasn't for their authority in the airport, I would seriously consider reporting them to the police for sexual assualt, and Olga would back me up one hundred percent, as hers was even more explicit).

On Saturday, after shopping to fill up the fridge (after four days away there was no food left), I went off to work, not without first setting my bread-machine for a loaf of oregano bread (doesn't have a recipe, I made it up as I went along). It's not just me who liked the result, Olga thought it had just the right amount of salt, Alberto managed to chew it, despite having his four molars taken out, Andres also approved, and even Magda put aside her impressions of english men to say that she was impressed.
This same night there was a big selection of parties to going on around here. In Hechtsheim Lucia and Christina had their leaving party (which I could observe from my room :) there was a street party in Frankfurt which was attended by Ramsey etc. also, in Muenchfeld there was a party at the house of Mauri, and near to Wiesbaden there was a latin-american party. Which was great, and many people enjoyed themselves. Which one did I visit? None. I was too tired after work (does my age show?).

Tonight Fatma is coming over for dinner (let's hope the tomato-bread is ready by then) and then we'll be meeting up with Nick (yes, the one from London) and his brother in town for a couple of drinks.

On a less personal note, theregister reports that printer ink is now seven times more expensive than vintage champagne. I don't know who did this study, but speaking for my self, I don't usually drink the ink from my printer.

And relax...

Writer's Block

Okay, biggest apologies go out to every one of you, I will not attempt to explain my lack of communication, albeit to say that I was just a little stressed.

So now's the bit where I try to recount everything that's been happening over the last (gosh!) eight weeks. With the help of Lou's diary pages (no, I didn't steal them, she gave them to me) and what's left of my decrepid memory, I will now go back to the beginning and reveal all (no, not in that way. no need to hide the kids).

So, April 26th saw Roberto (the italian) have his leaving party. Highlights of the evening were Alicia's tortilla, and the amount of wine drunk. Also on this same night saw a repeat Kalimocho party in Alberto's flat, which ended up with not many people remembering much of the night, including me, although there are vague recollections of some people close-dancing...

On May 22nd Don Albe (jose alberto to you and me) came over to visit us. Time was spent drinking, chatting, drinking...

Dinner was provided by Olga on May 23rd, so Lou and I went over to Bretzenheim to eat our plate's worth. Very nice. Afterwards, fiesta brava in the Mainzer Kolleg, where it was also the last day behind the bar for Antonio, before he left to go back to Seville. Very good night had by all, Albe certainly enjoyed himself, as did the rest of us dance-a-holics. At about 6am most people made their way home. Apparently Carlitos and Roberto stayed on a bit longer, whilst the latter painted the steps to the bar a nice shade of pink-with-carrots.

After his brief visit, Albe went back to Valencia on May 27th, promising to return soon. So the night of the 26th we had a leaving get-together for him in Hechtsheim Bar, where I got out a couple of special beers that I had brought back from England (one from chocolate, the other made with honey).

June 4th saw a strawberry-party organised by the Hechtsheim halls. So naturally we all went to Carlitos' place (about 3 metres away from said bar) and had our own super party (despite certain people trying to stop the fun).

Lobelto, sorry, Roberto the frog, um, frenchman laid on a Paella on June 6th for his housemates (including Olga) so Lou and I went along to give our opinions.

June 9th-12th I spent in my humble village in England, getting together my books, beer and sauces to bring back to Germany, whilst showing Olga around London on her first trip to the UK (crossing roads was a particular difficulty she had...). During this time Alberto (aka Albakra) and Jordi went back to Valencia for a week (it was uni holidays, honest).

The birth of Marcus the baker happened on June 14th, when, with my newly bought bread-baking machine, I baked my first loaf. Not wanting to die alone, I invited Lou to come along and try the bread first :)

June 15th saw me back in the experiment room in the physics building, where all sorts of computer problems occured. At 8pm I quickly ran away back home.

The preparations started well in advance, for on June 18th the halls of residence in Hechtsheim filled with about 3000 people for the annual summer party. Not before I cooked my Indian meal (a korma, for those in the know) for Andres, Carolina and Olga, and served it along with a freshly baked loaf of bread.
So, as expected of us, we had our own private party in Carlitos' flat. Again, some people not understanding the idea of a private party, nor that a person's toilet is not for communal use for a population of 3000, and that somebody saw fit to steal Lou's camera and also to push over the kitchen shelves. But apart from those little mishaps, it was a very good party, and Carlitos is to be commended once again for his organisational skills.

This Saturday just gone (June 21st) I went on a little shopping trip with Olga, to buy food. Why is this worth writing on this website you may ask? Because when it came through the checkout at 120 euros, and filled two boxes and five carrier bags, and had to be transported back home by bus, I would consider it something out of the ordinary. Highlights of the shopping trip: Colombian fruit (can't remeber what they were called), flour of type 1050 (no, I have no idea what that means either, but it's the one required for some of my bread recipes) and a Tigger toy.
After a meal of chicken with rice (attended by Sylvia), and sleeping the siesta (Olga has a problem with quantities when cooking, so yes, after eating it all up everyone needs a siesta) we had a pasta dish prepared by Nuria, wish was also very nice.

Now that I think I've done the majority of the news of late, I will let you get back to your cups of tea and coffee, that will definitely be cold by now.

Sorry.

Coming and going

So what's been happening lately? Well, in no particular order (okay, in the order that I am remembering them) I went to see the film 'Goodbye, Lenin' with Andres last Tuesday, and would definitely recommend it to all and sundry. A well produced look into divided Germany, both funny and sad.

Many people have been going off on day-trips throughout this country, and some for longer. My own break went through Luxemburg, Aachen, Cologne, Bonn and Koblenz with Martin (long-time friend from Stuttgart), his girlfriend, and his car. Despite a cold Saturday, the trip was great.

As mentioned on Jordi's updated website, Javi went off to Prague, Lou has now gone off to Berlin, Carolina has come back from Colombia, and Dani (el putogues) is off to Italy (don't expect many photos of the sights...). In the meantime I've been doing nothing unusual in working as much as possible, although I did clean and completely rearrange my room on Monday (inspections welcome), and worked up an appetite by running to Jordi and Javi's for dinner, and then running back afterwards (spring makes funny things happen to people).

