Surpising Football and Internet Bugs
First up, what a shock the results have been for most football followers this year. No sooner had Spain lost to Portugal and not gone through to the next round, than so did Germany to the Czech Republic. As if that wasn't enough, England got knocked out before the semi-finals by Portugal, and France by Greece. Whatever next?
Although, to be fair, Germany did manage to win something. Yes, they became the country with the most number of porn sites in their domain name space. Congratulations :)
Now for something a bit more serious. A bug in the Internet Explorer web browser has been found (and not yet patched) that allows backdoors to be installed on PCs, steals passwords, credit-card numbers and uses it to relay spam and to hack other computers from. And thinking that it doesn't affect you because you're not stupid enough to open email attachments nor to visit 'alternative' websites won't get you anywhere, as the malicious code has been injected onto many important websites, including those of search engines, banks, online shops etc.
The statements of the security companies makes it clear, by recommending users use another browser instead of IE (like Mozilla Firefox, for example). Take action now !
And on an ending note, I just thought I'd say a late Happy Birthday to Sophia, who celebrated on the 13th June. For those of you from the Erasmus year 2000/01 you will remember her as the blonder of the two english girls :)
Surf Safely
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Basking in the Sun
No, not at the moment, but last week on the shores of Valencia. Even came back with a bit of suntan. This is also the reason why all the news gets put into this post (albeit briefly).
In a bid to aid pandas bred in captivity to understand the idea of mating, researchers have been showing films of other pandas 'at it' to give them the gist, and it seems to be working. Who said pornos weren't good for you? :)
Now that Mars has been visited by various robots, and plans are afoot to put people on it soon, the next logical step is that they can grow their own food. Therefore it's no surprise that NASA is preparing to put the british strawberry on the planet. So now there is another requirement to wannabe astronauts - they must like strawberries, as that's all they're going to be eating during their time on the planet.
Yet another scientific project has come up with earth-changing results. This time sheep are determined to prefer happy people to sad people. They obviously learnt this by looking at the face of the farmer before he took them away for lamb chops.
Police in Wiltshire are embracing the internet for useful purposes, as can be seen by the example of their stolen gnome appeal.
Web services, always trying to be helpful, sometimes don't quite have the desired effect that was intended. Take, for example, the Amazon "related items" feature. Children looking for Spot the Dog toys, may be surprised to find links to female ejaculation and the G-spot. Not quite what they were expecting, I think. Go on, have a try, and see what else you can find.
I really am considering creating a seperate column for the goings-on in Italy as no sooner has it been made illegal to send spam to mobile phones (with prison sentences and fines as a result) than the country's 'leader' mass SMSs all the mobile phones in the country telling them to vote. Apart from the fact that lots of those phone owners were not elegible to vote, it's also a very sly move at influencing the voters prior to the election. But, no doubt, he will be exempt from this law, like with all the others he seems to be flouting nowadays.
Taling about mass mailing, an IT security company sent out an email to all of it's customers stating the dangers of not protecting confidential data. Fine you would say - but not if it forgot to BCC all the addresses, and therefore sent out all the names of it's subscribers in the mail. Very clever.
Keep informed
No, not at the moment, but last week on the shores of Valencia. Even came back with a bit of suntan. This is also the reason why all the news gets put into this post (albeit briefly).
In a bid to aid pandas bred in captivity to understand the idea of mating, researchers have been showing films of other pandas 'at it' to give them the gist, and it seems to be working. Who said pornos weren't good for you? :)
Now that Mars has been visited by various robots, and plans are afoot to put people on it soon, the next logical step is that they can grow their own food. Therefore it's no surprise that NASA is preparing to put the british strawberry on the planet. So now there is another requirement to wannabe astronauts - they must like strawberries, as that's all they're going to be eating during their time on the planet.
Yet another scientific project has come up with earth-changing results. This time sheep are determined to prefer happy people to sad people. They obviously learnt this by looking at the face of the farmer before he took them away for lamb chops.
Police in Wiltshire are embracing the internet for useful purposes, as can be seen by the example of their stolen gnome appeal.
Web services, always trying to be helpful, sometimes don't quite have the desired effect that was intended. Take, for example, the Amazon "related items" feature. Children looking for Spot the Dog toys, may be surprised to find links to female ejaculation and the G-spot. Not quite what they were expecting, I think. Go on, have a try, and see what else you can find.
I really am considering creating a seperate column for the goings-on in Italy as no sooner has it been made illegal to send spam to mobile phones (with prison sentences and fines as a result) than the country's 'leader' mass SMSs all the mobile phones in the country telling them to vote. Apart from the fact that lots of those phone owners were not elegible to vote, it's also a very sly move at influencing the voters prior to the election. But, no doubt, he will be exempt from this law, like with all the others he seems to be flouting nowadays.
Taling about mass mailing, an IT security company sent out an email to all of it's customers stating the dangers of not protecting confidential data. Fine you would say - but not if it forgot to BCC all the addresses, and therefore sent out all the names of it's subscribers in the mail. Very clever.
Keep informed
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Venus, Duck Dialects, and bad Music Labels
For those of you looking out of your windows next Tuesday (actually, you shouldn't look directly at it, better to see it over the internet) you might see a spot moving across the face of the sun. This is Venus and it is the first occasion to see it since 1882, so it's not to be missed.
After previous valuable studies such as "Why cornflakes go soggy in milk" and "How to make the perfect beer without head" Middlesex University have released a study which claims that ducks have regional accents. So that obviously explains why the ones from the south go about with the latest fashion feathers and say "quark" (cheesy german yoghurt) instead of "quack", whilst those in the north steal the rubber rings off the toy speedboats whilst asking for bread.
After all the trouble the music labels are going to to stop people downloading music over the internet (eg threatening 79 year old women with court, even though she's never used a computer, and a 5 year old girl who was looking for information for her homework), it's good to see them take a taste of their own medicine. Camden (London borough) has taken out an order of antisocial behaviour against BMG and Sony, for putting up illegal posters all over the area instead of buying advertising space.
And last but not least, I would like to wish all those who have exams all the best, and that they have all the success they need (Olga and Albakra to mention a couple).
That's all from me
For those of you looking out of your windows next Tuesday (actually, you shouldn't look directly at it, better to see it over the internet) you might see a spot moving across the face of the sun. This is Venus and it is the first occasion to see it since 1882, so it's not to be missed.
After previous valuable studies such as "Why cornflakes go soggy in milk" and "How to make the perfect beer without head" Middlesex University have released a study which claims that ducks have regional accents. So that obviously explains why the ones from the south go about with the latest fashion feathers and say "quark" (cheesy german yoghurt) instead of "quack", whilst those in the north steal the rubber rings off the toy speedboats whilst asking for bread.
After all the trouble the music labels are going to to stop people downloading music over the internet (eg threatening 79 year old women with court, even though she's never used a computer, and a 5 year old girl who was looking for information for her homework), it's good to see them take a taste of their own medicine. Camden (London borough) has taken out an order of antisocial behaviour against BMG and Sony, for putting up illegal posters all over the area instead of buying advertising space.
And last but not least, I would like to wish all those who have exams all the best, and that they have all the success they need (Olga and Albakra to mention a couple).
That's all from me
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Edible Ants, FBI Faults, Anglo-Franco Bridge and Murder in the Chatroom
With the widely acclaimed British entrepreneurial spirit, a company has finalised an order for 500 kilos of colombian culonas "fat-ass" ants. What are they going to do with these creatures? - make them into lollies and crispy snacks of course.
After the atrocity in Madrid, not much else has become public knowledge except for the blowing up of the suspects when the police got too close. Well, in an effort to show how the reliance on technology over good old intuition has become too much - even to the scale that the bombings could possibly have been foiled beforehand, check out this article at TheRegister. Basically, when detonators were found, and the local police could not find any leads, the FBI were called in, who used a badly scanned copy of the fingerprints to match up an American who has not even been to Spain ! Feeling safe in the knowledge that they had their man, the real terrorists were able to carry on with their plotting in peace, to the end of the carnage that we saw on march 11th. Afterwards, the spanish police managed to match the fingerprints to one of the bombers that blew himself up. But what if they had found this link beforehand, with a real look at the fingerprints, could it have been averted? I'll let you decide.
Now onto France where a bridge constructed to cross a river has broken records by being taller than the Eiffel Tower. Yes, yet another example of British and French cooperation in making another marvel come to light (previous firsts include the Channel Tunnel and Concorde).
Something a bit macabre now, in that a boy of just 14 wrote, over months, an intricate story of online friendships and spying which resulted in him and a friend going to a store in Manchester to buy a kitchen knife whereby the friend killed him. The fact that it was already planned out on his home computer shows that he was obviously escaping reality with his pennings and then, fatefully, trying to make them into reality itself.
Onto a few hellos and goodbyes. Susi who was here for a while, left yesterday morning to go back to Valencia where she is looking for work. Luca also came over to visit recently and goes home later this afternoon to his home town in Italy. Andrea (the colombian) left yesterday to go and visit a friend in Madrid, so here's hoping that she enjoys the great weather and hospitality that Spain offers. We say hello again to Pili (from 2002) who is coming over to visit Fabrizzio today for a break from her work in Italy.
Okay, I think that's most of the news from this end, time to go out and enjoy the hot weather.
Stay Cool
With the widely acclaimed British entrepreneurial spirit, a company has finalised an order for 500 kilos of colombian culonas "fat-ass" ants. What are they going to do with these creatures? - make them into lollies and crispy snacks of course.
After the atrocity in Madrid, not much else has become public knowledge except for the blowing up of the suspects when the police got too close. Well, in an effort to show how the reliance on technology over good old intuition has become too much - even to the scale that the bombings could possibly have been foiled beforehand, check out this article at TheRegister. Basically, when detonators were found, and the local police could not find any leads, the FBI were called in, who used a badly scanned copy of the fingerprints to match up an American who has not even been to Spain ! Feeling safe in the knowledge that they had their man, the real terrorists were able to carry on with their plotting in peace, to the end of the carnage that we saw on march 11th. Afterwards, the spanish police managed to match the fingerprints to one of the bombers that blew himself up. But what if they had found this link beforehand, with a real look at the fingerprints, could it have been averted? I'll let you decide.
Now onto France where a bridge constructed to cross a river has broken records by being taller than the Eiffel Tower. Yes, yet another example of British and French cooperation in making another marvel come to light (previous firsts include the Channel Tunnel and Concorde).
Something a bit macabre now, in that a boy of just 14 wrote, over months, an intricate story of online friendships and spying which resulted in him and a friend going to a store in Manchester to buy a kitchen knife whereby the friend killed him. The fact that it was already planned out on his home computer shows that he was obviously escaping reality with his pennings and then, fatefully, trying to make them into reality itself.
Onto a few hellos and goodbyes. Susi who was here for a while, left yesterday morning to go back to Valencia where she is looking for work. Luca also came over to visit recently and goes home later this afternoon to his home town in Italy. Andrea (the colombian) left yesterday to go and visit a friend in Madrid, so here's hoping that she enjoys the great weather and hospitality that Spain offers. We say hello again to Pili (from 2002) who is coming over to visit Fabrizzio today for a break from her work in Italy.
Okay, I think that's most of the news from this end, time to go out and enjoy the hot weather.
Stay Cool
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Another Football Win
No sooner had I celebrated Valencia winning the double (UEFA and league), than Mainz's own team got promoted into the first division of the german league. You can imagine the amount of noise on the streets here over the following couple of days. Anyway, well done Mainz 05.
Maybe speaking prematurely, but Britta should have handed in her diplomarbeit today (otherwise it will be handed in tomorrow). The long and tiring journey for her, will like it did for us, finally be over. Party tomorrow then...
Going back in time a bit, newly released records show that President Nixon was often too drunk to have a conversation with the British PM about the Arab-Israeli war when it was at it's most critical point. Nice to see that power doesn't go to your head.
Now for those of you wanting a different kind of perk at work, try following the danish example. The firm gives free subscriptions to web porn sites to it's workers. I say no more.
So, as we come to the end of another week, I just wish all the lad's in Bologna all the best, and not to forget the rest of us stuck in other countries, and wish a lot of luck to all who have exams in the near future.
Study hard
No sooner had I celebrated Valencia winning the double (UEFA and league), than Mainz's own team got promoted into the first division of the german league. You can imagine the amount of noise on the streets here over the following couple of days. Anyway, well done Mainz 05.
Maybe speaking prematurely, but Britta should have handed in her diplomarbeit today (otherwise it will be handed in tomorrow). The long and tiring journey for her, will like it did for us, finally be over. Party tomorrow then...
Going back in time a bit, newly released records show that President Nixon was often too drunk to have a conversation with the British PM about the Arab-Israeli war when it was at it's most critical point. Nice to see that power doesn't go to your head.
Now for those of you wanting a different kind of perk at work, try following the danish example. The firm gives free subscriptions to web porn sites to it's workers. I say no more.
So, as we come to the end of another week, I just wish all the lad's in Bologna all the best, and not to forget the rest of us stuck in other countries, and wish a lot of luck to all who have exams in the near future.
Study hard
Saturday, May 22, 2004
The bike-unfriendly city of Mainz
I thought I'd dedicate this post to a recent study that took place in Germany about the most bike-friendly cities in the country. Mainz came in at the top of the middle group. Basically, the total distance of bike-lanes was counted, and along with other factors, provided the source for the ratings.
As a cyclist that has to travel 15kms a day through this city, I wanted to give an alternative point of view of someone who has to put up with the unfriendliness and downright dangerous driving of the car owners in this city. And so I will be using the same criteria that the ADAC test used, but giving a proper perspective.
1) Few deaths or severe injuries of cyclists.
Well, having not died yet, I can't confirm or deny this, but all it shows is that the drivers manage to brake before a fatality occurs. It does not reflect how many actual injuries take place.
2)Many one-way streets allow bikes in the opposite direction of the traffic.
Okay, it makes the journey shorter as there are too many one-way streets anyway, but it means that you have cars coming towards you that don't seem to know that you're allowed to cycle in the opposite direction, and thus try to run you down, or at the very least force you to pull into the side as they drive in the middle of the road hooting at you.
3)Roads which allow cyclists to cycle next to another, and where cars have a reduced speed limit for.
Reduced speed? That's a laugh, they seem to think it's a second lane with no traffic in and so go faster than normal! Apart from that, nearly every day I have some car park or wait in the cycle lane in front of me, causing me to go out into the (very fast) car lane.
4)30-zones and speed-reducing measures.
First of all, let's look at the speed zones. Has anyone ever seen a car do 30km/h that hasn't been parking? I think it has something to do with the limitless motorways, but only a police presence has any effect here. Sleeping policemen (bumps in the road) are another thing. These affect the stability of cyclists (especially in places they have to signal to turn off) whilst the cars just reduce their tyre pressure and fly over them.
5)Parallel routes going through inhabited areas instead of through uninhabited ones makes for better safety.
Fine, but show me where they are. Lots of the bike paths here go through fields where there aren't any inhabitants for miles, and save following a much much longer route going into the city centre and then out again. Also, it's not a matter of it being inhabited, rather being lit up. As it's hard to find lights on any roads, this makes the safety of the cyclist plummit, even if people do live nearby, at night they won't see anything.
6)Lots of bike parking places in the centre.
Many there are, but it's the type that matters. Most of them are only a little wheel-holder affair that lets you stand your bike up if it doesn't have it's own stand, but you can only lock your front wheel to it if at all (which with the popular quick-release systems, is hardly going to protect someone from stealing the bike).
7)Possibility to take bikes on the public transport at no extra cost.
