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
Monday, March 29, 2004
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...
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