Another thing of importance, is that Fernando and Joan have now boarded their plane to Argentina, and so wishes of all the best go out to them, and let's see if I get to visit them this summer...

As we have just had a huge thunderstorm, and lots of rain, the weather can described as unstable, so anyone planning a trip to visit me (us) here (hints to any of my friends back in the UK), bring your umbrellas !

now, where did I put my wellies?

Weather and News

Germany, are we are in Germany?? You wouldn't have thought so, what with the weather actually being hot (not just the sun being out and a freezing wind). So what do we do when we've got weather unseen here for the last 8 months? We stay inside and work. Yes, bosses seem to think that good weather means people will work faster, so they give us even more to do. Never mind, I can dream of the sea...

Couple of short news stories. First one following on about alternative uses for mobiles, some people just take it too far. And then an amusing story about internet pornography, and how the US government is aiming to succeed in paying off it's national debt, maybe.

smoke me a kipper.

Fun for the girls, and windows security update

After the article about the taiwanese women who 'accidently' got her mobile stuck in her rear quarters, comes the news of a new phone luxury called The Purring Kitty that owners of certain nokia handsets can download which makes use of the vibrate function...the rest I'll let this article explain.

And now something serious for users of the windows operating system. A new bug has been found that will allow specially-designed websites to format your hard-disks. More info and links to the patches can be found here.

That's it, nothing more nothing less.

New Photos Up

Along with the photos of Milan and Bologna, you can also find evidence of my latest haircut and the party at Jorge's place.

Enjoy.

News Roundup

Some brief news links.
Naturists are battling the government's plans to outlaw people taking off their clothes in public. They can count on my support :)
Police are searching for 118 missing piglets. The motive is yet unknown, but when a robbery of 100 lettuces and tomatoes follows, my bet's the bakery is next.
Just to prove that Birmingham really is a safe place to live, in a police amnesty on arms (hand in any weapon, and no prosecution will follow) in the west midlands, a slightly unusual piece was handed in. A grenade launcher goes to show that schoolkids are getting slightly out of control...
Finally, a well written article about net censorship and the war that is definitely worth reading.

Back to Mainz, and the Hague carload came back last night, Noelia is nursing an oil-burnt hand, had a great meal (provided by Olga, Bivi, Roberto) and film (la flor de mi secreto) experience in Bretzenheim on Sunday.

No rest for the wicked...

Student Cones

Funny title, but it has it's reasons. Not sufficient in taking away our civil liberties, our privacy, instilling fear in the population, now the government wants to take away the life and blood of its students. Yes, they want all traffic cones returned to government departments, and as such, have set up an amnesty so no questions will be asked. So what are we supposed to do now when we come home drunk from the pubs and clubs at 4am ??? At least we can keep the signposts, traffic lights and shopping trolleys... :)

Something a bit more personal now. Don't sit up in your chairs just yet though, I didn't mean that personal !!. Last night saw the Hechtsheim Bar open its doors for the new Erasmus students. After all the newbies went off to bed, we arrived, and had a great time dancing away to hits of the eighties (up-to-date, Germany :)

Well, that's all for now, pictures of Bologna are in progress, and you might just notice a change in me tomorrow.

Wait and see.

What a life

Well, for those of you who don't understand spanish, I think I'd better let you into what I've been upto over the last...month ?!!!

Valencia in the Fallas was great, had a superb time with Jordi, Dani, Paolo, and all the others we met there (way to many to list here - sorry!). Some of the most memorable moments were in the street parties, returning home at about 6am, having drunk a little bit :) A certain moment when we circled a tree singing "que nadie mea aqui" (you'll have to ask us for an explanation...) and in the final cremation of the Falla in the square of the city hall, when everybody turned to face the building of the PP (the ruling political party in Spain) and shouted "Stop the war". Very emotional, especially considering that the war then started 3 hours later...

By the way, the photos from the Fallas of 2003 are up, so go have a ganders.
Whilst on the subject of photos, the birthday dinner and party of Jordi, Javi and Lou are also up, as are those of the leaving party of Fernando and Joan.

What else has happened...well, the official changeover of houses has happened, and so Hechtsheim has said goodbye to Jordi, Javi, Juanfran, Carmen and Luca, and hello to Carlitos.

Whilst Dani and Paolo were here in Mainz (yes, they came over here after having been in the fallas) and after having had much fun at the Eisgrub, Javi and I were persuaded (ok, it didn't take much effort at all) to go and visit them in Bologna. Which is where we have been since Sunday until this morning at 2am when we arrived in Mainz.
We had such an amazing time there, it was unbelievable. We ate like kings, had fun at the parties with the friends, family and housemates of our two bologneses, and left with much will to return someday soon (what are you doing this weekend, Javi? :) There definitely are a thousand reasons to come back to this incredible city. The photos will be put up as soon as possible.

Now to a bit of general news. Although we have only just found out, a bomb was left outside the IBM building in Bologna on the 31st, whilst we were there. Luckily it didn't explode.

Best get back to work, catchup time...

Excuses, excuses...

Probably due to the previously mentioned workload I had, the last five days have seen me sick. Not in the head, nor literally, rather ill with a fever, high temperature, dry throat, trouble breathing, no strength...and all that without touching a drop of alcohol !!!!

So now you've heard my excuses for not having the time to put up the photos of the party before I go off to Valencia (tomorrow at 7.15 I catch a tram...). Of course, I am not alone, Carlitos will be accompanying me on this journey, so prepare yourselves for what we will bring :)

Recompenses will be granted once (if) I return...

Another week passes...

So much work, so little time. Briefly though, Last friday the bar was hired out and we had an amazing party for the birthdays of Jordi, Lou, and Javi. The photos of which, will be put up as soon as possible, but due to the fact i am working all hours of the day at the moment, I can't promise when I will have the time (although I hope to do it before I go off to Valencia).

Oh, yeah, that was the other point. Next wednesday I will be flying off to sunny Spain, to visit the Fallas once again. Of course, this means I need to catch up with all the work that I won't be able to do in this time, which is why I have little time :(

One person that has already gone back to his country, is Javi. Before he left, however, he invited us to dine at the Eisgrub on wednesday night. Fifteen spaniards (or south-americans or english...) sat down at a huge table and ate their way through mounds of meat and salads. We also drank a tube of 5 litres of beer, and a couple of 3-litre tubes on top. Coming back home we stayed in the bar for a couple of drinks, where the atmosphere was still flowing.