Let's check this first. The old trams have doorways that prevent bikes, wheelchairs and prams from entering. The S-Bahn also prohibits them (or makes it that you can't get out of the station at the other end with them). The new trams and buses do make it easy to take bikes on, but they do not provide space for them once they're on. At each doorway either a bike, wheelchar or pram can stand, but this prevents other people from getting on or off the transport. This leads to tension between the passengers and the bike-owners.
8)Bike rallies each month.
Okay, I'll give them this one, as I haven't partaken in one I can't comment.
9)Tested roads sometimes of bad quality.
Another understatement of the year. Having drains, holes, lamp-posts and signs in the middle of the cycle lanes and having to mount and demount the pavement every five metres is not my idea of good quality lanes. And I'm not just talking about some of the lanes, I haven't found a single one that does not have one or more of the aforementioned problems with the quality of the road.
10)Narrow cycle lanes blocked by cars and shared by pedestrians.
Coming back to the number one cause of cycle frustration here, the drivers do not respect cyclists. They park wherever they want to, opening their doors without looking, causing the cyclist to take action to avoid an accident. Pedestrians also seem oblivious to cyclists, as they walk looking down at the ground, reading their newspaper, or talking amongst themselves, meaning the cyclist has to go out of his lane onto the pedestrian part to avoid conflict, and then has the next pedestrian have a go at him for being out of his lane in the first place!
11)Sometimes the cycle lanes are too narrow.
Okay, so who manages to sit astride their bike and not have a width of more than 50cms? Why such narrow cycle lanes are created, I don't know. It just leads to cars assuming we can stay in such a narrow lane and thus driving right up close because "they're in their lane". Why not just have the road without markings, and let the cyclists ride as normal road users. If the street really is that narrow, what's the point of letting cars though it in the first place?
12)Few functioning bike stands at the train station.
Few? How about none. On top of that, they've prohibited the leaning or locking of bikes against the telegraph poles in this area. So what do you do - stand it against a wall and lock the wheel to the frame - hardly a safe option.
That's it for the ADAC test, how about a few points of my own:
13)Not having trees with thorns line the cycle paths. Every day I have to pick thorns from my tires because these trees and bushes have somehow been chosen to line every cycle-way.
14)Have traffic lights give enough time for people/bikes to cross, and the interval between them changing not be greater than 5 minutes (not like the one at HBf-West then, that is red for 10 mins and then changes to green for 30 seconds).
Well, there you have it, The real Cyclists Guide to Mainz
I thought I'd dedicate this post to a recent study that took place in Germany about the most bike-friendly cities in the country. Mainz came in at the top of the middle group. Basically, the total distance of bike-lanes was counted, and along with other factors, provided the source for the ratings.
As a cyclist that has to travel 15kms a day through this city, I wanted to give an alternative point of view of someone who has to put up with the unfriendliness and downright dangerous driving of the car owners in this city. And so I will be using the same criteria that the ADAC test used, but giving a proper perspective.
1) Few deaths or severe injuries of cyclists.
Well, having not died yet, I can't confirm or deny this, but all it shows is that the drivers manage to brake before a fatality occurs. It does not reflect how many actual injuries take place.
2)Many one-way streets allow bikes in the opposite direction of the traffic.
Okay, it makes the journey shorter as there are too many one-way streets anyway, but it means that you have cars coming towards you that don't seem to know that you're allowed to cycle in the opposite direction, and thus try to run you down, or at the very least force you to pull into the side as they drive in the middle of the road hooting at you.
3)Roads which allow cyclists to cycle next to another, and where cars have a reduced speed limit for.
Reduced speed? That's a laugh, they seem to think it's a second lane with no traffic in and so go faster than normal! Apart from that, nearly every day I have some car park or wait in the cycle lane in front of me, causing me to go out into the (very fast) car lane.
4)30-zones and speed-reducing measures.
First of all, let's look at the speed zones. Has anyone ever seen a car do 30km/h that hasn't been parking? I think it has something to do with the limitless motorways, but only a police presence has any effect here. Sleeping policemen (bumps in the road) are another thing. These affect the stability of cyclists (especially in places they have to signal to turn off) whilst the cars just reduce their tyre pressure and fly over them.
5)Parallel routes going through inhabited areas instead of through uninhabited ones makes for better safety.
Fine, but show me where they are. Lots of the bike paths here go through fields where there aren't any inhabitants for miles, and save following a much much longer route going into the city centre and then out again. Also, it's not a matter of it being inhabited, rather being lit up. As it's hard to find lights on any roads, this makes the safety of the cyclist plummit, even if people do live nearby, at night they won't see anything.
6)Lots of bike parking places in the centre.
Many there are, but it's the type that matters. Most of them are only a little wheel-holder affair that lets you stand your bike up if it doesn't have it's own stand, but you can only lock your front wheel to it if at all (which with the popular quick-release systems, is hardly going to protect someone from stealing the bike).
7)Possibility to take bikes on the public transport at no extra cost.
Let's check this first. The old trams have doorways that prevent bikes, wheelchairs and prams from entering. The S-Bahn also prohibits them (or makes it that you can't get out of the station at the other end with them). The new trams and buses do make it easy to take bikes on, but they do not provide space for them once they're on. At each doorway either a bike, wheelchar or pram can stand, but this prevents other people from getting on or off the transport. This leads to tension between the passengers and the bike-owners.
8)Bike rallies each month.
Okay, I'll give them this one, as I haven't partaken in one I can't comment.
9)Tested roads sometimes of bad quality.
Another understatement of the year. Having drains, holes, lamp-posts and signs in the middle of the cycle lanes and having to mount and demount the pavement every five metres is not my idea of good quality lanes. And I'm not just talking about some of the lanes, I haven't found a single one that does not have one or more of the aforementioned problems with the quality of the road.
10)Narrow cycle lanes blocked by cars and shared by pedestrians.
Coming back to the number one cause of cycle frustration here, the drivers do not respect cyclists. They park wherever they want to, opening their doors without looking, causing the cyclist to take action to avoid an accident. Pedestrians also seem oblivious to cyclists, as they walk looking down at the ground, reading their newspaper, or talking amongst themselves, meaning the cyclist has to go out of his lane onto the pedestrian part to avoid conflict, and then has the next pedestrian have a go at him for being out of his lane in the first place!
11)Sometimes the cycle lanes are too narrow.
Okay, so who manages to sit astride their bike and not have a width of more than 50cms? Why such narrow cycle lanes are created, I don't know. It just leads to cars assuming we can stay in such a narrow lane and thus driving right up close because "they're in their lane". Why not just have the road without markings, and let the cyclists ride as normal road users. If the street really is that narrow, what's the point of letting cars though it in the first place?
12)Few functioning bike stands at the train station.
Few? How about none. On top of that, they've prohibited the leaning or locking of bikes against the telegraph poles in this area. So what do you do - stand it against a wall and lock the wheel to the frame - hardly a safe option.
That's it for the ADAC test, how about a few points of my own:
13)Not having trees with thorns line the cycle paths. Every day I have to pick thorns from my tires because these trees and bushes have somehow been chosen to line every cycle-way.
14)Have traffic lights give enough time for people/bikes to cross, and the interval between them changing not be greater than 5 minutes (not like the one at HBf-West then, that is red for 10 mins and then changes to green for 30 seconds).
Well, there you have it, The real Cyclists Guide to Mainz
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Prophecy comes true?
I'm not one to scaremonger or spread false information about like grass seeds (I never spread them out anyway). However, after my recent post questioning the use of the Ten Commandments on certain people up on high (no, not that far up, even though they think they are, I mean 'elected' presidents of large nations) I can't believe it's only coincidence that a plague of locusts (ok, they're really cicadas) is sweeping across America. Maybe what goes around does come around...
Now as a country with so much to offer (landscapes and food at least) Italy has a lot going for it. However, like all countries, it has it's downsides as well. But I've covered most of them in previous posts, what I want to mention today is that a new law has been passed there to make it a criminal offense for people to upload or download copyrighted material over the internet (ie P2P networks). Starting from now, anyone caught downloading films or music can expect between six months and three years in proson on top of the fine. Of course, I suppose if a certain leader were to do it, there would also be a law passed to exonerate him...
Anyway, on a lighter note, the weather's looking more like summer now here in Mainz. Meaning at ten o'clock at night 24 degrees is not unusual. Just hope that it doesn't continue like this until september...
Birthday announcements again (maybe I should make this a seperate section of the website...) Amir (again, friend from home) celebrated his, um, next birthday on the 19th (yesterday). So here's hoping he celebrated it in style (and as I know him, I'm sure he did).
Also, Leanna (who's over in London at the moment for her sister's graduation) will celebrate hers later on this week. Maybe we'll see some photos afterwards...
Okay, now I've had my fun for the holiday that is today in Germany, best get out to enjoy the sun.
Tan well...
I'm not one to scaremonger or spread false information about like grass seeds (I never spread them out anyway). However, after my recent post questioning the use of the Ten Commandments on certain people up on high (no, not that far up, even though they think they are, I mean 'elected' presidents of large nations) I can't believe it's only coincidence that a plague of locusts (ok, they're really cicadas) is sweeping across America. Maybe what goes around does come around...
Now as a country with so much to offer (landscapes and food at least) Italy has a lot going for it. However, like all countries, it has it's downsides as well. But I've covered most of them in previous posts, what I want to mention today is that a new law has been passed there to make it a criminal offense for people to upload or download copyrighted material over the internet (ie P2P networks). Starting from now, anyone caught downloading films or music can expect between six months and three years in proson on top of the fine. Of course, I suppose if a certain leader were to do it, there would also be a law passed to exonerate him...
Anyway, on a lighter note, the weather's looking more like summer now here in Mainz. Meaning at ten o'clock at night 24 degrees is not unusual. Just hope that it doesn't continue like this until september...
Birthday announcements again (maybe I should make this a seperate section of the website...) Amir (again, friend from home) celebrated his, um, next birthday on the 19th (yesterday). So here's hoping he celebrated it in style (and as I know him, I'm sure he did).
Also, Leanna (who's over in London at the moment for her sister's graduation) will celebrate hers later on this week. Maybe we'll see some photos afterwards...
Okay, now I've had my fun for the holiday that is today in Germany, best get out to enjoy the sun.
Tan well...
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Food for Thought
Ever get the feeling that your government is not working for you any more? I seem to find myself in this situation more and more often recently. Not specifically my government, but the governments that make up this world.
Those of you who have the opportunity, watch Panorama on tv tonight in the UK (2215 BST). It's amazing that after so many atrocities, some people still don't think that it affects them.
For those americans amongst you that are fed up with the 'elected' president's way of things. Maybe you should get yourself across the atlantic to see the new film by Michael Moore "Fahrenheit 9/11" and see why your government is trying to stop you watching it.
Ending on a happy note. The European Parliament has voted to insist on the immediate release of all hostages of the guerillas and paramilitaries in Colombia. Let's see if words are mightier than the sword...
Before I forget (ok, it's already late I know) we had a few birthdays recently. Namely Carlota on the second of the month, and Will from home on the tenth. So all together now - happy birthday to you...
Stay young
Ever get the feeling that your government is not working for you any more? I seem to find myself in this situation more and more often recently. Not specifically my government, but the governments that make up this world.
Those of you who have the opportunity, watch Panorama on tv tonight in the UK (2215 BST). It's amazing that after so many atrocities, some people still don't think that it affects them.
For those americans amongst you that are fed up with the 'elected' president's way of things. Maybe you should get yourself across the atlantic to see the new film by Michael Moore "Fahrenheit 9/11" and see why your government is trying to stop you watching it.
Ending on a happy note. The European Parliament has voted to insist on the immediate release of all hostages of the guerillas and paramilitaries in Colombia. Let's see if words are mightier than the sword...
Before I forget (ok, it's already late I know) we had a few birthdays recently. Namely Carlota on the second of the month, and Will from home on the tenth. So all together now - happy birthday to you...
Stay young
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
So little time, so much to do
No sooner had Jordi left Mainz, than Laura, Giulia and Ale came over for a visit for a few days.
Not sure quite what they got up to during the few days they were here, except for finding a complex method to decide who sleeps where each night. Carlos made some great flour tortillas and chicken with sauces that we ate when I finally managed to meet up with them on sunday evening.
As per the title, not enough time to tell everything that has been happening, will try again before the weekend...
Til then
No sooner had Jordi left Mainz, than Laura, Giulia and Ale came over for a visit for a few days.
Not sure quite what they got up to during the few days they were here, except for finding a complex method to decide who sleeps where each night. Carlos made some great flour tortillas and chicken with sauces that we ate when I finally managed to meet up with them on sunday evening.
As per the title, not enough time to tell everything that has been happening, will try again before the weekend...
Til then
Friday, April 30, 2004
Farewell and Abuses of Power
First off, after Jordi handed in his Diplomarbeit on Tuesday, this morning saw (speaking theoretically - nobody was up at this time anyway) him leave off for Valencia (or was it Austria...?) in his fully-laden car. Around about now he should be crossing the border into Spain. We wish him all the best in his future occupation (anyone interested in golf course apartments?).
Yesterday saw Olga get a year older. Not that you would notice it (phew, that addition saved my bacon). Celebrations were held at Quartier Mayence (although the promised dancing on tables didn't happen...). So in case you forgot, you could still get away with wishing her a belated happy birthday today.
Talking about birthdays, both Nick from home, and Julio from Malaga had their's last week, so here's wishing them all the best.
Now onto the news.
After the revelation that a train driver of Japan's Bullet Train fell asleep whilst travelling at 300 km an hour, a pilot of said country decided that he could beat that, and did so twice whilst piloting a 767 Jumbo. Makes you just feel really safe whilst up in the sky, doesn't it.
Talking about planes, on my way back from Stansted on Wednesday I had an interesting flight. Firstly, due to the fog at the aiport, we were delayed on the runway 40 minutes, constantly starting and stopping the engines. Then when we finally got into the air we had so many bumps that the seatbelt sign only went off for 5 minutes in total. Apart from that, lightning hitting the wing outside my window just made me feel all relaxed when we landed. No really.
Anyone thinking that Berlusconi already has too much power in his country must be really sweating now that a new media law allowing him to control more of the media himself has just been passed. Will this (did someone say dictatorship?) ever end?
Shocking news, as photos have been released of US soldiers abusing their prisoners in Iraq, stripping them naked and wiring their genitals up to an electricity supply. If this is what they are trying to show the inhabitants of the country they have to look forward to with the new regime, no wonder they are having problems controlling the place.
A couple of things are to note here. Firstly, that the soldiers have apparently been asking their superiors for rules and regulations regarding PoWs, but have so far been denied them. So we're getting men who are trained to kill to look after the needs of prisoners - first mistake. Secondly, that even if they didn't have rules of the Geneva Convention to hand, surely they must have realised that torturing the prisoners and videoing it as well wouldn't be anywhere on that list. I'm only guessing, but wouldn't a bit of good old Common Sense be required here. Please, just a bit. Maybe we should start writing a list of things that are generally considered bad to do to people in your trust, and send it to the troops. Even better, considering they are representing a good upstanding god-fearing nation, maybe the Ten Commandments would be appropriate.
Now we all know that in England talking about one's feelings is not the done thing. We seem to get embarrassed, go red in the face, and try to change the subject. However, a new law coming into force this week stops children from being able to kiss. Gone are those days of snogging behind the bike sheds, fumblings at the school disco, and spin-the-bottle then.
As of midnight tonight, the European Union becomes 10 countries larger. Well, to be precise, nine-and-a-half. As Cyprus is half Greek, half Turkish, only the former half becomes a part of the EU. That will give customs controllers a headache then, stopping free trade between two parts of the same country.
Well, that's about it for now, time to relax again.
Stay Cool
First off, after Jordi handed in his Diplomarbeit on Tuesday, this morning saw (speaking theoretically - nobody was up at this time anyway) him leave off for Valencia (or was it Austria...?) in his fully-laden car. Around about now he should be crossing the border into Spain. We wish him all the best in his future occupation (anyone interested in golf course apartments?).