All in all, a great time.

Anyway, Jordi is moving house tonight, and something else is bound to be planned.

Until the next

Birthday Week

This week has to be the week of celebrations. Firstly was the birthday of Laura on Saturday, then came that of Jordi on Tuesday, Lou celebrates on Friday, and Luca on the coming Sunday. Phew! Talk about being busy !!!

So last weekend was celebrated in the usual italian style, with pasta, wine and cakes. Very nice.
Monday night we descended on the bar where Maria and company were working. After quite a few drinks we retired to the TV room where I was verbally attacked by nearly every spaniard (thanks go to Lou who tried to defend me). Of course it was the subject of always, Gibraltar, but it all took place in fun, nothing serious :)

After waking up a bit late the next morning, and spending a day at work and uni, the evening started off with a lovely dinner at Jordi's place, where some great puddings were also brought by. The wine flowed, as did the music, as we set off to the bar of the WGs. Except it was closed (holidays) so instead we invaded Fernando's place :) The atmosphere was perfect, and we all enjoyed a good time.

Of course, this morning not everyone woke up as early(ish) as me...

Until the next birthday

Long time, no see, lots done

As seems to be the habit of late, I haven't written anything here for a while. Instead of giving you excuses (like the night shifts I've been working, the extra workload I have this week) I would like to mention the fact that a load more photos have been put up. Get ready, hold on tight, and I'll take you for a ride. First up, visits to Trier and Venice: Photos-Places-Trier : Girl's Day Out,
Photos-Places-Venice and of course, the amazing party that was in the house of Pau: Photos-Parties-Casa Pau.

And that about raps it all up for now, I will return.

Newsflashes

First up, another four arrests have been made near to London airports, and a Hand Grenade found in the luggage at London Gatwick. The police and soldiers are still on high alert all over the country, so I'm quite pleased I'm away from it all at the moment :)

Now, seeing as it's a certain saint's day, best wishes go out to Valentina. On the same theme, a study into how we fall in love reports that the first 90 seconds to 4 minutes are essential in finding out if we love someone. Well, that's my chances down the drain then, cos it takes that long for someone to understand what I'm trying to say (fault of me not being able to roll my 'r's...).

In Malaysia a slightly unusual request from the government has been issued, that women check the pants of their husbands and take them into a government office to be used as evidence...

Other breaking news, is that along with Luca and Carmen, the Studentenwerk of Mainz is kicking out Jordi and Javi from Hechtsheim !! Could this be the first step in their new apartheid regime? The other tell-tale signs have been the cancelling of Erasmus/Spanish parties in the bar, the non-payment to foreign students who have worked in the bar, and the proposed segregation of foreign students from the Germans in the halls of residence in Mainz.
What next? Seperate buses, trams, toilets, eating areas in the Mensa???

This is not the end...

Gulf Wars and The Force

With all the news at the moment surrounding Iraq and the impending war, a quick insight in how it's likely to end can be found on the Gulf Wars 2 webpage. It's quite long, but it's also quite amusing.

A recent Census reports that there are 390,000 people across England and Wales who belong to the Jedi faith. How they practice it is not stated, however.

Yesterday saw me cook for Alberto, Susi, Tere, Pilar and Maria and I'm told it tasted quite good. We then went down to the TV room to see Spain beat Germany in a 'friendly' football match.

Tomorrow sees the party in Paul's house which should be very good indeed, Longino (Erasmus in Paris) is coming down to visit us for the weekend (update: he will be returning to Valencia next week, and so will not be coming to see us), and on Saturday there are anti-war protests organised all over europe. Oh, and in Mainz the police from the region were out on strike today.

That's it for now

Le Weekend

Where to begin...
Last weekend was planned thus:
Thursday night fly from Frankfurt Hahn to London Stansted, parents pick me up in car. Spend the Friday sorting out the things I wanted to take back to Germany with me. Saturday morning go to London and catch the plane to Venice. Sunday night return from Venice, collect my bag from home and then catch a plane to Germany on Monday morning.

What actually happened varied slightly from the aforementioned plan.
Thursday night awaiting the flight from Hahn, it was announced that, due to heavy snow storms in London, Stansted Airport was closed, and my flight was cancelled. Great!
The following flight was at 6.45am, so I decided to return to Mainz and spend a few hours there in the company of Jordi, Alberto and Lourdes. Of course, by this time there were no trams any more, so I had to get a taxi back to Hechtsheim. Met up with said people, saw the film of the Kutre Concierto II (which I had missed by being at the airport) and then at 4am left (by taxi again) to catch the bus to Hahn.
Checked-in for this first flight, and waited until they announced that this too was cancelled, as the weather had not improved over london. As the next flight was at 11-ish, I decided it would not be worth returning, so I waited in the airport foyer.
Came and went 3 more flights, until finally, at 6.45pm on the Friday a plane left Germany for England with me on it.

Of course, getting to the UK is one thing, but getting out of Stansted is another. The motorways were blocked, the trains were not running, and there was a 2-hour wait before a taxi would be available (and then a 3km queue for it as well). Of the 10,000 people stranded at the airport, I did not want to be included. So instead, once Kathy had managed to arrive, we went off to the Hilton (the only hotel in Stansted).
As it was Chinese New Year, we sat down for a meal of some oriental dishes before going to bed. Not much time to sleep, however, as at 4am we had to get the bus back to Stansted to go off to Venice. At this time the airport was still closed due to snow, and so in the end we had another 4 hours delay.

Arriving in Venice, we were definitely taken aback by how amazing the city is. It really is a lovely place, with the canals running all through the centre, with gondolas passing by. It was, however, very cold at this time, and so travelling through the city on the vaporettas required scarf, gloves and a lot of shivering.
The youth hostel is very well situated, pretty well equipped, and best of all (unlike the rest of Venice) cheap !!

The Saturday afternoon and Sunday were spent visiting the Basilica, Palace, and all the other tourist attractions, as well as getting lost in the side streets and wondering about aimlessly taking in the views.

Sunday night returned to London, were my parents were ready to collect us, went back to my place, had some dinner (at midnight) and then proceeded to pack my bag for Germany.
Finishing the packing at 2.30am, I decided half an hour was enough for me to rest before getting up, showering and then catching the bus at 4am.
This time it was my fault, but I overslept and finally woke up at 5.30am. Seeing as the flight was at 7.45, and Stansted is about one and a half hours away from my house, this was not good. Due to very good driving on the part of my mum, we arrived there with 10 mins to spare, caught the plane and got back to Mainz ok.

So, all in all, a great holiday. The photos of which will be put up once I get chance to connect from home.

Of other news, I don't really have much to say, seeing as I was not able to read a paper or see the TV during this time.

Tomorrow my class in Classical Mechanics and Thermodynamics has their exam, so I will be there to hold their hands, so to speak. Afterwards we have to mark all the papers, so our Saturday is going to be pretty busy.

Best get back to work

News Briefs

OK, a quick round-up of what's been going on in the world of late.

Firstly, and most importantly, the EU is redefining the definition of an island !!! According to the new proposals, an island is no longer an island

1) When there are less than 50 permanent residents
2) If it is less than a kilometre from the mainland
3) If it is attached the mainland by a bridge
4) If it contains the capital of an EU state

So, following these new regulations, hundreds of Scottish islands would cease to exist, Lundy (where I went on holiday in September) would become an inhabited rock and the United Kingdom would also lose it's island status !!!
I would just add that this reaffirms my opinion of Europe...

A interesting twist on the old Nigerian email scam, if you receive an email from George Bush asking if you can help him out financially with an oil venture, have a good laugh at the information it contains, as you (if you live in the USA) are already paying the sums requested.

Another IT related newsbite is that a new strain of an SQL-worm has been slowing down the internet over the weekend (so that's why the connection in Hechtsheim is so bad...). The way around it? - update your SQL Server software.

Ever wanted a US Department of Defence military website? Well, now you can, in addition to being able to create any account or domain name you like, you can also alter those of other people as well. Visit The Register for the full story.

On Saturday a tube train came off it's rails in London, injuring 30 people (there were 800 people on board at the time). Reading the accounts, it sounds quite scary.

Okay, now that you're aware of what's happening in the outside world, you can return to your cosy bed...

Bye

Time flies when you're having fun

I can't believe the date of my last posting. Is it really that long ago??? Well, I suppose I have the excuse that in my previous update I put up a huge number of photos...

So what has happened since then? Let's see what I can remember. Jordi is now in his experimental week, but his bosses still ignore him. I am slowly getting some way with my project, despite my boss never being around. Friday night saw the bar taken over by the spanish again, with a great selection of music, most of us managed to drink a bit as well. Finishing at about two thirty in the morning, those of us still awake (Pepe and Lourdes) went back to my place and watched "Fallen" on my DVD with surround sound. Mmmmm. You wouldn't have guessed that Lourdes doesn't like horror films, except if you lived within three blocks, because when she screams...she screams !!

The other night I managed to cook up a little dinner for a few of us, based on a dish from the southern states of America. I presume it went down quite well...

Having brought over some typical English Christmas food, I managed to serve up an amazing burning Christmas Pudding with Custard, followed another day by Mince Pies. All those that like sultanas enjoyed it (not pointing the finger at Jordi at all :)

Saturday night saw the Mojito Party in the flat of Ramsy and Jorge. Amongst the five-litre barrel of beer I brought along, we drank some nice red wine, and of course the amazing Mojitos. Another cocktail to put on my list of favourites. Of course, there wasn't any Kalimocho, but we enjoyed it none the less :)

Tonight (Sunday) a few of us went down to the TV room of Hechtsheim and watched "Y tu mama tambien". I don't know if it was because the radiator was on so high, or because of the content of the film, but myself and the people around me were definitely feeling quite hot...

Apart from that, nothing else I can remember has happened over the last week (I reserve the right to add anything I forgot later on once someone has reminded me :)

Off to get some shut-eye, goodnight

Snow, Photos and News

No sooner than I mention the snow falling in England, and it begins to snow here in Mainz. Yes, this morning saw a cover of white of this city, but not yet deep enough to stay for long. At least it will be a novelty for the spanish looking out of their plane windows.

Finally, and with many apologies for their lateness, new photos are up. Clicking through the links on the left you will find new ones of Nurenberg, more of the Roadtrip, Fernando's Birthday, the Pizzeria, Eisgrub, Halloween, Tortillas de Jorge, Italian Haircut and Random Hechtsheim 2. Phew !

Now that's over with, onto the news. England won the final Ashes test (cricket) against Australia, ending a running streak of victories by the side down-under.
Be careful where you next click, as there are plans to redesign the function of the 'back' button in browsers. If it now goes to the windows site, you know who's been financing this research.
The chief-in-waiting to the European Central Bank (a frenchman) is standing trial for account fraud, in that he allegedly (phew, saved that libel trial) published inexact accounts and released false information. This is the guy that will take over the job of adjusting interest rates in all euro-currency states. Where's your money now? Are you sure?

Well, got my work to get on with, and I expect you want to see all those photos now.

Tara

News Updates

There was I thinking I could get off early to bed the night before term starts, and I find a load of news that interests me, so in no particular order, here they are:

Good job I didn't arrive on Sunday in Germany, as some maniac hijacked a light aircraft and flew it for two hours around the city of Frankfurt, threatening to crash it into the European Central Bank.

In a BBC documentary, Paul Kenyon investigates how easy it is to steal somebody's identity in Britain by doing it for the Home Secretary (yes, the one in charge of MI5, the secret service) and the author Frederick Forsyth (Day of the Jackel, anyone?). Feel safe now, don't you.

And for those of you yearning for some clips of yesteryear, thanks to the website www.britishpathe.com, you can now view a huge selection of video footage that otherwise would have gone unseen in the vaults of the TV companies.

That's it, ciao for now

New Year's Wishes

Well, having not heard from anyone about how their New Year went, I will just wish all the best for 2003, and hope that we will all be able to meet again soon.