Yesterday saw Olga get a year older. Not that you would notice it (phew, that addition saved my bacon). Celebrations were held at Quartier Mayence (although the promised dancing on tables didn't happen...). So in case you forgot, you could still get away with wishing her a belated happy birthday today.
Talking about birthdays, both Nick from home, and Julio from Malaga had their's last week, so here's wishing them all the best.
Now onto the news.
After the revelation that a train driver of Japan's Bullet Train fell asleep whilst travelling at 300 km an hour, a pilot of said country decided that he could beat that, and did so twice whilst piloting a 767 Jumbo. Makes you just feel really safe whilst up in the sky, doesn't it.
Talking about planes, on my way back from Stansted on Wednesday I had an interesting flight. Firstly, due to the fog at the aiport, we were delayed on the runway 40 minutes, constantly starting and stopping the engines. Then when we finally got into the air we had so many bumps that the seatbelt sign only went off for 5 minutes in total. Apart from that, lightning hitting the wing outside my window just made me feel all relaxed when we landed. No really.
Anyone thinking that Berlusconi already has too much power in his country must be really sweating now that a new media law allowing him to control more of the media himself has just been passed. Will this (did someone say dictatorship?) ever end?
Shocking news, as photos have been released of US soldiers abusing their prisoners in Iraq, stripping them naked and wiring their genitals up to an electricity supply. If this is what they are trying to show the inhabitants of the country they have to look forward to with the new regime, no wonder they are having problems controlling the place.
A couple of things are to note here. Firstly, that the soldiers have apparently been asking their superiors for rules and regulations regarding PoWs, but have so far been denied them. So we're getting men who are trained to kill to look after the needs of prisoners - first mistake. Secondly, that even if they didn't have rules of the Geneva Convention to hand, surely they must have realised that torturing the prisoners and videoing it as well wouldn't be anywhere on that list. I'm only guessing, but wouldn't a bit of good old Common Sense be required here. Please, just a bit. Maybe we should start writing a list of things that are generally considered bad to do to people in your trust, and send it to the troops. Even better, considering they are representing a good upstanding god-fearing nation, maybe the Ten Commandments would be appropriate.
Now we all know that in England talking about one's feelings is not the done thing. We seem to get embarrassed, go red in the face, and try to change the subject. However, a new law coming into force this week stops children from being able to kiss. Gone are those days of snogging behind the bike sheds, fumblings at the school disco, and spin-the-bottle then.
As of midnight tonight, the European Union becomes 10 countries larger. Well, to be precise, nine-and-a-half. As Cyprus is half Greek, half Turkish, only the former half becomes a part of the EU. That will give customs controllers a headache then, stopping free trade between two parts of the same country.
Well, that's about it for now, time to relax again.
Stay Cool
Friday, April 23, 2004
Missing Post and Dangerous Loads
I have been wondering for a while now why it is I haven't received any letters through the post, until I read about a German postman taking packets and selling the artefacts on eBay. What he might want with lots of postcards saying how the weather in Spain is lovely, I don't know, but maybe that's why I haven't got any for a while...
Having heard about the rail cash in North Korea, my attention wasn't immediately drawn, as crashes happen all over the world, and I didn't know anyone there. However, reports out from Red Cross stating the number of people killed don't give the full picture, until you read about how many houses were flattened (1850) and how many seriously damaged (6350). Then the scale of this blast begins to dawn. It was huge. Over six thousand houses seriously damaged, allowing for about three people in an average house (I have no idea what the actual statistics for this country are) that means about twenty thousand people living nearby were affected !
What else is new...a night out was organised yesterday, whereby we met up at the Uni and had a few drinks, but the Mainzer Kolleg Bar was shut, Kultur Cafe had one person dancing in it (well, I say dancing, more a type of square movement of the feet to a three tempo) and the Studihaus was overfull. So we ended up in the Inter II bar, where it seemed it was a male-only night. Highlight of the evening of course, was Jordi telling a particularly annoying guy to wipe non-existant dirt from his mouth.
Oh, it was meant to be a secret, but I think people are finding out now, that Javi (Saverio to you and me) has arrived for the weekend. Expect a drink in his honour.
Don't let the weather get you down
I have been wondering for a while now why it is I haven't received any letters through the post, until I read about a German postman taking packets and selling the artefacts on eBay. What he might want with lots of postcards saying how the weather in Spain is lovely, I don't know, but maybe that's why I haven't got any for a while...
Having heard about the rail cash in North Korea, my attention wasn't immediately drawn, as crashes happen all over the world, and I didn't know anyone there. However, reports out from Red Cross stating the number of people killed don't give the full picture, until you read about how many houses were flattened (1850) and how many seriously damaged (6350). Then the scale of this blast begins to dawn. It was huge. Over six thousand houses seriously damaged, allowing for about three people in an average house (I have no idea what the actual statistics for this country are) that means about twenty thousand people living nearby were affected !
What else is new...a night out was organised yesterday, whereby we met up at the Uni and had a few drinks, but the Mainzer Kolleg Bar was shut, Kultur Cafe had one person dancing in it (well, I say dancing, more a type of square movement of the feet to a three tempo) and the Studihaus was overfull. So we ended up in the Inter II bar, where it seemed it was a male-only night. Highlight of the evening of course, was Jordi telling a particularly annoying guy to wipe non-existant dirt from his mouth.
Oh, it was meant to be a secret, but I think people are finding out now, that Javi (Saverio to you and me) has arrived for the weekend. Expect a drink in his honour.
Don't let the weather get you down
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Naked Sushi and Multilingual Virii
China has shut down a restaurant offering sushi served up on the nearly-naked bodies of young women. Obviously there was some concern about the hygiene of the girls, although one has to wonder if the use of chopsticks to eat from the bodies maybe considered as torture.
We've all heard of surgery to make our bodies look younger. Now you can also be operated on to make you sound younger too. Why men need to pay for that is a mystery, when all they have to do is forget a special date and let their girlfriends kick them where it hurts, and they can talk with a high pitch for free.
As the next version of the current series of computer virii, Netsky-X is special. Other varients have used newer improved tactics to make the recipients open the infected attachments, but this latest one has gone one step further. It now supports a variety of languages. Yes, the author of X has been visiting the online translator service of Babelfish to make foreign recipients feel more at home when being infected. Expect version Y to come out in Zulu and infect the nomadic tribes of southern africa...
For lovers of all things mafiosi, alleged leaders of the mafia are in court for following the film Donnie Brasco and killing the members that let the FBI agent into their family. If you haven't got a clue what I'm talking about, read the article and watch the film.
The weather's hot, the girls are taking off their clothing, could it be summer? Then again, maybe I should try to stop daydreaming :)
Keep cool
China has shut down a restaurant offering sushi served up on the nearly-naked bodies of young women. Obviously there was some concern about the hygiene of the girls, although one has to wonder if the use of chopsticks to eat from the bodies maybe considered as torture.
We've all heard of surgery to make our bodies look younger. Now you can also be operated on to make you sound younger too. Why men need to pay for that is a mystery, when all they have to do is forget a special date and let their girlfriends kick them where it hurts, and they can talk with a high pitch for free.
As the next version of the current series of computer virii, Netsky-X is special. Other varients have used newer improved tactics to make the recipients open the infected attachments, but this latest one has gone one step further. It now supports a variety of languages. Yes, the author of X has been visiting the online translator service of Babelfish to make foreign recipients feel more at home when being infected. Expect version Y to come out in Zulu and infect the nomadic tribes of southern africa...
For lovers of all things mafiosi, alleged leaders of the mafia are in court for following the film Donnie Brasco and killing the members that let the FBI agent into their family. If you haven't got a clue what I'm talking about, read the article and watch the film.
The weather's hot, the girls are taking off their clothing, could it be summer? Then again, maybe I should try to stop daydreaming :)
Keep cool
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Hello
Mainz is filling up again as new students arrive for the start of the new semester. One of note is Andrea who arrived at the weekend from Barranquilla. Let's hope she gets used to the German way of life soon, and fills out all those forms...
Not new, but Albe and Paolo have come to visit us in Mainz for the next five days, flying from Sardinia, where Albe has been fattened up by the family of Paolo (not sure if they were planning on roasting him afterwards...)
Now to the news. Gravitational effects are being tested with a launch today of a plastic sheet and some balls. No seriously. A lot of thought and preperation has gone into making the balls the nearest to perfect spheres, with the plastic sheet being taken from a trampoline. Ok, that last bit was made up.
In the UK a woman is seeking divorce because her husband has been taking Viagra and she can't control him. It's a good job they don't live on a farm, is all I can say.
Onto Latin America. Whilst most of the news is focusing on the kidnappings in Iraq, the thousands happening a year in Mexico are not being noticed. The BBC has a report on one of the kidnap negotiators. Maybe with this in the media, some more people might take notice and try to help stop it.
The 'hand of God' is being given a second meaning at the moment, with Diego Maradona relying on it whilst in hospital with various problems including with his breathing and high blood pressure. I recommend following the link to see his life through pictures.
And now to Colombia where the leader of the paramilitary group AUC, Carlos Castano has gone into hiding after an attempt on his life from, apparently, other paramilitaries not content with him negotiating with the authorities. Of course, when it's your own men out to get you, it becomes very difficult to find a safe place to hide. Maybe this could finally allow the disarming process to advance and hopefully end up with there being no more paramilitaries. With 'just' the Farc and Eln to contend with, maybe a solution to this civil war that has lasted over 40 years will become easier to achieve. Here's hoping.
For those of you who love sculptures, or even for those that don't, in Harbin, a city in northern China, they are having a snow and ice festival. Many intricate sculptures and even houses are built with ice and snow, and the pictures on this site are amazing. Another place to put on the holiday list to visit...
On closing, in case you hadn't heard, Spain announced that it will now bring home it's troops from Iraq, thus following the wishes of its people. Let's hope that other leaders might take the hint and also listen to the people that elected them...
Peace
Mainz is filling up again as new students arrive for the start of the new semester. One of note is Andrea who arrived at the weekend from Barranquilla. Let's hope she gets used to the German way of life soon, and fills out all those forms...
Not new, but Albe and Paolo have come to visit us in Mainz for the next five days, flying from Sardinia, where Albe has been fattened up by the family of Paolo (not sure if they were planning on roasting him afterwards...)
Now to the news. Gravitational effects are being tested with a launch today of a plastic sheet and some balls. No seriously. A lot of thought and preperation has gone into making the balls the nearest to perfect spheres, with the plastic sheet being taken from a trampoline. Ok, that last bit was made up.
In the UK a woman is seeking divorce because her husband has been taking Viagra and she can't control him. It's a good job they don't live on a farm, is all I can say.
Onto Latin America. Whilst most of the news is focusing on the kidnappings in Iraq, the thousands happening a year in Mexico are not being noticed. The BBC has a report on one of the kidnap negotiators. Maybe with this in the media, some more people might take notice and try to help stop it.
The 'hand of God' is being given a second meaning at the moment, with Diego Maradona relying on it whilst in hospital with various problems including with his breathing and high blood pressure. I recommend following the link to see his life through pictures.
And now to Colombia where the leader of the paramilitary group AUC, Carlos Castano has gone into hiding after an attempt on his life from, apparently, other paramilitaries not content with him negotiating with the authorities. Of course, when it's your own men out to get you, it becomes very difficult to find a safe place to hide. Maybe this could finally allow the disarming process to advance and hopefully end up with there being no more paramilitaries. With 'just' the Farc and Eln to contend with, maybe a solution to this civil war that has lasted over 40 years will become easier to achieve. Here's hoping.
For those of you who love sculptures, or even for those that don't, in Harbin, a city in northern China, they are having a snow and ice festival. Many intricate sculptures and even houses are built with ice and snow, and the pictures on this site are amazing. Another place to put on the holiday list to visit...
On closing, in case you hadn't heard, Spain announced that it will now bring home it's troops from Iraq, thus following the wishes of its people. Let's hope that other leaders might take the hint and also listen to the people that elected them...
Peace
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Expensive Phonenumber and Disappearing Countries
Some people just have too much money, and some just want more. The most expensive telephone number has just been bought for equivalent of 1.1 million dollars. Okay, so the number sounds like the word rich repeated, but surely he would have been richer if he hadn't bought the number in the first place.
Did you know that the US could wipe out another country on a whim? But I bet you didn't know that they had done just that. Namely, Libya has been wiped out (well, it's internet presence anyway) by some unknown reason. So mysterious is it, that nobody has been found that could shed light to the situation.
Spurred on by an article at TheRegister using an online asteriod guide to see what would a normal person off the street would notice if an asteroid hit a town nearby, I thought I'd do the same thing for this city from where I am writing this post, Mainz, to be exact. Purely in the name of research, of course. The results will follow shortly.
Now back to Mexico where an entire state police force has been sacked and put in jail on corruption charges. That's over 500 policemen. Of course, the probability of them being kept locked up will obviously be affected by the fact that these prisons were controlled by said police force, and therefore any escape routes will be known to all the inmates.
Ok, now for that asteroid impact data:
Assuming the asteroid hit the river Rhine, and we were at Uni (about 2km away), that it has a diamter of 50m, and was made of dense rock, landed at 90 degrees to the surface, and hit water, these are the effects that we would feel:
Energy: 9.38 MegaTons TNT
Crater size: 2.61 km
Visible fireball radius: 0.7 km
Effects of Thermal Radiation: Much of the body suffers second degree burns; Deciduous trees ignite
Richter Scale Magnitude: 5.2
Max wind velocity: 440.1 m/s = 984.5 mph
Sound Intensity: 113 dB (May cause ear pain)
Damage Description:
Multistory wall-bearing buildings will collapse.
Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.
Multistory steel-framed office-type buildings will suffer extreme frame distortion, incipient collapse.
Highway truss bridges will collapse.
Highway girder bridges will collapse.
Glass windows will shatter.
Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use.
Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.
So, now you know. To make your own calculations, please visit the site here.
Avoid large craters...
Some people just have too much money, and some just want more. The most expensive telephone number has just been bought for equivalent of 1.1 million dollars. Okay, so the number sounds like the word rich repeated, but surely he would have been richer if he hadn't bought the number in the first place.
Did you know that the US could wipe out another country on a whim? But I bet you didn't know that they had done just that. Namely, Libya has been wiped out (well, it's internet presence anyway) by some unknown reason. So mysterious is it, that nobody has been found that could shed light to the situation.
Spurred on by an article at TheRegister using an online asteriod guide to see what would a normal person off the street would notice if an asteroid hit a town nearby, I thought I'd do the same thing for this city from where I am writing this post, Mainz, to be exact. Purely in the name of research, of course. The results will follow shortly.
Now back to Mexico where an entire state police force has been sacked and put in jail on corruption charges. That's over 500 policemen. Of course, the probability of them being kept locked up will obviously be affected by the fact that these prisons were controlled by said police force, and therefore any escape routes will be known to all the inmates.
Ok, now for that asteroid impact data:
Assuming the asteroid hit the river Rhine, and we were at Uni (about 2km away), that it has a diamter of 50m, and was made of dense rock, landed at 90 degrees to the surface, and hit water, these are the effects that we would feel:
Energy: 9.38 MegaTons TNT
Crater size: 2.61 km
Visible fireball radius: 0.7 km
Effects of Thermal Radiation: Much of the body suffers second degree burns; Deciduous trees ignite
Richter Scale Magnitude: 5.2
Max wind velocity: 440.1 m/s = 984.5 mph
Sound Intensity: 113 dB (May cause ear pain)
Damage Description:
Multistory wall-bearing buildings will collapse.
Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.