Leaving England at eight this morning, and seeing all the fields covered with frost, I realised that we were coming into the coldest time of the year there. Arriving in Germany however, I had to amend that slightly, as over here it's still far far colder. I can't say that I'm not pleased to have a lovely warm radiator next to my bed :)

So I am now stuck here in Mainz, bored moreso than I was in my village, as no-one is back yet (well, okay, some locals are, but none of my friends) and so I am occupying myself with the new DVDs that I bought over Christmas, and with sorting out all the work that I brought back with me and didn't have time to do.

Please somebody rescue me from this fate (I am on my German mobile now if you feel like phoning...)

A bit of Bollywood and Tolkien

Sunday was a very early start, leaving for London at just after eight in the morning. After walking the length of Oxford Street without finding anything except for 'Tie Rack' open (and not wanting any new ties) I headed off for the British Museum.

Anyone would have thought, due to the proximity to where I have lived for many years, that I would have visited it often. Alas, this was but my second time (my first I don't remember, I was in a pushchair). And what a mistake that had been !

The exhibitions of the Greeks and Romans, of Egypt, of the changing faces of Britain, and the Gallery Ceiling and the Reading Room were amazing, I could not have stumbled upon a more interesting and worthwhile venue to spend the morning at. Most highly recommended !!

After eating at a very tasty Japanese restaurant, we went along to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to watch Bombay Dreams, Shakalaka baby !!.

Today (okay, yesterday now as it's one in the morning) was spent shopping in Aylesbury (finally some new trousers !!!) and the final hours in the cinema watching the astounding The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers. One of the best spent three hours of my spare time. Amazing film, astounding cinematography, gripping plot. I can no longer wait until the next one comes out, I have the book and will read it cover to cover as soon as possible.

Tonight, New Year's Eve I will be up in Birmingham celebrating with friends from Uni. You might get to hear about what happened, but only if I remember it :)

Other thoughts will go out to Javi, however, who will be running the 10km San Silvestre in Madrid from 6pm local time. We wish him speed, stamina, and a good helping of food for when he comes home. You can watch the rankings on the dedicated website and look for number 5294, Javi Gonzalez (should be somewhere near the top).

Shopping

A brief overview of what's been happening with me lately. Christmas Day was spent with my family cooking and serving Christmas Dinner to the old people of Great Missenden (the nearest town to my village). The food was great, everybody enjoyed themselves, and at 6pm we returned home just in time to sit in front of the TV for an evening of entertainment (frequently interspersed with a game of cards).

Boxing Day saw us eat some of the remnants of the Christmas turkey, so our own Christmas Dinner was put off until the 27th. Suckling Pig, mmm, need I say more?

Today was the day for shopping. We went off to Watford (another town relatively close by) and spent the day buying clothes, books and a DVD. Coming home a bit lighter in the pocket, but with something to show for it.

Other news from slightly further afield is that at last Javi has received his suitcase that was lost in transit from Germany to Spain. And nothing was broken inside. So someone is definitely feeling relieved this Christmas.

Still no word from Noelia to confirm if she's alright, so we'll just have to wait to see if she turns up at some point. However, the old Erasmosian Pili is alive and in Spain still :) Apart from that, Mavi is going down to Cordoba for New Year, Jordi is staying in Valencia and Laura is going down to Tuscany. I wish them all a great time on this night, and to just think of me stuck here in Blighty.

Back to bed...

More News

Well, I know what my new-year's resolution will be, to find time to update this site more often !!!

The last week has seen many people disappearing back to their countries of origin, which is why there has been less and less things to do here recently. However, the news still happens; In Birmingham, in a popular (depending on who you ask) electronics store, a father bought a CD-writer as a Christmas present for his family. When they ran the CD that they found in the box with the equipment, however, they were in for a shock. Child pornography is not normally associated with family electronics stores, but...let's just say that there's a lot of apologising going on at the moment.

In California a 15-year old student hacked into his school's computer system and changed his grades. For the worse! Nobody quite knows why he did this, but he got an award for his 'project'. Just goes to show which way the education system is going...

When you are driving along the roads in your new BMW or Merc (possibly a Christmas present?) just hope you're nowhere near a military base. As TheRegister reports, they are using an increased surveillance system that demobilises these new cars. Wait to see what happens if they up the power a bit more...

Well, after the departmental party on Thursday, the final Erasmus party in Mainzer Kolleg of the year was visited, where I have to admit I had probably the best night of this semester, thanks to messers Smirnoff, Blue Caracau, Gluehwein, Hefeweizen, oh and of course, the impeccable company of Laura, Giulia, Ramsy, Paco, Carlitos and the many others that I don't remember if I saw or not ;)

Will be heading back to blighty on monday, so no more dirty phonecalls on my german number, alright :)

Have a great Christmas !

Catch-Up

Ok, a quick resume of what's been happening here recently. Firstly I have been really busy with work, homework, and numerous other little things, which is why there hasn't been an update for a long while (ok, five days feels like a long while for me, actually it's a lot longer since I've written anything in English...).

Last Saturday was spent in Nuremberg with the italians (Laura, Giulia, Alicia and Silvia) visiting the Christmas market and a bit of the city itself. All had a good time, but were relieved in the evening when we got back to our warm rooms.

The last week has seen the temperature plummet, and has not gone above -2 degrees for 6 days. Today, however, everything changed. It is no longer so cold (about 1 degree I think) because it is now raining. What lovely weather we have here. As for those of you in Spain, if anyone even mentions what the weather is like over there again, I'll...

By the way, to check out the actual weather here at the University of Mainz, visit this page.

Other things that have happened recently; the italians had to lead a discussion in class about Shakespeare's Sonnets. After two hours of talking, the teacher congratulated them, so it must have gone well.

A brief for a nameless person just to say that trying to do the washing-up drunk, and thereby using olive oil instead of washing-up liquid, is not recommended :)
Friday night saw Jordi and Miquel take to the stage in Hechstheim Bar playing guitars and singing various populour Spanish tunes. The serving of cold beverages was seen to by myself and the man known as "Mit Scharf". The evening went with great success, seeing 102 litres of beer drunk (it wasn't all me, honest) and various sing-alongs by members of the audience.

At 4am today Jordi had his shift with the Nuclear Physics Experimental Group, and at midday I took over. So all in all quite a tiring weekend.

Lastly I have to mention that the fabulous sister of Laura (Chiara, or "mongolona") is here on holiday at the moment (why anybody would swap Bologna for Mainz is beyond me...) and hopefully enjoying herself a lot.

This coming week sees many people returning home for Christmas, in particular Noelia and Jorge on Monday, Alberto on Wednesday, and me on the 23rd. To everybody go out Christmas Greetings, and wishes for a Happy New Year.

Enjoy yourselves !

Birthdays and some News

Yesterday saw both Pili (in Valencia) and Fernando (here in Mainz) become a year older. Best wishes to them both, and let's hope they celebrated accordingly :)

Now to what's been happening lately. Yesterday saw two demonstrations take place in this otherwise quite town. One in Schillerplatz by the Police, Dustmen, Gasmen (still don't know what the protest was about though) and the other one at the Hauptbahnhof by students to protest about student fees for education.

Elsewhere, a fridge has been developed that cools its contents by using sound. Something to teach youngsters not to swallow things they're not meant to, a woman had to jump-start her car by pressing her toddler against the steering wheel after he swallowed the de-mobiliser chip. And for those of you who get really annoyed with those pop-up ads that look like error messages, the company who invented them is being taking to court for misleading millions of workers to disturb their jobs in order to visit this site.

Apart from that, it's just left for me to welcome Jen from Birmingham, who will be coming to visit for the weekend, and also Soph and Beecs who will be coming Sunday til Tuesday. Just remember to bring your coats ladies, because it's freezing here now !

Hi-ho, and back to work I go.

Tech News and More

First up in this news roundup is the story of an English student who took his revenge out on his two-timing girlfriend by putting up explicit photos and videos on his website, and also on her profile for friendsreunited. The full details can be found here at The Register as always.

Next comes a warning for people inclined to use their laptops as the name suggests - on their laps. A 50 year-old scientist was admitted to his doctor because of burns he had received whilst using his portable computer on his lap. And yes, he did have clothes on.

Keeping the same theme (sorry, it was the only thing in the news) a man (well it's not going to be a woman, is it?!) has been forced to remove his masculinity from that well known auction site Ebay after offering advertising space on it. It isn't mentioned if Durex had made an offer...

And for all those out there that keep on saying that size doesn't matter - it does. Apparently it accounts for 1.5 percent of accidents in the home, not many of which are fatal, we are told.

One for the other gender now, a lady in Taiwan was taken into hospital with a novel internal mobile phone. That is to say, that during her adventurous bedtime-games with her partner, something went wrong. Let's hope that her boss didn't ring in the morning...

Other things that have been happening, the Miss World contest has been moved from Nigeria to London today, due to the number of deaths occuring (last count over 100) due to it's presence there.

Hechtsheim is more or less empty this weekend, due to Laura, Giulia, Noelia, Jorge and Ramsy going off to Amsterdam. If you see them walking funny on monday, don't mention body-cavity-searches.

Congratulations go out to Luca who has just passed his English exam in Milan. The celebrations will be held tomorrow at his place (he doesn't know this yet).

Photos are up

OK, just a quickie to say that the first lot of photos (ie those from my digital camera) from our trip to Holland are now up. You can find them under Photos-Places-Roadtrip.

Also, photos from the first twister party of this semester can be found under Photos-Parties-New Twister.

And an endnote, photos of how Noelia's room looked when she came back from Switzerland can be found under Photos-Others-Teeth.

Good viewing

Roadtrip

If you have read my spanish site, you would know that the weekend just gone was spent visiting Holland and Belgium with Jordi, Javi and Alberto.

However, our plans changed before we even left Hechtsheim. The BMW 3-series we were meant to be hiring was not available, so in the end we had to make do with a Mercedes CLK-240 !!!

The visits to Den Haag, Rotterdam, the dykes, and Brussels were great, but it was this car that made the holiday that extra bit special.

Well, you'll be seeing the photos of this holiday later on this week and you can judge for yourself...

Brooooooooooooooom

Birthday Parties

The last few days have seen me rushing around getting things done, seldom having chance to check my email, let alone write something here.

However, I can now state that I am fully registered as a postgraduate of the University of Mainz. This of course means that I am giving classes to physics and chemistry students in basic physics - at least I hope it's basic!!!

Now to the interesting part. On the the evening of the 31st we went to Mainzer Kolleg to celebrate Halloween. After much time and effort on the part of Giulia and Laura (and a bit from Ramsy too) our faces were painted grotesquely (which, of course, is good for such a night). We turned up first to the old favourite Kulturcafe only to find that no-one was dressed up and that it still cost 4.5 euros to get in, whatever you wore!! We quickly changed plans and headed for the Kolleg. Here we danced the night away and enjoyed ourselves a lot.

The following day was quite special. Not only because it was my birthday, but also that of our old Erasmonian Mavi. We, of course, wish her all the best for her following year of old age, and let's see f she motivates herself to come over here to visit us (which Marilo and Julio were wanting to do as well).

As my parents had come over with all my stuff, I felt obliged (only kidding, I enjoyed it really) to accompany them (along with Jordi) to dine at Mykonis (the Greek restaurant by 'An der Philipsschanze' tramstop). Here we had a very filling meal with a good shot of 'digestive'.

For this night we went to Caveau. Here we met up with Patricia (whose birthday it was on the second of November) and a load more of the spanish lot. The evening was spent as usual there - drinking and dancing. We made our way home some time later (so I'm told), during which certain ape-noises were enacted by a member of our group.

Saturday was spent with my parents going around Media-Markt looking for a DVD-player (yes, I do have it installed now ready to set up for cinema nights :) and then to Real where I used the space in the car to put my weekly shopping in. During this outing we ate at a restaurant that was within this building, and you're not going to believe me, but the food was worse than in the Mensa !!!! In fact, up until today I have been quite ill as a result of eating there.

For the evening I entertained a few (about ten) of the people in Hechtsheim to a game of Feigling-Twister. The photos of which you will see up here soon.

Sunday saw Noelia return from Switzerland to find about fifty sets of teeth moulds in her bedroom. These were placed there by Ramsy and Company after there visit to Wiesbaden (the only interesting thing they found there, apparently).

Today I attended a shift in the experimental hall in order to learn what I should be doing the following wednesday. Apart from it not working for the first two hours, everything else went fine.