Multistory steel-framed office-type buildings will suffer extreme frame distortion, incipient collapse.
Highway truss bridges will collapse.
Highway girder bridges will collapse.
Glass windows will shatter.
Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use.
Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.
So, now you know. To make your own calculations, please visit the site here.
Avoid large craters...
Thursday, April 08, 2004
News Roundup
Cycling in to Uni this morning, I came across 6 police vehicles and lots of policemen and women with sticks. Not for hitting people (at least, I hope not) rather searching for something. Interested in what's happened (seeing as so many unusual things have happened here recently) I took a look at the website of the local police force. Although there is nothing there yet about this case, there are a number of things that have already happened this morning around here whilst most of us were tucked up in bed. Just makes you think that policing is a very busy job.
Since the spate of terrorist activities, many governments have seen fit to implement extra controls on people travelling, buying things, even asking for information. The latest case is of the US 'no-fly' lists telling airlines which people they should not allow to fly. Fine, you might think, that's the way to stop people that may want to cause harm to other people. But the creation of these lists is causing many problems, as the system takes general data and uses statistics to produce the lists (and we all know how reliable statistics are). This means that if you happen to have the same name as a suspect, belong to a different religion from the 'norm', work in an industry that might be deemed suspicious (like politics then?), or just went to the same kindergarten as one of the aforementioned, you're likely to find it difficult to travel anywhere in the US. Of course, as I've mentioned a little while ago, the EU and US are trying to form a better 'passenger data exchange' which could mean that we'll soon see the same problems over here.
Something else that has been going on for a while now, is the mysterious killing of 73 animals in the Sao Paolo zoo (Brazil). Still no clues as to who it is, but now that the toll has risen considerably, it is hard to believe that it is an 'alphabet killer' like TheRegister proposed when the killing of animals with consecutive first letters in their names started.
Now that irish smokers have been banned from lighting up in public buildings in Dublin without too much fuss, the chief medical officer of Scotland is calling for a complete ban on smoking throughout Scotland. Of course this move won't affect the many sheep inhabiting the country, but it would be interesting to see this novel country-wide approach in action, maybe causing other countries to consider the move to a more healthier environment in the near future.
Now one for those animal lovers amongst you. Barcelona has voted to ban bullfighting throughout the region. It would be the first abolishment of this traditional sport in the country, and may set a precedent for other forward-thinking regions to do the same. The only thing standing in the way now is that the regional government enacts this ban.
The next article is not for the easily squeamish amongst you. A woman in Mexico gave birth to her child by DIY caesarean. As she was so far from the nearest hospital, and had lost a previous child giving birth naturally, she got hold of a kitchen knife, drank some hard liquor, and cut herself open. Both mother and child survived. I suppose that's one situation where drinking Tequila could be forgiven.
Stay Informed
Cycling in to Uni this morning, I came across 6 police vehicles and lots of policemen and women with sticks. Not for hitting people (at least, I hope not) rather searching for something. Interested in what's happened (seeing as so many unusual things have happened here recently) I took a look at the website of the local police force. Although there is nothing there yet about this case, there are a number of things that have already happened this morning around here whilst most of us were tucked up in bed. Just makes you think that policing is a very busy job.
Since the spate of terrorist activities, many governments have seen fit to implement extra controls on people travelling, buying things, even asking for information. The latest case is of the US 'no-fly' lists telling airlines which people they should not allow to fly. Fine, you might think, that's the way to stop people that may want to cause harm to other people. But the creation of these lists is causing many problems, as the system takes general data and uses statistics to produce the lists (and we all know how reliable statistics are). This means that if you happen to have the same name as a suspect, belong to a different religion from the 'norm', work in an industry that might be deemed suspicious (like politics then?), or just went to the same kindergarten as one of the aforementioned, you're likely to find it difficult to travel anywhere in the US. Of course, as I've mentioned a little while ago, the EU and US are trying to form a better 'passenger data exchange' which could mean that we'll soon see the same problems over here.
Something else that has been going on for a while now, is the mysterious killing of 73 animals in the Sao Paolo zoo (Brazil). Still no clues as to who it is, but now that the toll has risen considerably, it is hard to believe that it is an 'alphabet killer' like TheRegister proposed when the killing of animals with consecutive first letters in their names started.
Now that irish smokers have been banned from lighting up in public buildings in Dublin without too much fuss, the chief medical officer of Scotland is calling for a complete ban on smoking throughout Scotland. Of course this move won't affect the many sheep inhabiting the country, but it would be interesting to see this novel country-wide approach in action, maybe causing other countries to consider the move to a more healthier environment in the near future.
Now one for those animal lovers amongst you. Barcelona has voted to ban bullfighting throughout the region. It would be the first abolishment of this traditional sport in the country, and may set a precedent for other forward-thinking regions to do the same. The only thing standing in the way now is that the regional government enacts this ban.
The next article is not for the easily squeamish amongst you. A woman in Mexico gave birth to her child by DIY caesarean. As she was so far from the nearest hospital, and had lost a previous child giving birth naturally, she got hold of a kitchen knife, drank some hard liquor, and cut herself open. Both mother and child survived. I suppose that's one situation where drinking Tequila could be forgiven.
Stay Informed
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Condolences
It seems like recently things are getting worse. No sooner have we mourned those of the Madrid blasts, than news reaches me that an old schoolfriend Amir's sister, Nadia died last friday. Thoughts are with him and his family at this hard time.
Not wanting to only relay bad news, I scoured the press to find something that might cheer people up. Or at least take their minds off things. So for those of you that like 'alternative' cinema, this one in Norway should be right up your street. It's made up of ice, and is a drive-in for snowmobiles - no, really.
And for those of you that regularly use instant messenger services at work in the UK beware that companies are to obliged to record all data sent through them. And for those of you in Spain there's no reason to be smug, as it's more than likely that your company is already recording all conversations (70 percent of companies record, and 63 percent archive, compared to just 20 percent and 9 percent in the UK.
On a final note, Carlitos had to hand in his thesis today, so I'm sure they'll be some celebration in the bar tonight.
As the Monty boys say, "always look on the bright side of life".
It seems like recently things are getting worse. No sooner have we mourned those of the Madrid blasts, than news reaches me that an old schoolfriend Amir's sister, Nadia died last friday. Thoughts are with him and his family at this hard time.
Not wanting to only relay bad news, I scoured the press to find something that might cheer people up. Or at least take their minds off things. So for those of you that like 'alternative' cinema, this one in Norway should be right up your street. It's made up of ice, and is a drive-in for snowmobiles - no, really.
And for those of you that regularly use instant messenger services at work in the UK beware that companies are to obliged to record all data sent through them. And for those of you in Spain there's no reason to be smug, as it's more than likely that your company is already recording all conversations (70 percent of companies record, and 63 percent archive, compared to just 20 percent and 9 percent in the UK.
On a final note, Carlitos had to hand in his thesis today, so I'm sure they'll be some celebration in the bar tonight.
As the Monty boys say, "always look on the bright side of life".
Monday, March 29, 2004
Goodbyes
Most importantly, Luca left for Italy and promptly came back with his dad and a car to pick up the rest off his stuff. He has, however, finally left Mainz and I'm sure we'll miss him a lot (let's hope his italian improves over there, seeing as his dad was correcting him the whole time...)
Equally of note, is that Sylvia also left over the weekend, using her parents as the baggage-carriers on the ryanair flight home :) Here's hoping all goes well for her back in sunny Spain.
Now to more general things. NASA has achieved seven times the speed of sound with a new jet that they developed. So next time you want to go to Australia it'll take just 10 mins. Only kidding - it will take more time to rescue the passengers from the water afterwards.
In China, something strange has happened. A woman was driving a BMW which got scratched by a tractor passing by. As the peasant farmer and his wife got out to apologise, the lady revved the car and drove into the crowd that was forming, killing the wife and injuring others. Apparently because of her contacts and conections, she only got a two year sentence for "accidental traffic disturbance". I say no more.
And to show that Bush has a great sense of humour (yes I am being sarcastic), in a dinner for journalists, he showed slides of himself looking under his furniture, and made jokes about not finding weapons of mass destruction there. So now we all know that the war against Iraq was just a joke for him. Equally so for the lives that were lost as a result of this ongoing war.
Well, know that the weather has improved and we've got sunshine and a reasonable temperature, what better way to spend the morning than to go cycling aling the Rhein.
Get tanning
Most importantly, Luca left for Italy and promptly came back with his dad and a car to pick up the rest off his stuff. He has, however, finally left Mainz and I'm sure we'll miss him a lot (let's hope his italian improves over there, seeing as his dad was correcting him the whole time...)
Equally of note, is that Sylvia also left over the weekend, using her parents as the baggage-carriers on the ryanair flight home :) Here's hoping all goes well for her back in sunny Spain.
Now to more general things. NASA has achieved seven times the speed of sound with a new jet that they developed. So next time you want to go to Australia it'll take just 10 mins. Only kidding - it will take more time to rescue the passengers from the water afterwards.
In China, something strange has happened. A woman was driving a BMW which got scratched by a tractor passing by. As the peasant farmer and his wife got out to apologise, the lady revved the car and drove into the crowd that was forming, killing the wife and injuring others. Apparently because of her contacts and conections, she only got a two year sentence for "accidental traffic disturbance". I say no more.
And to show that Bush has a great sense of humour (yes I am being sarcastic), in a dinner for journalists, he showed slides of himself looking under his furniture, and made jokes about not finding weapons of mass destruction there. So now we all know that the war against Iraq was just a joke for him. Equally so for the lives that were lost as a result of this ongoing war.
Well, know that the weather has improved and we've got sunshine and a reasonable temperature, what better way to spend the morning than to go cycling aling the Rhein.
Get tanning
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Back in the Box
That is, of my office at the Uni. After spending nearly a week under the sunshine (and strong winds) of England, I arrived back in Germany to a temperature of 5 degrees. Oh, what joy.
Well, apart from seeing the excellent Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, I didn't really have time to do much sight-seeing, so no great stories to tell or photos to show this time :(
Of course, whilst I was away, some people were celebrating. Namely Fatma (for her birthday) and Luca (for his leaving party). Sometimes I think people organise these things knowing I won't be there...
A warning to all windows users out there, that there are a huge amount of new viruses being created every day, and I'm receiving most of them in my inbox (which, as I've said before, means that somebody who has me in their addressbook has been infected. So get updating those virus scanners. Of particular note is that each new strain seems to be using a different cunning method to entice it's victims. Some purporting to come from microsoft (it never sends out updates by email) others from your local sysadmin (making you think it's actually for you) and others using various vulnerabilities to propagate themselves without any attachment being opened. For the best info on viruses, check the website of an antivirus vendor (eg www.symantec.com or else, read some more info on The Register's Virus section.
To finish on a light note, a lesbian student apparently auctioned her virginity on ebay, getting about 12,000 euros in order to pay her university fees. Just wait til the fees go up - I dread to think how people are going to get hold of the money for them then !!
'til then
That is, of my office at the Uni. After spending nearly a week under the sunshine (and strong winds) of England, I arrived back in Germany to a temperature of 5 degrees. Oh, what joy.
Well, apart from seeing the excellent Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, I didn't really have time to do much sight-seeing, so no great stories to tell or photos to show this time :(
Of course, whilst I was away, some people were celebrating. Namely Fatma (for her birthday) and Luca (for his leaving party). Sometimes I think people organise these things knowing I won't be there...
A warning to all windows users out there, that there are a huge amount of new viruses being created every day, and I'm receiving most of them in my inbox (which, as I've said before, means that somebody who has me in their addressbook has been infected. So get updating those virus scanners. Of particular note is that each new strain seems to be using a different cunning method to entice it's victims. Some purporting to come from microsoft (it never sends out updates by email) others from your local sysadmin (making you think it's actually for you) and others using various vulnerabilities to propagate themselves without any attachment being opened. For the best info on viruses, check the website of an antivirus vendor (eg www.symantec.com or else, read some more info on The Register's Virus section.
To finish on a light note, a lesbian student apparently auctioned her virginity on ebay, getting about 12,000 euros in order to pay her university fees. Just wait til the fees go up - I dread to think how people are going to get hold of the money for them then !!
'til then
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Weather Forecast
Snow, snow and more snow. Yes, Mainz has recuperated the days of snow we didn't have last year, by providing them now, mid-march !! As I look out of the window in my office all I can see is a white curtain cutting of the view of...erm...physics buildings, I think (maybe there is a benefit to the snow after all).
On to somewhere with lots of sun, namely Granada in Spain. After being a muslim capital over 200 years ago, it has recently enhanced it's religious tolerism by building a new mosque and allowing tourists to visit, whilst teaching children arabic. Somehow I don't think it can compete with the Alhambra, though.
Some of you may have heard of the new obsession in the US for young people to pledge themselves to being virgins until they get married, and to carry a card around with them saying so (which has received lots of financial support from President Bush recently). Well, according to research just published, those that pledge are just as likely to get STDs as those that don't pledge. Makes you wonder if this is in fact a safety campaign or just a religious message.
Next up for the stupidity prize, is a woman who was arrested in Georgia, USA trying to pay with a fake one million dollar note at the supermarket. The fact that notes that high have never even existed, is of course obvious. Assistants were probably first alerted when they saw a woman with five tonnes of carrots in her trolley :)
For those of you who don't already know, D2 Vodafone in Germany have an offer on this month for Call-Ya customers, allowing you to call all D2 and landline numbers every saturday and sunday for just five Euros for the month (to sign up there is a differnet number for contract customers and Call-Ya ones). Of course, the first weekend has already passed, but for those who like to talk (why is everyone looking at me?) this offer is amazing.
Well, as many of the inhabitants of this city are off to Valencia for the Fallas, and some of us are off to the England, we'll just have to see if anything interesting crops up to tell when we all come back.
Wrap up warm
Snow, snow and more snow. Yes, Mainz has recuperated the days of snow we didn't have last year, by providing them now, mid-march !! As I look out of the window in my office all I can see is a white curtain cutting of the view of...erm...physics buildings, I think (maybe there is a benefit to the snow after all).
On to somewhere with lots of sun, namely Granada in Spain. After being a muslim capital over 200 years ago, it has recently enhanced it's religious tolerism by building a new mosque and allowing tourists to visit, whilst teaching children arabic. Somehow I don't think it can compete with the Alhambra, though.
Some of you may have heard of the new obsession in the US for young people to pledge themselves to being virgins until they get married, and to carry a card around with them saying so (which has received lots of financial support from President Bush recently). Well, according to research just published, those that pledge are just as likely to get STDs as those that don't pledge. Makes you wonder if this is in fact a safety campaign or just a religious message.
Next up for the stupidity prize, is a woman who was arrested in Georgia, USA trying to pay with a fake one million dollar note at the supermarket. The fact that notes that high have never even existed, is of course obvious. Assistants were probably first alerted when they saw a woman with five tonnes of carrots in her trolley :)
For those of you who don't already know, D2 Vodafone in Germany have an offer on this month for Call-Ya customers, allowing you to call all D2 and landline numbers every saturday and sunday for just five Euros for the month (to sign up there is a differnet number for contract customers and Call-Ya ones). Of course, the first weekend has already passed, but for those who like to talk (why is everyone looking at me?) this offer is amazing.
Well, as many of the inhabitants of this city are off to Valencia for the Fallas, and some of us are off to the England, we'll just have to see if anything interesting crops up to tell when we all come back.
Wrap up warm
Monday, March 08, 2004
Smelly Neighbours and Gay Sheep
Despite wishing it on my Spanish page, Happy Birthday to Javi who celebrated yesterday. We also celebrated for him here in Mainz as Olgui made two huge lasagnas, Jaume made another exmple of his great tortillas, and I made a loaf of Ciabatta. Along with the obligatory bottle(s) of wine, it was a very well received sunday lunch. Here's hoping that we repeat such events with more frequency.