One last piece of news, the German Secret Service have been bugging people's mobile phones, and because of a bug in the software, the users have paid for the calls !!!

Ok, that's it for now, back home for a rest, bye.

Moving In and The Poster

This morning I signed the last bits of paperwork and moved in to my new house. Not that I had a lot to move in, but at least now I have a proper bed to sleep on, and a place to put all my clothes. Thanks go out to Alberto and Luca for the kind use of their living room over the last week.

Ok, you can't have failed to notice the huge poster above Karstadt from Schillerplatz to the Cathedral of a very attractive lady opening her shirt (well the men amongst you anyway). Well this lady is non other than Verona Feldbusch advertising her new website (she also has a range of lingerie at the aforementioned department store).

Tonight, being Thursday, there are parties going on all over the Uni, but of course the one to go to is at the Kulturcafe, and for no better reason than that that's where I am going !!

As it's a national holiday here tomorrow (they new it was my birthday) we will have to see what happens and where we go, but something is definitely going to happen :)

Well, I need to go shopping and start to fill up my new room, enjoy the holiday...

Oh Saturday Night

The evening of Saturday saw the first party in the Forum at the University. Alberto, Jordi, Luca Carmen, Noelia and myself went along to see how it went.

We met up with loads more people who we knew, but I can't remember them all right now, suffice it to say that half of the party-goers were Spanish (or claimed to be, at least).

The night saw many a beer get drunk, many a foot get trodden on (because of all the dancing) and many a person not remember quite what they did. Yes, we all had a great time there (insomuchas we can remember) and returned home at about six in the morning. Needless to say, most people slept in on Sunday, some with headaches, some without (although having to piece together what they did during the evening also caused headaches...).

Well, if you have read this page in Spanish, you will know that I have my own place as of the first of November (huh-hum, my birthday, by the way). So there might be some reason to have a party there...

Tonight seems to be a quiet one, as we'll probably be going to the cinema (depends if it's a chick-flick or not) but hopefully it will be fun all the same.

See ya

Diary Attacked and News Stories

Yesterday afternoon saw a change in my schedule, as some annoying kid (probably) attacked the website where I along with millions of others write our diaries from. The fact that I was actually writing in mine when it happened meant that I was right in the thick of it.

After some desperate phonecalls to England in order to stop the attack before it directly affected my website, I was able to go home a bit less stressed. Apparently everything is working again properly, which is why you can see this latest entry :)

On a lighter note, Javi, Jordi, Alberto and I went to Scrooge´s again and had a weekly dose of Guinness last night. Nothing did actually happen the night before, which is why, despite it pouring with rain, we just had to go out last night :)

Well, today sees Giulia, Jorge, Laura, Noelia, and Ramsy depart on a little adventure in Laura´s car to Luxembourg (or was it Berlin or Zurich, or Konstanz...). Let´s just hope the weather holds up for them, so that thy don´t have to swim back.

A couple of news stories caught my attention recently. Firstly, a german condom manufacturer is offering one hundred English students a year´s free supply in order to find out what people prefer.

If that wasn´t enough, a South African insurance company has sponsored the research into a high speed condom, that instead of taking 30 seconds, only takes 3 seconds to put on. Working out how many spare hours arts students have, and dividing by three seconds, you can expect the birth rate to increase dramatically over the next year :)

Women are not left out though, they get to do an online measuring session, by guessing hand, foot and nose sizes of their prospective partner, the program comes back with his estimated size. Try it out :)

Better be off now, as I just remembered everything shuts in about fifteen minutes, and I haven´t got anything to eat later.

bye

Ok, time to get back to my breakfast of milk and swiss chocolate. Mmmmm.

Paperwork and 50grad

This week has seen me running around the Universe(ity) getting people to write and sign letters, then getting others to say they need different documents, then getting told that it will take at least another week to sort it out.

Yep, I am currently trying to register myself for the work that I already have started, and the red tape is taking its toll on me once again. Of course, not being registered means I can't go to classes, nor can I eat at the Mensa (what a pity) and I have to pay for the busses and trams every day.

Last night we took to the town to visit a club called "50 grad" - fifty degrees. It was my first time there, and I have to say first impressions are very good.

We actually went in order to see our pet Gallega at her first day of work, taking care of people's jackets whilst they dance the night away. However, I don't know if she is suited to the post, as she refused to take my shirt :)

The music started off a bit unsettled, but as the beers flowed (which were only 1.60 euro each) it got better (or did our noise tolerance level increase?) and by the end of the night we had enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

I must not forget to mention that it was Ruth's (the Alicantina) first day of work behind the bar as well, and by the looks she was giving the customers, I think she must have been getting some large tips from the male contingent.

In fact I would have to say that last night was one of the best nights I've had out recently. Hopefully next time, though, Noelia will not forget her keys and have to wake Laura up at 5am... nor will Gunnar drink so much...nor will Jorge (from Galicia) play the fool on the way home. Talking of the Gallego, it is his first day at work at the same club tonight (Gay Night) so if you are going there, when you hang up your coats, don't forget to give him a kiss :)

Well, it might be Kulturcafe tonight, but then again it might not. You'll have to return tomorrow to see what I write to find out...

Ciao

Back to Mainz

Yep, you read right, I am here,gone back to my roots (ok, that was a bit over the top, but i´m back here anyway).

So if you even think about not asking me to a party...

Well, maybe this year i´ll even manage to get this site up in german and italian...

Well, got to go and prepare for lunch with Alberto (in whose place I am staying) Laura and Giulia, after last night´s "Flurparty" it´s not going to be a very stressful meal :)

So, now you know I´m back in Mainz doing my Diplomarbeit (research project), I want to know what you lot are doing - so send me an email right now !!!

Ciao bella

The Spanish Inquisition, Irish disbanded and Peckam's Angels

A few newsbites today. Spanish websites have been closing down this week in protest against new government legislation forcing them to be censured and registered by the state. The Register has more.

The power executive of Northern Ireland has been dismissed for the fourth time, due to allegations of IRA information gathering within the Assembly.

And finally, the once eye-sore of London, Peckam, has cleaned up it's act with a new take on the 'Guardian Angels'.

Stupid Computer

Before you say anything, it's not my fault.

You can see by the fact that nothing has been written on my website or that of Jordi for a while. This is because the website we use to publish our diaries has had lots of problems recently. I have only just now been able to mend my bit so I can write again.

Anyway, talking about Jordi, his website has changed address, it can now be found under http://wwwa1.kph.uni-mainz.de/~llongo/.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in my well-being during my brief visit to Mainz.

OK, too much of a good thing can be bad, so I'm going to sign out while I can. Have a good day, and we'll meet again...

Body Bits

Whiling my time away at home whilst waiting for my course results, I decided to do another trip to that great big city - London.

After walking along the Thames taking photos as the city turned it's lights on, I met up with Nick, who had just finished work for the day. We then went to dine at Wagamamas. This is a chain of japanese restaurants serving such dishes as noodles, dumplings and soups. The food was amazing, the waitresses very attractive, and the atmosphere was very happening.

Later on we watched a couple of DVDs back at his place. Lola Rennt is a German film released about 7 years ago, which I first saw in an open-air cinema in Ludwigsburg, South Germany. It's an interesting film, one to watch. As we were still wide awake after this (the soundtrack was quite lively) we put on another film. This time Jennifer Lopez took the stage (amongst a plethora of other famous actors) in U-Turn. Quite a slow moving film, it does have it's moments though.

Having finished watching films at about 5.30am, naturally I wasn't in a fit state to wake up before midday. So I didn't. I then met up with Kathy (physics, brum) to have a coffee , a chat, and do some shopping (her, not me). Afterwards, I met up with my parents who were just sitting down to a meal in a restaurant in Chinatown (free food). As my dad went off shopping for some food to take home, my mum and myself went along to the amazing Bodyworlds exhibition. This has real human corpses which when the person has died, are plastinated so as to keep them in the same shape and texture as before. Amongst the exhibits were one of a skeletal man with muscles holding in his hand his entire body skin. Also a rabbit entirely made up of it's arteries. These really have to be seen to be believed, and as it is now extended until December 1st, you have no excuse.

Well, tomorrow sees Jordi make his way back to Mainz (this time with his friend Alberto) to continue his work (or is it study/partying?). I will then be joining him from October 3rd til 9th, so anyone up for a party in Mainz, get in contact. I will then be heading down to Munich (all the cities begin with 'm', hmmmmm) to meet my good friends Gerald and Alex (and any others that have made their ways down there). The return flight is on the 12th, whereby I will have 4 days before the results are made known (apparently).

OK, nothing else been happening in my life recently, how about yours?

Adeu

Back in the UK

Just a quick note to say that at last I'm back in England after a gruelling (that's a lie - amazing) 3 weeks in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

After surviving a 6.8 earthquake in Taipei, Taiwan, it was almost comic to arrive back in Britain and experience a 4.8 one in Birmingham !!! But you have to remember, the scale is logarithmic, so a 2.0 is 100 (ten to the power of two) times stronger than a 1.0. So the one in Brum was no way near comparable to the one in Taiwan in reality.

OK, lack of sleep still being a major factor, I am now retiring to bed.

Goodnight

A couple of interesting Newsbites

Some interesting news to prove that physicists are useful, is that a new tank-protection system has been invented by the MoD which is basically a huge capacitor.

Next up is the article about NASA deciding to measure peoples' thoughts as they pass through an airport to see if they are about to commit an act of terror. Feel safe now?

OK, that's it for now, adios

Uh-oh

Feeling thankful that I don't live in East Germany (re: floods), I have just found out that the Yangtze (biggest river in China, where we are starting our holiday by cruising down it...) has also been closed due to sever rainful and flooding in the surrounding regions. I'm starting to feel like taking my umbrella and wading boots with me at this rate. I just hope that in the remaining 13 days before we leave, the water levels will reduce and the weather will be fine again.

Oh, and congratulations are in order to Ana who got her results for the English Proficiency Test. This is the highest level that is available, and it just goes to show that sometimes foreigners are able to understand us (whether the reverse is true, I daren't ask).

Bye for now.

News Update

A quick splattering of news today. Again I find myself in the central city of Birmingham, visiting Nuria and Pablo before they fly off back to Spain next week.

As you have undoubtedly heard, the water levels across europe are still rising, and have now got to such a stage that in Dresden (Eastern Germany) the level is rising by four centimetres an hour !! Fourteen people have so far been killed, and many buildings have been ruined, including monuments and museums. To think that we're in the middle of summer !!

Again, white Zimbabwe farmers have been arrested and others mobbed in order to make way for Mugabe's supporters. This is yet another step to utter destruction of a once beautiful country, as without these farmers, crops will no longer be available to the starving population.

On a lighter note, how do you fancy flying from London to Sydney, Australia in two hours? Well, the machinery to make it possible has successfully completed its tests.

Apart from that, nothing much else happening here. Elena (P) had her birthday yesterday, but what with exams coming up soon, I doubt whether she could enjoy them as she would have wished. Never mind, after the exams there's plenty of time for parties :)

Fin.

Hacking Politicians, Fighting Office Workers and Shooting Stars

If you've looked up into the sky over the last few days, you might have noticed something different. No, not more helicopters rescuing victims from the rising water levels across northern europe, but the Perseids, a group of meteors passing through the night sky at the moment. So get out there now and start making wishes.

Now you remember that film from three years ago about an office worker who starts up an underground movement of fight clubs? No, well get a refresher at the official site. Now, in a life-imitating-art scenario, this movement has actually been set up in the UK for office workers bored of their jobs and seeking something more from life. They call it The Real Fight Club. To get your equipment, have a look here.

In an interesting twist on governments' increased intrusion into internet surveillance, it has been claimed that a government minister had hacked into the bbc's website to change content that was deemed not to be in the government's best interest.

One more point of interest for all you superstitious folks. Today is Tuesday the 13th, an unlucky day for the spanish. Best of luck to you all for the next 24 hours.

Quickie

Mostly sorting out things still, but others are enjoying themselves. Mavi is off in Rome with Daniella, Giulia and Chiara, Jordi is back in Spain with his family and friends, and Andy (whose birthday is this friday) and Helen are off in Sweden or somewhere.

It's not all fun fun fun, though. England is now under heavy rain, so much so that the underground was flooded this afternoon.

Anyway, enough of me, until the next.