First up, one for Jordi. Scientists (I suppose we still have to call them that) have researched the minds of gay sheep and deduced that the brains are genetically different from 'normal' heterosexual sheep. Well, now you know.
A 52-year old kenyan bachelor was physically forced to have a wash after 10 years without. For those of us overnighting at Javi and Albe's we could also have used this example on a certain somebody there...(akakakakak).
Oh, and for those tea-drinkers amongst you, new proof has come (from surprise surprise, Italy) that coffee, in particular, expresso is good for you. Good to hear, although personally I still adhere to the beer and ice-cream diet.
Well, that's all folks...
Despite wishing it on my Spanish page, Happy Birthday to Javi who celebrated yesterday. We also celebrated for him here in Mainz as Olgui made two huge lasagnas, Jaume made another exmple of his great tortillas, and I made a loaf of Ciabatta. Along with the obligatory bottle(s) of wine, it was a very well received sunday lunch. Here's hoping that we repeat such events with more frequency.
First up, one for Jordi. Scientists (I suppose we still have to call them that) have researched the minds of gay sheep and deduced that the brains are genetically different from 'normal' heterosexual sheep. Well, now you know.
A 52-year old kenyan bachelor was physically forced to have a wash after 10 years without. For those of us overnighting at Javi and Albe's we could also have used this example on a certain somebody there...(akakakakak).
Oh, and for those tea-drinkers amongst you, new proof has come (from surprise surprise, Italy) that coffee, in particular, expresso is good for you. Good to hear, although personally I still adhere to the beer and ice-cream diet.
Well, that's all folks...
Friday, March 05, 2004
What's Happening
Amongst the many nations that I consider in need of a change of leadership, it's good to see that in Venezuela someone important had the courage to say so. Namely the UN embassador resigned, citing primarily the lack of democracy under the present rule. Let's just hope this, along with the many protests currently going on, can cause a change.
Along the same track is an archbishop from Zimbabwe who is calling for South Africa to cut off electricity supplies to the country so that it's dictator, sorry, leader will have to hold talks with the opposition. Here's hoping...
Back in the UK, a new bus service has started up offering trips from London to Birmingham (3 hours) for one pound. That's one euro and fifty cents to those continentals reading this. Compare that with the nearly two euros it costs to get from Hechtsheim to the Hauptbahnhof in Mainz (20 mins) and you might be left wondering if in fact prices are really expensive in England. Check the Megabus website for more routes.
And on that note, I leave you to have a good weekend (now that it's not snowing and I can actually see the sun, maybe it'll be safe to go for a bike ride..)
Amongst the many nations that I consider in need of a change of leadership, it's good to see that in Venezuela someone important had the courage to say so. Namely the UN embassador resigned, citing primarily the lack of democracy under the present rule. Let's just hope this, along with the many protests currently going on, can cause a change.
Along the same track is an archbishop from Zimbabwe who is calling for South Africa to cut off electricity supplies to the country so that it's dictator, sorry, leader will have to hold talks with the opposition. Here's hoping...
Back in the UK, a new bus service has started up offering trips from London to Birmingham (3 hours) for one pound. That's one euro and fifty cents to those continentals reading this. Compare that with the nearly two euros it costs to get from Hechtsheim to the Hauptbahnhof in Mainz (20 mins) and you might be left wondering if in fact prices are really expensive in England. Check the Megabus website for more routes.
And on that note, I leave you to have a good weekend (now that it's not snowing and I can actually see the sun, maybe it'll be safe to go for a bike ride..)
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Back to the grindstone
Well, after the week-long break in Bologna with a reunion of Mainz Erasmus students, past and present there are many memories to savour. The pasta and pizza (one euro a piece), the placards advertising Intimissimi clothes (well I think it was the clothes they were advertising, despite everyone looking only at the woman) the ladies of the night along the road leading to Albe and Javi's place (made it easy to find in the night coming back from the parties..)
I suppose the only downside to the week was at the final party when Laura's bag was stolen with her mobile phone and driving license in (if anyone knows anything about it, please contact me through this website).
What else has happened? Well, the friday when we returned I went off to the concert of Juanes and surprisingly did not collapse due to exhaustion. Carmen came over to visit Luca for his birthday and went back home this morning. Many other people also celebrated being another year older, so best wishes go out to Jordi, Laura, Lou, and to Javi who celebrates his on the 7th.
Another thing that seems to crop up every day, is that many variants of new viruses are currently in circulation, sending themselves off to eveyone in the address books they find. This has resulted in my inbox filling with over 10 email viruses a day. Luckily they are automatically deleted before they can go any further, but it just shows that you should not open emails from people you don't know, and definitely not open emails with attachments in .exe .pif .src endings. If unsure, email the sender asking what they have sent you. Hopefully I (and millions of others) can then have some calm in the inbox.
Here endeth the lesson
Well, after the week-long break in Bologna with a reunion of Mainz Erasmus students, past and present there are many memories to savour. The pasta and pizza (one euro a piece), the placards advertising Intimissimi clothes (well I think it was the clothes they were advertising, despite everyone looking only at the woman) the ladies of the night along the road leading to Albe and Javi's place (made it easy to find in the night coming back from the parties..)
I suppose the only downside to the week was at the final party when Laura's bag was stolen with her mobile phone and driving license in (if anyone knows anything about it, please contact me through this website).
What else has happened? Well, the friday when we returned I went off to the concert of Juanes and surprisingly did not collapse due to exhaustion. Carmen came over to visit Luca for his birthday and went back home this morning. Many other people also celebrated being another year older, so best wishes go out to Jordi, Laura, Lou, and to Javi who celebrates his on the 7th.
Another thing that seems to crop up every day, is that many variants of new viruses are currently in circulation, sending themselves off to eveyone in the address books they find. This has resulted in my inbox filling with over 10 email viruses a day. Luckily they are automatically deleted before they can go any further, but it just shows that you should not open emails from people you don't know, and definitely not open emails with attachments in .exe .pif .src endings. If unsure, email the sender asking what they have sent you. Hopefully I (and millions of others) can then have some calm in the inbox.
Here endeth the lesson
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Romance in Italy, Lost in the US
So who forgot it was valentine's day on saturday then? Well, the italians definitely didn't. As one of their inhabitants managed to kiss his girlfriend for 31 hours and 18 minutes, thus winning him enough money to pay for their marriage. I would say that's pretty romantic, wouldn't you?
Now another case of, um, dare I say it, stupidity. The border between the US and Canada was shut when a grenade was found in the car of a woman who was lost. What's particularly important to note here is firstly that the woman didn't know the grenade was in the glove compartment of her car (it was her husband's apparently - as everyone needs a grenade for self defense nowadays anyway...). Secondly, that she was on her way from Texas to Vancouver. Not the big city, but a little town (in the state of Washington if I'm not mistaken). You would assume that one would take a map when one's travelling such a distance, and would realise that a big sign saying "Welcome to Canada, Vancouver this way" is probably not talking about a little american town...Never mind.
For those of you who have gone into the centre of Mainz recently, you may have noticed something new. A restaurant has opened up, calling itself "Besitos, tapas bar y mas" which one would normally dismiss without thinking any further, but the fact that it is situated opposite a certain establishment otherwise known as "el loco" warrants a bit of thought as to whether it is just a coincidence...
Well, for those who have exams, I wish success.
Study hard
So who forgot it was valentine's day on saturday then? Well, the italians definitely didn't. As one of their inhabitants managed to kiss his girlfriend for 31 hours and 18 minutes, thus winning him enough money to pay for their marriage. I would say that's pretty romantic, wouldn't you?
Now another case of, um, dare I say it, stupidity. The border between the US and Canada was shut when a grenade was found in the car of a woman who was lost. What's particularly important to note here is firstly that the woman didn't know the grenade was in the glove compartment of her car (it was her husband's apparently - as everyone needs a grenade for self defense nowadays anyway...). Secondly, that she was on her way from Texas to Vancouver. Not the big city, but a little town (in the state of Washington if I'm not mistaken). You would assume that one would take a map when one's travelling such a distance, and would realise that a big sign saying "Welcome to Canada, Vancouver this way" is probably not talking about a little american town...Never mind.
For those of you who have gone into the centre of Mainz recently, you may have noticed something new. A restaurant has opened up, calling itself "Besitos, tapas bar y mas" which one would normally dismiss without thinking any further, but the fact that it is situated opposite a certain establishment otherwise known as "el loco" warrants a bit of thought as to whether it is just a coincidence...
Well, for those who have exams, I wish success.
Study hard
Thursday, February 12, 2004
He's Back
No, it wasn't for partying that I haven't been able to write for a while (see my spanish site where I have been able to write) just for a lack of anything interesting to tell. But that's all changed now.
First up, there's lots of action going on at Jordi's website in the guestbook, just try to keep it clean, lads.
Secondly, the site of Albe and Javi has some new additions, namely some audio files purporting to depict the fate of Jordi so take a look.
Now to the news. For those of you with MS Office 2003, if you have a look at the characters for the font "Bookshelf Symbol 7" you will find some surprises.
Scared of all electrical appliances in your home coming alive and keeping you hostage? Well, that's how the inhabitants of an Italian village are feeling at the moment. So just be careful how you treat your toaster next time.
Oh, and not to let the US of the hook in the posting either, it has been discovered that Chile's representatives to the UN were phonetapped during the run-up to the Iraq war. Hmm...
Don't worry, be happy.
No, it wasn't for partying that I haven't been able to write for a while (see my spanish site where I have been able to write) just for a lack of anything interesting to tell. But that's all changed now.
First up, there's lots of action going on at Jordi's website in the guestbook, just try to keep it clean, lads.
Secondly, the site of Albe and Javi has some new additions, namely some audio files purporting to depict the fate of Jordi so take a look.
Now to the news. For those of you with MS Office 2003, if you have a look at the characters for the font "Bookshelf Symbol 7" you will find some surprises.
Scared of all electrical appliances in your home coming alive and keeping you hostage? Well, that's how the inhabitants of an Italian village are feeling at the moment. So just be careful how you treat your toaster next time.
Oh, and not to let the US of the hook in the posting either, it has been discovered that Chile's representatives to the UN were phonetapped during the run-up to the Iraq war. Hmm...
Don't worry, be happy.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
I'm Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Usually associated with criminals escaping prison, this is now my cry as I handed in my thesis/diplomarbeit/good quality toilet paper midday yesterday. Yes, after the toils, troubles and tribulations (I will someday look up the meaning of some of the words I use, honest) I am now free to do what I want. Well, ok, free to look for work is probably more accurate. So, be prepared, as I have spare time on my hands and I'm not afraid to use it !!
Note on the previous virus warning, Novarg is now being named MyDoom virus, is much worse than feared (I received 6 copies in my inbox this morning - don't worry, it get's filtered before I even get near any viruses). It seems to add a stealth element in that it doesn't send itself to government or military emails, however, as it fakes the 'from' field, there are lots of automatic responders falsly claiming to tell innocent parties that they sent a virus, when in fact they just happen to be in the email list of someone who got infected (admins take note).
Well, another day passes by, and another job has to be done.
Keep busy
Usually associated with criminals escaping prison, this is now my cry as I handed in my thesis/diplomarbeit/good quality toilet paper midday yesterday. Yes, after the toils, troubles and tribulations (I will someday look up the meaning of some of the words I use, honest) I am now free to do what I want. Well, ok, free to look for work is probably more accurate. So, be prepared, as I have spare time on my hands and I'm not afraid to use it !!
Note on the previous virus warning, Novarg is now being named MyDoom virus, is much worse than feared (I received 6 copies in my inbox this morning - don't worry, it get's filtered before I even get near any viruses). It seems to add a stealth element in that it doesn't send itself to government or military emails, however, as it fakes the 'from' field, there are lots of automatic responders falsly claiming to tell innocent parties that they sent a virus, when in fact they just happen to be in the email list of someone who got infected (admins take note).
Well, another day passes by, and another job has to be done.
Keep busy
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
The Final Countdown
Marking the 125th anniversary of a noteworthy battle, British and Zulu officials gathered to re-enact some of the major battles that took place between them in Southern Africa including the battle for Rorke's Drift, made famous by the film "Zulu" (starring Michael Cane).
As the Chinese new year festivities die down, a new law is passed protecting the rhesus monkey (they are coloured like that, really). Of course, this year is the year of the monkey, so it's quite apt really.
The European Space Agency has released spectacular pictures of the surface of Mars after a successful arrival of it's orbiting probe "Mars Express". Amazing as the pictures may seen, I still have yet to see traces of little green men.
As the EU tries to stop imports from outside of its borders, it manages to win in the UK by forcing CD retailer CDWoW to increase prices of the CDs it imports from asian countries. Read this explanatary article at The Register to find out what this means to us.
Now we all know of the problems with speed cameras, but I bet you never thought that they could be used for breaking records? No? Well you should see how a Peugot 406 managed to clock up 406 mph (653 km/h) on a cheshire road.
After the Beagle virus started causing havoc with systems recently, we have a new virus, discovered today, which seems to be distributing itself extremely rapidly. It's name is Novarg and looks like it's going to have immense effects on systems worldwide, so update your antivirus programs now !!
Practice Safe Surfing
Marking the 125th anniversary of a noteworthy battle, British and Zulu officials gathered to re-enact some of the major battles that took place between them in Southern Africa including the battle for Rorke's Drift, made famous by the film "Zulu" (starring Michael Cane).
As the Chinese new year festivities die down, a new law is passed protecting the rhesus monkey (they are coloured like that, really). Of course, this year is the year of the monkey, so it's quite apt really.
The European Space Agency has released spectacular pictures of the surface of Mars after a successful arrival of it's orbiting probe "Mars Express". Amazing as the pictures may seen, I still have yet to see traces of little green men.
As the EU tries to stop imports from outside of its borders, it manages to win in the UK by forcing CD retailer CDWoW to increase prices of the CDs it imports from asian countries. Read this explanatary article at The Register to find out what this means to us.
Now we all know of the problems with speed cameras, but I bet you never thought that they could be used for breaking records? No? Well you should see how a Peugot 406 managed to clock up 406 mph (653 km/h) on a cheshire road.
After the Beagle virus started causing havoc with systems recently, we have a new virus, discovered today, which seems to be distributing itself extremely rapidly. It's name is Novarg and looks like it's going to have immense effects on systems worldwide, so update your antivirus programs now !!
Practice Safe Surfing
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
What a match!
Last night saw a 'friendly' game of football between Mainz 05 and Bayern Munich. To say that Mainz played well would be an understatement. They beat the many-times champions 2-1 !!! So well done Mainz !
Tomorrow sees the chinese year of the monkey roll in, so all those of you born in 1980, it's your year. So go take your friends out for a meal :)
Now for something quite disturbing, that despite many efforts to stop smoking, especially in children, there is a town in Italy, north of Rome where nearly all the children smoke. And I'm not talking 16 or 18 year-olds, rather 2, 4, 6 year-olds !!! Unbelievable that this wasn't known beforehand !!
Another computer worm is doing it's rounds, so update your antivirus programs now, and check the info on W32.Beagle.A@mm.
A couple more worrying things happening. With people being taken to court, jailed and fined for having child pornography on their computers, or for hacking offenses, it would be serious if some of those arrested were not actually guilty, wouldn't it? Well, very serious it is, in that there is little to stop trojan programs planting evidence on your computer to set you up. Now this has also been turned on it's head, as anyone could claim that a trojan did these deeds, so not only do innocent people get arrested, but guilty people could claim this as their defense. Read more about this here.
Oh, and for those of you who thought that Europe sharing its passenger data with the US could cause no problems, well, here's why you are wrong.
Bye for now
Last night saw a 'friendly' game of football between Mainz 05 and Bayern Munich. To say that Mainz played well would be an understatement. They beat the many-times champions 2-1 !!! So well done Mainz !
Tomorrow sees the chinese year of the monkey roll in, so all those of you born in 1980, it's your year. So go take your friends out for a meal :)
Now for something quite disturbing, that despite many efforts to stop smoking, especially in children, there is a town in Italy, north of Rome where nearly all the children smoke. And I'm not talking 16 or 18 year-olds, rather 2, 4, 6 year-olds !!! Unbelievable that this wasn't known beforehand !!
Another computer worm is doing it's rounds, so update your antivirus programs now, and check the info on W32.Beagle.A@mm.
A couple more worrying things happening. With people being taken to court, jailed and fined for having child pornography on their computers, or for hacking offenses, it would be serious if some of those arrested were not actually guilty, wouldn't it? Well, very serious it is, in that there is little to stop trojan programs planting evidence on your computer to set you up. Now this has also been turned on it's head, as anyone could claim that a trojan did these deeds, so not only do innocent people get arrested, but guilty people could claim this as their defense. Read more about this here.
Oh, and for those of you who thought that Europe sharing its passenger data with the US could cause no problems, well, here's why you are wrong.
Bye for now
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Playing Catch-Up
Before getting stuck into some of the serious news, how about a bit of light-hearted instead? The Ig-nobel awards page gives out awards for people to make us laugh and then to make us think. Examples include "An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces" and "Documenting the first scientifically recorded case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck". Go on, have a laugh.
Okay, we hear a lot about people taking advantage of modern technology in order to cause mischief. Well, here's a case which goes back to the old radio transmitter. Someone is tapping into the Burger King drive-in restaurant in Michigan and telling customers that they can't have the food because they are too fat. Maybe they're actually health specialists trying to reduce obesity in the US...
A man was recently arrested in Germany for stuffing a newly bought computer with potatoes. Twice. He apparently brought it back to the shop claiming it didn't work, and wanted a replacement. Soon after leaving with the new computer, he returned and said it had the same problem and he wanted his money back. If he had waited a bit longer, at least he could have got some chips out of it...
You would have thought that the strict security measures going on in the US would mean the flights leaving would be some of the safest. Well, a man who flew from Washington DC to London was found to have carried bullets in his coat. I don't see how he could have got through with them though, when for me the metal in my belt sets the alarms off !!
Talking about airports, some US pilots were arrested in Brazil for making obscene gestures at the control point of the airport. Reading the article, it seems like whilst it's quite ok for the US to carry out these procedures on people entering it's country, the citizens don't feel that any other country should have the right to do the same. The bit to note here is when the airline added that the pilot had "not intended to be disrespectful". Since when has sticking the middle finger up at anyone been anything but disrespectful???
Ever wondered why so much junk mail gets through to your email box, despite sometimes implementing a filter? Well, read this report to find out. Brings a new light to things.
Now one for the ladies. I reported a while back on a device that women inserted in order to orgasm at the touch of a button. Having not heard much more on that, I presume there were some doubts on the uncomfortableness of wearing it all day. Well, here comes a new invention to the rescue. The "Slightest Touch" operates with electrodes in the shoes on the ankles. Just drink an electrolytic sports drink 20 mins beforehand and when you press the button, the nerves up your legs are stimulated to such and effect, that you are literally "turned on".
So why do men exist again?
Well, that's it for now, lots to write up, very little time.
Revise well
Before getting stuck into some of the serious news, how about a bit of light-hearted instead? The Ig-nobel awards page gives out awards for people to make us laugh and then to make us think. Examples include "An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces" and "Documenting the first scientifically recorded case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck". Go on, have a laugh.
Okay, we hear a lot about people taking advantage of modern technology in order to cause mischief. Well, here's a case which goes back to the old radio transmitter. Someone is tapping into the Burger King drive-in restaurant in Michigan and telling customers that they can't have the food because they are too fat. Maybe they're actually health specialists trying to reduce obesity in the US...
A man was recently arrested in Germany for stuffing a newly bought computer with potatoes. Twice. He apparently brought it back to the shop claiming it didn't work, and wanted a replacement. Soon after leaving with the new computer, he returned and said it had the same problem and he wanted his money back. If he had waited a bit longer, at least he could have got some chips out of it...
You would have thought that the strict security measures going on in the US would mean the flights leaving would be some of the safest. Well, a man who flew from Washington DC to London was found to have carried bullets in his coat. I don't see how he could have got through with them though, when for me the metal in my belt sets the alarms off !!
Talking about airports, some US pilots were arrested in Brazil for making obscene gestures at the control point of the airport. Reading the article, it seems like whilst it's quite ok for the US to carry out these procedures on people entering it's country, the citizens don't feel that any other country should have the right to do the same. The bit to note here is when the airline added that the pilot had "not intended to be disrespectful". Since when has sticking the middle finger up at anyone been anything but disrespectful???
Ever wondered why so much junk mail gets through to your email box, despite sometimes implementing a filter? Well, read this report to find out. Brings a new light to things.
Now one for the ladies. I reported a while back on a device that women inserted in order to orgasm at the touch of a button. Having not heard much more on that, I presume there were some doubts on the uncomfortableness of wearing it all day. Well, here comes a new invention to the rescue. The "Slightest Touch" operates with electrodes in the shoes on the ankles. Just drink an electrolytic sports drink 20 mins beforehand and when you press the button, the nerves up your legs are stimulated to such and effect, that you are literally "turned on".
So why do men exist again?
Well, that's it for now, lots to write up, very little time.
Revise well
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Mission to Mars, Italians Strike and Sims Safety
After the italian air-traffic-controllers strike on thursday caused chaos at the airports throughout Italy, the other transport unions decided to strike on the friday, thus affecting bus, train and metro services. Makes the UK transport system look like it's successful !!
George Bush has said he wants to put a man on Mars. Assuming of course he knows that it is actually a planet, and not some small town in Europe, I think here is the opportune moment for that well-known saying "If you want it done properly, do it yourself". I bet there's loads of people throughout the world who would like to see him from that sort of distance :)
And just to show that the USA never goes too far, we have the story of a mother in Massachusetts who went into a store and asked about a flight simulator for her ten-year-old son. The assistant called up police and the following day a state trooper was shining a torch through their house window at night.
Mainz is slowly starting to fill up again with the foreigners returning from their home countries to continue studying here, so there should be some more local news coming soon. But in the meantime I would like to wish good luck to all those currently taking exams.
Study hard...
After the italian air-traffic-controllers strike on thursday caused chaos at the airports throughout Italy, the other transport unions decided to strike on the friday, thus affecting bus, train and metro services. Makes the UK transport system look like it's successful !!
George Bush has said he wants to put a man on Mars. Assuming of course he knows that it is actually a planet, and not some small town in Europe, I think here is the opportune moment for that well-known saying "If you want it done properly, do it yourself". I bet there's loads of people throughout the world who would like to see him from that sort of distance :)
And just to show that the USA never goes too far, we have the story of a mother in Massachusetts who went into a store and asked about a flight simulator for her ten-year-old son. The assistant called up police and the following day a state trooper was shining a torch through their house window at night.
Mainz is slowly starting to fill up again with the foreigners returning from their home countries to continue studying here, so there should be some more local news coming soon. But in the meantime I would like to wish good luck to all those currently taking exams.
Study hard...
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
New Year, Same Story
Well, Happy New Year to all and sundry, here's hoping it will be more enjoyable and less stressful than 2003.
Back in the cold wet rain of Mainz with barely a soul to talk to, there isn't much gossip to be telling, so on to a couple of newsbites then.
The Beagle 2 explorer has still yet to be contacted on Mars, so if any martians out there happen to have seen it, please let me know through the "Contact Me" link on the left of this page :)
The ship to break all records is getting ready to be officially named Queen Mary 2.
So, starting the year easily, more will be written in the following posts :)
til then
Well, Happy New Year to all and sundry, here's hoping it will be more enjoyable and less stressful than 2003.
Back in the cold wet rain of Mainz with barely a soul to talk to, there isn't much gossip to be telling, so on to a couple of newsbites then.
The Beagle 2 explorer has still yet to be contacted on Mars, so if any martians out there happen to have seen it, please let me know through the "Contact Me" link on the left of this page :)
The ship to break all records is getting ready to be officially named Queen Mary 2.
So, starting the year easily, more will be written in the following posts :)
til then
Monday, December 22, 2003
To sue or not to sue...
First up, a postman prepares to sue a professor, that he says "sent too many letters" and caused him to pull a muscle in his back. So that's my excuse for not having sent out any christmas cards this year...
On the subject of taking people to court, the National Health Service has decided to take seven drug firms to court for fixing the price of penicillin. Yes, that's right, the service that we most love to hate has actually got our best interests in mind this time.
Now on to marriage. Now I know us men don't like to mention that word, but this needs to be said. According to a recent survey, men's health declines when they marry. Yes, even though for married women their health increases, for us men it's just downhill.
Now we all remember the wartime saying "careless talk costs lives". Well, putting this into the twenty-first century has become easier with this latest example of a cracker being caught by his chats with another cracker. So just remember, they're always watching you...
A new one for the Nigerian 419ers. No, they're not an american football team, but people who offer you large sums of money if you can help them transfer huge funds out of Nigeria for them. Obviously the previsouly need a couple of thousand in order to get all the paperwork done first...
Well, they have relocated to Iraq, judging by this latest article at TheRegister.
And finally, snow fell for the first time this winter in Mainz yesterday. Yes, the cold weather arrived early and froze up the roads, public transport system, and many a body. Let's just hope the airports are okay as I'm off home tomorrow, yippee !!
And with that I'll say a very frozen, Merry Chrsitmas and a Happy New Year.
First up, a postman prepares to sue a professor, that he says "sent too many letters" and caused him to pull a muscle in his back. So that's my excuse for not having sent out any christmas cards this year...
On the subject of taking people to court, the National Health Service has decided to take seven drug firms to court for fixing the price of penicillin. Yes, that's right, the service that we most love to hate has actually got our best interests in mind this time.
Now on to marriage. Now I know us men don't like to mention that word, but this needs to be said. According to a recent survey, men's health declines when they marry. Yes, even though for married women their health increases, for us men it's just downhill.
Now we all remember the wartime saying "careless talk costs lives". Well, putting this into the twenty-first century has become easier with this latest example of a cracker being caught by his chats with another cracker. So just remember, they're always watching you...
A new one for the Nigerian 419ers. No, they're not an american football team, but people who offer you large sums of money if you can help them transfer huge funds out of Nigeria for them. Obviously the previsouly need a couple of thousand in order to get all the paperwork done first...
Well, they have relocated to Iraq, judging by this latest article at TheRegister.
And finally, snow fell for the first time this winter in Mainz yesterday. Yes, the cold weather arrived early and froze up the roads, public transport system, and many a body. Let's just hope the airports are okay as I'm off home tomorrow, yippee !!
And with that I'll say a very frozen, Merry Chrsitmas and a Happy New Year.
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Another Channel Tunnel, Saddam, and Bad IE
Probably the most important story of the day, is that is has been reported that Saddam Hussein has been caught. I know I'm not a military nor political genious, but I have two points I would like to make about this:
1) Does the photo on this page really look like Saddam? After having heard reports of him having various 'doubles', it's hard to believe that an ex-leader of a country would let himself be seen with a beard like that !!
2) Wasn't the "Where's Wally" search meant to be for Osama Bin Laden? Wasn't it meant to be him and his Al Queda group that were responsible for the attacks on New York, and was the reason for this "War on Terrorism"?? Maybe I got mixed up, perhaps the dangerous man's name was Bush...
Now on to continental divides. We all know how the relation is between Spain and Morocco (need I mention Perejil...) and also between Spain and the UK (hehem, Gibraltar). Well, the spanish government have decided they are going to build a tunnel between Africa and Europe. I just hope that they have investigated the effects this link will have on the influx of illegal immigrants (just look at the anglo-french version).
And now a little bit of info for those of you wandering around cyberspace without a map. I have, on my page of useful sites, a link to the magnificent Firebird/Mozilla browser. However, I know that most of you don't see the reason in changing when you are quite happy with the one you have. I don't want to force you to make the change (okay, I do, but I know you wouldn't listen), but I would like to point out the many security problems which occur when your version is not updated with the latest patches. There are various examples that will remove data from your hard-drive, crash your computer etc, but I'm not going to show you the hard way. Instead I'll just show you a harmless example that takes you to a site that isn't what it seems. Just click on this link to be taken to the test site. Once you click on the button you are taken to another site of theirs. But have you checked the address bar in your browser. Are you really at the MS site? This hiding of addresses only happens on Internet Explorer. I will now leave you to decide...
And here endeth the lesson
Probably the most important story of the day, is that is has been reported that Saddam Hussein has been caught. I know I'm not a military nor political genious, but I have two points I would like to make about this:
1) Does the photo on this page really look like Saddam? After having heard reports of him having various 'doubles', it's hard to believe that an ex-leader of a country would let himself be seen with a beard like that !!
2) Wasn't the "Where's Wally" search meant to be for Osama Bin Laden? Wasn't it meant to be him and his Al Queda group that were responsible for the attacks on New York, and was the reason for this "War on Terrorism"?? Maybe I got mixed up, perhaps the dangerous man's name was Bush...
Now on to continental divides. We all know how the relation is between Spain and Morocco (need I mention Perejil...) and also between Spain and the UK (hehem, Gibraltar). Well, the spanish government have decided they are going to build a tunnel between Africa and Europe. I just hope that they have investigated the effects this link will have on the influx of illegal immigrants (just look at the anglo-french version).
And now a little bit of info for those of you wandering around cyberspace without a map. I have, on my page of useful sites, a link to the magnificent Firebird/Mozilla browser. However, I know that most of you don't see the reason in changing when you are quite happy with the one you have. I don't want to force you to make the change (okay, I do, but I know you wouldn't listen), but I would like to point out the many security problems which occur when your version is not updated with the latest patches. There are various examples that will remove data from your hard-drive, crash your computer etc, but I'm not going to show you the hard way. Instead I'll just show you a harmless example that takes you to a site that isn't what it seems. Just click on this link to be taken to the test site. Once you click on the button you are taken to another site of theirs. But have you checked the address bar in your browser. Are you really at the MS site? This hiding of addresses only happens on Internet Explorer. I will now leave you to decide...
And here endeth the lesson
Friday, December 12, 2003
News, news and more news
Lots to catch up on now, where to begin...
The US has decided to be selfish again, and not let any country who didn't help it in it's war against Iraq be able to bid for reconstruction contracts. Yep, after doing the same for the oil contracts, it seems more and more like the only country who's going to benefit from this war is the US (instead of the Iraqi people).
Keeping on the same subject, an Iraqi secret service is to be formed by, guess what, the US' CIA. What's important here is that it's goal is "to spy on enemies of the US-backed authorities in Iraq". And again, there was I thinking it would be a multinational role, trying to help defend Iraq from it's enemies...
Meanwhile in the UK, whilst on one front trying to secure the release of British hostages by the US in Guantanamo Bay, it seems to be cleverly concealed that it has it's own camp within it's borders, in the form of the new anti-terror laws.
Meanwhile, in Guatemala, something equally as horrifying is happening on this island, with around four women or young girls being killed every week.
On a different note, it has been motioned that nursery rhymes are unrealistic and put kid's at risk.
Some times political correctness just goes too far.
And for those of you wanting to build your own cruise missile from household materials for just five thousand dollars, you will have to search a bit harder for the info, as the site where the info was held (in Australia) has been shut down by, surprise surprise, the US.
Finally, for those of you permanently stuck in front of daytime tv in the UK, and sad after hearing that Zora Suleman will no longer be shown on the box, will hopefully be pleased to learn that she will be returning to the media, in the form of radio. Doesn't quite have the same effect, does it?
Well, after all that, your tea is probably cold, and the food is burnt in the oven. So why not go out to the pub instead. I will, unfortunately, not be able to as tomorrow I will be giving a physics exam to the chemistry students, and then marking it.
Oh, what fun !
Lots to catch up on now, where to begin...
The US has decided to be selfish again, and not let any country who didn't help it in it's war against Iraq be able to bid for reconstruction contracts. Yep, after doing the same for the oil contracts, it seems more and more like the only country who's going to benefit from this war is the US (instead of the Iraqi people).
Keeping on the same subject, an Iraqi secret service is to be formed by, guess what, the US' CIA. What's important here is that it's goal is "to spy on enemies of the US-backed authorities in Iraq". And again, there was I thinking it would be a multinational role, trying to help defend Iraq from it's enemies...
Meanwhile in the UK, whilst on one front trying to secure the release of British hostages by the US in Guantanamo Bay, it seems to be cleverly concealed that it has it's own camp within it's borders, in the form of the new anti-terror laws.
Meanwhile, in Guatemala, something equally as horrifying is happening on this island, with around four women or young girls being killed every week.
On a different note, it has been motioned that nursery rhymes are unrealistic and put kid's at risk.
Some times political correctness just goes too far.
And for those of you wanting to build your own cruise missile from household materials for just five thousand dollars, you will have to search a bit harder for the info, as the site where the info was held (in Australia) has been shut down by, surprise surprise, the US.
Finally, for those of you permanently stuck in front of daytime tv in the UK, and sad after hearing that Zora Suleman will no longer be shown on the box, will hopefully be pleased to learn that she will be returning to the media, in the form of radio. Doesn't quite have the same effect, does it?
Well, after all that, your tea is probably cold, and the food is burnt in the oven. So why not go out to the pub instead. I will, unfortunately, not be able to as tomorrow I will be giving a physics exam to the chemistry students, and then marking it.
Oh, what fun !
Monday, December 08, 2003
More Violent Women, Toilet Art, and Brazil's Power Cut
Following on from the story last monday, another case of violence in women has arisen, and this time takes with it the case for fast food being bad for your health. A woman in Texas decided that the best way to complain that she didn't get any mayonnaise in her burger was to run over the manager of the drive-in and drag her around the car-park. Yes, it really is unbelievable, that for a dollop of sauce someone could harm another person in this way. Of course, some people might draw conclusions from this about the sanity of the average fast food customer...
Vistor's to London's Tate Britain gallery will be seeing an unusual test of courage displayed outside the building. A one-way mirrored glass toilet stands in the middle of the pavement for people to use. Of course, many people become to nervous once they have entered, because although from the outside is seems to be covered in mirrors, when inside you see all the people walking by. Are you man enough?...
And now looking at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry we see...nothing. That's right, the next victim of the forgot-to-put-the-cheque-in-the-post excuse for not paying the electricity bills became a government department. Just goes to show, not even politicians are immune from the wrath of the capitalists...
Other things that have been happening recently, is that Javi has come back from his trip to Stuttgart, and is back off to Bologna tomorrow, and then goes off with Albe to Greece in a ship. Oh, to live the life...
Carlitos gave his presentation today in front of the whole research group. Of course, some of the profs managed to interrupt him every two seconds. Ah well.
Oh, and for those of you who use the Klite file sharing program, it would be wise to read this article from TheRegister which talks about the fact that the sites offering this program are being shut down by the original Kazaa.
That's it for now...
Following on from the story last monday, another case of violence in women has arisen, and this time takes with it the case for fast food being bad for your health. A woman in Texas decided that the best way to complain that she didn't get any mayonnaise in her burger was to run over the manager of the drive-in and drag her around the car-park. Yes, it really is unbelievable, that for a dollop of sauce someone could harm another person in this way. Of course, some people might draw conclusions from this about the sanity of the average fast food customer...
Vistor's to London's Tate Britain gallery will be seeing an unusual test of courage displayed outside the building. A one-way mirrored glass toilet stands in the middle of the pavement for people to use. Of course, many people become to nervous once they have entered, because although from the outside is seems to be covered in mirrors, when inside you see all the people walking by. Are you man enough?...
And now looking at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry we see...nothing. That's right, the next victim of the forgot-to-put-the-cheque-in-the-post excuse for not paying the electricity bills became a government department. Just goes to show, not even politicians are immune from the wrath of the capitalists...
Other things that have been happening recently, is that Javi has come back from his trip to Stuttgart, and is back off to Bologna tomorrow, and then goes off with Albe to Greece in a ship. Oh, to live the life...
Carlitos gave his presentation today in front of the whole research group. Of course, some of the profs managed to interrupt him every two seconds. Ah well.
Oh, and for those of you who use the Klite file sharing program, it would be wise to read this article from TheRegister which talks about the fact that the sites offering this program are being shut down by the original Kazaa.
That's it for now...
Monday, December 01, 2003
Violent Women, Drugs and Baby-Money
Sounds like a new action film, doesn't it?
In Kenya women are taking the fight (literally) back to their husbands, as there has been a recorded rise in domestic violence against men.
The U.S. military has got in a fuss again, this time about the European Galileo Satellite System. They don't see it as necessary that another country has a Global Positioning System in place (that works down to metre accuracy), obviously as this would mean some foreign power would have the same knowledge as the U.S. would. That cannot be tolerated, apparently, and they are trying to incorporate a blocking system, whereby at the touch of a button, they could switch off the European System. Doesn't quite seem fair, does it?
In another political nonsense move, Italy has decided to award families who have at least one child, 1000 Euros if they have another before the end of 2004. Of course, they have so far not mentioned anything about changing sex-education lessons in school (which decrease the birth rate slightly - except if the children attend the lessons in England, of course, where they get to see pornographic films from the age of 6, in which case the birth rate would shoot through the roof, metaphorically speaking). Maybe someone should tell the Italian government that.
On another note, there's obviously no better time for Javi and Albe to be living in pasta country !! So for all those males out there, get down to Italy now. Hint: if you go to a village called Laviano, near Naples, the mayor is offering 10 thousand Euros with no strings attached - that makes 11 thousand per child. It should just about cover the first year at University then. Who said making money wasn't fun?
Some people may have heard the news that Jordi went off to Bologna for the weekend, for the graduation ceremony (or party at least) of Paolo the Sard. Well, I daren't guess what antics those lot got up to over the last couple of days, but suffice it to say that Jordi missed his plane back to Germany this morning. Last I heard, he was begging in the car-park for money to help him buy a new ticket.
Donations will be accepted to help him come back...
Sounds like a new action film, doesn't it?
In Kenya women are taking the fight (literally) back to their husbands, as there has been a recorded rise in domestic violence against men.
The U.S. military has got in a fuss again, this time about the European Galileo Satellite System. They don't see it as necessary that another country has a Global Positioning System in place (that works down to metre accuracy), obviously as this would mean some foreign power would have the same knowledge as the U.S. would. That cannot be tolerated, apparently, and they are trying to incorporate a blocking system, whereby at the touch of a button, they could switch off the European System. Doesn't quite seem fair, does it?
In another political nonsense move, Italy has decided to award families who have at least one child, 1000 Euros if they have another before the end of 2004. Of course, they have so far not mentioned anything about changing sex-education lessons in school (which decrease the birth rate slightly - except if the children attend the lessons in England, of course, where they get to see pornographic films from the age of 6, in which case the birth rate would shoot through the roof, metaphorically speaking). Maybe someone should tell the Italian government that.
On another note, there's obviously no better time for Javi and Albe to be living in pasta country !! So for all those males out there, get down to Italy now. Hint: if you go to a village called Laviano, near Naples, the mayor is offering 10 thousand Euros with no strings attached - that makes 11 thousand per child. It should just about cover the first year at University then. Who said making money wasn't fun?
Some people may have heard the news that Jordi went off to Bologna for the weekend, for the graduation ceremony (or party at least) of Paolo the Sard. Well, I daren't guess what antics those lot got up to over the last couple of days, but suffice it to say that Jordi missed his plane back to Germany this morning. Last I heard, he was begging in the car-park for money to help him buy a new ticket.
Donations will be accepted to help him come back...
Sunday, November 30, 2003
Weekend News
Something to have with your morning coffee, 67 year old Ursula Andress in James Bond - Dr No has been voted TVs most sexiest scene. Just goes to show that age doesn't matter. What is interesting in this article is that at number eight in this list, is Jessica Rabbit. Enough said.
Be careful when you next go shopping, especially around Christmas and New Year's, as one lady in Florida was knocked unconscious when the doors opened for a sale to begin. However, the store in question decided that it's condolences were enough, and they didn't even offer to give her the 30 dollar DVD player for free !
In Italy, plans are afoot for a new 'Mussolini' political party. I thought that was the ruling one at the moment anyway? Sorry, that's Berlusconi. Silly me.
Now some new scientific revelations. Did you know that there is a formular for a perfect family game? Well now you do. It was invented to stop all those post-monopoly fights that always occur at christmas time.
And for those of you wanting to know how to butter toast correctly, there's an equation for that too :)
Well, we're back to the winter weather again here now, and just in time the christmas markets have arrived to Mainz. That means there's going to be some nice warm spicy wine to cool up those evenings spent waiting for the bus.
New week ahead...
Something to have with your morning coffee, 67 year old Ursula Andress in James Bond - Dr No has been voted TVs most sexiest scene. Just goes to show that age doesn't matter. What is interesting in this article is that at number eight in this list, is Jessica Rabbit. Enough said.
Be careful when you next go shopping, especially around Christmas and New Year's, as one lady in Florida was knocked unconscious when the doors opened for a sale to begin. However, the store in question decided that it's condolences were enough, and they didn't even offer to give her the 30 dollar DVD player for free !
In Italy, plans are afoot for a new 'Mussolini' political party. I thought that was the ruling one at the moment anyway? Sorry, that's Berlusconi. Silly me.
Now some new scientific revelations. Did you know that there is a formular for a perfect family game? Well now you do. It was invented to stop all those post-monopoly fights that always occur at christmas time.
And for those of you wanting to know how to butter toast correctly, there's an equation for that too :)
Well, we're back to the winter weather again here now, and just in time the christmas markets have arrived to Mainz. That means there's going to be some nice warm spicy wine to cool up those evenings spent waiting for the bus.
New week ahead...
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Going Too Far
We all know how far political correctness can go in some areas of life, especially in the office, but now it's managed to creep it's way into the IT sector. The standard way of labelling devices in a computer is to have a 'master' and a 'slave', one that takes priority and that doesn't. However, in LA they are declaring this labelling method as politically incorrect. Like it really affects people how you call your hard disks !!
For those ladies out there who are having particular problems, there is a new device that has been invented which gives orgasms at the push of a button. However, in order for trials to go ahead, they need enough volunteers, which so far they haven't found. So anyone interested, give them a call.
Now a piece of news for the non-squeamish amongst you. Animals which have entered people's bodies whilst they have been on holiday in exotic places have been discovered in the most alien-like fashion (lumps moving about on the top of the head, wormheads poking out of noses...). Read this story from the BBC to find out what can happen.
Sweet Dreams...
We all know how far political correctness can go in some areas of life, especially in the office, but now it's managed to creep it's way into the IT sector. The standard way of labelling devices in a computer is to have a 'master' and a 'slave', one that takes priority and that doesn't. However, in LA they are declaring this labelling method as politically incorrect. Like it really affects people how you call your hard disks !!
For those ladies out there who are having particular problems, there is a new device that has been invented which gives orgasms at the push of a button. However, in order for trials to go ahead, they need enough volunteers, which so far they haven't found. So anyone interested, give them a call.
Now a piece of news for the non-squeamish amongst you. Animals which have entered people's bodies whilst they have been on holiday in exotic places have been discovered in the most alien-like fashion (lumps moving about on the top of the head, wormheads poking out of noses...). Read this story from the BBC to find out what can happen.
Sweet Dreams...
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
News, News and more News
Ever had enough of all those offers for body enhancements, prescription drugs, and Nigerian money transfers? Well, so did someone else, but he took it a stage too far and threatened the spammers as well.
After mentioning about German authorities planning to abolish the wearing of headscarves in schools, a French judge sent a woman juror home after she turned up wearing a headscarf. She was muslim, but one has to note in this article that she originally turned up for the selection procedures without one (ie that she did not feel it necessary to wear it all the time).
And finally, doctors have called for a complete ban on smoking in public places, citing definite evidence for passive smoking being the cause of more than a thousand deaths a year in the UK. About time too !!
On a more personal note, this Sunday sees a certain Frenchman celebrate his birthday. Sources have it that he is hoping for a cake wherefrom five scantilly-clad women come out. If anyone is planning to get him this, please give a warning to me so that I can get my camera ready in time :)
back to the drawing board...
Ever had enough of all those offers for body enhancements, prescription drugs, and Nigerian money transfers? Well, so did someone else, but he took it a stage too far and threatened the spammers as well.
After mentioning about German authorities planning to abolish the wearing of headscarves in schools, a French judge sent a woman juror home after she turned up wearing a headscarf. She was muslim, but one has to note in this article that she originally turned up for the selection procedures without one (ie that she did not feel it necessary to wear it all the time).
And finally, doctors have called for a complete ban on smoking in public places, citing definite evidence for passive smoking being the cause of more than a thousand deaths a year in the UK. About time too !!
On a more personal note, this Sunday sees a certain Frenchman celebrate his birthday. Sources have it that he is hoping for a cake wherefrom five scantilly-clad women come out. If anyone is planning to get him this, please give a warning to me so that I can get my camera ready in time :)
back to the drawing board...
Sunday, November 23, 2003
Success and More Photos
The major news story is that yesterday England beat Australia to win the Rugby World Cup. The first time a country from the northern hemisphere has won it.
Talking about winning, an englishman has just won the transatlantic boat race.
There are many jokes about the German sense of humour, but I would like to disprove them with the following news story. In Berlin they are introducing rubbish bins that talk. Yes that's right, they thank you in one of various languages for throwing away your trash. Apparently they wanted them to encourage people in a "nice, funny" way. I think something went wrong in the translation, as to most of us we would call it a "stupid" way. However, maybe I should be careful about what I say, as the following story proves.
A cannibal who ate people he met on the internet in Germany, has said that he's sorry. Well, that makes us all feel better now then, doesn't it? Just goes to show there are all sorts of people out there - be careful who you annoy...
Now for those of you have been on the edges of your seats for ages awaiting the photos from the summer parties to be put up, I can now tell you, the fiesta de la fresa and hechtsheimer sommerfest 2003 photos are now up for viewing. Sorry for the delay.
Just a brief note to say that Friday night I finally got back to my old habit of cooking a load of crepes, this time at Lobelto's place. And Saturday night saw me take my turn at chinese cooking for them (seeing as I have now discovered the Asiamarkt in Mainz).
Well, about dinnertime now..mmm....
The major news story is that yesterday England beat Australia to win the Rugby World Cup. The first time a country from the northern hemisphere has won it.
Talking about winning, an englishman has just won the transatlantic boat race.
There are many jokes about the German sense of humour, but I would like to disprove them with the following news story. In Berlin they are introducing rubbish bins that talk. Yes that's right, they thank you in one of various languages for throwing away your trash. Apparently they wanted them to encourage people in a "nice, funny" way. I think something went wrong in the translation, as to most of us we would call it a "stupid" way. However, maybe I should be careful about what I say, as the following story proves.
A cannibal who ate people he met on the internet in Germany, has said that he's sorry. Well, that makes us all feel better now then, doesn't it? Just goes to show there are all sorts of people out there - be careful who you annoy...
Now for those of you have been on the edges of your seats for ages awaiting the photos from the summer parties to be put up, I can now tell you, the fiesta de la fresa and hechtsheimer sommerfest 2003 photos are now up for viewing. Sorry for the delay.
Just a brief note to say that Friday night I finally got back to my old habit of cooking a load of crepes, this time at Lobelto's place. And Saturday night saw me take my turn at chinese cooking for them (seeing as I have now discovered the Asiamarkt in Mainz).
Well, about dinnertime now..mmm....
Friday, November 14, 2003
News news news
First up, a little bit of natter from Germany. A little village in the north of Hamburg has been living in a tax-haven for the last 300 years, but now it seems the finance ministry wants to end this and change it's status of the most unfashionable tax-haven. I'm sure this really affects lots of you.
The state of Baden-Wuerttemberg is making moves to ban the wearing of headscarves by muslims in schools. Six other states are also planning to follow later on in this headwear-discrimination act. However, christian or jewish religious clothing is not to be banned. Furthermore, Hesse, Berlin and Saarland want headscarves banned in all public services. Talk about racism, this is just plain ridiculous !! Next thing we won't be able to wear t-shirts with foreign bands on, nor listen to music that isn't of the German Folkmusic type !!
Due to economic problems in Russia, the inhabitants have had to endure many things, but this last measure just went too far. Due to the extremely dry year they have had, there is a severe shortage of water in the region of Vladivostok, which has meant that people only get 3 hours of water every other day. That makes 10.5 hours of water in a week !! However, ingenious as ever, the people have managed to find a way to access more water by tapping into their radiators. That's right, once the water has finished heating the house, it is taken out for drinking, cooking, washing etc.
Next time you travel through an airport, you never know what they could be looking at as you pass through the screening area. New tests have shown they can scan through clothing to see anything hidden underneath, including your body. Of course they are being told they will have to add little fig-leaves to the image to cover up the delicate parts...
And finally, a new site has started up to inform all your friends (and enemies) when you die. All sorts of possibilities spring to mind...
Now something more personal, Alex (Cortega's big bro) came over from where he's currently working (near Frankfurt) to visit us here in Mainz and we went out for a few drinks to the renowned Eisgrub. Very welcome.
Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles...
First up, a little bit of natter from Germany. A little village in the north of Hamburg has been living in a tax-haven for the last 300 years, but now it seems the finance ministry wants to end this and change it's status of the most unfashionable tax-haven. I'm sure this really affects lots of you.
The state of Baden-Wuerttemberg is making moves to ban the wearing of headscarves by muslims in schools. Six other states are also planning to follow later on in this headwear-discrimination act. However, christian or jewish religious clothing is not to be banned. Furthermore, Hesse, Berlin and Saarland want headscarves banned in all public services. Talk about racism, this is just plain ridiculous !! Next thing we won't be able to wear t-shirts with foreign bands on, nor listen to music that isn't of the German Folkmusic type !!
Due to economic problems in Russia, the inhabitants have had to endure many things, but this last measure just went too far. Due to the extremely dry year they have had, there is a severe shortage of water in the region of Vladivostok, which has meant that people only get 3 hours of water every other day. That makes 10.5 hours of water in a week !! However, ingenious as ever, the people have managed to find a way to access more water by tapping into their radiators. That's right, once the water has finished heating the house, it is taken out for drinking, cooking, washing etc.
Next time you travel through an airport, you never know what they could be looking at as you pass through the screening area. New tests have shown they can scan through clothing to see anything hidden underneath, including your body. Of course they are being told they will have to add little fig-leaves to the image to cover up the delicate parts...
And finally, a new site has started up to inform all your friends (and enemies) when you die. All sorts of possibilities spring to mind...
Now something more personal, Alex (Cortega's big bro) came over from where he's currently working (near Frankfurt) to visit us here in Mainz and we went out for a few drinks to the renowned Eisgrub. Very welcome.
Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles...
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Remembering the past and protecting the future
Today at 11:11am will be, like every year since the end of the First World War, two minutes of silence will be held to remember those that lost their lives fighting for us. To find out why we wear poppies on this day, or what the significance of the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is, visit the remembrance section of the BBC.
Now most virus warnings go out without much notice being taken, as most people who have an anti-virus program installed, and regularly update the virus definitions do not get affected. However, due to the fact that I have received no less than 7 copies of this virus sent to me within the last few days, at least one person I know is not fully protected. It's very difficult to trace from whom the viruses come, as they use names and addresses stored on the infected computer as the sender of the emails. So if you're not fully updated, do it now. To find out more about this virus, visit this page at the Symantec website.
Now for anyone roaming through london with their laptop, or any workers taking lunch outside (I know it's cold and possibly raining, but there are some mad people in this world :) If you head towards Piccadilly Circus, you will find blanket (ie total) Wi-Fi (wireless internet) coverage, thanks to a company named Broadreach. More info at The Register.
Well, no rest for the wicked...
Today at 11:11am will be, like every year since the end of the First World War, two minutes of silence will be held to remember those that lost their lives fighting for us. To find out why we wear poppies on this day, or what the significance of the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is, visit the remembrance section of the BBC.
Now most virus warnings go out without much notice being taken, as most people who have an anti-virus program installed, and regularly update the virus definitions do not get affected. However, due to the fact that I have received no less than 7 copies of this virus sent to me within the last few days, at least one person I know is not fully protected. It's very difficult to trace from whom the viruses come, as they use names and addresses stored on the infected computer as the sender of the emails. So if you're not fully updated, do it now. To find out more about this virus, visit this page at the Symantec website.
Now for anyone roaming through london with their laptop, or any workers taking lunch outside (I know it's cold and possibly raining, but there are some mad people in this world :) If you head towards Piccadilly Circus, you will find blanket (ie total) Wi-Fi (wireless internet) coverage, thanks to a company named Broadreach. More info at The Register.
Well, no rest for the wicked...
Friday, November 07, 2003
Birthdays and a bit of news
This last week has seen a mountain of birthdays go by, so here goes...Ana (31st), Mavi (1st), Patricia (2nd), oh, and mine (1st) (sorry if I've forgotten anyone - tell me and I'll add you in :)
Not as a celebration, rather as a medical checkup I also went back home (ok, parent's home then) for a couple of days. Mostly did my christmas shopping (well, ok, just shopping really, but it sounds like I'm organised if I say I've already done my christmas shopping :)
The flight over was interesting, as we were in the middle of a hailstorm in Hahn, so we skidded all over the runway, and when we took off we were also tilting in all directions. However, this was nothing compared to the shock we got when we saw a bolt of lightning hit the wing of our plane. Seeing an explosion of light hitting the thing that stands between you and about forty thousand feet of air to fall through isn't the most reassuring of things, but after the lights got turned back on and we moved out of the hailstorm we managed to put our hearts back into their normal places.
Apart from classes starting this week, and those of us who have them attending them, nothing else has happened to detract from the coldness of the weather here in Germany (in the UK we had 16 degrees !!)
A couple of news briefs, however, have come to my attention.
A study was carried out in Oxford Street (I went there on tuesday to do my shopping :) to find out how to recognise a geek (ok, physics student). Read this article to find out how.
For those of you who thought that Paris was the centre for high society, take a look again. One of it's main department stores has decided to offer courses in stripping to it's female customers. Of course, it doesn't state if it's offering courses in videoing for it's male customers :)
And now for a truly ingenious idea, is that of anonymous blogging. That's right, those people that don't want other people to find out who it is writing web logs can now type away in safe knowledge that they can't be found out.
Well, got a project to do, and not much time to finish it in.
see ya
This last week has seen a mountain of birthdays go by, so here goes...Ana (31st), Mavi (1st), Patricia (2nd), oh, and mine (1st) (sorry if I've forgotten anyone - tell me and I'll add you in :)
Not as a celebration, rather as a medical checkup I also went back home (ok, parent's home then) for a couple of days. Mostly did my christmas shopping (well, ok, just shopping really, but it sounds like I'm organised if I say I've already done my christmas shopping :)
The flight over was interesting, as we were in the middle of a hailstorm in Hahn, so we skidded all over the runway, and when we took off we were also tilting in all directions. However, this was nothing compared to the shock we got when we saw a bolt of lightning hit the wing of our plane. Seeing an explosion of light hitting the thing that stands between you and about forty thousand feet of air to fall through isn't the most reassuring of things, but after the lights got turned back on and we moved out of the hailstorm we managed to put our hearts back into their normal places.
Apart from classes starting this week, and those of us who have them attending them, nothing else has happened to detract from the coldness of the weather here in Germany (in the UK we had 16 degrees !!)
A couple of news briefs, however, have come to my attention.
A study was carried out in Oxford Street (I went there on tuesday to do my shopping :) to find out how to recognise a geek (ok, physics student). Read this article to find out how.
For those of you who thought that Paris was the centre for high society, take a look again. One of it's main department stores has decided to offer courses in stripping to it's female customers. Of course, it doesn't state if it's offering courses in videoing for it's male customers :)
And now for a truly ingenious idea, is that of anonymous blogging. That's right, those people that don't want other people to find out who it is writing web logs can now type away in safe knowledge that they can't be found out.
Well, got a project to do, and not much time to finish it in.
see ya
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Back from the Brink
Of Lake Leman, that is :)
The weekend was great, good to see our old friend (old as in more experience than the rest of us put together) Laurent before he sets off for Angola. It will definitely be a change of lifestyle...let's just hope he stays safe there. On this trip we also made some new friends, and Jordi noticed how beautiful some of the swiss women are, for a change (some?? he was noticing them all !!!).
Now for a bit of news.
As always somebody else is to blame, which is why Italy is blaming Switzerland for the electricity blackout they had the other day.
As most of you will know by now, we English are a bit strange. Now you can have some proof, as the cathedral choir of one of our southern cities (Portsmouth) have stripped off for a calendar. Okay, they are raising money for the church after all...
Now for something you really have to read. A man's mechanical lifesize dog which, let's say, has 'wind problems' was stopped and thoroughly searched at an american airport following their sensors going off for high explosives.
Well, that's how the world stands at the moment. Just left for me to say that Ruben (the andaluz) is off tomorrow back to the sunny parts of Spain, so let's bid him a fond farewell.
Ciao for now
Of Lake Leman, that is :)
The weekend was great, good to see our old friend (old as in more experience than the rest of us put together) Laurent before he sets off for Angola. It will definitely be a change of lifestyle...let's just hope he stays safe there. On this trip we also made some new friends, and Jordi noticed how beautiful some of the swiss women are, for a change (some?? he was noticing them all !!!).
Now for a bit of news.
As always somebody else is to blame, which is why Italy is blaming Switzerland for the electricity blackout they had the other day.
As most of you will know by now, we English are a bit strange. Now you can have some proof, as the cathedral choir of one of our southern cities (Portsmouth) have stripped off for a calendar. Okay, they are raising money for the church after all...
Now for something you really have to read. A man's mechanical lifesize dog which, let's say, has 'wind problems' was stopped and thoroughly searched at an american airport following their sensors going off for high explosives.
Well, that's how the world stands at the moment. Just left for me to say that Ruben (the andaluz) is off tomorrow back to the sunny parts of Spain, so let's bid him a fond farewell.
Ciao for now
Friday, October 24, 2003
Farewells
Probably the most international goodbye goes out to Concorde, who's last journey is due to take place this morning. And to think I never even got to ride in it once !
More locally, a brief goodbye goes to Mainz, because Luca, Jordi and myself are off to Switzerland to see our main man Cortega celebrating his graduation before he goes off to, where was it again? Iraq, Israel, never mind, somewhere dangerous, for sure.
And finally, we have said goodbye to the moderate weather of autumn (did it really exist this year?) as the frost has finally arrived and we walk with frozen feet, noses, ears and hands through the streets. Now where did I put my mittens...
that's it for now, got to pack,
Au revoir
Probably the most international goodbye goes out to Concorde, who's last journey is due to take place this morning. And to think I never even got to ride in it once !
More locally, a brief goodbye goes to Mainz, because Luca, Jordi and myself are off to Switzerland to see our main man Cortega celebrating his graduation before he goes off to, where was it again? Iraq, Israel, never mind, somewhere dangerous, for sure.
And finally, we have said goodbye to the moderate weather of autumn (did it really exist this year?) as the frost has finally arrived and we walk with frozen feet, noses, ears and hands through the streets. Now where did I put my mittens...
that's it for now, got to pack,
Au revoir
Monday, October 20, 2003
Breakfast News
What would you say if I told you that a man encased himself in a perspex box and hung it from a tower bridge for 44 days and only drank water? Impossible? No, illusionist David Blaine has just walked out of it (with the aid of a stretcher)
In Buenos Aires an arsy bit of art has been put on display. Images of 600 bottoms are shown in the exhibition by Chilean visual artist Catalina Riutort.
Now we all know that women never like their own bodies (despite the fact that men like women's bodies very much) . But after a survey of forty-five thousand women commissioned by AOL, the figures are staggering. Sixty percent couldn't stand the way they looked, and nearly ten percent said they would change their whole bodies if the cosmetic surgery was free !!! But the most important figure is that of twenty-six percent of women find shopping for clothes makes them more unhappy about their bodies. Well, there's a simple solution to this one, which men have being trying to tell their wives for centuries - that they don't need any more clothes !!!
And finally, another strange story from this land that is Germany. A judge found in favour of the Mainz coucil, that it should not have to pay for a new toilet seat for a person on social welfare, when it broke through normal usage. Very important decision, wouldn't you say so?
Post-note: Olguis plane had electrical difficulties and so she's waiting for a new one. Let's hope she gets back fine, safe, and above all soon !
What would you say if I told you that a man encased himself in a perspex box and hung it from a tower bridge for 44 days and only drank water? Impossible? No, illusionist David Blaine has just walked out of it (with the aid of a stretcher)
In Buenos Aires an arsy bit of art has been put on display. Images of 600 bottoms are shown in the exhibition by Chilean visual artist Catalina Riutort.
Now we all know that women never like their own bodies (despite the fact that men like women's bodies very much) . But after a survey of forty-five thousand women commissioned by AOL, the figures are staggering. Sixty percent couldn't stand the way they looked, and nearly ten percent said they would change their whole bodies if the cosmetic surgery was free !!! But the most important figure is that of twenty-six percent of women find shopping for clothes makes them more unhappy about their bodies. Well, there's a simple solution to this one, which men have being trying to tell their wives for centuries - that they don't need any more clothes !!!
And finally, another strange story from this land that is Germany. A judge found in favour of the Mainz coucil, that it should not have to pay for a new toilet seat for a person on social welfare, when it broke through normal usage. Very important decision, wouldn't you say so?
Post-note: Olguis plane had electrical difficulties and so she's waiting for a new one. Let's hope she gets back fine, safe, and above all soon !
Sunday, October 19, 2003
South American Special
Not really that special, but the only news is of South America, so why not call it that?
Bolivia now has a new president, and the rioting has at last calmed down there. Let's hope he can succeed where the last one failed.
After citing the article on my spanish webpage about the positive effects of coffee on potency in men, it is therefore surprising to find that one of the largest producers (and consumers) of coffee spends so much on other methods of aid.
And to finish off this trans-atlantic posting, Olguis will be coming back tomorrow. Bon voyage !
bye
Not really that special, but the only news is of South America, so why not call it that?
Bolivia now has a new president, and the rioting has at last calmed down there. Let's hope he can succeed where the last one failed.
After citing the article on my spanish webpage about the positive effects of coffee on potency in men, it is therefore surprising to find that one of the largest producers (and consumers) of coffee spends so much on other methods of aid.
And to finish off this trans-atlantic posting, Olguis will be coming back tomorrow. Bon voyage !
bye
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